Tang Huai knew that at this time, the foundations of the buildings were not solid enough. They were built on overturned ground beams and went straight up with bricks before raising the floor.
If the foundation and foot of the ground beam were good, it could support five or even six stories. With a mediocre foundation, they usually built two to three stories.
The construction materials and labor were very cheap at that time. To build a three-story building, it cost only twenty to thirty thousand yuan, and with another ten thousand or so for renovations, one could live very comfortably.
The restaurant owner's building was four stories high, while the one he lived in was two and a half stories. He spent this amount on building the house, which was considered a lot of money at that time.
This showed that the landlord was wealthy and was willing to spend money on building houses.
