"No, I can do it myself."

Zhou Wenzhong was sitting on the bench smoking a cigarette without looking up at Zhang Xiufang. He kept staring at the movements of Ma Erbao's hands.

"Then...then what kind of work do you have to do today? Go home and do some work. I'll just tell the people at the grain station for you. Who doesn't have something urgent at home, right? I'm sure they will understand you.

"

"Oh... let's take it one step at a time. Thank you both for your concern."

"Brother Zhong, what you said is meaningless!"

"It's just that you forgot that you invited us both to have snacks a few days ago? The days have to go on, how about I ask for a few days off for you?"

"No, thank you. We can't delay the production tasks. No matter how big the personal matters are, they are all trivial."

Zhang Xiufang nodded and squatted on the ground to help Ma Erbao wash the boards. The two of them just wanted to help Zhou Wenzhong with practical actions.

"It's a cloudy day today, so we can just make shoe soles in the kitchen. It's okay if we can't get out of the sun. The temperature in this room is high and it can dry them out."

"Um."

The two placed the wooden boards on the two stools. Zhang Xiufang picked up a roll of black cotton cloth belonging to Zhou Wenzhong and blinked, somewhat confused about the situation.

Ma Erbao came up to her and explained in a low voice: "Maybe it's the custom of Brother Zhong's hometown. Don't ask."

"Then... I have to ask, this is new cotton. Do you use this as the sole of your shoes?"

"It is used not only for shoe soles, but also for uppers and uppers. Just make single shoes."

"Understood."

Zhang Xiufang walked to Zhou Wenzhong and squatted down, covering her nose with one hand, stretched out her right hand to point at the cotton shoes on Zhou Wenzhong's feet, and began to measure them one by one.

"There's no need to waste this matter. I'll just take off the shoes and measure them later."

"Stop it! If you take off your shoes, will this room still be inhabitable? I've already measured it, and you can smell it through your shoes. I won't say any more."

Zhang Xiufang picked up the scissors and pointed at a piece of newspaper, and finally cut out a piece the size of a shoe sole.

Zhou Wenzhong attached the cotton cloth to the wooden board, used scissors to cut off the excess part and tear it off hard, and repeated these actions until the wooden board was covered with black cotton cloth.

Pick up the casserole, use a spoon to scoop out a spoonful of paste, and spread it flatly on the cotton cloth.

"You two touch the ends of the cloth on both sides so that the rug can be spread out evenly."

Three people working together is very efficient. After applying two layers of black cotton cloth, Ma Erbao placed the wooden board in front of the stove for drying.

"How many pairs of shoes are you going to make?"

Zhang Xiufang asked while sewing the shoe panels.

"You can do as much as you can."

"How many layers should I make? I would say 4 layers is enough. It will break after one month of wearing it. It's useless to make more layers. What's more, your feet are still long. It's a waste to make too many layers. It's just a single shoe.

It can only be worn in spring and autumn. What about the side straps? They should also be in black?"

Zhou Wenzhong took off his headgear and threw it to Zhang Xiufang.

"Use this to cut a strip of cloth 7 centimeters wide and wrap it around the edge of the shoe sole."

"A strip of cloth two fingers wide is enough."

"Anything is fine."

"Ma Erbao, go and move some big bricks to lay down the foundation later."

"knew!"
Chapter completed!