In the alley, Zhou Deming was walking in front with his hands behind his back. Zhou Wenzhong put his hands in his sleeves and followed him with his neck curled up from the cold.
The loess on the ground is very soft. At most, I step on a piece of dirt from time to time, not even a stone.
On both sides of the street are some large courtyard houses with three steps in front of the door, and some are low-rise houses. There are no trees and no garbage dumps. Who is rich and has garbage to throw out?
There will only be a toilet every 200 meters or so. You don’t need to know the way when you go out. But you must find the toilet. Shameless people say otherwise! At present, Zhou Wenzhong does not need to worry about this.
Old ladies in twos and threes, holding needlework and shoe soles in hand, gathered at the entrance of the alley to chat. Wooden lumps were burned on the ground to keep warm. The weather was dry and cold, and the air was filled with the smell of wood fire.
There was an old woman sitting on a long stool, with a wooden rake for making shoes tied to the stool at one end. There were bundles of dried grass piled on the ground, and she was weaving straw rope to make shoes.
Straw sandals can also be made to be worn in winter. Take the beaten hay and braid it into three strands. Continue to add the hay one by one. After braiding the three strands, press them into a flat shape with stones or door frames, and make a circle.
The pieces are rolled up and finally made into shoe soles.
The remaining hay is also woven into the uppers in the same way, and finally put into the soles. Those who have the conditions will use a piece of rag as the lining of the straw sandals, and fill the space between the cloth and the hay with reed flowers, chicken feathers, wheat straw...
…
Some of these winter straw shoes are called "caowao", some are called "reed boots", and some are called "straw boots." No matter how they are called, it is enough to reflect the fact that everyone cannot afford cotton shoes.
The wisdom of working people.
Some old women were also sitting in the sunshine in front of the door, holding shabby clothes, biting the clothes back and forth with their teeth, and finally spitting out a few mouthfuls of saliva in the open space in front of them: "Bah, bah, bah..."
This is also the elimination of "little cuties".
There are aunts who are already married women sitting on the bench, holding a small child between their legs, using a comb to comb the child's hair under the sunlight, mainly to scrape off the lice on the head. The best
The method is to shave your head directly, but it is winter now and the temperature is too low. If you shave your head, you have to wear a hat, which increases the cost.
The wooden telegraph poles are not even 3 meters above the ground. The wires are within reach above your head. I feel like I can catch the wires by running and jumping. Only the white porcelain-colored "insulator" at the corner of the telegraph pole can
Reminds Zhou Wenzhong of his memories of later generations.
Walking out of the historic street, we came to the main street. In fact, it is not much different from the alley. Except that the "ten" main road is a cement pavement, or it may be paved with gravel mixed with oil. But the color looks like
Cement pavement is almost the same.
Both ends of the gray road are still land, and water retaining platforms are laid on them.
Standing on the street, you can clearly feel that it is higher than the entrance of the alley. This is because the road surface has been raised. When you turn around and look towards the alley, every house is a little "lower".
Even the shops next to the main road will definitely accumulate water when it rains.
There are also a lot of bicycles, and the trams on the street are also quite interesting. When they meet someone in front of them, they will ring their bells "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding..."
The most interesting thing is the buses. Some buses have a large air bag on the roof, which contains biogas.
Some buses have modified ones at the rear, similar to boilers made of steel, which are still emitting black smoke. They are powered by burning charcoal, coal, or firewood.
The signboards of shops on the street are basically the same. Since the public-private partnership in 1956, the signboards of stores or small hotels and guest houses have basically been named: Red Star, Venus, Huimin, Convenience, Red Flag, Friendship, People, East, First
,the second, the third…
Zhou Deming stopped, turned around and glanced at Zhou Wenzhong, then took out a match, lit a cigarette and continued walking forward.
Zhou Wenzhong also paused for a moment, and then followed up again. He was now color-blind. He couldn't accurately tell the color of other people's clothes. Some people were wearing gray. Only after looking carefully for a while did he realize that they were blue.
My work clothes have been washed for several years, changing from blue to light blue, and then to off-white.
Zhou Wenzhong shook his head and sighed in his heart: What evil have I done? Let me come to this era! Live in the present, but how can I live?
I suddenly felt pain in my abdomen, along with a feeling of nausea in my stomach.
Zhou Wenzhong turned around, bent down with his hands on his thighs, and retched at the ground beside the road with his mouth open.
"Ugh... ugh..."
After a period of retching, nothing came out. I swallowed and suppressed the pungent feeling caused by the sour water in my throat.
"Every...ahem..."
First he burped and then coughed twice.
Zhou Wenzhong stood up, first wiped the tears (acid reflux water) from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, and finally wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth.
The abdominal pain comes and goes away quickly.
Zhou Wenzhong's unexpected situation did not stop Zhou Deming.
"Huh...ha...bah!"
At this time, Zhou Wenzhong no longer cared about browsing the buildings on both sides. He quickly accelerated his pace to catch up with Zhao Deming, and at the same time opened his mouth to breathe in the fresh air.
………………
The two of them walked for less than half an hour and arrived at the door of a "big courtyard".
There are square pillars made of bricks and cement on both sides of the courtyard entrance. There are no traces of pasted couplets. There are two large iron fence gates in opposite directions. The gates are currently open, giving an unobstructed view of the courtyard.
It covers an area of more than 2 acres, and looks particularly empty with nothing. You can see a row of warehouses inside at a glance. At the same time, you can hear some noises and the sound of machines.
There is a small shop next to this gate, which says: The Second Grain Station of Beijing City.
"Is this a grain warehouse inside this big iron gate? The small shop at the door is a grain station. Fortunately, the street at the door is very wide. If we wait until the public grain is delivered in the spring and autumn, the road will not be blocked?"
Zhou Deming said: "Wait here."
After finishing speaking, he walked into the grain station. Zhou Wenzhong looked around and saw that there was a supply and marketing cooperative opposite.
"Dong dong... bang... choke..."
As a rhythmic sound of playing boards came, Zhou Wenzhong noticed that there was a man sitting next to the cement pillar of the grain depot. He looked like he was 60 years old, right? People these days all look older, and they look older than their actual age.
There is a big reason for it, but one eye is white, so he must have lost his sight.
He wears a three-brimmed hat with built-in ear warmers to protect his ears. The rags he wears are more fashionable than his own tattered cotton-padded jacket, and the holes in the cotton-padded jacket reveal the hay inside.
The feet are not cotton shoes, but rather fur boots. There are "mechanisms" on the shoes connected to the legs. A broken gong is tied to the left leg, and a small wooden block is tied to the right leg. It should be some kind of musical instrument. Thigh
There is a piece of rag on the top, the erhu is held in the left hand, and the strings are held in the right hand. One person is a band.
"Hey, this job at the grain station is really good! At least there are old artists performing folk arts."
Just as he was about to go over and strike up a conversation with the artist, Zhou Deming came over.
"Come with me quickly! What are you doing to deal with this crazy white guy?"
"oh."
After walking into the grain station, I looked around for a while. This big house should have an area of more than 80 square meters. There are two doors next to it. I looked up and saw four lamps with iron shades hanging from the top.
There are several scales on the ground, and there are 6 grain piles surrounded by wooden boards. On top of the grains are an iron dustpan and a funnel. The grain piles are full of corn flour, corn flour, sorghum flour, millet, brown rice (rice),
There was only one pile of grain surrounded by white cloth, with white flour inside.
Five staff members, 3 women and 2 men, were standing at the counter. There were several small scales on the counter. At this time, only two aunts were buying food.
There is only one middle-aged man among the staff wearing a dark blue coat and a pen on his chest. He is definitely the leader here!
Zhou Deming waved to him, and the leader put down the book in his hand and walked over. Zhou Deming took out a box of [Diehua Brand] cigarettes from his pocket, 2 cents a pack. He handed one to the other person and took out a match to light it for him.
I didn't know what the two were talking about, but the leader glanced at Zhou Wenzhong from time to time.
Zhou Wenzhong was still looking at the layout of the grain station at this time. There were bags of coded grain next to the counter, and he didn't know what was inside.
There are also several wooden frames hanging on the wall similar to pinball game machines, with scales marked on them.
There are three electric switches hanging behind the door of the grain station.
The current rules are: when buying food, in addition to providing food stamps and paying, you must also take out a food purchase book. The staff will mark the purchase record of this month under the year, month and day. The purpose of this is also to prevent someone from buying food.
Hoard food. But as long as it is a regulation, there are loopholes that can be exploited.
The simplest way is to exchange the local food stamps for national food stamps, and then exchange them for half a catty of local food stamps, and take the half a catty of food stamps to buy food at a grain station outside your place of residence. You can also go to the countryside to exchange for food, that is
More troublesome.
Seasonal foods like sweet potatoes are only available in October every year, with a limit of 5 kilograms per person. They are absolutely in short supply. Basically, as long as the news spreads, the steward of the compound will recommend it within an hour.
They would come here on a cart and sweep all the food away. Then they would go back and distribute it among the residents.
Can we actually buy food? Zhou Wenzhong is not worried at all. He can't make the decision anyway, so just let him go.
Zhou Deming and the 40-year-old leader also came over.
The leader of the grain station smiled at Zhou Wenzhong and asked, "Is your name Zhou Wenzhong?"
"right."
"16 years old this year?"
"Strictly speaking, he is 15 years old. He is not yet 16 years old."
Zhou Deming scolded: "What are you talking about! Don't I know how old you are?"
"Eh? Lao Zhou, why are you so angry? I just asked casually, so be it, Lao Zhou, you go back first, I will arrange work for him so that he can do what he can.
"
"Okay! Then I'll go back first."
The leader of the grain station nodded. Zhou Deming approached and whispered: "Do a good job. If you can't work here anymore, you don't have to go home."
"Director Zhang, I'll leave now. You're busy. Hit me when you need to, and scold me when you need to."
"Um."
Zhou Deming glared at him and left. Director Zhang led Zhou Wenzhong out of the grain station with his hands behind his back and walked towards the big yard just now.
In fact, the director of this kind of grain station can be: director, director of the grain station, or section chief. One grain station can provide food supplies to households in several nearby streets. Therefore, these staff are very powerful!
"This side is the big warehouse. This row of small houses is forbidden to enter. This side is where hemp bags are piled. At the end of this side is the toilet. The hut on the west side is the fire room with a coal stove. If you go back with a lunch box, you can put it there.
Hey. Turn on the water and go there. Don't look at the yard now being empty. You will know when the public grain is handed over. There is not even a place to stand. If it rains suddenly, there will be no time to weigh the grain. It will be rained.
If it gets wet, spread it out to dry, and you will know when the time comes."
"oh."
Director Zhang turned around and asked, "Do you know what the grain station does?"
"They are the ones who collect grain, store grain, issue grain stamps, and sell grain."
"Do you know who the staff at the grain station are?"
"Grain station director, custodian, accountant, agricultural supervisor, accountant."
"Not bad, do you know the process of harvesting grain?"
"Okay! You're a bit interesting. Did your father tell you that?"
Zhou Wenzhong did not answer this question. He felt that Director Zhang was stupid for smoking. He was here to move food. What was the use of asking so many questions? Can he also be given a formal job? In the worst case, he would be kicked out. Where is he?
Loess does not bury people?
Director Zhang stopped, turned around, took a look, did not continue to pursue the topic, and then took another step to walk inside.
"If you were given a choice here, which job would you choose?"
"I won't choose any of them! I won't be allowed to do these jobs at all."
"Xiao Zei, you are really not stupid. Come in with me."
Director Zhang pushed open the wooden door of the warehouse, and Zhou Wenzhong followed him in.
This warehouse must be as large as more than an acre of land. Several "high-tech" crushers are at work. There are some corn cob crumbs next to each crusher. 8 people are working in pairs, and only two of them are working.
A person in white overalls is writing something with a notebook in his hand.
Director Zhang waved to a 15 or 6-year-old girl.
"Xiufang! You lead him to work. This kid is quite interesting. You should lead him well and teach him how to match."
"knew."
After Director Zhang finished speaking, he walked around with his hands behind his back to make sure everything was working normally, nodded and left.
"This is your first time here today. I will take care of you and let you do some simple work. What is your name?"
"Zhou Wenzhong."
"Let me tell you briefly, my name is Zhang Xiufang..."
Zhang Xiufang pointed to the equipment in various parts of the warehouse to introduce it, while Zhou Wenzhong was sizing her up and down, his mind already wandering to nowhere.
He is 1.6 meters tall and weighs about 100 pounds. His clothes are too bulky and can't be seen at all.
The upper body is wearing a white overalls with a blue floral jacket, the lower body is wearing striped cotton pants, and there are two patches on the knees, which must have been added on purpose. On the feet are a pair of brown women's cotton shoes. The overall feeling is that
Money! This person can be contacted more!!!
The hair is quite black and shiny, and this girl is not lacking in nutrition. The two braids are folded in half and tied once more, and then hang down on her shoulders.
Look at the face again. The forehead is full and round, the face is single eyelids, the eyebrows are thick, the distance between the eyebrows is wide, the eyes are clear, the cheekbones are plump, the lips are rosy, and the chin is round and thick.
To describe it in one sentence, it is: The country is peaceful and the people are safe! The husband is prosperous!
If Qin Huairu scores 80, this girl can score 81.
Zhang Xiufang said angrily: "Hey! Hey! I'm talking to you!"
"Ah? Ah! I was a little dizzy from hunger just now. Please tell me again. Thank you."
"My name is Zhang Xiufang, and I will be responsible for recording it for you from now on. Now you can get on the cart and follow me. If you don't understand something, you can ask me again then."
"Oh, okay."
Zhang Xiufang pointed to the trolley on the side and said: "Pull this up and follow me."
"oh."
Zhang Xiufang held the book in her hand and walked out of the warehouse with her hands behind her back.
Why do these people have the same problem? They all like to walk with their hands behind their backs.