Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 120 A Hidden Paradise

Xia Maosheng thought for a moment, scratched his head and laughed, "Okay, I'll listen to you. You're so thoughtful. I hadn't even thought about the New Year. Let's get the house over there ready tomorrow and start working on it. I'll go find Uncle Wang and see if we can get a chef from somewhere first."

Xiao Wei glanced at Xia Maosheng, shook his head and said, "Don't look for Uncle Wang, you have to talk to Sister Li about this."

Xia Maosheng paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Right, right, we should find Sister Li. You're a shrewd one, partnering with you was the right decision."

Xiao Wei looked at Xia Maosheng with disdain, curled his lip, and said, "I may be naive, but I'm not stupid. This isn't called being shrewd. Is it worth asking Uncle Wang for such a small matter? Even though I come from the mountains, I understand the principle that favors fade with time. In the future, we should try to get things done through the people below us, instead of always bothering Uncle Wang, understand? Besides, even if you ask him, he'll just have his people do it anyway. Do you think it's better to get things done happily or resentfully? It's just a matter of having a meal and offering a pack of cigarettes."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that makes sense. You're right. I'll listen to you from now on. Damn, you weren't thinking about this when you asked Sister Li to find the night watchman, were you?"

Xiao Wei kicked the lumber and said, "It's just about supporting someone. Every family has elderly relatives and friends to rely on. It's not a big deal to ask for favors, so it's worth it. We have to find someone anyway. For people like Sister Li and Uncle Wang, who are of leadership age, what's the most worrying thing? It's their children, the elderly, and promotions. But we can't help with promotions." He looked up at the corners of each room's awning, didn't see any obvious water stains, and nodded with relief.

Xia Maosheng grinned like a thief stealing chickens, nodding and saying, "You're really quick-witted. If you ever sell me out, just let me know, and I'll help you count the money."

After walking around for a while, the two of them went downstairs. Sister Li and her group had all left, and the whole building was empty. The smell of paint lingered in the corridor, but the heating in the whole building was very strong, and even the corridor was warm.

Upon reaching the first floor, the two were about to exit through the main gate when they turned around and saw that the gate leading into the courtyard was also wide open. Xiao Wei stepped over, as the two of them hadn't actually been to the courtyard yet.

Upon entering the backyard, they found that the courtyard had also been cleared, the snow removed completely, revealing the neat cement ground underneath. The two stood at the entrance to the courtyard, mouths agape in astonishment.

After a while, Xiao Wei closed his mouth, turned to look at Xia Maosheng, and Xia Maosheng looked at him and said, "Awesome."

Xiao Wei nodded.

In front of the two people was a rectangular yard, roughly 30 x 50 cm in size. To the left was an iron gate for vehicles, beyond which was a row of five garages. At the top of the garages was a two-story building running horizontally and parallel to the main building. To the right of the two-story building was another row of six or seven single-story houses connected to the main building. At the corner between the single-story houses and the two-story building was a five-petaled cement flower bed. The yard was planted with trees except for the area in front of the garages.

The two walked into the courtyard and looked around before realizing that the main building they were using was actually divided into two parts. The other side was slightly smaller and was used by another unit, but the courtyard belonged entirely to them.

The most interesting thing is that the two-story building opposite the courtyard has a single-floor area that is larger than the main building, with a total area of ​​four or five hundred square meters.

Xia Maosheng held up the large bunch of keys he had been carrying and shook it, saying, "I was wondering why there were so many keys, but now I know."

Xiao Wei walked towards the second floor and said, "I bet your Uncle Wang doesn't even know there's a house here, or that there's a yard in the back."

Xia Maosheng said, "He must know that the compound is so big, and that there are so many buildings in it."

The two entered the second floor, unsure of its original purpose. The first floor consisted of four large rooms and a corridor, with the staircase at the far end of the corridor. Upon reaching the second floor, the far right corner revealed another large room, followed by a dozen or so smaller rooms. The building had running water and electricity, and the toilets were usable, although the exposed water pipes were rotten; they had originally used iron pipes.

The building has been cleaned up and is completely empty. We just swept away the dust, collected the clutter, repainted the walls, and changed the lights.

Xiao Wei looked around and said, "Sister Li, how many people did you get to work? That's incredibly fast! The whole thing is already done." Xia Maosheng waved from the other side of the corridor, "Xiao Wei, come here, look here."

Xiao Wei walked over to the innermost room. As he got closer, he noticed the iron door, clearly the kind they welded themselves. Several red characters were spray-painted on the door: "Military Secret, Do Not Approach." The lettering was faded and worn, indicating it had been there for quite some time.

The door was open, and the two people peeked inside. There were no windows, but they could make out a general view by the light from the corridor. The room was empty; there was nothing inside.

Xia Maosheng cautiously walked in, turned around halfway, and said, "There's nothing here. I thought I'd found something, but I got excited for nothing, damn it."

Xiao Wei stomped his foot and said, "The floor has already been mopped, what else could there be?" He looked around on the wall, found the light switch, and turned on the light.

The room wasn't very big, only about ten square meters. There were traces of cut angle iron on the inner walls and floor, revealing small bits of broken metal. There was a window inside, but a wooden window had been added inside to block out the light. The two people opened the wooden window, and the room immediately brightened up.

Xia Maosheng said, "This yard must have originally belonged to the military. No wonder it's so well-maintained and so big."

Xiao Wei nodded. Back then, many old buildings were actually left behind by the military. They were taken over by the government; some became office buildings, while others were left abandoned and eventually demolished. There were countless places like that in Northeast China. In Xiao Wei's hometown county, the government and public security bureau buildings were all like that.

There was no heating in the building. After their initial excitement wore off, the two of them felt the cold. The room was dimly lit and gloomy, and the cold air seemed to seep into their bones.

After leaving the second floor, I went to check out the garage and the row of bungalows. The garage's heating system was connected to the main building, so it seemed the company used to park cars there and it had been converted into a heated storage area. All the clutter had been cleared away, and the place was very clean, except for a lot of grease on the floor that I couldn't remove.

The houses on this side of the bungalow are all empty. The one at the very end is the boiler room. The boiler is still there, but it looks like it's no longer usable. This should have been the place where the whole yard used to get heating and water.

Back in the courtyard, standing by the cement flower bed, Xiao Wei said, "This used to be the regimental headquarters. In front were the office area and the dormitories of the directly subordinate companies. This side should have been the arsenal, responsible for repairing firearms and machinery. This row of bungalows must have been the location of the regimental communications platoon. My brother is in the army, and he told me about this. Our country's army is all set up like this. If it weren't for this row of bungalows, I wouldn't have been able to guess."

Xia Maosheng said, "Who cares what kind of regimental headquarters it is? It's ours now. What are we going to do with this huge place? We can't just leave it idle, can we?"