After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 879 Excitement
Haitang walked around the house with her grandmother Ma, feeling very satisfied.

The house was indeed very new, with three main rooms, the main hall as the living room, and the bedrooms and study rooms on the left and right. The study room was also built as a warm room, with a big kang under the window, where people usually lived, sat and slept, entertained close friends, and slept directly in winter. As a study room, its decoration was so comfortable, obviously not very authentic, and the bookshelves were even empty. However, considering that the previous owner was a small military officer, Haitang could not ask for too much.

As for the bedroom, the furniture inside was all new, with delicate carvings, and even the embroidery on the curtains was very exquisite. Brother Haijiao said that the previous owner had renovated the house for his wedding, and he had not moved in for a few days, and Haitang believed it as soon as she saw the real thing.

There are two small side rooms on the left and right of the main house. The east side room has a stove connected to the main room's big kang, and it also has a small kang, so a maid or servant in charge of making fire can live there. The west side room has no stove, so it looks more spacious. The windows are covered with traditional white paper, but it is kept clean and tidy, making it suitable for a maid to live in.

There are five houses in this row, and there are long corridors in front of them, so people can move around safely even in rainy or snowy weather.

Haitang thought about it, and then said to Xiangcao behind her: "How about you live in the west room? I can call you if there is anything. This way you will have your own place and live more comfortably."

Vanilla's eyes suddenly widened, with a look of surprise on her face: "Girl, are you serious? I can really live in a room by myself?!"

"What's wrong with that?" Haitang turned around and said to her grandmother Ma, "Although this courtyard is not big, it's too spacious for me to live in alone. Let Xiangcao live in the west room, and arrange a maid in the east room to do some chores such as sweeping and cleaning on weekdays, and to light the fire and stand guard in winter. As for the row of south rooms, I mean, it can be used as a sewing room or a warehouse. If the servants in the front can't live there, you can arrange for maids and servants to live here, but it's better not to have too many people. First, I'm used to living in the quiet backyard, and second, if it's a sewing room or a warehouse, too many people will easily cause chaos. This is the inner courtyard anyway, so it's better to have fewer people coming and going."

Ma thought about it and made a decisive decision: "Ask Madam Li to bring Shi Liu here to keep you company. Set aside a room in the south house as a sewing room. We will definitely need to make a lot of clothes after we arrive in Beijing. Lock up the rest and use them as a storehouse. I will prepare your dowry later, so I will put the things in your yard. It will be convenient. Forget about the others. The front yard is big enough for everyone in our family to live in. Besides, there is also the west wing where your second uncle lives. There are also several rooms there that can accommodate the male and female servants in our family."

Although Hai Changan and his family of three occupied a courtyard all to themselves, they were not separated and were still part of the Hai family. His west courtyard was large, with a kitchen and teahouse, which he could not use for himself, so he simply cleared it out for the servants to live in, and there was still some space left.

Ma thought about it for a moment and said, "Just live here. Your second uncle and brother are both men. Dazhuang and Xiaodao, the father and son they brought with them, have never taken care of household chores and don't know anything. They think that the new house only needs to be cleaned up and they don't know how to renovate it. I don't know how they spent last winter. They didn't build more kangs at home. Everyone in my family is used to sleeping on kangs, and it's the same in the capital. While the weather is not too cold now, after we settle down, we must ask around to see if there are any craftsmen in the city who can build kangs, and ask them to come over to build more. Even if the capital is warmer than Chang'an, it's still very cold after the snow. I'm not used to burning braziers to keep warm, what good is that little bit of heat?"

Hai Jiao heard this from outside the house and said hurriedly, "Grandma, the main room where you and grandpa live has a kang, and my sister's room also has one. The room I live in now also has a small kang, so my cousin and grandpa Lu won't be cold."

Ma sneered, "Even if you have a kang in your own room, you still need to buy one in the servants' room. Otherwise, how can you survive the winter? This is the disadvantage of not being the head of the household. You don't think things through."

Haijiao touched his nose and shut up again.

In his previous life, when he was in the capital, only the master who taught him the sword had a brick bed at home. In other places, they used braziers and tea stoves. In the Jinyiwei Yamen, they used fire walls. Therefore, he always felt that there was no need for a big brick bed in the capital, and the house he bought did not have one. It was just that he took into account the living habits of his two elders at home, so when he added the house, he specially built brick beds in several main rooms, but he did not expect that it was still insufficient. The Cui family father and son did not mention this to him. Last winter, they only used a brazier to keep warm, so he neglected it. Now, after listening to his grandmother's words, he still felt a little sorry for them.

Hai Xiya smiled and patted his head gently, then turned around and instructed the housekeeper Uncle Cui: "Ask the Qiu family to find out about the craftsmen who make the kang and their wages, and make an appointment for them to come home. Just live here for now and buy all the things before it snows." Uncle Cui responded, turned around and went out.

Then the Hai family walked around the small courtyard and went back to the main backyard for a closer look. They found that the layout here was very similar to the main courtyard of Chang'an's house. Even the furniture was about the same style and size as the one used in Chang'an. Hai Xiya and his wife could move in directly with their bags, and they didn't have to worry about how to put their things when they packed up. They felt that Haijiao had considered everything very carefully.

Of course, Ma still found fault: "Why are all these cabinets and shelves made from the old things we used in Chang'an? I've added a lot of things, and I'm thinking of buying a batch of new things after I get to Beijing. The boxes and cabinets should be made bigger, otherwise how can they hold everything?"

Haijiao could only laugh dryly.

It was past noon. The excitement of touring the new house had just passed, and hunger immediately came over. Fortunately, Hai Changan had ordered food from a nearby restaurant in advance. Although it was not a carefully prepared banquet, it was delicious noodle soup and side dishes. After a simple meal, everyone felt exhausted.

The house had been cleaned, and the maids quickly made the beds so that the masters could rest for a while and recuperate. They also had to take their own luggage and move into the new room, tidying up their future residence with excitement and fatigue.

Haitang took a nap in the new bedroom, then got up and practiced her internal energy. She felt all her fatigue was gone.

Now she had three rooms to herself, and her personal maid lived next door. She didn't have to worry about being caught writing or practicing, and she suddenly felt much safer.

The room was very spacious. If the furniture was not placed in the center of the main hall, she would have no problem practicing sword here. It would be much more comfortable on rainy or snowy days.

She walked out of the room and stood in the corridor looking at the yard. There was no one in the south room opposite. Xiangcao and Li's mother were busy tidying up the former's room. Shi Liu also slept on the small kang in the east ear room. The yard was quiet. The pomegranate tree had a lot of fruits, which looked pretty red. I wonder how they tasted.

The tree was quite tall and strong. Haitang walked under the tree, glanced around, and then lightly jumped onto a thick branch. With the help of the branch, she jumped up again and landed lightly on the western wall.

The crown of the pomegranate tree was large, and its branches and leaves were enough to cover her figure. She sat sideways on the wall and looked out. On the other side of the wall was a narrow alley, quiet and deserted. One end was not far from the alley outside, but it seemed that no one passed by and it was also very quiet. The other end extended to the wall of another house not far away, which was a dead end.

Well, the dead end alley was good. She could still go in and out from here when necessary, and as long as she was careful, she wouldn't have to worry about alerting others.