Chapter 5 House Renovation
On May 7th, I was woken up early by my phone ringing. I answered the call while holding my slightly sore neck.
It was a call from the renovation company; they told me they would arrive in 20 minutes.
I sat up from the sofa to come to my senses.
I took out my toothbrush from my suitcase to brush my teeth and wash my face.
He took the bread he had bought the night before from the truck, ate it in a few bites, and then drank half a bottle of mineral water.
Taking a walk in the yard, I marveled at how fresh the air was in the countryside.
A short while later, the renovation company's people arrived at the courtyard.
After a few pleasantries, we went inside together to see the layout of the room.
I explained in detail what parts I needed to change and what my requirements were.
The staff listened attentively while taking notes:
1. Replace all doors and windows with explosion-proof and bulletproof glass, ensuring excellent sealing and insulation.
2. Install insulation on all walls of the house.
3. The roofs of the main house and side rooms are all thoroughly waterproofed and reinforced to ensure that they will not leak when it rains or collapse under the weight of snow for several years.
4. Install a windshield (a small enclosure covering the door to prevent cold air from entering the house directly) outside the main entrance. The material should be the same as that used for replacing the doors and windows.
5. The heated brick beds in the east room and the small west room should be demolished and rebuilt, and the building materials should be of the highest quality to ensure that they will not collapse for decades.
A stove was installed in the east room, with the smoke outlet directly inserted into the heated brick bed.
The stove is equipped with a heating port that connects to the water heater in the bathroom, ensuring that hot water for showering is available whenever the stove is lit.
6. All the stoves were rebuilt, and the stove in the small west room was rebuilt as a new one according to the original design.
In the east room, a small stove should be built on the basis of the existing stove, and a small stove should be built on the left and right sides, so that it is convenient to boil water and cook at the same time.
7. A stove was also installed in the room outside the small west hut.
8. The wardrobe wall in the small west room is flush with the wall of the outside room, and a hidden door is installed in the middle of the wardrobe.
The staff wrote down all my requests.
He measured all the dimensions of the house with a ruler and said he would take these requirements back to the company for a quote, which he would give me by 2 pm at the latest.
If the price is right and I can accept it, the workers will come to start work first thing tomorrow morning.
I knew in my heart that this renovation would not be cheap; the replacement of doors and windows and the addition of insulation to the walls alone would be quite expensive.
After seeing the workers off, I drove to the town, filled up the gas tank, and then ate a bowl of spicy hot pot.
I was thinking how delicious mala tang is, and I wondered when I would be able to eat it again.
I came to town today mainly to buy some food for myself. I can't keep coming to town every day just to have a meal during the renovation period.
I'll buy myself another blanket; I was shivering from the cold last night.
Let's not stock up on goods for now; we'll start stocking up after the workers finish the renovations.
Otherwise, there's no way to explain why they keep bringing supplies home.
Around 1 p.m., the person in charge of taking notes called me.
Because the doors and windows needed to be replaced with bulletproof materials, and different materials have different prices, he gave me three price ranges.
The price includes all renovation items: 120,000 for common bulletproof materials, 380,000 for high-grade bulletproof materials, and 920,000 for top-grade bulletproof materials.
I asked about the differences between the three materials, and the person in charge explained them very patiently.
Common, high-grade, and top-grade materials can all protect against knives, guns, and clubs.
Advanced and top-tier models can protect against small bombs.
The top-grade materials are even more impressive; very few things can break them.
I checked the price online, and the fee seems quite reasonable.
The apocalypse is mainly caused by natural disasters, so high-quality materials are sufficient.
Since the robbers couldn't get into the house, they directly ordered a high-end set meal.
I got home at 3 p.m., and the construction team won't be here until tomorrow. I don't know what to do today.
Finally, I decided to walk around the area to familiarize myself with the terrain.
Stepping out of the courtyard gate, a path leads to the outside world.
The slope becomes gentler about 50 meters up the path, so I climbed up from there to see what the small hill that surrounds the house looks like.
Only after climbing up the slope could I see the whole picture clearly. This small hill was not steep at all; there were gentle slopes all around.
I'm going to give this little hill a nice name: Little Ring Mountain.
In the distance, mountains upon mountains overlap, one after another, a vast expanse of green that is breathtaking and refreshing.
All the mountains are covered with apple trees, including my lovely little hill.
The flowers have only recently fallen, and clusters of small, green fruits have already formed.
I suddenly realized why it's called Apple Base; that's where the name comes from.
However, these fruit trees all belong to an owner; there is a crabapple factory in the mountains.
The factory is usually closed, but when the fruit is ripe, large numbers of workers come to pick it and sell it all at once.
There is a small ravine on the south side of the mountain, about 100 meters away from me.
A towering tree with lush foliage emerged from the ravine.
This little ravine didn't look easy to navigate, but I didn't want to tire myself out, and I was also afraid there might be snakes inside, so I didn't go over and turned back home.
The construction team arrived early the next morning.
The foreman said that a deposit of 50,000 yuan was required before work could begin, which I thought was reasonable, so I readily paid the deposit.
The construction team split into two groups: one group dismantled the doors and windows, while the other group used sledgehammers to smash the kang (heated brick bed) and stove.
The foreman said this would save time and allow for earlier completion, in a maximum of 10 days, with other orders waiting to be done.
I should have been in line later, but because Sumi's father is one of their big clients, Sumi put in a good word for me, and the construction team moved me up the queue.
The foreman probably sensed my concerns about quality.
He repeatedly assured them that despite their desire to save time, the renovations would not have any quality issues.
While I was chatting with the foreman, the workers moved my sofa out, afraid that the broken glass would scratch it.
In just one morning, the workers dismantled all the old windows and doors, and also thoroughly smashed the kang (heated brick bed) and stove.
At noon, the workers took out their lunches from the truck and ate them on the steps at the entrance.
I then took out some bread and sausages from my own pickup truck and started eating them.
The workers chatted and ate their meals, while I ate quietly by myself.
I heard online that you shouldn't be too attentive to renovation workers, otherwise they will think you are easy to bully and will cut corners.
I know you can't generalize, but what if I run into a weird worker? So I don't dare to approach them and start a conversation.
If you really want to express your gratitude, you should do so after they have finished the work.
The atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment; I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with me.
Perhaps I shouldn't be here supervising all the time; I should just come back every afternoon to check on the results.
Just a few days ago, Sumi asked me to go and see her newly built villa.
I took out my phone and asked her if she was free to hang out tomorrow.
Sumi replied instantly: "Yes! Where do you want to go? Come to my house, or go out?"
After thinking for a moment, I said, "Let's go to your house and have a look. We can go out and have fun another time."
Sumi doesn't have many friends.
Since I moved, even though we only see each other once a year, she still chatters on and on about her life every day.
I would consider myself a very good friend of hers.
The workers were preparing to finish work at 5:30 pm.
They kindly helped me move the sofa back into the room.
I lay on the sofa scrolling through my phone until eight or nine o'clock, and I don't know when I fell asleep.
On May 8th, I slept soundly through the night without any dreams. Just as I was starting to wash up, the workers arrived.
I exchanged a few words with the contractor and then drove my secondhand pickup truck to Sumi's house.
After a bumpy, clattering ride of nearly two hours, we finally arrived at Sumi's villa, my buttocks feeling like they were being torn apart.
Sumi stood eagerly at the door, gazing into the distance. It was clear she was waiting for me and was very much looking forward to my arrival.
But when my truck stopped at the door, she didn't react at all and kept looking into the distance.
I got out of the car and limped over to her before she gradually looked away.
Then her gaze focused on my face, and she suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!! You're here!"
He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his arms, dragging me into the villa.
As they walked, they muttered to themselves, "Oh dear, why did you drive a truck all this way? It must have been tiring. I can't believe you managed to crawl out of the truck."
After saying that, he couldn't hold back and started laughing out loud.
I was infected by her enthusiasm and laughed too, inwardly scolding myself for being a bit stupid.
The villa in front of me looked much like the ones on TV, with a magnificent three-story layout.
The first floor is a large living room with a very ornate and beautiful fireplace embedded in the wall, much like the villa of a wealthy family in an American TV series.
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