My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 43: The Collapsed East Wing House

Zhang Lei smoked a cigarette in the courtyard of the east wing, looking at the collapsed house in front of him, feeling a little sorry.

He actually quite liked the architectural style of this old courtyard house, and it would be great if it could be renovated on the original basis. But judging from the extent of the collapse, it would probably have to be completely demolished and rebuilt.

After finishing his cigarette, Zhang Lei saw that Master Lei was still busy inspecting the place, so he stepped into a room next door, intending to follow him and see what was going on.

The room was about 30 square meters, and there were fallen bricks and pieces of wood everywhere, making it look like a mess.

Zhang Lei browsed through two rooms before finally walking to the middle one. He called out to Master Lei, who was still busy at work, "Master Lei, how's it going?"

Hearing the shout, Master Lei turned around and replied, "Boss, don't worry, there's one last room left. I'll check it out myself."

Zhang Lei nodded and followed Master Lei into the last room. He saw Master Lei occasionally tapping the walls and ceiling with his hammer, then leaning closer to examine them closely, so he also began to look around the room.

After watching for a while, Zhang Lei couldn't help but ask curiously, "Master Lei, why are you staring at the roof and walls?"

Master Lei grinned and patiently explained, "I'm checking if these walls are still usable and estimating the original height of the house. That way, I'll be mentally prepared if we have to rebuild it."

He paused, then added, "After all, any house renovation or reconstruction has to be registered with the local street office. There will be specific requirements regarding the height and layout of the buildings, so we can't just do whatever we want."

After listening, Zhang Lei suddenly realized, "That's right, this is an old courtyard house in Beijing, there are rules for building houses."

Just then, Zhang Lei's gaze suddenly fell on the last room, below the window of the east courtyard.

He stared at the few slightly protruding bricks, his mind filled with doubt, and couldn't help but walk over and gently kick them.

With that step, the sound from beneath my feet immediately changed.

Zhang Lei glanced back at Master Lei and saw that he was still hammering and banging on the wall, unaware of the commotion.

Taking advantage of this moment, he kicked those bricks a couple more times.

The sound coming from beneath my feet was indeed different from other places; it seemed as if there was a hollow space underneath.

Thinking of this, Zhang Lei silently withdrew his foot, turned to Master Lei, and said, "Master Lei, is that enough?"

Master Lei nodded and replied, "Boss, I'm all set."

With that, the two walked out of the last room together and returned to the courtyard of the east wing.

Zhang Lei looked at Master Lei and asked, "Master Lei, what do you think of these three rooms? Should we tear them all down and rebuild them, or can we keep them and repair them?"

Master Lei picked up the conversation and said directly, "Boss, I've taken a close look. The first and last rooms are alright, but the middle one is completely ruined. Of course, the walls of the first and last rooms are barely usable, but the roofs will definitely have to be torn down and rebuilt."

After listening to Master Lei's words, Zhang Lei said decisively, "Master Lei, let's not worry about whether this can be kept or that can be used. Just tear it all down and rebuild it. Make sure it's sturdy; I dare not use the walls of these dilapidated houses."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Master Lei immediately said, "Boss, if we follow your suggestion, the expenses will increase considerably."

Zhang Lei waved his hand and said decisively, "Master Lei, just do as I say. As for the money, you don't need to worry about it."

Seeing that Zhang Lei was not short of money, Master Lei immediately nodded and replied, "Okay, boss, I'll do as you say."

Zhang Lei looked at the site again and added, "Master Lei, it's like this, since we're going to build it, I think we should build it in the original style, at least to match the overall style of the courtyard house, so it doesn't look too out of place. Also, as for the materials, we should use as many of the existing materials as possible, and then add some new materials."

Master Lei nodded repeatedly after listening: "Don't worry, boss, I know how to do this. I'll save all the good materials for you, and I guarantee that the new house will look exactly the same as the old one."

Zhang Lei suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, Master Lei, this back room is also mine."

Following his gaze, Master Lei indeed saw a clearly blocked hole in the wall between the east courtyard and the rear building.

Zhang Lei pointed to the mark and said, "Here's the thing, Master Lei, I'm thinking of making a moon gate in the wall between the east courtyard and the back building to connect the two. Then I'll seal up the door in the wall leading from my back building to the west courtyard, and then the back building and the east courtyard will be connected."

After hearing Zhang Lei's introduction, Master Lei couldn't help but feel envious. He hadn't expected that Zhang Lei, who looked so young, would own two such large properties, which together must have been over 300 square meters.

He then said to Zhang Lei, "Boss, this is simple. We can take care of it for you when we build the house."

Hearing what Master Lei said, Zhang Lei nodded and replied, "Okay, Master Lei, let's leave it at that for today. When you get back, could you help me calculate the approximate cost? Oh, right, I don't really know much about buying materials, so you can just take care of that for me. Just tell me the amount later."

Master Lei thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, boss, I'll calculate it when I get back and get back to you first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhang Lei nodded: "Okay. By the way, if you come, just come find me in the back building. If I'm not there, my wife is home too."

Master Lei accepted Zhang Lei's request, and the two exchanged a few more pleasantries. After that, Master Lei picked up his tools and left the east courtyard.

After confirming that Master Lei had gone far away, Zhang Lei immediately returned to the east wing and bolted the door tightly from the inside.

He rushed into the last room, taking three steps at a time, and went straight to the loose bricks under the windowsill, quickly prying them apart one by one.

Sure enough, a metal plate with a buckle was exposed under the brick, with some dry weeds wrapped around it. Zhang Lei felt a surge of relief; it was thanks to the weeds that the brick was slightly bulging, allowing him to discover the trick underneath.

He squatted down, gripped the iron ring with both hands, and pulled upwards with all his might. As soon as he exerted force, he felt his arms suddenly sink. The iron plate was much heavier than he had imagined.

With some effort, the iron plate was lifted, revealing a downward-sloping staircase. Below the staircase was a dark, bottomless abyss.

Zhang Lei stared at the darkness for a long time, but ultimately didn't dare to venture down.

Zhang Lei waited for a while, then looked around carefully again, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a rat darting across the corner of the wall.

He suddenly had a bright idea, rushed over and grabbed the mouse, then searched the house for a long time before finding a thin rope.

He quickly tied the mouse with a rope, then, holding the other end of the rope, carefully lowered the mouse little by little down the steps.

Not long after, Zhang Lei felt the rope end sink to the bottom.

He left the mouse at the bottom for a few minutes before slowly lifting it up. Seeing that the mouse was still alive and kicking when it was pulled up, he was finally relieved.