Chapter 185: Moving, the New House is Finally Built
"Xu Brother, if we build the house, can it be constructed right next to the wall?"
Meng Ci stepped forward and examined the wall carefully. Seeing how thick it was, he realized that if the house were built right against the wall, they could save the materials for one wall.
He sighed inwardly. The base's land was really expensive.
Now, if they could save even a little, they would.
"Sure, it's possible," Xu Cheng replied, crouching on the ground, helping the surveyor hold the tape measure.
Without hesitation, Xu Cheng answered Meng Ci's question.
Even if the rules didn't allow it, Xu Cheng would go back and persuade the relevant leaders. Selling this land could earn a significant number of points; there was no need to lose a big customer over a wall.
After the land was measured, Xu Cheng and the surveyor marked the area with flags.
Since Meng Ci and Shen Que did not plan to supervise, they entrusted everything to Xu Cheng.
Fortunately, Xu Cheng assured them that as long as the funds were available and they covered the labor and materials, the house could be built immediately.
For Meng Ci, anything that could be resolved with points was not an issue.
So, they drove back to the points redemption center, where Meng Ci swiped both his and Shen Que's cards, barely managing to gather 50,000 points.
The land alone cost about 80,000 points, and although they didn't have enough in their cards, Meng Ci stated that he would gather the rest soon.
Xu Cheng then had Meng Ci and Shen Que sign a contract and record their information, enabling them to borrow the points to purchase the land.
In addition to the 80,000 points for the land, the remaining costs would cover labor and materials.
Xu Cheng calculated that they would need at least 120,000 points.
Meng Ci sighed, but building the house was essential.
They would live there until the apocalypse ended, so Meng Ci only felt a brief pang of regret before moving on.
Meng Ci trusted the authorities, so he readily swiped his card.
Of course, Meng Ci also made his requests: the wall must be three meters high, and a garage must be built.
The villa only occupied 100 square meters of land; if the garage were included, it would make the space feel much smaller. Thus, Meng Ci purchased additional land near the villa's wall, specifically for building the garage.
Xu Cheng was very experienced in building houses, so he immediately contacted a designer, who quickly drew up a preliminary sketch for Meng Ci and Shen Que.
After Meng Ci proposed some modifications and was satisfied, Xu Cheng organized the construction that very night.
As for materials like bricks and steel, Meng Ci bought them directly from the official side, so the two no longer had to worry about it.
Regarding their living arrangements, Meng Ci and Shen Que returned to their villa.
After all, the villa was still habitable for the time being, and they had nearly exhausted their points, so they couldn't afford to rent another place. The most important task at hand was to deal with the food stored in the cellar.
Fortunately, after just two days, Zhao Jingyu, though physically disabled yet mentally resilient, returned to West Mountain Villa with Liang Xiu. He shared the password for Villa No. 6 with Liang Xiu and registered his fingerprint and iris data.
Afterward, Zhao Jingyu selected some red wine, lobster, and other food items, leaving them to be delivered to the newly built villa at the base, and handed the remaining items over to Liang Xiu for handling.
Regarding the redemption of points, Zhao Jingyu went to the points redemption center with his points card. After a series of operational authorizations, he allowed Liang Xiu to transfer points to his card.
With these arrangements completed, Zhao Jingyu returned to the hospital with peace of mind to continue his treatment.
From this point on, a solution was found for the grain stored in the basement of Meng Ci's residence.
Taking advantage of the night, and given that the surviving wealthy merchants in the villa district, especially after the previous earthquake, had used additional points to expedite the construction of their houses and moved collectively to the foot of the mountain, the area was now largely deserted.
Thus, the three of them moved Meng Ci's previously stockpiled grain to Zhao Jingyu's villa overnight.
However, rather than placing it in the basement, they put it in the living room.
The three of them rested for only three hours before it was time to meet with the points redemption center staff.
The staff from the points redemption center arrived with five off-road vehicles to transport the goods.
Including Meng Ci's vehicle, they made a total of five trips to move all the items.
Since it was daytime and the residents who had been busy all night had gone back to bed, no one noticed.
A fifty-jin bag of flour could be exchanged for 500 points. There were over 150 remaining bags of flour, along with rice, cooking oil, and other supplies.
When Meng Ci had purchased them, he had chosen the freshest batches, so most were still within the expiration date.
Although some had expired, the packaging was intact, and there was no unusual odor, so they were retained for official use.
In the end, Meng Ci's points card had an additional 100,000 points, while Shen Que only added just over 10,000 points to his card.
Despite having points in their cards, the two still did not rent a house.
Instead, they observed the villa and, feeling that there was no immediate danger, decided to continue living there.
Liang Xiu, of course, invited Meng Ci and Shen Que to stay at Zhao Jingyu's house or suggested renting a new house.
However, both Meng Ci and Shen Que declined.
Seeing their resolve, Liang Xiu could only relent.
Every two days thereafter, Liang Xiu would come to check on Villa No. 8 to ensure it did not collapse and bury the two of them.
The gate of the villa's yard was removed by Meng Ci, who had it installed in the new villa.
Solar panels, electric fences, and other usable items from Villa No. 8 were all dismantled by Meng Ci and moved to the new villa.
The villa's several doors and glass were also removed and installed in the new villa, as these were high-security items.
The remaining glass from Villa No. 8 was used by Meng Ci to build a roughly five-square-meter glass house in the yard of the new villa.
The construction of the villa was swift, and in just over twenty days, it was completed.
When the house was handed over, Meng Ci paid an additional 80,000 points to secure the property.
The land was only 10 meters by 10 meters, and since Meng Ci and Shen Que left over 3 meters for the yard and about a meter of space on each side of the house next to the walls, the villa occupied only a little over 50 square meters.
Fortunately, the villa is only occupied by Meng Ci and Shen Que, which is ample for the two of them.
On the first floor, there is a living room, a kitchen, and a small bathroom. The second floor consists of one bedroom, a bathroom, and a balcony over one meter wide.
In comparison to Villa No. 8, this place is indeed simpler, but compared to other residences, the presence of a yard and a balcony makes it quite desirable.
Meng Ci also transferred a set of furniture from Villa No. 8 to this villa.
Regarding the remaining items, those desired by the points redemption center were all exchanged for points.
Items not accepted by the redemption center were left in the villa.
On January 23rd, three days before the onset of the polar night, Meng Ci and Shen Que moved into their new home.
During this period, Meng Ci and Shen Que occasionally inspected the house's construction progress and even encountered Zhang Mingtian.
Zhang Mingtian returned to the security team and, due to his outstanding performance, enjoyed the same benefits as official personnel.
Song Meixuan delivered a baby in November.
Later, upon learning that the base's hospital had opened and that they could move into the base, Zhang Mingtian moved his family and rented a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment.