Because the speed at which the red bricks were approved was unexpectedly fast, Shuzhen, who initially thought there was no rush, now found herself needing to quickly focus on the plans.
First, she needed to come up with some designs that were practical, well-insulated, beautiful, and unique.
Then the whole family would study them together and choose the most popular one by majority vote.
When she calculated it this way, she realized she truly didn’t have much time left!
Fortunately, in her previous life, she had seen a lot and was quite good at drawing. Making a few sketches to express a general idea and basic structure posed no problem for her. As for the remaining details, didn’t they still have the Su family’s Eight Mighty Men for that?
Those brothers were each incredibly talented. Not only could they handle a general blueprint; even with just a simple idea, they could fill in the gaps and achieve the effect she wanted!
With them around, Shuzhen was not worried that the house, once built, would fall short of her expectations.
Considering this could be their lifelong home, Lianshan felt it was natural and very supportive for his wife to draw up plans and build it according to her liking.
The whole family sat down and discussed the matter thoroughly, and then the plans were sent to the home of Su Yanji, the eldest of the Su family.
Twenty-eight meters long, nine meters wide, with large front and back doors. Iron roofing, red brick and cement with tiles, similar to city buildings’ front and rear walls. The windows were made of the newly popular, extremely expensive steel.
Inside, a boiler was to be installed for heating.
As for the ground, they wanted to dig drainage so that it could be like in the city, with toilets and bathrooms inside the house. This way, there’d be no need to lug slop buckets out in the winter and summer, or run to the bathroom in the bitter north wind.
They abandoned the traditional method of a center door, two side rooms, and using the same-sized space in the middle as a kitchen.
Directly opening doors in the front and back, the front door led directly to a living room doubling as a dining room. On the other side, the space as large as two rooms was for Shuzhen and Lianshan’s couple’s room. The kitchen, bathroom, and toilet were all at the back of the three large rooms on the east side. The three large rooms on the west side were neatly divided into six rooms, including one study and five bedrooms. Of course, for convenience, each of the five rooms had a small space set aside as a bathroom.
Looking at the blueprints densely covered with notes, the eldest of the Su family felt overwhelmed.
The price of constructing such a house was too high, wasn’t it?
Not to mention anything else, just the cementing of both front and rear walls, tiling, and drainage could almost cost a regular family enough to build a brick house.
Not only is it expensive, but it’s also too ostentatious!
In times when everyone is living humbly, wishing to patch even brand-new clothes to appear frugal and poor, are you two really going to stand out so much? Aren’t you afraid of being accused of luxury and waste, of indulgence and enjoyment?
After all the care these two have given over the years and being related through family bends, the eldest of the Su family, worried they might make a misstep, didn’t even bother with dinner. He rode his bicycle straight towards Liu Family Village, thinking that whether they listened or not, as the elder brother, he should at least offer his opinion.
"Thank you so much, Big Brother, for considering us so thoroughly. Putting aside the cost and impact, let me just ask, are there any technical difficulties?" Lianshan brewed tea, handed a cup to Su Yanji with both hands, and asked.
"It’s mostly about digging drainage and paying more attention to waterproofing. As long as you have enough materials ready, I will put in my best effort to make it right. Although I don’t have the ingenuity of Sister Shuzhen with her novel house ideas, when it comes to technique, your Brother Su takes a backseat to no one! I’m not bragging, even if we’re talking about those top-level city builders, their skills might not necessarily surpass mine." After quickly finishing the cup of tea, the eldest Su brother said gruffly. He was quite confident in his professional abilities.
"But have you two really thought it through, wanting to make it so fancy? If you ask me, at this juncture, it might be better to lay low. This window, the heating, and drainage, while a bit troublesome, are for convenience sake. But this facade tiling, it’s just about looks! If it could be avoided, then perhaps it should be left out!
After all, you two have considerable influence not just in the ten-mile radius, but also all over the city and the province. I worry that as soon as your house is built, people might start following suit, effectively pushing you two into the spotlight.
Honestly, you two have achieved great things these past years with your efforts in farming and research into high-yield seeds, truly contributing to us farmers. However, while you’re earning merit for people, you might also irritate a small group. If you can be cautious, then you should be." The Eight Mighty Men always speak their minds bluntly, and since he was here to help, he naturally would speak without reservation.
Upon hearing this, Lianshan paused as he was about to refill his cup.
The logic that the eldest Su brother could think of, how could he not have considered it?
But when his wife talked about her ideal house, the brightness of her smile and the depth of expectation in her eyes captivated him, making him willing to take some risks to fulfill her dreams. After all, their considerable achievements and reputation should allow them some leeway, shouldn’t it?
Having thought this through, Lianshan’s slightly hesitating determination firmed up again: "To be able to build a good house is also a sign of our country’s booming economy. Under the leadership of our great leader, our lives have improved significantly. So there’s no need for Brother Su to worry, we should..."
He hadn’t finished saying "Let’s stick with the original plan" when Shuzhen interjected: "Since Brother Su also thinks the tiling is inappropriate, let’s forget about it. Remove the part about tiling the front and back facades, and keep the rest as it is!"
"But wife, that was your favorite design, the one unanimously agreed upon by our entire family!" Lianshan frowned; he didn’t want or like seeing Shuzhen compromise .
"Compared to being 100% satisfied, obviously being 100% safe is more important. Brother Su’s concerns are valid; especially now we should be all the more cautious. The house can always be tiled later after it’s built. If we were accused of extravagance, with a bourgeois inclination, it would be like trying to punch the sky with a stone.
The plan was my oversight, and it’s fortunate that Brother Su treats us like his own siblings and looks out for us." Shuzhen spoke earnestly, her gaze towards Su Yanji full of gratitude.
Su Yanji scratched his head sheepishly with a silly grin, waving his hands, saying, "What’s there to say, what’s there to say? We’re relatives; looking out for each other is natural, isn’t it?"