Chapter 59 I don't have the face to ask this
"Crackle, crackle. Crackle." Ten thousand firecrackers exploded and created red confetti all over the ground. A group of brave children couldn't wait for the sound of firecrackers to stop, so they went back into the smoke and carefully searched for every dud.
The women of Gaojia Village gathered in a newly built shed in the corner of the threshing ground, talking loudly about the latest gossip in the surrounding area and their envy of Gao Yangshi.
Gao Yude passed out cigarettes with a smile on his face. Wherever he went, men took them with both hands and gave him a string of compliments, saying, "Your Jialin has made a name for himself now. We have a talented person in Gaojia Village."
"Uncle Yude, in my opinion, you and your aunt won't be able to live in these three new kilns for many years!" As soon as these words came out, the grain drying field suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked over. Who said such unpleasant words on such a happy day? If he met someone with a bad temper, wouldn't he be beaten hard?
Some young men were ready to roll up their sleeves, but the man who was speaking did not look panicked at all. He looked around and suddenly raised his voice, "When Jialin graduates from University, you will be a cadre in the city. By then, won't we take you to live in the city?"
"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter, and the young men put their sleeves down again.
"Yes, yes. Jialin still has three and a half years of school to go. Uncle and aunt can only stay in our Gaojia Village for three years! Even if he goes to Shanghai in the future, I'm afraid he won't be able to eat the good millet and red dates in northern Shaanxi!"
“Are you stupid? When uncle and aunt eat sour soup dumplings for every meal, who will eat millet?” Just like what was written in “Blood Romance”, the people in Gaojia Village also regard sour soup dumplings as the most delicious thing in the world.
Gao Yude was so happy to hear this that he couldn't stop smiling. He kept giving cigarettes to the young man who had just spoken. Two cigarettes were not enough, so he simply gave him the remaining half box. The young man was immediately overjoyed and showed off the cigarettes everywhere.
Joyful laughter filled the threshing ground until Gao Yuhou came out of the cave holding incense, candles and red paper. Everyone immediately quieted down and looked at this famous kiln-building master who was well-known in the surrounding area.
Gao Yuhou walked to the place where he was going to dig a new kiln, muttered something, lit incense sticks and paper, bowed around, pasted red paper on the foot of the mountain, looked up at the height of the sun and waited for a moment.
These customs were interrupted for more than ten years and were only gradually restored in recent years. Now almost no one cares about them.
The other skilled workers picked up their tools and walked up to Gao Yuhou, and the unskilled workers stood in a row behind them.
When the sun climbed over the mountain, Gao Yuhou shouted, "The auspicious time has arrived, start digging!"
The skilled worker who had been prepared for a long time immediately picked up the tools in his hands and, while shouting ancient labor songs, he chiseled towards the place where Gao Yuhou had drawn the lines. The unskilled workers were busy assisting the skilled worker, and the scene suddenly became busy.
From that day on, there has been a bustling scene at the doorstep of Gao Jialin's home, and the villagers are happy to work. Winter is the slack season for farming, and it is a great thing to be able to earn some money at home at this time.
Skilled workers have no shortage of such opportunities. Nowadays, ordinary people have more and more money to earn from work, and the first thing they think of when they have money is often to build new kilns. So as long as they want to do it, there will be people hiring them all year round.
It was different for laborers. No village lacked good laborers. These hard work would usually only be done by people from the same village. Even if there was work, they might not get paid because there was a custom of exchanging laborers in the village. Now my family was building a kiln and you helped me. When your family needed laborers to build a kiln in the future, I would help you! Gao Jialin was reluctant to let his father work so hard that he gave them the opportunity to earn two yuan a day. When the three kilns were built, they would have money to buy fertilizers next year.
The host provides three meals a day. In the morning, we have a few bowls of mutton noodles. Only after eating a full meal can we have the strength to work. At noon, when we are tired, we take a break and eat a few bowls of dumplings, which will make us full of strength again.
The evening was even more lively. Eight large bowls of four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes were placed on the table, and jars of wine were brought over. The young and old men drank and ate as much as they wanted! After eating and drinking to their heart's content, they snored all night and woke up in the morning as a healthy man again.
With his father helping to look after the kiln and the steward and his mother looking after the kitchen, Gao Jialin had some free time. He took advantage of this time to take the gifts he bought from Shanghai and Xi'an to wish his relatives and friends a happy new year in advance.
No matter whose home he visited, Gao Jialin always received the warmest reception. Relatives and friends listened to him talk about the prosperity of Shanghai with envy in their eyes.
In addition to relatives and friends, Gao Jialin has not forgotten the teachers who taught him in the past. No matter whether they were private teachers in elementary school or teachers in the junior high school in the town, he visited them one by one to express his gratitude and gave them gifts.
When these teachers received the gifts, their faces were all beaming. Nowadays, if one could teach a college student, they could brag about it for years. Even if they attended weddings or funerals, as soon as people said that this was the teacher of the college student Gao Jialin, they would be guaranteed to sit at the seat of honor.
In addition to expressing his personal gratitude to them, Gao Jialin also donated some things to the school. The primary school in Gaojia Village had been in disrepair for many years, so he took lime and wood from his home and asked people to help repair it.
The town’s junior high school lacked extracurricular books, so Gao Jialin gave them some books so that these students from the mountainous areas of the Loess Plateau could also have the opportunity to know what the outside world is like.
He also gave a lesson to the third-year junior high school students who were taking extra classes. He told them about his own experience in taking the high school and college entrance exams. He encouraged them to study hard so that they could go to the big city to see the world like him in the future.
When he was giving the lecture, not only the third-year junior high school students were listening, but many high school students who had gone home for the winter vacation also came. They pricked up their ears, afraid to miss even a word, and their eyes were full of longing after listening.
The teachers at Kuanzhou Middle School soon learned about this. The new principal wondered, since Gao Jialin was so grateful, should he also return to his alma mater?
It would be best if you could donate something to your alma mater.
It’s okay if he doesn’t donate. He can give a class to the senior high school students, telling them about their experience of taking the college entrance exam and the beauty of college. This will also be of great help to Kuanzhou Middle School. He has already taught the junior high school students, so he should be able to teach the high school students as well, right?
Unfortunately, after waiting for several days, Gao Jialin did not come.
If he doesn't come, then we will go and invite him. So the principal found Mr. Jing, Gao Jialin's former head teacher, and said, "Mr. Jing, I heard that Gao Jialin is back? Do you have any students in your class who have a good relationship with Gao Jialin? Ask him to go to Gaojia Village and invite Gao Jialin to give a class to the senior students?"
Teacher Jing's face drooped, and after a long while he managed to utter, "I don't have the face to ask this."
(End of this chapter)
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