My Demon Friends

Chapter 755

After receiving such a valuable gift from Sister Hong Ran, it would have been quite awkward for Zhou Li not to respond in some way—to express his gratitude, he treated her to a clay pot of pig's trotters outside the residential complex.

「 」

The sky had already darkened by the time they saw Sister Hong Ran off.

But Zhou Li and the others simply couldn't sleep, completely immersed in the excitement of owning and soon designing a courtyard that would belong solely to them. So, they returned to the courtyard. As soon as they opened the gate, they were joyfully greeted by the confused and uneasy members of the Dog Gang. The courtyard itself was pitch black, and they could hardly see anything.

Brother Nan turned on his phone's flashlight. "I'll go turn on the lights."

Shortly after, the lights in the courtyard switched on, casting a bright yellow glow.

The group stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking around carefully as they inspected their future residence.

To be precise, it was a modern building in the style of a siheyuan, though not entirely identical to the typical Capital-style siheyuan Zhou Li had in mind.

Directly opposite the courtyard gate stood the main house, a two-story structure that, in ancient times, would have served as a reception area and living quarters for the elders. On each side of the main house was a smaller, ancillary room, often used for storing miscellaneous items. The east and west sides of the courtyard each featured a single-story side wing connected to these ancillary rooms. Each side wing contained two rooms and had a flat platform on its roof.

There was no gatehouse wing on the side of the courtyard gate, only a wall.

There was also no rear building.

The rooms were all quite spacious and each came with a private bathroom, meaning the enclosed courtyard was also a good size.

The courtyard ground was paved with cement. Near three of the corners, there was a flower bed, while the remaining corner held a rockery and an empty fish pond.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a stone table and stone chairs, but no pavilion.

Zhou Li addressed the group, "We really should renovate it to make it more to our liking. If anyone has any suggestions, now is the time to voice them."

He then added, "Don't be shy; speak your mind. This is our shared home, so we must all contribute."

"I think we should keep this little fish pond!" Huai Xu was the first to speak, grinning. "It's perfect for moving all my Little Lotus plants here!"

Hearing this, Tuanzi quickly raised his little paw. "Little fish, little fish eat!"

"That sounds good." Zhou Li nodded, affirming their ideas. "Then we'll keep the fish pond. We can modify it a bit later and add a filtration system. These three flower beds can also stay. Later on, we can plant some large Yueli shrubs. I also think we could dig a trench in the cement ground along the perimeter of the courtyard wall to plant miniature Yueli. Although the wall blocks some light, in Chunming, they'd still get at least four to five hours of sunlight daily, possibly more, which is enough for their needs."

"Mm," Miss Zheng nodded, always very enthusiastic about planting flowers.

After some thought, she glanced around quietly. She was hesitant to share but felt it wouldn't be right to say nothing. Under the lights, she mustered her courage. "Also, along both sides of the road outside, we can plant many flowers too."

"And the two small rooftops," Zhou Li said. "We could grow climbing Yueli there, which would hang down. The downside is they wouldn't be planted in the ground, so they'd require a lot more care."

"Mm!"

"Then the two of us will be responsible for planting the flowers," Zhou Li told her. "We'll start choosing tomorrow. See what kind of flowers you like, and then we'll observe the duration of sunlight in different areas. When we buy them, I will categorize them into large shrubs, small shrubs, climbing Yueli, and mini or micro-mini Yueli. I'll also note their mature heights and whether they're sun-tolerant, to decide the best places to plant them. Flowers with similar shapes, colors, and types can be planted together. If planted inside the courtyard, the sun-tolerant varieties would go under the east wall to catch the afternoon sun. Those less sun-tolerant would go under the west wall for the morning sun. For those planted outside, against the courtyard wall, the arrangement would be reversed. We can consider planting hydrangeas in places that only get midday sun."

"I... I couldn't keep track of all that." Miss Zheng felt it was all very complicated; she usually planted flowers haphazardly.

Then, the group plunged into a more intense discussion, tossing suggestions back and forth, with Zhou Li gradually becoming the recorder.

"The area behind the house could be used for growing vegetables!"

"I think the empty space out front needs a lush tree. Hmm, and a swing."

"We should also plant fruit trees."

"Fruit trees could be planted on the east and west sides."

"And the dogs need a house too. I suggest building one against the outer courtyard wall," Brother Nan said. "That way, they can keep an eye on things outside and also go out to play easily. Maybe we could cut a small hole at the base of the courtyard wall so they can come and go freely. It's not very nice to always keep them cooped up outside."

"Mm, you're right…" Secretary Zhou typed on his phone, recording the discussion. It was hard to believe this suggestion came from Brother Nan. "If we're going to build it, let's build it well. Perhaps a miniature, traditional-style doghouse, matching the style of these houses."

"Thank you, everyone," Miss Zheng said.

"You don't have to be so formal."

"Right, we also need to run a water pipe along this courtyard wall, with taps accessible from both inside and out, for easy watering," Zhou Li mused. He didn't plan to mention building a stove yet, deciding to just build it later.

"That should be easy to handle," Brother Nan said. "I noticed earlier that this house doesn't have running water. It uses a well at the back and a water tower on top. We really need to get running water installed. Relying solely on the well might be fine for our own use, but it definitely won't be enough for watering all the plants."

"There's enough space outside to set up a badminton net," Zhou Li said tentatively. "It would be convenient for us to play then."

"That sounds like a hassle," Huai Xu said blankly.

"It's not a hassle. Look, as long as we write all this down and implement it step by step, there's plenty of time. Don't panic; we'll get it all done eventually," Brother Nan glanced at Secretary Zhou. "Right now, the priority is for each of us to choose our own room. Although these houses have been renovated, they lack furniture, and the decor is quite tacky. We need to redo it to our liking. Then, we can all go pick out the furniture and bedding we like to make it livable as soon as possible."

"Brother Nan makes sense," Secretary Zhou nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah, Prince Yu, you choose first. We can hang out together in the future; we hit it off pretty well," Brother Nan told His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, then pretended to hesitate. "Wait, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, is of noble status and beloved by all. He doesn't even need to choose! The main house is for you. Pick any room you like; it's all yours. We'll take the rooms on the sides."

"Brother Nan makes sense." Secretary Zhou nodded again and exchanged a look with Brother Nan.

This siheyuan-style building led them to abandon their plan of being Miss Zheng's neighbors. Instead, they decided to live together, which would make it convenient to scrounge meals. Besides, many people in the Capital share siheyuan, so in a way, they'd still be neighbors.

But then a problem arose. The courtyard was a gift to Zhou Li from Hong Ran. Miss Zheng would surely feel uncomfortable staying in the main house. However, if Zhou Li and the others took the main house and Miss Zheng stayed in one of the side wings, that would also feel awkward.

This arrangement was better.

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu, gave them a cool glance, knowing their thoughts, and said from mid-air, "Very well."

Upon hearing this, Tuanzi immediately raised his paw. "Lord Dumpling gets the main house too!"

"Okay!"

Brother Nan then looked at Miss Zheng, pointing to the east and west side wings. "Which side do you two choose? Each side has two rooms, so it's perfect: one for each of you. Zhou Li, Huai Xu, and I will take the other side."

"I... don't mind."

"Qinghe, which side do you like?"

"Either is fine," Qinghe said in a deep voice.

"Then that settles it."

Brother Nan walked toward the west side wing, which was closer to him. There really wasn't much difference between the two wings; the rooms had windows at both the front and back, receiving sunlight in both the morning and afternoon. However, the windows at the back were larger than those at the front, making the west wing rooms sunnier.

Then Brother Nan chose the room closer to the main house, leaving the one near the courtyard gate for Zhou Li and Huai Xu. On the other side, Miss Zheng also chose the room closer to the main house.

"Let's go back!" Brother Nan exclaimed.

Qinghe stepped forward to communicate with the Dog Gang. They had to be left temporarily in this unfamiliar place, as the group wouldn't return until the next day. He needed to explain this clearly to them. Qinghe had an innate talent for this, although the members of the Dog Gang couldn't see him.

Under the expectant gazes of the Dog Gang, the group of humans and demons departed.

「 」

What followed was the busy yet organized decoration phase.

"Huai Xu and I are thinking of getting a bunk bed," Zhou Li told everyone in the car. "We'll order it online since there are so many styles. We'll start choosing tonight. Once it's delivered, I'll have Huai Xu assemble it. He enjoys tinkering with such things anyway, so it'll give him something to do."

"I like working on these things too," Brother Nan said.

"Then you can get a bunk bed too," Zhou Li encouraged, pursing his lips. "That way, you can sleep on the top bunk or the bottom bunk, whichever you prefer. And if you feel like it, you can even pull Little Zheng over to sleep with you and chat all night."

"That does sound quite appealing," Brother Nan paused, "but I feel like you have ulterior motives."

"Not at all."

"Well… okay, then!"

Brother Nan didn't make it too hard for him.