Chapter 676 Part Two
Generally speaking, Chinese people in this era not only look down on toilets, they also look down on people who are engaged in related industries and jobs.
It's all the same, including those who dig out excrements, those who sweep toilets, and those who drive excrement trucks.
Actually speaking, it was simply because the conditions of our toilets at that time were really poor and can only be described as "notorious".
How bad can it be?
It's so bad that it doesn't deserve to be called a toilet, so it can only be called a "thatched room".
This is not an exaggeration at all.
The construction standards for public toilets in this era were mostly "one pit, two bricks, and three feet of earthen walls surrounding the four sides."
Not only does it have no door, it is as short as a pigsty. The top of the toilet is only covered with two layers of gypsum corrugated boards to prevent rain. Ventilation is provided by the ventilation holes left by the bricks on the upper part of the toilet.
At this time, people in the capital described the feeling of going to the public toilet as "smell once, jump twice, scream three times, cry four times, and laugh five times."
The general meaning is that when looking for a toilet in an alley, you don't even need to read the signs. You can find it by "smell" it.
When you enter the toilet, sewage overflows, and feces and urine flow on the ground. If you accidentally fall, you will be full of stinky smell all day long.
So we can only "jump" forward.
In addition, in summer, the scene in the toilet pit will make people scream.
There is also the urine ammonia that permeates the toilet, which can make people burst into tears and make them cry.
In addition, there is no obstruction between the toilet pits, so people who go to the toilet can only stare and smile bitterly.
The problem of public toilets has even affected the external image of the Republic, because even in public places, public toilets in tourist attractions are not much better than public toilets in alleys.
For a long time, toilets in the Republic have been the most complained-about problem among overseas tourists visiting the mainland.
Some overseas tourists are even frightened by the public toilets in tourist attractions, and would rather stop visiting and return to the hotel to use the toilet.
If there is an emergency and you have to do as the Romans do, it can create a psychological shadow.
Because there are no partitions in the toilets in the mainland, many foreigners can only hold their heads in their hands and face the wall, adopting the "ostrich policy."
For this reason, some foreign travel brochures will solemnly remind tourists going to the Republic - "Be sure to go to the toilet in the hotel before departure, and do not drink too many drinks during the trip to avoid using public facilities. Toilets are the dirtiest places in China.”
So it can be said that the problem of public toilets is indeed a stinky scar in this era.
But you know, even though the toilets are so dirty and smelly, it is difficult to find them because there are not enough of them.
According to records, before the mid-1980s, there were only 5,500 public toilets in Beijing.
Even in the most prosperous areas of Beijing, there are only about 20 public toilets.
Residential areas often have only one or two public toilets in an alley. It is normal to hold your nose and queue up to go to the toilet.
For example, in front of the public toilet on the south side of Xidan, there are sometimes dozens of people queuing up, and sometimes as many as two to three hundred people, and this is the case every day.
People who didn’t know the situation thought they were rushing to buy some scarce supplies.
Thus, there is a special phenomenon of the era.
Gentlemen who go to restaurants to drink and eat like to control the terrain themselves.
Knowing where to go to the toilet will make it easier to use the kidneys.
Similarly, there is also the well-known jingle - "Old Ta'er comes into the city, wearing a corduroy, a straw hat, a hemp rope around his waist, drinking a bottle of soda, and not returning the bottle. "Son, I can't find a toilet, it's okay..."
To be honest, this is superficially talking about the embarrassment of going to the toilet after country people move into the city.
But in reality, because men are thick-skinned, there are still some expedient methods that can be thought of.
The people who really suffer the most from not being able to find a toilet are actually women, and it has little to do with the difference between urban and rural areas.
In reality, there are indeed lesbians in China who have become incontinent and peed their pants because they were on a business trip and couldn't find a toilet in a prosperous area of a big city.
There are also cases where foreign girls fainted and fell into a coma on the way home due to internal anxiety and overbearing.
So when it comes to building toilets for Ningwei people, it is actually a matter of opinion and wisdom.
Living in a Guangsha room, using a flush toilet, you don’t have to worry about going to the toilet.
Of course, I will despise, dislike, and feel hatred in my heart.
But for the nearby residents who have to go to the hutong hutong every day, or the passers-by who come here and urgently need to solve their urgent problems, it is a meritorious deed, which is better than building a seven-level pagoda.
If I don’t talk about anything else, let’s talk about the need to upgrade the toilets in Shan’er Hutong in front of Ning Weimin’s house.
Since the day Aunt Dabian posted the street notice, it has become a hotly discussed topic in every household in Shan'er Hutong.
Everyone talks about it and says that the street has done a good thing. I hope this toilet will be completed soon and benefit everyone’s lives soon.
Even if they know that it will be inconvenient for a long time and they have to go far away to find another place to use the toilet, people are still willing to wait with peace of mind.
For no other reason than because the existing toilet is so dilapidated that it has long been in need of repair.
For example, there is not even a light bulb, and you have to use a flashlight to get up when it gets dark, which is like walking through a minefield.
Especially because there are many residents nearby. If the excrement truck does not come for five days, the place will be silted up and rats will crawl out of the cesspit.
To put it bluntly, this toilet is so dirty and smelly that it can give people nightmares.
In fact, no one wants to build a very clean place. As long as the ground is flat, the roof does not leak, there is a small light for lighting, and there are no rats running around, that is enough.
With the vision and knowledge of ordinary people these days, it is really difficult to associate the word "clean" with toilets.
As a result, no one expected that the so-called "upgrading" was not repairing on the old basis at all, but a large forklift from the urban construction company came directly and tore down the heavy cover.
The residents of Shan'er Hutong couldn't help but be shaken by the row of broken bricks and tiles.
Everyone can see clearly that this time the streets are really messed up!
In the next few days, after the waste bricks were removed, what attracted the attention of the residents was the strange layout of lines drawn on the foundation of the toilet.
The reason why I say it is strange is that in a regular toilet, the men's and women's toilets must be of the same size and have two entrances.
However, the new toilet that will be flipped this time is not.
Not to mention there is only one door, and the areas inside are not equal. There are actually three rooms: large, medium and small.
This makes everyone feel puzzled, and they can't figure out the reason no matter how they sum it up.
Someone couldn't bear it anymore, so they passed cigarettes to the construction leader and asked for some advice before they figured out what was going on.
From now on, the small room in the middle will be the main entrance. The front of the small room has a wash basin, a mop sink on the side, and a large glass mirror.
The room on the left that is twice as big is the men's room, and the room on the right that is twice as big is the women's room.
As for why it was arranged like this, he didn’t know. Anyway, just follow it and that’s it.
This was great, it was a stone's throw that stirred up a thousand waves. The residents of Shan'er Hutong couldn't settle down anymore. They felt that the street was too open to mischief.
Does a bathroom need a mirror? Also install a sink? How much money is wasted!
In the past, even a lightbulb could not be saved, and the children could be hit with a slingshot. Why don’t these things just wait to be trashed?
Don’t mention that the toilet is just an entrance problem. Isn’t the stench trapped inside? How can this dissipate the smell?
So the residents all came to Aunt Bian and asked her to talk to the street director Li and quickly "rectify the chaos."
Don’t waste money and end up with something that no one is satisfied with.
Only the area is a problem, but men and women don’t care.
Anyway, as long as women like it, most people are afraid of their wives and dare not be serious about it.
What’s even more strange is that Aunt Bian seemed to have anticipated everyone’s opinions, and she was actually extremely calm.
I didn’t tell everyone in detail, I just asked everyone to go back and wait.
A second notice was quickly posted, explaining the various questions everyone had in words.
Why set up a main entrance?
It not only saves space, but also facilitates the installation of door curtains to keep warm in winter and prevent flies from flying around in summer.
Why spend money to add facilities like sinks and large mirrors?
That is to facilitate everyone’s formal dress needs and is conducive to personal hygiene and health.
As for whether it will be destroyed? Will the smell linger? Absolutely not.
Because this time, the street decided to hire special personnel to clean the toilets in order not to waste this money and completely eliminate the old problem of dirty and smelly toilets.
Even this notice clearly explains the issue of uneven area division.
“According to the current situation that lesbians use the bathroom more often than gay men, and use it for a longer time. The street decided that the flip-top public toilets should be larger than the men’s toilets in terms of area and space. Large. This ratio will be constructed according to 1:1.5.”
This is well-founded and quite scientific.
The official explanation immediately calmed everyone's anxiety and worries, and those noisy owners had nothing to say anymore.
Especially the female residents saw such thoughtful design intentions.
People say behind the scenes that the street is fine. Is this a toilet designed by an expert?
Of course, on the other hand, everyone is even more eager to expect that the toilet will be completed and put into use as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)