Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1148 Nothing to do

It took one hour to get from Fengtian to Beixi, and more than two hours to get from Beixi city to the county seat.

The distance wasn't far, but the road was difficult to walk on, so I didn't dare to run fast.

Midway through, we encountered a Santana spinning in the middle of the road. Luckily, it wasn't going fast; after a few circles, it stopped at the roadside. The driver's face turned pale, and he got out and squatted by the roadside, smoking to calm himself down. On the other side of the road was a river, a deep ditch.

We arrived in the county town safely, but it was already 4 p.m. We couldn't go back to the village today, so we booked a room at the county guesthouse.

After checking into the hotel, the group drove to the construction site of the new high school.

The construction site was already sealed off, and an old man was guarding the gate. Xiao Wei went inside and took a look. It was a small room with a coal stove burning inside, a simple bed, and cooking was all done there. He frowned and asked the old man, "Grandpa, how much are you paid for this winter?"

The old man held a pipe in his rough, dark hands, and with his other hand outstretched, he gestured: "Five hundred yuan is a good deal. You don't have to do anything. Just cook some rice for yourself; the rice and oil are theirs, and there's meat." He pointed to several pieces of meat frozen under the eaves outside.

Xiao Hong went into the house, took a look, and was immediately choked and kicked out, fanning her nose and saying, "My God, how can anyone live like this?"

Xiao Wei took out his phone and called Lao Xia. He'd been assigned to the army during elementary school, but in high school, wanting to keep the benefits within the family, he'd given the job to Lao Xia, Uncle Wang's comrade-in-arms and the contractor who'd once helped him. Now Lao Xia was the boss of a construction company, with numerous construction sites in the city.

Old Xia answered the phone quickly: "Xiao Wei? What brings you, the big boss, to call me?"

"Uncle, I'm in the county town, at the high school construction site. I came back with Xiaohong to visit these past few days since we had some free time. Uncle, this kind of night watchman's job can't be done like this. It's such a small hut, and we have to sleep and cook. We rely on a coal stove for both heating and cooking. Won't something bad happen?"

The old man waved his hand, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, nothing will happen. Don't make up stories. It's not easy for me to find a job."

Old Xia said, "I haven't actually been there. Wait for me, I'll come and take a look."

The old night watchman was getting a little anxious: "What are you doing? Is this even a joke? What are you doing? I'm doing my job perfectly well."

Xiao Wei said, "Grandpa, don't worry, it has nothing to do with you and won't affect you."

The old man said, "You say it won't interfere with my work? I'm eating and sleeping well, aren't you just being nosy? In the dead of winter, why aren't you staying home? What are you doing here?"

Xiao Hong and Qin Xuemei stood to one side watching the construction site inside. The buildings were basically completed, including the administration building, teaching building, library, and laboratory building, which were spread out in a small area with reserved roads and gardens and ponds in the middle.

Qin Xuemei said, "It looks like it will be finished by next autumn. The main frame will be almost done."

Xiao Hong sighed: "If it's autumn next year, then it won't be ready until spring the year after. Another year has passed."

Qin Xuemei put her arm around Xiao Hong's shoulder and said with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? Slow and steady wins the race. You should be worried if you rush it."

Xiao Hong said, "It's like raising a child; you always want to see him as soon as possible. Even building a big shopping mall wouldn't take this long. When Lao Xia comes over, I'll have to ask him if he's been too busy making money in the city. That old man doesn't want to live anymore."

Xiao Wei took out a cigarette and offered one to the night watchman, then lit one for himself. He said, "This is different from building a shopping mall. Ours is just about getting it up and running. How can this be the same? There are so many functional areas. Like that tiered classroom you're building, how can you not be careful? How many people will it hold?"

Xiao Hongbai stared blankly at Xiao Wei without saying a word.

Qin Xuemei said, "Shall we drive in and take a look?"

Xiao Wei said, "Wait a minute, let's wait for Uncle Xia to come over."

About ten minutes later, Lao Xia drove up in his Bluebird.

"Your car is really powerful. When is it convenient for you to get me one?" Old Xia patted the front of the Mercedes.

Xiao Hong held out her hand: "Take the money, four million."

Old Xia chuckled, lit a cigarette, and said, "Don't look down on your Uncle Xia. Although I haven't been as impulsive as Xiao Wei these past few years, I can still come up with a few million to buy a car."

Xiao Wei pointed to the old night watchman's hut: "Uncle Xia, look at this for yourself, isn't this a gamble? What if something really happens?"

Old Xia walked over and peeked inside, then went in for a walk and came out. The door had been open for a while, and a lot of air had dissipated from inside.

"What the hell is this?" Old Xia asked as he pulled out his phone.

The old night watchman said, "Mr. Xia, it's fine, no problem, I can handle it."

Old Xia glanced at him and said, "I'll fix it for you. If you let the coal smoke fumes through it, you'll be in big trouble. You're quite the daredevil."

The call connected, and Lao Xia immediately started yelling, "Lao Wu, are you trying to quit? Is this some kind of mess? What kind of monstrosity is this? If something goes wrong, are you going to pay for it? Or are you going to die with me?"

I don't know what they said, but Lao Xia said, "I'm at this construction site near the high school. You'd better come over here and see for yourself."

Xiao Wei said, "Uncle, it seems you need to pay more attention to safety here. I'm starting to worry about the buildings inside."

Old Xia said, "Everything will be fine over there. You can rest assured. I have someone specifically watching over this area with the blueprints. There are also people from your design institute. It's just that I haven't been in charge of the living arrangements. Who knew this would happen?"

Tomorrow I'll have someone check all the construction sites. If someone actually dies, we're in deep trouble.

Xiao Hong said, "Uncle Xia, shall we go inside and take a look around?"

Uncle Xia laughed and said, "Okay, you're the boss, you call the shots. I'll drive it, I'll drive it, let me touch this car."

Wang Jiwei glanced at Xiaowei, and seeing that Xiaowei didn't object, he handed the car keys to Lao Xia. Lao Xia took the keys and said, "Go sit in my car and warm up for a while."

Once in the car, Lao Xia started it and said, "It has to be German-made; it sounds much better than the Japanese ones." He shifted gears and drove inside.

The entire new high school covers an area of ​​three to four hundred acres, encompassing the entire riverside area and extending to the gentle slope of the hillside behind it. The entire design is a park-style campus, incorporating all the facilities and buildings currently found in domestic universities. There are more than twenty buildings of various sizes, as well as a large boiler room with two large and two small bathhouses.

Most of the buildings have been topped out, and some of the brickwork has been finished. Old Xia said, "It will definitely be completed next year. You can come and inspect it then. I, Uncle Xia, will take full responsibility. How about it, Xiao Hong? Are you relieved now?"

You two kids have really made something of yourselves these past few years, it's astonishing. And you've really gone all out, throwing in those millions like that, what a good deed! I was just saying the other day that next year I'll organize a few people to go down there and build a few schools, so that when I die I'll have something to remember you by."

Xiao Hong asked, "What are your children doing now, Xiaqiu and Xiaqiu?"

Old Xia said, "What can she do? I'd be content if she were half as good as you. She's always hanging around in the city, saying the county town is too run-down and poor and she doesn't like coming back. Last year she asked me for a car and bought an apartment in the city. What can she do? I'd be satisfied if she married into a good family, as long as she doesn't gamble or take ecstasy."

Xiao Hong asked, "Is she dating anyone?"

Old Xia said, "I'll get him. It's Liu Xiaodong from your old class, the chubby guy with glasses, do you still remember him? His dad works for the county education commission."

Wang Xiaohong said, "I remember, he was so arrogant that even the principal didn't dare to discipline him."

(End of this chapter)