Old Zhang Tou got his leave from his boss, and Jia Hui rode her 28-inch bicycle with the two of them. Old Zhang Tou sat on the back seat, and Chen Lan naturally sat on the front frame.
The three of them soon arrived at the house on Yiyuan Street. After getting off the bike outside the yard, Chen Lan asked Jia Hui to ride home immediately and bring all the aluminum lunch boxes they had.
Jia Hui happily agreed, then stretched her long legs, got on the bike, made half a turn, and rode away towards home.
As soon as Old Zhang Tou got off the bike, he put his hands behind his back and started walking around the house. While Old Zhang Tou was walking around, Chen Lan found the key and unlocked the rusty iron lock. Chen Lan also took the opportunity to order a new iron lock in the system and then put the old one into the system warehouse.
Chen Lan originally wanted to order several large barrels of brightly colored environmentally friendly paint from the system, but then she thought it would be better to be low-key during this sensitive period.
So she just ordered a few barrels of tung oil and pine resin thinner from the system, so that Brother Zhang, the old carpenter, could mix them himself.
This way, a thick layer of tung oil would be brushed on the surface of the house, which would also offer some protection. When their own house was being renovated, the main door and windows were also coated with a layer of clear varnish for protection, just like this. Although the house looked messy with these splotches, it was safe and inconspicuous, and inconspicuousness would avoid trouble.
Chen Lan took the tung oil and pine resin thinner out of the system warehouse and piled them next to the fireplace in the living room. Then she walked out the door. At this moment, Old Zhang Tou had also finished his round and walked over.
Chen Lan invited him into the house to take a look and also told Old Zhang Tou her ideas and things to pay attention to.
Old Zhang Tou nodded and replied, "Little sister Zhang, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
So Chen Lan gave Old Zhang Tou a key to the main door of the house and let him look around in the rooms inside, while she went into the kitchen of the house.
Upon entering, she found the kitchen to be empty, with only a few wooden cabinets and wooden countertops left; the large iron pot on the stove was also gone. It seemed all the pots and pans needed to be replaced, and the stove needed to be repaired. The house had been uninhabited for too long, and the hearth likely needed to be cleaned out, and the chimney also needed to be cleared.
Chen Lan saw a faucet in the corner of the kitchen. She reached out and turned the faucet, but it was rusted shut and wouldn't budge! She didn't know if there was still running water.
Chen Lan originally thought the renovation project wouldn't be too large, but she didn't expect so many minor details that would require a lot of time and effort to complete little by little.
Chen Lan came out of the kitchen and went to the living room, then looked around the living room carefully again. She found that the table and stools in the living room were still there, leaning against the wall! Chen Lan walked over and took a look. The table and stools were still in reasonably good condition, just a bit chipped and unsightly.
Chen Lan walked out of the living room and stood in the courtyard outside the house, waiting for Old Zhang Tou to finish looking inside.
It didn't take long before Old Zhang Tou came out with his hands behind his back. As soon as he saw Chen Lan, Old Zhang Tou said, "Little sister Zhang, this house is built very well, using whole planks of red pine wood. Wooden houses built like this are sturdy and durable, and they are warm in winter and cool in summer. The house is also preserved very well. I took a careful look just now, and the windows and doors don't need much major repair. They just need to be patched up, painted, and then given a layer of clear varnish!" Su Dan Novel Network
Chen Lan said to Old Zhang Tou, "Brother Zhang, I just looked in the kitchen. I'll have to trouble you to arrange for someone to repair the stove, clean out the hearth, and clear the chimney."
Old Zhang Tou nodded and replied, "I know. This job is simple and will be done quickly. It can be completely finished in a day or two!"
As the two were talking, Jia Hui had already ridden back! As soon as she got off the bike, Jia Hui took down the cloth bag hanging from the handlebars and handed it to Old Zhang Tou. She said, "Here you go, Grandpa Zhang. We only have five aluminum lunch boxes left at home. The rest are probably still at the hospital. Do you think it's enough? If not, I'll ride to the hospital to get them for you."
Old Zhang Tou chuckled, took the bag, and replied, "It's enough, more than enough, my girl, thank you! If it's not enough, I have two at home."
Chen Lan asked again, "Brother Zhang, should we deliver the grain and other items here, or should we deliver them to your home?"
Old Zhang Tou thought for a moment and said, "Little sister Zhang, just deliver it here. If you deliver the grain to our home, we live in a shared courtyard, and it would be too conspicuous. I'm worried that our neighbors will come to my house to borrow grain every other day. If that happens, my home will never be peaceful!"
Chen Lan hadn't expected such a thing to happen. She couldn't add trouble for Old Zhang Tou, so she agreed!
However, Chen Lan still uneasily instructed, "Brother Zhang, you and Brother Zhang Er are helping out here with your apprentices. If anyone asks, just say you're helping out a relative."
Old Zhang Tou smiled and replied, "Little sister Zhang, don't worry! For this kind of thing, your Brother Zhang knows what to do."
Since Old Zhang Tou had taken leave, he couldn't delay outside for too long, so Chen Lan asked Jia Hui to ride him back to the Zhanqian Hotel.
After watching the two ride away, Chen Lan walked back to the living room of the house. Fortunately, the table and chairs were still there. Chen Lan shook the table hard with her hand and found that it was still steady and quite sturdy.
So Chen Lan opened the system with her mind and ordered a bag of rice, a bag of white flour, and a bag of cornmeal, placing them all on the table in the living room.
Then she took out a large jar from the system screen and filled it with oil, and two small jars with soy sauce and salt, also neatly placed on the table.
It was too hot now, and eggs and meat would likely spoil. Chen Lan was also worried about attracting mice, so tomorrow Jia Hui would have to work hard and make another trip to deliver them!
Next, she took out the sickle, shovel, broom, dustpan, and rags that had been used for cleaning at home last time from the system warehouse and placed them all by the wall next to the tung oil.
Chen Lan then turned and went to the kitchen. She took out a not-too-large water缸 from the system warehouse and also ordered a common faucet and a wrench from the system. Both items were placed directly in the water缸 so that they would be easily seen when they needed water.