Seeing that Han Chen had taken his warning to heart, Father Liu continued, "Xuemei, Hanchen, have you two agreed on the renovations? Where do you plan to build it, or to the left of our house?"
Xuemei and Han Chen nodded.
"If you ask me, you should just build it in our yard. If you build it somewhere else, you have to buy land and spend money. And when you don't live there anymore, the land won't belong to you!" Father Liu said unhappily.
"Dad, I'm afraid my two younger brothers' wives won't be happy about it in the future!" Xuemei explained. Father and Mother Liu had always advised Xuemei to build a house next to their own. After Xuemei and Han Chen discussed it, they still decided to find another place to build it.
"If you are not happy about it, you can go out and build a house by yourself in the future. I have approved the foundation from the village, and I can build it for whoever I want. You can build it on our foundation, and you don't have to apply to the village and the commune. Besides, our foundation is very large, so it will be enough for you two younger brothers to build houses at home in the future!" Father Liu persuaded again.
Xuemei looked at Han Chen, and Han Chen nodded.
Xuemei then said, "Then listen to Dad!"
Mother Liu said happily, "That's great, Han Chen, Xuemei! We've already prepared a place for you. We have a two-mu rocky plot next to our vegetable garden. Since we're not allowed to grow anything now, we usually just use it to dry things. Why don't you use it to build your house? When the time comes, apply to the village for your private plot of land, which is located between ours and your aunt's. It's a little over two mu, but the soil is not good, so the village will definitely approve it."
Father Liu then asked, "So, are you two planning to build a wooden house or a blue brick house?"
Xuemei pushed Han Chen, and Han Chen replied: "Uncle, Xuemei and I have discussed it. We plan to build three blue brick houses, one of 20 square meters, one of 15 square meters to be used as the main room, and another of 30 square meters to be divided into two rooms for the children to live in in the future!" Han Chen touched his nose embarrassedly when he mentioned the child.
When Father Liu heard this, a blueprint for the house appeared in his mind. "Okay, then we'll set it up in a right-angled trapezoid shape. Start with two large frames, one 30 square meters and one 40 square meters. Then we can divide each into two rooms. We'll use the wood we've saved over the years to build the upper half, so there should be some left over. We can take our time to finish building the kitchen and firewood shed. Will you eat with us in the future?"
Xuemei was of course willing to have dinner with her family, but she didn't know what Han Chen was thinking. She was just about to tell Liu's father that they should discuss it later when she heard Han Chen say, "Okay, I like having dinner with my family."
When Xuemei heard Han Chen agree without a trace of reluctance, she could see from his face that he was willing and happy from the bottom of his heart, so she had no worries and nodded quickly.
Han Chen added, "But uncle, I want to rebuild a toilet, like the dry toilets in the city. I'll dig a septic tank outside the toilet, cut down some bamboos, and use them as pipes. Then, after using the toilet, I can just flush it with water! Anyway, we have a well at home, so we have water!"
After Han Chen went to the countryside, the thing he was most difficult to adapt to was the rural toilets. They were just a big pit covered with a few wooden boards. Every time he squatted on it, Han Chen was afraid of falling into the pit.
Father Liu said with some embarrassment: "It's possible to repair it, but no one in the village has ever built a flush toilet like this. Do you know how to repair it?"
Han Chen nodded, and Father Liu finally felt relieved.
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