Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

"Grandma, my family is a family of martyrs. If we have any problems, we can ask the government. If you want a job, you can go to the neighborhood committee and ask if Director Zhang and the others can take care of our family and arrange a job for you that's close to home and has less work."

Han Zhao slapped her thigh and said, "That's right! Our family is very old and young, we are a poor family!

I'll go and ask Director Zhang tomorrow. We don't mind temporary workers. It's a bit of income to have something to do first.

If it doesn't work, I can get some matchbox porridge, which will be enough for my mother and me to eat. If it's closer to home, I can grow vegetables and raise chickens, and maybe I can save some money! ..."

After washing up, the mother and daughter got on the kang, turned off the dim lights, lay their heads on the pillows, and planned their future life.

The next morning, grandma cooked two bowls of millet porridge and boiled an egg in it for her granddaughter.

"Zhao Zhao, eat this egg. You've lost weight in the past few days, and your face has become round!

After dinner, you wash the dishes at home while I go to the neighborhood committee to hand in the matchbox and see if there is any work I can do."

"Grandma, you eat. I am full after drinking millet porridge. I am not thin. I am just growing taller. You are the one who has lost weight. You should eat something good to replenish yourself."

"Why are you smoking? I'm thin, but grandma's eyes are not blind!

It’s also grandma’s fault. I haven’t taken care of you these days and haven’t cooked properly. I’m sorry for you!

You’re old and you won’t grow no matter what you eat. Wouldn’t it be a waste to give you the egg?

You are still growing? Your parents are both tall. If you don't eat well and don't grow tall, how can I face your parents in the future?"

"Grandma, what are you talking about? How about this, we'll each have half!"

Han Zhaozhao knew it was useless to talk, so he took the egg from his grandmother's hand, knocked it on the table, rolled it gently, peeled off the skin, broke it in two, sat up on his knees, reached out and stuffed half of the egg in his right hand directly into his grandmother's mouth.

"I don't want to eat it, I don't want to eat it, you eat it... Hey, kid, it's just one egg, just enough for one bite, and... um..." Han Zhao smiled, covered her mouth and slowly chewed the egg in her mouth.

One gains wisdom through experience. My granddaughter has really grown up!

The old lady's eyes are red again!

"Grandma, you love me, and I love you too! Let's make a deal. From now on, if there are two mouthfuls of food in our house, we each take one, and if there is one mouthful, we each take half a mouthful. That's it!"

"What? It's settled? You're still a child. Eating more will make you grow taller. But if I eat too much, it will only make me grow wrinkles and white hair. It's useless. How can you compare with me?"

After breakfast, Han Zhaozhao cleared the table and washed the dishes and pots. Han Zhao combed her hair, changed into clean clothes, and went out to the neighborhood committee.

After washing the dishes, Han Zhaozhao went to the backyard and fetched half a bucket of water. He sprinkled the water on the ground in the yard and the house, and began to sweep the floor.

There was no water on the stone brick and mud ground, and the dust was raised by sweeping with a broom, but there was a layer of dust everywhere.

After sweeping the house and yard and shoveling the garbage into a wicker basket, Han Zhaozhao carried the wicker basket into the backyard and dumped the garbage into the compost pit in front of the toilet.

This was dug by Han Zhao later. It was only one meter square. Domestic garbage, chicken manure, leaves and weeds were thrown in to make fertilizer for growing vegetables.

Although the smell is not very pleasant, it is indispensable in the vegetable garden at home.

In Han Zhao's words, a good farm depends on manure. If the place was not too small to raise pigs, the old lady would have bought a piglet to raise.

After sweeping the floor, the next step is to wipe it with a rag. Wipe the tables, chairs, cupboards, cabinets, and shelves. This is a must-do every day.

Han Zhaozhao climbed up and down and finished cleaning the house, but her grandmother had not come back yet.

She took the key from the nail on the wall behind the door and opened the door of the west room to ventilate it.

He filled a basin with water and sprinkled it on the ground, then climbed onto the kang, dragged the quilts and mattresses on the kang cabinet onto the kang, carried the beds one by one to the yard, moved a square stool and climbed on top to dry them on the balconies.

As for whether to wash it or not, she would have to wait until her grandmother came back to decide. "My God, people in this era are so poor that they don't even put out sheets, let alone put on quilt covers.

Just put the mattress and cover the quilt with it, no wonder the fabric has to be starched, wouldn't it get damaged quickly if it's not starched?"

Han Zhaozhao muttered while working.

After hanging all the bedding out to dry, Han Zhaozhao climbed onto the kang, rolled up the kang mat and stood it upright under the window in the yard, then swept the kang with a broom. "Oh my god, it's all dirt! There's only a layer of mat between the kang and the mattress, how can there not be small gnats, fleas and lice?"

The kang mat was made of sorghum straw, and the surface was made of yellow mud. After being used for a long time, a layer of loose soil formed.

After sweeping with a broom, a thin layer of dirt appeared on the kang surface. "Oh my god, this thing is not easy to sweep. If we sweep it several times a year, the kang surface will be ruined in a few years!

Alas, it’s a pity that my space didn’t come with it. If there was floor coverings, it would be perfect if I put one layer on it. Now I can only make do with it. If not, I can apply a layer of yellow mud when the weather gets warmer next year. If there is cement, that would be fine too.”

After sweeping the kang, Han Zhaozhao swept the dust mixed with small biting insect eggs into an iron shovel, took it to the toilet in the backyard and poured it into the compost pit.

He got another basin of clean water, wrung out the rag, carefully spread out the kang mat vertically, leaned it against the brick wall, and carefully wiped it clean bit by bit.

Sorghum stalks cannot be soaked in water, so they can only be wiped with a wet cloth. I wiped them three times in a row, and changed the water in the basin three times before I finally wiped them clean.

Han Zhaozhao found two square wooden logs from the west wing and propped the kang mat against the wall to dry it in the sun. Only then did he take some time to rest.

I went back to the house, poured a bowl of water from the thermos and set it on the stove, then went to the west wing to help grandma find tools to repair the cart.

These tools were the only things Han Zhao brought to the capital, apart from her quilt and cotton-padded clothes.

An axe, a claw hammer, three chisels, a flat spade, two saws, a ruler, a wood file, a drill, two planes, and an ink fountain.

Old carpenter's common tools

It is said that there were also adzes, large saws and a large box of other tools, but because they could not be carried away, they were all left in Han Zhao's hometown in Sidaogou.

Han Zhaozhao was sorting these tools and couldn't help but feel excited. Her family was a family of carpenters in her previous life, and she could do some simple carpentry work.

It is not difficult for her to make some small household items or tools by herself.

The iron tools were a little rusty, and Han Zhaozhao couldn't bear it. She remembered there was a whetstone in the corner of the kitchen, so she hurried to find it.

She filled a bowl with water and poured it onto the whetstone to moisten it, then she began to sharpen the chisel.

These three chisels are a three-point chisel, a five-point chisel and a round chisel. All three chisels have iron heads and wooden handles and are used to drill mortise holes.

She squatted on the ground, placed the whetstone on the steps in front of the door, supported it with her left foot, and started sharpening the chisel with a "chi chi" sound while sprinkling water.

In a short while, the three chisels were sharpened to a shiny finish. I ran my thumb along the blade. Hmm, it was a little loose in my hand, but it was sharp enough!

After sharpening the chisel, you can also sharpen the flat shovel, which is used for carving wood. It is a very frequently used woodworking tool and also has an iron head and a wooden handle.

Han Zhaozhao continued to sharpen the tool and tested its sharpness after finishing. He found that the old tools were still very durable. They had been passed down for generations and were still useful and sharp.

Han Zhaozhao wondered why grandma hadn't come back yet. Was there something wrong? Or was it Director Zhang who was holding grandma and nagging her nonstop?

Director Zhang is a good person, warm-hearted and capable, but she is always talking. She can talk for a long time about something that can be said in a few words.

Grandma said that she was really suitable for street work. No matter which family had a dispute or conflict, once she stepped in, she could annoy both parties with her nagging.

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