It’s 1983 now, and all the educated youth who could return to the city have gone back.
With many houses vacant, the farm will not build any more houses at this time.
However, there are several families who recently moved to the military area and need to build toilets and kitchens. Xu Zhizhi thought that perhaps some of these could be spared from here.
That evening, after I got home, I told him about it.
“Sister Chun’e said that they’re going to build a toilet like ours in the yard. Is it possible to get some tiles from the logistics department?”
Li Wenzhu was surprised that his wife cared so much about his parents’ affairs, and his heart warmed.
“Okay, I’ll ask about it tomorrow. Didn’t you say you wanted to install a shower and a bathtub in the bathroom? Let’s do it together this time.”
As the weather gets colder, Zhizhi’s belly gets bigger and bigger.
She’s very clean, and taking a bath on snowy days is a problem. We need to partition off a shower room in the current toilet, hang up plastic curtains, and put a bathtub inside so my wife won’t feel cold while bathing.
Xu Zhizhi was surprised that Li Wenzhu would remember her casual remark, and immediately looked up.
“Is it too much trouble?”
“Your matters are all important, no trouble at all!”
There were quite a few people coming to accompany the military this time, and some of the houses in the family quarters had been uninhabited for a long time and needed repairs. This was a good opportunity to do it all at once.
“Maybe we should just forget about it. Taking a shower indoors is just as good. It’s not good to waste public resources.”
A shower room is indeed necessary, but with so many military wives watching, it would be a real problem if someone got jealous and complained.
Li Wenzhu said, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. We’ll pay for it ourselves. We won’t take advantage of the public funds!”
Before his wife joined him in the army, he had accumulated a lot of military merits. If he risked his life on the front lines but still couldn’t make his pregnant wife live comfortably, then all his years of risking his life would have been in vain!
Seeing the certainty in Li Wenzhu’s eyes, Xu Zhizhi had no choice but to swallow her words.
The book doesn’t specify when the continuous autumn rain that lasted for half a month actually started.
But replacing the roof of Qingshan Farm with tiles as soon as possible is definitely the right thing to do. If the construction at home also starts, it will be much more convenient for Li Wenzhu to transport the tiles to Qingshan Farm.
Li Wenzhu acted quickly in arranging the bathroom and roof. The next afternoon, the logistics department’s soldiers brought over a lot of sand and tiles.
Coincidentally, the roof tiles were leftovers from a previous house construction, and they were all neatly stacked in the logistics department.
Upon hearing that Battalion Commander Li needed the supplies, they immediately transported them over.
“Sister-in-law, you’re building the toilet along with it, right?”
Xu Zhizhi smiled and said, “Yes, just build one that’s about the size of a toilet, and then we’ll trouble you to dig a pool down there.”
“Battalion Commander Li told me that it’s easy to build, and the few of us can finish it this afternoon.”
When Lian Guihua overheard the lazy wife next door repairing the toilet in the cafeteria, her eyes twitched twice, and she spoke with a mocking tone.
“There aren’t enough pits for her to use; she takes up two pits with one butt.”
Zhou Tian from next door brought over a bowl of rice. “Sister-in-law, don’t get excited. I was just asking. This Battalion Commander Li really spoils his family.”
“Come on!”
Lian Guihua scoffed, “This is a waste of public funds. This spendthrift woman has squandered her own money and now she wants to squander public property.”
“Sister-in-law, I heard that it snows heavily here in winter. The roof tiles of the logistics department are reserved for the families to rest in. Perhaps Battalion Commander Li’s family wants to make some repairs.”
Zhou Tian overheard his older brother mention this morning that they also needed to get roof tiles to repair the roof.
Lian Guihua explained, “There is a quota for tiles, but they’ve already started construction on their house. Who else can have a yard like theirs? Isn’t this just taking advantage of the government?”
If it weren’t for that lazy woman next door showing off, would she have gotten into a fight with a man yesterday?
Her eyes are still swollen, and even the slightest movement aggravates them, causing her to grimace in pain.
Well, you spendthrift woman, you’ve got something on me now. Old Yu says he’s a home thief, so what is that woman next door? She’s a bad element who hogs public resources.
Lian Guihua suddenly stood up. “Dr. Zhou, thank you for pleading with the political commissar today. I appreciate it. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know!”
She was going to submit a report to the organization, asking them to deal with that extravagant and lazy woman.
“Sister-in-law, where are you going?” Zhou Tian hurriedly followed.
Lian Guihua said with an air of righteous indignation, “Where to? Of course, to…”
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but seeing the people coming and going around her, she swallowed them back.
Zhou Tian understood and smiled as she reminded him, “The house hasn’t been built yet, and we don’t have any leverage over it, so why don’t we wait and see for a couple of days?”
Lian Guihua’s eyes darted around. “Yes,” she thought, “that’s why educated people are so efficient.”
Why didn’t she think of that?
“Dr. Zhou, you’re so thoughtful. Okay, I’ll head back now.”
…
Not far away, Liu Qiao’er, holding a large spatula and studying new dishes, walked out of the food serving window.
Ever since being provoked by Battalion Commander Li’s wife that day, Liu Qiao’er has been working hard to research new dishes, but her hands and brain aren’t very sharp.
She admires no one else, but she holds people who can cook in high regard.
Even though he was unconvinced, he still respected Xu Zhizhi and always wanted to find an opportunity to have a friendly competition.
Hearing this, she sneered inwardly. This military doctor looked like a crippled white radish, but she never expected him to be such a bad person at heart.
No, she has to tell Battalion Commander Li’s wife.
As soon as everyone left, Liu Qiao’er threw off her cook’s uniform and went to the family compound. She found Battalion Commander Li’s house and started banging on the door.
Xu Zhizhi was enjoying the food in the courtyard: dried strawberries, dried sweet potatoes, and various kinds of preserved fruits.
Hearing the knock, I lazily got up to open the door.
“You still have the appetite to eat snacks here?”
Liu Qiao’er was a straightforward person. Her eyes darted around the yard and settled on the toilet, which was bigger than the others’.
“You’re about to get reported for exploiting the organization.”
Although society is much more open now, it is said that there will be a major reduction in the military this year. For soldiers, a stain on their record is a handle for others to attack them.
Being able to openly use national resources to build two toilets at home will definitely be used as a model case.
Liu Qiao’er was worried for this guy just thinking about it. How come he has no sense of crisis at all?
That hollow, withered radish is about to come knocking on your door; your man is going to be snatched away by her in no time!
“Hey, Mr. Li’s son, I’m talking to you!”
Xu Zhizhi was stunned for a long time before she realized who Liu Qiao’er was. There were several dazzling female supporting characters in the book, among whom Liu Qiao’er from the cooking squad was the most eye-catching. There was no other reason than that Liu Qiao’er was on the plump side and had a gluttonous nature. Although she had the beauty of a noble concubine, she was born at the wrong time.
In the book, Liu Qiao’er is the stepping stone for the female protagonist, Zhou Tian.
After Li’s father broke his leg, Li Wenzhu became depressed. Liu Qiao’er saw this and felt sorry for her. She talked to the military doctor Zhou Tian and finally suggested that she add more lard when cooking, as eating delicious food would make her feel happy.
However, the male protagonist was so worried that he couldn’t eat such greasy food. In the end, it was the female protagonist, Zhou Tian, who won him over with congee and side dishes.
Every time Xu Zhizhi sees this, she can’t help but ask a profound question: Is it really possible for someone to be so naive as to think that eating lard will make them feel better?
Right now, seeing Liu Qiao’er, so innocent and chubby, with her thoughts written all over her face,
Xu Zhizhi understood; that’s just how the persona is.
“Are you Chef Liu from the mess hall?”
Upon hearing the word “chef,” Liu Qiao’er’s face, as black as ink, instantly brightened.
“Oh dear, I’m not exactly a master chef, I’m just a cook. Ugh, I’m here to talk to you about the toilet, don’t interrupt.”
“oh……”
Xu Zhizhi blinked innocently, “Why did you remind me?”
In the book, Liu Qiao’er devoted herself to researching various dishes for the male protagonist. As long as he took a bite, Liu Qiao’er would be happy for a whole day, without any regrets. Because of this, she even became a fat and carefree woman.
She’s a prime example of brainless female virtue!
In the end, they all became stepping stones for the kind-hearted and understanding women, and remained unmarried for the rest of their lives.
Now I need to remind myself, am I contradicting my established persona?
Liu Qiao’er put her hands on her hips and said urgently,
“Let’s not beat around the bush. I was outside the playground when you brought me food that day. I’m here to tell you that I wanted to see you make cabbage and egg soup in exchange.”
Xu Zhizhi asked in surprise, “Oh, it’s not because you like Battalion Commander Li?”