Chapter 115 Building a House
Because not only has the weather cleared up, but as the rain has continued to decrease these days, the floods have also slowly receded.
So on June 28th, after breakfast, Chen Ling and Wang Susu began to pack their things and prepare to return to the village.
But when I packed my things, I realized that there were too many eggs and duck eggs. It was extremely inconvenient to carry them on the road, and they would easily break due to bumps and bumps.
With no other choice, Chen Ling had no choice but to carry two baskets of eggs and duck eggs on a pole and go out to sell them. He said he sold them, but in fact he just kept them in the cave.
After the flood, prices will skyrocket.
The next time he comes to the city, he plans to put eggs and duck eggs together with vegetables and watermelon to sell. The price will definitely be higher than now.
The sky has just cleared up, but there is still water everywhere on the road outside.
Chen Ling took advantage of his time to go out and deposited the money from selling fish into his bankbook. He also went to the small courtyard in the south of the city and tidied up briefly. Then he called Wang Susu and said goodbye to Liang Hongyu. , he took the cow and the dog, loaded with things and drove home.
Along the way, there were many people like them returning to the village from the county seat, and there were people from various villages and towns.
A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as your own doghouse.
Having been hiding in the county town for half a month, I have long been homesick.
Not to mention that I still don’t know what’s going on at home. How can I feel at ease if I don’t go back and take a look?
"Uncle Fugui, Aunt Susu, we are here."
As we walked outside the city, as soon as we went up the mountain road, we saw Liu Nier standing on a big rock, shouting He waved to them both.
Next to her was Da Nier, who was carrying a bag and a basket, but Wang Lixian and his wife were not seen.
"Where are you Da and your mother?"
Chen Ling and Wang Susu asked after they walked over.
“They went to call my fifth sister.”
“The fifth sister was going to take an exam and it was raining heavily. She couldn’t come back in the city. Ida and my mother were worried. I’ve been on the phone for several days.”
Liu Nier sniffed and said, but he was still young and could not express himself clearly.
It was Da Nier who was gesticulating at the side and adding something.
It means that it has rained too much this year, and I don’t know if Wu Nier has taken the college entrance examination, but she must be trapped in the city now, unable to go home, and I don’t know what will happen to her.
Wang Lixian and Liu Yuzhi were worried, so they called Wu Nier’s school. They called Wu Nier’s school several times but could not get through. They only got through yesterday, but the signal was not good and they could not tell Wu Nier. As I said, I have to call again today and ask.
If that still doesn't work, Wang Lixian may have to take a trip to the city.
"Don't worry, you can definitely take the exam in the city."
"Even if there is a flood, trains can't be taken, and passenger transportation has been stopped. If you want to come back, you will have to wait for a while. This is normal, no need to Too worried."
Chen Ling comforted.
Before 2000, the college entrance examination was generally held in June of the lunar calendar, while the Gregorian calendar was fixed at three days: July 7, July 8, and July 9. Later, because there was more rainfall in this season, In many places, it rains for ten and a half days, which greatly affects the exams. In 2003, the date of the college entrance examination was moved forward by one month to June 7, June 8, and June 9. these three days.
This year’s college entrance examination was taken on the 10th, 11th and 12th day of the sixth lunar month. As a result, heavy rains caused floods. The rain began to weaken after the 10th day of the lunar month. In this way, the local The college entrance examination may also be postponed.
Da Nier had never traveled far, so she didn't know whether what Chen Ling said was true or not. She was no less worried about her sister than Wang Lipian and his wife, and she still looked worried.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Wang Lixian and Liu Yuzhi came over after calling and said that Wu Nier was fine, the exam had been postponed, and she was staying in the school dormitory. Da Nier was relieved.
Then they continued on their way together. They were all from the same village and from nearby villages. It was a lively journey. It took more than half a month for the sunny weather to come, and everyone was in a good mood.
After crossing two mountain ridges and seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar reservoir and village, everyone fell silent and stopped talking.
After the flood overflowed the embankment, the farmland was destroyed, the houses collapsed, the food was no longer available, the poultry and livestock were dead and lost...
Although no one died in this flood, the damage was so great that for many villagers, it was as good as killing them.
The villagers all felt as if they were mourning for their heirs. Even the mother-in-law stopped shouting and screamed. She just kept sighing and went home to clean up the mess after the flood.
There is no way, life has to go on, people always have to look forward.
As it was approaching noon, people from the county and township came to see the damage. In addition, the reservoir dam needed to be reinforced. High water levels that lasted for several days would erode the reservoir dam. It's very serious.
The reinforcement work of the dam could not be completed in a day or two. In contrast, the damage was quickly calculated: more than 200 houses collapsed, more than 1,000 acres of farmland were submerged, and the entire army was almost wiped out. , the total property damage is roughly estimated to be more than 300,000 yuan.
Nearly half of the families have only meager savings left, barely able to survive.
Many people's farmland was flooded, their houses were washed away, the chickens, ducks, and pigs in the pens either died or ran away, and the newly harvested wheat was soaked in floods for half a month and could no longer be taken.
In response, the county said that there would be assistance and various subsidies, help in house construction, and seed distribution. In addition, this year’s allowance and public grain would not have to be paid. The leaders gave a big guarantee and left. The remaining villagers helped clean up the dead fish and shrimps in the village, and then sprinkled lime everywhere.
After spreading the lime, they went to help the elderly people build straw huts. Otherwise, the old people would have no place to live at night and it would become a problem.
These people worked in the village for most of the day before leaving one after another, leaving the villagers to continue their busy work. Compared with the losses suffered by the villagers, Chen Ling's family is doing well. Except for the fact that they can no longer keep a few old houses in the backyard, which are in danger of being soaked by water, the front yard can still be inhabited.
Firstly, it is far away from the reservoir, so it has not suffered much impact, but was soaked in water. Secondly, the house in the front yard was a new house built just before the wedding, so it is much better than the old house.
Because he was prepared, other losses at home were not significant. In the countryside, grain sales earn a lot of money every year. He didn't grow any grain this year, and took away all the chickens, ducks and other things he could.
Even before leaving, if there were things that he had no time to pack, he used bricks to raise the mattress high, put flour and other things on it, and then covered it with urea bags and plastic sheets. Since then, apart from being a little damp, the flour has not been soaked by the floods and is still edible when dried.
The bedding, clothes, etc. were packed into packages and placed on top of the wardrobe. They could not get soaked in water and were basically unaffected.
Therefore, other families had to live in thatched huts outside the village. Chen Ling and his wife did not need to live in their house. However, on the first night they returned home, he and Wang Susu did not sleep well, including the family dogs and cows. Same thing.
After the floods receded, a large number of mosquitoes bred, causing people to toss and turn at night and unable to sleep. After a while, they were covered in pimples and itchy people went crazy.
In anger, Chen Ling killed nearly a hundred mosquitoes one after another, but to no avail.
The mosquito net is broken and cannot be used, and the few match ropes left at home from last year have long been soaked with water. The weather is sultry and there is no quilt to cover, which is very annoying.
So Chen Ling, who had been harassed by mosquitoes all night, woke up early and ran up the mountain to cut wormwood without even cooking, preparing to rub some match ropes.
Match ropes are very common in mountain villages. They can repel mosquitoes and start fires, but they are mostly used to repel mosquitoes in summer.
The mugwort used to rub the match rope must be mugwort for the best effect, because mugwort has a special fragrance. After twisting it into a rope and drying it in the sun, the smoke that comes out after lighting will change the smell of mugwort. When activated, mosquitoes will be fumed away and cannot approach.
In addition, mugwort is more resistant to burning than other mugworts. A match rope can burn it for two nights. It saves money and is harmless to the human body. It is much easier to use than mosquito coils. This thing has been used since the Song Dynasty. If it is used, it must have a history of use for thousands of years. If it is not easy to use, it will be eliminated long ago.
Throughout the morning, Chen Ling came back from cutting mugwort and sat in the yard rubbing match ropes. Wang Susu sewed a mosquito net next to him. The mosquito net was hung on the bed for sleeping so that mosquitoes couldn't get in. The match ropes were used at night. Lighting one when eating or enjoying the cool air and placing it in the house can also repel other bugs.
In addition, it is also used for the family’s dogs and cows, otherwise they will be uncomfortable being bitten by mosquitoes at night, and Chen Ling and Wang Susu will not sleep well.
After rubbing a dozen match ropes, Chen Ling picked them up with a stick and put them on the roof. In this weather, the sun is very hot, so he can dry them in an afternoon and use them in the evening, which is very worry-free.
After doing this and tidying up the front yard thoroughly, Chen Ling plans to clean up the debris in the backyard in the afternoon. He has demolished the old house in the past two days. Most of the houses in the village need to be rebuilt these days. As a house builder, he also wanted to take this opportunity to open up the front and back yards of his house and renovate them.
However, during lunch, Chen Ling temporarily put away this thought after hearing Wang Susu talk about Wang Jusheng's family.
The eldest brother, Wang Jusheng, is not lovable. He and the second child, Wang Juxiang, are both relatively close to the reservoir. However, when the second child’s house collapsed, his parents took care of it, but no one cared about him as the eldest son. The couple took care of them. It is really difficult to build a new house for two children.
"This won't work. Brother Jusheng is too embarrassed to call us. We have to go. We have to help no matter what."
When Chen Ling heard this, he couldn't eat any more, so he put down his chopsticks and got up and walked out.
No one in the village knows that Chen Ling is close friends with Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng. If this guy doesn't even show his face, he should stop interacting with them in the future.
"As long as you help, you have to finish your meal first."
Wang Susu pulled him and said, "Don't worry, I'll go with you after the meal."
Chen Ling thought the same thing. Among other things, Wang Jusheng's family has two children at home now. Zhang Qiaoling is too busy to handle it alone. Wang Susu also had someone to take care of her in the past.
So they finished their meal in a hurry, then locked the door, took the cows and went to Wang Jusheng's house.
After arriving, I discovered that most of the houses in Wang Jusheng’s house had collapsed. The couple were wearing straw hats and towels on their faces, cleaning the tiles and bricks. These things were rebuilt. You can still use a lot of it when building a house, so pick it out and keep it to save materials.
As for the half-exposed rafters and the crooked earthen wall, the two of them couldn't care less about it now.
Chen Ling glanced and saw Dandan, the eldest daughter of Wang Jusheng's family, squatting and playing in the mud with Datou nearby. When Datou saw him coming, his eyes lit up and he staggered towards him with his arms spread out. He ran forward, still shouting vaguely.
Chen Ling picked up the big head, walked over and punched Wang Jusheng in the chest. He thought he was out of touch and didn't ask others for help. He didn't even call him.
Wang Jusheng took a punch and just raised his head and smiled at him. Zhang Qiaoling couldn't help but her eyes were hot. She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and laughed too. Then she waved her hands to prevent Wang Susu from passing by and said that she would help outside. Just order two dolls.
"Sister-in-law, please come out too. Brother Jusheng and I can do this job."
Chen Ling said, and then called Xiaobai Niu to his side: "Here , I also brought the cows here, this house will be demolished quickly."
Now that he has come over, the two of them are no longer polite to him, so Zhang Qiaoling gave him the straw hat and found another piece. He put a clean towel around him and led Datou and Wang Susu to hide aside.
It is easy to demolish a house, but difficult to build a house.
But it is also dangerous to demolish a house, especially a half-collapsed house. If a beam falls down accidentally, someone can be killed. Especially in mountain villages, the roof is built with multiple beams in a triangle shape, and purlins are put up to lay tiles. Yes, if it is not demolished properly, it will not be one beam, but multiple beams falling down together, which is extremely dangerous.
So Chen Ling brought the cow over, found a long and thick rope, and cut a hole in the wall. After passing the rope through, he tied a thick wooden stick and crossed it several times to trip the wall. , just like this, driving the cattle to pull, the wall fell down.
If the house was demolished when it was complete, the load-bearing parts could not be demolished first, but now that most of it collapsed, they didn’t care so much. The two of them demolished the house in less than an hour, with a loud bang. It didn't stop, and for a while, smoke and dust were everywhere, which was very choking.
Many people who heard the noise came to watch the fun. They felt that it was quite enjoyable to do the demolition quickly, so they also thought of letting Chen Ling lead the cow to help. However, how could Chen Ling pay attention to them? It happened to be At this time, Wang Lixian came with his family and went to talk to Wang Lixian and others. Wang Lixian also blamed Wang Jusheng for not calling him.
But he came not too late, because the rest was the backbreaking work. He had to clean out all the beams, rafters and other things that could be used and set them aside. The waste materials were thrown away, and the foundation was tamped several times to lay a solid foundation. After the foundation is laid, the house can be rebuilt.
(End of this chapter)