Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

The autumn sun rises slowly, like golden brocade, gradually covering the earth and bringing warmth to all things.

As usual, Lao San took Er Lang and Li Da Bao to practice boxing by the swimming pool. The little guys also learned it very well.

Old Yang started his work early in the morning, every day was the same, he was unwilling to waste any time, just to complete the task assigned by Liu Guozheng as soon as possible.

After washing up, Liu Guozheng started to make breakfast.

I have been drinking millet porridge for three days. Today I plan to change the taste and make some mutton soup.

The mutton offal is already cooked, which saves a lot of time. You just need to cut it, blanch it quickly in the pot and then take it out. Cut the ginger into large slices and mince the green onion. Heat the pan with oil, add the ginger slices and mutton offal and stir-fry. Pour a spoonful of rice wine along the edge of the pan to fry out the water. Add appropriate amount of hot water and boil, skim off the foam, simmer for about 20 minutes, and add salt to taste. Put chopped green onion and vinegar at the bottom of the bowl and pour in the mutton offal soup.

Sheep oil chili, when put alone, is not the spicy taste that everyone likes. Sheep oil chili is of course made by Nan Yi, which is not something that ordinary people can make.

While waiting, I made some unleavened dough cakes (I didn’t leaven the dough to save time). In fact, mutton soup and sesame cakes are a perfect match, but Liu Guozheng didn’t know how to make them, so he had to give up.

"Old Three, go and call Old Yang back for dinner."

When Lao San and Lao Yang came back, the time was up and the mutton offal soup was ready.

Put all the dough cakes in a strainer and place them on the table. You can eat as many as you want.

After meal

Liu Xiaolong continued to study with the four little ones, reciting ancient poems and waiting for Li Xiujuan to come and teach them new Chinese characters.

Erlang and Li Dabao's tasks were assigned yesterday. In the morning, they were to deliver a pig to the commune and the district respectively.

Liu Guozheng took the third brother to build a few simple sheds on the cleared ground. They were triangular in shape, pointed at the top and wide at the bottom. They had a stable structure and were easy to build and dismantle.

Covered with straw or thatch, it would be a good temporary shelter. It would be even better if there were tarpaulins with better windproof effect. It depends on whether the tents from the relief center will be brought over later.

Then they lit fires in the five rooms that had been built to speed up the evaporation of moisture from the walls so that they could be lived in as soon as possible. Originally, they wanted to wait for it to dry naturally, but now it seems that they can't wait that long, as plans can't keep up with changes.

"Comrade Guozheng, what are you doing?"

Workers arrived one after another, looking at the sheds, Wang Fugui asked in confusion.

"A group of people will arrive today, so let's get some temporary housing first."

"Master Wang, you're here just in time. Let's build two temporary stoves here first."

Since Wang Fugui is here, let's get the stove out first. It's better for the newcomers to eat separately from Wang Fugui and his friends, because the two stoves can't cook for so many people at once.

Will a group of people come?

Is the boss looking for someone to build a house again?

Wang Fugui had some doubts in his mind, but he didn't dare to ask. It was other people's right to hire anyone to do the work. He couldn't force others to hire his own people just because there were some idle people in his village.

All you have to do is do the job your boss assigns you.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Erlang and Li Dabao came back after delivering the meat, along with Chen Weiguo. They met them on the road.

There was also a truck from the brick factory, loaded with some tents, two large pots, dozens of yellow porcelain bowls, and some food, mainly cornmeal and millet.

After unloading the goods, the truck’s next trip is to go back and pick up people.

It was a simple shed, covered with tarpaulin, mainly to keep warm, after all, it was still a bit cold in the late autumn night. Rain protection was secondary, and judging from the weather conditions, it would not rain. Liu Guozheng had not encountered a drop of rain in the more than half a month he had been traveling.

After finishing their work, they sat down to rest and chat.

At around ten o'clock, the truck brought back a load of people.

"Brother Zheng, I'll go back first. I'll deliver the bricks this afternoon."

After everyone got off, the driver Chen Yuanshan said hello and turned back to the brick factory.

"Guo Zheng, the people have been sent to you. Please make arrangements for them."

The person who spoke was Li Xiangdong, the deputy director of the police station. Secretary Jiao of the commune had gone to contact the teachers, and District Chief Jiang had gone to the Electricity Bureau to discuss the issue of bringing electricity to Xiwang New Village. The task of escorting these people naturally fell on Li Xiangdong.

Twenty-four people got off the bus, mostly children, mostly girls.

These people are not unkempt, but they are almost the same.

As you can imagine, the conditions at the temporary relief point were definitely not good. Liu Guozheng also stayed there for a day. The corn porridge was only enough to sustain life, so there was no way he could get enough to eat.

As for if you like cleanliness and want to wash your clothes or take a bath, then forget about it.

No one knew how many days these people had stayed there, and the smell on their bodies was so strong that even dogs would be disgusted.

However, there was one person who caught Liu Guozheng's attention.

The woman was carrying a bag on her back, holding the hand of a little girl. Her clothes were also patched up, but they were clean. Both her face and clothes were clean.

Standing in the crowd, I can say that I feel like a crane standing out among chickens.

She was in her forties, and although she looked ordinary, her temperament was different. She looked like a lady from a wealthy family. Logically, such a person should not come out to escape famine. Could there be other reasons?

"Director Li, who is this?"

Since you have questions, you still have to ask clearly, otherwise if something happens, you won’t be able to explain it clearly.

"Come on, let me introduce you."

Li Xiangdong then remembered and introduced the two to each other.

The woman's name is Wenxiu, and the little girl beside her is his daughter. They came from Bincheng to look for their relatives. It is said that they have traveled through all the cities in the north just to find their husbands. They just arrived in Sijiucheng a few days ago. As the weather is getting colder, they want to find a place to settle down first, and continue looking when the weather is warmer next year.

From the introduction, we also know that Wenxiu used to be a nurse. She can treat some common illnesses like colds and fevers, and she also knows some first aid knowledge. She is a rare talent in this era.

It is also with this knowledge that they can maintain the basic life of the mother and daughter, and it is also the capital for them to persevere.

This is also the talent that Hope New Village urgently needs now.

Especially with so many children, anyone who has a headache or fever can get timely treatment.

Now that we have the medical staff, it seems that Li Dabao has work to do in the afternoon, which is to buy medicine (I really don’t know how people bought medicine in the 1960s, so I won’t write about it in detail). Some common medicines must be prepared.

"Dabao, Laosan, you two go to the warehouse and get some clothes and towels (work clothes and labor protection clothes that we exchanged for meat), and also bring Xiaolong and the others' clothes."

"Erlang, Weiguo, you two should boil some water. Just make it hot enough for a bath."

"Let Xiaolong and the others come over and greet these children."

Looking at the innocent eyes and reserved appearance of the dozen or so children, Liu Guozheng decided to let Liu Xiaolong and Liu Xiaohu greet them. Children can establish friendships very quickly, and it is also to help them relax and better integrate into this new village.