Chapter 5: Building Railways
"Second brother, you're back." Gao Mingwan spoke hesitantly, obviously afraid that Gao Mingcheng would be angry.
Gao Mingcheng glanced at Gao Mingwan's hands hidden behind his back, his face gloomy.
But before he could say anything, his elder brother Gao Mingpeng said, "Just take your book and read it for a while. It won't hurt!"
The third and fourth brothers also nodded vigorously to show their agreement.
But Gao Mingcheng's face was still gloomy. He had just been reborn less than a day ago, and the things of his previous life seemed a little distant to him.
He roughly knew that when he was young, he was a careless person who didn't care much about many things. He was loyal and often suffered small losses.
But now his vision and perspective are different. He finds that some losses can be taken, but some losses cannot be taken.
For example, this book is not a very valuable thing. As long as you take good care of it, it will not be damaged. But when he was young, he really treasured this book. Every time after turning the page, he would smooth out the pages and then put it in the innermost part of the cabinet.
Now his third and fourth brothers took the book out without his consent. If they sincerely apologized, the matter would be let go, but this is obviously not the case.
The third brother's first reaction was to hide the book, but the eldest brother, relying on his status as the eldest brother, taught him a lesson before he could even open his mouth.
It was a long time, and Gao Mingcheng took a few seconds to recall the situation of the book.
In June this year, he took the straw mats from his home to a nearby county town to sell, and then saw a book called "Shaolin Kung Fu Secrets" at the market. He has loved fighting since he was a child, and after watching the movie "Shaolin Temple", he became even more curious and yearning about martial arts.
So when he saw the book, he couldn't walk.
Finally, I used the money from selling the straw to buy the book.
Of course, he was lectured by his parents for using the family's money to buy books without permission, but he was also a proud person, so he caught fish for several days in a row, sold the fish at the market, and then returned the money for buying books to his family.
In other words, the book is now completely his personal property.
And next year this book will be borrowed by my eldest sister-in-law, who says that a brother from her mother's side is also curious about martial arts and wants to borrow it to have a look. But later on she was told that the book was burned by a naughty child and she couldn't return it to him.
He was a little sad at the time, but the book had already been burned and there was nothing he could do.
Then his elder brother said that he had read the book for a long time and had memorized all the moves in it, and since the book had been burned, just forget it.
In other words, no money was lost.
He felt uncomfortable at the time, but he couldn't bring himself to lose face, so after a meal and a drink offered by his eldest brother, he let the matter go.
All these things went through Gao Mingcheng's mind. With a gloomy face, he walked up to his third brother, said nothing, and just stretched out his hand.
Gao Mingwan raised his eyes and looked at him carefully, then returned the book in his hand to Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng glanced down at the book in his hand and actually felt a sense of relief as if he had found it again.
He was reborn, and many things he had lost before, he would never lose again!
After putting the book back in the cabinet, Gao Mingcheng found a corner and began to process the small fish he brought back.
He gave the best and biggest ones to his grandmother, and kept some wild fish that could not grow up for himself.
After preparing the fish, he cleaned it and brought it into the kitchen for his mother to cook it.
He hasn't said a word since he entered the door.
It's not because I'm angry, but because I don't know what to say.
In his previous life, because he made money and was willing to spend money generously on his brothers and sisters, everyone flattered him and tried to please him.
Even if he doesn't say anything, there will be good topics to talk about.
But now, he is penniless.
And he doesn’t even plan to take the first pot of gold!
In his previous life, he made his first fortune by robbing tombs, then he took advantage of the reform and opening-up policy, started a business, and made a fortune.
But he was personally unfortunate.
He lost his best brother, he lost his wife, he lost his son, and in old age, he lost his health.
After being reborn, he attributed all this to the loss of virtue caused by tomb robbing.
That's why he decided to take a different path in this life.
He stayed quietly in the corner, observing his family calmly.
Then I clearly realized that before I became successful, I had no sense of existence in this family.
After his father Gao Yuanjian finished smoking, he talked to his eldest brother Gao Mingpeng, talking about some things to do tomorrow. His third and fourth brothers talked next to each other, and no one paid any attention to him.
"It's time for dinner!" A shout came from the kitchen, and people sitting in the yard walked towards the kitchen one after another.
The kitchen was very simple and the table was not big enough to accommodate so many people, so except for his grandmother, his father and his brother, everyone else was used to picking up the food and taking it to the yard to eat.
The meal was simple. Except for a plate of mixed fish brought back by Gao Mingcheng, the rest were vegetarian dishes, including pickles and home-grown vegetables.
While they were eating, a man suddenly walked in from outside. He was about forty years old, wearing a white shirt stained yellow by sweat, faded blue trousers with the trouser legs rolled up to the knees, and a pair of Liberation shoes on his feet. This was the most common outfit in their village.
He had dark skin and wrinkles on his face, as if he had suffered a lot.
"Auntie, brother!" As soon as I entered the door, a loud voice rang out in the yard.
Gao Mingcheng looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the person.
This is his cousin who lives next door to his house and often comes to visit.
Everyone was an old acquaintance, so when someone came, there was no formality. Gao Yuan just greeted him and asked him if he had eaten and if he wanted to eat at home.
This is obviously a polite remark. In the past few years, every household had to tighten their belts and could not get enough food. Although they can barely get enough to eat now, there is not much food and the dishes lack oil. Generally speaking, people will not easily eat at other people's homes.
"Fanmao is here, Shufang, bring a stool for your uncle!" Gao Mingcheng's grandmother was the oldest in the family, and she instructed Gao Mingcheng's sister to bring out a stool.
Gao Fanmao sat down and began to talk about the new news he had heard.
"The railway near Junling Railway Station is about to start construction! A few days ago, I saw someone taking measurements there. When I passed by there today, I saw the open space was full of stones, sleepers, and cement. I knew that the railway was finally going to start construction!"
After hearing this, Gao Yuanjian's eyes lit up. He knew what the start of railway construction meant, so he quickly asked, "Are you hiring people to work?"
"Recruiting! Strong laborers who can carry stones, two dollars and ninety dollars a day!" Gao Fanmao's face was full of wrinkles from smiling. They had heard about the railway being built in Junling a long time ago, but the construction had not started yet.
(End of this chapter)
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