Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 435 434 Card Ration
Tang Zhitong's idea of ​​getting bricks for the city wall was not to go to Xizhimen where he had gone to get bricks from the Post and Telecommunications College last time. That place was too far away, and he wouldn't be able to make more than a few trips there in a day if he didn't have anything else to do.

When going in and out of the house these two days, Tang Zhitong saw someone using a cart to pull bricks for the city wall home, so he went to ask Uncle Zhu at the water station about it.

Mr. Zhu's original words at the time were: "The city issued a plan a while ago, from the gap of the old Gulou Street through Andingmen, Dongzhimen, Chaoyangmen, Chongwenmen to Zhengyangmen, the eastern half of the inner city wall has to be demolished. Look, many people have spontaneously responded to the city's call."

In the eyes of some people, city wall bricks are cultural relics, but in the eyes of ordinary people nowadays, these things are just bricks that can be used to build houses and stoves, and they are free.

Since we are responding to the call, we have a reason to move home.

Even if someone wants to investigate, as the old saying goes, the law does not hold everyone responsible.

What's more, as far as Tang Zhitong knows, apart from a few people who feel sorry for the matter, no one is pursuing the matter at all.

After returning home, Tang Zhitong put down the cabbage, went back to the wing room, found an old coat and changed into it, then went out and said to Zhang Guifang, "Mom, I'm going to get some bricks for the city wall. I need to borrow a cart from Uncle Ma. Can you bring him two cabbages?"

"Go, get a few more persimmon cakes for Qiao'er." Zhang Guifang agreed readily, took out a pair of scissors, cut five persimmon cakes from a bunch of dried persimmon cakes, and handed them to Tang Zhitong.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong liked Zhang Guifang's sensibleness. Nowadays, many things are considered means of production, and they are the kind that you have but I don't.

No matter how good the relationship is, you should always show some appreciation when borrowing something, otherwise after the first time, there won't be a second time.

"Where are you going to pull it? I heard that we have to pry it, which is quite strenuous. I'll go with you." Zhang Guifang put down the scissors, looked at her clothes, and prepared to change to help.

"Please don't go. We have a strong laborer at home. If I let you go again, I'm afraid the neighbors' spit will drown me." Tang Zhitong refused firmly.

Tang Zhitong was afraid that others would say it was just an excuse and he didn't want his mother to suffer. The reason why he chose such a snowy day was because there were few people around on such days and he could use cheats.

Pull the cart out of the alley from Uncle Ma's house, go east along Huashi Street, turn left at the end and you will reach the East Gate.

Due to the construction of a new railway station, a railway was laid here, and trains traveled east and west across the site of the original East Gate.

Whether it is a railway or a highway, there is a construction principle: to make it as flat and straight as possible.

The terrain on the Dongbianmen side is higher, so the railway is laid directly there.

For safety reasons, both pedestrians and vehicles must give way to trains.

When the train came, someone lowered the railings on both sides and blew the train whistle to signal.

After the train passes, the railing is raised again, and only then can people and cars pass.

If you walk further south along the railway, you will see culverts. Because the terrain there is low, bridges have been built at some intersections, and pedestrians and vehicles pass under the bridges.

In either case, there are no barbed wire fences on either side of the railway, which is why so many people climb on trains and steal coal.

At present, iron production is not very ideal, and there are many places where iron is used, so many things can only be endured. Only after the reform and opening up and economic development can iron networks be laid on railways and highways.

Not far from the East Gate is Jianguomen, where there are unfinished city walls on both the north and south sides of the Jianguomen.

There are residents on both sides of the north wall of Jianguomen. Most of the residents on the west side of the south wall have moved away due to the construction of a railway station. The east side is close to the moat and Datong Bridge.

There are no residents on the east side. The advantage is that it does not attract attention, but the disadvantage is that the road is difficult to travel on.

Precisely because the road is difficult to travel on, no one has come to demolish the city wall here.

Whether it is on the road or not doesn’t matter much to Tang Zhitong, he just needs to pull the wood down and load it onto the truck.

Tang Zhitong pulled the cart to the foot of the city wall, lit a cigarette, and observed the surrounding environment.

First of all, there was no one here to remove the bricks, which created conditions for him to use the cheating device.

Next, Tang Zhitong paid special attention to the traffic flow on Jianguomenwai Street.

It started snowing yesterday afternoon and there is still no sign of stopping. Not many people go out on such days, and there are few pedestrians and even fewer vehicles on the road.

In this case, Tang Zhitong can pull it out with confidence.

To be on the safe side, Tang Zhitong walked south along the base of the city wall and only picked up bricks on the east side of the wall, one, two, three or four pieces at a time, having a lot of fun.

Even the dust in the middle of the city wall was not spared, and some of it was pulled into the space.

In the eyes of some people, the dust in the middle of the city wall is of no use at all. It is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly to dismantle it, and it is just a burden.

But in Tang Zhitong's eyes, this thing also has its own uses. It is not only strong, but also waterproof!
Its waterproof effect may be slightly worse than the green paste mud used in ancient tombs, but it is definitely a level higher than loess.

At that time, put a layer of dust around the cellar, and wow, then your own cellar will no longer be afraid of moisture.

After collecting a large piece of city wall bricks, Tang Zhitong walked back slowly and put eight bricks on the cart when no one was around.

Even though there are only eight pieces, they already weigh 400 kilograms. If there is an ox or horse pulling in front, more than ten pieces can be put in. You can pull it yourself and just show it to others.

As it turned out, there was no need to do this. There were very few people on the street, and even Mr. Zhu from the "intelligence station" hid in the water station to keep warm.

By the time Tang Zhitong arrived at the gate, the number of city wall bricks on the cart had increased to twenty.

"I'll help you move it." Zhang Guifang heard some noise outside, put down the needlework in her hands, and came out to say.

"Mom, don't interfere. Just lie down on the ground. I'm a little hungry. Go heat up some food for me." Tang Zhitong had no intention of letting Zhang Guifang interfere, so he found a reason to send her away.

The cabbages in the yard have been harvested and the yard is basically empty.

After moving away from the place where the cellar was to be dug, Tang Zhitong overturned the cart and left the bricks of the city wall lying on the ground.

"I thought it would take you a long time to come back, but you came back so soon." Zhang Guifang nagged when Tang Zhitong went back to the house to eat.

"Well, what a coincidence! The temporary workers arranged by the city were taking down the wall tiles. I handed them a box of cigarettes and they directly picked up the tiles and took them home. I had to hurry after dinner to go again, otherwise they would have finished transporting the tiles sooner or later." Tang Zhitong kept weaving white lies in various ways.

"I'll go over with you later, let's do it quickly." Zhang Guifang felt that since the cigarettes had been given away, she should get as much benefit as possible and not put it off until the next day.

"Don't worry, my dad is watching there. I'm afraid if I let you do hard work, he will jump out and beat me." Tang Zhitong said, pointing at the photos on the wall.

"You're already married, why are you still talking nonsense?" Zhang Guifang was happy. Knowing that her child didn't want to make her suffer, she didn't insist.

After lunch, Tang Zhitong continued to move bricks, mostly for show. At first, he moved eight bricks, then he became tired and slowly moved them down to six, five, and by the time he got to the gate, he moved up to twenty bricks.

When lifting the cart to pour the bricks, you can use the space to secretly add some materials. Perfect!
While Tang Zhitong was moving bricks, Wang Jingwen left work early and went directly to the Women's Federation in Shijia Hutong to find Ye Zhijuan.

Both the doorman and other staff knew Wang Jingwen. Not only did they not stop her, they also greeted her warmly.

Wang Jingwen responded politely and finally met her biological mother ten minutes later.

"Mom, something happened with Anzi yesterday..." Wang Jingwen was not polite with her mother. After closing the office door, she told Ye Zhijuan the whole story.

"It's easier to deal with this matter if it's corrected early than discovered late. Judging from the current situation, if we delay it for another year or two, we won't be able to escape punishment. There's no big problem this time, so don't worry, Anzi." After listening to this, Ye Zhijuan thought for a moment and spoke.

"Yeah, I think so too. Should we tell Uncle Hao?" Xiao Wang agreed with his mother's opinion.

"I'll talk to him later. Don't think about getting it back just because your quota was deducted. Don't stretch your hands too far. Trust Director Hu and don't ask too many questions." Ye Zhijuan reminded.

"Okay. Mom, I heard from Yingying that you had another day of meetings yesterday. You have to take care of your health." Xiao Wang pulled his mother's arm and advised her in a coquettish manner.

"Okay, I get it. The doctor's manual that Anzi helped to write is about to be finalized, and you two have given me so many ideas, so I have to follow up, right? It will be fine after I'm done with this busy period." Ye Zhijuan said with a slight smile.

"Then you have to take care of your health. If you do this again, I will tell Anzi that I will no longer care about you." Student Xiao Wang said coquettishly.

"You, you still have to do things that are beneficial to the country and the people. Let's go quickly and don't waste time here." Ye Zhijuan raised her hand to look at her watch and urged.

"Okay, then I'll go pick up Yingying first." Student Wang also looked at his watch and replied.

"Well, you will have food to eat from now on, so you don't need to bring it from here for now." Ye Zhijuan patted her daughter's hand and instructed.

"Then I'll go back and convey your instructions to Anzi." Student Wang stuck out his tongue, neither agreeing nor refusing.

When Xiao Wang picked up his two younger sisters and was on his way home, Tang Zhitong had already run more than ten times and was tired like a dog.

With the help of cheating plug-ins, the bricks on the surface are enough to build a cellar.

After Tang Zhitong finished his last trip, he returned the cart to Uncle Ma, sat on the bricks of the city wall, smoked a cigarette, and felt worried.

It is useful to have a hook, but you have to hide it from people's eyes. Next, whether it is digging a cellar or laying bricks, you have to find a way to prevent your family from participating.

If we follow the steps, the cellar will take at least ten days to complete. Tang Zhitong doesn't want to take the usual route as it is too tiring.

"Did you bring all these back?" After a while, classmate Xiao Wang took Fengzhen home from school, looked at the wall bricks in the yard, and asked in surprise.

"Well, that's awesome, right? Help me boil some water so I can take a shower. I'm so tired." Tang Zhitong raised his hand holding the cigarette, which was trembling a little.

"Okay. Do you want me to help you into the house?" Xiao Wang said with concern.

"No, I'll sit here for a while and rest." Tang Zhitong shook his head and refused. He was covered in sweat. The snow had stopped, but it hadn't started to melt yet. He didn't feel that cold, so it was a good opportunity to cool down.

"Fengzhen, go back to the room first. I'll stay here with your brother for a while." Student Xiao Wang took off his shoulder bag and handed it to his sister-in-law.

"Yeah." Feng Zhen nodded, took it and went into the house.

"I told my mother what you said yesterday..." Student Wang acted as a microphone and told Tang Zhitong what Ye Zhijuan meant.

"We still have to find a way to get the things. I'll do it, you don't have to worry about it." Tang Zhitong agreed with most of Ye Zhijuan's words. As for the supplies, he listened selectively.

It was not only Ye Zhijuan who was worried about Tang Zhitong's sudden reduction in ration. Zhang Guifang was also worried. The reason why they let the child eat as much as he wanted before was, on the one hand, because their son would occasionally "buy back" some food from outside, and on the other hand, because their son's ration was high and the family was well-off.

"Before we eat, let me tell you one thing." Zhang Guifang put the dishes and chopsticks neatly in place, and spoke to the children sitting at the table with a serious face.

"From today on, everyone in our family should only eat their own ration of food. I will divide the food according to your ration for each meal. We have harvested a lot of cabbage at home. If you are not full, eat more vegetables and drink some vegetable porridge." Zhang Guifang looked at Fengzhi carefully. The greediest person in the family is the little girl. Before, the ration of her son was not reduced, and she could still spare four or five kilograms to subsidize her daughter. But now it is no longer possible.

Fengzhi was confused and had no idea how much she was allowed to eat or whether she could fill her stomach.

Fengzhi nodded first, accepting whatever her mother said, without even thinking that she would be hungry next.

Fengzhen is sensible enough to know the hardships of life and what is happening outside.

Children in adolescence have a big appetite. Fengzhen saw many of her classmates complaining of hunger and being listless in class. They could only perk up when eating, and their eating speed and posture were like a hungry wolf seeing meat.

During breaks, many students would try not to move around, save energy, and stay in the classroom chatting and discussing how to fill their stomachs with limited food.

Some say to eat less in the morning and at noon, save the daily quota and eat at night, so that you can sleep well.

Some say that as long as you eat quickly, you can feel full temporarily.

Some say that drinking enough water and trying not to move around can help you trick yourself into thinking you are full.

Some said that they saved half a pound of food coupons every day, and when they went home on Saturday, they could buy a bowl of soft noodles at a restaurant, which would fill their stomachs...

Student Xiao Wang opened her mouth and wanted to say something to persuade them, but she didn't know what to say. After all, she had no ability to change the current situation, so she could only turn her eyes to Tang Zhitong.

"Mom, you're right, I support it." To Xiao Wang's surprise, Tang Zhitong actually voted in favor.

The reason why Tang Zhitong agreed was that he wanted to perform it in front of his two younger sisters to avoid letting the secret slip outside. In addition, there were two practical reasons.

First, he wanted his two younger sisters to experience firsthand the hardships of life, living in an alley where people were hungry and could not be separated from the masses.

Second, the neighbors had long ears, and the change in rations would not be kept secret for long, because at the end of the month, food coupons were distributed to everyone in the alley.

Before this, Fengzhi didn't complain about being hungry, which could be explained as she had eaten Tang Zhitong's ration, after all, it was 47 kilograms. But after it was changed to 34 kilograms, it was a bit unreasonable for her not to complain about being hungry.

Besides, Tang Zhitong knew what was going on. He strictly controlled the food ration. Fengzhi and Fengzhen would definitely not have enough to eat, but they would not be so hungry that they would get sick.

With each family's ration and cabbage, they can barely reach 80% full, which is much better than other families.

What's more, Zhang Guifang would definitely secretly take some of her own money and give it to the child.

(End of this chapter)