Chapter 381 – Furniture Arrangement
After a simple arrangement, Lu Xia began to calculate the furniture she needed to buy.
“I need to buy a bed, but we don’t need a wardrobe. The old wardrobe, although a bit outdated in style, still looks sturdy, and there’s plenty of space inside, so we can use it for now. We don’t need to buy a vanity table either; we can continue using the old one. Just get a mirror, and let’s buy a larger desk for your drawing needs in the future.”
Jiang Junmo watched Lu Xia pick and choose, but in the end, they didn’t buy all the furniture they initially planned. So, he said, “Don’t worry about saving money. If something doesn’t fit, we can always buy new ones.”
Lu Xia smiled and shook her head, saying, “I’m not trying to save money; it’s just that as long as the furniture serves its purpose and fits well, there’s no need to buy everything anew. After all, it’s not a disposable item; practicality is what matters.”
Jiang Junmo sighed in resignation, “It’s your decision.”
Later, he led her to take a look at the independent bathroom inside the house.
The main reason for merging two rooms during the renovation was to create this bathroom.
Lu Xia was quite excited about it.
Upon opening the door, she found that the bathroom was spacious, with only a shower and no bathtub. Still, it was decent enough.
However, even with a bathroom now, taking a shower might not be very convenient. When they lived in the large courtyard, the hot water in the bathroom was supplied for a limited time, supposedly through a central boiler system that connected to every household. Only evenings were designated for bathing.
Lu Xia was a bit worried if they would have to heat their own water here.
Fortunately, Jiang Junmo reassured her. They had a boiler room here for heating water, and the pipes had already been connected during the house renovation. All they needed to do was pay, so Lu Xia felt relieved.
They would bear with it for a couple of years until water heaters became more common.
After inspecting their rooms, Lu Xia went to check Kang Kang’s room on the other side.
The two rooms here weren’t merged, so they were smaller than the master bedroom, but they were still quite spacious. They just felt a bit empty, indicating the need for additional furniture.
Moreover, there was no separate bathroom in this section.
Apart from the master bedroom’s bathroom, Lu Xia’s adjacent ear room had also been converted into a bathroom. The two bathrooms were separated by a wall, making it convenient for water supply.
So, they could use that one when needed.
Afterward, Lu Xia inspected the kitchen, guest room, and study. The renovation was well done, but the rooms were still quite empty.
It seemed like there were many things to prepare for.
After a comprehensive look, Lu Xia walked around the house once more and summarized, “I feel like the overall changes aren’t significant, but the house does look much newer.”
Jiang Junmo smiled and replied, “Everything was done according to your preferences, without altering the original structure of the house too much. We mainly reinforced and renovated it, but we did add an extra layer of insulation in the walls, so it will be cozier in winter.”
Lu Xia nodded in satisfaction, “It’s great; it looks really good.”
Then she thought for a moment and said, “Now, all that’s left is the furniture. I’ve checked the storage room, and there’s a lot we can use. At least we won’t need to buy new furniture for the guest room; we can just move those two folding beds and some tables and chairs. Since I don’t expect many visitors, a simple arrangement will do.”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”
Jiang Junmo watched as she made all these arrangements and said, “Are you going to check the backyard as well?”
“Of course, I want to see it!”
Lu Xia suddenly became interested, and the two of them headed to the backyard.
*
Chapter 382 – Fish Pond
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The changes in the backyard were minimal, mainly involving the removal of weeds. The ground was quite spacious, and the artificial hill was still there, but the pond had dried up.
The last time they were here, it was overgrown with weeds, and Lu Xia hadn’t dared to venture in due to fear of snakes and insects. She had no idea if there was any water left inside.
This time, she noticed that the pond was completely dry. Did that mean there was no water left?
Seeing her expression, Jiang Junmo knew what she was thinking. So, he explained, “This pond dried up a long time ago. Originally, it used to be connected to a stream from a nearby park lake. However, they rerouted the waterway to build a road, so this pond dried up.”
Lu Xia looked disappointed after hearing this. “Oh… I was thinking it would be nice to have water here to raise some fish. Kang Kang would probably love that.”
After some thought, Jiang Junmo said, “Actually, it might still be possible.”
Lu Xia was surprised and turned to him. “How so?”
Jiang Junmo smiled and explained, “The reason this pond used to be connected to the lake might not just be because the water flowed here conveniently. It’s very possible that there’s an underground spring here. Moreover, even though the water has dried up on the surface, the soil underneath still looks quite moist. If we dig a bit, we can find out. And even if there’s no natural water source, we can use tap water to create a small pond for fish if you want.”
“Really? Let’s give it a try then.” Lu Xia felt excited at the prospect. When it was ready, she planned to raise some koi fish, which she believed Kang Kang would love.
Seeing her enthusiasm, Jiang Junmo was determined to make it happen, no matter what.
“All right, leave it to me!”
Hearing his assurance, Lu Xia felt at ease and began to think about other arrangements.
“This backyard is quite spacious. Since we’ll have a vegetable garden in the front yard, this area should be enough for some fruit trees. And we can also raise chickens to have our own eggs. Kang Kang has said several times that the eggs in the city aren’t as tasty as those from the countryside.”
Jiang Junmo knew her chickens were different, so he didn’t object. “Okay, let’s raise chickens then.”
Afterward, Lu Xia looked around and said, “This area used to be a garden, and it would be a shame not to have flowers. Let’s decorate it with some flowers. I’m not very knowledgeable about gardening, so you can handle it. Just make it look beautiful.”
“Sure, I’ll ask Grandpa Dong. He knows more about gardening.”
Lu Xia nodded, “Good, that’s it for now. We can figure out the rest once we move in.”
“Okay.”
As they were finalizing their plans, the workers who had previously handled their renovation arrived with a small fence, obviously intended for the well.
Jiang Junmo was a bit surprised to see them so soon. “Wasn’t it said that there was no rush for this?”
Jiang Junmo had been overseeing the renovations in the small courtyard, visiting every few days. Lu Xia hadn’t been there before, so she didn’t recognize the worker. However, by his appearance, it was clear he was relatively young. His name was Yan Hai, a distant relative of Grandpa Dong.
Yan Hai was still quite young, likely under thirty, and he had a restless nature. He also had some skilled craftsmen under his employ and took on various jobs. This was his first major contract with Jiang Junmo, and he was doing it meticulously.
A few days ago, he had mentioned wanting to install a fence around the well and had now brought it over promptly.
Now, with Jiang Junmo’s question, Yan Hai just smiled and said, “I thought you might need it sooner than expected.”
Jiang Junmo shook his head. “There’s no rush. We still need to let it dry before we move it here.”
Yan Hai nodded in understanding. “I know. I heard that you were coming to check today, so I wanted to ask if there was anything else you needed. I can make adjustments if necessary.”
Jiang Junmo agreed with a nod, then turned to look at Lu Xia.
