653 Renovation
“Oh, you’re at home. I thought you’re not around, so I’m asking the children to come over for dinner,” Qiao Qiang said.
“I just came back…” Li Gui whispered as she lowered her head in self-reproach.
Qiao Qiang did not blame Li Gui and said gently, “How’s your mother? Has she recovered?”
At the mention of Old Madam Li, Li Gui felt even more ashamed and whispered, “She’s fine…”
Qiao Qiang could tell that Li Gui was too embarrassed to tell the truth, so he waved his hand and went home. At this moment, Qiao Mei was still sitting on the brick bed and knitting.
It had gotten cold recently and she wanted to knit a sweater for her grandfather. When she was working as a lawyer in her other life, her favorite hobby was to do handicrafts and grow flowers and plants. Knitting was an easy thing for her to do.
However, what she had in her hands at the moment was not for Qiao Qiang but for her mother-in-law, Xu Lan. She had even knitted a scarf for Xia Fang and a pair of gloves for Xia He.
The postman would be coming to the village in a few days’ time. She wanted to send these knitted items together with some pickled vegetables to the capital, as well as a letter to tell them that everything was fine with her.
“Grandfather, why did you come back alone? Where are Zhang Wei and the others?” Qiao Mei looked behind Qiao Qiang in confusion.
“Well… Li Gui is back. I can’t just bring the children back when she’s around,” Qiao Qiang said with a sigh.
As Qiao Mei knitted, she said, “Then why don’t you get Zhang Wei to come over and bring the food back? There’s not even rice and noodles in that house. The children can’t starve together with her.”
“Never mind, so be it if they’re hungry. Forget it, I’ll set the table. Let’s eat!” Qiao Qiang said.
The temperature had plummeted by a few degrees today and Qiao Mei felt a little cold. When she returned to the village, she did not bring the jade items she bought in the capital. Those things were too eye-catching and it would not be good if she became targeted.
Without the “mobile air conditioner”, it was really inconvenient. She wondered if there was anything else that had the same effect as that bangle. It seemed that she still had to go to the antique market again when she returned to the capital.
In the capital, while there were people who were happy, there were also people who were worried. Nothing much was going on in the Xia family, except the addition of many pieces of furniture in the house.
Xu Lan decided to hack and build a circular arch in the wall between Xia Zhe’s room on the second floor and the guest room beside it, as well as seal up the door of the guest room.
During this period of time, she had spoken often with Xia Zhe and told him that it did not matter that Qiao Mei had lost her babies this time. The two of them were still young and there would be many opportunities in the future. They would definitely have another child in the future.
If Qiao Mei wanted to give birth in the capital, then as the mother-in-law, she wanted to take care of Qiao Mei wholeheartedly and be prepared at all times. Therefore, she was now building a confinement room for Qiao Mei in the house. She had specially found the best master builder in the capital to do it.
If she really waited until Qiao Mei was pregnant to do the construction, then the entire house would smell of the renovation works and it would not be good for Qiao Mei’s health. Anyway, she would have to renovate sooner or later, so she might as well start now.
She had heard from Xia He that Qiao Mei liked old-fashioned things with an antique charm. Therefore, she specially spent a lot of money to find a master craftsman to build a wooden bed that combined those factors with modern craftsmanship. If the bed was really made using the old standard measurements, it would not be able to fit in the house.
There was also a large built-in wardrobe and a huge bookcase to store Xia Zhe’s old things. The windows had also been replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows, which increased the natural light in the room, and then she placed a desk in front of the window.
Liu Fen had not eaten or slept well for the past two days. Xu Lan would wake her up before dawn. Then they would both go out and shop for furniture. They would be out the whole day and Xu Lan would only be willing to go home after it got dark.
As long as it was something that could be made by hand, Xu Lan would not buy the ready-made products. Every design was hand drawn by the master and she would personally choose the designs before finalizing the construction period.
“Sister-in-law… Why don’t we get the old master to go to our house to design for us? My legs are about to break from running around every day!” Liu Fen complained.
“No! Then there’s no telling what time the master will come. My friends from the art troupe told me that if you don’t take the initiative, those old masters won’t hand in their work on time. They will definitely delay it for a few days,” Xu Lan said firmly.
“But Qiao Mei isn’t even pregnant yet. Even if she’s really pregnant, she’ll only be back when Xia Zhe is back during the holidays. Why are you in such a hurry now!” Liu Fen said.
Currently, Qiao Mei was still recuperating and Xia Zhe had just returned to the army unit. They would not be able to return for the time being. In that case, there were still at least two years to carry out the renovations!
