Signing in during the Republic of China: Starting from a foot patrol

Before

entering the courtyard, Zhang Jincai tried his best to suppress the depression and sorrow in his heart, and deliberately put on a smiling face to enter the house.

Although losing his errand made Zhang Jincai feel very stressed in his heart, he did not want this pressure to spread to his family.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Zhang Jincai saw his wife, Zhang Lishi, sitting on a small bench, leaning against the door frame, a worn, patched trouser on her knee, and his hands were putting another patch on the pants.

During the Republican period, poor people could not afford clothes, so when the clothes were broken, they could only choose to sew and mend.

Some poor men who could not afford to marry wives, but they could not sew and mend their clothes, would give their clothes to some women for sewing and mending them, and then give the women a little money as remuneration afterwards.

Over time, the work of 'sewing poverty' was produced.

Many women with weak bodies and mobility problems will do this work in order to make some money.

However, the business target of 'sewing poor' is poor after all, so every time they sew and mend clothes, they don't make much money.

But it's better than not earning a penny!

Because Zhang Lishi was weak and could not go out to find something to do, he did the 'sewing poor' thing to earn some ration money for the family.

As soon as Zhang Jincai entered the courtyard door, as if he had a spiritual rhino, Zhang Lishi, who lowered his head and mended his clothes, immediately raised his head.

"Why are you back here?" Zhang Lishi asked suspiciously.

Zhang Jincai squeezed out a smile, and while taking off his shirt, he lied: "Oh, today the new chief took office, and gave us old patrolmen a day off.

Zhang Lishi nodded: "That's good, you should also rest for a day, spinning around the street every day, your legs are running thin, cough cough..."

As he spoke, Zhang Lishi suddenly coughed violently.

Zhang Jincai's face was obviously flustered, and he quickly stepped forward and kept stroking his wife's back, wanting to give her a smooth breath.

Immediately afterwards, he quickly ran into the room and took out a glass medicine bottle with more than a dozen pills in it, and a bowl of cool white open in his left hand.

"Hurry up and take this pill!"

"This western medicine works quickly, and you won't cough if you eat it!" Zhang Jincai said.

However, Zhang Lishi waved his hand vigorously, gasped and said: "No, this western medicine tablet is expensive, and a bottle of medicine is covered with several bags of white noodles, so you have to save it."

"I didn't cough badly today, just slow down for a while, and when I can't stand the cough one day, it's time to eat again!"

"But then you can't carry it alive, last time you coughed up blood!"

"I'm done with this pill, I can't buy it anymore!" Zhang Jincai couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Don't spend that unjust money, my cough is not a mortal disease, just carry it for a while."

"Besides, the eldest is going to say the age of the daughter-in-law, and the second and third children are also long bodies, so we have to use the money on the blade." Zhang Lishi finally stopped coughing, but his face was pale.

A small medicine bottle, held in Zhang Jincai's hand but like a thousand pounds, he no longer persuaded his wife to take medicine, but silently handed over the water, let his wife smooth the blood.

Zhang Jincai lowered his head, his face showed a thick guilt, since his wife married him, he had never enjoyed happiness.

But who let himself be impatient, he is old, he is still a small patrolman, and the money he earns in a month is barely enough for the family to eat and drink.

I finally plucked up the courage to borrow usury to give Li Zhang a gift, thinking that he could save more money by finding an errand at the door of the house.

But in the end, the bamboo basket was empty, the door of the house was not standing, and 10 pieces of ocean were also detained by Li Zhang.

"I'm so useless!"

Zhang Jincai silently scolded himself.

At this time, a hand was placed on Zhang Jincai's neck, feeling the familiar roughness from the palm, and Zhang Jincai knew that it was his wife's hand.

Think of when I first got married, my wife's hands were white, thin and smooth, but now, they are as rough as sandpaper, like a crumpled root carving, carved with countless traces of the hardships of life.

And the reason why his wife has been sick is also because she had just given birth to three girls in the cold winter month, and in order to earn more money to subsidize the family, she was stunned to wash clothes for a family when she was not out of confinement.

In the cold winter and the moon, the water carried ice slag, which directly made Zhang Li's who did not have a confinement seriously ill, and finally fell ill, and it has not been good until now.

Zhang Jincai's heart was even more lost.

"Dad, I don't know what happened to you today."

"If you don't want to say it, I won't ask more."

"But..."

The couple have been married for twenty years, and they have already had a tacit understanding, and Zhang Lishi can clearly feel that her husband has encountered difficulties.

Moreover, to make the husband so uncomfortable, it must be related to money.

It's just that he doesn't want to worry about himself, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Zhang Lishi was willing to save the last face for her husband, and she said softly: "His father, our family is short of money, but the eldest will be able to go out to work and earn money immediately, and the two little ones can also help me do housework."

"Although I can't tell the door, I can reliably repair the seams, and I can also earn a few pounds of stick noodles."

"You put everything on yourself, what's difficult, let's carry it all together."

"Our family does not steal, rob, or deceive, God will not embarrass good people!"

Although his wife Zhang Li's voice was soft, it was like flowing water that dispersed Zhang Jincai's inner defenses.

Just for a moment, Zhang Jincai's eyes were red, and two lines of tears flowed.

Lost his errand, had no money to support his family, and on the way home, Zhang Jincai didn't know how to face his wife.

He originally planned to hide it, but his wife's words made Zhang Jincai let his guard down, and he decided to confess everything to his wife:

"His mother, I offended Li Zhang, the patrolman's errand was lost, and the input of the six oceans in January was gone."

Hearing this news, although Zhang Lishi was mentally prepared, he was still stunned for a few seconds.

No wonder my husband left work early today, no wonder as soon as he entered the hospital, he felt that something was wrong with his husband.

Zhang Lishi was silent for a moment and then comforted:

"It's okay, isn't it just an errand, if you lose it, let's find some other work to do."

"I didn't cough so badly during this time, I don't have to take medicine anymore, and I can save a lot of medicine money."

"If you find a job to do, our family will still not die of hunger."

Zhang Jincai also nodded, and after confessing to his wife, he relaxed a lot: "No, no, the medicine should be eaten or taken, this money cannot be saved."

"I also think about it, I will go to pull a foreign car, the boss of the Tongshun car shop has a good relationship with me, I go to his place to rent a foreign car, and I can earn a lot in a day, better than being a patrolman!"

Zhang Lishi was a little worried: "But you are forty, and you still go to pull a foreign car, can this body withstand it?"

"Let's find a separate errand, at least don't be so tired."

Zhang Jincai smiled: "Don't worry, don't look at me at forty, this day patrolling the streets, seeing the sky walking, the body is hard."

"Then you also have to be leisurely, enough for us to eat and drink, don't carry it, if you collapse, our family will be gone!" Zhang Lee said.

"I'm worried, I know it!" Zhang Jincai said with a smile.

Just as Zhang Jincai and his wife were about to continue discussing how to live in the future, an abrupt and familiar voice sounded in the courtyard.

"That..."

"Zhang Jin..."

"Oh, no, is Big Brother Zhang at home?"

Zhang Jincai looked up, and his face was suddenly shocked.

I saw that outside the gate of the courtyard, Li Zhangzheng, who had fired himself from the police station, poked his head into the courtyard and looked into the courtyard, carrying cigarettes, liquor, snacks, fruits and other things in his two hands.