Back to my 1980s

"Hey! Don't touch it!"

After leaving the warehouse manager's office, Zhao Hua went straight to the warehouse.

Unexpectedly, this trip brought some pleasant surprises. As for the wasted lime, it was only a dozen yuan, not a big deal. It can be used to pave the floor, although it's not as good as a cement floor, it's still much better than a mud floor.

Just as Zhao Hua was feeling happy, he suddenly saw Meng Qinghe trying to help him move the asbestos tiles.

"This thing has thorns on it, so you can't touch it with your hands. If you get pricked by a thorn, it'll hurt you more than pulling up a seedling. I can do it myself."

Meng Qinghe shrank back at Zhao Hua's shout and obediently stood to the side. After she stood still, she looked at Zhao Hua, who was carrying asbestos tiles, and said, "I just wanted to help you. Is this thing that powerful? It can even prick people?"

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "It's more than just tough. You can't even see the thorns. You can't even take them out. You can only wait for your hand to heal slowly and then squeeze the thorns out. If you can't squeeze them out, they will grow into lumps. Just watch from the side. When you get home, remember to tell your father. Remember to wear gloves when you put on the roof tiles."

"Okay, bro, you know a lot."

Zhao Hua smiled but didn't say anything. The thirty asbestos tiles were quickly packed up, just enough for one trip. Each asbestos tile is only 0.72 meters wide, and the cart is usually 1.6 meters wide, so it can fit two tiles. Stacking them up fifteen times isn't actually that high.

Zhao Hua casually put some straw on the cart and hauled it home in one trip.

He pushed the cart into Meng Qinghe's yard, left the gloves with Meng and his daughter, said goodbye to Meng's father, and returned to his own homestead.

The foundation was almost done. He pulled Master Zhao aside and whispered, "Master Zhao, I need to bring over a thousand kilograms of cement tonight. When you're laying the foundation tomorrow, don't use lime. Once it's laid, just leave it alone."

Master Zhao turned his head and looked at him in surprise, then slowly nodded. Although cement was a scarce commodity, as a bricklayer, he had seen it a few times and knew how to use it.

As for where Zhao Hua got the cement, that's none of his business. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and you definitely can't buy a thousand kilograms through legitimate channels.

He nodded and said, "Then we won't need the lime tomorrow. We're going to build the wall tomorrow anyway, and burying the bottom with mud won't make a difference. So what are you going to do with the remaining lime?"

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "Let's save the remaining lime, mix it with some soil and sand, and use it to pave the ground, so it won't be so wet when it rains."

Master Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. Will you bring it over tonight?" Anyway, he was paid by the day, and paving the floor was also counted as work, so he didn't care. He could earn a day or two more.

After finishing his business with Master Zhao, Zhao Hua didn't linger and turned to continue his stroll. There weren't many bricks left from the demolished pigsty, and according to Zhao Hua's plan, the foundation might need some new bricks.

"Uncle, here's some candy for you."

Zhao Hua turned his head and glanced at the little boy who was tugging at his trouser leg. He laughed and picked up the little nephew who had brought him candy. He then looked at the sand pile, where the remaining little nephews and nieces were staring longingly in his direction.

Zhao Hua used to be rarely home and had a bad reputation, so he hardly ever had any contact with his nephews. Now it seems that even sending him candy requires sending a messenger.

Zhao Hua lowered her head, put the candy in her mouth, and laughed, "Don't you have enough for yourself? Why are you bringing it to me?"

This nephew belongs to my second sister-in-law's family. He's forgotten how old he is now, but he looks only three or four years old.

Seeing that he had eaten the candy, his little nephew happily hugged his neck, twisting and turning in his arms, and said indistinctly, "That's enough. My sister said she'd give you some too."

Zhao Hua smiled, put him on the ground, and said, "Go play, your uncle has something to do. We'll play together later."

The little nephew nodded, and as soon as he landed, he ran off to the group of children by the sand pile. Zhao Hua turned his head and glanced at his sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, who were also looking this way.

Zhao Hua smiled, then went directly to the sales outlet and bought two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of wine.

He still needs to talk to the tractor driver first. A handcart can also carry a thousand kilograms of cement, but that would be overloaded.

It's late at night, so the road isn't very clear. Plus, it's overloaded. If it loses its balance on the downhill slope and falls into a ditch, it's not worth it.

It would be better to give the tractor driver a pack of cigarettes and alcohol to shut him up. As for whether he will go out and talk nonsense, no one will care even if he does. That's just how the environment is now. The village is like a self-contained entity. No one cares outside the village, and no one cares even more inside the village.

He soon arrived at the tractor driver's house. He glanced under their shed and saw that the tractor wasn't parked there, but only a dog tied up inside, which was barking incessantly at him.

He scratched his head, realizing he'd come at an inopportune time; the tractor was probably out running errands.

I looked up at the sky and guessed it was only four or five o'clock. Summer days are long, so the tractor driver probably wouldn't be back for a while.

Just as he was preparing to come back after dark, the people inside heard the dog barking. They peeked out of the inner window and, seeing Zhao Hua, quickly called out, "Hey! Little Zhao! What's up?"

He pulled his head back as he spoke, and then he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the inner room.

Seeing this, Zhao Hua stopped and waited at the door for a while. A moment later, a middle-aged woman came out. Zhao Hua recognized her; she was the tractor driver's wife.

She cursed the barking dog as she walked, and when she got closer to Zhao Hua, she smiled and said, "Little Zhao, what brings you here now? Are you looking for my husband? He's out working and hasn't come back yet."

Zhao Hua nodded, handed over the cigarettes and alcohol in his hand, and said, "I need to haul some goods tonight, so I'll use the tractor. I thought I'd come and let you know in advance."

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment before accepting the cigarettes and alcohol Zhao Hua offered. Normally, all you had to do for a ride was pay the fare, but this was both cigarettes and alcohol, and she had a feeling something was wrong.

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "I bought some cement for building a house. It's in the village, and I agreed to pick it up tonight."

The middle-aged woman said "Oh," took the cigarettes and alcohol from Zhao Hua's hand, and said, "Okay, then I'll tell my husband when he gets back and ask him to come see you tonight. What time tonight?"

"Let it get completely dark, or I can come find him."

The middle-aged woman nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I'll tell him when he gets back, 'Come in, come in and have some tea.'"

Zhao Hua waved his hand and said with a smile, "I have something to do, so I'll be going now. Just remember to tell him later."

Even if he didn't say anything, the tractor driver would tell her when he got back. Husband and wife are one, and judging from her expression, her tractor probably does this kind of work quite often.