Chapter 67
"What?" Shi Xing's heart jumped.
“Don’t apologize to me. We don’t need to say those things between us, right?” Yoda feigned annoyance, and Shi Xing felt relieved: “Yes, we don’t need to say those things.”
With the approval granted, Mo Nan's house began to have an additional floor added. According to Yoda's design, the kitchen that had been added to the front of the first floor to block the light was demolished and replaced with a newly built half-person-high wall.
Yoda abandoned his original suggestion of a glass security door and tried his best to raise the windows.
Because Mo Nan's window faces a small road, and although there are neighbors coming and going, if privacy is to be guaranteed, it would be better to raise the window if the window is too low and the curtains are drawn all the time.
The newly built wall is about half a person's height, making me feel safer when sitting on the sofa, and also preventing others from seeing into the room at a glance.
They also chose a regular security door for the main entrance. Mo Nan's words made Yoda realize that she and Mo Nan's mother had always been thinking about Mo Nan's future.
Yoda's original design only considered how to make the place more suitable for a blind person to live, without taking into account Mo Nan's current feelings.
Having suddenly encountered these events as an adult, Mo Nan not only faces a significant downturn in her life but also the fear of falling into an even worse situation. However, Mo Nan is also a real person now, and her needs must be recognized. Even out of good intentions, her right to want to conceal her pain should be respected.
Even if one day she loses her sight, Yoda wants to use her designs to make her feel the happiness and love of this home during every day she can see. No matter what the future holds, these feelings and memories will support her even when she truly can't see anymore.
At the dinner table, Yoda ate while looking at the construction site progress reports sent by Master Liu.
Yoda's mother took a couple of sips of porridge, noticing that Yoda's bowl was almost untouched and that he was still looking at his phone, his head drooping lower and lower. She looked at her husband beside her, hoping he would say something.
"Slurp, slurp." Mo Nan's father drank a large bowl in a few gulps. When he looked up and saw his wife's concerned eyes, he smiled and said, "This porridge is really well made. I love eating it with half water and half rice."
Mo Nan's mother closed her eyes, took a breath, and gestured for the other person to watch the child.
Now that he understood, Mo Nan's father looked at You Ming and You Li and said, "Eat quickly, or we'll be late."
Yu Ming stopped stroking his newly bought toy truck, picked up his bowl, and imitated him, snoring.
Yoda's mother frowned: "You're not allowed to eat like that."
“But Dad…” You Ming was about to say that this is how his father eats, but seeing his parents’ wide-eyed, disapproving expressions, his voice gradually faded.
Feeling pressured, You Ming continued eating quietly and heartily, his expression and movements mirroring those of You Li beside him. Hmm, they're starting to look like twins now.
Yu Li remained silent, focusing on his food. After swallowing the last bite, he said, "I'm done eating."
Yu Ming was getting anxious; he still had a boiled egg left to eat. But the more anxious he became, the drier the egg seemed to get.
After finally swallowing it, You Ming looked at You Li, who was standing calmly beside him, and couldn't understand: "Why did you eat the egg so fast today?" Neither of them liked eggs, especially boiled eggs. Usually, they would face each other, frown, stomp their feet, and forcefully swallow them.
Yu Li, carrying his schoolbag, said casually, "You'll be able to eat it when you grow up." Yu Ming muttered, "We're together for a day, but I still can't eat it." He tried to pester Yu Li to ask more questions, but Yu Li coldly replied, "I packed my schoolbag last night. What about yours?"
"Ah! I forgot!" You Li smiled slightly as he watched You Ming frantically grab his schoolbag. Hehe.
Yoda's mother watched the chaotic scene unfold as the father and his two sons finally left the house. Relieved, she turned and saw Yoda wiping his mouth, standing up to leave as well.
"Why have you only eaten so little?" Yoda's mother leaned closer to take a look and saw that she hadn't touched much.
"It's too late, I have something to do at the construction site, I have to go." Yoda was still staring at his phone.
Yoda's mother worriedly said, "How can you eat so little? You have so many things to do, eat more before you go."
“This project has limited funds, so I’ll have to put in extra effort,” Yoda said. The next second, Mr. Liu called. Yoda answered the phone, frowning: “There’s a puddle behind the house?”
An unexpected situation forced Yoda to rush over and check it out. Why was there a puddle behind the house? He wondered if it would affect the foundation. If it did, it would require reinforcement.
Considering Mo Nan's already limited budget, every penny had to be spent wisely. Every extra item could potentially affect the final product. Labor costs for the workers, including Master Liu, also took up a large portion, and there was no room for the project to stop due to lack of funds.
Thinking about this, Yoda felt his head was full of questions.
"You haven't eaten the eggs yet!" Seeing Yoda about to walk out, Yoda's mother quickly stuffed the eggs on the table that she could take with her.
Yoda casually took it, but it felt like he'd already eaten. Oh well, never mind, getting to the construction site is the priority.
Yoda ate as he walked, swallowing his food in a few bites without taking him far.
Yoda's mother sighed, "I don't even know what kind of job they do. It's one thing to work overtime all night, but they also have to run around everywhere."
Because of the renovations, Mo Nan's entire family temporarily moved to a relative's house, along with all the usable furniture and appliances. After all, their budget was limited, and they preferred to have what they already owned rather than buy new things.
Yoda rushed over, and Master Liu was standing on the roof looking at the first floor where part of the ceiling had been removed.
Upon closer inspection, they indeed saw a puddle on the exterior wall of the first floor. It was dark, and there was a lot of trash floating on top of it. "How did this puddle come about? Is it deep?" Yoda asked Master Liu.
Master Liu shook his head: "I probed it with a pole, it's not deep. It must be rainwater accumulating from the rooftops of several neighboring houses. The water couldn't drain out, so it all flooded here."
Behind Mo Nan's house were other houses. Originally, this row of houses were built back to back, which is why Mo Nan's first-floor bedroom had no windows. After removing the original roof covering, it was discovered that there was still a 20-centimeter-wide gap between the two rows of houses.
Looking around the house, it appears to be a drainage ditch left over from an old building.
However, Yoda frowned. The city had already redesigned the drainage system for this area, and the road surface had been dug up and backfilled. So the original drainage system was no longer working, and because no one was managing it, the drainage ditch was lower than the surrounding ground, turning it into a water pool.
Leaving it like this is definitely not an option; the wall near the pool is already corroded. Over time, there's a risk of it tipping over.
Furthermore, Yoda's design required additional natural light at the back. Having such a pool in the summer would be unbearable enough, with mosquitoes and stench. This problem must be solved for the project to be completed as planned.
Yoda stood on the roof, looked around at the surroundings, and came up with an idea.
The ground definitely needs to be leveled again to prevent rainwater from flowing back in. The weather forecast says it will rain in three days, so we need to get it done before then. Looking around, every day of downtime is an expense; we have to save money wherever possible.
More importantly, we need to get the surrounding households to stop discharging water into this area. Reconnecting the water pipes for drainage is costly. And getting each household to agree to the changes is also time-consuming.
Yoda felt immense pressure and his vision blurred. Luckily, he didn't faint, because the egg he ate that morning was still stuck in his chest.
I can't let go of this in one breath, so I can only seize the time and persevere to do my best.
I didn't think about asking Mo Nan's parents to help with the communication. One of them has to work, and the other has to take care of Mo Nan, so Yoda has to do it all by himself.
"Okay, Mr. Liu, you lead everyone to continue working according to the plan we discussed before. I will definitely resolve this issue. We will continue to work on schedule without stopping."
Standing in front of the first house, Yoda took a deep breath. If Shi Xing knew, he'd definitely laugh again. How come he's not only designing the homeowner's house, but now he's even designing the neighbors'? Yoda raised his hand, and a voice called out, "Wait! This angle isn't good, let me change it."
Yoda withdrew his hand, startled by Tang Yun behind him: "When did you get here?"
Tang Yun looked at the camera, slowly moved to find the most suitable angle, and stood still before saying to Yoda, "I've been here since early morning. I came to shoot footage as soon as Master Liu and the others started work."
Yoda hadn't really noticed, but that wasn't the point. Yoda looked at the camera pointed at him, feeling a little uncomfortable: "Why are you filming me?"
Tang Yun explained, "My shooting plan is to focus on the houses, but I can't just shoot houses, that would be so boring. What you're doing is really eye-catching." Seeing that Yoda was almost out of the frame, Tang Yun quickly said, "Don't mind me, just act like you didn't notice me before."
That's what they say, but how could they not notice a grown man following them? However, there was no other way, so Yoda gritted his teeth and knocked on his neighbor's door.
"You all agree?" Perhaps Yoda's expression was too surprised, because the neighbors all laughed.
It's not Yoda's fault. He had considered not wanting to cooperate, but he didn't expect that after the first household understood Yoda's purpose, they would stand at the door and shout, and then call several other households over.
“Mo Nan is someone we’ve watched grow up. What’s there to disagree about? How do you expect us to cooperate? Each family is responsible for their own money. It’s just a little water pipe; it won’t cause much trouble.”
"that is."
Inspired by everyone's enthusiasm, Yoda didn't delay and asked Master Liu to buy the materials according to the measured length, and reconnected the drain to the municipal drainage pipe.
Everyone was at home waiting, ready to lend a hand wherever needed. After the new drainpipe was installed, Yoda stood there, still in a daze, holding the money his neighbors had pooled together. The project wasn't large, but it had gone incredibly smoothly.
After the task was completed, the crowd that had been standing by watching the spectacle gradually dispersed. Before leaving, someone said to Yoda, "Let's go take a look when it's finished. If it's good, we'll copy it too."
"Okay!" Yoda watched as his neighbors, who didn't seem to realize how much he had helped, gradually dispersed, and felt even more motivated.
Yoda's mother stopped Yoda: "You haven't been eating enough lately. How can your body take this every day? Eat some more."
Yoda shook his phone: "No, Mo Nan's house is already built. I arranged to come and hand over the house. We'll eat when I get back."
"Hey, wait a minute, you haven't eaten your egg yet."
"Yue~" Yoda didn't know why, but whenever he saw an egg, he always felt like he had already eaten one, and his chest felt tight.
Time was running out, so Yoda took a sip of porridge to get by and hurried off. He didn't see his mother's worried expression behind him.
Master Liu's team truly lived up to its reputation as the best construction team in the surrounding villages. They dismantled and built as needed, and completed the project smoothly in no time.
Yoda led Mo Nan's family to see the redesigned house. Mo Nan's mother frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Could there be a mistake?"
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