Chapter 66
Yoda took out the design drawings and said to Mo Nan's mother, "Actually, adding storage can also preserve these things. These are all precious memories; isn't a home meant to hold the past?"
Although Mo Nan's home isn't large, there are many tricks to maximizing storage in a small apartment. The space under the sofa and bed is a potential storage area.
Mo Nan's mother was somewhat tempted, but after thinking about it, she gave up: "So many cabinets, no matter how you organize them, they will still take up space. Besides, Mo Nan won't be able to see in the future, so the cabinets will be useless to her."
Even with Yoda's persuasion, Mo Nan's mother still refused: "The place is small. If possible, it would be better to make Mo Nan's bedroom brighter."
Yoda glanced at the only exterior window that served as a light source. The kitchen and living room already occupied most of the space, leaving only the bedroom inside, which was indeed very dark.
However, seeing the expectant look in Mo Nan's mother's eyes, Yoda nodded in agreement.
Back at the office, Yoda took out the original floor plan of Mo Nan's house, which was actually quite simple. The area was full of self-built houses. The land was their own, and the houses had been under construction for a long time. The entire house was a brick and tile structure, with a large open space inside.
Increasing the light source isn't difficult; just add a skylight to the roof. After all, it's their own house. However, Mo Nan's roof is flat, and if waterproofing isn't done properly, the skylight is the most likely place for leaks.
The rest of the work was almost done. Yoda saw Liu Si, who had just returned from outside, and waved to him.
"Sister Yoda, what's wrong?" Liu Si asked curiously as she walked in.
Yoda tentatively asked, "Do you and Mo Nan have any contact in private?"
Liu Si nodded: "Not many, but we've spoken a few times."
Yoda looked at Liu Si expectantly: "Could you ask her what she likes? I think since her mother wants to focus the renovation on her, the design should be something she likes."
"That's easy," Liu Si nodded, sitting opposite Yoda and sending the question Yoda wanted to ask to Mo Nan. Mo Nan now uses her phone to read aloud, which is good news because young people are quick to adapt and it's fine for normal phone use. The bad news is that reading aloud is slow. So Liu Si put down her phone after sending the message, waiting for Mo Nan to see it and reply slowly.
"Why didn't you just ask her directly?" Liu Sicai said, then remembered Mo Nan's cold attitude towards Yoda. She rested her chin on her hand and asked, "But it's really strange. Mo Nan is a very easy person to get along with, I just don't know why she treats you like this."
Yoda, however, was not puzzled: "I know why."
"Why?"
Yoda said helplessly to Liu Si, "Because I see her as a disabled person, not only someone with impaired vision now, but also someone who may become blind in the future. Only by thinking in this way can I make the design more suitable for her future needs."
"But what Mo Nan least wants right now is for people to keep mentioning, reiterating, and emphasizing things she can't see. So, I can understand her cold attitude. However, I still want to stick to this idea and do the design, so I can only ask you for help."
"It's nothing, just asking a few questions. I'm glad I could help." Liu Si waved her hand, looked down, and said happily, "She replied to me."
As Yoda listened to Liu Si recite the colors, styles, and furniture that Mo Nan liked, he quickly wrote them down in his notebook. As Liu Si recited, she fell silent.
Yoda looked up, puzzled. "Finished reading?"
Liu Si hesitated for a moment, then said to Yoda, "Mo Nan said she wants to talk to you."
Yoda looked at Liu Si: "How did she know it was me? Did you tell her?"
Liu Si quickly shook her head and presented the chat history to prove her innocence: "I didn't, it wasn't me."
Yoda glanced at the screen and confirmed it wasn't Liu Si. Immediately after, Mo Nan's call invitation rang. Yoda swallowed hard, feeling a little uneasy. The next second, he instantly mustered his courage. He was there to help with the design; why should he be guilty?
"Hello?"
The prolonged silence on the other end puzzled Yoda, who picked up the phone: "It's still on a call, that's right, why is there no sound?"
"Can it be designed the way you described at my house?" Mo Nan's voice rang out, slow but firm.
Yoda was puzzled; each time she went, she only communicated with Mo Nan's mother. Now that Mo Nan had said this, she was a little confused—which time was she referring to?
Sensing the confusion in Yoda's breathing, Mo Nan spoke up urgently: "It's what you said, the kind of design that increases storage and lets you put away all the clothes Mom made."
"Oh, but your mother said it's not necessary." Yoda had already tried redrawing the dimensions of the new design when he returned, and found that Mo Nan's mother's concerns were indeed justified.
Adding storage cabinets to the house would be inconvenient for storage if they were too narrow. However, making them into regular storage cabinets would inevitably reduce the space in the house, so Yoda abandoned that idea.
"Your mother's wish is for you to live more comfortably in the future," Yoda said softly.
“But I want my mother to live more comfortably. She has already sacrificed so much for me, and I don’t want her to have to make sacrifices for me for the rest of her life because of my own issues.”
This was the first time Yoda had sensed Mo Nan's eagerness, but based on his professional judgment, he told Mo Nan, "Because the house is small, if we try to accommodate both needs, the whole house will become very cramped. Your mother won't agree."
Mo Nan sighed. She knew her mother's wish was for her to be happy in this house, but she also wanted her parents to be happy.
A wave of powerless anger washed over Mo Nan, and she said to Yoda, “You know what? I was so close, so very close, to being able to find a job after graduation through my own efforts, and slowly save up to buy a house like the ones in the city. A house with an elevator, bright windows, a convenient kitchen and bathroom, and not such a cramped and narrow passageway, where I could live with my parents.”
At this point, Mo Nan gave a bitter smile: "But nothing can be done now, because of my eyes."
Yoda remained silent, unsure of what to say. She understood the feeling, having experienced having her life disrupted by a sudden accident. But for someone suffering, even words of encouragement from someone who had already moved beyond that painful experience held no meaning for Mo Nan in her current state.
So Yoda didn't say anything. She just listened quietly as Mo Nan said, "I'm actually not very good at drawing. The ones I can barely draw that are presentable are all my mother's sewing creations. We love every piece of clothing she makes. Every time she makes clothes, she has a happy and satisfied smile on her face. And waiting for Mom to finish the clothes and then try them on is the happiest time for the whole family. But the house is too small, so the clothes can only be huddled together in a pitiful way after they can't be worn anymore."
Mo Nan simply wanted to depict her mother's artwork through painting, so her mother could view it anytime. Thinking of this, Mo Nan's tone became even more resolute: "So, can you understand my thoughts? Even if I really can't see anymore, I don't want my parents to spend their whole lives suppressing their own needs for me, until they leave this world as if this family has left no memories of them. I don't like that, so... can you please?"
In the end, Mo Nan's tone was unusually pleading, and it took considerable effort for her to say these things.
Yoda remained silent for a moment, then said, "Fine, I agree!"
Liu Si said to Yoda worriedly, "Mo Nan and her mother disagree, what should we do?"
Yoda knew that things wouldn't be easy; it was a difficult task to satisfy everyone's ideas in such a small space.
"We'll have to resort to the adult approach."
Liu Si: "What?"
Yoda chuckled lightly: "That is, I want them all!"
"Master Liu, is it possible?" Yoda had been thinking about it all night. Since he was going to do it anyway, he might as well go for it. He thought that Mo Nan's house only had a solar water heater on the second floor, which wasn't enough for the room. This would provide an opportunity to expand the space.
Despite his advanced age, Mr. Liu was still quite spry. He climbed up to the second floor of Mo Nan's house, looked around, and then peered out and said:
"no problem!"
As they climbed down the stairs, Mr. Liu showed Yoda the photos he had taken up there and explained in detail: "The whole house is a brick-concrete structure. There were ring beams and structural columns, as well as pre-reserved steel bars. When it's time to add the roof, we can just continue pouring the concrete along the existing structure."
There were exposed steel bars on the roof, which made it easy to add a floor. Looking at the house where she had lived for so many years, Mo Nan's mother recalled, "This house has been built for many years. Back then, we didn't have the money, and one floor was enough, so we didn't think about building more. We left it behind as a side project, thinking we could add a floor later, but as time went by, we forgot about it."
"However, you need to apply for and obtain approval first," Mr. Liu reminded him.
Yoda clapped his hands happily: "No problem, I'll do it. You guys first see how much material we need to add another layer. Trucks can't get into the alley, so the last section can only be done by manpower."
"So, you're just going to add another floor?" Shi Xing chuckled. Yoda hurriedly called him to find out the approval procedures. Fortunately, Shi Xing had experience with similar projects before.
Shi Xing explained the necessary materials and steps to Yoda step by step, then laughed and said, "How come you designed something that completely rebuilt someone else's house?"
Yoda, busy taking notes on the key points of the time travel, replied, "Well, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. If their houses and land weren't their own, I wouldn't have thought of this method either."
"It's always good to have your own house. If the area isn't big enough, you can move upstairs. Actually, if you own both the upper and lower floors, it would be perfect to have a yard."
As Shi Xing listened to Yoda's increasingly outlandish ideas, he hesitated for a long time before finally saying to Yoda, "I'm sorry, I probably won't be able to come back until my project is finished."
Yoda snapped out of his thoughts, puzzled: "Why? Doesn't the project management want you to leave?"
Shi Xing explained, "That's one reason. This project has been going on for too long, and we need to catch up. Also, I have my own selfish reasons."
“There’s a design competition in the industry recently, and applicants need to have completed commercial design projects. Although I’ve done some before, I feel that this factory project better showcases my design style, so…”
With time halted, the promise to Yoda that he could return at any time is now impossible to keep due to the need to meet the deadline.
"Wow!" Yoda exclaimed excitedly, "That's fantastic! You're sure to win an award if you go!"
"This is my first time. It's good enough that I can see everyone's design work and learn from it." Shi Xing was amused by Yoda's completely trusting tone.
Yoda felt embarrassed; she didn't know much about design competitions, but she thought Shixing was the best. However, Yoda was also worried that Shixing might be under pressure, so she quickly said, "Even if you don't win an award, learning from the design thinking of even more talented people will be a great improvement for you."
Shi Xing looked at Yoda and felt uneasy as Yoda made no mention of his inability to return: "But this means we'll be separated for a long time."
"No, we chat every day. We've never been apart, we're just doing our own work." Yoda said logically, "When you come back, I'll be almost done with my work here, so let's both take a break and get some rest."
"Um!"
Yoda then changed the subject: "However, you have a big problem!"
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