60s: I have a store

Chapter 480 Construction begins
After two days of intensive preparations, everything needed for road construction was finally ready.

Two days passed quickly.

On the day of construction, Master Cao got up early, rode his bicycle, and rushed to Zhoujiazhuang.

In order not to delay the groundbreaking ceremony, we had to set off before dawn.

When we arrived at Zhoujiazhuang, the sky was like blue satin washed by clear water, pure and bright. The sun generously poured on the land, and every inch of it was shining with the light of hope.

The breeze blows gently, like a pair of gentle hands, gently touching the hearts of the villagers.

The old branch secretary looked at the pleasant weather, a pleased smile bloomed on his wrinkled face, and he secretly rejoiced: "It seems that this carefully selected day is really good."

Before daybreak, the drying yard in Zhoujiazhuang was already bustling with activity, like the prelude to a grand festival.

For this groundbreaking ceremony, Zhoujiazhuang deliberately stopped work for half a day. The villagers of Zhoujiazhuang rushed from their homes with excitement and anticipation, their steps hurried but firm.

Zhou Yimin and Zhou Zhiming arrived at the scene early, like two generals about to go to war, assisting the old branch secretary in making the final preparations.

Master Cao also brought his set of road construction tools, which he treasured, and walked briskly to the drying yard.

His eyes revealed determination and focus, as if announcing to everyone that this road would be solid and durable under his management.

In the middle of the drying yard, there is a slightly simple but solemn table.

On the table, auspicious offerings were carefully placed, and the smoke from the burning incense and candles rose up and slowly merged into the sky, as if conveying to heaven and earth the villagers' earnest wishes for the smooth progress of the road construction project.

The old branch secretary, wearing a Mao suit that was a little faded from washing but looked exceptionally neat, stood solemnly in front of the table.

He cleared his throat, and his resonant voice instantly echoed in the threshing ground: "Fellow villagers! Today is the big day that Zhoujiazhuang has been looking forward to for countless days and nights. The road construction project that we have been thinking about is finally going to break ground!

This road is our hopeful road to prosperity and happiness.

Along the way, we have all contributed money and effort, and after countless twists and turns, we have finally reached this hard-won moment of construction. We must work together to repair this road and give Zhoujiazhuang a new look! "

The villagers' applause was like thunder and lasted for a long time. "Good!" "We must repair the road!"

The shouts of the villagers in Zhoujiazhuang rose one after another, gathering into a powerful force that lingered over the village for a long time.

Zhou Yimin waved his powerful arms and shouted loudly: "Fellow villagers, let's immediately follow the previous division of labor, take our positions, and officially start the work!"

Zhou Zhiming also raised his arms and shouted: "Everyone, work hard for a better future for Zhoujiazhuang!"

With this inspiring call, the groundbreaking ceremony officially kicked off with a grand prologue.

As the technical core of the road construction, Master Cao, like a sharp pioneer sword, was the first to pick up the tools and walked towards the starting point of the planned road with steady steps.

He squatted down skillfully, his eyes focused and determined, and the tool in his hand was like a nimble paintbrush, drawing a clear and straight line on the ground. This line was like the starting line for the future development of Zhoujiazhuang, carrying the dreams and expectations of the entire village.

Master Cao stood up and shouted to the young men who were following behind him with hoes and shovels: "Listen carefully, everyone. Let's dig up the surface soil along this line first. Make sure the hoe hits the ground evenly and to a depth of about ten centimeters. This way, the foundation will be stable later."

The young men nodded and responded in unison: "Okay, Master Cao!"

Then, they raised their hoes high, gathered all their strength, and smashed them hard on the ground.

The hard ground made a dull and powerful "bang bang" sound under the heavy blow of the hoe, as if announcing the beginning of this transformation.

Every time the hoe falls, it is filled with their vision and yearning for a better life in the future.

"Hey yo! Hey yo!"

The neat and loud calls rang out in the air, like a powerful hymn of labor, inspiring everyone to move forward courageously.

While the young men were digging the soil hard here, Master Cao quickly walked to the unloading area of ​​the tractor directed by Zhou Yimin.

At this time, the tractor was rumbling happily back and forth, and the truck bed was full of stones carefully mined and transported from the back mountain and sand prepared in advance.

Master Cao shouted to the driver: "Unload slowly. First, pour a row of gravel evenly on one side of the road, with an interval of about 20 centimeters, to form a gravel belt for subsequent paving."

Then, he turned to Zhou Yimin and said, "Yimin, the sand will be evenly spread along the gravel belt in a while, and the thickness should be controlled at about five centimeters."

Zhou Yimin nodded and responded: "I understand, Master Cao, don't worry."

Master Cao felt relieved after receiving Zhou Yimin's assurance.

Zhou Yimin shouted at the top of his voice: "Be careful, be steady and slow when unloading!"

The driver was operating with full concentration, carefully pouring the gravel and sand evenly in the designated location. Every gravel and every handful of sand seemed to be a part of a puzzle, gradually piecing together the outline of the road.

Zhou Zhiming led a group of villagers and was preparing to level the dumped stones and sand.

Master Cao walked over and said, "Zhiming, when leveling the road, first use a shovel to place the stones as evenly as possible, with the big ones at the bottom and the small ones at the top. Then spread the sand and use a scraper to level it. Make sure the entire surface is flat and there are no height differences, otherwise the road will easily accumulate water in the future."
Zhiming listened carefully and said, "Okay, Master Cao, we will definitely do as you say."

During the laying process, Master Cao always paid attention to the progress and quality.

He saw a villager placing stones at uneven intervals, so he walked over and patiently instructed: "Comrade, adjust the intervals between the stones to make them even, so that the road surface will be evenly stressed and will not deteriorate easily in the future."

After hearing this, the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang quickly made adjustments according to Master Cao's instructions.

Otherwise, if the old branch secretary knew about this and I didn’t follow Master Cao’s instructions, I would probably be taken away and severely scolded.

The women also showed a charm that was no less than that of men. They carried buckets and kettles and moved gently among the busy crowd like the warm sun in spring.

"Everyone, drink some water, take a break and then continue working."

Their gentle voices are like sweet spring water, flowing in the hearts of every hard-working villager, dispelling their fatigue and bringing them a little comfort.

The children also participated actively. Although their strength was still weak, their eyes were full of curiosity and enthusiasm.

They carefully helped pick up the fallen pebbles or passed on some simple tools.

Their innocent smiles and tender figures added a touch of warmth to this busy work, as if they were witnessing the birth of a great change.

During the construction process, everyone worked together and helped each other everywhere.

A young villager was carrying stones when he accidentally tripped over a protruding stone, causing his ankle to swell up instantly. The surrounding villagers immediately put down their work and surrounded him.

"How is it, are you okay?"

"Go and take a rest nearby."

Everyone's caring words came like a warm current.

The villager gritted his teeth, endured the pain and said: "It's okay, I can still hold on."

But after repeated persuasion from the crowd, he was helped to the side to rest. After a while, Zhou Daqiu from the village came over after hearing the noise, and quickly examined him carefully and treated his wounds skillfully.

Zhou Daqiu said at this time: "Daming, your foot sprain is quite serious. From now on, you must not work. Otherwise, if the injury is serious, this leg may not be saved."

He deliberately said it was serious. Otherwise, given the character of the villagers, they would definitely act tough and the injuries would be even more serious, which would be difficult to deal with.

Sure enough, the villager with the injured leg was shocked when he heard Zhou Daqiu's words, and he quickly assured: "Daqiu, don't worry, I will definitely listen to you!"

Zhou Daqiu saw that the effect had been achieved, and immediately said: "I will help you go back and rest!"

At this time, the old branch secretary was pacing back and forth at the construction site. His deep eyes were always paying attention to the progress of the construction, while he did not forget to cheer up the villagers.

"Everyone has done a great job. Keep it up! We have such a united group of people in Zhoujiazhuang. This road will surely be repaired quickly and well."

His words were like a shot in the arm, boosting the villagers' motivation.

Time passed quietly in the busyness, and in the blink of an eye it was noon.

The sun was high in the sky, and the scorching sunlight licked the earth like tongues of fire, sprinkling on everyone.

But the enthusiasm of the villagers has not diminished at all, but has become even higher, as if they are determined not to give up until the task is completed.

Even if someone suggested: "Why don't we take a break, eat something, and continue working in the afternoon."

But someone immediately responded: "No need to rest, let's keep going and try to get more work done today."

Eventually, the old branch secretary learned about this and quickly came over and said, "Road repairs don't happen overnight."

"And in the afternoon, most villagers have to go back to their jobs."

When the surrounding villagers heard this, although they still wanted to continue working, they had no choice but to do as the old branch secretary had given the order.

In order to prevent someone from working secretly, the old branch secretary personally "escorted" the villagers who were working to the canteen for dinner.

Led by the old branch secretary, the villagers came to the village canteen one after another.

As soon as you enter the cafeteria, an enticing aroma hits your nose.

There were steaming hot meals on the tables in the dining hall. The most eye-catching of them were plates of cured fish. The cured fish were fried until both sides were golden brown, with an attractive luster. You could tell at a glance that they were carefully cooked.

There were also several large plates of stir-fried vegetables on the side, which were shiny and oily, obviously full of oil.

The villagers, who were originally a little resentful because their work was interrupted, saw the sumptuous meal, especially the mouth-watering cured fish, and their resentment disappeared instantly.

Everyone's eyes lit up and a surprised smile appeared on their faces.

Master Cao also followed him into the cafeteria and was surprised to see this scene.

He didn't expect that Zhoujiazhuang could produce cured fish for the whole village to eat meat even though road construction required a lot of manpower and resources, and there was so much oil and water for stir-fried vegetables. This showed that Zhoujiazhuang had strength beyond his imagination.

The old Party secretary smiled and said, "Everyone, please don't be polite. We specially left this salted fish here. Today is the day for the road construction. We must make sure everyone eats well so that they have the energy to work! Everyone, hurry up and eat it while it's hot!"

The villagers took their seats, picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and began to eat with relish.

The dining hall was suddenly filled with laughter and the sound of dishes and chopsticks clattering.

"This cured fish is so delicious!"

"Yeah, I haven't had such a rich meal in a long time!"

The villagers ate and praised the food.

While everyone was eating, the old branch secretary did not forget to walk around the cafeteria, asking everyone with concern whether the food was to their taste and encouraging everyone to continue working hard in the afternoon.

Master Cao looked at this harmonious scene and was full of confidence in the future of Zhoujiazhuang.

He knew that with such a united and caring old party secretary and such hardworking and enterprising villagers, the road in Zhoujiazhuang would be repaired smoothly and would get better and better in the future.

Everyone enjoyed the meal very much, even Master Cao was very satisfied. The food here was better than at home, so there was no reason to be picky.

Maybe there is still a big gap compared with Zhou Yimin's home.

However, Master Cao also learned from the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang that the reason why Zhoujiazhuang had no shortage of food was all because of Zhou Yimin.

It seems that establishing a good relationship with Zhou Yimin is a very correct choice.

In this way, time passed quickly, and after dinner, we took a rest.

In the afternoon, the construction became more difficult. When paving a section of road, a huge stone was encountered, buried deep underground, like a sleeping beast, hindering the progress of the project.

Several young men volunteered to try to dig it out. They waved their hoes and dug the surrounding soil again and again, but the stone was big and heavy, and the progress was very slow. Everyone was exhausted and panting.

When Zhou Yimin saw this, he immediately realized that it would be difficult to accomplish the task with just a few people, so he quickly gathered more villagers.

Everyone worked together, tied the stone with ropes, found crowbars, and shouted in unison: "One, two, three, push! One, two, three, push!"

With the joint efforts of everyone, the huge rock was finally dug out successfully. Everyone cheered as if they had defeated a huge enemy.

In the afternoon, the weather became extremely hot and humid, as if a huge steamer enveloped the entire village.

But the villagers still stayed at their posts and did not retreat at all.

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down their foreheads, soaking their clothes, but their hands never stopped moving.

Zhou Yimin then arranged: "Cook some mung bean soup for them!"

Those who heard it did as Zhou Yimin said.

Moreover, Zhou Yimin also asked us to add more sugar and not to be reluctant.

The cooked mung bean soup was served immediately.

Zhou Yimin said loudly: "Everyone, drink some mung bean soup to cool down."

Bowls of mung bean soup, like clear spring water, were delivered to every villager.

The villagers took the mung bean soup and drank it all in one gulp. The cool feeling instantly spread throughout their bodies, and their fatigue was relieved a little.

Even the villagers who were not working on the road construction were given a bowl of mung bean soup.

Although the others were not repairing the road, they were also busy with farm work in the village, so they were all treated equally.

(End of this chapter)