Back to my 1980s

Logically, pigs are the natural enemies of snakes, so they shouldn't be associated with pigs.

After all, pigs are omnivores, eating both meat and vegetables, and they have an amazing bite force. They can crush a snake's spine in one bite. Eating snakes is like chewing spicy strips; they just chew a few times and swallow them. On the contrary, even venomous snakes have a hard time biting through the fat on a pig.

But snake molts could often be seen around pigsties, even in later generations.

After circling around, he chased his nephews and nieces aside, then took a long stick and pried open the thatched roof from the outside wall. It wasn't that he couldn't pry it open from the inside, but he was mainly afraid that if he did, one or two snakes might suddenly fall down.

This thing is so common in the countryside. Back in 83, before pesticides became so widespread, this thing was everywhere. You might even see a snake coiled up while going to the toilet.

After the outer eaves were pushed open, a bunch of small insects scattered and fled, and even a few baby rats were seen.

Zhao Hua waited a while to make sure they had all run away before continuing to pry open the remaining roofs. Fortunately, he didn't find any snake nests waiting for him after opening all the roofs.

He picked up the shovel his mother had left aside, and first used the handle of the shovel to pull down all the low fences in the pigsty. Seeing that no poisonous insects or snakes came out, he called his younger sister and the group of children to come inside and clear the bricks.

They're going to dismantle the entire pigsty this afternoon and take it away. Now many villagers have gone to the river to fish. If they find out that they're having the wall demolished, they'll definitely come over in twos and threes to ask for some bricks to take home for whatever they need.

It wouldn't matter if one or two people took a little, but Zhao Hua could easily guess that once someone started, everyone else, even those who didn't need bricks at home, would come and take a few. Otherwise, they would feel like they were losing out, and they wouldn't care whether you paid for them or not.

In the end, all that was left was a mess. Zhao Hua had spent the money, but all the bricks were gone. Several old ladies had already gathered around to ask what had happened.

Zhao Hua ignored her, but his mother said a few words. She didn't say that she had bought it herself, but that the village pigsty was no longer needed and she was helping to dismantle it, and she wanted to see if she could buy it cheaply.

It's different if you haven't bought it yet compared to if you have. If you haven't bought it, it belongs to the public, and they can't take it. What if the village comes to collect money if they do?

Once it's bought, it's private property. Since it's private, and we're all from the same village, the road in front of my house is in such bad condition that it's easy to slip and fall when it rains. It's okay if I take a few bricks home to use as stepping stones, right? You can't just stand by and watch my old woman fall, can you?

Fortunately, although the pigsty was built with red bricks, the walls were not made of cement, but rather the joints were filled with yellow mud, so many bricks separated directly when it was demolished.

Some of the yellow mud stuck to it can be scraped off by hand, so cleaning it is not difficult. Moreover, the rate of whole bricks is very high, with very few broken bricks. Even if some are broken in half, two halves can be pieced together and used as a substitute.

In no time, the cart was full. When Zhao Ru came to call him, her face was flushed. He turned around and saw that all the children's faces were flushed from the heat. This was why he wanted to tear down the wall now.

He needed the materials, and also because it was cooler to work on a cloudy day. He looked at the children, smiled, and said, "Keep up the good work! After we finish dismantling this, I'll not only buy you candy, but I'll also give each of you a dollar!"

A group of children stared wide-eyed. The more mischievous boy started yelling and then, his face flushed, headed straight for the bricks. He who had been carrying two bricks before now insisted on carrying four.

Zhao Hua chuckled and stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Move less, put it on the ground first, I'll haul the bricks away and then put them on the cart when I come back."

He had barely finished speaking when Zhao's mother strode over from a distance, immediately shouting at the top of her lungs, "You're going to give them each a dollar? What do they need so much for? A dime per person is enough!"

The children didn't feel uncomfortable. A dime was a lot for them; they rarely saw even a penny. When their uncle mentioned a dollar, they didn't really feel anything because it was already an amount their mother would definitely take back.

On the contrary, they felt more at ease with the one yuan that Zhao's mother mentioned. This was the kind of money that should be given to a child. The children not only did not feel unhappy, but were even happier than before.

Zhao Hua didn't refute it. He was determined to give them a dollar, but there was no need to refute it in front of his mother. He had been back for so long, focusing on making money, and hadn't really paid much attention to these kids.

The reason for offering money is simply to ease their financial burden. If they can't spend time with you, offering money is the most practical solution.

He pulled the cart and hauled the bricks to the educated youth settlement. Sure enough, Meng's father was already demolishing the wall, and Meng Qinghe was helping to break up the clods of earth.

When Meng's father saw Zhao Hua, he greeted him with a smile and said, "Why did you give her money again? That girl Qinghe, she actually took it back. I asked her to return it at noon, but she came back and told me you weren't home, and your mother and sister didn't want it either, so she just took it back like that. It makes me so angry!"

He helped Zhao Hua unload the bricks onto the ground, then said, "I don't have any money on me right now." He put the bricks down and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go get the money for you. We're neighbors now, it wouldn't be right to charge me for helping out!"

As he spoke, he headed straight home. Zhao Hua, despite his great strength, couldn't stop him. The main reason was that he didn't dare to use too much force, as it would be a loss if his clothes were torn.

After Meng's father returned home, Zhao Hua stood there blinking, then looked at Meng Qinghe and blinked again. Meng Qinghe was also looking at him at this moment. Seeing his bewildered blinking, she chuckled.

He was so handsome. He only had an elementary school education and couldn't describe how handsome he was. He just thought he was more handsome than many celebrities in later generations.

Two seconds later, he turned around and continued unloading the bricks onto the ground. No matter how good-looking they were, he was going to have a wife soon, and his wife was no less than perfect. His mother had already helped with the arrangements and had made contact with the other side long ago. Song's parents had no objections, but his brother-in-law seemed to still be dreaming of getting his younger sister into the city. He asked if it was possible to get an urban household registration.

In his eyes, Zhao Hua could even get a bicycle, so what if he had connections to get an urban household registration? After they replied that it was impossible, he didn't interfere.

This is already very good. After all, in his previous life, he had aged Song Xueping into an old maid in her twenties. It's already quite good that there are no obstacles in this life. It's just that there was such a commotion before, and they said they would wait until the discussions in the village subsided before proceeding with the next steps.

If they rush into marriage now, it will damage Song Xueping's reputation. Of course, Zhao Hua has no objection. They've already waited so long, what's another ten days or half a month?