It rained heavily in August.
It was just afternoon and the sky was gradually getting dark. The sky was covered with dark clouds, like a cotton blanket soaked in water.
"Oh, it's going to rain heavily!"
Qiu Zhen put Chunhua into the bucket and hurried to the yard to collect clothes.
At this moment, a strong wind had begun to blow, and the branches of the trees were dancing wildly, as if they were about to be uprooted.
Before I could collect all the clothes on the pole, raindrops started to fall down.
It seemed like just a moment, the raindrops turned into a rain curtain, and the whole world became gray.
Qiu Zhen rushed home all wet, and Chunhua clapped her hands happily and giggled.
"Ka--"
A sound of wood cracking came from somewhere. Qiu Zhen was terrified. She threw away her clothes, picked up Chunhua and ran outside.
"Bang--" When I looked back, the house behind me had collapsed in half, and even the door was buried in the rubble.
"Mom——"
It's broken! Xiaohua is still inside!
"Xiaohua! Xiaohua!"
Qiu Zhen held Chunhua in her arms, Xiaohua's crying was right beside her ears. She was so anxious that she jumped up and down as she looked at the collapsed door.
"Aunt, is Xiaohua still in there?"
Xu Guoqing appeared in front of Qiu Zhen at this moment, his whole body wet, and asked her anxiously.
"Guoqing, Xiaohua, Xiaohua is inside, the door... the door!"
Qiu Zhen was already sobbing uncontrollably, and was about to go and dig up the collapsed rocks.
Xu Guoqing grabbed her and advised, "Auntie, there's no point in trying to remove the tiles here. If the tiles roll down, they'll hit your head!"
He wiped the water off his face and looked around. The right half of the house had completely collapsed and rainwater was pouring in.
"Xiaohua is in Dahua's room!"
Qiu Zhen took Xu Guoqing around to the left side of the house. Xiaohua had been sleeping in the room after lunch. He was awakened and was howling at the top of his lungs.
The left half of the house is still there, but it is crumbling.
Fortunately, this room has a large window, but the window frame is dilapidated and not very sturdy.
Xu Guoqing found a larger stone on the spot and smashed it hard on the window frame several times, and the entire frame fell into the house.
Throwing away the stone, Xu Guoqing climbed in nimbly. After a while, Xiaohua was carried out of the window, and Xu Guoqing followed closely behind.
"Good boy, you saved Auntie's life!"
Qiu Zhen was about to kneel down when Xu Guoqing held her up with both hands. "Auntie! What are you doing? We're from the same village. How can I watch Xiaohua being buried?"
Xu Guoqing held Xiaohua and supported Qiu Zhen as they evacuated the yard. In the strong wind and heavy rain, the lonely house would sooner or later be swallowed up.
At this moment, Aunt Xu was standing at the door of her house, looking outside worriedly. When she saw Xu Guoqing and Qiu Zhen bringing the children out, she felt relieved. She wanted to greet them but couldn't say it. She turned around and went back into the house to get a towel and boil some hot water.
Originally, Liang Genfa and Qiu Zhen had planned to wait until the autumn cools down and Erhua and Luo Zhen get engaged, and then demolish the old house and rebuild it. But now, they can't wait for the autumn cools down and the house has been destroyed.
The construction of a new house was put on the agenda.
Liang Genfa hired a few repairmen to come over. Since the steel and brick factories couldn't always take time off, Erhua was handed the heavy lifting. Dad and Dahua only helped out on the night shift.
It’s true, when Erhua learned that his father was going to entrust this important task to him, his heart was filled with joy. Isn’t this a chance for him to show his talents?
The family discussed it and decided that since they were going to build it, they might as well build it beautifully.
There is one room for cooking and one for the living room. Next to it, there is one room for Dahua and one for Erhua. After Erhua gets married, it will be given to Xiaohua. At the back, there is one room for mom and dad, one for Qiuhua and Chunhua, and another room for storage.
The original houses were built with bluestone, but this type of house has been eliminated. Now people in the village go to the brick factory to get yellow bricks to build houses.
As soon as Dahua told Xiaojuan about the situation, she immediately came to help. The next day, two tractors came rumbling in, carrying loads of yellow bricks.
Tang Sannan also took over the task of buying the beams. He patted his chest and said to Liang Genfa, "Don't worry, Sensei. I'll make sure the beams I found for you are thick enough!"
Liang Genfa responded happily, how does the saying go?
It’s a blessing, not a curse!
When the people in the village saw how big a deal Liang Genfa had made, they couldn't help but sigh: Wow, Liang Genfa is doing big things!
The family hired skilled workers, who were masters with bricklaying skills. It was not enough to have skilled workers alone, as they could not get the job done. Skilled workers were also needed.
The laborers were responsible for mixing cement and moving bricks. Erhua was the main one, and there were also part-time workers A'ba and Dahua. Xu Guoqing also came to help from time to time.
Mixing mud is a technical job. Pour cement and sand together in proportion, add some water, and then stir evenly with a shovel. If it is too thin, it will not form a shape, and if it is too thick, it will not be spread.
The brickwork is not solid, so the mortar is very important. The mortar mixed by Erhua was praised by the masters. He is not only in charge, but also a reliable worker!
"Genfa, your son is quite smart. He mixed the mud really well!"
All the logistical work was handed over to Qiuhua. She got up early every morning to help her mother cook breakfast, and also cooked a big pot of ginger, salt and tea.
My mother would also steam a big pot of steamed buns. When the masters came to work in the morning, each of them would get two steamed buns at a certain time. They would have strength after eating them!
"Genfa, your daughter is diligent and sensible, and she makes tea very well!"
Liang Genfa saw the yellow bricks stacked up layer by layer, and listened to the exclamations of others. He felt so beautiful!
Qiu Zhen asked someone to calculate the fortune, picked an auspicious day, and invited relatives to her home to celebrate the new house's beam raising ceremony.
This is also the happiest time for children. When the time comes, the masters knock twice on the beam, and everyone waits below. Then they throw things down one by one, including steamed buns, dumplings, rice dumplings, and the children’s favorite candies.
Everyone wants to be hit by something thrown down from above, this is a good omen!
Qiuhua raised her head and stretched out her hands, and a string of candies was thrown down from the roof. Everyone exclaimed and crowded over here.
She was pushed back, but fortunately someone behind her helped her.
Qiuhua turned around and saw Wu Xin standing behind her with a smile on his face.
"My aunt said your family is putting up a beam today and asked me to join in the fun. She asked me to grab a few more rice dumplings because she likes them."
Just as he finished speaking, a zongzi hit him on the head. He cried out "ouch" and covered his head.
"How are you? Are you bleeding?"
Qiuhua was frightened by his appearance and hurried to pull his hands away, but he spread his hands out and it turned out that he was pretending!
"How could you lie to me?"
Wu Xin is really getting better and better. What is he getting better and better at?
It's becoming more and more unctuous!
He bent down to pick up the rice dumpling, blew the sand off it, and laughed again.
Qiuhua pulled him into the house, where two large baskets of rice dumplings were placed in the middle of the room.
She picked up several rice dumplings and stuffed them all into his arms, filling his nose with a refreshing fragrance.
"Alright, alright, that's enough."
"Just take a few more. You have to eat some yourself, okay?"
Wu Xin nodded: "Okay!"
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