“Let’s walk barefoot in the dew”

Valery Nikolayevich in the second half of his life somehow suddenly felt tired of urbanization.

– You know, when I was younger, this bustle in the city was not felt that way. The children grew up, there were worries. And now they are already adults. Flew from our nest. The son created his own family, the daughter receives a higher education in the city, in general, she also learns to live independently. “She also budded,” says Valery. – I felt at some point that I want to change something in my life. To be closer to nature, or something. My wife Elena fully supported me in this. You see, I myself was surprised that we already have other values ​​as a priority than before. For example, I wanted to deal with my thoughts one on one. Evaluate whether the old life flowed correctly. I wanted to feel some kind of significance, I guess. That it was not all in vain. To determine the goals of the future life. In general, we looked after a few years ago a place in the village of Semchino in the Kanishchevo microdistrict of the Ryazan region. I still wonder how we could live before without seeing all this incredibly expressive nature around.

Gasification happened as a gift

Valery, this man with a courageous character, it turns out, can talk for hours about ants on a blade of grass, dew on a flower, morning mist before sunrise. But he talks about his construction site in dry, simple words, as a necessary step on the way to his dream – to merge with nature.

– Somewhere in 2020, we started building a house. We lined up relatively quickly. A year later, the main work was done: walls, ceilings, roof, windows were inserted. And as soon as I thought about conducting communications, there was talk around that our President had launched such a program to bring gas to residential buildings for free. I took it all as a gift. Imagine my condition: I had just lined up, exhaled, and began to think about where to look for funds for the construction of engineering networks – pipelines for gas, water, sewerage. I estimated how much resources would have to be spent: material, physical and moral. And then suddenly the news about preferential gasification. As if everyone was waiting for us to line up, – Valery smiles. “This is a gift my wife and I highly appreciated. Despite the fact that we paid our own money for gasification from the border of the site to the entrance to the house, and then inside the house, in general, everything went just perfectly. I have this exact aftertaste.

When I asked Valery, did he really not notice the shortcomings. He didn’t even think.

– Everything went like clockwork! From the main highway to the border of our site is about 100-120 meters. A pipe was laid from her to us absolutely free of charge. And then, together with all the equipment, components and turnkey work, we spent about 200 thousand rubles. Maybe a little more. I think it’s an acceptable cost. After all, we are still at an age when they do not see us out of work. In this regard, we are still productive people. From the fence to our house – only 8 meters. It cost us 50 thousand to get gas from the tie-in point to the house. This is together with a gas meter and wiring. We bought the boiler for 70 thousand, then we bought batteries. Our house is 150 sq. m, two floors. The organization of the basement is in my plans, but so far I have not been involved in these works. And the gasification itself has passed quickly. Somewhere in early spring, I applied, and at the end of summer there was already gas in the house. I myself did not expect this. I heard that someone drives, knocks on thresholds, swears, but does not get a result. I didn’t have that. In general, I didn’t feel any burden from the fact that I was engaged in social gasification. And I also hired an organization affiliated with gas structures, which carried out all external and internal work for me. I paid 50,000 for these works. I chose a certain company because I read a lot of positive information about it. This structure is also engaged in multi-storey construction. She also invited inspectors who accepted the trench, the gas pipeline itself, checked the pressure test – assessed the tightness of the system. In the Ryazangorgaz organization, specialists were involved in the project, plan, etc. I had trips related to documentation. But here everything is nearby, so the movement was not tiring. In general, gas is a cheap ecological fuel. As long as they don’t raise their rates.

Valery bought all the equipment himself. The Lebins’ gas boiler takes pride of place in the kitchen.

– Yes, this model is not cheap, but the device itself is very compact. Everything is simple with us. No boiler room with blinking sensors, – says Valery. – From the boiler pipes go to the distribution manifold. And from there, communications follow to the batteries. Each battery has its own pipe. We selected equipment for power, which depends on the area of ​​​​the room. The power of our boiler is 24 kW. It is designed for heating approximately 240 sq. m area. That is, 1 kW of power is designed to heat a room of 10 square meters. m. Something like this.

“And we dream of grass near the house!”

The Lebins’ house stands on the outskirts of the village. Valery and Elena painstakingly chose this place.

– We used to live in an apartment in Ryazan. It would seem, why should we, let’s say, change our place of residence to a rural house in our old age. After all, things and worries are only increasing. At first it seems so, indeed, more trouble. Although in our same city Ryazan apartment we had individual heating – the boiler was for heating. So we did not depend on anyone there either: neither from the boiler house, nor from the Ryazan heating networks. Only here, in the village, there is more space and their own land. It’s bliss to walk barefoot in the dew on your native piece of land! Remember how in a song about longing for the earth from space it is sung: “And we dream of grass near the house! Green, green grass!” After all, a person remembers simple but eternal things when they are somewhere far away from him at certain moments of his life, says Valery. – So our move to Semchino for permanent residence is an incredible event in terms of positive emotions. “The game was worth the candle!” The fact is that from our current place of deployment it is only a 10-minute drive to Ryazan. This is the outskirts. And in Ryazan itself, our son and daughter live. But urbanism, personally, terribly stuck me. For our entire 30-year life together with my wife, moving to Semchino is a significant event. We have already planted many trees on our site: apple trees, pears, cherries, lilacs.

Valery Lebin also told about his outlet, which he had after moving to Semchino.

– You have no idea what crazy views we have from the windows of the second floor. This is the floodplain of the Oka River, water meadows around. In the spring there was a huge flood, and the water came right up to our cliff. From that edge just where our house stands, – Valery says excitedly. “There are huge hayfields here!” We all see: how hay is mowed, harvested, stacked. The whole process is in full view. From the window of his house, the life of Russian working people is visible. And I want to live! And to work ourselves. Maybe one day we’ll get a horse. Someone in the village has a horse here. He walks her in the meadows, in the open spaces. We are watching it.

Let’s celebrate housewarming together

When I asked Valery about the official housewarming, he was a little confused. It became clear that he and his wife discussed this issue, but did not decide on the date.

– We want to improve and improve everything so that the guests come and gasp. But the best is the enemy of the good. You yourself know that, for example, the British improve their homes all their lives. And by the way, in any normal family, this is how comfort is created for decades, says Valery. – I really want to devote more time to household chores, but work still takes a lot of time. I won’t brag, but I’m in a leadership position.

It was here that Valery’s laconic words became clear to me. As a person who makes responsible decisions, he cannot throw words to the wind. And if he doubts something, then it is better to keep silent about it.

– I work as a builder. I specialize in the construction of multi-storey buildings, starting from the foundation pit, ending with the delivery of a house with ready-made apartments. And to be even more precise, I am in charge of such processes. Therefore, I know in what terms it is realistic to complete a specific job. I can use a strong word if necessary. Without this, there is no way at the construction site. Remember how in the joke: “The answer to the question, will the object be delivered on time?” was written right on the fence of the construction site.

Valery hurried to quickly switch from the theme of his favorite work to the theme of housewarming.

– Soon we will get home helpers – a dog, a cat. Maybe some other animal. But for now we will be engaged in finishing the house and gardening affairs. After all, this is an endless, but joyful work, says Valery. – By the fall, you see, and we will have time to redo the main things. That’s when, most likely, housewarming and celebrate. We want to invite all children, their loved ones to us. And, of course, we will invite our friends. Relatives come to visit us in passing to admire the views from the windows. And by autumn, in a philosophical mood, admiring the autumn floodplain of the Oka is the very thing!

Photo from the personal archive of the Lebin family

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