When Zhou Xiang and his mother returned home, there were already a lot of people gathered in their yard.
The mother and daughter looked at each other and quickly ran home. "Rangrang, Rangrang, what happened? Why are you all gathered at my door?"
Liu Yizhen called the Zhou family mother and daughter back and shouted to the courtyard: "Sister Zhang, little girl Zhou Xiang is back."
Zhang Mingfang was getting impatient waiting. Upon hearing this, she immediately stood up and said, "Where is it? Where is it? Come in quickly."
The people at the gate made way.
The mother and daughter walked into the yard, where a woman with a kind smile was standing.
Zhou Hua stood beside her and accompanied her.
Zhou Xiang was relieved to see that his third brother was fine.
When Zhang Mingfang saw a mother and daughter coming in, she guessed that they were the people she was waiting for. The boy next to her called out, "Mom, sister!"
That’s even more certain!
"Miss Zhou Xiang, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Zhou Xiang frowned slightly, "Something wrong?"
"Well, our neighborhood committee received a report from a nearby resident that your family had built a private toilet in the yard, so I came here to investigate.
You, my brother, can only explain how to use that bathroom, but you can't explain anything else. And you've been using it for many days and there's no odor. I want to know why."
"Let me ask you first, am I breaking the law by building a bathroom in my yard? Is it against the rules?"
Zhang Mingfang shook her head. "No, you can build it however you want at home. As long as it doesn't affect the appearance outside or affect the air quality, no one can interfere."
"That's good! Wait a minute, I'll draw it with pen and paper, then explain it, and you'll understand."
Zhou Xiang went into the house and drew a diagram of the septic tank, then pointed at the diagram and explained the principle of the septic tank to Ms. Zhang.
The neighbors around also understood it. It was too simple. It just needed several layers of dilution and filtration to discharge the sewage.
Zhang Mingfang then asked the most crucial question: "Does the final wastewater have any smell? Or is it turbid?"
Zhou Xiang shook his head and said, "No, come on, I'll take you to the back of my house."
Zhang Mingfang held the blueprints and walked in front with Zhou Xiang, followed by a group of onlookers.
The alley behind the house was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through, and it was an open-air drainage ditch, making it a bit difficult to walk. Zhou Xiang slowly walked to the drainage ditch behind his house.
"Look, the final route leads to here through the drainage ditch built under the yard."
Zhang Mingfang noticed that the drainage ditch behind her house was the cleanest.
"Why is your house the cleanest?"
"After the septic tank in the bathroom settled, the water was discharged and flushed here."
"So, the water from the septic tank is actually cleaner than the water used for washing vegetables and clothes in other people's homes?"
"I can't say that, I can only say it's clear."
"Yes, yes, it is clear."
"These all require professional technicians to do. My bathroom cost nearly two hundred yuan! Just now, in order to dispel everyone's doubts, I deliberately explained the principle of the septic tank in front of everyone. Although it looks simple, the distance between each water filter outlet is regulated.
So, you have to warn them not to build a toilet on their own, otherwise the air will not only become smelly, but they will also blame my family."
"Yes, your concerns are reasonable. The crowd should not have dispersed yet. I'll go back and talk to them."
The people who followed behind understood and gave up the idea. If the yard and the outside were really filled with stench, it would not only be embarrassing, but it would also be offensive to their families!
Zhang Mingfang returned to the gate of Zhou's courtyard and told the people who had not left yet about the situation behind Zhou's house and the fact that the bathroom could not be built without hiring professionals.
"Why?" someone asked.
Zhang Mingfang explained: "Septic tanks may look simple, but they have certain standard sizes. If they are not properly managed, the stench will be unbearable. If anyone pollutes the air, don't blame me for reporting and criticizing them."
Everyone finally understood and nodded in agreement that they would not build anything randomly.
Gao Zhaolan didn't expect this result and was dissatisfied. She asked, "Does the Zhou family count as building it privately?"
Zhang Mingfang frowned. "You don't understand me, do you? I said we need to hire professionals. Did the Zhou family build it themselves? They spent two hundred yuan to hire someone to build it. If you're willing to spend the money, I don't care if you build five or six in your yard, as long as it doesn't stink up the neighbors."
The onlookers burst into laughter. Gao Zhaolan deserved to be criticized. She was always bothering others. It must be her who reported the incident today, not anyone else.
Gao Zhaolan stepped back and stopped talking.
Someone in the crowd heard the key words, "Two hundred yuan! Wow, four months' salary spent just to go to the toilet nearby? Is it worth it?"
The Zhou family seems to be rich. That’s right, if they didn’t have money, how could they buy the Feng family’s courtyard?
The crowd gradually dispersed. Zhang Mingfang smiled at Zhou's mother and said, "Sorry to bother you. Welcome to this Chengbei Street."
Zhou Xiang thought she was a good person, and she was sensible and fair in everything she said and did.
Zhou's mother also smiled and said, "It's okay, as long as everyone understands it now."
Zhang Mingfang was about to leave, and Zhou Xiang and his mother wanted to see her out, but at this time a jeep was parked at the entrance of the alley.
Zhou Yizhou's fat figure walked out of the car and saw Zhou Xiang behind Zhang Mingfang.
"Oh! Sister, I finally found you. Why didn't you tell me you moved? I even went to the Water Conservancy Bureau."
Zhang Mingfang looked at the person who came, then at the car, and she had an even higher opinion of the Zhou family. She used to think the Zhou family was rich, but now she thought they were powerful.
"We moved so hastily that we didn't have time to inform many people. We made room there for the Zuo family."
Zhou Yizhou avoided Zhang Mingfang and walked over to Zhou Xiang. "I heard Zuo Heng found his parents?"
"OK!"
Zhou's mother continued to send Zhang Mingfang off.
Zhang Mingfang looked at the fat man walking past her in confusion.
"Sister, is this your relative?"
Mother Zhou nodded, "My little girl recognized this brother."
"He looks familiar to me!"
Zhou's mother was not afraid that she would know. Sometimes, it was a good idea to reveal some of your cards.
"The mayor's son said that my little girl and I were related five hundred years ago and he insisted on recognizing her as his sister."
"Mayor's son? Mayor Zhou?"
Mother Zhou nodded, "Yes."
Zhang Mingfang suppressed her surprise and excitement. It turned out that the young lady from the Zhou family was an acquaintance of the mayor's son.
I was very glad that I did not favor the old resident. When she first heard the report, she came over angrily, but after seeing the bathroom, she changed her mind.
I planned to learn more about the principle of septic tanks so that I could renovate the public toilets. However, after listening to them, I felt that it was impossible because I didn't know who should pay for the tap water bill.
Everyone thought the water bill was too expensive, and many people were unwilling to use tap water and used pressurized well water, so they gave up the idea. Seeing that the Zhou family was a wealthy family, they decided to make friends with them. Fortunately, they were wise.
"Okay, don't see me off. Go back and entertain the guests! I'm leaving now."
Zhou's mother watched her leave and turned back home.
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