Chapter 53 Hardship Fee
"Quick, hold on to the coffin together!"
Director Lu was also very scared, because all his contributions were in this coffin!
He didn't care about his frailty and old age, and was about to go forward to support the coffin.
But there were so many people present, so there was no need for him. When the others saw this situation, they had already run forward and lifted the coffin together.
With everyone's help, the coffin finally did not fall to the ground, but was gently placed on the ground.
At this time, the person who fell apologized to everyone with a guilty look on his face: "I'm sorry, it's all because I didn't step firmly."
This person happened to be a subordinate of the Cultural Relics Administration Bureau, so Director Wang scolded him on the spot: "What do you do for a living? Don't you know that there are treasures in the coffin? If you drop the coffin on the ground, I will lose your job too!"
Director Lu also glared at the subordinate fiercely.
The man knew he was in the wrong and did not dare to argue. He just lowered his head and endured the scolding.
Only Gao Mingcheng noticed that there was something wrong with his foot. He must have sprained his ankle when he fell just now.
He stepped forward and said, "Director Lu, Chief Wang, calm down, this mountain road is not easy to walk on. Besides, it's already this late, and everyone is still hungry, so naturally they don't have much strength."
"I think this is how it should be. You are not familiar with this mountain road, so why not let our villagers carry the coffin, and you can pay some hard work fee afterwards."
Wang was moved, but he had no power to make the decision, so he looked at Director Lu.
Director Lu first thanked Gao Mingcheng for his timely action and preventing the coffin from falling to the ground, and then said: "Give me some hard work pay, this is what I should do, then thank you for your help."
Now Director Lu just wants to transport the coffin back to the county safely. With this achievement, his career may be able to move forward.
Director Lu promised to pay for the hard work, so Gao Mingcheng said to the villagers of Gaojia Village: "Brothers, who wants to carry it?"
"Me! Me!" Several strong men immediately stood up.
They came here to join in the fun and have already helped out to some extent. Now that they heard that there would be compensation for their hard work, they are naturally even more motivated.
So Gao Mingcheng called out three people, making four people including him, with the two in the front and the two in the back as usual.
When going down the mountain, the people in front had to bear more force, so Gao Mingcheng stood in front himself. Under his command, the coffin was lifted up steadily again.
Along the way, everyone was working very hard. If they encountered a difficult road, Gao Mingcheng would remind them loudly. Every fifteen minutes or so, they would find a flat place to put down the coffin and take a rest.
Along the way, several people were replaced due to the force, but Gao Mingcheng did not replace anyone from beginning to end. He carried the coffin all the way down the mountain.
After getting down the mountain safely, Director Lu and others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The sun was shining brightly. Without the shade of the trees, the scorching sun shined directly on the body, making the skin feel stinging.
There are many plants in the mountains, and the edges of some weeds are extremely sharp. If people accidentally touch them, it will leave a shallow wound on the skin, which will naturally feel uncomfortable when pickled by sweat.
Although we got down the mountain, the car was still parked at the entrance of the village and had to be lifted up again.
After resting for only a few seconds, Gao Mingcheng shouted, "Keep going, guys! We're almost at the car."
"Okay." The others also responded loudly, becoming excited.
After carrying it for a few more minutes, they finally reached the side of the truck, but how to get the coffin onto the truck was also a problem.
A group of people stood by and studied it for a long time. After some effort, they finally got the coffin onto the truck smoothly and put the carved tomb bricks in place.
Director Lu's heart was finally completely at peace.
He excitedly shook hands with Gao Mingcheng, thanked him for his help, and asked Director Wang to give everyone hard work pay.
Director Wang is a very good person. When he was in the county town, he prepared a lot of cigarettes and naturally also prepared some funds for backup.
As for how much money to give each person, he had discussed it with Director Lu before. Now, with Director Lu's instructions, he immediately took out the funds and started paying each person.
All the villagers present who contributed some effort received labor fees, but the amount of money each person received was different. For example, Gao Zhuang helped carry tomb bricks and received one dollar, Gao Liang contributed a little more effort and received two dollars, and the villagers who carried the coffin received five dollars. As for Gao Mingcheng, Director Lu personally gave him ten dollars.
Although he took the most, no one present was dissatisfied.
Everyone present knew exactly how much effort Gao Mingcheng had put in along the way.
"It's getting late, let's go back to the county first!" Director Lu looked at Director Chen and said.
Director Chen naturally had no objection. He said "OK" and got into his car. The others also got in.
Gao Mingcheng said to Gao Guobing, "Uncle, I'm too busy today, so I won't treat you to lunch."
Gao Guobing glared at him unhappily and said, "Remember to apply a hot towel to your shoulders when you get home, don't get yourself sick! Also, when you are free in a few days, come to my house for a meal. Gao Yue heard that you came to see me and said he missed you."
Gao Mingcheng hadn't seen Gao Yue for a long time, so he nodded immediately and said okay. Then he watched Gao Guobing get into the car, and then watched the three cars leave one after another.
The villagers who were watching did not disperse until the car had completely gone away.
"Well, officials are generous with their money. Although it's a bit tiring, I got five dollars! Those who work on the railway only make two dollars and ninety cents a day! Those who carry stones and sleepers are also exhausted!"
"Yeah, it's a pity that this doesn't happen every day."
"We have to thank Ming Cheng. If he hadn't asked for hard work pay, the official might not have given it to him."
"Yes, yes! Ming Cheng, I didn't expect you to be so strong. You actually lifted such a heavy coffin by yourself!"
Everyone surrounded Gao Mingcheng and praised his strength.
Gao Mingcheng said a few humble words, and when they reached the fork in the road, everyone dispersed and went back to their homes.
"Gao Zhuang, Gao Liang, let's wash first before going home for dinner!" Gao Mingcheng was covered in sweat and felt very uncomfortable, so he walked to a ditch, which was about half a meter wide and the water was clear. He stood directly in the ditch, bent down and scooped up water to wash his face, then took off his clothes and washed his upper body. As for his pants on the lower body, they were wet, but it didn't matter, as the weather was very hot anyway.
The same went for Gao Zhuang and Gao Liang. After washing with cool water, the three of them finally felt a lot more comfortable.
Gao Liang said, "Brother Mingcheng, I'm going home first."
After saying that, he walked towards another path.
"Let's go back quickly. I'm starving!" Gao Zhuang said hurriedly, and he and Gao Mingcheng walked quickly towards home.
When they got home, the grandmother was sitting under the eaves twisting hemp ropes. Seeing them finally come back, she said with a distressed look on her face: "Are you hungry? Come and eat!"
"Grandma, is there any porridge left?" Gao Zhuang asked. The weather was too hot and he was very tired. Although he was hungry, he couldn't eat dry rice. Instead, he wanted to drink a bowl of thin porridge first.
"Yes, it's cooling down in a basin of water. Mingcheng, have a bowl of porridge to cool down. I put green beans in it!"
I have to say that grandma is very understanding. The porridge in the morning has been eaten, and this mung bean porridge was specially cooked by her.
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(End of this chapter)
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