Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

Zhao Shanhe replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Auntie Wang, we are in love. Besides, when we are in love, age is no longer a problem. Older people will be able to take care of others."

These words are pure heresy in this era, but Director Wang would not say anything. Only you can know whether a pair of shoes fits you by wearing them yourself. Now is the new China, and everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness.

"Okay, okay, stop talking about your principles here. Forget about adding a second floor. There is a document stating that the courtyard houses in Nanluoguxiang are not allowed to be raised. Also, do you need to move the water pipes in the yard to repair the house? If necessary, I will have someone measure it first, and then you can take the receipt to the street office and pay the fee according to the number of meters. Only after you pay the money can the street office give you the procedures to repair the house."

Zhao Shanhe knew that he had been fooled by fan fiction again, but what Aunt Wang said made sense. Nanluoguxiang was a famous tourist attraction in later generations, and no one had ever seen a house with a second floor.

However, after Director Wang reminded him, he remembered that he had to install a faucet in the house. It was okay because the weather was hot now, but when it was winter and he had to run to the sink to get water, he would have to use boiling water to melt the ice on the faucet first, and it would be extremely cold. He would suffer like that.

"Auntie Wang is worthy of being the director. Her brain is better than mine. Then please find someone to help me measure the number of water pipes needed. It will be much more convenient to wash my face and brush my teeth if there is a faucet in this room."

"You are also considered a commoner? I heard that you have been promoted to a cadre."

Zhao Shanhe chuckled a few times and waited for Director Wang to call someone over for him. Then he put the apple on the table and ran away.

"Hey, Zhao Shanhe, we can't have this here, take it away quickly."

Zhao Shanhe heard the shouting from behind without turning back and just replied directly.

"Auntie Wang, those were given to me by the villagers when I went to the countryside. I just borrowed the flowers to offer to the Buddha, and I didn't spend any money."

Director Wang looked at Zhao Shanhe who was running away, picked up the bag of apples, shook his head and said.

"This kid, what's the situation in the countryside now? I still want to give you apples. Are you taking me for a fool?"

...........

Following the street staff sent by Director Wang, he returned to the courtyard and measured the distance from the pool to his home. He then took the receipt back to the street office to pay the money. The construction fee plus the cost of the water pipes cost 3 yuan per meter. Ordinary people really couldn't afford it, but for Zhao Shanhe's wealth, this was nothing.

He found the person in charge of house repairs and got the formalities. He threw his bag in the front door and the other party arranged for him to find the best craftsman. Not to mention Yangshi Lei, those feudal dregs were hit so hard that they could hardly eat and were about to give up their jobs.

The man who repaired the house was named Huang, and he also lived in Nanluoguxiang. Most of these people were half-street staff, similar to car repairmen and shoe repairmen. When Zhao Shanhe rode his bike to where he lived and asked around, he found out that he had to queue up to have his house repaired!

Fortunately, he was well prepared. After a big front door was pushed through, Lao Huang immediately agreed to work for Zhao Shanhe's family first.

Taking Lao Huang with them, the two rode their bikes to Yard 95, which was not too far away. It only took a few minutes to ride there, and they were seen by the three aunts as soon as they entered the door.

Seeing a stranger coming, the third aunt asked.

"Shanhe, who did you bring to the yard again?"

This is also a routine inquiry. Since the third uncle's family is engaged in this business, Zhao Shanhe replied directly to the third aunt.

"Auntie, the house I live in is leaking a little when it rains. I'm looking for someone to clean it up."

He didn't even dare to say that he wanted to clean up the house and get married, for fear that people in the yard would cause trouble. After hearing his explanation, the third aunt said nothing more. This kind of situation happened every year, and many families in the yard had to repair their houses because of leaks.

Zhao Shanhe took Old Huang around the house before briefly stating his requirements.

"Old Huang, each of my two rooms is about 38 or 9 square meters, and the two rooms together are close to 80 square meters. I want to connect them and divide them into two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. Can you help me see if it's easy to do?"

PS: Useless knowledge.

The author specifically checked on Baidu and found that the largest wing room in a courtyard house with four entrances and four windows is 4 meters by 10 meters, so I will refer to this here.

...............

As soon as Zhao Shanhe opened his mouth, Old Huang knew he was an amateur. He took out a cigarette and lit it before speaking.

"Xiao Zhao, your house is big enough. You can make it into two bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom, or three bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom. Don't build the kitchen inside the house. Otherwise, after a long time, the whole house will be filled with fumes and it will be difficult to clean.

I suggest you build a small kitchen outside your house with bricks. A few square meters is enough. Look at the two houses across from you, that's what they did. You can also build one."

Zhao Shanhe looked back and realized that this was true. He almost always ate in the small world or at Chen Xueru's house, and had never noticed the illegal buildings built by the two families opposite. Since the third uncle's family and Peng Yimin's family did the same, then building a kitchen by himself was not an isolated case.

"Okay, you are a professional, let's do as you say. I will provide all the labor and materials for the entire project. Can you give me a price?"

When Old Huang heard that the labor and materials were included, he knew a big deal was coming, and his attitude changed so quickly that even when he smiled, his face had more wrinkles.

"Xiao Zhao, ah, that's not right, boss, the labor is easy to deal with, but the material depends on what kind of wood you want to use.

If there is cheap wood, there will naturally be expensive wood. Look, the window frames of this house are all movable. I suggest replacing them with new ones. Do you want to use cheap pine? Poplar? Or more expensive red sandalwood or huanghuali?

Also, I just noticed that many of the floor tiles in the house are broken. Do you want me to arrange some gold bricks from the palace for you? I can guarantee that they are all authentic.

(A kind of floor tile specially used in the palace. At that time, the protection was not strict, and many craftsmen could make some with money)

The tiles on your house are not working properly, and the brackets are old. Do you need to clean up these?

Another thing is that this furniture doesn’t come in a set. My friend can get some golden nanmu, and if you get a set, I guarantee you’ll be able to use it for decades without it breaking down.

Of course, you are the boss and you have the final say on all this. I am just helping you with your advice."

After Zhao Shanhe and others finished introducing Old Huang, they finally realized why the old guy suddenly became so attentive. He seemed to be thinking of him as a sucker.

If it was someone like Yan Bugui, not kicking him out would be considered a favor to him. He is really calculating.

But it depends on who you say this to. For someone like Zhao Shanhe who has plenty of money, if Old Huang can really get a set of golden nanmu furniture, he will pay any price for it.

This thing is expensive now, and will be even more expensive in the future. When the storm starts, you won’t be able to buy it even if you have money. Where can you buy it if it’s all burned?

Zhao Shanhe would certainly not miss this kind of opportunity, so he asked directly.

"Master Huang, just tell me how much the furniture will cost with the best materials. If the price is right, I'll do as you say."