Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Upgrading to a King-Size Bed

What Li Younan didn’t expect was that when he asked Huang Xiaoyang to help him get some lumber, this guy actually drove over personally to deliver it.

Of course, he didn’t drive himself; there was a dedicated delivery truck, while he drove his sports car over.

Huang Xiaoyang arrived in the evening.

What surprised Li Younan even more was that this guy didn’t come alone; he also brought a girl with him.

The three of them met at the entrance of a restaurant, and Li Younan offered to treat him to a meal, after all, he had helped him out a lot.

When he saw the girl, Li Younan was genuinely taken aback.

As far as he remembered, a couple of days ago, this guy was just as single as him. Wow, he had just broken up, and this guy already found a girlfriend. That’s really infuriating.

Huang Xiaoyang still had an uninterested expression and casually introduced, ”Girlfriend, Dan Dan.”

Dan Dan smiled gently.

After ordering, Huang Xiaoyang asked, ”What do you need all this lumber for?”

Li Younan briefly explained that he planned to do some woodworking on his car, making some modifications.

Huang Xiaoyang raised his eyebrows, ”You can do that?”

Li Younan replied with a serious face, ”I know a lot of things. People from our small place always encounter some odd and peculiar stuff growing up.”

Huang Xiaoyang’s expression was somewhat odd; he silently took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said, ”I don’t believe it. I’m going to be on site tomorrow.”

Li Younan rubbed his chin, his expression brightened, ”That’s perfect; you can shoot a video for me then.”

Huang Xiaoyang’s expression turned a bit peculiar, ”Shoot a video, what are you doing?”

Li Younan proudly took out his phone, showing him the homepage of a short video platform, saying, ”See? I’ve switched now to being an influencer.”

After a moment of silence, Huang Xiaoyang quietly took out his phone, found an account with millions of followers, and pushed it over to Li Younan.

Li Younan was a bit curious, ”Who is this?”

Huang Xiaoyang casually said, ”It’s one of the streamers from our family.”

Li Younan’s mouth twitched slightly, ”Your family sure has a wide range of interests.”

And this kind of person even goes to work, what’s the point?

Huang Xiaoyang’s girlfriend didn’t talk much on the side, she just sat quietly, listening attentively to their conversation.

Occasionally, if Huang Xiaoyang needed something, he didn’t need to speak; Dan Dan would preparer it in advance, as if she understood his needs intuitively.

Li Younan felt a bit emotional, perhaps this kind of girl is the right match for Huang Xiaoyang.

...

July afternoon, heat sticking to the ground.

Li Younan parked the Land Cruiser in the shade in front of the hardware store, with the trunk open.

Huang Xiaoyang arrived, crisp in a white T-shirt, tidy hair, that handsome face still expressionless, with his girlfriend by his side.

Huang Xiaoyang was holding a pretty professional camera, lens aimed at Li Younan.

”No need to shoot now...” Li Younan chuckled quietly, bowed down to pull out a tape measure, and started measuring the trunk’s dimensions, focusing on the height difference with the seats folded down and the irregular contour.

Ignoring Li Younan, Huang Xiaoyang continued filming, his expression playful, seemingly very curious about what Younan intends to pull off.

His girlfriend watched quietly from the side.

Boss Wang also came out, watching Li Younan move the boards; he strolled over and stood on the shop’s steps.

”Sir, have you started working already?” He glanced at the Land Cruiser, a look of envy in his eyes, ”You must have pretty good family conditions, being so young and able to drive a luxury car like this!”

Li Younan shrugged, ”Bought it second-hand, cheap.”

The boss thought Li Younan was just being modest. The car’s condition clearly looked new. Can you buy a new car second-hand?

”Hmm, give me the complete set of tools later.” Squatting in the trunk, Younan gestured with his fingers between the base and seat back, ”The second row doesn’t fold flat, raise it up, place a mattress on top, you can sleep. Make a drawer cabinet underneath, for storing things, won’t get in the way.”

”Oh? Can you hide stuff under there?”

Boss Wang pulled out the ready toolset piece by piece, staring intently at Younan.

Li Younan marked the first line on the wood with chalk; that’s the size of the drawer cabinet’s base.

Following closely with the camera, Huang Xiaoyang didn’t miss a beat.

Without saying much, Younan targeted the line and steadied his wrist to saw down. The sound was clear, the fragrance of wood drifted out.

It must be said, the timber provided by young master Huang was excellent; the teak was premium quality, moisture-proof and insect-resistant, even against seawater erosion or sun exposure, it doesn’t easily deform or crack.

Boss Wang watched, and his girlfriend took a step forward.

The boards were cut according to size.

The key is this drawer cabinet; it has to fit snugly into the trunk’s recess, underneath it has to perfectly avoid the spare tire bulge.

More importantly, its top height must precisely fill the gap between the folded second-row seats and trunk base.

Younan took out a pencil and angle ruler, marking the mortise and tenon joints directly onto the cut boards.

Dovetail joints, strong and durable.

Boss Wang came closer for a look.

”All handmade?” he asked.

”Yes, just requires some skill.” Li Younan picked up the tools sponsored by Boss Wang and began his work. The wood shavings fell off neatly, and the cuts were clean and precise.

Where it was deeper, he switched to a narrower chisel for refinement. A few mortise holes were made, with straight edges.

Huang Xiaoyang raised an eyebrow, holding the camera more steadily.

His girlfriend let out a soft ”oh”.

Li Younan started working on the dovetail joints for the drawer.

It required more precision. The pencil lines were thin and accurate, and the circular saw followed the line closely, allowing no deviation.

The saw blade steadily followed the wood grain, and after cutting, he carefully refined it with a thin-bladed chisel, ensuring each tenon fit snugly into the mortise.

Boss Wang stopped fanning himself and almost pressed himself against the car, eyes wide open, watching intently.

Li Younan picked up a side panel with a mortise, then another board with a tenon, aligned them, and tapped lightly.

”Tap.” A soft sound, and the two boards tightly meshed, the tenon fully inserted, snug without a wiggle.

Boss Wang took a deep breath.

Others might not understand the value, but as someone frequently dealing with such things, he was utterly amazed.

Li Younan continued piecing them together board by board.

Sawing, chiseling, and the gentle tapping of a mallet were clear in the afternoon, with sweat trickling down his neck.

The frame of the drawer cabinet gradually took shape.

The last board snapped in place with a ”tap,” and a neat, tightly fitting cabinet body appeared in the trunk.

Li Younan slid it into the reserved space in the trunk. He adjusted the angle, slid it along the baseboard, and pushed it all the way in.

The dimensions were exact to the millimeter, with a one-finger-width gap between the car body on both sides, and the front snugly against the seatback of the second row.

Li Younan gave it a push—steady and stable. Pulling it out and sliding it back in was smooth and silent.

”All done.”

Li Younan clapped his hands, ”Put stuff in the drawer; this board on top is the leveled base.”

He could later add steel slide rails to make it even easier, though that would require custom orders from a manufacturer.

Boss Wang leaned in for a closer look, mouth agape: ”Perfectly snug! Just like from the factory! All handmade? Impressive!”

”Check if it’s level.”

Li Younan said as he walked to the car’s side, grabbed the pull cord on the right-side seat of the second row, and gave it a gentle pull. The seat, along with the middle part, easily folded forward. The seatback came down right onto the top board of the drawer cabinet Li Younan had just made. He ran his palm over it a few times.

”Look, this right half folds down and it’s level,” Li Younan pointed out to Huang Xiaoyang to photograph the junction, ”This side serves as a bed, 1.2 meters wide, comfortably enough for one person. The drawers underneath are still usable, no hindrance to storage.”

Huang Xiaoyang immediately focused his lens on the seam between the seat and the cabinet’s top board, where the transition was smooth.

”What if someone wants to sleep for two?” his girlfriend couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

Huang Xiaoyang gave Dan Dan a calm glance.

”Simple.”

Li Younan walked to the left, pulled another cord, and fully folded down the left seat as well. Now, the entire rear seat area along with the trunk formed a large flat surface.

Originally, Li Younan planned to make just one side, but after some thought, he did both sides. Usually, a 1.2-meter bed would be laid out, but if needed, maybe a two-meter bed could be utilized.

In this regard... there was a tiny bit of anticipation.

Li Younan patted the wide surface: ”Fold it down completely, a two-meter long bed. The drawer is still underneath, easy to pull out and push in. Add a custom mattress on top, and it’s done.”

Huang Xiaoyang followed Li Younan’s movements with his camera, panning from the small bed mode on the right to the left, then showcasing the entire flat large space.

His girlfriend’s eyes lit up: ”Wow, so practical! You can switch between a small and big bed, and there’s storage underneath too!”

Boss Wang clicked his tongue: ”Tsk tsk, teacher, you’re really something!”

Li Younan took a sip of water. The sun was setting, the wind carried a hint of coolness mixed with the scent of teak and sawdust.

Li Younan leaned against the car, looking at the perfectly snug drawer cabinet securely nestled in the Land Cruiser, with the leveled seat surface above, feeling reassured.

Huang Xiaoyang stood upright, looked down at the camera replay, then at the cabinet, and then at the large flat space in the trunk.

His gaze finally settled on the electric drill in Li Younan’s toolbox.

Huang Xiaoyang suddenly curiously asked, ”Would sleeping in the car be comfortable?”

Li Younan replied with a bright smile, ”Extremely comfortable!”

His mind was all about the experience by the lake when it rained that day.

Huang Xiaoyang stared at that bed for a while, then suddenly looked over to his girlfriend, Dan Dan.

Dan Dan was taken aback, then bowed her head deeply.

Li Younan suddenly realized the atmosphere was a bit odd, and the smile on his face froze.

Ah, no, what strange scenarios are these two imagining...

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