Duchamp hurried back to the city because the matter of the house was already settled.

As the office became more and more crowded, Duchamp consulted with Serta to help her find another house, which Duchamp would rent or buy, and use it as a place for him and Goode to occasionally go into the city, and vacate the third floor of the office for office use.

Duchamp's demand for a place to live was clean and quiet, but Serta did not like the houses outside the high-end residential areas, and did not allow Duchamp to be in the company of the blue-collar workers. In the end, Emma helped find a suitable house, an old two-story house with a yard on Austin Street, near the West Gate.

On Saturday, Emma took Goode and Duchamp to see the house, and Duchamp was immediately satisfied. The old house is located in a quiet winding small street, the area is not small, there is a large tree in the yard, and the house is a little dilapidated, but it is only necessary to redecorate it after buying. The old residents of Rulei lived next to it, and they planted some flowers and plants on the roofs and windowsills in a very atmospheric manner. Such an old neighborhood, in Duchamp's opinion, is quite emotional. And the house is also very cheap, only 500,000 meters.

After Duchamp took a fancy to it, Emma had another verbal battle with the landlord, picking out the numerous faults in the house, and in the end, the owner gave another 5,000 meters. Duchamp happily sent Emma and Goode to help him with the transfer of the property, and he stayed in the small courtyard to watch the scorching sun in the shade of the trees, and his heart was full of a sense of accomplishment.

"It's not easy, my brother has also become a house-owning family, and it is still a single-family villa." Duchamp's sentiment can only be understood by Chinese in the 21st century.

The house was built haphazardly, with the main building in a sloping L-shape, with a high courtyard wall facing the street in front of it, which zigzags along with the courtyard walls of each family. The winter in Lulei is relatively cold, and the windows of the houses are generally not large, and the courtyard walls are relatively high to block the cold north wind in winter. The courtyard walls and walls of the house are made of a mixture of stone slabs and earth, which is quite strong, but the surface is a little weathered, and depending on the situation, it is afraid that it has been built for one or two hundred years.

The house is quite characteristic of the mountain town of Lulei, built on the topography, with 6 rooms on the first floor, only 3 rooms on the second floor, and the side can be walked along the platform to the edge of the alley. The front yard is large, with water drawers and abandoned flower stands, and there is a small sloping area in the back yard with a small step along the stone wall, and the high part seems to have been once reclaimed as a vegetable patch. Looking at the situation, there was also a large family living in those days.

Duchamp was satisfied that the side of the house could be used as a kitchen and dining room, and the front side could be used as a lounge, study, guest room, etc., and the upstairs was perfect.

After Goode returned from completing the formalities, Duchamp discussed the plan with him with great interest, and Goode said to him with a strange face: "Although this house is not small, it is also a little too old and troublesome to repair, why not buy a new apartment?" ”

Duchamp pouted, you are a turtle who has no pursuit, you don't live in a single-family villa, you want to live in an apartment, what are you afraid of, the older you are, the more valuable it is for cultural relics.

"Emma, ask if there's a suitable architecture firm in the city, I'm going to renovate this house."

Emma cautiously consulted with several employees and gave the name and address of a private architect with the surname Morgan.

Duchamp walked happily down town, where Morgan Architects' address was south of the city on the lower level of Ruley, near the newly built train station. Duchamp glanced outside, felt that the style was quite pleasing to the eye, knocked on the door, and walked in.

Morgan Architects has three designers, and Morgan Architects himself is in his forties and looks experienced. Duchamp explained his house and his intentions for the renovation, and Morgan mused: "The house needs to be repaired, the basement needs to be rebuilt and enlarged, and the garden needs to be rebuilt, which is not cheap, and may be worth more than the house itself." ”

Duchamp smiled and said: "Although it costs a little more now, the house is mine, and it won't be a loss after the renovation, no." ”

The Morgan designer nodded and called his other partner: "Doreen, let's go, go to the site and have a look at the garden you love the most." The designer cheered, called another worker, took her measuring tools, and set off to the west.

When he arrived at Austin Street, Morgan looked at the exterior of the house and took a cool breath: "It's really a house for many years, and it takes a lot of effort to renovate it to be comfortable and inhabitable." ”

Doreen stroked the exposed stone wall on the exterior of the house, and exclaimed, "What a quaint style, Monsieur Duchamp, you won't change this characteristic." ”

"No, the exterior structure of the house and the features of the stone walls, I want to keep them all, the interior for comfort, only some modifications, of course, the weathered parts of the walls have to be repaired and reinforced. I don't want to move the roof, but this roof platform on the second floor has basically not been used before, and I think it's a pity, so it's better to use it to make a roof garden or something. ”

"You're absolutely right." Doreen ran over like a gust of wind, gesturing at the large platform that jutted out from the second floor. "With a little effort, I can make a green shrub fence, and I choose local evergreen shrubs that don't lose their leaves in winter. A quarter of the podium was created into a space with floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, and flowers were planted on the outside, and the view of the rooftop and garden was enjoyed inside. Also, the layout of the garden is terrible and should be completely renewed. ”

The female designer walks through the old house like an excited bird, talking about her inspirations. Duchamp occasionally interjected to correct a design or two that was too feminine.

Morgan smiled and said to Duchamp: "Doreen is like that, every time she designs the decoration of a house and garden for a client, as if it were her own, always bringing her own passion and imagination into it. ”

Duchamp nodded: "The best designer is the one with enthusiasm, let Doreen be busy, let's talk about the price and a few points." I've heard from your past customers that you're an architect with a very real price, and I hope to give you some discount this time. ”

After another exchange between the two, Duchamp generously gave a budget of 1 million meters, including the cost of renovating the house and adding rooms. Duchamp advises on a few important points:

"The basement is so small now, I had to find a way to use the slope of the backyard and front yard to create the right amount of ventilation and light holes, and at the same time be strong and waterproof and moisture-resistant, with enough space and proper partitioning. I still have some business at home, and I usually have a lot of things, and the basement may be used as a warehouse, stacking some grain and groceries. In addition, sometimes there are three or four guests in the house, and the location of the guest rooms needs to be designed. The living room and lounge on the first floor are designed to be a little more open to see how we can add to it. As for the garden and the terrace, let's do as Doreen says. I like to practice martial arts, and the garden should be designed to be a little more open to make room for martial arts. ”

Morgan twisted his mustache, thought for a while, and said: "I already have a good idea about the use of space in this house, and with a budget of 1 million meters, I should be able to play a little." It just takes two weeks of design time. ”

"No problem." Duchamp agreed.