Chapter 152 Making Friends
Lao Yi and the other two each carried a backpack, while Xu Hexiao carried two enlarged baskets.
Seeing Xu Hexiao's big basket, Lao Yi and the other two felt relieved at once. These things must have been prepared very completely. That's enough. They should not die on the way to clear the river.
In addition to Xu Hexiao, Lao Yi and the other two, Jiang Wanwan also wanted to clean up the river. She also carried a backpack full of things.
Jiang Wanwan had only moved here for a few days, but she had already lost weight visibly, and her whole body seemed to be shrouded in a sense of depression.
She saw Lin Qi coming to see Xu Hexiao off, bit her lip, hesitated for two seconds and finally walked up, "Lin Qi, can you keep an eye on my house for me during the days I'm not at home? You don't have to go check it out specially, just take a look at mine when you visit their houses, and don't let anyone demolish my house."
Lin Qi frowned and said nothing.
Jiang Wanwan said disappointedly, "Logically speaking, I shouldn't have said this to you when I bullied you before, but apart from you, I really don't know who else to ask for help."
Jiang Wanwan looked gentle, pitiful and fragile. If it were someone else, they would probably be soft-hearted, but Lin Qi still did not agree.
Jiang Wanwan walked away, looking back every few steps.
After seeing Xu Hexiao off, Lin Qi went to the captain's house.
"Please draw a map of Yao County for me." Lin Qi said as soon as she entered the door.
The captain shook his head and said, "Yao County is so big. Apart from a few nearby communes, I have never been to other places."
"Then you can draw some nearby places." Lin Qi said.
"Okay. But I can only mark out some roads and the approximate locations of some brigades. The accuracy is hard to control. Are you trying to secretly find Xu Hexiao?" asked the captain.
"Yeah." Lin Qi admitted directly.
The captain was not surprised at all. "Then I will mark the location of the river. The river is upstream of their three communes and passes through our three communes in a winding way. Its tributaries are in each commune, and each brigade is responsible for dredging them. Now they are dredging the main road. Our brigade and Shunliang Brigade are lucky because there is a river coming out of the mountains, and not much water is diverted from the river. Other brigades are different, almost all of them rely on this river. Although it is the dry season now, there is still a shallow layer of water on the main road. Even if there is no water, the silt is still wet. Clearing the river is a harder job than digging canals for our brigade. Every time someone comes back from clearing the river, they are skinny and some even have to stay in bed for a while before they can recover."
After listening to the captain's words, Lin Qi was silent for a long time before saying, "During this period, I may not be home often. Please help us keep an eye on the houses over there to prevent anyone from entering and stealing things."
"I know about this. I will punish those people who have dirty hands and feet today. In addition, the villagers and I will go there more often. We will also arrange people to look after the cowshed and help keep an eye on it. Don't worry."
Xu Hexiao and four others went to the commune first, where they joined up with people from other teams before heading to their destination together.
After arriving at the commune, Xu Hexiao discovered that there were a total of 129 people with bad backgrounds like them in the entire commune.
"A group of people came from other places some time ago." Someone in the team said, answering Xu Hexiao's doubts.
Xu Hexiao looked at these people silently. The youngest was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and the oldest looked about the same age as Lao Yi. Among them, women accounted for about one-fifth of the total number.
Whether men or women, everyone either looked timid or numb with dull eyes.
Among all the people, Xu Hexiao was the one with the best spirit, the tallest height, and the thickest clothes. He stood out from the crowd and attracted many people's attention.
It happened that most of the people present had participated in ideological reform together, so many of them knew Xu Hexiao.
"Brother, you have a lot of stuff." Someone took the initiative to speak.
"My poor family is worth a fortune. I brought all the pots, bowls, and utensils with me." Xu Hexiao said.
"Oh——" the man nodded, but what he was thinking in his heart was, I also brought all the pots, pans, and bedding, but even added together they still don't have as much as you do. It would be good enough if I had half of what you have.
It took Xu Hexiao and his team three or four hours to walk from the commune to the river. When they arrived at their destination, it was already slightly dark.
The supervisors were two officials from the commune. After they sent the people there, they left, only telling Xu Hexiao and his men to set up camp and start working early the next morning.
There was no one supervising, and no one present escaped. They had no money or letters of introduction, so they could not escape. Those who escaped and were caught were sent directly to jail, and their fate was even worse than it is now.
Among the people present, some like Xu Hexiao had already come here to dredge the river. These people took the lead in cutting trees, cutting straw, and starting to build straw huts on the spot.
"It's enough for the four of us to build a straw hut. Lao Yi, you stay here to watch things, and the rest of you can follow me to chop trees and cut straw." Xu Hexiao said.
As for Jiang Wanwan, he selectively ignored her.
Jiang Wanwan glared at Xu Hexiao and walked towards a few women not far away.
Xu Hexiao was responsible for cutting down trees, and asked Lao Fu and Lao Bi to cut the thatch.
Winter is windy and it may rain if you are unlucky, so you must be careful when building a straw hut. Xu Hexiao reminded Lao Yi and the other two, "We can build the hut lower, but it must be sturdy."
Xu Hexiao cut down the trees and he was responsible for driving the piles, while Lao Yi and the other two were responsible for arranging the thatch. Before it got completely dark, a thatched hut about one and a half meters high and with an area of about seven square meters inside was built.
"Your husband will cook for you, and I'll nail a board to use as a bed." Lin Qi prepared everything for him, even nails.
If he remembered correctly, this nail was a box that Brother Tan gave to Lin Qi. Lin Qi never used it and kept it until now.
With nails, everything becomes much easier.
Xu Hexiao cut six large logs, placed them side by side in the straw shed at a distance of about 30 centimeters, and then nailed boards on the logs.
The surface of the board is a bit rough, but there is a mat on it, and a mattress on the mat, so the roughness doesn't have much impact.
"This wood is well used. It isolates the dampness and coldness of the ground." Lao Bi stood by with a flashlight, shining a light on Xu Hexiao.
Lin Qi put all the two flashlights and more than a dozen batteries at home into Xu Hexiao's basket.
"Ahe, what are we going to eat tonight?" Lao Yi had already lit a fire and asked Xu Hexiao.
"I still have steamed buns and boiled eggs in my box. I just need to heat up the buns, peel the eggs, and put them in the soup to cook." Xu Hexiao.
"What kind of soup do you want to cook?" Lao Yi asked again.
Xu Hexiao thought for a moment and said, "Boil the water first, then put the peeled eggs in. When the water is almost boiling, scoop two spoonfuls of jujube honey into it. The jujube honey is in the jar marked in red."
Lao Yi and the other two had no idea what jujube honey was and followed Xu Hexiao's instructions throughout.
When Xu Hexiao made the bed, the wheaty aroma of the buns and the sweet smell of jujube honey wafted out.
The smell was so tempting that the people around looked in the direction of Xu Hexiao and the other three, and swallowed hard.
"If you don't mind, you can come here and get a bowl of sugar water to drink." Xu Hexiao said. There is a mountain spring nearby, and the sugar water for boiled eggs can be added after drinking it. It's just a waste of some jujube honey.
As soon as Xu Hexiao spoke, the people around him came over with their bowls in hand. "Don't be disgusted, don't be disgusted. Sugar water is a good thing. It's used to entertain guests. This brother is very generous!"
"I can smell the fragrance from a long distance away. What kind of candy is this? It smells so good."
"After drinking my brother's sweet soup, we have become acquainted. We should take care of each other in the days to come."
"Yes, take care of each other."
“.......”
That night, Xu Hexiao boiled four pots of water and added twelve spoonfuls of jujube honey. Even Jiang Wanwan came to ask for a bowl of sugar water.
Xu Hexiao also remembered many people's names through the four pots of water.
After dinner, everyone went back to their own huts to sleep.
Xu Hexiao, Lao Yi and the other two were lying side by side.
"This oil paper is used very well. I can't even feel the wind." said Lao Yi.
"The roof and all the surrounding areas are surrounded by a circle of oil paper, except for the door. But the door is made of four layers of thatch that Ah He made, so even without the oil paper, not much wind can get through." Lao Bi said.
Thanks to Xu Hexiao, otherwise they would not be able to enjoy such a good environment and eat so many delicious foods.
Xu Hexiao didn't listen to what Lao Yi and the other two were saying. His mind was full of Lin Qi. He was wondering what Lin Qi was doing and whether she would miss him. He would be staying here for more than half a month. Would she come to find him?
Even though they had only been apart for a dozen hours, he couldn't wait to get back to her.
On the other side, Lin Qi was drinking alone.
Ever since the captain came to inform Xu Hexiao yesterday that they were going to clean up the river, she had been feeling depressed and helpless about the current situation.
Obviously, she is so powerful that she has no rivals within a hundred miles, and even bullets can't do anything to her, but she still can't change Xu Hexiao's predicament!
Apart from helping the other person with food, clothing, housing and transportation, there was nothing else she could do.
Lin Qi drank bowl after bowl, and the jar at her feet was empty, but she still didn't feel drunk. Just as she was about to get another jar, her eyes suddenly moved.
The next second, her figure disappeared from the spot.
The shrill screams resounded throughout the Anliang Brigade. The team members who had not yet gone to bed rushed out, wrapped in clothes and holding torches.
Lin Qi grabbed Luo Laizi by the collar and carried him towards the captain's house.
Luo Laizi's hands hung down limply and he howled all the way. It was a very cold day and the pain was so severe that sweat beads appeared on his forehead.
"Captain, help me, Lin Qi broke my arm!" Luo Laizi cried.
However, as he finished his words, two cracking sounds were heard, and Luo Laizi howled loudly again.
"Shut up!" Lin Qi shouted coldly.
Luo Laizi was so frightened that he suddenly closed his mouth, looking somewhat pitiful. Only then did he realize that his hands could move again.
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