Chapter 6 construction-1

one The small river in the city has become more prosperous this year because of the construction of the big house beside the ×× mountain, transporting stones, cement, iron and wood, and adding many ships from the province. There are many small boats in the small river.Beside the small river, there is a row of ugly and narrow bungalows.The name of this place is River Street because of its convenience.There are tobacco shops and noodle shops on River Street.There are shops that sell ropes.There are groceries.There are butchers.There were wrought-iron anchors and hardwood carts, and a shop for ship's utensils.There is a newly-opened barbershop, and people walking, looking through the glass windows, always see some big, round heads being shaved by the barber in a very dull situation.There are several brothels for people on board to have fun. Three or five big-footed women, wearing blue flowered foreign cloth clothes and red flowered foreign cloth trousers, with pink faces and oily hair, and the root of the bridge of the nose is red, sitting on the bench in front of the door, seeing someone passing by He smiled and sang softly.On a dirty long street, it is always wet and difficult to walk all year round. Some children who grew up in these small houses or on river boats, in broad daylight, hold a little cock, and a fat dog in front of them, the street Fighting with roosters at the end of the street.Or bored, the two children would grab and beat each other for a word, and rubbed into the mud in front of the smokehouse door, making the gang who stood outside the smokehouse door greeting customers all day often louder because of this matter. yelling.All cake sellers on the street beat bamboo clappers, and sugar sellers beat small gongs. These people also know how to sing a vulgar tune, making comparisons with certain parts of a woman's body to attract the attention of others. .

On this street, there is also a low-grade teahouse, which faces the river on a stilt building, and faces the street, and is opposite a small shop selling second-hand goods.All the layout and atmosphere of this teahouse are very suitable for the people who come here. The dirty and greasy tabletops, the benches with thin legs, and the thick leaf green tea in the big blue and white tureen, another kind of teahouse for the upper class. It's all here.The people who come here to drink tea are all men from the lower class, some sailors on board, some chartered drivers who tow half-day cars, some uncles who specialize in lending money on the wharf, and some who live in Dongshi and earn a little from grocery shopping. There are cooks who have no use for money, and some small businessmen who talk about the price of meat and rice.Everyone came here, chose a place, made a pot of hot tea, drank it for a while, and talked with others about all the things that came to mind or the news they heard, and enjoyed a little bit of life.When he remembered something else, or felt that he had sat enough, he stuffed four copper coins into the hand of the man who refilled the water, and left.There are countless people coming and going in a day.Because the business is not sluggish, by July of this year, the owner of the teahouse also installed electric lights.It cost a lot of money to connect the wires from the city, rent a water meter, and seven workers beat and beat for a day, and then there were electric lights. You can see where the teahouse is, and the boats moored in the distance will not lose their way if you want to go to the teahouse.

At night, the electric lights on the roof beams in this teahouse diffused a dim yellow light throughout the room, and the dirty square tables were full of people drinking tea and chatting. Under the light, it is golden, and in the hands of two thin and smoky twin brothers who are symmetrical to the copper pot, they come and go to add water.There are often loads of things like fried beans and peanuts parked outside the door.A businessman who sells fried stinky tofu, and the same person who is in the business of sesame cakes, always puts his burden in front of the teahouse at night, so that the smell will be smoked into all those who have a penchant for stinky tofu. up the nose.Because of the temptation of some scents, someone took money out of their pockets and asked the buddy to buy things.The twin brothers who add water have the same appearance, and they also don't lack the same intelligence. This intelligence is to hum to themselves while holding the mouth of the big copper pot to a table far away in any hectic situation. A line of hot water was spilled from the bowl on the table, while listening to the words sent by the guests behind Deming, I kept in mind that as long as I heard someone yelling to buy something somewhere, the two brothers who refilled the water according to the instructions, would not be able to do so. After a while, he arrived at the front and waited for orders.When the man came to the table, took out the money, told him what he wanted to buy, took the money in his hand, looked at it, and saw that the copper in his hand was not a sand board, he walked from some seats, like a thin bitch running away, Flying to the door, standing in front of the door, dragging a loud and hoarse voice, singing at the stinky tofu stall, explaining that it is the business of a certain uncle, and throwing money at a After emptying the bowl, he rushed back to the place where the teapot was placed, grabbed the teapot in his hand, and walked to another seat.After the oil tofu has been chewed in the mouth of the tea customer, the guy saw it. Although he was extremely busy, he always smiled and found a sentence to give this food a kind of praise, as if to make the person who eats it Guest, feel a little happy.As usual, what he said must be an expert's word. Although it is clear that he is protecting the aspect of selling things, it still seems to be completely for the benefit of the customer. The reason, on the one hand, is naturally a must for people who do this kind of occupation. Obligation, on the one hand, still has a benefit in selling fried tofu.There were no exceptions to the local rules for coming to River Street.They will draw two out of ten copper dollars, which is a reward recognized by businessmen.The business of this teahouse is booming day by day, the two copper pots under the management of the twin brothers are getting brighter day by day, and the two brothers are getting more and more addicted to cigarettes day by day.The business of the teahouse always lasts around ten o'clock every night. When all the tea drinkers are gone, the door is closed, the lights are turned off, and the person in charge is counting the money on the cabinet. Spread out the quilts on two large square tables put together, and place a lamp in the middle, so that you can enjoy sleeping together, and don't sleep until the third watch.

At this time, the teahouse is busy.I saw two jugs being lifted high, and boiling hot water sprayed out from the spouts.The two teahouse waiters hissed and sang all the tunes that only they knew clearly, and walked around with the pot.There are people peeling sunflowers at each table.A room filled with the smell of cheap cigarettes.The floor was covered with white and gray sunflower shells and yellow phlegm. At this time, two people came in from the door. The first one was the owner of a second-hand shop opposite the teahouse, a second-class fat man with a sauce-colored face.Behind him was a young man with the appearance of a rogue in ragged clothes and trousers.The man followed the thrift store owner into the teahouse, found an empty corner seat, and the two sat down.The tea guy came over with two sets of bowls and cups, and recognized the second-class fat man as an acquaintance who lived at the opposite door.

"Oh, it's Boss Zhang, I'll bring a small bowl."Because drinking a small gaiwan can only be done by people with status, so the buddy said so. "Whatever you want, great joy." The fat man said, "We'll leave after a few words." When the guy heard what the boss said, he stopped moving. He poured water into the bowl and looked at the young man who was sitting on the side.This is a character who seems to have been discharged from the army.Wearing a dirty military uniform on his upper body, he has a thin face, extremely long hair, a high nose bridge and a big mouth, which reminded the teahouse waiter of a shot deserter he saw at another time.After adding two bowls of tea with boiling water and pushing it in front of the two of them, the waiter said to the fat businessman, "Boss, would you like a plate of melon seeds?"

"No.—whatever. You go and call them, and I'll call you if I want anything." The buddy yawned like an addiction, and walked away with the pot.The boss looked at the nearby tea drinkers for a while, and then said softly, "Drink tea." He also shook off the tureen, scraped off the foam, and took a sip of tea. The young veteran who looked like a veteran seemed to be preoccupied with other things. Seeing the situation, he took a sip of tea in a rough manner. "When will you bring it?" The boss spoke softly to the young man. "They all have to see it before setting the price. Although it's the first time for you and me, you always hear about my temper. I don't want to get much benefit from this matter. I am willing to do my best. Don't worry , I am not one of those bad things."

The young man bent his elbows on the dirty table and nodded impatiently, "I believe in you, so I came to you. I heard Uncle Wu say that you are righteous and generous, and I have no doubts about your treatment of me. I'm lying. But what do you mean by taking it out first? You know our difficulties. If you promise me the amount of fifty, and at the same time deliver the goods and get the money, I will be able to do it. I'm not lying to you, you can see the goods Then pay the money. We..." At this point, the man seemed to have suddenly remembered something, and lightly punched the table. "Look, that's the way to do it; you can't pull it down!"

"What's wrong? I still need to see what I said. Even if I promise you, it doesn't matter if it's fifty or sixty. By then, yours won't be worth a dollar. What should you do? You will believe me no matter what, If everything is as you said and there is nothing wrong with it, I will decide fifty. But, if..." The young man got a little angry when he heard this. "What's the problem? If I'm not waiting for the money, I'll take it to the oil dealer, and I can get one hundred and two without saying a word. I'm not a complete layman. I know the market. Fifty yuan, who Will also understand that this is a minimum price!"

"I know! It's because I need money right now! I sold that 'chicken' for Lian Yu last month, because I was also eager to ask for money, and I sold it for three hundred, plus five hundred of that little thing. I also heard that it is worth more than a thousand when it arrives at ××. It’s not easy to do everything like this in such a month! If you say fifty, I’ll take care of you, and I’ll take care of it, so you can rest assured. You can take it tomorrow night Come on, let's talk and settle it face to face, shall we?" "This place is not very convenient."

"Then where do you think is convenient? Do what you want. There must be two of us, where do you think is suitable. Can you go to the boat?" "I invite you to go across the river." "Right to the river?" The boss thought for a while and then smiled. "No, it's too convenient for you, but it's not convenient for us! I'm afraid our customers are not used to it." The words seem to be in a different sense, and I am afraid that it will cause misunderstandings among young people.But this young man still seemed to understand what is not used to, so he said, "Are they afraid that I will lose my strength? I can give them the handle first."

"It's not like that. We're not afraid of anything. We're afraid of getting into trouble with other people. You are what I believe in.Even if it is a stranger, I believe it, let alone mentioning Angkor's friend. Can you just take it easy and bring it to us?It is more convenient if there are many people in the teahouse, and it will not be noticed.They all come to this place to talk. If you really don't want to, we might as well come here to meet up, and then go to a smokehouse to discuss. " The young man thought for a while, then reluctantly agreed, stood up and wanted to leave. "When?" The master stood up at the same time. "Make sure the time is better, please make an appointment." "It's eight o'clock when you say eight o'clock." The young man still had an unhappy look when he said it. "I hope it can be done tonight. Since I can't get it right away, I'll make sure it's eight o'clock tomorrow." At this time, the teahouse waiter approached. "Boss, you have to go! Why don't you sit down?" The boss took out the money from him, and the young man didn't let the fat man get ahead of him, so he hurriedly grabbed a handful of copper coins from his pocket, about thirty coins in total, including two double-horned silver coins, and threw them on the table. Come on, walk out of the teahouse first. The original tea money only cost 30 cents per seat. At this time, the waiter in the teahouse saw the silver coins rolling on the table, and hurriedly caught them with his hands, and caught the coins in the palm of his hand. The boss said thank you, and on the one hand wanted to chase him out, do something to atone for the contempt and neglect of the guests just now, salute and say thank you a few times, but by the time he chased him out, the young man with the appearance of a soldier had gone out of the teahouse and disappeared. Just as the fat man was about to go out, he passed by a tea table when he was grabbed by a middle-aged man who looked like a boatman with his big rough hands. "Brother, what are you busy with?" "Hei Da, it's you! Are you here again?" The fat man immediately sat at the boat table again.They are talking. They still talked in jargon that only their kind could understand.This boatman is a person who uses fishing boats to smuggle large soil and other objects to and from × port and various places in × × city.A well-known figure on a water pier.His boat was moored under the stilted building of the teahouse.After drinking tea and chatting for a while, the boatman invited the fat man to the boat to try the old-fashioned smoke cream made from ×× Xinde. The two men soon walked down the river from a wet and smelly alley next to the teahouse. two The more than a thousand workers working by the side of the ×× mountain have been busy for two months, worth 30 cents a day for cheap energy consumption. According to the steps of the project and the clever plan of the engineer, the area of ​​370 mu has been completed. Gradually, a square is flattened, the gaps are filled, and the protrusions are blown away. All the iron pillars that should be used to build houses have been properly handled by human and mechanical strength. The weather is getting colder, and thin ice has formed on the surface of small ditches around the Construction Works Office in the morning. Some projects have been halted due to weather.The number of workers of the engineering agency has also been reduced from 1,000 to 300. The only people left here are those who carry materials and do ordinary work. inside.The three hundred people lived in three places. Early in the morning, when the sky in the east was just turning white, a young bugleman wearing a bloated and unsuitable cotton uniform walked out of the garrison tent on the mountain, and blew the wake-up call in the wind. , Before the sound of the trumpets ended, the soldiers, accustomed to getting up early, all got up.Still later, about five minutes later, the Agency blew a gong, and groups of lowlifes emerged from the squalid wooden huts.They all wore dirty and irregular clothes, some were farmers from the countryside, some retired soldiers, some had served in the County Public Security Bureau, and some were people who had a relationship with life such as electric lights and telegraphs, so The tattered blue uniforms, the fedora hats, and the leather boots with exposed heels can all be found in this group of people.When they walked out of the residence, each nostrils released hot air in the cold air, each of them rubbed their hands, and each of them pulled off the front crotch of their trousers casually and poured hot urine.They all seem to have nothing to say to their companions. Everyone looks up at the sky, regardless of whether the weather is good or bad, it seems that the meaning of the day can be seen from the clouds in the sky, and they all understand that everything today is exactly the same as yesterday. Do things according to the work assigned by the foreman, move bricks, carry iron bars, spread asphalt on the iron pillars and iron pipes, use shovels to dig around the sludge in the small river ditches of ××,... gold can be heard everywhere in Daping. There is the sound of iron, the sound of the steam pressure hammer hitting the foundation of the house, and the sound of a small iron hammer hitting the steel pipe.Heavy tar drums rolled here and there.Large timbers are laid horizontally in a cross to form small towers.People climbed to high altitudes or sank to the ground according to their own reasons, sang and sang in convenience, and often insulted his assistants with the most authentic words.All the power was sold for a small sum of 30 cents.All forces are moving according to the plan of a wise engineer, and all objects, all stones, wood and iron, stand, lie down, and stack one another according to the engineer's orders, and these things often sigh loudly, A sharp, rattling, or dull sound. ...then the sun slowly appeared from the low place in the sky.With the sun comes warmth and light, so where there is frost on the ground, on wood, or on piles of iron bars, wherever there is frost and dew, it has been caressed by the warmth of the sun before it passes through human hands. , all emitting a faint white smoke, the thin ice formed on the surface of the water in the ditch, shining with a dull brilliance, slowly melting in the sunlight.Then everything was louder. ... No one among the workers lacks the boldness to put a symbol of doubt in their lives, thinking that everything that is reasonable is not very reasonable, and that all the rules of the world should be rearranged. Even if they don't work, they still get three Dime justification.They all seem to understand that being stingy with strength is a sin, so at the end, everyone tied the bamboo sticks issued by the foreman to their trousers and went to the work place.These people, when they work late at night, they go to the dirty hut to eat, sleep and dream, or tell a little joke, gamble some money, and swear a few wild words. The drop in weather temperature, what happened to the workers who built the big house of XX?When the weather turns cold, you can grasp the cold iron with your rough hands, and you don't realize that this hand is your own until you sweat. This is a serious meaning of winter workers.In addition, some men who were not born smart at all, with a naturally tenacious body and a tenacious heart, were assigned to the work of digging mud, jumped into the sewage ditch without hesitation, squeezed the handle of the shovel, and fought hard. Sledging to pick up the stinky black frozen ditch mud, although the whole body was sweating, my feet were still frozen in the water.There is another kind, because of the excessive fatigue of the previous day, a little selfishness, greedy for the warmth of cotton wool, and dreaming very presumptuous dreams in the morning, the sound of the gong going to work only increased the excitement in the dream. Convenience, I forgot to get up, and the little boss came up, kicked his hip, grabbed it and put it in the asphalt burning place to start a fire, and deducted half of his salary as punishment.But this weather, there is another kind of person in the world, only God knows!At the end of the year, the weather is cold, the dew is severe, and the opportunity for some elegant people to drink and write poems has come.Some wealthy people living in the city, as long as the weather changes slightly, they will know that they will take out the decent and valuable warm and soft leather clothes from the chest and put them on.The rich and the noble all know to use heating gas stoves or electric stoves to protect the air in the living room and bedroom, making it always like the spring in February and March.The good woman accompanied the master to go out to enjoy the snow, all wrapped in sable foxes.They are humans who have owned the spring, so the winter is also enjoyed by these decent people. There are soldiers camped on the hill of the Engineering Department, and the soldiers on the hill have arrived here before the start of the big construction.But a small company of infantry, numbering about forty, was commanded by a lieutenant.Under the same weather, the soldiers had the same fate as the workers, and the early cold of October was inevitable.Although everyone put on brand new military uniforms with large gray cloth and short cotton, it didn't matter to the attack of the cold, but Dongfang left the quilt as soon as he turned pale, and stupidly gathered in Guangping with the sound of the trumpet , a little like an idiot, loudly responded to the word "arrive" during the roll call, and then squeezed the cold guns and ran down the mountain one after another, and came to Daping to walk and run.In the empty field, there are piles of building materials everywhere, and there is no shortage of stone foundations for houses. These young soldiers, according to the orders of the young and shrewd team officers, just ran around these piles of materials, or used the piles of materials as The enemy's fortress and its own city walls, take offensive and defensive formations to practice combat.They are wasted with the same aimless labor in a world where the laborers' strength is left in some great building that cultivates church power.Soldiers, who have learned the patience of neatness and hard work, when the opportunity comes at another time, in the name of decency, use it to fight for the spirit of those who have status and influence in a war where steel is flying and bursting. Long battles, or bloodshed, or death, and rot and stench, no longer need human care for them. Because of military discipline and other reasons, soldiers seem to have a lot more chances of being punished and beaten than workers.When a young soldier is sometimes punished to stand at attention at 1:20 o'clock in the middle of the mountain, with a solemn posture like a puppet, and a worker who rolls a lead bucket or a piece of pine wood nearby, when he sees that situation, he always thinks Very funny.According to the rules, the workers seem to be much happier, because a worker will not be beaten if he does not steal. He only needs to not restrain his strength at work, and it is enough.As for the soldiers, it seems that strength is saved for the future, so labor is slightly restricted, but the rules that all soldiers should remember clearly are much more troublesome. one As a soldier, he should know this first. In any case, the superior has the right to execute all punishments at will. At the same time, he should remember clearly the rules of daily life, clothing and food.He can't be smart or stupid, he can't have desires, and he should think that everything is a lie for the country.He should be brave enough to kill others, and he should be even braver to let others stab him in the chest.However, although the workers who move bricks and dig mud at ×× have a few moments to laugh at the life of soldiers, they have most of the opportunities to envy the position of the promising person.Soldiers don't understand why workers can live in such a peaceful world, but workers understand why soldiers exist.As long as they have seen soldiers wearing new cotton uniforms running in the empty field, the workers know that these young people, for the revolution, or why it is better, have practiced for three to five years, learned many rules, and will stand at the station. When welcoming a great man, he raises his gun and salutes, like an old war horse, he can maintain the spirit of standing still in any situation, and he knows that he can become a martyr when he dies in battle, and his name will be engraved on the monument in the future. If you die, you will get a reward of thirty or twenty, and the whole team will go to the newly conquered city, and be welcomed by the merchants, and you will become a person of status in the world as soon as your luck comes.If you become a person of social status, you will have the convenience of dressing and eating, you will not be beaten frequently, you will not go hungry, you will not be punished for digging in the mud, and you will not sweat in the sun in hot weather and suffer from heartburn. died.A worker who works today and will continue to work tomorrow, today uses bamboo sticks to receive a salary of 30 cents for a day's hard work, and next year will seem to be living in such a small number of workers in the world, he envies wearing gray People in military uniforms are also a matter of course. It seems that because of the "successful revolution", there are too many people who can only work even though they envy the soldiers.These are all near useless people in the world, unable to do anything except their natural strength.These people know neither pedagogy nor algebra, nor how to dress decently nor speak well.What's even more stupid is that, being so poor, as long as there is a chance to get a woman as a wife, they will always give birth to five or six children.The method of birth control is not researched at all, and there is a lack of hygiene knowledge, and there is no frequent bathing, and there is a disgusting smell on the body at all times.The sons and daughters are as thin as little monkeys, with malignant sores all over their bodies and scabies all over their heads.We read the morning newspaper every day, and the social news column on the eighth page always tells us about robberies, starvation, suicide, coal mine explosions, murders, and all kinds of frightening and dark news, which are almost entirely rehearsals of these characters.No matter where we are in China, we always hear that some children or adults starve to death on the road because they cannot get food, and then they rot naturally or are dragged by dogs. Everyone is willing to waste a whole day's energy in exchange for a little rice salt, but there is no job to be found; no one thinks that death is necessary, but the result is always a miserable death. Judging from the current situation in China, the 300 workers of the XX Engineering Agency can still be considered to have survived in a very happy situation. Theft of materials by UNRWA is common.If they find out, they will be caught, hanged by the big water pipe, and beaten with a whip to make themselves suffer and let others see.Although these people are treated so cruelly, there is still no shortage of new things happening. What is the reason?Because "money" is far away from them, "morality" is also far away from them, so they have to do these bad things. In the ×× Project Office, as in other places, if opportunity is given among the workers, lying, theft, and fraud are common occurrences.Even if they look down on the upper class, they always have a reason to swear heavy curses to the sky for a small sum, five or ten.They often fight to the point of bloodshed on matters of this type of value.They are willing to take the risk of stealing a hundred yuan, and they are willing to get that disproportionate punishment. Although XX often has people from the church come to teach, gather these people together and tell them how the door to heaven is open without hindrance.Just waiting for the innocent man to enter after death, it seems that no one is willing to get this good opportunity.These people, the soul does not need heaven.They all understood that they only worked and starved during their lives, and unintentionally violated the law, and were led to beheaded. After death, they fell into hell and let the fire of hell burn themselves.This is their job.They all know that they are always scum and dust, living in dust, rust, and mildew, and they should still fall and die in these conditions.None of them want heaven, because the road to heaven is too far away.They can only often think about getting an extra dime unintentionally, or having a glass of wine. All desires are very ordinary and humble desires.What can I do?The generosity of the church, it is enough to spend one million or five million to run education in China and cultivate some bastards who live on the church. Why do we have to take care of these dirty low-class people?It is precisely because they are stupid, cunning, greedy for petty advantage, love to make trouble, live in humble houses, do immoral things, and fall into hell together after death. Only then can they see the light and beauty of heaven. An inn for the soul of some classy people! In the minds of those simple people who seem to be only human beings, in addition to comparing labor or ease and feeling like and hate at work, there are also some noble and human things that no one can understand.