Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

Three days after signing the purchase contract, Yang Fan arranged for a designer from the decoration company to come to the new house for on-site measurement.

At nine o'clock in the morning, a white van parked at the entrance of the residential area.

Three people got out of the car. The one in the lead was a man in his early thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a dark gray work jacket, carrying a measuring tape and a notebook.

"Mr. Yang, right? My surname is Liu, and I'm a designer at Anju Design."

The man strode over and shook hands with Yang Fan. "Zhou Yao introduced me."

Yang Fan shook hands with him:

"Designer Liu, thank you for your help."

"We just bought this house and want to renovate it nicely, mainly so that my family can live comfortably."

"I understand, I understand." Designer Liu pushed up his glasses, looked up at the four-story building, and said.

"Zhou Yao told me that you have a large family and would like to have an elevator installed. Let's take a look at the structure first."

The group entered the house.

Designer Liu was clearly very professional; he started taking photos, measuring, and recording as soon as he entered. His two assistants were responsible for drawing sketches and checking the water and electricity lines, respectively.

Yang Fan led them on a tour of the house, explaining the layout of each floor.

"The first floor includes a living room, dining room, kitchen, and a room for the elderly."

"Three bedrooms on the second floor, three bedrooms on the third floor, and a study and entertainment room on the fourth floor."

"Each floor should have a bathroom, the kitchen should be large, and the living room should be bright and airy," Yang Fan said, describing his vision.

Designer Liu listened attentively while taking notes in his notebook, occasionally asking a few questions:

"If the elderly person's room is on the first floor, does the bathroom need to be designed to be age-friendly? For example, with handrails and non-slip flooring?"

"Yes," Yang Fan nodded. "Uncle Lin has difficulty walking, so we need to take these details into account."

"The elevator shaft location is already available, but what type of elevator do you plan to install? Hydraulic or traction? What is the load capacity?"

Yang Fan hadn't really thought about it in detail: "Which one is better?"

"Hydraulic pressure is smooth, but slow."

"The traction is fast, but it requires a top-floor server room," Designer Liu explained.

"Since your house has four floors, I suggest installing a small traction elevator. It doesn't need a large machine room. With a load capacity of 450 kilograms, it can accommodate five or six people at a time, which should be sufficient."

"Okay, whatever you say."

When the measurements reached the second floor, Designer Liu pointed to the empty frame structure and asked:

"Mr. Yang, how do you plan to divide these spaces with these partitions?"

"Is it a standard bedroom size, or are there any special requirements?"

Yang Fan thought for a moment and said, "The bedroom doesn't need to be too big, fifteen to twenty square meters will be fine."

"But there needs to be enough storage space, especially for the older generation who have a lot of stuff."

"Understood." Designer Liu wrote it down in his notebook.

"Then the wardrobe should be built-in to save space."

The entire measurement process lasted for more than two hours.

At the end, Designer Liu closed his notebook:

"Mr. Yang, I understand the basic situation."

"Okay, I'll go back and come up with two plans, one that's more modern and minimalist, and the other that's more warm and practical."

"I'll come back in three days with the proposal and preliminary budget, and we'll discuss it in more detail."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Yang Fan saw them out.

……

When Yang Fan returned to his rented apartment at noon, his family was gathered around the dining table discussing the renovation.

"I think the kitchen must be big!" Wang Xiuying said.

"Now, in this kitchen, the three of us can't even turn around while cooking."

"The new house needs to be spacious, ideally big enough for two people to cook at the same time."

Li Cuihua nodded: "Yes, we need two sinks, one for washing vegetables and one for washing dishes, so we don't have to wait in line."

Lin's mother was rather reserved: "I...I think having more bathrooms is great. No need to fight for one in the morning."

Xiaoya was the most excited: "Brother! I want to design my own room!"

"I need a huge desk, and a whole wall of bookshelves!"

"I need a quiet room," Yang Hao said. "Sometimes I come back late, and I'm worried about disturbing everyone."

Yang Jianguo and Yang Jianmin sat to the side smoking, listening to the women's chatter, occasionally chiming in:

"Practicality is all that matters; don't go for anything fancy."

Yang Fan sat down at the table and listened to everyone with a smile.

It feels good—family members are brainstorming for a common goal, everyone has ideas, and everyone is involved.

"Dad, Mom, Third Uncle and Third Aunt, Xiaoyu, Haozi, Xiaoya."

After everyone had finished speaking, Yang Fan spoke up.

"The renovation company came to take measurements today, and they'll provide a design plan in three days."

"When the plan comes out, we'll look at it together and make a decision together."

"Deal together?" Wang Xiuying was a little surprised. "We don't know anything about interior design."

"If you don't understand, you can learn," Yang Fan said.

"This house is for our whole family, so we need to consider everyone's needs."

"When the designer arrives, feel free to share your ideas."

Yang Jianguo flicked his cigarette ash: "Xiao Fan is right. It's our house, so we have to make sure we're comfortable living in it."

"Okay!" Xiaoya raised her hand. "I want to participate!"

"I want one too," Lin Xiaoyu said softly.

Yang Hao smiled and nodded: "Count me in."

……

Three days later, Designer Liu arrived on time, this time with a young female assistant carrying a thick stack of drawings.

The family sat around in the living room, like they were having a meeting.

Designer Liu turned on the projector and projected the design plan onto the white wall.

"Dear uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, I have prepared two plans."

He switched between the PowerPoint presentations, saying, "The first set leans towards a modern minimalist style, with white and gray as the main colors, simple lines, and a strong sense of space. The second set is more warm and practical, with warm colors and more natural wood elements, making it more homey."

He explained each floor plan, rendering, and materials list one by one.

Everyone watched very attentively.

When Wang Xiuying saw the rendering of the first-floor living room, she pointed to the projector and said:

"This living room is great, so bright and spacious!"

"Is the sofa too hard?"

"We have a large family, and sometimes several people need to sit together to watch TV, so the sofa needs to be soft."

Designer Liu quickly wrote it down: "Okay, Auntie, we can choose a sofa that's moderately firm, or we can get a few beanbag chairs."

Upon seeing the kitchen design, Li Cuihua asked:

"Isn't this countertop too long? Won't it be too far for two people to cook together?"

"This can be adjusted," said Designer Liu. "We can make it L-shaped or U-shaped for easier operation."

Lin's mother was most concerned about the bathroom: "Is this handrail... sturdy?"

"My husband has bad legs, so he needs to be reliable."

"Don't worry, Auntie, they're all made of thickened stainless steel, so they can withstand heavy loads without any problem."

When it was time to design the bedroom, Xiaoya excitedly said:

"Designer Liu, could you add a bay window in this corner of my room?"

"I want to sit on it and read a book!"

"Yes, yes, we can build a bay window, and we can also put storage cabinets underneath."

Yang Hao is quite pragmatic:

"My room doesn't need to be too big, but it needs to be soundproof. Sometimes I come back late, and I'm worried about disturbing everyone's rest."

"We will use good soundproofing materials, and we will also add soundproofing cotton to the walls."