The Era of Hard Work

  Chapter 4 Men's Assurance

  The sky was bright, and most of the people went home to rest temporarily, leaving only a few on duty. Lu Dong did not go to the orchard, but entered Lujia Village along the road by the river.

   He wanted to visit the old house first.

  The village is a typical concrete road. It rained a while ago, and when I stepped on it in some places, the mud didn’t cover my ankles.

Taidong Province is a province with a large population, and its economic aggregate ranks among the top in the country for consecutive years. Quannan is the provincial capital and was promoted to a sub-provincial city last year. It is next to Qingzhao County on the east side of Quannan City. In the first, many lists of the top 100 counties in the country can also be around 80.

   Even the university towns built by Taidong Province and Quannan City are located in Qingzhao County.

  According to normal development, in a few years, Qingzhao County will be changed to Qingzhao District.

   However, given the age and social environment, even with the economy of Qingzhao County, the hardened roads only reach the entrances of each village. If the situation in the village is better, they can subsidize part of the road themselves and build the main road in the village.

   Lujia Village has hardened the main road and market street, from the south entrance of the village to the north of the Qingzhao River Xinqiao Gate, after the bridge is Majia Village.

   This is also the official road of Qingzhao County in ancient times.

  The Lvjia Village has a long history. The family tree of the Lv family can be traced back to the early Ming Dynasty and was moved from Hongdong by the big locust tree.

   With the development of the times, this official road has long been turned into a rural road, and the once prosperity of the Lu family gathering has also been submerged in the changing times.

   The surname Lu lived in the west of the village. The generation who propped up the village like his uncle, most of them approved new foundations and went to the south of the village to build new houses. Lujia Street is basically an old house.

   Lu Dong walked on the muddy road with one foot and one foot, and looked at the blue brick houses on the old street. If the embankment burst in the early morning, all this would be turned into ruins in the turbid ocean.

   Came to the south of the old street, and Lu Dong easily found his old house.

  Similar to most houses in the old street, the old house is based on strips of stone, with blue brick walls and blue tiles on the roof.

  The roof was covered with weeds and fell with the wind.

  The paint on the door is peeling off, the moths are obvious, and a clean wooden sign with yellow characters on a red background hangs on the door beam - a glorious family!

   After watching silently for a while, Lu Dong's eyes fell on the big lock that locked the door. After a brief recollection, he cut out a small section of broken bricks on the left wall, took out the key, and opened the door.

  Many people in rural areas do this, mainly because the poor have nothing to steal.

   Entering the door, the cracked old shadow wall was tied with thick iron wire in several places, and pulled on the thick toon tree behind.

  Between the branches of the toon tree and the shadow wall, a wooden stick about the thickness of the forearm was tied, and a homemade sandbag made of flour pockets was hung, and there were faint print marks on it.

  Lu Dong went over and punched, and the sandbag shook.

  Lv Chun, a brother from the lobby, taught military boxing several times when he retired from the army and transferred to the police station. Influenced by movies and TV, the middle two teenagers got sandbags to practice blindly.

   I've been making troubles all these years.

  Looking back and thinking about the stupid things I did, I panicked.

  The old lady returned to the orchard and was not in the old house. Lu Dong closed the door, came to the water press, poured the water on it, and pressed the water hard.

  The village has tap water early, but only in the morning and evening.

   Sometimes the power is cut off, and water is not released in the evening.

  The water level skyrocketed, and the iron bucket was full without much effort.

  Lu Dong took off his dirty clothes, threw them into a large cast aluminum basin, picked up a scoop, and scooped water to rinse his body.

   One after another, yellow muddy water flows along the green bricks on the floor.

   The wound on the hand is no longer painful, and it is not a problem for the children who grew up on the farm.

  Cleaned up, put on a pair of slippers, Lu Dong went to the east room where he lived to get dressed first, still a middle school uniform and coarse cloth pants.

  The interior of the house is simple, with two benches and a single bed supported by three wooden boards, a table and stools painted brown, and a large standing cabinet that my parents bought when they got married.

   There is a large stand with double doors and a half-length mirror in the middle. Lu Dong put on his clothes and glanced at it: The young man is tall and strong, and he is not bad looking.

   seems to have a nickname of Kuisheng at school.

   turned around and was about to leave. He noticed the Young and Dangerous posters on the wall. Lu Dong tore them all without hesitation. Instead, there were two animated posters that he couldn't get rid of.

   It was a red robot full of righteousness and a white robot covered in evil.

  Lu Dong retracted his hand and rounded the Young and Dangerous posters into waste paper, leaving behind the pillars and Brother Tian.

   After leaving the east room, Lv Dong threw the waste paper into the trash can made of old paint buckets, and also threw away the ignorance. Then, he entered the main room, reached out and grabbed the cable and turned on the light.

   The yellowish lights fill the whole house, and the main room is equally simple. There is a black Eight Immortals table between the two large chairs, a round table for eating is tucked under the table, and old horses are piled up by the wall.

  There are several paintings and calligraphy hanging on the east and west walls. On the upper and lower cabinets are celadon round pots and white china teacups. Behind the glass sliding door, there are also a stack of celadon dishes, with a silky antique flavor.

  This is not an old object. The calligraphy and painting were drawn by Lu Dong's late grandfather in the late 1980s. He was a middle school teacher in his early years.

  The calligraphy and painting have been hung on the wall for a long time, and the painting paper and mounting are obviously yellowed.

Porcelain Lu Dong also has an impression. When he was about ten years old, Cheng Lifeng’s cousin bought foreign trade ceramics, which were cheap, beautiful and strong. Many people in the nearby villages bought them, but they were quickly labeled as speculative. seen.

  There are no real old objects in this house, maybe there were, but they were all destroyed and burned down when they were broken.

  The wall directly above the Eight Immortals Table is different from ordinary people. It is not hung in the middle hall, but a black and white photo frame.

  The person in the photo is wearing a large-brimmed hat and staring into the distance with resolute eyes.

   Lu Dong knelt down and kowtowed, his eyes gradually gathered and determined, like a man in a photo frame.

   "I will support this family!" Lu Dong's thoughts were unprecedentedly firm.

  The main room fell into silence, and the simple furniture set off the assurance of a man.

   Lu Dong pulled out the lamp and left the main room. He went back to the east room and fell asleep. The exhaustion caused by the heavy manual labor all night made him fall asleep quickly.

   I was thinking about the water situation in my heart. I didn't sleep long this time. After Lu Dong got up, the sun was still hanging in the due east.

   After a brief wash, Lu Dong locked the door and walked out of the north of the village to the river bank.

Going to the orchard along the river bank, the water level of Qingzhao River is still strong. It was dark last night. I can't see it clearly. Now I look around, and the yellow rapids that send large water hyacinths continuously downstream are only one meter away from the top of the embankment. running underfoot.

   Opposite the river bank, Majia Village is also guarded, and the pressure there is also not small.

   When he came to the place where he fought last night, Li Wenyue sat on the sandbag and stared at the river embankment.

   "You didn't sleep?" Lu Dong stopped and asked.

  Li Wenyue's hair was falling down, and he habitually shook his head. He said helplessly: "I can't lift it with my hands, and I can't carry it on my shoulders. Last night, I didn't do anything except banging gongs to call people. In this situation in the village, I always have to contribute."

   The two of them played together with their bare bottoms until they grew up. They were all classmates from Yuhong Class to the third year of high school. When he had something to say, he said, "You have changed your sex."

   Lu Dong rolled his eyes: "I also have reliable times, okay!" He quickly changed the subject: "Is there any good news."

   "The third grandpa just came here. He said that the above call was made, and the reservoir will not lift the gate again." Li Wenyue said in a low voice: "Keep the current flow for the time being."

   He laughed suddenly: "It's still a matter. Our mayor of Ningxiu Town came from the county town early in the morning. The car was lying in the water in the bridge hole of the expressway, and all the cars behind were blocked. Uncle Jianshe took people there."

   Lu Dong shook his head, the rain and water accumulation in the highway and bridge holes have long been a major problem that plagued the normal travel in rural areas of Qingzhao County.

   "I went to the orchard for breakfast, have you eaten yet?"

  Li Wenyue waved his hand: "I have eaten."

  Lu Dong went down the river bank and walked towards the orchard, and across the distance, he saw the familiar blue brick and blue tile buildings in the orchard.

  The divine beast stared coldly at the ground, inexplicably gloomy.

   This is the columbarium of Lujia Village. The lower house next to it is the residence of the orchard.

  Because of his father, Lv Jianjun, the village took great care of his family and also used it as a columbarium guard. The village did not give money, but the more than 20 acres of orchards only charged a small contract fee.

   But the social and economic environment is here, and more depends on yourself.

   Guoguang is planted in the orchard. In recent years, red Fuji has become popular, and Guoguang can’t sell it at a high price.

   These days, farmers can’t make much money for farming, just like orchards, the village is contracted to you at a low price, and it’s impossible to pay for the public grain.

   There are more than 20 acres of orchards, and the public grain alone is a huge cost.

   There are a lot of people who are planting fruit and can't afford the public grain.

  Lü Dong came to the gate of the orchard along the outer wall made of sour jujube branches, and after entering, he saw his mother, Hu Chunlan.

  A man in his forties, because of his long-term labor, his skin is rough and red and black, and his hair is mixed with some silver threads.

   "Dongzi, come and eat!" Hu Chunlan saw her son.

   Lu Dong has thousands of words, and finally they all converge into one word: "Mom..."

  Hu Chunlan asked, "What's wrong?"

   "Last night there was a lot of water, I was worried that the embankment would collapse..."

   Lu Dong was interrupted by Hu Chunlan before she could finish her sentence: "Jing said something inauspicious." She pointed to the small table in the shade of the tree: "Come over, I'll serve you a meal."

   Lu Dong did not go there, and accompanied Hu Chunlan to bring dishes and rice bowls out.

   There are three dishes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and cucumbers, pig ears mixed with cucumbers, and fried golden cicadas, far exceeding the standard of normal meals at home.

   "Mom, you eat too." Lu Dong greeted the old lady: "In the morning, just make whatever you want."

  Hu Chunlan picked up the chopsticks: "You put in a lot of effort last night and eat more. Hey, that's good, the village has always been kind to us, and you have to go up there if you have something."

   She urged Lv Dong: "Try it now, I bought the pig ears at Cheng Lifeng's butcher's shop. They were freshly marinated last night. The water made by his family is always good."

   Lu Dong ate a piece of pig ear, and the crispy bone crunched: "I think it's better to boil the pig into the water."

   Speaking of this, Hu Chunlan did his part: "There are a lot of people in Lujia Village who are good at this craft, and our family can count them. But if it's not a New Year or a festival, you can't buy brine."

She pushed the plate of golden cicadas to Lu Dong's side: "Try it, you like it when you are a kid, it was caught in the orchard these two days. It's hot and rainy, and the monkeys are crawling everywhere. The door was cool last night. , and one climbed on my shoe."

   Lu Dong could see that there were many holes as thick as index fingers on the ground around them, most of which were left by the monkey crawling out.

  Due to the existence of the columbarium, few people here come to arrest it. The orchard has been in existence for more than ten years and there are many trees. This thing cannot be described as flooding.

   For orchards, they know that they are pests, and they were once listed on the pesticide control list.

  Hu Chunlan said again: "I saw your uncle, let's go over for dinner the day after tomorrow, and your elder brother will come back. Lu Chun has just been transferred to the University City police station, and it is rare to take a break...

"Guoguang can't sell at a high price, and the contract expires in the winter. There is a meeting in the town to let the collective orchards of the villages be replanted with red Fuji. These old trees have to be cut down. We can't afford to wait for the new trees to bear fruit. This season is over. If you don’t contract any more, you will find another way to make a living.”

   Listening to the old lady's nagging and eating the food at home, Lu Dong's heart is full of happiness.

   Once he realized that this was also a kind of happiness, but he never heard it again.

   Ask for support!

   (end of this chapter)