As the minute hand on the desk clock ticked by, the Zhang family father and daughter had already gone to work.
Zhou Wenzhong's supervisors were also replaced by three generations of old, middle-aged and young people. Through a simple conversation with the three of them, Zhou Wenzhong learned that Zhang Xiufang had cheated on him 10 yuan of wages.
The three of them thought that Zhou Wenzhong was reluctant to share the money with others, so they chose to work alone. At the same time, seeing Zhou Wenzhong working very fast, they felt that the 10 yuan was spent quite unfairly. Zhang's mother just
Always finding fault.
Zhou Wenzhong squatted in the open space in the courtyard, holding a 30 cm small wooden strip in his left hand to mark the distance between the two logs, and holding a small hammer in his right hand to smash nails into the dragon frame. Every time two nails were hammered in, he would
Move forward a few times and drag the iron nail bag on the ground forward.
"Sister, go and untie the hemp rope on the tiles."
"oh."
Wearing old clothes and white gloves, Zhang Xiuying stuck out her buttocks and began to untie the twine ropes for the tiles. This was the only job she could do. Although her equipment was complete, there was no dust on her body.
"clang…"
At exactly 1 p.m., Zhou Wenzhong took a shovel and hit it with a side hook on the cement bag.
"Prick, prick..."
Mother Zhang was sitting on the bench, wrapping wool around her head, and asked, "Is that cement bag no longer usable? Why do you have to tear it?"
Zhou Wenzhong put down the iron handle, shook the cement bag and explained: "Doing this makes me look professional."
"Wow..."
Buckets of water were poured into the cement and sand, and Zhou Wenzhong used an iron shovel to turn in the sand outside the circle.
"Young man, I see that you are not very old, but you seem to be working like that."
"It's been 10 years or so. I really didn't expect anyone to build a house during this period. Even if the weather doesn't warm up, at least they have to wait until spring. Let's not say whether it will happen after plastering the walls.
It's frozen, I just want to ask how you dry it?"
"Isn't this something you should consider?"
"well…"
Hearing Zhang's mother's answer, Zhou Wenzhong sighed. Holding a masonry knife in his hand, he shouted: "Ashes!"
"This is your job too, don't always ask my Xiuying to help you."
"Okay, okay, how about I return the 10 yuan to you."
"Stop it! You are giving up your job halfway. Where can we find workers to continue the work? You should continue to work. As long as this house does not collapse, I will burn the incense."
"squeak…"
As the courtyard door opened, Zhang Xiufang walked in carrying a lunch box and a net bag. She first looked at the seven layers of bricks built in a circle, then squatted on the stone slab next to the water tank and looked down.
"Won't a single-layer brick wall collapse? I think I can knock this wall down with just one hand."
"You are back. I am discussing with your family the whereabouts of the 10 yuan."
"Ah! Are they bothering you? Don't be offended."
Zhang Xiufang put the net bag into her mother's hand and helped her grandmother up from the stool.
"You go back to your house to warm up first, and I'll take care of this place."
"No, don't push me. What's going on with the 10 yuan he just mentioned?"
"Oh, Mom, you go back to the house to knit your yarn first. When I came back just now, I saw cards playing again next door. Grandma, please go play cards quickly. Leave this place to me, and you can rest assured. Let's go, let's go."
Zhang Xiufang drove them away without any explanation, and then ordered her sister to get a thermos to pour water for Zhou Wenzhong.
"Now you can work without worries. I'll help you shovel the ashes. You can rest for a while. Have you eaten?"
"hehe."
Zhang Xiufang only turned the iron switch eight times and filled half a bucket of ash into the iron bucket. Then she sat on the bench in front of Zhou Wenzhong and started beating her arms.
"Ouch, I'm so tired."
"Ouch, I can't do it anymore."
"Ouch, my arm is almost broken."
"Wow, is this the roof you nailed? It's so neat."
"Look at the brick wall you built so straight, you don't even have to hang the wires."
Seeing that Zhou Wenzhong didn't answer the question, Zhang Xiufang picked up a brick on the ground and handed it over and said: "I lost the 10 yuan, so just think of it as doing me a favor. Don't think about that anymore."
It’s 10 yuan, I’ll pay it back to you when I save enough money.”
"hehe."
"Don't pay attention to what my mother and others said. Have you forgotten that I helped you make cloth shoes last time? Do you remember?"
"Didn't I give you the non-staple food for the Chinese New Year? Where did the sesame oil and peanut seeds go? Did I lose you?"
"We are all friends. How can you care so clearly? Don't be like this. I will help you when your family builds a house later. Do you have a house?"
"No."
"You can't blame me. I can't help you even if I want to, so why don't you just go back to work at the grain station and I'll talk to my dad about it."
"No."
"You don't go to work? Then you lie at home all day?"
"Lying in bed can better recharge your batteries and look forward to the future. Get dusty!"
Zhang Xiufang shook her arms and started shoveling dust again.
"What are you doing with this piece of wood?"
"Leveling."
"I see there is a pile of soil in the corner that you shoveled out. Is it still useful?"
"You can sprinkle it into the tank after using the toilet. This can reduce the odor. If possible, it is best to go to the lumber mill to buy sawdust or wood chips."
Zhang Xiufang sighed: "You know so much, who taught you the craft of building a house?"
"Taught in the university of society."
"Oh. My dad asked me to ask if you know how to pull wires? Are you going to install a light in the toilet?"
"meeting."
"Pa bang bang..."
Zhang Xiufang applauded after hearing this, and her voice attracted Zhang Xiuying.
"Hurry up and give your brother Zhong a round of applause."
"Bah bang bang... Third sister, why are you applauding him?"
"Brother Zhong dares to touch the wires. Are you serious?"
"Brother Zhong is so awesome! Bang bang bang..."
Zhou Wenzhong ignored the two sisters singing and walked out of the toilet to light a cigarette.
Looking at the three brick walls with a height of about 2 meters, I nodded with satisfaction and thought to myself: The top should be put up tomorrow.
Zhang Xiufang pointed to the second layer of bricks under the door frame and asked: "Why do we need a threshold here? Isn't it easy to trip our feet?"
"Prevent water from soaking the wooden door when it rains."
Zhang Xiufang pointed to the first step in the toilet and asked: "Why does it have to be raised again?"
"To prevent you from filling the toilet when it rains heavily while you are squatting in the pit."
"Why is there only a 20cm gap left on the big tank?"
"Prevent someone from falling into the tank while squatting in the pit."
Zhang Xiufang kept asking all kinds of questions like she had a hundred thousand whys. Zhou Wenzhong poured out all the dismantled cement and mixed some ash with it, shoveled it on the wooden board and dragged it into the toilet.
"What are you doing?"
"Put a layer of primer on the wall, and put the coal stove in this room to dry it tonight. After the moisture in the wall is dried, sprinkle some water to prevent it from drying out. After it dries, I still have to
Apply the dust a second time, otherwise the cement wall will be peeled off in a year. Remember to soak the tiles in water tomorrow morning. If it is inconvenient, you can also bring a few buckets of water and pour it on the pile of tiles.
"
"Applause for Brother Zhong."
"Pah, pah, pah..."
Zhang Xiuying shouted: "Brother Zhong is right."
"Very good, you have nothing to do here. You can go back to the house first."
"Then I'm leaving, Third Sister."
"Um."
Zhou Wenzhong walked to the faucet with a wooden board in one hand and two iron buckets in the other hand and started washing.
"Why do you collect the rinsing water together?"
"Pour it under the brick wall for a while. In addition to not wasting it, the gray water can also make the foundation stronger."
"What are the two objects made of wood, similar to small drawers, placed on the ground?"
Zhou Wenzhong saw what Zhang Xiufang was holding and explained: "You took it backwards. Those two shelves are what I'm going to nail on the interior wall. One is for you to put tissue paper on, and the other is for you to use the toilet at night."
When the time comes, you can put the kerosene lamp on it easily."
"You are so considerate. I think you are ready to call it a day?"
"Um."
"Why are you leaving so early?"
"If I keep doing this, I won't be able to get up tomorrow."
"Are there any materials still missing?"
"I really don't know which idiot gave your house a material estimate. There are a lot of bricks left, a lot of sand left, a lot of lime left. The tiles must be a lot richer. If you bring tiles for laying, it's still not enough.
4 bags of cement. You can go to the chemical store later and buy 5 cents of alum. Don’t forget to prepare all the wires tomorrow, at least 4 meters. Prepare the lamp sockets and light switches. The most important thing is don’t forget to give them to me.
Get a flat-blade screwdriver ready."
“Why buy alum?”
"We'll see the situation tomorrow. If conditions permit, we'll have to add alum to the lime. I'll try to whitewash the interior walls first tomorrow."
"oh."
Zhou Wenzhong blew his nose twice and then started to wash his hands and face. He raised his hand to block the soap handed by Zhang Xiufang.
"That's it for today. I won't enter the house to say hello to your family. Let's take a step first and see you later."
Zhou Wenzhong patted the sand off his body, took the cotton coat from Zhang Xiufang, put it on and left.
"What time will you come over tomorrow?"
"I have to stagger the time and come after you go to work. Because I don't want to see you."
Zhou Wenzhong didn't eat all day long and was hungry for a long time. As he walked home, he became more and more panicked. He quickly took out a handful of sugar from the space and stuffed it into his mouth...
"Well...I feel exhausted all over."
Zhou Wenzhong returned to his room and took off his cotton-padded coat. He didn't even eat, opened the quilt and fell asleep.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, Jia Dongxu knocked on the door of Yi Zhonghai's house with a bottle of wine.
At the same time in the Zhang family, Zhang Hongyi turned on the lights in the courtyard and began to look at Zhou Wenzhong's masterpiece today.
"Dad, you bought too many of these things. You can't use them at all. Zhou Wenzhong will need 4 bags of cement tomorrow. Don't forget to prepare all the wires and other things."
Zhang Hongyi held the wall with his hands and put his face against the built wall. He squinted one eye to check whether the wall was skewed.
"He did this himself?"
After hearing the sound, Zhang's mother also walked out of the main room and answered for Zhang Xiufang: "That kid did it himself. The four of us mothers stared at him for a whole day. Didn't Sanya say he was a reform-through-labor prisoner, so we have to
Keep an eye on him, because he's afraid his hands and feet are not clean."
Zhang Xiufang threw her arms and complained: "Oh mom!"
"Look what your little girl has become now! She has even learned to make friends with reform-through-labor prisoners."
Zhang Hongyi chuckled when he saw his daughter's face turned pale with anger and ready to act rogue.
"That boy's case has been thoroughly investigated, and the police said it was a misunderstanding."
"My dad has already explained it, now you should believe it, right?"
"Hmph! I feel so scared when I think about the loss of these 10 yuan. He worked alone and almost built the toilet in just one day. It's so easy for him to earn this money."
Zhang Hongyi laughed at Zhang Xiufang and said: "Actually, there is a high probability that these 10 yuan will be... um... um..."
Zhang Xiufang quickly reached out to cover her father's mouth, and dragged Zhang Hongyi into the hall, leaving a confused mother stunned in place.
"Don't you understand yet? This 10 yuan has already gone into your daughter's pocket. This guy has been at your disposal all day long, and you are still picking on him."
"Ah? Mom, when did you notice it?"
"I saw it when I was having breakfast yesterday. You are such a big man, you should be more careful!"
Zhang's mother was scolded by her mother, and she felt angry and had nowhere to vent her anger. She hurried into the hall to ask her daughter about the situation.