A Billionaire CEO Brings His Child Home: The Awakening of the Stay-at-Home Dad System

On the morning of the ninth day, Chen Hao pushed open the door of the old house and stood in the yard, looking around.

The main room, bedrooms, and bathrooms have all been renovated, but the kitchen remains the same as before.

The paint on the walls is peeling off, the stove has collapsed, and the roof is leaking light; it's completely unusable.

What he has to do today is rebuild a kitchen.

The original kitchen was on the east side of the first floor of the old house, and it was about eight square meters.

He cleaned out all the junk inside yesterday.

The collapsed earthen stove, rotten cabinets, broken tiles, and debris piled up for more than ten years filled three handcarts and were all transported to the pit behind the village.

The kitchen is now empty, with only four brick walls and a leaky roof remaining.

Chen Hao stood at the kitchen doorway, having already clearly visualized the entire kitchen layout in his mind—

A new wood-burning stove was built against the north wall, a row of cabinets and a sink were installed against the west wall, a refrigerator and shelves were placed against the east wall, and a large window was opened on the south wall to ensure lighting and ventilation.

The floor is covered with non-slip floor tiles, the walls are covered with white ceramic tiles all the way to the ceiling, and an integrated ceiling is suspended from the ceiling with LED flat panel lights.

"Dad, let's work on the kitchen today," he said, turning to Chen Bingzhong.

"Okay." Chen Bingzhong placed the thermos on the stone platform in the yard and rolled up his sleeves.

Chen Hao first demolished the old roof of the kitchen.

The roof was smaller than the main room, only eight square meters, and he dismantled it all by himself in less than an hour.

The tiles were removed, the rafters were pried off, and the purlins were pulled out; everything was piled up in the yard for later disposal.

[Ding! Kitchen roof demolition completed. God-level masonry experience points +134!]

After dismantling the roof, he began to build a wood-fired stove.

A wood-fired stove is the heart of a rural kitchen; how well it's used directly affects the aroma and flavor of the food.

He used firebricks—these bricks are heat-resistant and will not crack due to prolonged exposure to fire.

He had already measured the dimensions of the stove body long ago.

The stove chamber is 40 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters deep, the stove opening is 30 centimeters high, and the stove surface is 80 centimeters from the ground. This height is the most comfortable for him to cook without having to bend over.

He used cement mortar to lay the refractory bricks one by one, and used a spirit level to calibrate each brick to ensure that the stove body was vertical and the stove surface was horizontal.

He applied a layer of refractory clay to the inner wall of the stove, making it smooth and even so that the fire would burn more intensely and completely.

He laid a layer of light gray ceramic tiles on the stovetop, the same color as the floor tiles in the main room. The tiles were smooth, flat, and easy to clean.

[Ding! Wood-burning stove construction completed. God-level bricklayer experience points +178!]

After building the stove body, he installed the stove—two burners, one large and one small; the large one was for stir-frying, and the small one was for stewing soup.

He placed an iron pot on each of the stove burners. The pots were bought in the county town; they were cast iron, thick and sturdy, and conducted heat evenly.

The gap between the pot and the stove burner is filled with refractory clay, making it tight and preventing smoke leakage.

Then he installed the chimney.

The chimney extends from the rear of the stove, rises along the wall to above the roof, and is secured to the wall with clamps.

He installed a ash removal port at the bottom of the chimney to make it easier to clean up the tobacco ash later.

[Ding! Chimney installation complete. God-level masonry experience points +145!]

Next, we'll lay the wall tiles.

He first drew lines on the ground to determine the layout of the tiles—

Laying the tiles from the ground upwards, with the first tile one tile off the ground, will prevent narrow strips from appearing in the finished product and create the best visual effect.

He used tile adhesive to attach 300×600 white glossy tiles to the wall one by one, tapping each tile firmly with a rubber mallet, calibrating it with a spirit level, and controlling the gaps with cross clamps.

[Ding! Kitchen wall tiling completed. Master Tiler Experience Points +156!]

After tiling, the floor tiles are laid.

The floor tiles are gray, non-slip tiles, 300×300, the same style as those in the bathroom.

He first laid a layer of dry, hardened cement mortar on the ground, then smoothed it with a trowel, and then laid the floor tiles one by one on top, tamping them down with a rubber mallet.

After laying each row, he would use a spirit level to check and ensure that the ground was flat and sloped towards the drain.

[Ding! Kitchen floor tiling completed. God-level tile setter experience points +143!]

After laying the tiles, he started making the cabinets.

The cabinet body is made of plywood, with a layer of white melamine board on the outside, which is waterproof and moisture-proof.

He precisely measured the dimensions of each board with a tape measure, cut it with a chainsaw, and assembled it with screws.

The cabinet doors were made of solid red oak with mortise and tenon joints, without the use of glue. The door handles are made of brass, in a retro style, and they look great together with the white cabinet doors.

[Ding! Cabinet construction completed. God-level carpentry experience points +167!]

The sink is an undermount basin, made of stainless steel, and embedded in the countertop.

He cut suitable holes in the countertop, put the sink in, secured it with clips, and applied silicone sealant to waterproof it.

The faucet is a pull-out type with two water flow modes—bottle water and shower water—making it very convenient for washing vegetables and pots.

[Ding! Kitchen sink installation complete. God-level carpentry experience points +128!]

Finally, there's the suspended ceiling.

He built a frame on the roof using aluminum alloy keel, and then inserted the integrated ceiling panels one by one.

The integrated ceiling panels are white with fine textures on the surface. They are non-reflective and have a soft appearance.

He installed two LED panel lights in the ceiling, providing even and bright light without any shadows.

[Ding! Kitchen ceiling installation complete. Superb tile setter experience points +134!]

By the time Chen Hao finished all the work, it was already the afternoon of the tenth day.

He stood in the kitchen doorway, looking at the brand new kitchen—

White wall tiles, gray non-slip floor tiles, a gleaming countertop, beautiful cabinets, and bright ceiling lights—

He nodded in satisfaction.

Chen Bingzhong stood to the side, looking at his son's kitchen, which was dilapidated and unusable just eight days ago, but had now been transformed into a kitchen even more beautiful than those in city homes, and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Hao, your kitchen is cleaner than our family's convenience store," he said.

Chen Hao smiled and tidied up his tools.

The live stream was on for the past two days without being turned off; viewers watched him build the kitchen the entire time, and the chat was constantly flooded with comments.

"The stove in the video is built to such a high standard, it's even better than the one in my hometown."

"The slope of the chimney is just right, so the ventilation effect will definitely be very good."

"The cabinet doors are made of mortise and tenon joints? You're amazing, streamer! You even use mortise and tenon joints for cabinet doors."

"The sink faucet is a pull-out type; the host really knows how to enjoy life."

"This kitchen is even prettier than my living room after the renovation."

Gifts kept floating on the screen: hearts, lollipops, sunglasses, bunny ears, heart gestures, confetti cannons, hot air balloons, one after another.

The system notification sounds rang in Chen Hao's mind—

[Received a donation: 15 hearts, gained 10 popularity points!]

[Received a donation: 8 lollipops, gained 14 popularity points!]

[Received a donation: 5 pairs of sunglasses, and gained 99 popularity points!]

[Received a donation: 3 bunny ears, gained 59 popularity points!]

[Received a tip: 2 hearts, gained 79 popularity points!]

[Received a tip: 2 firework tubes, gained 79 popularity points!]

[Received a donation: 1 hot air balloons, gained 104 popularity points!]