Bringing the Railway to Daming

outer city.

In Shitiaoli, there is a miscellaneous workshop.

Today's Zazaofang is very different from what it was ten years ago, and there are even obvious differences compared to five or six years ago.

Ten years ago, most of the workshops were thatched huts. Families with better conditions built adobe walls, while those with poorer conditions simply built bamboo and wooden walls with substandard wood, covered with a layer of mud to block the wind. They were called houses, but in reality, they were no more than shacks.

As for brick and tile houses, there are only a handful of them.

If those who left ten years ago come back now, they probably won’t recognize them.

Because almost every household has a brick and tile house, and some rich families even have two-story houses in their courtyards!
On the contrary, the thatched houses that were once the most numerous are now rare. If there are any, the owners are either lazy and greedy, or have been unlucky for years.

Hong Daxuan's house was not a two-story building, but the blue brick and gray tile house was quite tall and grand. Even the outer courtyard wall was built with blue bricks about one person high, and thorn shrubs such as thorns were planted on it to prevent theft.

This day.

After Hong Daxuan resigned from the four-wheeled carriage factory, he bought a pound of pork, a crucian carp, and some tofu, and returned to the town humming a little tune.

This little tune is a segment from the new play "Shajiawa". During the festival, the factory invited the government opera troupe to perform at the factory, and he fell in love with it.

This "Shajiawa" tells the story of a young man named Sha Siwu in Shajiawa at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. His family could not eat because of natural disasters and the Yuan court's extortion. His father died of illness, his mother died of starvation, and his sister was forced by the Mongolian master in the village to be a maid. In order to survive, Sha Siwu had to go out to beg for food.

Later, Sha Siwu joined the Red Turban Army under the Hongwu Emperor, changed his name to Sha Siwu, led a team of Red Turban Army back, killed the Mongolian master, rescued his sister, and distributed the Mongolian master's property to the villagers. He then led the villagers to surrender to the Hongwu Emperor and lived a good life from then on.

Hong Daxuan liked the play very much. He felt that although Sha Siwu's experience was somewhat similar to that of Emperor Hongwu, it was not so legendary and out of reach. Instead, it was closer to ordinary people like them - to use the words of a review of the play in a newspaper, it was down-to-earth.

Therefore, Hong Daxuan later even spent money to go to the theater to listen a few times and learned a few excerpts from the songs.

"Master Hong is off work."

"Oh, Master Hong bought some meat and fish again. Could it be that he's going to have another grandchild?"

"How can we have another grandchild so soon? We are happy about other things today."

"What's the happy event in Master Hong's family?"

Compared with a few years ago, the folks in the neighborhood greeted Hong Daxuan more enthusiastically.

You will know why just by listening to what people call him - after attending adult literacy classes for several years, he finally passed the craftsman exam two years ago and became a craftsman with "merit"!

Because of this, Hong Daxuan has become more confident and cheerful than before, and talks more.

When someone asked him about it, he smiled and said, "It's not just a happy event for our family, it's a happy event for everyone—tonight, the area where we are located will be electrified!"

The neighbors in the alley were stunned when they heard this, then they all showed joy and started talking about it.

"Is the electricity really going to be turned on?"

"The inner city got electricity two weeks ago, so it's so bright at night. It's already mid-April, so we should have electricity in Shitiaoli by now."

"The outer city is so big, and our location in Shitiaoli is quite remote. I thought we wouldn't have electricity until May."

"This shows that the Electric Power Bureau is efficient."

"I think it's because we're all craftsmen here, and there's even a master craftsman like Master Hong. We're more respected than other neighborhoods in the outer city, so we were able to get electricity so quickly."

"Hey, Wang Dachui, you seem so animated. Didn't you say before that electricity wasn't necessary? Even if it's on, it won't have anything to do with your family."

"How can it not be my fault? I also signed up later - the electric light there is much brighter than the oil lamp. At night, my wife can weave and my child can do homework without hurting their eyes. How could I, Wang Dachui, not know this?"

"Then why did you say earlier that you didn't need electricity?"

"I was reluctant to spend the money at the time, but later I came to my senses after my wife's persuasion."

"I heard that Wang Ermazi's family really doesn't plan to have electricity. He'll probably envy us tonight, haha."

"Wang Ermazi, that's a lazy bum. He doesn't even have a wife. What does he need a light for at night? Count the pockmarks on his face?"

"···"

The sounds of neighbors laughing and talking faded away, and Hong Daxuan had already returned home.

I saw his daughter-in-law Guihua washing clothes in the yard, his granddaughter playing with her grandson nearby, and his wife Cuilan busy in the kitchen.

Hong Daxuan glanced into the room and asked, "Where is Da Lunzi? Hasn't he finished school yet?" Da Lunzi was the nickname given to him by his eldest grandson Hong Wen, who was already in the first grade of elementary school.

Daughter-in-law Guihua said worriedly, "She should be back by now. Could it be that she made a mistake at school again and was criticized by her husband?"

Hong Daxuan also knew that his eldest grandson was very naughty, so he took the fish and meat he bought to the kitchen and said, "I'll go ask at school."

The primary school that Hong Wenqi attended was also in the outer city, not far from Shitiaoli. Hong Daxuan was used to walking and walked very fast. It didn't take long before he arrived at the primary school gate.

Seeing that the primary school gate was locked but the guard was there, he went forward and asked, "Brother Liu, have all the children gone home?"

The gatekeeper, Liu Zeng, was an old soldier who had retired from the emperor's personal army. He recognized Hong Daxuan and asked, "Old Hong? Are you here to pick up your grandson again?"

"Yes."

Liu Zeng said: "The children are still in school. They will probably be out of school soon."

"Why are you so late from school today?"

"Since our area has electricity today, the teachers are taking the students to see the lights and also to give them some education on safe use of electricity."

As the two were talking, they heard a burst of excited cheers coming from all the classrooms in the school.

"Oh!"

“The power is on!!”

Hong Daxuan and Liu Zeng both looked towards the nearest classroom. Through the glass window, they saw the orange-yellow light inside, which was not very bright in the evening but extremely attractive.

After staring blankly for a while, Hong Daxuan said with joy, "Hey, it really is powered on!"

Liu Zeng laughed and said, "The carriage factory had electricity a few years ago. Old Hong, haven't you seen enough?"

Hong Daxuan asked, "Does having electricity in the government office feel the same as having electricity in your own home?"

Liu Zeng said, "Speaking of which, those middle schools in the inner city had electricity when they were first established, and some primary schools as well. Only our outer city primary school is a little further away, so it didn't get electricity until this year."

Hong Daxuan said, "The imperial court must also have difficulties. They can't just provide electricity wherever they want."

"maybe."

The two chatted for a while, and then saw students coming out with their backpacks.

Hong Daxuan picked up his eldest grandson. Seeing Hong Wenqi looking back every few steps, as if he was reluctant to leave school, he smiled and said, "Why, our big wheel wants to stay overnight at school?"

Hong Wenqi said, "The school has electricity, so I'm not afraid to stay overnight."

Hong Daxuan patted Hong Wenqi's little shoulder and said with a smile: "If you want to see the electric light, hurry home with grandpa - we have electricity at home too."

"Oh, yes." Hong Wenqi suddenly became happy when he thought of this.

The grandfather and grandson returned to the workshop and saw that almost every household was lit up with orange-yellow lights. It was bustling with activity inside, and all the lights were on.

When Hong Daxuan and his eldest grandson returned home and saw the lights in their own house, they couldn't help but feel happy again.

But before they could talk for a while, his wife Cuilan turned off the light and said, "I've heard that electricity is very expensive. Now that we're not weaving and the children aren't doing their homework, an oil lamp will suffice."

"You woman, it's the first night after the electricity is turned on and you're so happy that you keep the lights on for a while longer. What's wrong with that?" After saying that, Hong Daxuan went over and turned on the lights.

Cuilan said angrily, "You old man, you passed the exam to become a craftsman. Now that you've earned a little more money, you've forgotten the hard times you had. You don't know how to be frugal anymore, right? Why don't you save the money you use to pay for the electricity bill and buy some food and other things for the children?"

After saying that, he went to turn off the light.

"Hey, I have to turn on the light!" Hong Daxuan was also annoyed and turned on the light again.

Cuilan was about to extinguish the light again when Hong Wenqi hurriedly shouted, "Grandpa and Grandma, stop turning the light on and off like that. The teacher said that light switches have a certain number of times, just like a person's lifespan. If you turn it on and off too often, it will break down sooner."

"Especially if you turned it on and off so many times in a short period of time like you did just now, it might break in no time!"

"Ah? Is there such a saying?" Cuilan looked annoyed, but still wanted to turn off the light.

Seeing this, Hong Daxuan hurriedly stopped him and said, "After dinner, you guys are weaving and the kids are doing their homework. Don't you need the light? Leave it on and turn it off before bed." (End of this chapter)