Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wu Degui, having seen it all before, didn't delve into the details. He simply nodded in understanding: "I understand. Living within your means is the right thing to do. What about the yard? It's such a big place, what are your plans?"

Wei Chen pointed to the general area where the main house and side rooms were located in the plan, which was the northern half of the entire courtyard: "I want to pave this whole area with blue bricks. Otherwise, when it rains, the ground will be covered in mud and people won't be able to walk on it. But leave me a tree pit, I'll move two fruit trees here, and it will be cool with shade in the summer." The paved area he specially marked out accounted for about 40% of the entire courtyard.

Then, he pointed to the remaining, more expansive open space to the south: "I'm thinking of paving a brick road across this large part of the south side."

He gestured in the air, "Divide this land into several vegetable plots. When it's convenient later, we can plant some flowers, herbs, or common vegetables in the plots. In the current situation, being able to grow something ourselves is a good way to supplement our income." What he said made perfect sense. In difficult times, using vacant land to grow vegetables is a perfectly normal idea; it's practical and doesn't seem out of place.

As Wu Degui listened, he made annotations on the sketch, secretly nodding in approval of Wei Chen's plan. This young man had thought things through quite thoroughly, considering both convenience and long-term livelihood, and his layout was clear.

"Oh, right, Master Wu," Wei Chen remembered a key point and pointed to the location of the side rooms of the main house, "I want these two side rooms to be built more practically. The one on the east side, please convert it into a toilet and washroom, and separate it in the middle for a wet and dry separation, that is, separate the toilet from the bathing and washing areas." Upon hearing this, Wu Degui was visibly taken aback. In the courtyard houses of the 1950s and 60s, having a private toilet was an absolute luxury! The vast majority of people used the public toilets in the alleyways.

"Toilet? Washroom?" Wu Degui asked for confirmation. "Building a toilet in your own home? What about the drainage? And the smell won't be easy to deal with."

"I checked, there's a small street just outside this east wall," Wei Chen said, walking to the base of the east wall and patting the thick blue brick wall. "I've inquired, and there are municipal sewer pipes under that street. I was thinking, could we dig an opening at the base of the wall and connect the toilet's wastewater directly to the municipal sewers outside? That way, we wouldn't need to build a septic tank in the yard, and it would be cleaner. Of course, we need to apply for permission." Wei Chen explained. This was a very important part of his plan—having independent sanitation facilities was a fundamental guarantee of quality of life and a key to maintaining independence.

Wu Degui frowned and thought for a moment: "Connecting to the external sewer system...theoretically, it's feasible. But like you said, we need to apply to the street office and the municipal government first, and only after approval can we start. Connecting privately is not allowed; if it's discovered, it'll be a huge problem. Construction is easy, as long as you handle the paperwork." He paused, then pointed to the location of the side room on the west side, "What about this one?"

"This room will be built as a kitchen," Wei Chen said decisively. "Also, Master Wu, winters in Beijing are incredibly cold. I was thinking, for this newly built house, whether it's the main house or the side rooms, could you add fire walls when you're building them? You mean the kind with chimneys inside the walls, so you can burn firewood for heating. It would make the house much warmer than just relying on a stove."

Firewalls are a common heating facility in northern China, especially in the northeast and northwest regions. They use the waste heat from stoves to heat the walls, providing good insulation, but the process is relatively complex.

"A firewall?" Wu Degui was genuinely surprised this time, giving Wei Chen a second look. "Young man, your requirements are quite high! We know how to build firewalls; Old Zhang in the team is an expert at it. But these things use a lot of bricks and labor. There are many things to consider when building them. The direction of the flue, the slope, and the return air all have to be calculated accurately, otherwise it will either not get hot enough or the smoke will back up. The cost is much higher than just building the wall!"

"I know it's a bit pricey, but it's comfortable in winter. Please do your best to make it a good choice, Master Wu." Wei Chen's attitude was firm. Comfort was his bottom line, and he wouldn't compromise on it.

"Alright, since you have requests, we'll try our best to fulfill them." Wu Degui heavily wrote the words "firewall" in his notebook. "Anything else?"

"There are two more places," Wei Chen said, pointing to the southeast corner of the courtyard. "I want to open another small door in this wall in the southeast corner." He gestured with his hand to indicate the width of a door.

"It doesn't need to be big, just big enough to push a bicycle in and out. That way it will be more convenient to come and go in the future, and I won't have to go around through the front yard every time." Open the side gate! This is Wei Chen's true "declaration of independence"! With this gate, he can completely avoid the troubles in the front and middle yards and have a completely independent passage.

Wu Degui frowned deeply this time: "Open a side door? You have to apply to the street office and housing management department for that, and whether it will be approved is another matter..." The old craftsman still had some old-fashioned habits.

"I mainly want convenience. I'll handle the paperwork. You just need to tell me if it's technically feasible to open, and whether opening it will affect the stability of the wall?"

Wu Degui walked to the southeast corner, carefully inspected that section of wall, tapped it with a hammer, and measured its thickness: "The wall is thick enough. Opening a small door and reinforcing the door frame shouldn't be a problem. But the paperwork must be complete! Without the street office's official seal, I dare not do this job! This is a matter of principle!" he emphasized.

"Don't worry, I know the rules. I'll definitely get the permits before you start construction," Wei Chen assured him.

"Hmm." Wu Degui nodded, then pointed to a corner of the yard, "By the way, you said you wanted to dig a cellar?"

"Yes!" Wei Chen said immediately, "I want to dig a cellar, a big one, a deep one. It's mainly for storing winter vegetables, like cabbage, radishes, potatoes, and grains. They'll last longer in the cellar and won't spoil easily. Where do you think would be a good location? It needs to be away from the house foundation and we need to make sure it's damp-proof." The cellar is a crucial point for storing supplies, especially in this era of scarcity.

Wu Degui walked a few steps in the yard, stepped on a few spots, and looked at the terrain: "Let's go with this one on the west side," he pointed to an open space near the west wall, far from the planned housing area. "It's a bit higher up here, the soil is firmer, and it's far from the planned houses, so digging deeper won't affect the foundation. Moisture prevention is easy; we can just lay bricks, plaster, and put a waterproof cover on top."

All the requirements were clear. Wu Degui, notebook and measuring tape in hand, walked around the courtyard again. He measured the dimensions of the entire courtyard, focusing on the location and size of the main house and east wing in the plan, estimating the foundation depth, calculating the area to be paved, and then went to the southeast corner to repeatedly confirm the location and size of the small door. He occasionally wrote and drew in his notebook, muttering calculations to himself.

Wei Chen quietly followed beside him, watching the old craftsman work meticulously, and felt reassured. He believed in leaving professional tasks to professionals, and Wu Degui's rigor made him feel the money was well spent.

More than half an hour passed before Wu Degui finally put down his pen and closed his notebook. He walked up to Wei Chen, his face bearing an expression that was a mixture of solemnity and amazement.

"Comrade Wei, I've calculated everything." Wu Degui took a deep breath and announced a figure that would leave ordinary people speechless. "This job of yours is a large-scale project with high requirements. First, there's the earthwork. Filling that big pit will require at least dozens of cubic meters of good soil, which also needs to be compacted."

Building a house, with three main rooms and two side rooms, and three east wing rooms and two side rooms, all according to your requirements, with firewalls built directly during the construction, will increase the cost of labor and materials. Bricks, tiles, beams, purlins, rafters, doors and windows, lime, sand, and cement for key parts, are all not insignificant expenses.

And as you mentioned, the entire north half of the courtyard is paved with blue bricks. That's quite a large area, and the cost of bricks and labor must be substantial. The toilet needs to be connected to the external sewer system, requiring digging trenches, connecting pipes, building a well, and waterproofing. The kitchen needs a stove. A small door needs to be built in the southeast corner, requiring demolishing a wall, building a door frame, and installing a door. A large cellar needs to be dug, requiring brickwork for moisture protection, a cover, and a large gate to be installed on the moon gate…”

He finished speaking in one breath, and finally concluded: "If it's a package deal including labor and materials, according to your requirements, the total cost... will be this much." He held up his rough fingers, making a "six," and then flipped them over to make "sixteen."

"Sixteen hundred yuan!" Wu Degui's voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like a stone hitting the ground. "That's a conservative estimate. The main costs are the firewall and the full tiling. If it were just regular wall construction without tiling, you could save several hundred yuan. And then there are the permits for the toilet and the small door; getting them approved might require some 'greasing the wheels'..."

Sixteen hundred yuan! In an era when the average worker's monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money! It was equivalent to the entire income of a highly skilled technician who worked for three or four years without eating or drinking!

No wonder there are policies but no one builds them. Rich people don't need to build, and those who need houses can't afford them. If it weren't for the fact that I can hunt, I definitely wouldn't be able to afford to build them either.

After Wu Degui finished speaking, he stared intently at Wei Chen's young face, trying to see if he was backing down, shocked, or bargaining. He was even prepared for the other party to ask him to cut down the firewall or reduce the area of ​​the paved wall.

However, a perfectly measured hint of "pain" flashed across Wei Chen's face. He frowned slightly and pondered for a moment. He didn't immediately haggle, but instead asked, "Master Wu, does this price include everything? Are all the materials top-quality? Is the firewall guaranteed to be well-constructed? Are the floor tiles laid smoothly? Is the drainage system properly installed? Is the cellar properly moisture-proofed?"

"Of course!" Wu Degui patted his chest, with the pride of an old craftsman. "I, Wu Degui, have been doing this business in Beijing for almost thirty years. I rely on honesty and craftsmanship! For materials, the bricks are first-class blue bricks from the Southern Kiln, the tiles are newly produced composite tiles from Liulichang, the timber is genuine Northeast pine, and the lime and sand are all of the best quality!"

"If the firewall is faulty and smoke is backflowing, come to me! If the floor tiles aren't laid evenly, kick me! If the drain is clogged, I'll unclog it out of my own pocket! If the cellar gets damp and the vegetables won't keep, I'll reimburse you for the vegetables! The price is a bit high, but the work will be top-notch! You get what you pay for!"

Wei Chen needed this guarantee. Without further hesitation, he nodded: "Alright! Master Wu, I trust your skills and Officer Liu's recommendation! We'll go with your price, 1,600! All-inclusive, materials and labor included, and the work will be done well!" He paused, then added, "However, I have one request: please expedite the project as much as possible. How long will it take? Also, I know it's customary in Beijing to provide lunch for the workers. I can't provide that, so you'll have to find someone to cook it. I'll cover the cost."