The Lunar New Year is not considered over until the fifteenth day of the lunar year. People go back to work and school, and everything is thriving. At the beginning of the year, there are two major events in Zhang Xiaomai's family. First, the family decided to buy a car, and Zhang Chen went to learn to drive.
Secondly, because the construction of the manor could not be completed so quickly, Tang Suju also decided to open a snack bar. She didn't have to prepare a lot of food every day. As long as there was a business at home and people could see it and there was an income, it would be enough.
Her cooking skills were already good, and now after practicing, her culinary skills have improved by leaps and bounds. The water at home is low-level spiritual water, so the snacks she makes are quite delicious. There is a primary school nearby, and there are many residents nearby, so many people pass by here to play by the river, so business is particularly good.
We had contacted two fruit shops before, but at the beginning of the year, they raised their prices. Because they had to buy less and had to deliver the goods, they felt that the price was not cost-effective. We thought about doing something else. Fruit is not easy to sell in this area, and it doesn’t last long.
Zhang Dami, of course, continued to be his elementary school student, but Zhang Xiaomai was different, having added a painting class and a foreign language class. Zhang Chen's driving school was near the Children's Palace. Every day, Zhang Chen would take Zhang Xiaomai and Tang Liuyue to class, then pick them up after practice. At night, the family would still study in their dreams.
Tang Liuyue's family also had two major events. The first was buying a house next door to Zhang Xiaomai's. The second was Jiang Yunsu opening a shop, using the braised food recipes Zhang Xiaomai had given her.
Tang Liuyue also has an additional Chinese painting class and a foreign language class.
Time flies, and more than a year has passed. At the beginning, Zhang Chen spent 90,000 to buy 20 acres of land. Because the country now encourages the planting of fruit trees, the fruit tree seedlings are not worth much and the country can provide subsidies. He just wanted to build a house to live in, mainly to build a wall, which would cost a lot of money.
As a result, the family had an adventure not long after, and they discussed that they must renovate the manor, so they started by building a wall and slowly repairing it with good materials. After Zhang Chen laid the foundation, he went into the mountains with great skill and courage to collect old ginseng, and went to different places to exchange it for money.
Not only did they build a large Chinese-style courtyard villa, but they also built two small villas. The entire estate was neatly arranged and beautiful, and was surrounded by flowers, so the construction period was slowed down and it took almost two years in total.
They went back home again on the 28th of the lunar year. Just like last year, they visited the graves, burned paper, left New Year gifts and a year's pension, and then the family returned home. Luckily, Zhang Chen was driving this time. They drove slowly along the way, stopping to rest and admire the scenery wherever they saw something beautiful. It was like a short trip.
July 12, 1997, Saturday, the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, is a good day to move into your new home.
It was a good day, a good day for moving. The land Zhang Chen had bought wasn't far from their house. Strictly speaking, it was right behind their courtyard, though there was a building in between. To get there, one had to go around and around the back. It took fifteen minutes to walk, but twenty to drive. You can imagine how convoluted the route was.
In April, on Zhang Xiaomai's birthday, all the projects on the manor were completed, including the interior decoration of the courtyard villa. Everything was completed. They just wanted to give the place some space and did not move in immediately. During this period, they had moved a lot of things in one after another.
After classes every day, Zhang Xiaomai and Tang Liuyue were picked up by Zhang Chen and stayed at the manor to tend to the flowers, plants and trees. After the wall was built, Zhang Xiaomai came here every day to upgrade the wall of her home.
This wall is impervious to swords and guns, water and fire. Even bombs can't hurt it at all. The defense level is extremely high.
A circle of flowers has been planted along the perimeter of the fence. These flowers have also been upgraded. They are not only vibrant and beautiful, but also act as a mosquito repellent. They require little care and automatically stop growing away from the perimeter. If they sense someone approaching with ill intent, they release a captivating fragrance and trigger an alarm. It's truly the perfect fence, combining beauty, practicality, and defense.
Turn right from the main road and go down 150 meters to reach the gate of the manor. The gate is a Western-style black iron frame gate, 4.5 meters wide and 3.5 meters high. The driveway leading in is a flower path, with white iron frames planted with vines that bloom pink and purple flowers. At night, it will automatically illuminate, which is beautiful, practical and environmentally friendly.
A new Chinese-style courtyard covering an area of 200 square meters was built on each side of the gate. 15 meters into the gate, there is an empty space that can be used as a parking lot, and then there is the high-end and classy courtyard gate.
Entering the courtyard through the vermilion gate is a screen wall, a winding corridor, a rockery, a fish pond, and a small bridge over flowing water. Zhang Chen and Tang Suju live in the main house, Zhang Dami lives on the left, and Zhang Xiaomai lives on the right. There is about an acre of land in the backyard, which is a vegetable garden.
Zhang Xiaomai's bedroom is on the second floor, while the first floor houses a tea room, a music practice room, and two smaller guest bedrooms. The bedroom itself is 120 square meters, with its own bathroom, a large dressing room, and a 60-square-meter terrace. Zhang Xiaomai strongly requested a sunroom. Zhang Dami suggested adding a glass cover.
"Emmm, you don't know how to appreciate it, huh." Zhang Xiaomai's literary girlish heart was instantly shattered. It's okay, she picked it up and glued it, look, it's as good as new!
Zhang Dami's room had the same layout, but he didn't convert the terrace into a sunroom. He didn't need a music room, so he used it directly as a study. Today, we packed the last of our daily belongings and moved in as a family, which wasn't tiring at all. However, Tang Suju decided to show off her cooking skills and have a good meal for everyone.
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