Chapter 95 Picking up stones and building the courtyard wall
Zhang An came back for a long time, but he didn’t see his father at home. He immediately went to dinner and saw no one.
"Mom, where is my dad? It's time for dinner, why didn't he come back?"
"He, your uncle Jianzhong invited him over this morning after you left. We are going to attack the courtyard today. Call your dad to help.”
Wang Fang has been preparing meals for a long time and has been waiting for his son to come back for dinner.
The meals are kept warm on the coal stove and will not get cold easily.
"Then do you want me to help?"
"Their family's courtyard is only a small area, and Uncle Qi is also there. Their family invited a lot of people today, so you don't need to go there. Yes, your dad can do it alone.”
“That’s fine, I won’t go.”
Today Wang Fang made fried crispy eggplant and fried potatoes with green peppers. They are all Zhang An’s favorite ways to eat them,
Cut the eggplant and potatoes into cubes, fry them in vegetable oil, chop the green peppers and stir-fry them together. Zhang An likes to eat this kind of stir-fried dishes. It is delicious and goes well with rice.
I raise fish at home. Not long ago, I ate fish every day, but now I am tired of it, so Wang Fang has stopped cooking fish recently.
"Mom, I saw that the meat on the stall was pretty good today. I cut it off several kilograms. You can fry some crispy meat for me tonight. I haven't eaten it for a long time."
Zhang An was holding the rice bowl. , he picked up a small piece of moldy tofu into the small bowl with his chopsticks, and happily mixed it with the rice and ate it.
“Okay, if you want to eat it tonight, I’ll fry some.”
Crispy pork is a local meat recipe. It can be used as a main course or fried for children to eat as snacks. A very popular meat dish.
Zhang An liked to eat it very much when he was a child, but at that time it could only be eaten during the Chinese New Year. Wang Fang usually didn't cut the meat and cook it at all.
Now that life is getting better, Wang Fang is also very particular about food. She will cook whatever her son likes to eat.
For the past six months, she has been eating and drinking the space spring water bottled by Zhang An. Her body is much better than before. Even when she was young, she may not have had such a good physique.
It’s just that she always thought it was because her family’s food standard had improved. She felt better and more energetic in doing anything, so she became more generous with food.
After lunch, Zhang An took a nap and started working when he woke up.
"Mom, I will go to my uncle's house to borrow a carriage. Later I will go to Shibanpo to pick up some stones and come back to build the wall of the yard by the river."
Zhang An and his mother He said that he would go out to work later so that his mother would not find him when he went out.
"I'll go with you, two people can pick it up faster."
Wang Fang put down her sewing and planned to go with Zhang An.
"No, you should stay at home, in case people come to buy eggs and no one will be home. Besides, the quilt is drying in the sun at home. What if it rains? Just stay home and watch."
I came to the yard of the village elder's uncle's house. The old uncle was sitting in the yard and coiling sorghum ears. These were the sorghum that was cut last year and the bare stalks left after the grains were removed.
“Hey, the old man is tying up a pot brush or a broom.”
The pot brushes and brooms used in rural areas are now made of sorghum spikes. They are environmentally friendly, durable and save money. Generally Everyone in the village knows this craft.
"Prick a bunch of them. I have nothing to do anyway. The pot brushes and brooms at home are all bald. Prick a new one for use. What do you want to see me for?"
< br>
The old uncle was talking to Zhang An, but he showed no intention of stopping.
“I came to see if the old uncle’s carriage is empty. I want to borrow the old uncle’s carriage for use. I plan to go to Shibanpo to pick up some stones and come back to build the courtyard wall by the river. "
Zhang An didn't make small talk either. When the old uncle asked, he told him what happened.
"The carriage is idle. You can just lead the horse and drive it." Zhang Jianwen did not ask Zhang An if he wanted to lead the horse.
Because Zhang An’s Dahei is more obedient than anyone else, not to mention strong.
At this time Zhang Ping came out of the house, "Zhang An, do you want to go to Shibanpo to pick up stones? I'll go with you."
"No need, Brother Ping, that's it. I'll pick it up in a moment, why bother you?" Zhang An couldn't help but laugh.
"Okay, you go lead the horse and drive, and I'll change clothes and wait for you. There's nothing going on at home. It's better to go out for a walk just sitting around. Go quickly, I'll wait for you to come over and we'll go together."
Soon, Zhang An brought his own Dahei over. He had to use his own saddle, otherwise other saddles would not fit and the horse's back would be uncomfortable.
After setting up the carriage, the two men sat on it and waved the reins to make Dahei move.
Shibanpo is a nearby place. It is actually a big hill, but the hill is full of rocks and not much soil.
So when people need stones, they often go there to dig them, especially those who build houses. If they need stones, they can dig them themselves without spending money to buy them.
It’s just that now private individuals are not allowed to use explosives to dig into the mountain, and they can only use a steel drill sledgehammer to dig it out.
But in a few years, there will be bosses here who will spend money to contract, and stone quarries and sandfields will be opened here. At that time, everyone who wants stones will have to spend their own money.
"Zhang An, why didn't you ask people to build the walls with stones at that time? Now you are picking up the stones to pile them up again."
When people build a house, they usually have people build the courtyard walls. I have never seen someone like Zhang An pick up the stones and rebuild them by himself.
“The walls are all made of red bricks. It’s a bit wasteful to use them to build the courtyard wall. Besides, I picked up some stones and piled them up myself. Not only does it look good, it doesn’t cost anything.”
The courtyard dam of their new house is on the road sill in the village. Zhang Andou planned to build these sills with stones, although they had already built a low wall with stones when digging the foundation.
But Zhang An thinks this doesn’t look very good, with the sand and other things on the wall exposed.
It looks much better if it is built with shale, and there is no need to re-lay the wall with cement and sand.
Zhang An's house is very large, probably the largest in the nearby village. It must have cost a lot of money.
So Zhang Ping felt that what Zhang An said was quite reasonable. It would be nice to save a little money, but he didn't think it would look good if he picked up these pieces of stone and piled them up.
But Zhang An said he would pick these up, so he would help pick them up too.
These pieces of stone are actually thick pieces of shale. In the past, many people in the village used large pieces of shale to replace tiles to build slate houses.
This place is called Shibanpo, and it got its name because people came to open slates. There are still many slate houses in the village.
Zhang An came to pick up stones. It was different from others who came to open the slates. The slates must be of appropriate thickness and thickness. It would not work if they were too thin or too thick. However, it didn’t matter to Zhang An when he used them to build the courtyard wall. The thicker the slabs, the better. The better.
Soon the two of them picked up a lot, and finally the carriage was full.
"Zhang An, with so many loads, I'm afraid the carriage will slip away when we go uphill." Zhang Ping looked at the carriage filled with stones, and was a little worried that it would slip away when it went uphill. They My horse has never pulled so much. This is a stone, it is too heavy. "It's not a big problem. This thing is nothing to Dahei."
Soon, Dahei surprised Zhang Ping. Pulling up the car was easy. It was so easy. When I went up the slope of the stone pass, I didn't even have to stop. I just pulled up in one breath.
The big black horse only panted a little, and he was convinced. People often said that the big black horse of Zhang An's family was very strong and very strong, but after seeing it today, he was deeply impressed.
It’s better to meet after hearing this for a long time.
"Is this big dark horse of yours really so awesome? No wonder I keep hearing others say it is very strong. When can it be bred? I will bring my horse over to breed it."
"It's not bad, otherwise such a big height would be in vain, but the other horses in the village don't dare to approach it, and the breeding matter is a bit difficult. My uncle also brought your horse over to try it before, but Dahei just doesn't want it. Cooperate. "
Hearing this, Zhang Ping felt a little pity. It would be a pity that such a good horse breed cannot be matched.
The two of them went back and forth to pick up several carts. When there was a lot of stones piled up in the yard, Zhang An stopped picking them up.
But build a brick with what you picked up first, and then pick it up again if there is not enough.
The entire sill of the front yard is already covered with a low wall, so it is easier to stack them. However, some stones need to be polished and carved into roughly the same size by hand.
Zhang Ping watched Zhang An pile up for a while and found that it was quite simple, so he also took a hand hammer and started working with Zhang An.
As the sun was about to set in the afternoon, the two of them finally filled the low wall on the roadside in the front yard and the exposed ridge in the backyard with shale. It turned out to be pleasing to the eye.
"Hey Zhang An, don't tell me, it looks better this way than before. I have an indescribable feeling that it looks very pleasing to the eye."
"That's right, otherwise I can be here Is it a waste of time? "
The shop is finished and today's work is done. Zhang An looked at his mother coming from the village. She probably had already made some food at home and came to call for dinner.
Zhang An and Zhang Ping went to his house first and returned the carriage.
"Brother Ping, after you finish washing, remember to come over for dinner."
Before Zhang An led Dahei away, he said to Zhang Ping who was washing his face in the yard, he must be doing some work. I want to call people to eat.
"Okay, I'll wash up and change my clothes and I'll be here. You don't have to call me."
When Zhang An got home, he drove Dahei into the circle, and then he was there I started running water next to the water pipe and started washing. After washing, I felt relaxed and comfortable all over.
“Here comes Zhang Ping.”
Waiting until Zhang Ping came over, Wang Fang started to bring out the prepared dishes.
"Come here, Auntie, wow, I made crispy pork today, it smells delicious."
Everyone in Zhang An's generation likes to eat crispy pork, no one doesn't like it.
"If you like it, eat more later. Zhang An bought some meat today and said he wanted to eat crispy meat, so I fried some."
Zhang Ping was not polite. Everyone knows that Zhang An eats well, so he took a piece of it and started eating it as soon as he sat down at the table.
"Well~ Auntie, your fried crispy pork is much more delicious than my mother's."
Zhang Ping's words made Wang Fang laugh.
“You kid, you don’t want to say these things. It’s not okay for your mother to hear this.”
“Auntie, I didn’t say anything. Besides, our family is generally not like My dad cooks.”
The old village chief Zhang Jianwen is really true. Although this man was a mixed bag when he was young, he was not afraid of anything. After he retired from the army, he got married and was actually raped by his own daughter-in-law. I'm very tight-lipped and don't dare to jump at all.
Speaking of which, he and Zhang Jianguo are on the same page in this regard, and they are both afraid of their own wives.
"Come on, brother Ping, try the gastrodia wine I brewed."
Zhang An took out the gastrodia wine he had brewed before and poured some for Zhang Ping, and also poured some for his mother.
You can drink a little of this wine often, it is still good for your health.
Don’t drink too much, just drink a small cup every day.
The wine in this jar has been soaking for less than half a year now, and the wine poured out has become golden and smells fragrant.
Now Zhang An has a jar of Gastrodia wine and a large jar of deer antler wine. After cutting the deer antler before, Mr. Zhang took it and prepared it, then soaked it in wine and asked Zhang An to bring it over.
He also told Zhang An that the wine should be stored for more than three to five months before being opened, and that he should not drink it before getting married, otherwise he would suffer.
So now the jar of deer antler wine is still in Zhang An's space. Under normal circumstances, Zhang An will not take it out.
After having enough wine and food, after tea and dinner.
Zhang Ping sat for a while and then got up and went home. Before leaving, he told Zhang An that if he had any work to do during this period, he could call him. He was bored at home.
The old village chief originally asked someone to find him a job, but he found him as a ranger at the county forest farm.
This one usually stays in the old forest of the deep mountains, not close to home. The old aunt felt that her son had not been at home for several years, and now he had to go to such a far place again just after he came back.
Furthermore, the place he was going to was a place where it would be difficult to come back without being home, so in the end we decided not to let him go.
Furthermore, they saw that Zhang An didn’t go out to look for a job at home and lived a pleasant life. Recently, they heard that Zhang An gave Zhou Shuanglin’s family an idea. They now sell rice every day. You can earn dozens of dollars.
Others don’t know, but Zhang Jianwen and his wife know that it is Zhang An who advises Zhou Shuanglin’s family.
Although they were a little envious of the Zhou family, they were not jealous. They just felt that if they got along well with Zhang An, they would think of you if anything good happened. Zhou Yang, the eldest son of Zhou Shuanglin’s family, who didn’t notice, I grew up wearing the same pants as Zhang An since I was a child.
When they were young, the two of them would fight together, go to school together, you would be at my house and I would be at yours for meals, they would be late together, and they would not sleep in the same bed together.
So the old aunt wants her son to get along better with Zhang An, so that they are familiar with each other, and Zhang An will be more diligent when something happens. This is not just the old aunt's idea.
Everyone in the village thinks so. There is only one person who doesn’t think so, and that is the old woman Li Jinbiao’s family diagonally opposite Zhang An’s house, because she knows in her heart that her family has no contact with Zhang An’s family. Although I regret it now, there is no point in regretting it.
What happened between their family and Zhang An's family over the years is not something that can be ignored just by bowing one's head and pretending that nothing happened.
In the evening, Zhang Jianguo, who went to help Zhang Jianzhong's house to build a courtyard dam, came back.
Zhang An thought that the yard over there was empty, so he immediately discussed with his parents and planned to plant something.
(End of this chapter)