Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 231 New Home Completed

Xiao Wei started the car, gave it gas, and released the handbrake, getting it moving again. He said, "That's true, I really need to practice starting on an incline. Where's the incline?"

Liu Hongliang said, "There are slopes everywhere. There are mountains on the other side of the river, but it won't work right now. There's ice on the slope, so you can't drive. It's a bit dangerous. If you slip and can't brake in time, you might crash."

As Xiao Wei looked at the winding road ahead, he asked, "How do I learn?"

Liu Hongliang said, "We need to find a place without ice. I'll look around sometime and if I find one, I'll take you there to practice."

Xiao Wei asked, "How do I practice reversing? I see people going in and out of parking spaces every day, don't they all have to reverse?"

Liu Hongliang said, "Reversing is easy to practice. It's actually similar to driving forward. The main thing is to get used to looking in the rearview mirrors. There are only three mirrors. You have to get used to looking in the mirrors to observe the rear and then you have to judge the distance. This takes practice. Take it one step at a time. Just get used to driving forward smoothly first."

Xiao Wei said, "Isn't everything going smoothly for me now?"

Liu Hongliang said, "If you can hold the steering wheel with one hand and take out a cigarette with the other, light it, and take a puff, and the car doesn't wobble, then you've done it."

Xiao Wei tried holding the steering wheel with one hand, shook his head and said, "It wobbles as soon as I lift my hand without even lighting a cigarette. Okay, I'll practice. I think it's alright, not as difficult as I imagined."

Liu Hongliang said, "The main problem is nervousness. Actually, you just need to calm down and take it slow. Try shifting gears now to increase the speed."

Xiao Wei has been driving around this area for the past half day.

Xiao Wei reached out to touch the gear shift lever.

Liu Hongliang said, "Hold on, don't look down, don't look down, just go by feel. Okay, grab it, can you remember where second gear is? Right after first gear. Don't let go of the accelerator, I'll say it once and you remember it before you do it. First, press the clutch, press it all the way down, shift gears, then release the clutch. When shifting gears, don't release the clutch as slowly as when starting, you have to do it quickly, but don't release it all at once, understand? Okay, then you try it."

Xiao Wei shifted gears, the car jolted but didn't stall, and Xiao Wei excitedly slapped the steering wheel. The car's speed increased significantly, and the engine noise decreased.

Liu Hongliang said, "Alright, just keep shifting gears and play around with it. You'll get used to it once you get the hang of it. The highest you can go is third gear. You won't be able to control fourth gear."

……

Xiao Wei parked the car steadily in the yard, jumped out, and said with a smile, "Okay, you can go into the garage, I can't."

It was four days later when Xiaowei first touched the car.

The yard has been completely finished and cleaned up. Today, Xiaowei came to check if the paint smell has dissipated.

Liu Hongliang backed the car into the garage, while Xiao Wei had already gone inside.

The partition walls and cabinets were painted with clear varnish, while the floor was painted bright red.

Although the windows were open all day, the temperature inside was still a little higher than outside because the heating was very strong. Xiao Wei went inside. After two days, the smell of paint had dissipated. He took off his shoes, stepped onto the floor, got into bed, closed the back window, and then jumped down to close the front window. Master Gong had added double layers to the front and back windows and the door, so that they wouldn't need to cover the windows with plastic sheeting in winter; they could just use curtains as usual.

There's no need to hang a curtain at the entrance; you can simply remove and store the inner layer during the summer.

The area behind the house and into the backyard of the old building has been cleaned up. It's just a level cement floor, nothing there, not even trees. They've also installed the No. 8 power line now, so it'll be used for drying clothes and blankets. A gate has also been opened on the side of the wall around the old building, and the iron gate has been welded and installed.

The storefront and interior of the grain depot are finished. They're currently lighting the boiler room. Once it's warmed up completely in a few days, it will be ready to open for business. The machinery, equipment, and lighting have all been installed.

Master Gong and two others were repairing the doors and windows on the second floor of this old building. After they finished here, they went to Fengtian with Old Xu from the lumberyard. The transformer had also arrived and was installed on the side wall of the old building, supported by an angle iron frame. Because of the freezing weather, they couldn't bury the power poles, so this was the only solution for now.

After closing all the windows of the row of houses, Xiaowei and Liu Hongliang, who came in later, started making the bed. The first room next to the boiler was definitely for Xiaowei's parents, so Xiaowei stayed in the second room. The third room was for Xia Maosheng, and the fourth room was for Chen Hui. They would leave the other room empty for later.

While pulling at the blanket with Xiao Wei, Liu Hongliang asked, "So, boss, you guys will be living here from now on?"

Xiao Wei said, "Well, if I don't stay here, where else can I stay? This place isn't good enough for me."

Liu Hongliang said, "Forget it, this place is even more impressive than an apartment building. I'd like to have a place like this to live in."

Xiao Wei said, "Sure, there's a spare watchman's room in that building over there, why don't you go stay there?"

Liu Hongliang said, "There's only a bed and nothing else in that room, so could you lay down some flooring for me?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Dream on! You're giving me a place to live for free and you're still talking nonsense. If you want to set up a shop, pay for it yourself. If you don't want to live here, then forget it."

Liu Hongliang said, "I'll stay. It's settled then, that room is mine. Do I have to go around in circles to get there?"

Xiao Wei said, "Isn't there a small door on the main gate? Just remember to lock it when you go back and forth. You can use that small door. When the weather gets warmer and the bathroom is renovated, we can partition that off."

Liu Hongliang said, "Okay, then I'll go back and talk to my dad about moving here."

The two finished setting up the rooms, closed the doors, and came out. Xiao Wei looked around and said, "This courtyard is still too empty."

Liu Hongliang said, "What's the point of being idle? It'll be perfect when you have kids. They can run around freely, and there will be places for them to play with all their toys. Isn't that great?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "That'll have to wait. Xiao Hui can get married next year, but who knows when Lao Xia will be? For me, it'll be at least three or four years from now. Let's go, to the restaurant area. What did your grandpa at the bed sheet factory say?"

The two walked towards the courtyard gate. Liu Hongliang said, "There shouldn't be any problem, but we still have to go to a meeting to discuss it. Although my uncle has the final say, we can't be too obvious about it, or we'll just be asking for trouble."

Xiao Wei opened the iron gate, Liu Hongliang drove the car out, got out, and closed the iron gate with Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei then climbed into the driver's seat.

Xiao Wei said, "Let's see if we can replace this one this summer. Pushing it back and forth all day is too much trouble."

Liu Hongliang said, "Let my advisor change it to electric for you. It's just a matter of pressing a button. That would look so cool. I've heard that remote-controlled doors exist in foreign countries, but I've never seen one."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll ask the owner of Guanyuan when he comes. If he really has a remote control, I'll get a set. That would be so convenient; I wouldn't even need to get out of the car."

Liu Hongliang said, "I've seen remote-controlled lights before. They're not electric; they're just like balloons. You squeeze one and it makes a sound, and then you can control the light."

Looking in the rearview mirror, Xiao Wei said, "Voice-controlled, I guess?"

Liu Hongliang said, "Yes, voice-controlled, voice-activated."

(End of this chapter)