Siheyuan Great Craftsmen

Before we knew it, it was already July.

On July 1st, the school had already gone on summer vacation, and the laughter of children in the courtyard gradually increased.

On this day, Zhou Tian asked for three days' leave from the workshop director one day in advance, intending to take Sanxiao back to the countryside. Early in the morning, Zhou Tian woke up Sanxiao.

After packing up, he pushed the cart and was about to go out with the three kids.

"Xiaotian, are you taking your brothers and sisters out to play?"

Xu Fugui, who had just walked out of the house in the backyard, saw the Zhou family's actions and couldn't help asking.

"It's Uncle Xu, no, my brothers and sisters are on summer vacation now, right? I plan to take them back to the countryside to visit grandpa and grandma!"

Seeing Xu Fugui, Zhou Tian replied with a smile.

No matter what others think of Xu Fugui, after all the years he has lived with the Xu family, he has never seen how bad Xu Fugui is. Plus, Xu Damao gets along well with his second brother Zhou Hao, and the two families often visit each other, so he still has a good impression of the Xu family.

It’s just that Xu Fugui is now a projectionist at a steel mill and is often away from home, so we don’t have many opportunities to meet.

"Xiaotian is really filial. Go ahead. I guess the old man misses his grandson so much since he doesn't see him often!"

Xu Fugui praised and said.

"Uncle Xu, you go ahead and do your work, we'll leave right away!"

After that, Zhou Tian took Sanxiao out of the courtyard and rode his bicycle towards Dongzhimen.

Arriving at Dongzhimen, Zhou Tian parked the car at a department store not far from Dongzhimen.

"Xiaohao, take your third brother and little sister here and wait for big brother. Big brother is going to the store to buy something for grandpa and grandma!"

Zhou Xia got out of the car and said to Zhou Hao.

"Okay, brother, don't worry!"

The second brother Zhou Hao nodded.

"And you two, listen to your second brother. I'll be back soon, understand?"

After Zhou Tian finished speaking, he still reminded his third brother and little sister again, and the two children nodded obediently and said, "Brother, we got it!"

"Be good, wait for big brother to come back and buy you some candy!"

Seeing the two kids being so well-behaved, Zhou Tian couldn't help but walk up to them and rub their heads, then walked towards the department store.

The department store in Dongzhimen serves employees from the surrounding factories, so the goods here are relatively complete. It is a two-story building that looks very old, with a somewhat rusty plaque hanging on the door.

When he walked in, there were not many people. Zhou Tian walked straight to the counter. The salesperson was a woman in her thirties with a kind smile on her face.

Seeing Zhou Tian, ​​she smiled and asked, "Little comrade, what do you want to buy?"

The sales clerks in 51 were not the ones after the public-private partnership. Except for a few supply and marketing cooperatives established during the military control period last year, the rest of the stores were basically run by private department stores. It was not until 55 that supply and marketing cooperatives sprang up all over the country.

"Hello, sister. I want to buy three cans of milk powder and a piece of cloth. How much do they cost?"

Zhou Tian asked politely.

"Hey, boy, did you use so much?"

After hearing what Zhou Tian said, the woman was surprised and asked, "You know, a piece of cloth is 33 meters long. If all of it is made into clothes, it will be enough to make six sets."

If you make a single piece, you can make nine to ten pieces!

"Sister, I'm buying it for my grandparents and my second uncle in the countryside. There are many children at home, so I plan to buy a piece of cloth!"

Seeing the woman's surprised face, Zhou Tian hurriedly explained.

"So that's how it is. That's fine. Just wait and I'll get it for you right away!"

After hearing Zhou Tian's explanation, the woman came to her senses. She turned around, took three cans of milk powder and a roll of cloth from the counter, and put them on the counter, saying, "Cloth, one foot is three thousand, one roll of cloth is ninety-nine feet, a total of 29, plus a can of milk powder is 7, a total of 18 yuan!"

"More than 83?"

Zhou Tian couldn't help but be shocked. He didn't expect that it would cost so much money just to buy a piece of cloth and three cans of milk powder. This was enough for his monthly salary.

But no matter what he was thinking, he still gritted his teeth and paid the money to the salesperson with a painful heart. He picked up the cloth and milk powder and was about to turn around when he suddenly remembered that he had not bought the candy he promised to buy for his younger brother and sister.

He turned back and asked.

"Big sister, do you have any Mickey Mouse candies?"

"Mickey Mouse candy, yes, how many would you like to buy?"

The woman asked with a smile, but the way she looked at Zhou Tian was as if she was a prodigal.

"Give me two pounds!"

After thinking about it, Zhou Tian said, after all, he has not forgotten his younger brothers and sisters in the countryside. He can't just take care of his own little one and let the children from his second uncle's family take care of him. He can't do such a thing.

"Well, 30,000 per pound, 60,000 per pound!"

As the woman spoke, she grabbed a handful from an aluminum basin at the back, put them on the scale, weighed them, grabbed a few more, and then handed them to him.

“Here’s the money!”

Zhou Tian took out another 60,000 yuan and handed it to the woman, put the Mickey Mouse candy into his pocket, and walked out of the department store with the cloth and milk powder in his arms, his heart bleeding.

He really didn't expect that milk powder in this era would be so expensive. Even the price of just three cans of milk powder was equivalent to a mid-level master's monthly salary!

No wonder almost no one buys milk powder in this era, the price of milk powder is really too shocking.

After leaving the department store, he saw Sanxiao waiting quietly in front of the bicycle. He couldn't help but feel a little warm in his heart. He hurriedly walked forward, put the cloth on the back seat, took out a net bag, put the milk powder in it and hung it on the handlebars.

Then he looked at San Xiao and asked, "How is it? Are you anxious?"

"It's okay, bro!"

The second brother replied, but when he saw the cloth and milk powder in his eldest brother's hand, his face changed. But when he thought that these were bought for grandparents, he returned to normal.

As for his third brother and youngest sister, they were looking at him expectantly. Zhou Tian immediately understood what the two meant. He took out three pieces of Mickey Mouse candies from his pocket and handed one to each of them.

When he handed the candy to his second brother, he took it quietly, but the look he gave his eldest brother was a bit like a prodigal.

During this time, Zhou Tian had gotten used to his second brother's gaze. He ignored his younger sister and carried her to the beam, then let his second and third brothers sit on the back seat. Holding the cloth, he stepped over the beam, pushed the bike, and rode towards the outside of Dongzhimen.

In 51, the Dongzhimen city wall had just been repaired, and both ends of the city gate were surrounded by railings. After leaving Dongzhimen and following the moat, we rode straight for nearly ten miles to Zhou Tian and his family’s hometown, Zhoujia Village.

Zhoujia Village is a trapezoidal mountain village. Behind the village is an unknown small hill. Although it is unknown, the range of the hill is not small, and it is probably only about 500 meters high.

The forest covers a large area, and there are often many wild boars and rabbits in the mountains. Even in Zhou Tian’s memory, there have been tigers roaming here.