While I was away on holiday this summer, my flat underwent a few renovations.
Though I had expected things to be a bit different when I returned, the state in which my tiny urban residence had been left was somewhat shocking to me. Chairs, art posters, and books were all thrown on my bed. Dust was everywhere, the builder made no effort at all in cleaning up after himself.
Even the work that he did was lacking. He had put a type of foam tape around the door opening to the garden, but had closed it before the new paint had fully dried. Much of it tore when I opened the door the first time. In his haste, he had also managed to get paint on my mattress. Though these things did make me question his attention to details, it was not enough to displease me greatly.
There was one thing which, however, did sour my mood a bit. Though most of my furniture is admittedly cheap, the intent being to have something which would only be used for a couple years, I did buy one nice piece of furniture, an antique Japanese wardrobe. It’s a lovely, well-built piece which was made between 1910-1920. For some queer reason, the builder decided to stick a paper pin on top of it, leaving a nasty hole and taking out a small piece of woof.
My landlady will explain the situation to him, something which will become senselessly complicated as the man only bloody speaks Chinese. I admit that my mood is a bit sour about the entire affair, and I intend to seek compensation for damage done to the wardrobe, which under California law he is obligated to pay.
Boadicea's Chariot 
In short Christopher,
Yes.
Yes from me too, Christopher. Don’t pay him a thing, just accept his compensation, preferable in cash. Good luck, lets us know.
You sure are.
Absolutely right, Christopher. What’s the Chinese for “cowboy”?
Sounds terrible to me.
Been there, done that, got the paint-stained T-shirt. Wanna borrow it?
The only positive thing is that, as I only rent, it is not my responsibility to pay him. The landlady has to do that. My father, who is a builder himself, pointed out that if a builder damaged property s/he is obligated to pay for it to be repaired or, in cases when the repair is not possible, to pay the cost of replacement. I will have him give me the full text of the law and have my landlady translate it into Chinese for him.
Surely, Confucius he say…….?
Do not do something to another that you would not like them to do to you. He also said that one should always do everything properly, with the most effort and respect shown.
You’ll be lucky!