Back to my 1980s

"How many is this?" Zhao Hua held his little nephew in one arm and held up three fingers.

My little nephew kept his head down, playing with his fingers silently.

How old are you this year?

Zhao Hua suddenly remembered that his little nephew didn't seem to be in school yet, so he changed the question.

"Five years old!" This time he answered decisively.

Zhao Hua carried him toward his eldest brother's house. His eldest and second eldest brothers got married not long after each other. Back then, there was no such thing as being granted land to build houses, so they all squeezed into their homes.

After they got married, their house was too cramped, so they discussed it and went to an open space in the village to build a temporary shack. It was at the end of the village, and to be honest, it was an illegal structure...

Back then, everyone understood, and no one wanted to demolish their house. Besides, many people in their village did the same. Looking down the path behind their house into the village, you could see that the path actually led diagonally to the river...

After living there for a long time, they gradually rebuilt their houses into earthen houses, and the two families joined together. When the land was divided, they went to the village again to apply, and that piece of land finally became their homestead.

The land they originally occupied wasn't very large, and when they reapplied, the village didn't give them any new land. Instead, they were given the original land, so their house was relatively small. However, it wasn't without its advantages, because when the land was allocated, the village assumed that the two of them had already separated their households, so they were allocated land separately.

This is already a considerable benefit; otherwise, it would have been three men—the eldest brother, the second brother, and the father—farming and supporting eighteen people. As for why Zhao Hua wasn't included, well, he was probably wandering the streets at that time. So, it was also beneficial for them. After the division of households, they could decide how to distribute the grain themselves, without having to drag him along as a burden…

"Oh dear! His uncle's here!"

As soon as Zhao Hua entered the courtyard, his elder sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, who had been waiting there, smiled with delight. They then turned to the little nephew in Zhao Hua's arms and said, "He's so big already, why are you still letting your uncle carry him? Come down quickly."

Zhao Hua put his nephew down on the ground, and the two of them came over and took the child from him.

Zhao Hua glanced around the courtyard. The two families shared a wall, with two rooms on the east and west sides, surrounded by an earthen wall. He peeked into the house and asked, "Are you looking for me? Where are my eldest and second brothers?"

The eldest sister-in-law nudged her youngest son and said, "Go get a stool for your uncle, and get a few more."

Second Sister-in-law laughed and said, "It just rained, and the weeds are sprouting again. Your eldest and second brothers should go to the fields and see when we can get rid of them."

Zhao Hua glanced at his eldest sister-in-law, then at his second sister-in-law, and finally exchanged a look with his nephew who was carrying a tall stack of stools. It was the first time he had ever seen his two sisters-in-law so enthusiastic.

He took the stool and placed it on the ground, but didn't sit down immediately. He looked at the two of them, puzzled, and asked, "Did you call me for something?" He was a little confused at this point.

"Please sit down, please sit down." The two of them didn't rush to speak, but kept urging him to sit down.

Zhao Hua scratched his head and said with a smile, "Why are you sitting in this courtyard? I'm not here to visit. You can just say what you need to say."

The two women exchanged glances. The elder sister-in-law gave the younger sister-in-law a look, and the younger sister-in-law turned to look at Zhao Hua and asked with a smile, "Where's Zhao Ru?"

Zhao Hua was taken aback. Was this question meant to be directed at Zhao Ru instead of Zhao Hua?

However, he still casually replied, "At the market, she's helping me sell fish. Do you need her for something?"

The older sister-in-law laughed and said, "I heard you even paid that young educated youth who went with Zhao Ru?"

Zhao Hua nodded and said, "Yes, they went along to help, I can't just pretend I didn't see it. Everyone has something to do at home, and if they're not paid, who has time to run to the market every day?"

Second Sister-in-law continued, "I heard it's fifty cents a day, plus they buy clothes for you, so that adds up to a dollar a day."

Zhao Hua shook his head, reached out and grabbed the clothesline lying across the yard, gave it a slight tug. It was quite sturdy. He tucked it under his arm and leaned against it, saying, "It's less than a dollar, about six or seven mao, or eight mao."

The two sisters-in-law exchanged a glance, and the eldest sister-in-law laughed and said, "Why didn't you think of asking your second sister-in-law when you were looking for an outsider? She's quite free at home every day."

Zhao Hua rolled his eyes inwardly. What a joke! Five or six people farm the land. They might have some free time occasionally, but when it comes to weeding or replanting seedlings, how can he expect his second brother to handle such a large area by himself? If they suddenly run back to the fields to work, who will he turn to?

However, he didn't show it on his face and chuckled, "Hey! You know, it won't be long since we left. It's not the rainy season now, and the fish we catch are getting fewer and fewer every day. I have plenty of free time myself, so how can I keep asking others to go? I didn't think much about it before and let Zhao Ru find the people herself. Next time, I'll ask you guys."

He thought she had something important to discuss with him, and guessed that his mother had asked Zhao Ru about it and then told them, or that it had come from the two families next door and had reached their ears through word of mouth.

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "My house is under construction, so you can help out if you want. I don't have time to keep an eye on all the people. You can help me keep an eye on whether anyone is tampering with it. I'll pay you 1.5 yuan a day to carry buckets and water. If you have time to keep an eye on things for me, I'll also pay you 1.5 yuan a day."

Actually, it doesn't matter whether someone is watching over them or not, but it's just a matter of finding a good excuse, saying that they're going to keep an eye on things, and they'll still lend a hand as a side effect.

However, it does make people feel more at ease to have someone keeping an eye on things. Otherwise, once the wall is built, someone might sneak behind the house to relieve themselves for convenience. Having a family member around can also keep them from making such small mistakes.

Thinking of this, he stood up and said, "Let's go now. I'm really worried about not having anyone watching over me. Dad went to work, and Mom is the one who takes care of all the eating, drinking, and washing at home. She doesn't have time to watch over things for me. It's a good thing we're here now."

Upon hearing this, the two sisters-in-law's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly closed the door and followed behind Zhao Hua.

One yuan and fifty cents a day, if you work for twenty days, that's thirty yuan. How much do you make feeding a pig by the end of the year? You have to serve it like royalty until the end of the year, afraid that it will go hungry or get sick one day.

If you're lucky, the pig will grow to 180 jin (90 catties). The purchase price is 6 mao (0.6 yuan) per jin, so a whole pig can sell for 100 yuan. Piglets alone cost 10 or 20 yuan. Add to that the cost of vaccines, castration, and veterinary care, and you still have to feed them. The net profit is only 60 or 70 yuan, which is already a third of your annual cash income.

How could they not be happy? As for whether they had taken advantage of Zhao Hua, they really didn't have that thought in their minds.

They had already heard that all the workers at the new house were hired from outside. Two more people wouldn't make a difference, and having two more people would allow the house to be built faster.