Yan Bugui hurriedly caught up, first looking at the ground that had been dug up. While the water plant workers were working on the site, he immediately patted his chest and expressed his support to Wang Jianping.
"Master, just go ahead and repair it boldly. We will replace the pipes that need to be replaced. We will try to repair it once and for all and completely prevent the pipes from getting damaged again. We will definitely not affect the normal water supply of the neighbors."
The water plant employee ignored Yan Bugui's words at all and just put down his pickaxe and lay down on the ground. He put his ear against the pipe and flicked his fingers against the iron pipe in the soil. "There's no water at all here.
! You guys continue to dig south, just follow this pipe!"
"clear."…
After giving the "order", the water plant workers stood up and patted the sand on their clothes.
"What did you just say?"
Yan Bugui crossed Wang Jianping, patted his chest again and said: "Comrade, these water pipes are all on me."
"You're not talking nonsense. Our water plant is only responsible for the laying and maintenance of public equipment and pipes outside. If the water pipes in your yard are broken, you should pay for them yourself."
"He's right!"
The two people who had gone to the backyard to close the payment received 200 yuan and were going back to find their elder brother to hand in the task. As soon as they reached the front yard, the road at the door was blocked because the residents gathered to watch the excitement.
dead.
This made the two of them unable to get out. They had been standing in the crowd listening to nonsense for a long time. The more they listened, the more disgusting they felt. Both of them were filled with anger. Just now, one of the boys couldn't help but shouted in cooperation with the water plant employees.
.
Noticing that everyone was looking over, the younger brother who just shouted took a step forward.
"The master at the water plant is right. Their unit is only responsible for public equipment. For example, if this water pipe passes through the threshold of the courtyard, the residents are responsible for repairing the pipes inside the yard, and their unit is responsible for the pipes outside the yard.
repair."
"I've met a knowledgeable person! What he said is absolutely right."
The water plant workers clapped their hands happily, thinking that they had met someone who understood things.
The bill collector quickly added: "And these pipes are priced per meter. If there are bends and joints involved, those bends and joints will have to be priced separately."
"Oh! He's right!"
"If there is a valve, you have to pay extra."
"This little brother made it clear."
Another bill collector came over and pulled his sleeves. He frowned and licked his lips in the direction of the gate. The two of them quickly took advantage of this opportunity to separate from the crowd and walk out of the courtyard gate.
Yan Bugui clearly remembered that his family only had 24 yuan in total. Apart from the money for repairing water pipes, his whole family still had to eat and drink to survive. What the young man said just now was like a bottomless pit, and the more he listened, the more
Feeling difficult to breathe.
"Master, I would like to ask, how many elbow joints are needed for the water pipes in our yard?"
The worker at the water plant looked at Yan Bugui's clothes and felt that the man in front of him probably had no wealth. He kicked the water pipe that had just been thrown out.
"These pipe joints are probably still usable and there should be no need to replace them with new ones."
After Yanbu Guijing's breathing became easier, he asked again: "Master, can you help me calculate how many meters of pipes need to be replaced in our yard?"
After Wang Jianping heard Yan Bugui's question, he walked towards the entrance of the courtyard and waved to the two of them to come over and talk.
"My name is Wang Jianping and I'm from Jiaodaokou Street Office. This is my work permit and..."
The water plant employee quickly pushed back the work permit Wang Jianping handed him.
"I don't need to see your work ID. I just heard the residents talking about Director Wang."
Wang Jianping nodded and took back his work permit, pointed at Yan Bugui and introduced him to the water plant workers.
"This man's name is Yan Bugui. He is responsible for all the bills you paid for repairing the water pipes in the yard today."
The two of them looked at each other and knew each other.
"I'll make a long story short, Yan Bugui's family situation is somewhat special. Life is also difficult. Repairing the water pipe this time is an act of selfless dedication on his part."
"ah?!"
The water plant employee quickly shook hands with Yan Bugui, nodded and said: "Oh, I thought it was money collected by people in your courtyard. I didn't expect it to be like this. There's no need to say anything. I'll dig it out later."
The water pipes I can use will never be replaced with new ones.”
"Thank you..."
Wang Jianping asked: "Based on your experience, how much will it cost this time?"
The water plant employee let go of his hand and walked to the entrance of the compound, measuring the distance with his feet.
"It's about 35 meters long. You can give me the old water pipe. In that case, I'll pay you 1 meter and 80 cents for the new water pipe. I don't think the joints and elbows need to be replaced, but the faucet is already rusted.
I definitely have to change it. So it’s 28 yuan.”
"Ah? Then...are the water pipes you dug out included?"
"It's already taken into account. Didn't I say so? These old water pipes are all given to me, and I am responsible for disposing of them."
"Didn't you just say that old water pipes should be used whenever they can be used?"
"well…"
The water plant employee didn't say anything nonsense. He walked to the water pipe, raised his foot and kicked it hard. It was broken without even a "click" sound. The water plant employee picked up a broken water pipe from the ground and walked over.
.
"Wow..."
"Did you see it? The water pipe is already crispy, and if you look at the rust falling out of it, I guess it was a product from the early Republic of China. And it was a defective product purchased by the Republic of China government. To be honest, it can
It’s pretty good that it only broke after a few years of use. If it’s made in Germany, then I don’t have to say anything, it won’t break even if I drop my foot.”
"Then...how can the water pipes in the middle courtyard still work?"
The water plant employee started his deception mode, but the two people in front of him didn't understand the twists and turns at all.
"In addition to one main pipe underground, there are also three branched pipes. This is the front yard, so the water pressure is high, so I guess it exploded. The water pipe in the middle yard has a smaller pressure after the diversion, so it
It can still be used normally for the time being.”
"Then...why is the one in the backyard broken? Didn't you say they are all connected?"
"There are many possibilities, and it's hard for me to explain it to you. I can only give you the answer after digging up the ground in the backyard and looking at it."
Yan Bugui said with a sad face: "This costs 28 yuan? I have to buy another faucet. But our family doesn't have enough money!"
The water plant employee took the cigarette from Wang Jianping, put it in his mouth and lit it.
"Comrade from the water plant, please help me find a solution. Yan Bugui's family is really in trouble."
"Hey! If you don't have money, there are tricks if you don't have money."
The water plant employee pointed to the locust tree in the east wing, and then pointed to the open space between Yanbu Gui's house and the reverse house.
"Did you see that? We can just move the faucet in the front yard to a different position, and we only move it about 10 meters away. Other residents should not have any objections. If you want to save money, just move the faucet to the back room.
location, but I'm afraid of doing this. The residents in the front yard don't agree, and it will be troublesome. I will deduct 8 yuan for you for missing 10 meters of water pipes. This time you only need 20 yuan.
enough."
After Yan Bugui heard this, he immediately had a picture in his mind. If the sink was moved to the south wall of his house, the faucet would be next to his bedroom.
From now on, the residents will gather together early in the morning to collect water. Not to mention the noise, the buzzing sound will disturb their sleep too much.
Moreover, the water used in winter can easily flow to the door of your home and freeze overnight. When the time comes, your family will easily slip and fall when traveling.
When the summer heats up, mosquitoes are likely to grow in places with water, and other small insects may also be attracted. The dirty water used by residents to wash dishes and pots not only smells bad, but is also particularly easy to attract flies.
The most important thing is that the open space on the south wall of my house is reserved for planting sweet potato vines. Moving the water pipe there will affect the food production of my house. It would be better if it was moved to the south wall of Zhou's house opposite. Then this
All problems can be solved.
Yan Bugui thought of this and immediately expressed his position: "Then move the pool to the location of the locust tree."
When the water plant employee saw Yan Bugui's answer so quickly, he couldn't help but look at him again. He thought that this little old man wearing glasses had a very lively mind. Ordinary people would only think about moving the water pipe to the door of their own house.
"Yes, yes, but I don't care about the work of digging out tree roots. It is very difficult to dig out the roots of such old trees. I estimate that these workers will need at least a week to dig them out.
After they clean up all the underground tree roots, I can go in and lay the water pipes. Even if the people in the yard agree with you to move the water pipes, aren't you short of money? You can calculate their wages for the past few days first.
Let’s talk after you understand.”
Yan Bugui turned to look at Wang Jianping.
"The workers' daily wages are 1 yuan and 40 cents. I told them that it was a half-day job. After hearing this, they thought it was a small job, so they were unwilling to come. Xu Damao came to our street office every day to urge me to find workers, saying that it was in the front yard.
The residents couldn't wait for water. I had no choice but to raise another 30 cents. This time, the half-day work cost 1 yuan per person. If you want them to dig tree roots, you'd better pay them first.
Let’s calculate their wages for one week.”
Yan Bugui scratched his head after finishing his mental arithmetic. Did you guys already know how much money I had in my pocket? It was all because of the 24 yuan!
"How about it, Yan Bugui, does the method this comrade said work? Otherwise, we can wait until next time to repair it?"
Yan Bugui made a smile that was uglier than crying, gritted his teeth and said, "Haha... let's fix it now."
"That's right. I still have a lot of things on my hands. Let's take one step at a time. Master, you are very tired when you are working. If you have anything, go to the street office to see me at any time. Yan Bugui, don't leave.
I forgot that I have to continue writing slogans outside in the afternoon."
"Hey."
"no problem."
After Wang Jianping finished handing over his work, he waved to the two of them while holding his bicycle, lifted the rear seat and crossed the threshold before leaving.
"Comrade, how much does a faucet cost at your water plant? The water pipe in our backyard is also broken. Can you remove the faucet and install it in the front yard?"
"How long has it been broken?"
"It's been more than 2 years."
"It's definitely rusted to death. The cheap faucets in our Beijing Water Plant are 1 yuan and 7.5 cents, and the expensive ones are 2 yuan and 2.5 cents. The difference lies in whether there is a copper core in the faucet. Which one do you want to buy?"
"cheap."
"I know, I'll bring it to you later."
No matter how bad the water pipes are in the future, it won't be your fault. Of course, the cheaper the better. Thinking about the penniless days in the future, Yan Bugui walked to his home with a sigh.