People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

To compensate Wang Fang next door for giving up some space in the yard, the factory specially allocated a vacant lot in the backyard to them.

Sunday.

Everyone was wearing work clothes and holding shovels in the open space in the backyard.

Ah Ling looked at Zhuang Chaoying, smiled, and walked over to him, wrapping a towel around his head as she did so, teasing, "Chaoying, you look just like a fellow villager from the Loess Plateau right now, exuding a strong rural vibe, hahaha!"

Tu Nan, Xiao Ting, and Dong Zhe, who were standing nearby, burst into laughter upon hearing A Ling's words, bending over with mirth.

Zhuang Chaoying straightened up: "What are you laughing at? Your mom is worried that Dad's hair is dirty. Dongzhe, go and tell your mom to wrap your dad's hair too!" Lin Dongzhe nodded quickly: "Okay, Uncle Zhuang."

After saying that, he ran home, grabbed a towel, and handed it to Song Ying: "Mom, here's a towel for you!"

Song Ying took the towel and gently tapped Dong Zhe's forehead: "Dong Zhe, if only you listened to Teacher Zhuang like this when you were studying. Wu Feng, here, let me put this on for you too!"

Lin Wufeng readily stuck his head over.

Zhuang Chaoying and Lin Wufeng each took a hoe, bent down, and cut the weeds in this open space.

With a single stroke of his hoe, Zhuang Chaoying could cut down a large patch of weeds, and sweat streamed down his face.

Lin Wufeng was not to be outdone. The two worked together seamlessly and soon cleared out a large area.

The others weren't idle either; they all packed the cut weeds and brick debris into sacks.

Tu Nan and Dong Zhe were slightly stronger, and together they carried the heavy sacks, huffing and puffing as they walked out of the yard.

While working nimbly, Song Ying started talking enthusiastically about her youth: "When I first arrived at the cotton mill, the factory was expanding its buildings. Back then, to save on transportation costs, we would throw logs into the water and let them float downstream."

We workers would go to the river to carry timber, and then haul it back to the factory on handcarts. I was young and energetic then, so I carried the most timber and worked the hardest. At the end of the year, the factory even awarded me the title of "Iron Girl," along with an enamel mug with the word "award" on it as a reward.

Huang Ling's hands didn't stop moving: "Song Ying, when you joined the factory, the conditions were already much better. When I first joined after graduating from junior high school, the conditions were really tough. The workshop leaked when it rained, and everyone had to wear straw hats to work. It was quite a sight."

The company dormitories were even more crowded, with everyone crammed together. If you wanted to turn over at night, you had to let everyone know beforehand, and then with a whoosh, everyone would turn over too.

Lin Dongzhe held a brick in his hand: "Aunt Huang, I don't believe it. How can we weave cloth when it rains?"

Huang Ling stopped what she was doing and patiently explained while gesturing: "Back then, we would cover the machine with a few pieces of tarpaulin. As long as the tarpaulin didn't get on the machine, it wouldn't stop us from weaving!"

Zhuang Chaoying straightened up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and smiled as she watched Ah Ling vividly recount her experiences from her youth. Then she exchanged a glance with Lin Wufeng and said, "Engineer Lin, let's just focus on our work. Let's try to clear this land today and then we can lay some bricks on it."

Lin Wufeng, clutching a handful of weeds, nodded: "Teacher Zhuang, my family will pay half the cost of the bricks."

Upon hearing this, Huang Ling straightened up and said, "Mr. Lin, we'll take half too, and that will be enough to level the ground in the backyard."

Zhuang Chaoying reached out and gently placed her hand on A-Ling's shoulder: "Okay, we'll borrow a tricycle later, and we'll bring the bricks back after we're done cleaning up."

Huang Ling turned her head and looked at Zhuang Chaoying: "Is your back hurting? Teachers are prone to back pain because of their profession. Why don't you go inside and lie down for a while?"

Song Ying suppressed a laugh, her lips curving slightly upward: "Sister Ling, you seem so concerned about Teacher Zhuang. Teacher Zhuang should go back now; your back is a serious matter and cannot be taken lightly."

Zhuang Chaoying smiled and waved her hand: "My back is fine, I can still keep working."

Song Ying continued stuffing weeds into the sack, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Sister Ling, do you like to sing while you're working? I love singing the Purple Bamboo Tune!"

As she spoke, she cleared her throat and began to sing: "A single purple bamboo shoot, I give it to my brother to make a flute. The flute is to this mouth, the mouth to the flute, and from the flute, I play melodies of fresh flowers..."

Huang Ling joined in the singing, and the two of them sang and danced as if they had returned to their youth.

Zhuang Chaoying smiled, leaning on her hoe, and quietly watched Aling, who was becoming more and more cheerful and unrestrained, and smiled along with her.

The cheerful atmosphere infected everyone around them, and they worked even harder.

The backyard is finally tidied up.

Zhuang Chaoying and Lin Gong borrowed a tricycle and headed to the brick factory, intending to bring back a load of bricks so they could pave the backyard while the bricks were still fresh.

At the brick factory, Lin Wufeng crossed his arms and said, "Teacher Zhuang, this brick costs two cents. I estimate our backyard is about ten square meters. You're a math teacher, so you're good at math. Come on, let's calculate how many bricks we need."

Zhuang Chaoying glanced at the bricks and smiled helplessly. He thought to himself that Engineer Lin really knew how to cause trouble, but he didn't refuse. He replied, "Engineer Lin, you've given me a math problem. Okay, wait a minute and let me calculate it."

Zhuang Chaoying silently called out to the system in her mind: "System, what are the dimensions of the bricks? How many bricks are needed to lay one square meter?"

The standard dimensions of a red brick are 24 centimeters by 11.5 centimeters, and 32 bricks are needed to cover one square meter!

Having received the answer, Zhuang Chaoying was full of confidence: "Engineer Lin, one square meter requires thirty-two bricks. For ten square meters, a total of three hundred and twenty bricks are needed. Do you think my calculation is correct?"

Lin Wufeng's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly in praise: "Teacher Zhuang is indeed a math teacher. The number is exactly the same as what the brick factory owner said!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Chaoying knew that Lin Wufeng was deliberately teasing him. He stepped forward, put his arms around Lin Wufeng's neck, and pretended to be angry: "Engineer Lin, are you kidding me? You already know the numbers, why are you asking me?"

Lin Wufeng hunched over, laughing as he resisted Teacher Zhuang's "attacks," saying repeatedly, "I was just testing your mental arithmetic skills. Teacher Zhuang hasn't relaxed his mathematical thinking during this holiday. Not bad, not bad!"

Seeing his reaction, Zhuang Chaoying wasn't really angry. She released her grip and gently punched Lin Wufeng's abs a few times, laughing and scolding, "Serves you right for teasing me."

Lin Wufeng quickly begged for forgiveness: "Teacher Zhuang, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Seeing him beg for mercy, Zhuang Chaoying let him go, waving her hand dismissively: "I'll let you off this time! Hurry up and move the bricks!"

While carrying bricks, Lin Wufeng nudged Teacher Zhuang's shoulder and said, "Teacher Zhuang, I didn't realize you were so strong, a teacher who holds a pen all day."

Zhuang Chaoying rolled her eyes at him: "Stop talking nonsense, Lin Wufeng, get back to work!"

Lin Wufeng seemed to suddenly remember something, reached out and touched his slightly protruding belly, then looked at Teacher Zhuang's well-defined eight-pack abs, and reached out with envy to touch them.

Zhuang Chaoying noticed his movement, and with a start, took a step back: "Engineer Lin, what are you doing? Taking advantage of me!"

Lin Wufeng smiled sheepishly: "Teacher Zhuang, could you help me with my workouts in the future? I feel like I've gained a lot of weight in the last few years. I'm five years older than Song Ying, so I need to work out to look younger, otherwise we won't look good together."

Zhuang Chaoying couldn't help but laugh when she heard him say that. She thought to herself that this Engineer Lin was quite cute. People usually dress up for their lovers, but he was different. He was exercising for his wife, just to shorten the age gap.

It seems to be a deep and passionate love.

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