Rebirth of Rural Literary Life

Chapter 55 The Good Life
From Yingcheng to Pingxian County, and then from Pingxian County to He Ping in the commune, it has been a long time. It was already past 3 o'clock in the afternoon when He Ping arrived at the commune middle school. The commune middle school is in Liangtun, far from the commune. The courtyard is not far.

He Ping found the principal of Commune Middle School with Director Mao's note, and explained his intentions to him, hoping that the school could help promote the pen copybook, and promised to the principal that every time Commune Middle School sold a set of pen copybooks, he would give the school a copybook. The commission of [-] cents is the same as the promise to Liang Yuejin. If you want the horse to run, you will naturally let the horse graze.

As soon as he heard that there was still a commission, the principal's originally perfunctory attitude was immediately enthusiastic, and he took He Ping from classroom to classroom to promote it.

There are about 300 students in the entire school of Commune Middle School, with a total of three grades and six classes.It was the time for the self-study class in the afternoon, and He Ping's publicity did not delay the teachers' teaching.

He Ping's publicity didn't last long, and one class only stayed for three to five minutes.He mainly showed everyone the copybooks he had written and talked about the advantages of practicing copybooks.After all, the price of a copybook is not cheap, which is equivalent to more than a day’s income of parents of students at this stage. Students must go home and discuss with their parents. Even if children find it novel and want to learn to write, the final decision The power is still in the hands of the parents.

It took more than half an hour to finish the propaganda work. He left 100 sets of copybooks for the commune middle school.Arranged with the principal, let the students go home and communicate with their parents first, and if the purchase quantity of the students is counted, let the students pay first.

On the way He Ping rode home from the commune middle school, the north wind blew his face.

It was late autumn, and He Ping realized this. He thought of the two earthen houses at home. If he still lives there this winter, it will be very difficult.

Living in an earthen house for more than half a year has suffered a lot. Before that, I didn’t have that condition. Now that the novel has been published, the chicken farm is about to make money, so I should treat myself better.

When passing by Dingtun Primary School, it was just after school. He Ping picked up Xiao Zhuer after a while.

"Zhu'er, what kind of new house do you want?"

Xiao Zhu'er, who was sitting on the beam of the sophomore year, didn't understand what it meant, and looked up at him suspiciously.

"Dad has money in his hands. He is going to build a new house. Do you have any ideas?"

Xiao Zhuer thought for a long time, "I want glass windows."

He Ping smiled and said, "Of course you have to have it, what else?"

"There must be a stove."

"anything else?"

This stumped Xiao Zhu'er, the child had suffered a lot since he was a child, and he was young, so he didn't know anything about the house.

I racked my brains and couldn't figure out why.

"Dad tell you, okay?"

"Ah."

He Ping raised his eyes and looked ahead, thinking, "First of all, the two of us have to share a room."

"I want to sleep with you on a kang." Xiao Zhu'er interjected.

"Okay, sleep on a kang with me, and go to sleep in your room when you grow up. I want to write, and I need a quiet environment, so I need a study room. I also need a living room, do you know the living room? " He Ping asked.

Xiao Zhuer shook his head.

"It's a place to entertain guests, and there must be a kitchen, that is, the outbuilding. When the time comes, we don't have to eat on the edge of the kang, but put a dining table in the outbuilding."

Xiao Zhu'er thought about it according to He Ping's description. Such a new home is a bit nice.

"We still have to build a toilet, but it can't be like this. Our fat water won't flow into other people's fields. When the time comes, we can build a flush toilet, and go to the toilet in the house. After using the toilet, pull the rope, wow~ and it will be flushed away."

Xiao Zhuer has never heard of a flush toilet. Is there such a miraculous thing in this world?

"How smelly is the toilet in the house? Where does the water come from?" Although Dad described it very well, Xiao Zhuer always felt a little unreliable and expressed his doubts.

He Ping didn't expect a child to be so thoughtful. He was just talking nonsense out of habit, so it was really difficult to think about it.

"Then there's no need for a flush toilet, let's use a squat toilet."

"What is a squatting toilet?"

"Just dig a hole in the ground, use a ceramic basket to go to the toilet, scoop up some water and flush it."

"Then why not just dig a hole in the ground and use it as a toilet?"

"There are so many problems in the children's family." The child's naive questioning broke He Ping's fantasy. Why did he feel that the father was not as thoughtful as the child, and felt that his tone was not good. He Ping patiently explained: "Using a squat toilet is cleaner and more convenient."

"Oh." Xiao Zhu'er didn't say anything more. Although Dad is always unreliable, he seems to have done everything he said, so trust him for now.

He Ping thought about it. It seems unrealistic to put the toilet in the house in this era. Now there is no PPR pipeline.Forget it, let's put the toilet outside and get a squatting toilet. At least it should be clean, and we can't pursue perfection so much.

"All rooms must have windows, and you can see the outside from any room. This is called a full-bright apartment." He Ping recalled the term that he was fooled by the intermediary when he looked at the house in later generations.

"There must be heating in the house." He Ping thought of a very critical issue. The winter in the Northeast is four or five months, and there is no need for heating. "Install radiators in every room. We have coal tickets now. In winter Once the stove is burning, it will not be cold in the house wearing autumn clothes and long trousers."

In Xiao Zhuer's memory, winter is always cold, even if he is wearing clothes inside the house, it is still terribly cold. He is looking forward to the scene his father described, his little face is full of hope.

"We still need to dig a well in the yard, but unfortunately we can't get a water pump, otherwise it would be much more convenient for us to use water. I also have to tell the old captain that a wire needs to be pulled, and the house needs to be powered on."

In the 70s, many production brigades in the rural areas of Northeast China had access to electricity, but few could afford it.

Uncle Benshan once said that "flashlight" is the only household appliance in his sketch, which is a true portrayal of this era.

If anyone's house has a radio, it will be a big deal, and the house will often become a meeting place for the whole brigade.

Life without electricity is still inconvenient. Even without those convenient household appliances, it is good to have an electric light at night.

"At that time, I will build the courtyard wall, plant some flowers and plants in the yard, and set up a grape trellis and a small gazebo. Hehehe, in the summer evening, I will sit in the gazebo to enjoy the shade, and you go to the grape trellis to pick grapes, hehe hey-hey."

He Ping couldn't help laughing out loud while talking, what a wonderful life!

The father and son were riding bicycles in the autumn wind, imagining their future life.

(End of this chapter)