60s: I have a store

Chapter 479: Helping a Little

After the rain stopped, the air in Zhoujiazhuang was particularly fresh, and the fragrance of soil mixed with grass filled the air.

The old branch secretary walked with steady steps and found Zhou Yimin.

He patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder, and said with a solemn and gratified look on his face: "Yimin, let me tell you something. We have discussed that the road construction in the village will officially start in three days."

"I picked this date based on the old almanac. It shouldn't be wrong."

Zhou Yimin heard this and didn't expect the old secretary to pick a date so quickly. He immediately said, "Okay, old secretary! If that's the case, I think I'll take the villagers into the city tomorrow and bring back the 20 tons of cement."

The old branch secretary smiled with satisfaction, gave a few more words of advice about safety, and then turned around to do other things.

Zhou Yimin began to think about the various matters concerning entering the city.

The next morning, Zhou Yimin and a dozen villagers drove a tractor to enter the city.

Before going to the street office, he decided to go find Master Cao first.

Just a notification that construction will start in two days.

When we arrived at Master Cao's house, Master Cao was fiddling with some tools in the yard.

Zhou Yimin stepped forward and said with a smile: "Master Cao, let me tell you something. The road construction in our village will officially start in two days."

Master Cao raised his head, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded to show that he understood. He also said, "Okay, I'm ready here. I'll be there early on the day of construction."

After Zhou Yimin chatted with Master Cao for a few more words, he took the villagers to the street office.

When they arrived at the subdistrict office, they saw Director Li and two other people walking out in a hurry. Zhou Yimin hurried forward and asked with concern: "Auntie Li, what's going on? Why are you so anxious?"

Director Li frowned and said, "Alas, a batch of materials just arrived at the subdistrict office, and we are worried about how to transport them to the processing plant. This matter cannot be delayed."

After hearing this, Zhou Yimin's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Aunt Li, let us help!" After that, he turned around and pointed at the tractor behind.

Director Li looked in the direction he pointed, and when she saw the tractor, her eyes lit up. She really didn't expect that Zhoujiazhuang actually had such strength.

You have to know that at that time, tractors were not a rare item that could be bought just by wanting to.

But on second thought, with Zhou Yimin around, everything seemed to make sense.

Director Li said with difficulty: "Then I will go find someone to help!"

Zhou Yimin hurriedly stopped him: "Aunt Li, don't we have ready-made manpower here?"

He knew that this was a good opportunity to help the village and the street office get closer, so he certainly couldn't miss it.

After a brief thought, Director Li felt that what Zhou Yimin said made sense, so he nodded and agreed.

Then, she took Zhou Yimin and others to the place where the supplies were stored.

Zhou Yimin looked at the piles of supplies waiting to be transported and said loudly, "Listen up, everyone. Help move all these supplies onto the tractor."

The villagers immediately took action, working in groups of two and cooperating with each other in perfect harmony.

Everyone was working very hard and soon beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, but no one complained of being tired.

The supplies are large and small. The heavy ones require several people to lift together, while the light ones can be easily carried by one person.

The young men competed to move the heaviest objects to show their strength, while the older villagers carried lighter objects. Zhou Yimin then directed them from the side to ensure that the moving process was safe and orderly.

With everyone's concerted efforts, the supplies were quickly and neatly loaded onto the tractor.

Director Li looked at this scene with gratitude in his heart, and said to Zhou Yimin: "Yimin, this time it is all thanks to your Zhoujiazhuang, otherwise I don't know how much effort it would have taken."

Zhou Yimin smiled and responded: "Aunt Li, you are too polite. We are all working to build our area, so it is only natural for us to help each other."

Director Li did not let the people from Zhoujiazhuang help in vain, and immediately brought a box of Arctic Ocean soda.

"Everyone has worked hard. Here is some soda. Let's drink a bottle to quench our thirst first."

Everyone in Zhoujiazhuang wanted to drink soda after hearing this, but Zhou Yimin didn't say anything, so even if they wanted to drink, they didn't take any action.

Because before they came, the old branch secretary told them that no matter what happened, they had to listen to Zhou Yimin and they could not do anything without Zhou Yimin's permission.

Also, whatever Zhou Yimin tells you to do, just do it and don’t ask why.

Zhou Yimin looked at the villagers who wanted to drink soda, and then said, "If you want to drink, take it yourself. Remember to thank Director Li!"

When the villagers saw the box of Arctic Ocean soda, surprise flashed in their eyes. In that era of relative scarcity of materials, Arctic Ocean soda was a rare commodity and it was difficult to drink it.

The villagers came forward and picked up bottles of Arctic Ocean soda, and thanked Director Li one after another.

A young villager unscrewed the bottle cap and with a "pop" sound, the bubbles coming out of the soda seemed to be cheering for the joy.

He couldn't wait to take a sip, with a satisfied smile on his face: "Wow, this soda is so sweet!"

Seeing this, other villagers also opened the bottle caps and enjoyed this rare delicacy.

Zhou Yimin looked at everyone's happy faces and said to Director Li, "Aunt Li, you are too polite. We are all embarrassed."

Director Li waved his hand and said, "It's my duty. You have helped a lot. This is nothing. I hope we can continue to help each other in the future."

"And without your help, I don't know what I would do."

After enjoying the soda, Zhou Yimin led the villagers on a tractor and slowly drove towards the processing plant.

Zhou Yimin and his team delivered the supplies safely to the processing plant. The person in charge of the processing plant was waiting at the door early. When he saw that the supplies were delivered smoothly, he thanked Zhou Yimin and his team again and again.

Zhou Yimin responded with a smile: "It's all our duty. Let's help each other more in the future."

The person in charge also said repeatedly: "Yes, everyone helps each other."

He also knew Zhou Yimin's abilities. For example, the reason why the processing plant can have so much work now is all thanks to Zhou Yimin.

Director Li said that even the products that shined at the Canton Fair were the ideas of Zhou Yimin.

The person in charge decided to store the materials in the warehouse of the processing plant based on the characteristics of the materials and the actual situation of the processing plant.

This warehouse was built collectively by the processing plant some time ago. It has a spacious space, and the roof and walls are very solid, which can withstand wind and rain well.

The warehouse floor was raised with bricks and stones to prevent rainwater from flowing back.

The warehouse usually stores some sundries. In order to store this batch of materials, the person in charge arranged several workers from the processing plant in advance to clean and tidy up the warehouse before transporting the materials back.

They put the debris in the corner and covered it with wooden boards and tarpaulin to create enough space.

As the tractor slowly drove into the open space in front of the warehouse, the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang unloaded the supplies in an orderly manner.

Everyone sorted and placed the supplies according to their type and size.

Larger items are placed on the bottom layer and smaller items are stacked on top, which saves space and makes them easy to access.

During the transportation process, Zhou Yimin reminded everyone from time to time to handle the materials with care and to pay attention to protecting the materials.

"Everyone, be careful. These materials are very important to the processing plant. Don't bump or bump into them." He gave instructions while helping to carry some heavier items.

After all the supplies were properly stored, Zhou Yimin checked them carefully to ensure they were neatly arranged and stable.

Zhou Yimin said goodbye to the person in charge of the processing plant.

After returning to the street office, I went to Director Li’s office.

Director Li saw Zhou Yimin coming back and said, "Yimin, the cement you want is ready. I'll take you there!"

Zhou Yimin thanked him repeatedly.

When we arrived at the destination, we saw piles of cement neatly stacked like small gray hills.

Zhou Yimin stood beside the tractor and loudly assigned tasks to the villagers: "Listen carefully, everyone, work in groups of two, move quickly and pay attention to safety, and move all this cement onto the tractor."

The villagers quickly walked towards the cement pile in pairs.

The older Uncle Zhou and the younger and stronger Zhou Dahu were in a group. They walked to a bag of cement and Uncle Zhou called out, "Xiaohu, I'll say one, two, three, and we'll work together."

Zhou Dahu nodded and held the two corners of the cement bag tightly with both hands.

"one two Three!"

The two of them exerted force at the same time and lifted the cement bag steadily onto their shoulders.

Although the cement bags were heavy and hurt their shoulders, neither of them flinched and walked towards the tractor with firm steps.

On the other side, Zhou Dazhuang and Zhou Dazhu were not willing to be outdone.

Zhou Dazhuang was a big man. He bent down and held the bottom of the cement bag with both hands, while Zhou Dazhui helped support the sides.

"rise!"

Zhou Dazhuang shouted and lifted the cement bag with his own strength.

Zhou Dazhui hurried to help adjust the position, and the two of them walked steadily towards the tractor step by step.

Along the way, veins popped up on Zhou Dazhu's forehead, and sweat kept rolling down, wetting the ground under his feet, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, muttering: "This cement is a treasure for road construction, so you have to be careful."

Zhou Yimin was also not idle. He stood beside the tractor to provide support and directed the villagers who were carrying cement: "Put another bag over here. Yes, right here. Put it firmly."

Every time a bag of cement was handed over, Zhou Yimin and one of the other people would quickly adjust the position to ensure that the cement was placed neatly and leave enough space for subsequent transportation.

During the transportation process, a young villager accidentally tripped over a stone on the ground and the cement bag in his hand almost slipped.

The villagers nearby were quick to reach out and support him, and asked with concern: "Are you okay? Did you fall? Be careful."

The villager who was helped smiled gratefully: "It's okay, I just didn't pay attention. Everyone be careful."

In this way, with everyone's concerted efforts, bag after bag of cement was loaded onto the tractor.

Zhou Yimin helped with the carrying while keeping an eye on everyone's situation, reminding them: "If you are tired, take a break. Don't push yourself. We have plenty of time, but safety comes first."

But the villagers were full of energy and no one was willing to stop and rest for a while.

Seeing this, Zhou Yimin didn't say much, but he would still pay attention so that if anything really happened, he could deal with it immediately.

After several hours of hard work, twenty tons of cement were finally loaded onto the tractor.

Zhou Yimin confirmed the quantity and quality again. After ensuring that everything was correct, he drove the tractor and led everyone back to the village.

Zhou Yimin drove a tractor loaded with cement and slowly returned to Zhoujiazhuang.

Along the way, he looked at the piles of cement, feeling relieved but also a little worried. He felt relieved that cement, a key material for road construction, was finally transported back successfully.

The worry is that the weather is unpredictable. If it is not properly placed, all the cement will be scrapped after a rain.

As soon as he returned to the village, Zhou Yimin didn't take time to rest and went straight to the old branch secretary's house.

He hurried into the yard and saw the old branch secretary sitting under the eaves weaving a bamboo basket.

Zhou Yimin hurried forward and said, "Old Party Secretary, this batch of cement has finally been transported back. But now there is a problem. As you know, the weather is not stable. Cement must not be left outdoors. If it rains, it will be all over."

The old branch secretary stopped what he was doing, frowned slightly, and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Yimin, I have an idea of ​​a good place, the warehouse of our village processing plant! It is newly built and the terrain is relatively high, so we don't have to worry about the problem of backflow when it rains."

After hearing this, Zhou Yimin's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly: "Old Party Secretary, your suggestion is great! That place is indeed suitable."

After that, Zhou Yimin immediately returned to the tractor, started the engine, and drove towards the warehouse of the processing plant. Soon, the tractor stopped steadily in front of the warehouse of the processing plant.

Zhou Yimin jumped out of the car and directed the villagers: "Listen carefully, everyone. Let's carry all the cement into the warehouse. In addition, we have to lay a layer of something on the floor of the warehouse just in case."

Walking into the warehouse, it is spacious and bright.

Zhou Yimin directed everyone to clear out a space in the corner of the warehouse to store cement.

Meanwhile, other villagers were looking for materials to pave the ground.

After a while, someone found some dry wooden boards, and someone else brought a few bundles of thick straw.

"Lay the wooden boards first, and then put straw on top. This should be able to prevent moisture." Zhou Yimin said.

Following Zhou Yimin's instructions, the villagers laid the wooden boards flat on the ground one by one, and then carefully covered them with straw to ensure there were no gaps.

After completing the preliminary preparations, take action quickly.

Everyone worked in groups of two, lifted the cement bags in tacit understanding, and walked towards the warehouse with steady steps.

The cement bags were heavy and made everyone's shoulders ache, but no one complained of being tired.

"Hey, this cement is really heavy!" Zhou Daniu said as he lifted the cement.

"Of course not. These are our treasures for road construction. We have to carry them no matter how heavy they are!" Zhou Dahu next to him responded.

"Pay attention, stack them neatly and leave aisles for easy access." Zhou Yimin reminded while helping to carry the items.

With everyone's joint efforts, bags of cement were carried into the warehouse and stacked neatly.

Looking at the cement piled up like a small mountain, Zhou Yimin finally felt relieved.

"That's good now. The cement has been placed properly. We can start road construction in two days." Zhou Yimin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with relief.

"Yes, everyone is looking forward to the quick completion of this road. Our village will surely become more and more prosperous in the future!" echoed a villager.

After piling up the cement, Zhou Yimin carefully checked the doors and windows of the warehouse to ensure that they were well sealed to prevent rainwater from seeping in.

Then he led the villagers out of the warehouse.

(End of this chapter)