When Jiang Xiaoli got home that evening, she received some good news: the restoration of her courtyard house was complete!
She had bought the large courtyard nearly two years ago, and the restoration work had been going on for more than eight months. Upon hearing the news that the restoration was completed, she couldn't wait until tomorrow to see it and immediately dragged Zong Jiayu to go see the courtyard.
Zhong Yuan and Da Fu had only heard about these two courtyards from them since they came to Kyoto, but they hadn't visited them yet. Now they were going to go with them.
They simply took a detour to "Guizhi Restaurant" for a free meal. After Li Guizhi finished dealing with things at the restaurant, they took her to their courtyard house near Shichahai.
As soon as they arrived at the courtyard gate, Li Guizhi couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this our courtyard? The gate has been restored to look like it used to belong to high-ranking officials and nobles!"
Looking at the simple yet luxurious gate, Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but give Master Gao a thumbs up, "This is understated luxury!"
Zong Jia asked them to wait a moment, then took out his key, pushed the courtyard gate open a crack, and slipped inside.
Soon, the people outside the courtyard stared wide-eyed. The lanterns outside the gate lit up, and under the moonlight, the whole house seemed to be full of stories.
Zong Jia and his companion opened both gates of the courtyard at the same time, saying, "Welcome home, our two masters."
Jiang Xiaoli, arm in arm with Li Guizhi, stepped over the high threshold and into the courtyard.
Facing you is a huge stone screen wall. Under the light, you can see a large peony with auspicious symbolism, representing wealth, longevity, and all things going well.
Sure enough, Li Guizhi couldn't stop smiling when she saw the screen wall. "This has a great meaning! I love it!"
Zong Jiayu smiled and said, "I specially chose this one. I'm glad you like it."
Passing through the circular archway next to the screen wall, the courtyard has been transformed into a living room, dining room, kitchen, and maid's room.
Seeing the various antique-style but actually very useful modern kitchen utensils, Li Guizhi nodded repeatedly in satisfaction, "Xiao Zong, the chef you found has really combined the styles of the past and present very well!"
After passing through the hanging flower gate and entering the second courtyard, cobblestones are laid out in a cross shape, dividing the square central courtyard into four smaller sections.
Each small section has a different arrangement, with trees planted, fish ponds dug, stone tables and chairs placed...
The main house and the two side rooms on the east and west sides have the same suite layout, with a small living room, bedroom, bathroom and dressing room.
The main house has three rooms, but two additional side rooms have been added to the east and west sides. One side has been designed as a study and the other as a gym.
The rear room of the third courtyard is relatively small, so Master Gao designed it as a storage space according to Jiang Xiaoli's needs.
After touring the entire courtyard, Li Guizhi was extremely satisfied. "Living in this courtyard must be very comfortable!"
Jiang Xiaoli said with a smile, "The yard is all renovated now, so if you want to live here, we can move in!"
Li Guizhi hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's keep this house for you to use when you get married."
Zong Jiayu spoke up at the right moment, "Godmother, if you want to live here, you can move in. You forgot, the house next door is mine."
Zhong Yuan immediately started clamoring, "Yeah, Brother Zong, let's go, let's go see your place!"
Just as Zhong Yuan was about to pull Zong Jia out of the courtyard, he saw him shake his key and open a hidden door in the corner of the west wing of the second courtyard.
Even Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but open her mouth wide at this moment. She reached out and slapped Zong Jia on the back, "Well, you! I put you in charge of repairing the courtyard house, and you opened up two courtyards together?"
Zong Jiayu chuckled and said, "These two courtyards originally belonged to the two brothers. There used to be a moon gate here, but it was built when the two families divided their property. I just asked Master Gao to repair it again."
Li Guizhi tugged at her daughter's sleeve, "Alright! It's good that the two courtyards are connected, so we can look after each other."
Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but admire her mother's current open-mindedness.
These two courtyards are right next to each other, so why worry about not being able to take care of each other? Now Zong Jiayu is taking care of her right at home!
However, since her mother didn't say anything, she stopped worrying about this small issue.
They passed through the hidden door and arrived at Zong Jiayu's courtyard next door.
He deftly turned on the lights in the courtyard, and they started their stroll from the back of the third courtyard, looking around the courtyard in reverse, before finally arriving at the living room in the first courtyard.
Zhong Yuan kept exclaiming along the way, "This is life!"
Dafu nodded repeatedly, "My dad must really love this yard!"
Zhong Yuan became interested, "Brother Zong, Little Li, do you think it's still possible to buy a courtyard like this now?"
Jiang Xiaoli shook her head. "When we bought it, there were very few complete courtyard houses without property disputes. Now, two years later, there are probably even fewer. Even if there are, the price will be very high."
Dafu was more easygoing. He put his arm around Zhong Yuan's shoulder and said, "It's okay, we can always come back and mooch off Brother Zong's place again!"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Yuan chimed in, "Haha! That's true, Brother Zong isn't much different from the two of us."
Before the Lunar New Year, their new house was all ready to move in, but the two of them are still staying at Zongjia's house.
One reason is that it's close to Peking University, making it convenient to see his girlfriend; the other is that it's more lively with more people, and they've gotten used to living together.
Zong Jia couldn't help but facepalm after hearing their words, "You two are truly my ancestors!"
Jiang Xiaoli grinned broadly, "I reckon you won't be able to shake them off before they get married!"
Seeing how well the children got along, Li Guizhi smiled and said, "Even after they get married, they can still get together often!"
"Exactly!" Zhong Yuan glanced at her. "Little Pear, you and Brother Zong will never get rid of me in this lifetime!"
Jiang Xiaoli was speechless. "It's late at night, and you're getting more and more creepy. What, are you an evil ghost?"
As soon as she finished speaking, seeing Li Guizhi's expression, she immediately slapped the wooden railing of the covered walkway a few times, "Pah, pah, pah, I misspoke, I misspoke, children say the darndest things!"
Li Guizhi rolled her eyes at her, "You never know how to keep your mouth shut!"
She chuckled, "I just admitted my mistake!"
Zong Jiayu glanced at his watch. "Alright, it's getting late. Let's head back."
They turned off all the doors, windows, and power in both courtyards.
As he locked the door, Zhong Yuan wiped the sweat from his brow. "Goodness, you can't expect to live comfortably in this courtyard without hiring a few live-in housekeepers!"
Jiang Xiaoli wholeheartedly agreed, "Indeed, cleaning and tidying up such a large yard yourself would be nothing short of torture!"
Even Li Guizhi, who has never liked live-in housekeepers, nodded in agreement.
On the way home, Jiang Xiaoli asked, "We've finished cleaning up these two courtyards, but has Uncle Xiao's small courtyard been repaired yet?"
Zong Jia nodded, "It's fixed, and I have the key. Uncle Xiao can come and inspect it now."
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