"There are indeed quite a few capable people in this villa district."
"Because it's close to the industrial zone, most of the residents here are factory owners, many are self-made master craftsmen, and some are highly skilled workers from various trades."
"The villa we are going to, the owner, Engineer Li Guoqing, is an experienced engineer who even participated in setting industry standards..."
Upon hearing Tang Li's words, Aunt Liu began to introduce the place to her.
Tang Li listened to her as she drove, following her directions.
Tang Li learned that the villa area was not cleared of snow after it had already buried everything, but rather, an ice and snow dam was constructed simultaneously with the first snowfall, blocking the accumulated snow from entering the villa district.
When the second snowfall occurred, the residents of the villa district further reinforced the ice and snow dam to a height of 18 meters, even capping it with an arch of ice, protecting the entire villa district in layers.
Blocks of frozen ice bricks were stacked to form ice walls, and then water was poured to solidify them, creating this ice and snow fortress that enclosed the entire villa district.
These ice bricks used for building the walls and the arch-shaped ice blocks for capping were pre-frozen using fixed molds, greatly accelerating the construction of this ice and snow fortress.
During the construction of the inner walls supporting the dome, exhaust pipes were buried in the middle of the ice bricks.
When it snowed again, the residents of the villa district only needed to extend the outlets of the exhaust pipes.
Learning this, Tang Li couldn't help but marvel at the infinite wisdom of the working people.
The buildings in the villa district were not tall. The 18-meter-high ice and snow fortress was sufficient to cover all the villas without appearing too cramped.
This towering ice and snow fortress made the entire villa district appear much grander than the snow-cleared passages outside.
The streetlights in the villa district were also lit, with one every few poles, making the entire route brightly illuminated.
Soon, they arrived at the villa mentioned by Aunt Liu.
After Tang Li got out of the car, she saw that it was a small villa, three stories high.
The entrance of the villa was enclosed by a courtyard wall, topped with a glass roof, covering the entire front courtyard at the first floor level.
On the east and west sides of the villa, staircases were built separately, allowing access directly to the second or third-floor balconies without entering the front courtyard.
However, there was a clear distinction between these courtyard walls, glass roofs, and side staircases, and the villa walls. The balconies on the second and third floors also showed signs of damage.
Clearly, these were additions.
In this critical situation, no one was checking for illegal constructions.
At this time, the elderly couple who owned the villa should have been at work in the factory.
However, to rent out the house, Grandma Li specially returned from the factory.
When Tang Li arrived, she was waiting at the courtyard entrance.
Seeing Aunt Liu bring Tang Li, she quickly led Tang Li upstairs to view the house.
The first floor was where Grandpa Li and Grandma Li lived and was not available for rent.
The second and third floors were the rental spaces.
The original three-story villa was now divided into three separate entrances.
The internal staircase had been blocked, making it impossible to go up or down between floors within the house.
The area of the second-floor rooms was five-sixths of the first floor's area, with one-sixth being the balcony, which was connected to the eastern staircase.
The area of the third-floor rooms was four-sixths of the first floor's area, with also one-sixth being a balcony, connected to the western staircase.
Tang Li inspected the second floor. Besides the main living area, there were three rooms and a bathroom.
Of these three rooms, one could be used as a kitchen, and the remaining two would be perfect for her and Tang Guo's bedrooms.
Tang Li was very satisfied and immediately decided to rent the second-floor apartment.
With the third floor above, it would be cooler during the extreme heat season, preventing the indoor temperature from becoming hotter than the outdoor temperature when exposed to sunlight.
However, although the rooms were renovated, they were unfurnished, completely bare.
Grandma Li said apologetically, "The furniture in the villa was damaged by the flood. The remaining items have been moved to the first floor. You'll need to furnish the place yourselves."
Tang Li smiled upon hearing this, "It's alright. No furniture gives us the space to arrange things as we like."
She then signed a written agreement with Grandma Li, renting it for half a year at a price of 300 points per month, paying Grandma Li 1800 points upfront.
After six months, when the great earthquake began, this villa would likely not be safe either.
At that time, finding such good accommodation would be impossible even for 3000 points a month.
With this house, Tang Li had successfully settled in Jiangcheng.
"Now, all that's left is to wait for the official announcement of the underground city construction after the solar storm!"