Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1203 Swimming Pool

After thinking it over, Chen Hui said, "How about we renovate the front yard after the company moves out? Xiao Wei, what do you think? How about we dig out the middle of the yard, build stone walls around it, and put a pool in the middle? We can make a glass cover the same size as the pool, so it's flush with the ground when not in use, and can be raised to block falling debris and rain, serving as a roof."

Old Chen carried Xiao Xiao Hui down the steps and said, "This one is more reliable. There are lots of trees and water in this area, and plenty of birds. Without a roof, it would be impossible to change the water."

Xiao Wei asked Chen Hui, "How do we do it?"

Chen Hui said, "We'll erect two pillars on each side, install low-speed motor winches, and hoist them up when needed and lower them when not in use. The whole thing will be made of channel steel, with glass on top. It doesn't need to be hoisted too high, about two meters is enough, a little lower than the eaves. We'll wrap the pillars in wood, paint them with flowers, and install lights on the top."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "It's big enough, over twenty meters square. Will it work in winter? The windows will be so slippery when snow falls on them."

Chen Hui said, "So we put it in the front yard. What would we do with that yard if the company moved away? I said we should change it like this, build two more shower rooms next to it for changing clothes, and turn this side of the main house into our study, office, and guest room."

Anyway, it's for public use only. The two courtyards at the back will be for private use, and outsiders won't be allowed in. Didn't you say you wanted to add a gate there? Perfect."

Aunt Chen said, "We need to leave a few guest rooms outside, and convert them into a video room so people can watch movies and sing karaoke or something."

The front courtyard has fewer rooms than the back courtyard. The main house also has five rooms, but no side rooms. The east and west wings each have only three rooms, making a total of eleven rooms in total (five large and six small).

Old Chen also became interested and carried Xiao Xiao Hui to the front yard.

Qin Xuemei also came out of the house: "What are you doing?"

Xiuer went over and took Qin Xuemei's hand, saying, "My godparents and second brother are discussing building a swimming pool."

The whole family came to the front.

Xiao Wei went and turned on all the lights in the yard, and now it was lit.

There were two sets of lights installed. One set was dim lighting that could illuminate the space but not make the light out of sight. The other set was the bright GG lights that were in use at the moment, illuminating the entire yard from all four corners.

Old Chen carried his grandson and walked around the yard. Because he needed to work in the office, there were no flower beds in the yard; it was completely paved with blue bricks and there were no trees.

Nodding, Old Chen said, "That works. Leave two meters in front of the main house and two meters on the garage side, with the sides reaching the veranda's back wall. That should be usable. If we want to make changes, we can put two of the three west wing rooms for showers and changing clothes, and one room for installing equipment like water pumps, water dispensers, and heaters."

The three rooms on the east side can be used as guest rooms, one main room as a screening room, and the other two as studies for you two. The other two can be combined into a living room where you can put some display shelves or something. That would be nice, but we need to be careful with safety; if it's filled with water, the children absolutely must not run in.

Little Hui didn't understand a word and stared blankly at everyone. Finally, he understood one sentence and cupped his grandfather's face, asking, "Grandpa, where am I running? Where am I running to?"

Old Chen kissed his grandson on the cheek: "Don't run away. Grandpa's telling you, you can't go anywhere with water without an adult, understand?"

Aunt Chen rubbed her arms a few times and said, "Oh, it's still a bit chilly here at night. It looks like it would be quite cool in the summer."

Little Hui frowned and thought for a moment, then said seriously to Old Chen, "Grandpa, Mom said I have to go to the toilet alone."

Old Chen paused for a moment, then burst into laughter and said, "Grandpa isn't talking about going to the toilet, he's talking about places with lots of water, like that lake outside. You're not allowed to go there without an adult, understand? If you fall in, you'll never see Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, or Mom again."

Xiao Xiaohui scratched his head twice: "Where did it go?"

Qin Xuemei went over and draped the coat she was wearing over Aunt Chen, then asked Xiaowei, "Are you going to build a swimming pool in this yard?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're discussing this right now, how does it feel? Can you swim?"

Qin Xuemei shook her head, probably blushing, and said, "I haven't learned it. Can you really do it?" She seemed quite interested.

Chen Xiao said, "I feel it would be good to do one, so let's do it."

Old Chen said, "Let's ask someone if the pop-up shed that Xiao Hui mentioned will work. If it will, we can get one. If not, then forget it."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll ask someone tomorrow. There shouldn't be any problems."

Chen Hui said, "It will definitely work. I used to tinker with something similar at work. It works on the same principle as an electric hoist, which is to make all eight poles move at the same speed. The force is all on the frame, and the glass doesn't bear any stress. Even if there is a little twisting, it won't affect its use."

Xiao Wei said, "This side is over twenty meters high, it's elevated, you can't bend it down, can you?"

Chen Hui said, "No, it's not that wide. The four channel steel bars fit snugly together. We need to find someone skilled in welding; it's all superficial work."

Xiao Wei said, "Then let's find someone to do it. We don't need to wait for them to move out; it won't affect us much."

Chen Hui said, "We have to dig first, dig a bit bigger than what we need, then use stones to solidify the four sides and bottom, build up the foundation for the eight pillars, erect the pillars, and then work on the inside."

Qin Xuemei said, "This whole area is a lake; we can't just dig and water will come out, can we?"

Chen Hui nodded and said, "I can't say for sure, but it must be at least two meters deep. Let's prepare a water pump, just in case."

Aunt Chen said, "Alright, it's settled then. Let's go back inside. Ouch, it's a bit cold. Kyoto isn't much warmer than Fengtian."

Xiao Wei said, "It's only March, it might even snow, how can it be that different from Fengtian?"

Aunt Chen said, "It's much warmer now. Look, the willows have sprouted and the grass has grown. It feels like it should be warmer now."

Chen Xiao said, "Quite a difference. In Fengtian these days, would you really stand in the courtyard chatting like this at night?"

The family then walked to the back.

Old Chen said, "The temperature is a bit different, about ten degrees, but the actual climate is quite different. Our willow trees don't sprout until the end of April, which is more than a month different."

"The weather's warmer now. When I was your age, it was so cold! In winter, it snowed heavily in Shanghai, and here you couldn't see any greenery until May. Look at us now, the ice has melted, the trees are green again, isn't that wonderful?"

Chen Hui said, "If that's the case, Fengtian will be like this in thirty years. The rivers will thaw and the trees will turn green in March."

Old Chen laughed and said, "Who knows where it is, but it will definitely be warmer than it is now. You can't eat it, but you can play with it." Xiao Xiao Hui took the cigarette off his ear and was about to put it in his mouth.

Xiao Hui shook his head: "Not eating, but smoking. Just letting it smoke."

Xiao Wei said, "It's definitely warmer now than before. When I was a child, the snow could be more than a meter deep. Back then, who dared not wear cotton-padded clothes? Look at it now, how many people still wear cotton-padded clothes? If it snows 20 centimeters, that's considered a lot of snow."

(End of this chapter)