A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 96: Try your best to survive

1959, the back garden of the Gege Mansion.

Old Xu rubbed his hands and followed Lin Kucan, Jin Caifeng, Lin Sanqi and his family with his back bent.

Lin Kucan looked at the broken gate in front of him and nodded:
"Well, not bad, not bad. Is this door broken enough? It looks like it will fall down after a few pushes. And the walls are all original colors, without any lime. Very good!"

Old man Xu thought that this family was really strange. When other people built houses, the newer the better, but when it came to the Lin family, the more dilapidated, older and rotten the better.

However, the Lin family paid promptly and provided large white steamed buns every day. Old Xu and his fellow workers ensured quality and quantity, and completed the project meticulously with the same careful attitude as if they were doing embroidery.

"Doctor Lin, don't be fooled by the tattered appearance of this door. It is actually made of teak, which is hard and resistant to decay. It was originally used in the Jingshan Royal Garden. I got it from a friend."

Lin Sanqi thought, maybe this door was thrown away as garbage?
Lin Kucan laughed and said, "Okay, Master Xu is still the one who helps people in this world. Let's go to the house and take a look."

After pushing open the gate, Lin Sanqi tried it out and found it was indeed very thick and solid. It seemed that Old Xu was not bragging.

The gate has been exposed to wind and rain for hundreds of years, and the paint on the surface has peeled off, so it looks like it was picked up from a garbage dump. If it were painted vermilion, it would definitely be magnificent.

After entering the yard, Lin Sanqi found that the yard, which was originally overgrown with weeds, had been cleaned up, leaving a stone path in the middle. The stone path and the garden soil were carefully separated by blue bricks, and it looked very clean and tidy.

Old Xu took credit for it:

"Doctor Lin, this yard was cleaned by a few of us old friends. To be honest, food is scarce this year, but working in your house, we get to eat big steamed buns every day. This treatment is absolutely unique in the city, so we will naturally do our best."

You get what you pay for, and this is even more obvious in engineering.

The more money you pay, the more solid the work will be.

If you pay little, people will only do the superficial work for you, but who knows what shoddy work there is in the invisible places.

Jin Caifeng was delighted when she saw the two small flower beds on the left and right:
"This is good, this is good, there is a well in the corner of the yard..."

Old Xu quickly replied, "We have also cleaned the well. Although the water level is low due to drought, there is still water."

"That's right. We have land and a well here. Qizi, we can grow some vegetables here in the future. It will be enough for our family to eat. That's great."

Lin Sanqi was a little uncertain: "Mom, will there be any policy issues with growing vegetables at home?"

These days, private individuals are not allowed to do business, and of course they are not allowed to farm privately. All actions must be under command. Lin Sanqi does not want to be arrested for these vegetables.

Old Xu chuckled:
"Doctor Xiaolin, you're worrying too much. We have private plots in the countryside, but each household can't have more than 1 mu. You can raise chickens, but no more than 2. So you can grow some vegetables in your yard. As long as you don't sell them, you won't make a mistake."

Oh, I see.

Lin Sanqi also learned about a local policy at that time. It turned out that there was still some wiggle room. It was actually possible to raise chickens?
In fact, Lin Sanqi never imagined that people are not able to eat enough now, so who will have food to feed the chickens?
Some people say that they can be allowed to roam free and eat the insects on their own.

Are you sure that your chickens will come back in the evening if you let them out in the morning? When people are hungry, their eyes turn green like wolves, and when they are extremely hungry, they can do anything.

While a few people were still talking about the courtyard, Lin Kucan had already put his hands behind his back, walking around the waterside pavilion to observe the facade of the house.

Old Xu came over again and introduced:
"Doctor Lin, according to your instructions, we didn't touch the outer wall and the roof. They are still in their original shabby state. In order to prevent people from seeing the inner layer of blue bricks, we specially nailed a few broken wooden boards in these places. It looks like the house has been patched up." Lin Kucan joked: "Just looking at the appearance, it's really sad and tearful. Let's go and take a look inside."

Once you walk into the house, it’s like two completely different worlds.

Lin Sanqi found that the indoor area was a little smaller than before, but it was still more than 20 square meters, which was enough for one person to live in.

Lin Kucan patted the inner wall and asked, "Is the wall thickness 37 centimeters?"

Old Xu nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, it's definitely a 37 wall. Not to mention the insulation function, as long as we guard the gate, the enemy's guns and artillery can't penetrate it."

Jin Caifeng was more careful:
"Wow, this screen is great, and it's made of wire mesh. It's strange, this is the first time I've seen it. Mosquitoes definitely can't fly in through the tiny holes. I fumigate it with wormwood before going to bed, and I'll sleep soundly all night."

Lin Sanqi thought: What's so beautiful about it? There's not even an air conditioner. This water pavilion is very hot and stuffy under the sun all day.

Father and Mother Lin checked around the room and couldn't stop smiling, obviously they were very satisfied.

"Well done, Master Xu, great job, thank you."

Old Xu kept bowing, the countryman's shrewdness made him remain humble:

"As long as Doctor Lin is satisfied, I'm glad. Haha, I can also hand in my work. I'll buy some furniture for this room later. Doctor Lin, don't be too comfortable living alone. Who would have thought that there is such a delicate little house in this shabby yard."

Lin Kucan nodded and looked at Lin Sanqi again: "Have you paid enough for the wages and materials? You can't delay it."

"Yes, they gave it all in advance. Doctor Kobayashi even gave me some extra."

Lin Sanqi also smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dad. I'm not a black-hearted capitalist. It's like a beast to make people work without paying them. It's not something a human can do."

Lin Sanqi took out another oil-paper bag from his backpack:

"Here, Master Xu, we are very satisfied with the renovation of this house. Here is a pound of pork. Just consider it as my extra thank you gift."

When Jin Caifeng heard her son take out another pound of pork to give away, she felt very distressed.

Lin Kucan just laughed and continued inspecting the house indifferently.

Old Xu held the meat. It was not good to return it, but it was not good not to return it either. Tears came to his eyes for a moment:

"Doctor Kobayashi, I, I feel so unworthy of this. Thank you so much. I worked for you for a few days, and my family finally had a few full meals. With this meat, our family is happier than during the Chinese New Year."

Lin Sanqi also patted Old Xu on the shoulder:

"Don't worry, difficulties are temporary, the country will get better. As long as there are green mountains, there will be no shortage of firewood. We all have to work hard to survive."

Old Xu thanked her profusely and left. Before he left, he said a lot of words of gratitude, which made Jin Caifeng sad:
"Alas, even our family is going hungry. How are these farmers going to survive? We must not let anyone starve to death. That would be a great sin."

Lin Kucan also sighed: "It's time, it's fate."

(End of this chapter)