Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse-Chapter 17 - 0 The Layout of the Xie Family Courtyard

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Xie Jingchen took Zhang Shanni away from the kitchen. Before leaving, he heard his mother and father teasing him. He glanced at the little girl who was still looking down, her small face still shining black. He wondered if she had heard them!

Tiesheng's house has a large courtyard. Zhang Shanni followed Xie Jingchen and roughly scanned the area using her spiritual power. She realized that the place enclosed by stone walls alone was more than two acres, and since it was close to the base of the mountain, there really were no other houses around.

As for choosing to settle at the base of the mountain, it was the foresight of the ancestors. If the Xie Family had not been situated at the very foot of the mountain, it's unlikely that all the children would have survived as well as they had.

With no other households nearby and the surrounding areas being wild mountains, Tiesheng, who was the village accountant, really didn't have to worry about how much of the wildland he enclosed. After all, with many sons to accommodate, even over two acres of land felt cramped once divided.

The front courtyard consisted of three rooms, built when Tiesheng first got married. Later, as the children grew up and Xie Jingchen became capable, Tiesheng also took the initiative. When his eldest son, Xie Jingwei, started a family, he built another row of three rooms on the vacant land near the road. These rooms were suite-style, approximately thirty to forty square meters each, divided at his own discretion.

By the time his fourth son, Xie Jinggang, nicknamed Xiong Dan, was to marry, the house was unconsciously short of space again. Consequently, three more suites were added on the mountain side. To differentiate, the first-built three rooms were called the Right Wing Courtyard, and the later built three were called the left wing.

Originally, Xie Jingchen was supposed to be assigned the second room in the Right Wing Courtyard, but since he was in the military and unmarried, he let the room to his older brother. By the time his younger brother got married, the rooms there were just filled.

Xie Jingchen rarely returned home to stay, and since there was no room for him, and although Xie Jingqing had married off, Xie Jingzi was still only in her teens and would need the room for many more years. At that point, Xie Jingchen decided to build a house. Since he paid for the construction entirely out of his own pocket, using a substantial amount of silver, and even produced the architectural plans, the left wing ultimately belonged to Xie Jingchen.

This arrangement was clear to all the siblings and carried no controversy. When the house was built, a certificate was drafted stating that this house would belong to Xie Jingchen in the future.

For future convenience in entering and exiting, Xie Jingchen simply opened up a back door and also enclosed the land near the mountain in the left wing, thus significantly enlarging the Left Wing Courtyard.

As the divisions of property had not occurred, this rural family courtyard came to resemble a compound of three sections.

Xie Jingchen was seldom at home; he only asked his parents to plant some seasonal fruit trees near the mountain side in his Left Wing Courtyard and left both the front and back spaces of the main hall open for potential vegetable planting or perhaps setting up a shed to raise poultry, which would be beneficial.

"Your home is so big!" After fetching Xie Jingchen's large backpack from the main house and turning the corner by the kitchen, Zhang Shanni saw a fork in the path with one branch leading left and the other right. The left was horizontal while the right was vertical facing the village road. Though it was said to be one courtyard, it had already been divided by bamboo fences and tree branches.

"This is our home. The Right Wing is where the eldest brother and younger brothers live; the left wing is ours. As the little sister is not yet married, she currently resides on our side. Additionally, Xiao Yi, Xiao'er, and Xiao San, several elder nephews, are also temporarily staying in our vacant guest rooms."

With an increased number of people, room availability became tight. Moreover, his frequent absences from home meant that the rooms needed occupants to prevent decay. Besides, the property ownership in the village had been certified, so letting the nephews stay was no issue for Xie Jingchen, who was not so petty.

Though he had no great affection for his brothers' wives or sisters-in-law, his nephews, after all, carried the Xie surname.

"Here, this main room is where we stay," Xie Jingchen said as he placed the large backpack inside. Since this hall would be his future living room, he had deliberately made it large during construction, different from the Right Wing Courtyard, with suite rooms in the Left Wing Courtyard being as large as fifty to sixty square meters.

The central part was the main house. During construction, he had already divided and arranged it on the blueprint. He split the main room into two, separating a living room for welcoming guests, and the inner room was slightly larger, about thirty square meters. He had modeled it after the kangs used in the North, making it considerably large.

Against the window wall, he placed a wardrobe and a bed, which he had constructed himself for reading, resulting in a rather odd combination.

In one corner, there was a small partition intended for his future wife's bathing area. Since the kang was very large, there were small cabinets on both sides of the kang. On one side of the step, there was also a small table on the kang.

After looking around, Zhang Shanni glanced surprisingly at Xie Jingchen, who was smiling at her broadly. She hadn't expected him to have such good taste, seemingly blending the customs of both the South and North!

"How about it?" Xie Jingchen asked proudly.

This house had been a labor of love; he had revised the blueprints several times, and knowing this would be where his future wife would spend much time, he had exerted great efforts to ensure her comfort.

Now, pondering that in a few days, he too could enjoy a warm kang with his children and wife, he felt that all his prior efforts had not been in vain!

"Very good!" Zhang Shanni offered him a definite praise.

"Come, you should first go to the little sister's room to find some clothes. I'll boil some hot water for you. After dinner, you can come back and take a hot bath."

"There's a kitchen?"

"Yes, I modeled it after the North. In winter, we use the kang, and in summer, we sleep on the bedstead. Given the current weather, our home being by the mountain, you might feel a bit chilly at night. It's perfect to boil a pot of hot water later, and if you sleep on the kang, it will also keep you warm, so you won't feel cold."

"Thank you," Zhang Shanni said, her gaze flickered, and she blushed and lowered her head.

"Uh, little girl, don't misunderstand. Tonight, you'll sleep on the kang, and I'll sleep on the bedstead. I can't sleep on the kang in this weather; it's too hot," Xie Jingchen said when he saw Zhang Shanni giving him a covert glare, realizing he had caused a misunderstanding and quickly clarified, "Wait, uh, go find some clothes in the little sister's room, it's the left one here."

"Mm." Zhang Shanni, also somewhat flustered, entered the right room under his guidance. Xie Jingchen had divided the right room into two living spaces: firstly, because currently, the house was crowded, and secondly, this setup also conveniently provided living space for his future children.

Using the same entrance, a small living room of about four to five square meters was created in the center, equipped with a long row of wooden chairs in front of a small tea table, starkly empty. There were doors on both the left and right, neither locked.

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Though simple in appearance, the table and chairs were visibly clean and bright, evidently maintained and wiped regularly, not dirty or messy at all.

Upon pushing open the door to the left room, Zhang Shanni noticed the room had a more feminine atmosphere. Upon entry, there was a small mirror the size of two palms, and at that moment, Zhang Shanni finally glimpsed what the original owner looked like!