60s: I have a store

Chapter 478 Choose a good day

In order to transport all the sand back as quickly as possible, several people in the village who learned to drive tractors finally came in handy.

Because of this matter, Zhou Yimin even went to see Village Chief Ren to explain it to him.

Originally, Village Chief Ren disagreed, but Zhou Yimin added another hundred kilograms of grain.

Village chief Ren had no choice but to agree. There was no other way as Zhou Yimin gave too much.

Immediately, Ren, the village chief, began to arrange people to load the tractors from Zhoujiazhuang.

In this way, they worked non-stop for 24 hours a day, and finally after less than two days, all the sand was transported back to the village.

The next step is to transport the mined stones back to the village. Fortunately, the road to the back mountain is not too bad, otherwise even a tractor would not be able to go on.

Now it is Zhou Dazhui's turn to drive the tractor. Since all the sand has been hauled away, he has to go to the back mountain to pull stones. Then he starts to travel back and forth between the back mountain and the village to transport the mined stones back.

Zhou Dazhui had just finished unloading the stones from the tractor when the originally bright sky was "swallowed" by large dark clouds in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, raindrops as big as beans fell "cracklingly", as if God had overturned a basin of water.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhiming quickly ran to Zhou Dazhu and anxiously advised him, "Dazhu, the rain is coming hard. Don't go to the back mountain to transport stones today. It's too dangerous!"

Zhou Dazhu looked up at the sky. It was just beginning to rain and the ground was slightly wet. He thought that it had just started and one more trip shouldn't be a big problem. Besides, there were still a lot of stones in the back mountain that hadn't been transported back, so he wanted to save time for road construction.

So, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said to Zhou Zhiming: "Uncle Zhiming, don't worry, you still don't trust my skills, I promise to go and come back quickly!"

After saying that, he stepped on the accelerator and the tractor rumbled towards the back mountain.

On the way to the back mountain, the rain was not too heavy. Although the road was a bit slippery, Zhou Dazhu relied on his skillful driving skills and drove smoothly.

He began to feel proud. He had always said that Uncle Zhiming was a little too worried. Now he had arrived at the back mountain safely, didn't he?

When he arrived at the back mountain, he quickly worked with the villagers who were mining stones to load the stones onto the tractor.

But when Zhou Dazhu drove back, the rain was like crazy, getting heavier and heavier. Big raindrops hit the car window, and the sound was like beating drums, and everything in front of him was blurry.

Due to the continuous washing of rain, the originally solid dirt road has now become like mud. When the tractor drove to a low-lying area, there was a "click" sound, and the tires sank into the mud pit.

Zhou Dazhui hurriedly stepped on the accelerator, causing the wheels to spin wildly in the mud, splashing high mud flowers, but the tractor did not move at all.

Zhou Dazhu was now panicked and his face turned pale.

He struggled for more than ten minutes without giving up. The engine was roaring, but the tires were sinking deeper and deeper. Half of the car was almost buried in the mud.

Zhou Dazhui slapped the steering wheel in annoyance, feeling extremely regretful. I was so stupid. Why didn't I listen to Uncle Zhiming?
Now that's a problem. In order to speed up the progress, the most important means of transportation in the village has been turned into this state. If this incident delays the progress of road construction and even the tractor is broken, how can I explain this to everyone?

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead and mixed with the rain on his face.

He was extremely anxious and kept changing directions in the driver's seat, trying to find an angle that would allow the tractor to get out of trouble, but all was in vain.

In desperation, he could only return to the village to ask for help.

Along the way, the rain blurred his vision and made his mood even heavier.

When he returned to the village, he dejectedly told the old Party secretary about the incident. The old Party secretary was furious and rushed to him in two steps. He pointed at him and was so angry that he could not speak clearly: "You...you kid, why are you so stubborn! If the tractor is damaged, what will happen to the road construction?"

Zhou Dazhui lowered his head, like a child who had made a mistake, and dared not even breathe.

Zhou Zhiming quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Old Party Secretary, now is not the time to blame. The most urgent task is to get the tractor out."

The old branch secretary took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and quickly directed the villagers to help.

Everyone braved the rain and followed the old branch secretary and Zhou Zhiming to the place where the tractor was trapped.

At this time, the villagers who arrived first couldn't help but gasp when they saw the tractor stuck in the mud.

An old man frowned and said worriedly: "Oh, what should we do? The tractor is stuck too deep."

Aunt Li stamped her feet anxiously: "It's raining so hard. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid it will be even more troublesome."

The young tiger rolled up his sleeves and said anxiously: "Don't panic, let's work together and we will definitely be able to get it out."

After saying that, he picked up a shovel and started working at the edge of the mud pit.

At this time, the mud pit had turned into a small pond, with turbid muddy water constantly bubbling.

The tractor was stuck in it, like a trapped beast.

When the old branch secretary saw the people arriving in front, he started to help, but with so many people, it became messy and everyone had different opinions.

In order to get the tractor out as quickly as possible, he immediately gave a loud order: "First move all the rocks down to reduce the weight of the tractor!"

Everyone immediately took action and moved the stones in the rain against the clock.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and it hurt when it hit people's bodies, but no one backed down.

The stones are big and heavy, and it takes a lot of effort to move each one.

The young and strong men gritted their teeth, shouted slogans, and moved the larger stones one by one.

The women and older villagers were not to be outdone. They worked in groups of two, carrying relatively smaller stones.

The rain flowed down their cheeks and blurred their eyes, but they just wiped it casually and continued to carry the things.

Just when everyone was busy, a young villager, who was only thinking about moving the stones quickly, slipped and accidentally twisted his ankle with a cry of "ouch".

When everyone heard the cry, they immediately gathered around him. He was so pale from the pain that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The young man gritted his teeth and waved his hands: "I'm fine, leave me alone and keep moving!"

After saying that, he endured the pain, slowly crawled to the side, and stood there limping, for fear of delaying the progress.

Zhou Dazhu looked at the scene and felt extremely guilty. He kept cursing himself in his heart, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. If I had listened to Uncle Zhiming, this wouldn't have happened."

But now is not the time to blame ourselves, everyone is focused on getting the tractor out.

After finally moving all the stones, everyone decided to lift the tractor out together.

Zhou Zhiming directed everyone, "Everyone gather around, listen to my instructions, and work together to see if we can lift the tractor."

The villagers quickly gathered around the tractor, some rolled up their sleeves, some stood in horse stance, and held the edge of the tractor tightly with both hands.

The old branch secretary also encouraged: "Come on, everyone, we will definitely be able to get this big guy out!"

Zhou Zhiming gave the order: "One, two, three, lift!"

Everyone exerted force in unison, their faces turned red and the veins on their arms bulged.

But the tractor only trembled slightly and remained firmly stuck in the mud.

"Let's do it again. Everyone stay calm and work together!" Zhou Zhiming shouted.

So, another round of effort was made, but the tractor still did not move.

At this time, a villager suggested: "Let's find some thick branches and put them under the tires to increase friction. Maybe it will work."

Everyone thought it made sense, and someone immediately ran to the nearby woods to find branches.

After a while, the villagers came back carrying several thick branches. They struggled to stuff the branches into the mud under the tires.

Then, Zhou Zhiming asked Zhou Dazhu to start the tractor and directed everyone to lift the tractor again: "Dazhu, you slowly add gas. If you feel any movement, increase the throttle. Let's lift it over here and see if we can get it out."

Zhou Dazhu nodded nervously, started the tractor, and slowly stepped on the accelerator.

The villagers gathered their strength and said, "One, two, three, lift!"

Along with the roar of the tractor engine and the shouts of the crowd, the tractor's tires began to turn slowly, and the splashing mud and water got everyone all over again.

But no one cared. Everyone stared at the tractor, hoping it could get out of the mud pit as soon as possible.

After nearly half an hour of effort, the tractor was finally taken out.

Everyone who saw this scene felt relieved.

At this time, Zhou Dazhu asked in a low voice: "Old Party Secretary, do we still need to move this stone back to the tractor?"

The old Party secretary said unhappily, "Why, do you want to fall into this trap again?"

Zhou Dazhu nodded to show that he understood and was about to leave.

At this time Zhou Zhiming said: "Dazhu, bring Xiaojin with you!"

Zhou Jin still wanted to be tough at this time: "Uncle Zhiming, there's no need to be so troublesome. I can walk back by myself."

The old branch secretary also spoke up at this time: "Xiao Jin, don't be so stubborn, otherwise you will be left with sequelae and it will be difficult for you to get married!"

Today’s medical conditions are not good, and it’s easy to leave sequelae.

After hearing this, Zhou Jin was so scared that he dared not to be stubborn anymore and could only sit on the tractor obediently.

After Zhou Dazhu saw Zhou Jin get on the car, he drove away on the tractor.

After Zhou Zhiming saw Zhou Dazhu leave, he asked, "Old Party Secretary, what should we do with these stones?"

It doesn't seem right to place so many stones here.

And we don’t know how long the rain will last. It would be difficult to transport the stones using a tractor in a short period of time.

I'm also afraid that if I use a tractor to pull the stones, it will get stuck again, which will be troublesome.

More importantly, after this incident, I guess no one would dare to drive a tractor in the rain, for fear that such a thing would happen again.

The old Party Secretary thought for a while and said: "Zhiming, please arrange for someone to come and transport these stones back with a donkey cart!"

He was reluctant to use an ox cart to pull the stones, because if he was not careful, the ox might be injured while pulling the stones, which would be bad.

Zhou Zhiming said, "Old Party Secretary, it's raining so hard that even if the rain stops, the tractors won't dare to go on these roads."

"Otherwise, we can use donkey carts to carry all the stones back to the village. There won't be much left."

The old branch secretary nodded: "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Then he walked back to the village.

Zhou Zhiming also spoke up at this time: "If you are older, you should all follow the old secretary back! It is not good to stay here in the rain all the time."

As we get older, our health is definitely not as good as that of young people. It would be bad if we get sick because of being caught in the rain.

After hearing what Zhou Zhiming said, the people around him didn't say much, but just did as he was told.

Soon Zhou Zhiming drove all the donkey carts in the village over.

Then the stones were loaded onto a donkey cart and transported back to the village.

After the old secretary returned to the village, he didn't even bother to take a bath. When his wife saw this, she said, "Old man, why don't you take a bath?"

The old secretary was a little anxious: "Wait a minute before washing."

But the old Party Secretary's wife refused: "You still think you are young. What if you catch a cold if you don't take a shower after getting caught in the rain?"

Listening to my wife's chattering, I realized that if I didn't take a shower, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything, so I could only nod and agree.

After taking a shower, the old party secretary carefully took out the somewhat worn almanac from the depths of the cabinet.

The paper of this almanac is yellowed and the corners are worn, and it is obvious that it is quite old.

It carries the wisdom and traditions passed down by the older generation and is an important reference for the village whenever major events occur.

After the old branch secretary experienced this incident, he began to wonder if this happened because he did not choose a suitable day.

Fortunately, the construction has not started yet, so there is still a chance to remedy the situation.

That's why the old branch secretary was so anxious that he didn't even have time to take a bath. He had to look up the almanac to choose a good day for building the road in Zhoujiazhuang.

Then he gently opened the almanac, squinted his eyes, and carefully looked for a suitable day among the densely packed text.

Various do's and don'ts are marked on the almanac for each day.

As the old branch secretary flipped through the pages, he kept muttering, "Road construction is a matter of breaking ground, so we need to choose a day that is suitable for everything, especially for breaking ground."

He knew very well that in that era of material scarcity and hard life, the villagers had invested great enthusiasm and expectations in road construction, and if construction could start on an auspicious day, it might give everyone more confidence and motivation.

Moreover, there has always been a saying in the village that following the traditional auspicious date will bring good luck. The old party secretary hopes that by choosing an auspicious day, he can bring good luck to the road construction project, bless the construction process to go smoothly, and bless the villagers to be safe.

After some careful calculation, the old branch secretary's eyes stopped on a date.

On this day, the almanac clearly states that it is "suitable for breaking ground, starting construction, and praying for blessings."

The old branch secretary's eyes lit up, and he decided that this was a good day to start road construction.

He closed the almanac and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He finally picked a suitable day, and it was not too far from now, just three days later.

The old branch secretary is a little scared. Good days are a bit far away from now, and he doesn’t know how to explain this to the village when the time comes.

Now everyone in the village is looking forward to the village road being repaired as soon as possible.

What if the old Party secretary says that we have to wait a long time for good days, and if we don’t wait, and something bad happens during the road construction, or if something bad happens in the village after the road is built, then what should we do?
(End of this chapter)