Wei Mo went to bed very late last night, playing with that big steamed bun the whole time. It's so nice to be a child. Sigh, it's a pity that he'll grow up one day.
When Wei Mo got up, everyone was already preparing to eat. They had a pleasant time together yesterday, especially their heart-to-heart talk. However, according to the plan, they would be able to finish the work today, so he felt a little reluctant to leave.
At the dinner table, everyone was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating breakfast. Suddenly, with a thud, Li Xiuxiu fell onto the kang, and it collapsed!
Wei Mo, who was standing to the side, could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, his mockery quite obvious.
Li Xiuxiu emerged from the kang (heated brick bed) covered in black soot, her hands smeared with "Hu Liuzi" (black soot left over from heating the kang). She smeared it all over Wei Mo's face, leaving him completely black. He then lunged at Li Xiuxiu, baring his teeth and claws, ready to fight her to the death!
Although the collapse of the kang (heated brick bed) is a tragic thing, the house is now filled with joy.
If the kang (heated brick bed) collapses, it needs to be repaired, otherwise not only will we not be able to sleep, but we also won't be able to cook!
In Northeast China, the stove is connected to the kang (a heated brick bed). If you light a fire on the stove and don't repair the kang, black smoke will billow out.
Even though none of the people knew how to build a kang (heated brick bed), don't underestimate this job. It's actually a skilled job. If it's built well, it's easy to heat and doesn't produce smoke. If it's built poorly, even when cooking, the stove will emit black smoke.
There was no other way but to ask the brigade leader for help. With so many women around, we didn't have to worry about the villagers gossiping if we asked men to help.
The captain frowned as he looked at the dilapidated thatched hut.
"Why don't you build another room? I'll set up the kang (heated brick bed) for you first, so you can live there temporarily. Then you can build another room. Your mud house is in danger of collapsing at any time!"
Wang Zhenhua was undecided for a moment, and couldn't help but look at his son, who had become much smarter since the Dragon King came to visit.
Wei Mo frowned, because this sudden change had disrupted his plans. After all, things would be even more dangerous in a few years. He had originally wanted to live a simple life, but now he was deviating from his original path.
"Uncle Dazhuang, how do we make the adobe bricks for building the house? It's too late to do it now."
Hearing Wei Mo's words, Li Dazhuang also began to consider the problem. It was indeed a problem, but such a dilapidated house was really not suitable for living in.
"Wei Guo must have sent back quite a bit of money over the years, right? How about I give you a note so you can go buy bricks?"
Wang Zhenhua has completely stopped caring and is now following his son's arrangements, since the property will eventually be his.
"Uncle Dazhuang, do you know anyone in my family who can build a house? And we don't have enough money. How about this?"
"We pay the production team, the production team provides the labor and records the work points, and then everyone splits the money equally at the end of the year?"
Wei Mo's words made the captain's eyes light up. This idea was not just feasible, but excellent. This way, the brigade could also earn some extra income.
"Sure, no problem at all!"
"If we don't have adobe, can we use bricks for the walls, but still use thatch on the roof? That way we can save some money."
The brigade leader thought about what the house would look like, and it seemed a bit out of place. But it wasn't his own house, so as long as the brigade could make money, Wei Mo could decide what kind of house it was.
"Okay, it's still a long way from the autumn harvest. If we have enough manpower, we can probably finish building it in two or three days! But you have to pay the money to the brigade first, since we still need to go and haul bricks!"
Wei Mo nodded to Wang Zhenhua, since he was not familiar with the prices, so he left the rest to his mother.
The price set by the brigade leader and Wei's mother was 150 yuan. You have to understand that in those days, there were very few families that could afford to spend that much money. However, because Wei Guo was in the army, he would send 18 yuan home every month. Over the years, the family had saved up quite a bit.
As for those who have money but still go hungry, it's because the restrictions in that era weren't on money, but on ration coupons! Without coupons, you couldn't buy anything even if you had money. Take bicycles, for example. Many people in the city could afford bicycles, so why were there still so few? Because they were manufactured in small quantities. Restrictions were made through ration coupons, not because people didn't have money!
Wei's mother was determined and built a large three-room brick house! As for Wei Mo's absurd request, Wei's mother did not change it. Perhaps the Dragon King gave her the idea, maybe building a house like this would be good for the family!
Wei's mom is getting smarter and smarter; she's already come up with excuses for Wei Mo. Actually, Wei Mo's plan is very simple: as long as the roof is made of thatched roof and the bricks are covered with a layer of mud, who can say he's eating brick houses? Even if they remember it's a brick house, if they can't even afford the roof tiles, how much money can they have?
Since the willow branches had already surrounded the yard, Wei Mo consulted with his mother, since the origin of so many birds was still unclear.
"Mom, I want to shoot birds in our yard. If any of my aunts see me, just say they were sent back by Dad!"
Wei's mother was pulled aside by Wei Mo. Hearing her son's words, she nodded and said, "Isn't my son clever? He's already come up with an excuse for the trap the Dragon King gave him."
With his mother's help, Wei Mo began to swagger around and took the clip out from the corner of the wall, actually from his backpack. Li Xiuxiu was curious and kept asking Wei Mo what it was!
"Wei Mo, what are you holding in your hand?"
"Hmph, I won't tell you, you're a violent woman!"
Li Xiuxiu caught Wei Mo and spanked him twice on the bottom. Wei Mo was speechless. Sure enough, he couldn't be too naughty. You just wait, I'll get my revenge when I get the chance. I hold grudges.
Seeing that Wei Mo wouldn't tell her, Li Xiuxiu stayed by Wei Mo's side. Anyway, there was no need to repair the house now. Qian Manman and the other two also joined in the fun, and they all thought Wei Mo was a funny kid.
Wei Mo ignored the three people behind him and started setting traps around the yard, leaving them wherever they were. Li Xiuxiu and the others were curious, but they could tell that this was a trap, so they didn't dare to touch it. They just followed Wei Mo and memorized all the locations.
He looked at the four female educated youths following closely behind him, his face darkening.
“Aunties, go and help me cut some willow branches. I’ll teach you how to weave things. The baskets in my house are made by me.”
Li Xiuxiu and the other three's eyes lit up. This was good; they could have another skill. They knew that skills were rarely passed on these days.
"Sister Wang, is what your son said true?"
Qian Manman seemed somewhat incredulous, since he hadn't seen Wei Mo weaving fish baskets last time, while everyone else had seen them when Li Xiuxiu bought fish.
Seeing that Wang Zhenhua nodded, the group decided to go together so they could harvest more. Wang Zhenhua was also bored, so he went with them.
As for Wei Xiaomin and Wei Xiaohui, they had already run off to play somewhere. When Wei Mo returned to the house, he didn't see Zha Qiang, so he guessed that his sisters must have gone to catch frogs.
Bored at home alone, Wei Mo started browsing the items and skills in the trading shop!
To kill time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com