Chapter 52 Construction

It took almost ten days to dig the foundation trench before it barely took shape. In the saline-alkali soil, some places with sand and gravel could only dig a white dot with a single swing of a pickaxe, while some sandy soil was so loose and loose that it couldn't be shaped.

Although there were a few experienced bricklayers, plus Turdi and another herdsman who would come over after work and work for several hours every day, the progress was still so slow that it made Shuran anxious.

Because during this period, Shu Ran had almost no energy or time to teach the children, and the classes were gradually delayed.

Looking at the shallow pit, Shu Ran knew that at this rate, the foundation wouldn't be properly dug by the time winter froze over. Not to mention the even more strenuous work of making adobe bricks later on. These few well-meaning people alone certainly couldn't manage.

She took her notebook and went to the company headquarters.

Company Commander Ma was looking at a report with a headache when he saw her and rubbed his temples: "Teacher Shu, what's wrong now? Can't you dig the foundation? I knew it..."

"Company Commander, the foundation can be dug, but it's slow." Shu Ran spread out her notebook, which contained her estimated amount of earthwork and the manpower needed. "With the current number of people, working two hours a day, it would take forever to dig. I'd like to apply if the company could give some work points to the people who come to help build the classrooms? It doesn't have to be much, even just one or two work points a day would be helpful, and everyone would be more motivated."

"Work points?" Company Commander Ma's voice rose. "Where did you get extra work points? If the production quota isn't met, the whole company will have their work points deducted! This is already an exception for you!"

"Company Commander, this isn't for me personally, it's for the school," Shu Ran insisted. "Besides, the branch meeting has already agreed in principle. We can't just let the horse run without feeding it, can we? Even if we don't give work points, a certificate would be fine. When we evaluate model workers and advanced workers at the end of the year, it can serve as a basis, letting everyone know that the organization remembers this contribution."

Company Commander Ma clicked his tongue, not immediately refuting. The pretext of being nominated as an advanced model worker was indeed somewhat appealing.

Just then, the curtain was lifted, and Chen Yuanjiang walked in with a document, just in time to hear the last few sentences. His gaze swept over Shu Ran's notebook, and he said to Company Commander Ma, "The division commander emphasized at the last meeting that grassroots companies should pay attention to investment in education, including the necessary manpower and resources. For special cases, they can apply to have part of their compulsory work or reward work points converted. The amount is not large, but there is a policy basis for it."

He spoke calmly, then handed the document to Company Commander Ma: "This is a notice just issued by the division headquarters regarding strengthening ideological work in the autumn and winter seasons. It mentions encouraging various forms of labor competitions and dedication, and providing appropriate spiritual and material rewards."

Company Commander Ma took the document, glanced at it, his brow still furrowed, but his tone softened slightly: "Even with policies... the quota is limited..."

Shu Ran immediately chimed in, "Just a little bit is enough! The main thing is to make everyone feel that their efforts haven't been in vain, and that the organization is aware of their contributions!"

Company Commander Ma glanced at Chen Yuanjiang, then at Shu Ran, and finally sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll discuss it with Secretary Liu again. As for work points, at most one and a half a day, it depends on how much work was done, and the person in charge will keep a clear record. As for certificates, once the classrooms are built, we can consider issuing one to those who performed outstandingly. That's settled!"

"Thank you, Company Commander! Thank you, Officer Chen!" Shu Ran was overjoyed, knowing this was a major breakthrough. She neatly put away her notebook, turned and left, her steps lighter.

After she left, Chen Yuanjiang added to Company Commander Ma, "Pay attention to construction safety, especially the foundation depth and the quality of the adobe bricks. I'll have someone from the mechanics team go over and help check the tools."

Company Commander Ma waved his hand: "Alright, alright, you can arrange it as you see fit."

Shu Ran didn't go straight back to the construction site; instead, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative first.

With a few spare grain coupons and some money, she bought two pounds of hard fruit candy and several packs of cigarettes. Looking at the newly arrived enamel mugs with red lettering on them in the counter, she hesitated for a moment and couldn't bring herself to buy them.

Carrying these things, she went to Zhang Guifen's house first. Zhang Guifen was sewing shoe soles, and when she saw her coming, she quickly got up.

"Sister-in-law Guifen, I need to discuss something with you." Shu Ran placed the candy and cigarettes on the kang table. "The company has given the green light; those who come to help build the classrooms will receive work points, and those who do a good job will even be awarded certificates. I'd like you to encourage the families to help out, to let the women lend a hand when they're free—mixing mud, passing things, boiling water, anything. And they can also tell their husbands about the benefits. This little something is just to sweeten the mouths and help them relax after they've worked."

Zhang Guifen's eyes lit up when she saw the candy and cigarettes, and she patted her chest confidently: "Teacher Shu, don't worry! This is a good thing! The work points and certificates are real! I'll go tell them right away! Those old women will definitely be enthusiastic when they hear about this benefit! Even their own men will be motivated!"

After leaving Zhang Guifen's house, Shu Ran went to Wang Cuihua's house and several other familiar family members' houses, repeating the same thing. The news quickly spread throughout the family area.

The construction site was noticeably busier the following afternoon.

In addition to the original male employees and herders, there were seven or eight more women. Some helped turn the soil and mud with shovels, while others helped carry the excavated soil to one side.

Sister Wang directed two women to set up a simple stove using three mud bricks, with a large pot sitting on top to boil water.

The old farm tools that Shu Ran collected also came in handy.

The broken pickaxe was re-tied with a wooden stick, and although it looked awkward, it was still usable; the broken tin bucket was used to hold water; the rusty sickle was sharpened and used to cut reeds; the half-stranded hemp rope was used to hold a line for positioning. Although everything was makeshift, at least it wasn't as dire as it had been at the beginning.

Shu Ran went to the cafeteria again, found the chubby cook, and handed him a small bag of fruit candies and a pack of cigarettes: "Master, it's hot, and everyone works hard. I'd like to make some mung bean soup for everyone to cool off. Do you think the cafeteria can..."

The portly chef weighed the sugar in his hand, his arrogant demeanor completely gone from their first meeting. His face lit up with a smile: "Oh, Teacher Shu, you're too kind! The mung bean soup is no problem! I still have some aged mung beans; I'll brew two big pots for you right away! I guarantee they'll be perfectly mushy!"

In the scorching afternoon sun, Li Xiulan arrived, trembling, carrying two large buckets of mung bean soup on a shoulder pole, accompanied by two young men. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her cheeks were flushed.

"Teacher Shu, the mung bean soup is here! Chef Fatty even added a little bit of sugar!" Li Xiulan's voice was filled with excitement.

"Great! Xiulan, quickly tell everyone to take a break and have some soup!" Shuran hurried over to greet them.

The workers gathered around, carrying all sorts of bowls and cups.

Shu Ran distributed mung bean soup to everyone and gave each male laborer a cigarette. The candy was mainly given to the women and the children running around.

The atmosphere suddenly became lively. Everyone drank sweet, sticky mung bean soup, smoked cigarettes, and told jokes, and their fatigue seemed to lessen considerably.

Li Xiulan didn't sit still. She took out the registration book and went up to everyone: "Uncle, Aunt, what did you do today? How long did you work? Tell me so I can write it down and calculate your work points..."

She asked detailed questions and took careful notes. A bespectacled, rather refined-looking young man was drinking water nearby; he was the company clerk, named Zhang Jianjun, and had been assigned to help record the earthwork volume.

Looking at Li Xiulan's meticulous manner, he couldn't help but say, "Comrade Li Xiulan, you remember things very carefully."

Li Xiulan looked up, her face even redder, "Teacher Shu instructed me to remember this correctly, I'm sorry to have let everyone down."

Zhang Jianjun pushed up his glasses: "Yes, clear records are very important. You can optimize this format a bit more. Let me draw a table for you, it will be clearer." As he spoke, he took out his notebook and pencil and quickly drew a simple table, marking the name, job type, working hours, and remarks.

Li Xiulan leaned closer to take a look, her eyes lighting up: "Wow, this is great! It's so clear! Zhang Wenshu, you're amazing!"

Zhang Jianjun smiled a little embarrassedly: "It's nothing, I just did it on a whim."

Shu Ran and Sister Wang exchanged a glance. Sister Wang said in a low voice, "This young clerk Zhang is quite honest. He's from Shandong, and his parents are farmers. He doesn't have many ulterior motives."

Shu Ran nodded, having made up her mind. Afterwards, she deliberately found some tasks that required transcribing teaching plans and material lists, and, using the excuse that "she was too busy and Xiu Lan had good handwriting and was meticulous," asked Li Xiu Lan to go to the company headquarters to coordinate with Zhang Jianjun or ask him about formatting issues. Naturally, the two had more contact afterward.

Li Xiulan smiled more often, no longer with the timid yet adoring look she had for Zhou Wenbin before. Now, her eyes shone with a bright light of recognition and equal treatment. She was still busy at the tofu shop, but as soon as she finished work, she would rush to the construction site to register and help out. Sometimes, she would even discuss with Zhang Jianjun how to keep clearer accounts.

The shadow cast by Zhou Wenbin's incident seems to have gradually faded away amidst busyness and this healthy interaction.

With the addition of manpower, the foundation work progressed much faster. But the next step, making adobe bricks, was the real test of strength and patience.

The site for making adobe bricks was chosen on a flat piece of land next to the western floodplain. Master Qian was invited by Shu Ran to be the chief supervisor again.

"The soil has to be good soil! Alkaline soil won't do! We have to dig up that yellow clay from under the red willow gully over there!" Master Qian instructed, hands on his hips. "The water has to be just right! Too much and it'll rot; too little and it'll crumble! When mixing the mud, make sure to evenly stir in the chopped wheat straw stalks! Otherwise, it'll crack when it dries!"

Several young men were assigned to dig and carry soil. Women and teenagers were responsible for chopping the wheat straw. Mixing the mud was a physically demanding and technically challenging task, which was done by Master Qian and two older workers.

The adobe mold is made of wood and looks like a bottomless rectangular box. You need to forcefully slam the mixed wet mud into it, smooth it out, and then yank it out to form the basic shape of an adobe brick. This work requires a great deal of arm strength and dexterity.

In the first few days, progress was pitifully slow. Either the mud was too runny to be shaped, or it cracked after drying. The men took turns working, and by the end of the day, their backs ached, but they still couldn't produce many decent bricks. On the drying ground, the crooked and sparse mud bricks were scattered everywhere.

Seeing this, Shu Ran grew impatient and rolled up her sleeves, wanting to try it herself. She forcefully picked up a shovel of mud, slammed it into the mold, and frantically tried to smooth it out. But when she tried to turn it over—a mud puddle appeared on the ground, completely unformed. Everyone around laughed.

Master Qian shook his head: "Teacher Shu, this job is not for women, it's very strenuous!"

Shu Ran refused to give up and tried several more times, but either the knots fell apart or the shapes were ugly. In the end, she gave up, her hands and clothes covered in mud. She laughed and said that enthusiasm alone wasn't enough; experience and strength were also essential.

Zhao Weidong would occasionally stroll over with his hands behind his back, and seeing the pitiful output, he didn't say anything sarcastic. On the contrary, once, seeing that the shovels used by several men were almost falling apart, he turned to the technician Ma who was following behind and said, "Go, take those few broken shovel heads in the warehouse, attach sturdier wooden handles, and give them to them. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood."

With improved tools and increased proficiency, the speed of making adobe bricks finally increased. In the drying yard, rows of adobe bricks stretched out, neat and orderly.

The weather has been great these past few days, with continuous scorching sun drying the adobe bricks quickly. But a new problem has arisen—turning the bricks over.

When the adobe bricks are half-dry, they need to be carefully turned over so that the sides can also be exposed to the sun, ensuring they dry thoroughly and harden evenly. This work isn't heavy, but it's extremely tedious and requires patience. Bending over, standing up, then bending over again—thousands upon thousands of times.

Shu Ran mobilized all the children and women she could. The weaker children carried the load in pairs. The women chatted as they worked, making it quite lively.

Adil arrived with Bayan and Saidar. At first, they didn't know how to handle it properly, and their clumsy handling resulted in them breaking two pieces of clay. Shitou quickly went over to teach them: "Handle them gently, like this, support them from the bottom..."

Adi studied diligently, and although his movements were clumsy, he no longer made mistakes. Bayan and Saidar also followed suit. The children from the pastoral area were used to manual labor, and once they grasped the knack, their efficiency increased.

Li Xiulan and Zhang Jianjun were responsible for recording the quantity and batches of the bricks being dried. They also helped with turning over the mud bricks. The two worked together seamlessly, one calling out the numbers and the other recording them. Zhang Jianjun would occasionally help Li Xiulan straighten any bricks that had fallen over.

Xu Junjun couldn't stand being alone in the clinic, so whenever she had a spare moment, she would quickly carry her medicine box over and patrol back and forth, applying red medicine to the women and children whose hands were chafed, reminding everyone to wear straw hats to protect themselves from the sun, and boiling lightly salted water for everyone to replenish their salt levels.

Although the construction site is slow, it is still operating steadily overall.

Looking at all this, Shu Ran felt a slight relaxation in her tense state. She walked to the place where the old materials were piled up, looked at the tarpaulins and rafters, and then at the brickyard that was beginning to take shape in front of her, as if she could already see the classroom standing there.

When she finished work in the evening, she specifically sought out Master Qian: "Master Qian, how much longer do you think this blank needs to be dried before it can be used?"

Master Qian picked up a piece, tapped it with his fingers, and then bent a corner: "Hmm, the hardness is about right. Let it dry in the sun for another three to five days, just to be on the safe side. Next, we should prepare for the important event of raising the roof beam! That's the key!"

Shu Ran nodded, her mind already planning the next step. Timber, raising the beams, building walls, laying the roof... each step was difficult.

But as she watched the people chatting and laughing as they dispersed under the setting sun, she felt a renewed sense of motivation.

The road ahead is long, but we can keep going step by step.

Chen Yuanjiang's figure would occasionally appear in the far distance. Sometimes he would be patrolling on horseback in the distance, and sometimes he would be standing quietly on a certain earthen slope, watching the busy scene here.

He never spoke, but something would always mysteriously appear on the construction site: a small bundle of new hemp rope, two sharp trowels, and even a small bucket of rare clean paint. No one knew what excuse he had or where he got it from; the lid of the bucket had "Painting Doors and Windows" written on it in chalk.

What surprised Shu Ran the most was the help from the pastoral area.

Turdi brought over several thick tanned sheepskins, along with a number of tools. Adil, who practically lived on the construction site, was one of the strongest kids, and he worked tirelessly, eagerly digging and mixing mud. Moreover, his Mandarin was already fluent enough to communicate with the people in the company. Another young herdsman he brought along, □□, was also a hard worker who kept to himself.

That afternoon, the children who had just finished school stayed behind, gathering around the construction site to watch the excitement. The foundation work had already begun in the trench, with stones and mortar being used to build the base. Master Qian gave loud instructions, and the men chanted as they moved the large stones into place.

Shu Ran was helping to carry a basket of mixed mud when she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching. She looked up and saw that it was Old Akhen riding a horse, followed by several elderly people from the pastoral area.

The old men dismounted and slowly walked around the construction site, looking at the stone foundation that had been built a foot high, the neatly stacked adobe bricks, and the busy faces of the Han Chinese and herdsmen. They talked to each other in hushed tones and nodded.

Old Aken walked up to Shu Ran, his white beard twitching: "As for the appearance, it's finally there."

Shu Ran wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and smiled: "You see, this is just the beginning. It won't look like a house until the walls are built, the beams are installed, and the roof is laid."

Old Aken paused for a moment, then took out a small cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Shu Ran. Shu Ran opened it and saw several shiny, patterned stones and a small roll of colorful yarn.

"Place it in the corner. For good luck." Old Akhen said succinctly, "Yarn, tie it to the beam."

This is a blessing and custom from the pastoral area. Shu Ran felt a warmth in her heart and solemnly accepted it: "Thank you, Aken! I'll definitely use it when we raise the roof beam!"

Old Akhen didn't say anything more. He waved to the other old men, and the group rode away on their horses, just as suddenly as they had arrived.

Shu Ran withdrew her gaze and looked at the bustling construction site before her. Sister Wang was urging everyone to drink mung bean soup, Li Xiulan and Zhang Jianjun were busy keeping accounts, Adil and Hu Zi were laughing and joking over a shovel, and Master Qian was scolding a man for mixing the mud too thin…

She suddenly realized that this was no longer just a classroom.

It seems to have gradually drawn together the strength of the company, the pastoral area, the men, the women, and even the children, and then brought them together.

She bent down, picked up the shovel, and plunged it back into the mud, stirring it vigorously.

The wall must be built piece by piece, and life must be lived day by day. But thankfully, she's no longer alone.

*

The adobe bricks were almost dry, and Shu Ran was thinking about the timber needed for the roof beam and the roofing felt that was missing.

The scrap materials she had salvaged from the regimental warehouse were definitely not enough. She reported to the company, wanting to go to the regimental headquarters again to see if she could borrow a horse-drawn cart from them. The tractors that ran to the regimental headquarters didn't come every day, and the carts were usually occupied by other people, making it inconvenient to load building materials.

Company Commander Ma frowned as he approved the order, then walked to the window to check the weather: "Teacher Shu, the weather at this windy spot is like a child's face, changing in an instant. This season is especially unpredictable; why did you have to go at this time?"

"Company Commander, it's getting cold. We need to finish laying the roof before it freezes, otherwise the mud walls will crumble from all the rain and snow this winter," Shu Ran explained. "Let's go and come back quickly, and leave when the weather is good."

In the end, Company Commander Ma still approved the note, adding one more instruction: "Take a couple more people with you, so you can look out for each other on the road. If the weather changes, find a place to hide as soon as possible; keeping people safe is the most important thing!"

Shu Ran called upon Turdi and another experienced herdsman, Yerbol, and they hitched up the sturdiest horse-drawn cart in the company. Xu Junjun handed her a small first-aid kit, and Li Xiulan secretly slipped two pieces of dried naan into her pocket.

The journey to the regimental headquarters went relatively smoothly. With Officer Zhang's help once again, Shu Ran and Old Jiang spent a lot of time haggling and used the industrial coupons they had saved to bribe their way out, and finally managed to get a few thicker rafters and two large rolls of old tarpaulin tied with straw rope. Although they were still worn out, they were in better condition than before.

She gritted her teeth and used her monthly salary to buy several kilograms of salt blocks and a pack of tobacco, intending to share them with the herders and staff who had helped her.

On the return journey, the weather looked fine. Turdi and Yerbol looked at the sky, thought there was nothing to worry about, and whipped the cart to hurry.

The horse-drawn carriage creaked along the Gobi Desert road. After passing the wind-eroded Yardang landform area ahead, we would reach the old wind gap. Once we passed that, we wouldn't be far from the company.

Suddenly, Yerbolt abruptly reined in his horse, listened intently to something, and his expression changed drastically: "This wind is strange!"

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Author's Note: [Yuanbao] I updated late today, so please leave your apologies in the comments section~