Chen Bali | Notes on Renovating the Courtyard
May 13, 2026. It's 3:30 in the middle of the night. I'm squatting on the toilet without actually using it, just sitting there, scrolling through Jason's article on Moments about his trip to Chiang Mai with Xiao Jing and Xiao Li. I read it with great interest, put out my cigarette, and thought, I want to write something too. Recently, I rented a two-bedroom courtyard in the woods below the Three Pagodas. I'm so excited that I stay up very late every night, my mind full of renovation plans. Living in a standalone courtyard has always been my dream, but with limited funds, I have to do everything myself. A couple of days ago, I laid the wooden flooring, and these past two days I've been leveling the ground, weeding, and clearing new land in the yard. Without experience, I swing a hammer here and use a hoe there, so it's not efficient, but there's some progress each day. Before finishing work, I always sit on the stone slab in the yard, zoning out and admiring my achievements.
May 13, 2026
It's 3:30 in the middle of the night. I'm squatting on the toilet without actually using it, just sitting there, scrolling through the article Jason wrote about his trip to Chiang Mai with Xiao Jing and Xiao Li on Moments. I read it with great interest, stubbed out my cigarette, and thought, I want to write something too.
Recently, I rented a two-bedroom courtyard in the woods below the Three Pagodas. I'm so excited that I stay up late every night, my mind full of renovation ideas. Living in a standalone courtyard has always been my dream. Since money is tight, I have to do everything myself. A couple of days ago, I laid the wooden flooring. These past two days, I've been leveling the ground, weeding, and clearing new land in the yard. Without experience, I swing a hammer here and use a hoe there, so it's not efficient, but there's some change every day. Before calling it quits, I always sit on the stone slab in the yard, zoning out and admiring my own work.
Renovating the courtyard has been tough on my friends. Stone is one of the biggest contributors. Yesterday, when he was helping me weed, a string of fire ant bites appeared on his ankle. It was also raining yesterday. Stone refused my dinner invitation and hurried home to take a shower. Of course, I wasn't spared either. I marveled at how such tiny ants can bite so painfully. I went on Pinduoduo and found a small shop with an ad that read "One bite, the whole nest dies. If the ants don't die, I die." For three yuan, with delivery after payment, I didn't hesitate to place the order, planning to use the whole packet of potent stuff to get revenge for Stone.
Speaking of friends, I have to mention Tailor. Before he came, I'd work for five minutes and rest for ten. As soon as he arrived, he grabbed a hammer and started smashing a wall for me, even adding the chant "Eighty! Eighty!" (like in the TV show). Anyone who saw that scene would have said "fierce." I never expected the gentle-looking Tailor to be so strong. No wonder he's a hiking leader.
Xiao Ji is a friend I've known since 2016, a typical tall Shandong guy with a full beard and hair on his chin and face. It was perfect having him help me. Today, the two of us managed to pull out a tree stump together. When he left, he said he'd bring a spray bottle tomorrow to kill the ants for me. I guess he's been bitten too.
In the evening, I also tricked Yang Yang into coming over. Yang Yang rode an electric tricycle with a canopy, carrying a big watermelon and two bouquets of flowers. Seeing the yard full of weeds, he was dumbfounded, thinking I had moved to a new place. Since it was around dinner time, we went out to eat together, and he picked up the bill.
I used the trick of inviting friends over to hang out to fool several people into doing work. I don't feel guilty. When they come, I'm happy and work with more energy. The day the outdoor kitchen is completed will be the day I move in. When that time comes, I'll properly treat them to a meal!
May 13, deep in the night. See you next time.
May 24, 2026
Today, the frame of the kitchen was finally welded. It was just at dusk, and the sunset clouds were especially beautiful. I sat blankly on the ground that had been solidified a few days ago and fiercely smoked two cigarettes. I was really a bit tired.
Welding turned out to be more tedious and difficult than I imagined. The backlash of arrogance is reflected in the burning pain of my skin. A couple of days ago, Xiao Ji had the same symptoms: skin red all over, painful even when touched by water.
Besides welding, mixing cement also gave me and Tailor a deep lesson. It turns out that lime or something in the cement can burn the skin. The two of us even took our shoes off and stirred it with our bare feet; it took three days to get clean. In addition to mixing, we also had to level the floor. Relying solely on visual inspection was really hard. Tailor suggested the "self-leveling compound" method, but the result was that some parts were too runny and some too dense. We used everything we had—hoes, rakes, shovels—and in the end, we were satisfied. It's only been a few days and it's already hard as rock.
There are only a few days left until moving day, and the kitchen hasn't been roofed yet. Dali's rainy season is about to arrive, so we've been working overtime every day. Today, I called Stone to help again, and as usual, he was busy helping without any complaints. He didn't even get a meal and left early with the excuse of "I have a mahjong appointment." I won't say any words of gratitude, but I can't wait to move in!!
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Celebrate the Torch Festival in a Nanzhao Royal Clan Village
Over the past two years, we have taken guests to celebrate the Torch Festival in Songhe Village, Eryuan. Together we slaughtered a sheep, and with the whole village, erected a huge torch in the center of the village square. Everyone made their own torches from hemp stalks, and together with the older and younger villagers, we rushed to grab the blessing baba (cakes) from the big torch, passing blessings to each other with fire. Even for me, a native Bai person, these are rare and precious traditional festival experiences. Dali has endless festivals, and I want to experience them more before they fade away. I remember the Torch Festival of my childhood: torches were no longer enough for me. Before the festival, I would tell my dad to prepare a bucket of waste engine oil and diesel, mix them together, and then I would tightly bind cotton and old cloth with rope into a ball (some kids would secretly take cotton from their quilts at home to make it). Finally, I would make an iron wire ball, soak it in the bucket of oil, and secretly take it out every day to look at it, looking forward to having a great time on the day of the Torch Festival. We would compete in the village and by the rice fields to see whose fireball or torch was more impressive. When the torches and fireballs were almost burned out, we would rush home, walk around the potted fruit trees in circles, and say blessing words, hoping they would grow even better in the coming year.