Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

After having lunch at JK Long’s place, Li Younan spent the afternoon in Chengdu mainly buying some things to take back home from the supermarket.

Having just eaten dishes made by the Little Chef, he was a bit tempted to cook a delicious meal for his mom too.

This feeling and emotion were quite wonderful. What he tasted at JK Long’s was not just three simple home-cooked dishes, but rather a heartfelt experience that made him eager to prepare a delicious meal for his mom.

It’s been almost half a year since he last went home, and his mom must surely be missing her son.

Regarding those amazing things Li Younan did, especially participating in ”Alone in the Wilderness,” which inherently carried some risks, his mom said it’s unlikely she wasn’t worried.

However, his mom understands Li Younan’s nature, one important point being that she knows he is someone who cherishes family and bonds. If he harms himself, it would hurt all the loved ones who care about him.

Therefore, when Li Younan chooses to do something, he definitely considers this aspect.

On this basis, even if she is worried, his mom doesn’t interfere too much in her son’s decisions.

But when Li Younan returns, she can’t help but feel a bit emotional: ”How long are you staying home this time?”

”I should be staying for a while.”

”Oh, so what are your plans afterward?”

”I got a car. I plan to spend some time converting it into an RV, then take a trip on the 318 Highway, driving all the way to Lhasa.”

”By yourself?”

”Mom, if you can take leave, I’ll bring you along.”

His mom smiled helplessly: ”I want to go too, but it’s almost the end of the year, and I’m really busy. If I take leave, my work would have to be handed over to colleagues, which wouldn’t be right, can’t bother them.”

”If you go on the 318, how long do you think it would take?”

Li Younan thought about it. If it’s just driving from National Highway 318 to Lhasa, maybe it would only take around twenty days, but he plans to have fun along the way, so the time needed is uncertain.

Perhaps upon seeing a particularly beautiful spot, he may linger for a while; or perhaps he may drive off road to a landmark point, not on the highway.

In short, there are many uncertainties, and the time will be unpredictably extended.

”Hard to say. Mom, let’s not talk about this now, I’ll cook you a delicious meal today.”

His mom also felt happy, she really missed her son’s cooking skills.

In the following days, Li Younan focused on staying at home, picking up and dropping off his mom at work, cleaning the house, cooking, and he also took the chance to repair some old electrical circuits in the house.

Now that Li Younan has money, his previous plans to buy a house have evolved; he intends not only to buy a house in the city but also to buy a new house in the county for his mom, though he hasn’t discussed it with her yet.

In the following days, he wasn’t too busy, so he wandered around the county, mainly looking for better real estate options.

In the county, housing prices are much cheaper than in Chengdu. Li Younan didn’t plan to buy a new house, thinking a second-hand house from a couple of years ago would be quite nice.

After searching around, he found a house over 120 square meters in an apartment complex not far from his mom’s workplace, and arranged for a time to visit.

The house’s owner was a young person working in the system, planning to leave the local area to work in the city, hence intending to sell the county house directly.

The house was bought two years ago. Compared to two years ago, housing prices have dropped somewhat, but due to renovations, the quoted price was 6000 per square meter, with a total price of over 700,000.

After inspecting the house, Li Younan found that although the setup of water and electric lines wasn’t as meticulous as he had done, it was quite properly done, and there was no need for further modifications; the overall layout of the house was good.

So he didn’t bother haggling with the owner. This price, frankly, wasn’t very expensive. He quickly signed the contract with them and completed the transaction.

After acquiring the house, Li Younan still didn’t tell his mom. He plans to fully furnish it before surprising her.

As for the furniture inside the house, Li Younan didn’t plan on keeping it. The young person needed furniture in the new place anyway, so he found a company to remove it all.

In the following days, Li Younan began processing the house.

Since water, electricity, and gas are complete, Li Younan started upgrading the house from a carpenter’s perspective.

He first removed all the original entrance wardrobes, TV walls, and other wooden parts, then redeveloped them according to his ideas, ordering high-end naturally dried wood, ensuring meticulous craftsmanship.

There’s a saying: no formaldehyde, no glue; the main source of formaldehyde is from parts containing glue during the renovation process.

While doing carpentry, Li Younan didn’t need to use glue at all. The wood paint he used was high-end, glue-free paint, so after refurbishment, one could move in directly without worry.

This process took more than two weeks.

Knowing his mom enjoys soaking in the bathtub, the new house’s main bathroom is especially large; he specially bought an elegant bathtub.

After everything was prepared, he waited for the house to naturally ventilate, clearing the wood paint smell.

Then, it happened to be a Friday.

Li Younan picked up his mom from work, didn’t drive straight home, but headed in the direction of the new house.

Sitting in the car, his mom didn’t notice the route was off at first.

Since the new home is not far from his mom’s workplace, within a few minutes, the car had entered the complex.

His mom asked Li Younan with some confusion, ”Where are we going?”

Li Younan smiled: ”Mom, don’t you enjoy soaking in the bath?”

His mom seemed puzzled.

This isn’t a bathhouse.

Not explaining further, Li Younan took his mom upstairs directly. When his mom asked, he just said, ”You’ll understand once we’re up there.”

He took his mom directly to the door of the new home, where the door lock was a fingerprint and password-enabled electronic lock.

His mom stood at the door, increasingly puzzled.

Li Younan said, ”Mom, enter the password. The password is your birthday.”

His mom stood at the door for a moment, and even with her usually slow perception, she quickly understood what was happening.

She looked at Li Younan, then at the lock. Her expression shifted from a trace of shock to a joyful smile, and soon her nose turned red, and a few tears fell.

”Haha, Mom, why are you crying?”

”Hmm...”

Mom gently nodded, entered the password, and opened the door to their home.

Seeing the scene inside, mom was as excited as a little girl: ”When did you buy the house?”

”Just recently, when I came back.”

”And you didn’t tell me.”

”Hehe, I wanted to surprise you.”

Mom didn’t say any of those disappointing things other parents might, like ”it’s a waste of money,” ”it’s not needed,” or ”we should save.” She simply basked in the happiness and the surprise her son had meticulously prepared for her.

She touched the brand-new wooden shoe cabinet and entrance, looked at the brand-new high-end furniture inside, then wandered into the kitchen, turned on the range hood and felt the strong airflow with her hand at the inlet. She then looked at Li Younan, like a naive girl who hadn’t seen much of the world, and said with a giggle, ”This is impressive...”

Seeing this scene from behind, Li Younan felt very happy and took his mom to the bedroom to show her the big bathtub she had been longing for.

Mom finally couldn’t help but hug her son, and while smiling, tears fell again.

...

A few days later, Li Younan and his mom officially moved into the new home.

In this way, mom wouldn’t even need a taxi to commute in the future because it was just a ten-minute walk to her workplace from here.

When she got home, mom would hum a little tune, apply cucumber slices to her face, and then take a bath.

The weather was gradually cooling down, and the house was equipped with underfloor heating, which was nice and warm.

Every time she came out after a bath and looked at her son, she felt truly happy and thought her son was the best son in the world.

Of course, during this time, there were other matters that kept Li Younan busy.

It’s worth mentioning that since the broadcast of the ”Alone in the Wilderness” collection edition, Li Younan’s fame and influence have been on the rise, mainly abroad.

After Liu Yu returned, he suggested that Li Younan also open an account on foreign social media, so he could earn US dollars while making money domestically.

Li Younan agreed.

Not long after he set up an account, his followers quickly reached hundreds of thousands.

At the same time, a documentary about national treasure artifacts was released, and one episode specifically discussed the restoration of a heart-shaped bottle from the Forbidden City, in which Li Younan was the main character.

This time, Li Younan was no longer an unknown figure; instead, the documentary detailed some of his experiences, describing him as a true genius and stating that there are fewer than three people worldwide who can restore such a heart-shaped bottle.

The English version of this documentary was also released abroad around the same time, subsequently triggering two events.

The first was that someone from the British Museum contacted Liu Yu—who, in a sense, was now considered Li Younan’s agent, handling his business affairs.

The British Museum offered a high price, wanting to invite Li Younan to restore a similar heart-shaped bottle for them.

Li Younan’s feelings were hard to describe.

After all, centuries ago, their ancestors had come to China and plundered those precious relics. Now, without any means to bring those artifacts back to China, they brazenly invited him to restore them?

Li Younan refused.

He would feel very uncomfortable restoring those relics.

This matter somehow got out.

People were not concerned about Li Younan refusing the request but rather that the British Museum acknowledged his technical skills.

In the world of relics, especially in porcelain artifacts, Li Younan’s reputation was suddenly elevated to an exaggerated level.

This brought about another chain reaction: the batch of porcelain Li Younan made in ”Alone in the Wilderness” appreciated in value.

The millionaire who bought Li Younan’s ”Alone in the Wilderness” shelter and porcelain couldn’t help but post online to show off his collection.

He bragged, ”Although this batch of porcelain has appreciated, I absolutely won’t sell them! Undoubtedly, Mr. Li is a true artist of our time! In fact, aside from these porcelains, there are other artworks I find even more exquisite.”

The accompanying photos were of Li Younan’s intricately carved and painted pieces.

Regarding this, Li Younan found it amusing yet exasperating.

However, to be fair, for that millionaire, it was well-deserved because he truly respected Li Younan.

At the time, he liked Li Younan, so strictly speaking, he wasn’t really a relic aficionado, yet he paid a hefty price for those pieces. Their appreciation was a reward for his admiration of Li Younan.

Time flew by, and it was already mid-November. The weather turned completely cold, and the Unimog chassis and vehicle frame that Li Younan had been eagerly awaiting also finally arrived.

(ps: During my shift today, I was a bit busy, so I only managed to write one Chapter. The remaining two Chapters will have to be written and posted tomorrow morning and noon... sob)