Riding the wind of rebirth

After breakfast, they started moving things, mainly daily necessities for the next few days, things for the child, things to take to the hospital, and the small-footed black-boned chickens that Yang's mother and sister-in-law raised in Baimi Township. This time, the sister-in-law brought up more than 20 chickens, 10 old ducks, and more than 100 eggs, which amazed Zhou Zhi: "Sister-in-law, how did you manage to move so many things up here?"

"My brother first delivered the things to Jiachuan Bus Station, and then took them to Hehuachi. Yang He drove his pickup truck to the station, picked them up, and took them to the market to be butchered. He cut each one into four pieces, and when he came back, he filled the refrigerator to the brim. I don't know if we'll be able to take them out anytime soon."

“That’s easy to handle. We can just unplug the refrigerator for a while and get it out,” Zhou Zhi said. “That’s why we should have gone to Suihuaxuan a long time ago; at least we could have kept the chickens there.”

"How did you even come up with that idea?" Feng Xueshan couldn't imagine what it would be like to raise chickens in Suihuaxuan. "But that big freezer over there would be great for storing things."

After another long period of fuss, having delivered all sorts of things to the guards, Zhou Zhi finally said, "Just leave the rest here. Or how about we call a cart to take it over there, so you can finish your postpartum confinement there and come back?"

“No.” Feng Xueshan shook her head firmly: “I’m definitely going home. My sister-in-law will take care of me then, so you don’t need to worry.”

"When are your parents coming up? In the next few days, right?" Zhou Zhi asked.

"They still have to go to work. The peak electricity consumption period will last for two more days before they can take leave."

"Should we arrange for a car to pick them up?"

"No need, now that the highway is open, it's very convenient to come from Manzhou."

That's true.

In fact, the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway, the first major artery in Sichuan, was officially opened to traffic last September, but it took another year to truly play its full role.

The reason is that the supporting roads connecting other parts of Sichuan to the highway nodes have been delayed for another year.

For example, in Manzhou, people usually choose to get on the highway at the Longchang intersection when traveling from Manzhou to Chengdu or Chongqing. As a result, the highway from Manzhou to Longchang needs to be upgraded to cope with the increased traffic volume.

These "supporting projects" were only basically completed now. Today, the highways are bustling with traffic every day, and the role of this major transportation artery in facilitating the flow of goods and people along the route and even in surrounding cities has been fully realized.

Now the road from Jiachuan to Manzhou has been repaired. It only takes more than 40 minutes to travel from Jiachuan to Manzhou, two hours from Manzhou to Longchang, and three hours from Longchang to Chengdu. Compared to the previous time when it would take eight to ten hours to travel from Jiachuan to Chengdu, this speed is almost twice as fast.

This was the eldest sister-in-law's first time visiting Suihua Pavilion. After crossing the stone bridge, she slowly walked uphill along the bamboo path of the covered bridge. Even though she was used to living in the "Yang Family Manor", she was shocked by the grandeur of this place: "Elbow, is this the property that your ancestors acquired?"

"Yes." Actually, the water quality of the Fuhe River is quite average now. The section of the river we just crossed didn't add much to the scenery of this area. However, once we stepped onto the covered bridge and bamboo path, the scenery became quite spectacular.

“It’s a bit desolate here now, but for more than a thousand years, this area has been a tourist hotspot for the people of Chengdu. It’s close to many cultural relics such as Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Qingyang Palace, Huanhua Temple, Cultural Palace, and Baihua Pool. In addition, there are three waterways: Huanhua Creek, Nanhe River, and Ganhe River. Plus, it was my family’s property, and I happened to have some royalties from books at the time, so I took it over.”

"But it must have cost a lot of money, right? This is a provincial capital, and you've bought up the land for your house and the firewood hill. No, this isn't a firewood hill, it's practically a park!" "This place was originally intended to be a large park. I only found out later that as early as the 1980s, dozens of people's representatives had raised questions about this issue with the municipal government and relevant departments such as the landscaping, planning, and construction committees."

"The representatives at the time felt that we should take Du Fu Thatched Cottage as the core, Huanhuaxi as the link, and Western Sichuan gardens and local traditional features as the characteristics to build a tourist environment with a rich cultural atmosphere, which can showcase Chengdu's historical, literary and artistic achievements and the features of a historical and cultural city. We even thought of a name: 'Huanhuaxi Historical and Cultural Scenic Area'."

“That’s a great idea. If it’s built, it should be even more beautiful than Central Park in New York,” Mai Xiaomiao said as she helped Feng Xueshan walk slowly up the stone steps.

"Yes, I think so too. There are still car repair shops around here, and several abandoned ponds. The area behind Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Baihuatan has been made dirty and messy."

"The military auto repair shop is about to be relocated. I heard that this area will be planned to be developed into a museum, a cultural center, and a large park. Along the Huanhua Creek, the scenic spots along the way, including Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Qingyang Palace, Huanhua Temple, Cultural Park, Baihuatan Park, and Qintai Road, will all be connected. The area is about 300 acres."

"Will this place be demolished then?" Feng Xueshan asked, "Just like Hongqi Village and Taohua Village."

"It shouldn't happen here. Even if this area is incorporated into the park in the future, Suihua Pavilion is a registered immovable cultural relic. So even if the surrounding area is changed, the part within the original Suihua Pavilion area definitely cannot be demolished."

"If this park is built, wouldn't Suihua Pavilion be situated within this 300-acre park?" Feng Xueshan said. "Won't the prices go up?"

"Who knows when it will be repaired?" Zhou Zhi laughed. "Right now, the auto repair shop can only be fenced off. We don't dare let customers see it, otherwise the value of Suihuaxuan's residences will drop."

"As long as it's not demolished, it's a real shame." Walking to a spot where she could see the mansion, the older sister-in-law exclaimed, "Did your ancestors bring a house back from abroad? This house is so beautiful!"

“If it were moved from abroad, it would usually be made of red bricks,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “This one is made of blue bricks. Blue brick mansions are usually modeled after Western architecture, but made with local building materials. Hmm, it’s similar to the Wu Family Courtyard in Baimi Township.”

“This is much nicer than the Wu Family Courtyard,” the sister-in-law said. “The style is different from the Wu Family Courtyard.”

“Hmm.” Zhou Zhi smiled and said, “I guess the person in charge of the Wu Family Compound at that time was quite mindful of the villagers’ feelings. The acceptance of house styles in the rural areas of Jiachuan at that time was different from that of city dwellers in Chengdu, a city that had already set up a US consulate and had a cathedral. Therefore, the Wu Family Compound is still closer to Chinese architecture, with only some decorations being Western, rather than being structurally Western like Suihuaxuan.”

"There's also a big pond nearby. How come the water is so clear?"

"Because this water is filtered and recycled, the water here has to be paid for, unlike in Baimi Township. Actually, I prefer the flowing water in Baimi Township."

"This water is so beautiful, so clear."

“It looks even better from below,” Feng Xueshan said. “There’s a library underground in this house, and the library has a glass wall. Opposite the wall is this pond, which looks like a giant fish tank. It’s even more beautiful from there.” (End of Chapter)