Chen Yitang nodded: "Okay, if you're not picky about food, then follow my menu."

Zeng Yike followed behind them, watching Chen Yitang walking away with Goudan. She turned around and said with a smile, "Your father! He is just stubborn. On the day when Jianguo's surgery was successful, he was busy until midnight to prepare the menu. These days he also gets up early to go to town to buy the freshest vegetables."

"Then please help me say thank you to Dad." Zhao Jianguo had thousands of words of gratitude melted into this one sentence.

Parents' love for their children is hidden in the details, and can be seen and touched.

On the other side, Deng Zhixing happened to have some free time, so he took his people to the town and asked a master to come back: "Master, please help us measure how much putty powder we need for this room."

"This room is quite big. It looks like he belongs to a high-ranking official! This room will probably need five buckets of putty powder, as well as plaster and glue, so that the wall won't fall off with white powder." The old master said experiencedly.

"Master, then please help me buy all the things and I will pay you later. Is that ok with you?" Deng Zhixing didn't know the prices of these things, but this old master often did decoration and knew them better.

The old master patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry about what I, Old Cai, do! I'll be responsible for all the decoration in your area. I know there's a paint shop with the best price. I'll just go find them when the time comes."

"Of course I feel relieved, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you. So when do you think we're going to start work?" Deng Zhixing asked.

"The day after tomorrow is a good day. I will buy all the materials in the next two days. But are you in a hurry to move in?" asked Lao Cai.

"It's not too urgent, maybe a month later! How do you calculate the cost of hiring someone?" Deng Zhixing also reacted and asked.

"If you are moving in a month later, we will charge by the day. I will hire three workers and we will provide the tools. It will be five dollars a day with meals included, and six dollars a day without meals. It will probably take about five days to finish the work." Lao Cai made a very experienced estimate.

Deng Zhixing thought it was okay, so he nodded and agreed: "Okay, no problem. If it's not convenient for us to provide meals, it's only six dollars a day."

………

…

On September 23, 1973, Master Cai and his three younger brothers rode tricycles to the military district’s family compound.

"You three quickly unload the things and move them to the second floor and go to the house on the left!"

The three little apprentices immediately behaved and moved the things upstairs obediently.

"You are here to help renovate Captain Zhao's house, right? Please move all the things over there! Captain Zhao is injured, and his wife is taking care of him in the hospital and asked me to help keep an eye on him." Wang Hui was directing the three people while knitting.

The three little boys, aged seventeen or eighteen, were all obedient. In this era, if you wanted to learn a craft, it would be good if you could follow a good master. If you couldn't, being beaten and scolded would be the least of your punishment.

The door had been opened for a long time. Although there was nothing in the room, Wang Hui had been guarding the door.

When Lao Cai came up with the tools, the group of four started to work. The three little boys stirred the putty powder. After it was mixed, Lao Cai painted the upper wall and the three little boys painted the lower one.

They only finished painting a small room in the morning. Zeng Wenjuan happened to come over with Goudan to take a look and bought a pack of cigarettes. It was the first day of work and if the owner didn't come to check, they would just do their work in a sloppy manner.

"I'm taking a rest!"

Old Cai and a few little boys had just sat down on the ground to take a rest when they saw Zeng Wenjuan and Goudan, both of whom were a little confused.

"This is Captain Zhao's wife, and she's also the one who's paying you wages." Wang Hui introduced her to Lao Cai and the others with a smile.

"Hello, comrade. We are not lazy. We have been busy for the whole morning. Let's take a break and drink some water." Lao Cai quickly stood up to explain. It was not easy to get a job at this time and he didn't want to lose it.

Zeng Wenjuan said expressionlessly: "Well, anyway, you just need to do it well within the stipulated time, and you must do it well. If there is anything I am not satisfied with, I will not pay you!"

"Yes, yes... I, Old Cai, guarantee that I will do my job well. I am well-known in this residential area." Old Cai patted his chest and made the promise.

Zeng Wenjuan asked again: "You helped buy these materials, right? How much did they cost? I won't cheat you if I give you the money for the materials now."

"The total cost of these materials is two hundred and thirty yuan. These are the ones I think are the best and most practical. I did everything according to what the comrade told me before." Lao Cai quickly took out the receipt to show that he did not cheat anyone.

Zeng Wenjuan took the receipt, looked at the work stamp on it, checked the amount, and counted out the money from her pocket: "Please keep it! Don't lose it, I won't be responsible for it. Please help me decorate the house. I bought some hot tea outside, you can have some. I will come over every day from now on."

"Okay, okay...thank you comrade." After counting the money again, Lao Cai put the money away with a grin.

Zeng Wenjuan saw that they were working efficiently and quickly, so she prepared to leave. The smell was too strong and not good for children.

"Let's go! Old Cai is very skillful, and I'm watching here, so they don't dare to do anything rash." Wang Hui said with a smile, and took out a handful of peanuts from her pocket and gave them to Goudan: "I grew these myself. When you move in, I'll give you a private plot of land, and you can grow some vegetables for yourself."

"Really? That's great. I was thinking about the cost of buying vegetables here. This family depends on Brother Jianguo's salary to support us. Goudan is getting older and older. His appetite will grow bigger in a few years. I'm afraid we won't be able to support him. It would be great if we could grow our own vegetables. It can also save some money." Zeng Wenjuan was immediately happy after hearing this.

When talking about children, Wang Hui also started talking: "Who says it's not true! My little brat is in high school. Every time he comes back, he can eat up all the meals his father and I have for the whole day."

"Boys have big appetites and can eat a lot. It's a blessing to be able to eat!" Zeng Wenjuan said with a smile on her face.

"What you said makes sense. Every time he comes home during the holidays, the rice jar at home is half empty." Although Wang Hui was complaining that her child ate too much, the smile on her face proved that she was appreciating her child's growth.

"You guys still have things to do, right? Captain Zhao Jianguo is still in the hospital! Go ahead and do whatever you want. We'll have plenty of time to chat once Captain Zhao Jianguo is discharged from the hospital." Wang Hui reacted immediately.

Zeng Wenjuan smiled and nodded: "Okay, let's talk next time. I'll leave first. I'll trouble my sister-in-law to help watch over me."

"It's okay, it's okay. We are neighbors who never have problems. You can go without worry. I have experience in renovation before." Wang Hui said nonchalantly. She was at home every day anyway.