CHAPTER 1292: CHAPTER 1293: THE LITTLE WIDOW OF THE SIHEYUAN 20

The street director had felt that she looked familiar before, but just couldn’t remember who she was. It was only after hearing her introduce herself that he remembered.

When she talked about her children growing up and the place not being big enough, the director wanted to say that she might have a misunderstanding about the size of the house.

He remembered the rumors outside, saying the machinery factory provided a subsidy of five hundred. As a street director, he could hear everyone’s discussions, let alone other people.

No matter the time, there are always people who love to take advantage of a situation, especially Zhang Yu and her two sons, who have no elders supporting them and no peers they’re close to.

The street director kind of understood why Zhang Yu’s first thought after receiving the money was to renovate the house.

Yes, renovating the house, at least she would live more comfortably, and even if someone came to borrow money, she could say the money was spent, making it difficult for them to ask.

"Sure, as long as you don’t change the layout of the house, you can renovate however you want."

"But I will need to inspect it."

"And I remember you have neighbors next door." When Zhao Jun had an incident, he, as the street director, had visited.

Hearing the director mention the neighbors, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but panic a little, wondering if she needed the Xue family’s consent to renovate her house.

If that’s the case, Zhang Yu thought the neighbors definitely wouldn’t agree to her renovating the house.

The neighbors had always been scheming about her house, and once she started renovating, they would never agree, and not causing trouble would be something.

"Yes." Since the director mentioned them, Zhang Yu couldn’t lie and say she had no neighbors.

"Then you need to be more careful and not only think about yourself and remove the layout of the house."

"I’ll often visit to check on things." In an alley under another street, someone altered their house and thinned many load-bearing pillars. When they added a second floor on top, it couldn’t support it, and the pillars collapsed.

Luckily, it happened during the day with minimal loss. If it happened at night when everyone was asleep, it could have been a big problem.

Now hearing about someone renovating and adding an attic, the street director was quite worried.

"Don’t worry, director, I absolutely won’t mess around; it’s my home too." Zhang Yu repeatedly assured, "By the way, director, my house hasn’t been renovated before."

"I don’t know anyone." Zhang Yu asked the director for a recommendation after getting the renovation approval.

"Carpenter Gao." As the street director, he might not know everything about the residents, but he knew a bit about beneficiaries.

"He was involved in the renovation of the street office and the police station."

"Many people even called Old Gao for their home renovations." The director briefly explained Old Gao’s background.

Zhang Yu felt that to be so praised by the director meant he must be quite good,

"Okay, thank you, director." Holding the address the director gave her, Zhang Yu went directly to Old Gao’s place after leaving the street office.

Being praised by the director meant his business must be thriving, so she wanted to finalize the schedule early.

Once everything was set, she could be at ease, especially since next year’s situation wouldn’t be good; even eating would be challenging, and here she was, making a big deal out of renovating the house now.

This was definitely a reckless act; if people wanted to scheme, she would be their target.

Carpenter Gao had just finished a project and was planning to rest a bit. He had been busy for months and wanted a short break before taking on more work.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu came to him. For a business opportunity, Carpenter Gao certainly wouldn’t turn it down.

Following Zhang Yu to the courtyard house to check the house’s condition, Master Gao carefully climbed up a ladder to inspect.

"The structure of the house is good; you can add a second level." Carpenter Gao had handled many projects, especially courtyard ones, and he knew the house’s structure well.

"Tell me your ideas." Carpenter Gao wanted to hear Zhang Yu’s thoughts.

Zhang Yu shared her ideas, and the carpenter thought for a moment, "That’s doable."

"But the kitchen and bathroom need waterproofing, which will increase the cost a bit."

"No problem." Zhang Yu assured, "As long as the quality is good."

"I plan to keep things simple for my son’s wedding." According to the normal process, when Zhao Lei gets married, it’s going to be a busy time, and there’s no way it can be grand.

It’s just about painting the walls white and making minor adjustments.

"How old is your son?" Carpenter Gao asked.

"He is ten this year."

"That’s fine." Carpenter Gao said calmly, "Typically, it can be used for 20 years."

"If you take good care of it, it can last even longer."

Twenty years, Zhang Yu was very satisfied, "Thank you, Master Gao."

"So, you think?" Zhang Yu wanted to hear the expert’s opinion.

Carpenter Gao had just checked the outside, "A window could go here. I think putting the bathroom at the back and adding a window here would help with ventilation."

"Plus, this area seems like a dead end."

"Is it possible to add a window?" Zhang Yu had thought about adding a window here before but was worried it might not be allowed.

"Yes, it can be done." Carpenter Gao confirmed after a thorough inspection.

Hearing this, Zhang Yu considered, "Then let’s add a window to the kitchen too."

It seemed that after the Tang City earthquake and the return of the intellectual youth, with no allocation of housing from the factories, even a small vacant area was taken by someone to build a house next door.

If that’s the case, Zhang Yu thought, then let’s add windows. She didn’t believe that once they were added, people could still build houses.

Even if they build a house, they’ll have to leave some space for the windows; otherwise, she would not agree.

"By the way, can we install a window frame here?" Zhang Yu gestured to extend it out by 50 centimeters, not only preventing people from peeping in but also allowing space to dry things.

Even though curtains could be used, someone could still see something if looking directly through the window.

For the kitchen too, Zhang Yu planned to do the same, so things could be aired and dried there.

Carpenter Gao said it was no problem, "It can be done."

The general renovation process was agreed upon, "Actually, you could install a septic tank in this empty space."

"You could pay someone to empty it weekly or monthly, saving the trouble of using a toilet bucket."

Zhang Yu was quite tempted, but after thinking it through, "Forget it, the neighbors won’t agree."

No matter what, it’s still a public area, and someone would definitely cause trouble.

Not to mention that having someone emptying it monthly would cost money, and people would complain about the smell.

At worst, she’d buy another toilet; Zhang Yu certainly didn’t want to use the public restroom again with its unbearable summer stench.

It was just a suggestion from Carpenter Gao, so he didn’t push it when Zhang Yu didn’t agree.