Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 9 Chen Gong

Old Xia took the helmet, handed one to Xiao Wei, put one on himself, and said, "Did you ask what happened? What did Old Ha say?"

Xiao Wu handed the safety helmet to Jianjun and said, "I asked, and Lao Ha said his brother-in-law needed money and asked if he could get some in advance, but I didn't agree. What kind of decent work can his brother-in-law do? It's just that Lao Ha spoils him. If you ask me, his wife should be dumped. What kind of family is this?"

Old Xia laughed, kicked Xiao Wu, and said, "Always spouting nonsense, don't say it in front of Lao Ha, you hear me? It's their business, why are you interfering? The money is paid according to the contract, pay what's due, and don't worry about what's not due."

Xiao Wu nodded in agreement and said, "I just can't stand it. You know, Lao Ha, he's only gotten ahead with us in the last few years, but what did he do? He ended up with a bunch of ingrates. If you guys hadn't stopped me, I would have beaten him up already. He's getting worse and worse as he gets older, what a bunch of idiots."

Old Xia said to Jianjun, "Find someone to go to the city and see what his brother-in-law is up to over there. If he's doing something legitimate, fine. But if he's just messing around, break his legs and bring him back. Don't let Old Ha know about this, and don't get involved."

Jianjun nodded in agreement.

Xiao Wu said, "The key is his spendthrift wife. Lao Ha listens to you, so you should advise him to divorce her. Can't you find someone else? She hasn't even laid a child yet, and all she knows is to go back to her parents' house. What's the point of living together like this?"

Old Xia scratched his head and said, "This is a damn complicated situation. How can I put it? He just really likes that woman's lap, what can I do?"

Xiao Wu said, "I've got people keeping an eye on her. I don't believe she's the kind of person who can settle down and live an honest life. If I find anything, I'll kill her."

Old Xia said, "Alright, you do what you think is best, just don't let Old Ha know, otherwise it'll be hard to say, and we might end up fighting."

After exchanging a few words, Lao Xia called out to Xiao Wei, and the three of them, including Jianjun, walked into the construction site together.

At that time, building a three- or four-story slab building was still a precast slab project. They would lay a foundation, pour a ground beam, and then start laying bricks. After laying one layer, they would pour a ring beam and then put on the precast slabs. They would then lay more bricks on top of that, and even the roof was made of precast slabs. Then they would lay sand, use cement to create a slope, and finally apply asphalt for waterproofing.

There wasn't any professional scaffolding at the time; it was just large wooden beams tied together with wire, with planks laid in the middle, and there wasn't even a safety net.

Several electric mixers rumbled and whirred, piles of red bricks were stacked around the perimeter, a cement shed stood at the other end of the site, and someone was there to keep track and count the work. Sand was piled on the outermost edge, separated by a lime pit. People, sweating profusely, ran back and forth, pushing bricks, sand, cement, and mixed mortar in wheelbarrows.

In front of each building was a large hoisting platform. A wheelbarrow was pushed up, and the person got down. An electric winch lifted the platform up, and then the person up pushed the wheelbarrow down to empty it, returning the empty wheelbarrow to the platform. The person operating the winch looked quite impressive on the construction site. This thing was really not something an ordinary person could operate. It was not like the elevators of later generations. This thing was just suspended by a steel cable, and there was nothing else. It all depended on experience.

People are not allowed to sit on these things because there is no safety guarantee. But in reality, some construction workers always slack off and sit on them, so injuries and even deaths frequently occur.

The three of them walked downstairs to the construction site. There were a few temporary houses there, and the hoisting winch was at the head of one of the houses. A female worker wearing a safety helmet looked up at the hoisting platform and operated the lever.

Old Xia said to Xiao Wei, "You can't sit on this thing. Remember that. Don't be lazy and try to walk a few steps. If something happens to this thing, it'll be a big deal."

Xiao Wei turned his head to look at the winch and nodded in agreement.

I went inside. A man was sitting at a table looking at blueprints, shirtless with his clothes tossed aside. A red hard hat lay on the table. The room reeked of sweat. An electric fan whirred on, but it didn't seem to make things any cooler.

"What are you looking at, Engineer Chen?" Old Xia asked as he entered the room.

Engineer Chen turned his head and glanced at the scene, saying, "General Manager Xia is here. Jianjun. I'm just looking at the positions of these main drainage pipes, just wondering what's up."

Old Xia pulled up a chair, sat down, took out a cigarette and offered one to Engineer Chen, saying, "Nothing much. What are you thinking about?"

After looking at the blueprints, Engineer Chen said, "I think there's a problem with the location of the main drain pipe. Let's see if we can change it. It's too much trouble to change it now that it's installed here. It'll be difficult without tearing down the wall."

When buildings are being constructed, all the water pipes are made of iron, especially the drainage pipes, which are cast iron pipes connected in sections and sealed with cement. Leaks and rusts are very common and require frequent maintenance and repairs.

Old Xia nodded and said, "I don't know anything about this. You can figure it out yourself. If you think it needs to be changed, then change it. Engineer Chen, this is my nephew. He wants to work on the construction site. Can you arrange for a skilled worker to mentor him? Let him start as a laborer. His salary will be the normal rate."

Engineer Chen looked at Xiao Wei, nodded, and said, "Okay." He stood up, grabbed his clothes and put them on, picked up his safety helmet, and said, "Come on, I'll take you there."

Old Xia said to Xiao Wei, "Go with Engineer Chen, do a good job, and ask your master if you don't understand anything."

Xiao Wei agreed and followed Engineer Chen towards the construction site.

After bypassing the pile of bricks, the path inside was full of potholes from the wheelbarrow. The two of them trudged through the puddles, carefully avoiding the water, and crawled through the wooden frame to enter the building.

They climbed the stairs all the way to the top, the third floor. Precast slabs had already been laid, and steel reinforcement was being tied and the ring beams poured; people were coming and going. Engineer Chen led Xiao Wei further in, and at the top, he called out to a man squatting there smoking, "Old Liu."

Old Liu turned around and saw it was Engineer Chen. He quickly stood up and said, "Engineer Chen, what's up?"

Engineer Chen said, "I'll add you to the team as a junior worker. He's new here, so you can teach him a bit."

Old Liu looked at Xiao Wei, frowned, and said, "So thin? Can he handle it? He's too young!"

Engineer Chen turned to Xiao Wei and asked, "How old are you?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm seventeen." In Northeast China, age is measured in the traditional Chinese way, which is sixteen years old.

Old Liu sized up Xiao Wei for a few moments and asked, "What have you done before?"

Xiao Wei said, "Farming, gathering firewood on the mountain. Don't worry, Master, I can do it, I'm strong."

Old Liu shook his head, rubbed his calloused hands together, looked at his palms, and said, "I just came from home. This won't do. I can't do anything. I can't even carry a brick. What good will this do? Engineer Chen, won't this cause delays?"

Xiao Wei blushed, glanced at Lao Liu, and then turned to look at Engineer Chen.

Engineer Chen licked his lips, thought for a moment, and said, "He's over sixteen, he can do it. You teach him." He said to Xiao Wei, "From now on, you'll work with Lao Liu. Do whatever he tells you to do. You'll earn 1.5 yuan a day. Collect your salary from me monthly. You work one day at a time." He then said to Lao Liu, "Take him under your wing and talk to him about safety issues." He patted Xiao Wei on the shoulder, turned around, and left.