The car sped along, arriving at the county town in less than an hour. When they reached the entrance to the armed forces department, Zhou Xiaozheng asked his wife to wait in the car. He got out, found Zhao Dashan, and pulled him out. "Do you have time now? Is there anyone you know in this county town who specializes in cleaning and packing up?"
Zhang Dashan grabbed him and shouted, "Xiao Liu, if you have anything to do, remember to ask someone to come early tomorrow to handle it. I'm going out to do something." After that, he dragged him towards the door without waiting for the other party to agree.
"Brother Zheng, this is the car from the provincial capital. Have you been there today? It just so happens that you have a car. Come with me to check on the people. It's best to keep your mouth shut and don't talk nonsense. I remember that Professor Liu and his wife were old, and they often had someone come to help with the laundry and quilts. They said it was a cousin, so we went to find him ourselves."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded. "It's indeed most convenient to contact Professor Liu directly. I just want to ask him about the firewall. I wonder if it will affect the furniture if it burns."
"Oh, sister-in-law is still in the car. I didn't know you were Zhengge's lover last time. I would have brought my Hongli to see you. I often see your Jiaojiao, but I didn't expect that she is Zhengge's daughter. It's really a flood that washed away the Dragon King Temple. Now that the yard is cleaned up, we can get together." After saying that, she sat directly in the back seat.
Lin Lishan smiled and said to him, "It's fate. We must get together. I also ask you to take good care of the two children. Brother Dashan, how do I get to Professor Liu's house? Please point it out."
"Don't call me Dashan. Don't you see that Zheng Ge is leaning towards me? Just call me Dashan. Drive straight ahead of Zheng Ge. Turn right at the intersection and you'll reach his house. It has a big yard."
"Then I'll just call you Lao Zhao. The old man should be home, right?"
Zhang Dashan nodded and said, "He will definitely be at home. He's already in his seventies and eighties, and he doesn't want to move."
The car stopped at the gate of a large courtyard. This was an old house, probably the ancestral home, away from the county town, next to the main road from the county town to the provincial capital. The courtyard was quiet. Zhang Dashan, along with Zhou Xiaozheng and his wife, knocked on the iron ring at the gate and shouted, "Is Mr. Liu home?"
After shouting three times, a middle-aged woman came out to open the door. Seeing three people standing at the door, two of them wearing military uniforms, she immediately realized what was going on and showed a look of surprise. "Did you buy the small courtyard yesterday? The old man and the old lady are in the house with the children. Come in quickly."
After saying that, he welcomed them into the courtyard. The courtyard still had the usual style of the old man. There were fruit trees planted in the corners and flower beds. There was not much scenery in the cold weather, but when summer came, you could see a riot of colors and abundant fruits.
When I arrived at the second entrance, I saw the old man asking his great-grandchildren to recite the Three Character Classic. The three children only glanced at the fruits on the table and followed him word by word. The old lady stood by and looked at the grandparents and grandchildren happily.
Seeing people coming in, the old man stopped and said to the children, "Go ahead and choose for yourselves. Each person can only choose one. Whoever can recite it first can get another one."
After saying that, he stood up and walked towards Zhou Xiaozheng and the others, asked them to sit down in the living room, and said curiously: "Dashan and you are old friends. Is there anything you don't understand about the yard? Please tell me." After saying that, he raised his hand to signal Zhou Xiaozheng that he could ask.
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the old man, smiled, and said, "Old man, I really have something I don't understand and want to ask you. I see that your main room has a fire wall. Will it affect the furniture if it is heated? Also, are the main room's kang and fire wall heated as a whole or separately? I hurriedly took a look this morning and didn't observe it carefully. Isn't this a presumptuous visit?"
Old Master Liu smiled at the old lady who came in and said, "How about it? I found someone who knows what's going on for you. I won't let you down, okay? Even though he's a soldier, he has a very good eye. When he entered the living room, the first thing he saw was the broken table and chairs, especially the small one. I saw him staring at that set of chairs for several seconds in the living room."
The old lady smiled as she served the tea and placed it on the coffee table. "Yes, you still have the same good eyesight as before. Have some tea. The old man said last night when he came back that you would definitely come to consult him. If you have any questions, just go to him. He's just sitting around and getting bored."
Old Master Liu did not refute. He smiled at his wife and waited for her to finish. Then he turned to Zhou Xiaozheng and asked, "When will you let your son-in-law come over here to sit down? I won't ask you guys to come over. I guess you don't have time."
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at Zhao Dashan and his wife, then said to him, "Grandpa loves him dearly, so he must come to visit. If you have time, please give him some advice. This is his good fortune. My little girl is still in confinement after childbirth, and my in-laws are busy building a yard. Otherwise, he would have come with us to visit you today."
"You're a good son-in-law, with a righteous look in his eyes. Come, let me first tell you about the earthen stove in the living room. It's my most proud work. You haven't started using it yet, right? Then you must not have noticed it. I've modified it. In addition to increasing the capacity, I also set up barriers in the kangs and fire walls leading to the east and west rooms. The chimney leading to the outside has also been repaired, just to prevent accidental poisoning from burning coal briquettes. If you usually use firewood, remember to push the iron stove out of the stove. You can use the kang and fire wall with confidence, it was just renovated this year.
I also deliberately raised the roof, adding a layer of wood to protect it from heavy snowfall in the winter. This reduces weight, insulates against cold, and insulates against heat in the summer. The spaciousness and height make it less oppressive. And when summer arrives, I can open the door to the bedroom for a breeze and a cool breeze.
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at him happily. He had anticipated this and taken precautions. "Grandpa, I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it. It seems you've taken precautions in advance."
"Wait a minute, I have something to give you. I should have given it to you yesterday. I'm old and my memory is not very good. I guessed that you would come to my place before moving in." Old Master Liu went into the inner room and took out a yellowed piece of paper.
Mr. Liu spread the paper on the coffee table. "Take a look. This is the layout map I drew before you moved in. Everything is marked where it belongs. Please tell me if there's anything unclear."
Zhou Xiaozheng looked down and saw that the drawing was very clear. After so many years, the paper was still intact except for being yellowed. Even the passage to the toilet in the yard was dug outside, and the distance was marked in detail.
Zhou Xiaozheng pointed to the toilet and said, "Grandpa, this is a direct access toilet. Will it freeze in the middle of winter? Is there anything I need to be careful about?"
"It won't freeze, you can just flush it after use. The passage was treated with materials when the house was first built, and it was buried quite deep. Unless there's major construction going on there that digs up a passage, the neighbor on the right also built one later. It's paved with stone slabs, and later covered with dirt. The toilet in the room is for when you don't want to go out in the winter. It's left by the front door early every morning, and someone comes to take it away. We didn't lay pipes to it because we didn't have enough materials."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded, not questioning the materials. He was skeptical about this; it was hard to believe in the freezing cold. He paused when the old man mentioned the bathroom. Could this old man be confused?
"Master, where is the bathroom in this room?"
Old Man Liu laughed heartily and pointed at his wife, "Didn't you take them to see it yesterday?" After saying that, he saw his wife shaking her head in embarrassment, and he immediately understood that his wife was in a bad mood - what a detail.
"You may not have noticed that among the five main rooms in the courtyard, the master bedroom on the east side is larger than the rooms on the west side. There is an east wing at the other end, so there may be a visual error. There is a dark room inside the big mirror on the wall of the master bedroom if you push it to the right. I converted it into a bathroom." After saying that, Grandpa Liu smiled and winked at Zhou Xiaozheng.
Zhou Xiaozheng was at a loss for words. This old man really loved to mess around. He had noticed the large mirror and even took a second look at it. Who would have thought he would have this trick?
"There's a well in the yard. There's a large stone slab next to it. It's used for washing clothes. There's also a sink next to it, and the water outlet below flows into the toilet. Don't pour water into the sink in the middle of winter; it will freeze and clog. I've covered it with wooden boards now. Is there anything else you don't understand?"
"Of course I know, they are all marked. Thank you, old man, you have carefully arranged every aspect of this yard." Zhou Xiaozheng really felt that this yard was a gift from the old man to him.
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