The booming era begins with the director of the Propaganda Department!

Chapter 368: Fifty Years Ahead of Others!!

After making up his mind, Zhang Shenfei took out his watch from the space, looked at the time, and thought that Wang Zhuzi and the others would be back soon.

He took off his clothes and threw them into the space, then went back into the water and swam to the shore. After coming out of the water, he put on his clothes again and dried his hair with the towel he took out from the space.

After packing everything up, he returned to the big willow tree across the yard and lay down on the recliner that Wang Zhuzi had prepared for him.

The afternoon sun shines through the sparse leaves, casting mottled shadows.

The leaves swayed gently in the breeze, making rustling sounds, like the music of nature, melodious and peaceful.

A cicada was chirping on a branch not far away. Its sound penetrated the silence of the forest, but also gave people an illusion of tranquility.

Zhang Shenfei closed his eyes and dozed off. Not long after, an old dog came running from somewhere, lazily lying at his feet, wagging its tail from time to time, as if it was also enjoying the leisurely afternoon.

Zhang Shenfei closed his eyes, but would stroke the old dog from time to time, feeling free and easy.

When Wang Zhuzi and others came back, they saw this scene of peaceful and tranquility.

Lao Nian'er didn't know whether Zhang Shenfei was awake or asleep, so he walked up to him and pushed his arm: "Director Zhang, wake up, wake up. It's time to eat."

"Ah? Oh." Zhang Shenfei opened his sleepy eyes and seemed a little confused. After a moment of stunned awakening, he rubbed the eye mucus at the corner of his eye and asked, "What kind of food did you bring?"

"Eggplant and potato noodles, and I personally paid for a plate of rice noodles from the Daqianmen Bistro, it tastes really good. Do you still remember me? My name is Laonian'er, and I have worked with this uncle for nearly twenty years." Laonian'er took credit.

Zhang Shenfei had some impression of him. When Wang Mantang brought his guys to Sijiu City to help him renovate the house, this old man seemed to be there.

"Thank you for the rice noodle sausage, Lao Nian'er." Zhang Shenfei nodded and smiled at him, "I'm really hungry."

I had breakfast early today, swam back and forth in the pond several times, and lunch just came, so I'm really hungry now.

After nodding to the other party to show his gratitude, Zhang Shenfei took the aluminum lunch box, opened the lid, took the chopsticks handed to him by Zhuzi, picked up a large chopstick of noodles, stirred it, and took a big bite.

Upon seeing this, Lao Nian'er immediately took out the garlic he had taken from the Rotten Meat Noodle Shop from his pocket and squatted at Zhang Shenfei's feet to peel the garlic for him.

This behavior caused the other masters to sneer, and there was disdain in their eyes.

But Zhang Shenfei was not the only one treated like this by Lao Nian'er. Although they despised him, they didn't say anything.

Lao Nian'er seemed not to hear their laughter and continued to peel garlic very seriously.

After dinner,
It was too hot in the afternoon, so everyone found a place to rest under the corridor or in the shade of trees, preparing to continue working when the sun was not so strong.

After dinner, Zhang Shenfei went to the faucet to wash dishes. Since the tap water was connected in the old city, there was generally one faucet in each yard.

Just like No. 95 Courtyard in Nanluoguxiang,

There was only a tap in the middle courtyard, so people in the front and back courtyards had to go to the middle courtyard if they needed water. Of course, the water fee was shared by everyone, so no one could take advantage. This was also the norm for water use in the slums of the old city.

But in Courtyard No. 2, Luoquaner Hutong, there are two faucets.

The front yard, middle yard, back yard and west wing use public taps.

But there is a separate faucet in the east wing. I think the owner did it on purpose because he doesn't want to mix with those people in the slum.

After dinner, Zhang Shenfei took the aluminum lunch box to wash it.

About five minutes after he left, Wang Zhuzi followed him, saying that the weather was too hot and he needed to wash his face to cool down.

He strode to the faucet and saw that Zhang Shenfei had already washed the dishes and was leaning against the sink with his hands in his pockets waiting for him.

"How is it? Did you find anything, Brother Dafei?" Wang Zhuzi turned on the faucet and asked while washing his face.

"I looked inside the pond, and there was indeed no problem with the depth and width. The rockery is hollow, and I wanted to pry it open to take a look, but it made too much noise..." Zhang Shenfei briefly recounted the situation.

Wang Zhuzi didn't say anything and just concentrated on washing his face.

After washing, he took out a blue handkerchief with white stripes and a magpie embroidered on it from his pocket and wiped his face carelessly.

"This handkerchief is nice. I didn't know my sister-in-law had such a skill." Zhang Shenfei praised.

"Well, I just embroidered it for fun, it's nothing." Wang Zhuzi smiled, his eyes were not as indifferent as his tone, he was even quite proud, "Brother, if you like my wife's craftsmanship, I will give your child's tiger-head shoes to her."

"Thank you in advance." Zhang Shenfei declined disrespectfully.

"That's nothing." Wang Zhuzi folded his handkerchief again, put it in his pocket, looked at Zhang Shenfei, and changed the subject, "So, we need to think of a way to open the rockery without being discovered? ? ? "

"That's right. You are familiar with civil engineering, so I think you need to give me some advice." Zhang Shenfei said while playing with his lunch box.

"You can do it with less noise, but that would take some effort... like using a small chisel to chip away at it. But the problem is, their tiles can be fixed today."

When he came here today, he also took a walk around the pond. If there was really something fishy about the rockery, it would take at least five or six days to open it with a small chisel.

If you replace someone who is not familiar with civil engineering, it may take even longer.

"Time is so tight?" Zhang Shenfei was a little surprised.

He had originally thought that when he used the small chisel to carve the rockery, it would definitely make some noise, so the noise of changing tiles over there could also be used to cover it up.

Who would have thought that the work here could be completed in just one day? ?

Well, it’s over before it even started, so what the hell is he doing???

"Replacing tiles is not a big job." Wang Zhuzi smiled bitterly. "In this year, most people would buy food to fill their stomachs if they have some money. No one would spend a lot of money to build a house."

Not to mention anything else, the white flour without a ticket in the pigeon market is already sold for three yuan. No matter how much money you have, it is not enough to fill your mouth, how can you have money for other things? ?

Zhang Shenfei tapped his lunch box and pondered: "That's true, but the family background of Gu is not ordinary. It's different from us working class people."

His ancestors opened a jade carving shop and worked in the Cultural Relics Bureau. Zhang Shenfei would never believe that he had no money. Don't think that the other party is keeping a low profile now, that's for self-protection.

"I see that their yard is so big, there must be a lot of places that can be renovated... So how about you find a way to get them to do something else?"

It is said that a house has a price, but decoration is priceless.

"I think the owner of this house is quite wealthy, and should be someone who is particular about the accommodation conditions. Wouldn't it be a big deal if you tricked him into adding a few more decorations?"

Wang Zhuzi was a little shocked, as if his worldview had been overturned: "Just, there is nothing wrong with you just looking for it?? Isn't this, isn't this cheating?"

"How can you talk like that, kid?" Zhang Shenfei said sternly, "We just want the host to live better and more comfortably. We are doing this for his sake. How can you call this cheating?"

"No, isn't it?..." There was a hint of doubt in Wang Zhuzi's eyes.

Zhang Shenfei put his arm around his shoulders and said, "It seems like I have to do some ideological work on you..." Zhang Shenfei was not teaching Wang Zhuzi how to cheat people.

However, only by using the name of the ancient building team could he swagger into the yard.

He was able to study the rockery without being discovered by taking advantage of the noise made by the workers while they were working.

Besides, maintaining the old courtyard house is also a contribution to the country and a service to the people.

Zhang Shenfei found excuses for himself in his mind, telling himself, I am not doing this for myself, I am not deliberately imitating those black decoration companies in later generations to cheat people.

Well, definitely not!!!

At most, this would mean that the other party would enjoy the service fifty years from now in advance.

Wang Zhuzi has never done anything like this since he followed his father into the civil engineering industry.

After following Zhang Shenfei back, he didn't take time to rest, but kept walking around the house, trying to find some problems that would both convince the owner to renovate it and make himself feel at ease.

He wandered around like this for more than half an hour, and finally he found it.

The pillars of the west wing across the courtyard show signs of being infested by termites, which are very destructive.

If they reproduce in large numbers inside a house, they will constantly erode the structure of the house, causing cracks and collapse in the house. In severe cases, it may even cause the house to collapse.

Although only one was found, Wang Zhuzi was sure that there must be other termite nests in the house.

As a century-old company in the civil engineering industry, Long Kee is naturally good at termite removal.

When the homeowner got off work in the evening, Wang Zhuzi took him to see the pillar and other places, and told him about the harm caused by termites.

"In addition to these places, there are several other places where the beams have been damaged to a certain extent. These also need to be repaired after the termites are eliminated..."

Generally speaking, termite removal is a big project, and Wang Zhuzi estimates that it will take at least one week.

As for the price, it is certainly not low.

Many of the Siheyuans in Beijing date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Over the past few hundred years, the houses have changed hands many times, and many of the current residents are not the original owners.

The house of the Gu family is obviously the same, but it can be bought. For a house of this size, it is obvious that their family is not short of money.

After knowing the harm that termites can do to a house, he asked Wang Zhuzi and the others to come over tomorrow without saying anything.

"Although this house is not our ancestral property, it is also the house we value most. You should use the medicine when the time comes and deal with it as needed. You must make sure the house is in good condition for me." He reminded.

Wang Zhuzi nodded: "Don't worry, I will definitely satisfy you."

After seeing that he had reached an agreement with the landlord, Zhang Shenfei finally put his mind at ease.

As long as there is enough time, he believes that it is only a matter of time before the secret of the rockery is revealed.

It gets dark late in the summer. After finishing the finishing work on the tiles, Zhang Shenfei said goodbye to the homeowner and turned around to walk out of the courtyard along the corridor.

With the shelter of the corridor, there is less exposure to the scorching sun.

After leaving No. 2 Luoquaner Hutong, Zhang Shenfei made an appointment with Wang Zhuzi and others to meet again at the same place tomorrow and said goodbye.

I rode my bike quickly along the street, the evening breeze blew up my clothes, like a boat setting sail.

When they arrived at Qianmen Street, Zhang Shenfei found Yueshengzhai, the restaurant that Tian Xiaozao had been craving for since he was a child, ordered three pounds of marinated mutton and twenty sesame-covered steamed buns, and then went back to the Workers' Hospital.

When they arrived, they let Tian Xiaozao and Tang Danniu, who was taking care of her during her confinement, eat some hot sesame cakes with marinated mutton, and then they talked about the fact that her aunt-in-law was coming to take care of her during her confinement.

"I'm here, why would I need my aunt?" Tang Danniu was eating a meat-stuffed pancake while talking. She got so excited that she choked. Her neck stretched as far as two miles and she swallowed it with great effort. "There's no need for my aunt. Just let her do farm work at home."

The sesame seed cake with mutton sauce is delicious, but it is really choking! !
Seeing her choking like that, Zhang Shenfei poured a glass of water for Tian Xiaozao and handed it to her: "Sister-in-law, you have to take care of the little monkeys at home. I think you are very busy. Zao'er will have to go back to work after her maternity leave...

I was thinking, why not let my aunt come over to look after the kids for two years and cook for them. Of course, it's not for free, I'll give her 15 yuan a month."

Tang Danniu looked at Tian Xiaozao drinking water eagerly, swallowed her saliva dryly, and silently looked at her man, and then looked again...

Zhang Shenliang was eating the pancake in big mouthfuls. Seeing that he was looking at him, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me? Aren't you eating enough?"

There's more on the table. Why are you always looking at him?

Damn it!!! Tang Danniu glared at him fiercely: "Just eat your sesame cake, why are you talking so much nonsense."

Zhang Shenliang was speechless. Didn't you look at me first? But seeing his daughter-in-law's face was livid, he didn't dare to refute, but just muttered softly: "I didn't say anything..."

Tian Xiaozao, who was lying on the hospital bed, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Perhaps feeling embarrassed, Zhang Shenliang thought about it and decided to change the subject:
"It would be fine to let my aunt come over to look after the child and give her a salary. This way, I can help my aunt and the others a little bit... But, where do you plan to let the child live after he leaves the hospital? Yunju Hutong or Siheyuan?"

If you live in Yunju Hutong, you don't have to worry about what to eat and drink, but the neighbors in the Siheyuan all know that Tian Xiaozao has given birth to a child, and she is neither at her parents' home nor at her husband's home, so she can't stop the gossip.

But if you live in a courtyard house, then what to eat and drink becomes a problem.

Zhang Shenfei had already finished a meat-filled bun and was drinking water from a cup. When he heard his elder brother's words, he put down the cup and told him that he had already thought of a solution to the problem.

"What method?" Tang Danv and Tian Xiaozao on the side also became interested.

"We'll have to trouble our old lady to take action on this matter." Zhang Shenfei kept it a secret, "Anyway, you'll know when the time comes."

After dinner, Zhang Shenfei drove away his eldest brother and Tang Danniu, who insisted on taking care of Tian Xiaozao, and prepared to stay in the hospital to take care of his wife and children.

Tian Xiaozao used a single room to give birth this time, so she didn't have to worry about being inconvenient here at night.

A newborn baby needs to sleep more than twenty hours a day. In addition, Tian Xiaozao has plenty of milk, so Zhang Weiguo does nothing but eat and sleep every day, making the baby very easy to take care of.

After coaxing him to sleep, Zhang Shenfei fetched hot water from the bathroom to soak Tian Xiaozao's feet.

Watching him put the water on the ground in a very professional manner and roll up his sleeves, Tian Xiaozao couldn't help laughing.

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?" Zhang Shenfei tested the water temperature and looked up at her.

"It's nothing. I just didn't expect that you, Zhang Shenfei, would do such a thing..." Ever since the two of them got married, he usually takes care of Zhang Shenfei and washes his feet and gives him massages.

When has she ever enjoyed this kind of service?

(End of this chapter)