Chapter 4: Such a good and strong labor force cannot be used in vain
A chest of drawers, as the name suggests, is a cabinet with five drawers. It looks simple in style, but in fact it is still very difficult to make. Every time a drawer is added to this type of furniture, the difficulty goes up a notch. The distance between each drawer is longer.
The left and right sides must also be symmetrical, which is a task that tests the carpenter's skills.
"Xiao Qin, your skills are pretty good."
"Don't tell me, if it were painted again and placed in the house, it would really look like that."
Cai Danian clasped his hands behind his back and hummed: "What do you mean by something like that? Look at the workmanship and the shape. It's more beautiful than what many old carpenters do. They don't know their stuff."
Cai Xiaonian walked around the chest of drawers, his eyes shining: "Old Qin, your skills are good. If you don't work as a policeman, you can make a living as a carpenter."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Xiaonian was hit on the head. His father, Cai Danian, said angrily: "What are you talking about? I'm a good police officer. Curse me."
"I just said it casually." Cai Xiaonian covered his head, feeling aggrieved and did not dare to refute. This is how it is these days. It is natural for me to beat my son. If he talks back, he will be beaten even harder.
"It's not okay to just say it casually..."
Seeing this, Qin Hao quickly changed the subject: "Master Cai, do you know where I can buy paint? If this cabinet is not painted, it will rot easily and attract insects."
"Paints are sold in state-owned stores."
Qin Hao winked at Cai Xiaonian: "Xiaonian, come with me to buy some paint."
"Alas." Cai Xiaonian was also very clever and quickly ran out after Qin Hao.
As for the newly made chest of drawers and the wood, there is no need to worry at all. Whoever dares to steal the police's things will be hanging himself (for fear of longevity)?
"Old Qin, I really didn't expect you to have such skills. You said you make furniture so well, why don't you become a carpenter and become a policeman instead?" Cai Xiaonian gave a thumbs up and kept flattering.
Thirty years later, this sentence would undoubtedly be a curse. It would be obvious at a glance which one has a better future, a policeman or a carpenter. But in the late 1970s, this was really the case.
Policemen and carpenters only have different divisions of labor. In some aspects, carpenters even have advantages over policemen. For example, carpenters can earn extra money openly. Whose family does not lack tables, chairs, benches, etc. these days? When it comes to marriage, what about 24 legs or 36 legs?
Yes, you have to make a reservation several months in advance, otherwise the carpenter will not have time to pay attention to you, so you have to serve you with good wine, cigarettes and tea.
"There's something wrong with you, you have such a sweet mouth. Are you asking me for something?" Qin Hao scolded with a smile.
Cai Xiaonian scratched his head in embarrassment: "Aren't you thinking about getting married in the future? I want to ask Brother Hao to help me build some furniture."
Good guy, Brother Hao called me.
While they were joking, the two of them had already arrived at the state-owned store.
State-owned stores in the 1970s were actually smaller versions of department stores, except that they had much fewer product categories, but they also had some items that were not available in department stores, such as fabrics and farm tools.
Soon, Qin Hao found the paint on the shelf. Just when he was about to check out, a drunk man walked in with a bottle of liquor and went straight to the counter. A girl with a ponytail walked over.
, said aggressively.
"Do you still remember me?"
"Looks familiar." The girl with the ponytail looked at the other person for a few times and nodded hesitantly.
"Today at noon, I bought some liquor at your place, but when I went back to drink it, there was no smell of alcohol at all. Are you selling wine here, or water?" the drunkard slapped the table and yelled.
"Why are you yelling? Our state-owned store can sell you fake wine? You've become blind after drinking." The girl with the ponytail was not afraid.
"Just tell me whether you want to change it or not." The drunk man burped and pointed at the girl and yelled.
Seeing this, Cai Xiaonian pulled Qin Hao and walked to the drunk man: "Why are you making so much noise? People have said that it is impossible for state-owned stores to sell you fake wine."
"Where did you come from? It's none of your business?" The drunkard grabbed Cai Xiaonian by the collar and started to beat him.
Cai Xiaonian quickly pointed at the drunk man: "Try touching me. Do you see the person next to me? Police, I will lock you up if I do it. Believe it or not."
When the drunk man heard that he was a policeman, he immediately lost his previous arrogance. He let go of Cai Xiaonian and shouted, "Then the policeman can't be unreasonable."
"The police must be reasonable, but it doesn't matter who has the loudest voice or the big fist. Otherwise, what else do we, the police, do?" Qin Hao first glared at Cai Xiaonian, and then walked up to the drunk man.
The ponytail girl smiled politely at Qin Hao.
Qin Hao picked up the drunk man's wine bottle, put it under his nose and smelled it: "Well, it's been mixed with water."
"Look, the police said it was mixed with water, but you still don't admit it." The drunk man immediately became energetic.
The ponytail girl was about to speak, but was stopped by Qin Hao.
"Although the wine has been mixed with water, how can you be sure that it was mixed with water? Besides, how much wine did you drink?"
The drunk man thought for a moment: "One spoonful."
Qin Hao picked up the wine spoon on the table: "Did you use this spoon to drink it?"
"That's right, that's it."
Qin Hao poured all the wine in the bottle into the wine spoon, but there was still a lot left in the bottle.
"Look, the wine spoon is already full. Why do you still have wine?"
The drunk man was also confused: "Yes, why is there still wine?"
Qin Hao patted the drunk man on the shoulder: "Do you have a wife at home?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, it's because your wife was afraid that you drank too much, so she mixed water into your wine. You are wrongly blaming her."
The drunk man's face was already red, and he was almost as embarrassed as a monkey. Feeling embarrassed, he was about to pick up the bottle and leave, but was stopped by Qin Hao.
"You made such a fuss here and you just want to leave like this?"
The drunkard muttered: "What else would happen? Do I still have to give her a blow?"
"Let me tell you, what you are doing is not a big deal. At the very least, it is disrupting the normal operations of state-owned units. At worst, it is slandering the reputation of state-owned units. If you have this attitude, please come back to the police station with me."
Qin Hao said and touched his waist.
The drunk man was so frightened that he quickly grabbed Qin Hao's hand: "No, comrade policeman, I was wrong. I apologize. Isn't it enough to apologize?"
"Girl, I made you wrong. You don't remember the faults of villains. Don't be as knowledgeable as me..."
As he spoke, his feet almost weakened and the girl with the ponytail knelt down.
The girl with the ponytail said quickly: "Okay, okay, I forgive you. Drink less wine in the future and let your wife worry less."
"Oh, thank you, girl, thank you, comrade police..." The drunk man left with a lot of thanks.
Cai Xiaonian gave Qin Hao a thumbs up with some envy: "Old Qin, now I understand why you want to be a policeman. You are so arrogant. It's a pity that I wish I had not taken the railway exam but the police academy exam."
"Just you? With such a small body, your physical fitness is not up to standard at the first level." Qin Hao scolded with a smile.
Just when Cai Xiaonian was about to refute, the ponytail girl greeted him: "Cai Xiaonian, who is this?"
"Qin Hao, the newly transferred policeman to our Ningyang station is a classmate of Wang Xin in the police academy. He is a very nice person. He can also build furniture. His skills are no worse than those of an old carpenter..."
Qin Hao rolled his eyes, this guy was so quick to talk, and all his information was revealed in just a short time.
"Hello, Officer Qin, my name is Ma Yan, and I am Wang Xin's junior high school classmate."
"Hello."
Qin Hao shook hands with the other party, and then put a small bucket of paint on the counter.
"how much is this?"
"Well, paint costs two yuan a pound, and this is a bucket of two pounds, a total of four yuan."
"Okay, here you go."
After Ma Yan received the money, she asked curiously: "Why did you buy so much paint?"
"This is not just a few pieces of furniture, it won't rot easily if you put some paint on them."
"You really know how to break furniture."
Cai Xiaonian was a little dissatisfied: "Ma Yan, what are you talking about? Can I, Cai Xiaonian, lie to you?"
Ma Yan glanced at him. Although she didn't say anything, her meaning was obvious.
"Okay, go back quickly, I still have a lot of furniture to break."
Ma Yan looked at the two people leaving, feeling a little lost.
After buying the paint, Qin Hao was just about to go out when he bumped into a familiar face.
"Ma Kui?"
Ma Kui was also startled and subconsciously took a step back. The confrontation on the train was still fresh in his memory. Although he kept insisting that he didn't pay attention, in fact he knew in his heart that even if he was fully prepared, he was not the one in front of him.
This young man's opponent.
"How do you know him?" Cai Xiaonian asked curiously. He was still young when Ma Kui was arrested and his memory was not deep.
Qin Hao frowned and stared at Ma Kui: "Did you let him out? Or did you sneak away again?"
"What do you mean by being released? This is the organization rehabilitating me. I didn't kill anyone in the first place." Ma Kui said depressedly.
Cai Xiaonian was shocked and killed someone? He hurriedly hid behind Qin Hao.
"Really rehabilitated?" Qin Hao asked pretending to be suspicious.
"If I hadn't been rehabilitated, would I be walking around the streets so arrogantly?"
"That's not necessarily true. Come with me and call inside to confirm."
Although Ma Kui was extremely reluctant, when he thought about the pain of dislocating his arm, he could only follow Qin Hao into the state-owned store.
"Ma Yan, can I lend you your phone?"
"Okay, you can use it."
As soon as Ma Yan finished speaking, she saw Ma Kui behind the two of them, and was stunned for a moment. Ma Kui also had tears in his eyes.
Here, Qin Hao also called the police station to confirm that Ma Kui was not only acquitted, but also able to return to his position as a police officer.
"Sorry, Comrade Ma Kui, welcome back to the team."
Ma Kui subconsciously saluted Qin Hao: "Thank you."
Qin Hao shook hands with Ma Kui and took Cai Xiaonian back, leaving only Ma Kui and Ma Yan, father and daughter, staring at each other.
After returning to the railway compound, Qin Hao finished painting the chest of drawers and placed it in a cool place in the corner.
This move also aroused doubts among enthusiastic neighbors.
"Xiao Qin, shouldn't this paint dry more easily if left in the sun?"
Qin Hao smiled: "This furniture has just been painted, so it cannot be exposed to the sun, otherwise it will easily cause cracks and blistering on the paint surface, and strong ultraviolet radiation will also accelerate the aging and fading of the paint, like in our home
It is best not to expose the furniture to the sun."
Cai Danian gave Qin Hao a thumbs up: "You see, Xiao Qin is very meticulous in his work. Not only is his work meticulous, but his carpentry work is also meticulous."
Niu Dali asked with some confusion: "Old Qin, who did you learn these from?"
"Follow my grandpa. He has been a carpenter all his life. I just learned a little bit from him." Qin Hao made it up casually.
"That's just scratching the surface. Your grandfather's craftsmanship must be like this. It's true that famous teachers make great disciples."
With everyone watching, Qin Hao spent an entire afternoon building another set of wardrobes and a set of tables and chairs, which once again won unanimous praise from the neighbors.
"Tsk, tsk, Xiao Qin's craftsmanship is really incredible. It's much better than mine. Look at this cabinet. It's so strong without even using a single nail."
"Don't mention it. Compared with Xiao Qin's, the price of my cabinet dropped instantly."
Wu Changgui's wife said half-jokingly: "Xiao Qin, can you also help our family organize furniture in the future..."
Before he finished speaking, Wu Changgui scolded him.
"What are you talking about here, this old lady? Xiao Qin took a long time to rest after work. How can I find the time to build furniture for you? It's a waste of money."
Seeing this, Qin Hao stopped Wu Changgui: "Brother Wu, this is a trivial matter. I am not idle now after work, but I have to prepare the wood and tools myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Hao was surrounded by neighbors, asking him to help them build furniture.
"Xiao Qin will help our family beat it first, and our family will stew the meat for you."
"Why should I call your house first? I'll make chicken stewed with mushrooms for you."
Everyone was trying to get Qin Hao to help break the furniture first, and almost got into a fight.
In the end, it was Cai Danian who suggested drawing lots, which calmed down the turmoil. However, in drawing lots, naturally some people are happy and others are sad. Those at the front are in high spirits, and those at the back are like eggplants beaten by frost.
The hand was chopped off.
However, starting from that night, Qin Hao's food was abundant. Whoever made something delicious in the courtyard would bring it to Qin Hao, which made Qin Hao almost feel a little embarrassed.
Even Wang Xin was jealous when he saw it.
"It's not Lao Qin. When did you know how to be a carpenter? Why don't you teach me how to do it?"
Qin Hao joked: "Why, you don't plan to be a policeman anymore?"
"You also work as a police officer, and it won't hinder your carpentry work." Wang Xin smacked his lips.
"It's not easy to learn this thing. It will take at least three years. Are you sure you want to learn it?"
"What's the point? It's just three years. I'll be your apprentice for free."
"What good thing are you thinking about? I didn't take everyone's money, but you still want money from me. It's good that you don't give me gifts during the holidays."
Qin Hao secretly laughed, such good and strong labor is not wasted.
Wang Xin curled his lips when he heard it, but for the sake of the stewed meat, chicken and mushrooms, he still endured it.
Two days passed quickly, and the paint on the furniture was not completely dry, so Qin Hao simply put it outside the house to let it breathe. Paints these days are not environmentally friendly. The heavy metals must exceed the standard, so it is better to leave them for a while before using them.
As soon as the vacation was over, Qin Hao and Wang Xin went to the Railway Police Station, and met another familiar figure.
