It was indeed a title deed, or a title deed for building a house.

Here, he needed to talk about the tradition of Xiaohe Village.

Not only in Xiaohe Village; they all built houses together like this. They first went to the village chief to buy a land deed. The area of each land deed was different, and the location wasn’t restricted. However, to prevent two families from competing for position, they would first buy a land deed and report in advance where they wanted to build a house.

After buying a land deed of a corresponding area, they could build a house. The type of house depended on the buyer’s wishes, and the quality depended on the available funds. Whether it was laying the foundation or the rest, the buyer had to cover the expenses and found a mason to do the work.

Wen Yan initially thought that Jiang Zhou would not buy the land deed until the beginning of spring. Who knew that he has it on the first day of the new year?

Jiang Zhou said, “If you buy it now, we can find craftsmen to start work after the new year. The house will be repaired in the spring.”

It would be better to take his wife and son back as soon as possible.

Lu Xiangxi said, “My house was just built two years ago, and I know quite a few masons. I’ll ask the master for you later.”

Jiang Zhou then smiled, “Okay, I’ll draw the drawings later,” as he took off his clothes.

He followed Wen Yan into the house: “I have already thought about how to build a house. Take a look and see if there is anything to add.”

He reached out and touched Wen Yan’s hand and added two more pieces of firewood to the brazier. He stuffed a few sweet potatoes into it and said in a reproachful tone, “Why don’t you make a fire? Your hands are so cold.”

Wen Yan shook his head, “I feel hot just now.”

He washed his face and went out to stand again. “It’s going to get cold soon. The fire was too scorching, and the smoke was choking, so it’s better to make use charcoal.”

Jiang Zhou replied, “Since you don’t like the fire, just fill it a bottle with hot water. It’s going to snow in the next few days; don’t be cold.”

Wen Yan nodded, “You said you have thought about how to build a house, what are your thought?”

Jiang Zhou spread out the prepared paper and touched a burnt branch from the fire as charcoal, drawing the shape of a house on the paper. “I want to build a three-story building.”

“Three-story building?” Wen Yan frowned.

Few houses in the town had three-story buildings, and even fewer in the village. Although the house they originally lived in was large, it was also a single-story building. He couldn’t imagine the courtyard.

What was the use of the third floor?

Seeing the confusion on his face, Jiang Zhou explained to him carefully, “The land I bought this time is of medium size. If I want to have a yard and only build one floor inside, it will be too crowded.”

He still didn’t have enough money now. It was better to buy a smaller one and build two more floors.

He used a charcoal pencil to draw one by one: “On the first floor, build a kitchen in the northeast corner. The chimney leads directly outside to prevent smoke from blinding your eyes. The kitchen needs to be larger; I will cook delicious food for you in the future.”

“Build a small room by the fire next to the kitchen. When your friends come, you can drink tea and chat in that room. It doesn’t need to be very big, as the heat will dissipate more slowly. You can also hang a small pot on the stove from iron.”

He drew a cylindrical stove with holes on the sides for plugging firewood and three annular iron rings on the top. “Just for the fire, these three rings are enough. If you want to boil water or other things, lift the iron ring according to the size of the pot.”

Due to the climate, they liked to eat stews. They could use the residual heat to stew the pot. It was also convenient for cooking.

“There is a small warehouse in front of the kitchen. All commonly used items are stored there. In the future, when I want to do other business, I will store everything in it.”

“There is also a room on the first floor for my parents. They will live downstairs if they come to live in the future. When they are older and their legs and feet are not good, it’s inconvenient to climb stairs. The second floor is our room, and the wooden stairs are long and prone to rot, so let’s make them concrete.”

“Concrete?”

Jiang Zhou nodded: “Yes, it’s made of mud mixed with sand and water. The resulting material is stronger, and we’ll use that for our house as well.”

Wen Yan wasn’t familiar with it; most of their houses were made of mud and straw. According to Jiang Zhou, this concrete was better.

Jiang Zhou continued planning carefully: “In addition to our room, we also have to get one for Xiao Yi.”

Wen Yan frowned: “He is still young; how can he live alone?”

Jiang Zhou clarified: “Not immediately. We’ll let him live alone, but we have to prepare for the future. After a while, he’ll be able to move around. When he likes to crawl, we won’t have enough space for him, so why not get him a room first? A bed will let him move around freely.”

This made sense, and Wen Yan continued to listen with his head propped up.

“The attic is used to store things that are not commonly used. Children are very adventurous, and their belongings change as they grow. All the replaced items are thrown into the attic.”

Jiang Zhou added with a smile, “Also, keep all the evidence of embarrassing things he has done. It will be interesting to show him when he becomes sensible.”

He thought about Xiao Yi growing up and embarrassed, Jiang Zhou laughed: “By the way, how many times has Xiao Yi peed on the bed?”

Wen Yan thought for a moment: “Not even a few times. Although he is naughty, he is sensible. Most of the time, he pees during the day, and he has a diaper pad at night, so I haven’t had to clean up much.”

Jiang Zhou had a bit of disappointment on his face – to be honest, he still wanted to see his son being shy.

After explaining to Wen Yan, he followed the suggestions and added another toilet. Most of their toilets were shared by several households, which could be awkward and challenging to clean.

Wen Yan always used one alone, and now that they are building a house, it would be good to have a private one. After the discussion, he carefully drew the picture, summarized key points, made notes, and organized everything together.

After finishing his work, he remembered something and asked Wen Yan with a serious expression: “Did you not eat anything when you woke up this morning?”

Wen Yan then realized that he was hungry. Having had two glasses of wine from Jiang Zhou the night before, his stomach was bloated, and he hadn’t eaten much. Plus, he spent the night engaged with Jiang Zhou, resulting in a late wake-up and a skipped breakfast.

When Jiang Zhou mentioned it, Wen Yan felt his empty stomach had a slight soreness, as if he was overly hungry.

Jiang Zhou sighed, “I know you haven’t eaten. If you want something, I’ll make it for you.”

Wen Yan, trying to stand up with numb legs, insisted, “I’ll do it myself. You rest.”

Jiang Zhou extended his hand and gently pushed him back, saying, “Sit down; I’ll cook you some glutinous rice balls. Do you prefer sesame or brown sugar ones?”

He had prepared the glutinous rice balls early and put them on the stove, expecting Wen Yan to notice and eat them. However, Wen Yan hadn’t touched them.

Wen Yan met his slightly irritated gaze, fearing his displeasure, Wen Yan softened his voice and said coquettishly, “Zhou-ge, my back hurts.”

Wen Yan often used this coquettish approach out of guilt, blinking and calling Jiang Zhou “Zhou-ge” with wide, innocent eyes—unaware that it unintentionally revealed his guilty conscience.

Despite this, Jiang Zhou found it endearing. Whenever Wen Yan called him sweetly, it melted his heart, and he couldn’t help but show doting affection.