Break out of the courtyard

"Heping, there is such a thing." After the second uncle waited for the new neighbor in the middle courtyard to sit down, he said to Zhang Heping, who was walking on horseback:

"The Zhou family's small penthouse is just like the small penthouse your cousin lives in. It has no earthen bed and no windows. The Li family has emptied the furniture and there is not even a bed. Look..."

"Second uncle, it's rare to hear you say such smooth words." Zhang Heping's words aroused a lot of laughter, making Liu Haizhong very embarrassed.

Just listen to Zhang Heping continue to say: "You should chair more meetings of the whole hospital and speak more for other neighbors. When you become a leader in the future and go to the meeting to give a report, you will not make a joke. Everyone will say, right? ?”

These words caused a lot of laughter. Although there were few echoing voices, the second uncle Liu Haizhong heard it in his heart and nodded in approval. The main words "become a leader" made him very satisfied.

"Second uncle, I can help the Zhou family make a bamboo bed tonight." Zhang Heping looked at the excited third uncle Yan Bugui and said with a smile: "However, I have to ask Yan Jiecheng for the bamboo, and I don't have it."

"Yes?" When the third uncle Yan Bugui heard this, the hairs all over his body exploded, and he quickly grabbed the second uncle Liu Haizhong to communicate.

"Then let's do this for now. The third uncle and Heping will help the Zhou family make bamboo beds. Let's call it a night!"

Zhang Heping took the soft measuring tape at home and went to the small wing next to the west wing of the central courtyard with his new neighbor.

There are electric lights in the room. Although there are no windows, the space is half larger than the small penthouse where my cousin Zhang Cuishan lives now.

Zhang Heping asked the Zhou family which direction they wanted to place the bed, then went to measure the width of the west wall and discussed the width of the bed with the Zhou family.

After going out, Zhang Heping looked at the wooden furniture stacked at the door and asked doubtfully: "Seeing that you have so many things, the place where your family lived before was not small! Why did you choose such a small room?"

Chen Liqin, the Zhou family's daughter-in-law, glanced at the neighbors who were watching the excitement in embarrassment. She just smiled and did not respond.

Zhang Heping didn't take it seriously. He walked out of the second door first and took the Zhou family to the Yan family. After greeting the third aunt, he said to the Zhou family: "You discuss the unit price of each bamboo yourself. When the time comes, you will settle the amount. I will Go back and prepare the tools first.”

Because the lights and sockets at home were paid for monthly rent, the Zhang family had already put on the radio and turned on all the lights. Grandma Xie Ermei organized other aunts to do housework, so the east wing of the front yard was very lively.

Mainly to watch the Zhang family women taking apart old clothes, and most of them asked about the source and price of the old clothes.

After the Zhou family's daughter-in-law, Chen Liqin, negotiated the bamboo price, she was taken to the Zhang family by the enthusiastic third aunt, where she got to know the neighbors present.

Yan Jiefang was sent over to assist Zhang Heping at the wood stove in processing bamboo.

Not long after, a bamboo bed got stuck between the north, south, and west walls of Zhou's house.

After arranging the other furniture in the house, Zhou's daughter-in-law Chen Liqin took her three children and carried a bottle of canned fruit to the Zhang family where rags and skeins of thread were scattered all over the place to express her gratitude.

……

The next day, at Zhang Heping's suggestion, her eldest cousin Ma Lili did not leave the stall. Instead, she clamped a piece of paper on the bamboo shed and wrote "Please enter the front yard for sewing and turn right."

According to Zhang Heping, this was preparing for winter. It was impossible to set up a stall outside in the winter, so regular customers would come into the courtyard to come to her to mend clothes.

Grandma Xie Ermei and mother Ma Xiuzhen were drying feathers. Last night, Zhang Heping made several small-hole bamboo cages with covers to facilitate ventilation, water leakage and windproofing.

The three sisters are taking an exam at this time. The question is to design a quilt for the whole family that can be used in all seasons based on the materials available at home!

Yesterday, Zhang Heping visited many trust stores, and finally selected two relatively clean sets of bedding and sheets. Judging from the color of the fabrics, they should be from the same store.

Even so, there are still gaps in the winter bedding for the eight members of the family, mainly because the clothes and bedding of grandma Xie Ermei and cousin Zhang Cuishan are still in their hometown.

For this reason, Zhang Heping has asked his cousin Zhang Cuishan to ask for leave and ask him to go back to his hometown with his grandmother in the near future and bring things over. Use them if they can be used, and don't bring them if they are not.

Zhang Heping was helping the Yan family move bricks at this time. Yan Laoji suddenly wanted to farm and wanted to build a small flower garden like the Zhang family's, making it symmetrical.

After the low wall of the Yan family's garden was built, Zhang Heping took the Yan family's bamboo without ceremony and made three large dustpans with a diameter of two meters, ready to be used to dry the cotton at home.

In addition, he also made two long bamboo tables, saying that he would give them to Yan Bugui when they were used up... but the Yan family couldn't put them down and couldn't move them into the house!

Then, he made a rectangular bamboo frame 2 meters long and 1 meters wide. There were a row of staggered equidistant saw teeth above and below each bamboo edge, which he used to make a fine net to bind cotton.

In these days, it is very troublesome to remove and wash bedding. You have to remove the threads and take out the cotton. After washing the quilt cover, you can stuff the cotton into it, then lay the quilt cover flat and sew the cotton on.

Therefore, Zhang Heping planned to separate the quilt cover and quilt core from later generations, sew a few buttons on the mouth of the quilt cover, then take out the quilt core, directly change the quilt cover, and take out the quilt core to dry in the sun when the sun comes out.

Although cloth tickets and cotton tickets are not easy to deal with, you can buy needlework and thread with industrial tickets and cloth tickets, and his industrial tickets are just like the cloth tickets from the textile factory. They are welfare tickets, and there are quite a lot of them.

For this reason, the Zhang family has no shortage of thin wires, and no one asked Zhang Heping what he was doing with the fine nets.

Grandma Xie Ermei saw Zhou's daughter-in-law Chen Liqin going out and greeted her casually.

As a result, when Xie Ermei learned that the other party was going out to buy a stove, she immediately enthusiastically took Chen Liqin to the backyard and sold Zhang Cuishan's small cylindrical briquette stove, iron pot, and briquettes that had only been used for one day to the Zhou family.

Later, the Zhou family, one and three children, came to the front yard and helped the Zhang family tear up the old cotton, spread it on a large dustpan, and put it in the sun to dry.

In the afternoon, Zhang Heping found a cotton player, borrowed his cotton tools, played with his bare upper body in the sun for half an afternoon, and made a white quilt core 1 meters long and 8 meters wide. When it was hung on a bamboo pole to dry in the sun, the onlookers were shocked!

"Zhang Heping, your quilt doesn't have a quilt cover. What should you do if the cotton is dirty? After the cotton is washed, it will no longer keep you warm!"

Pfft!

Before Zhang Heping could explain, Mian Mianlang, who was in his forties, knelt down in front of Zhang Heping.

"Little master, I want to learn this craft from you!" This cotton man has been playing cotton for so many years, and just now he was standing by to steal the lesson. He has already thought of the real purpose of the quilt core.

This kneeling is the traditional craftsmen's respect for the inheritance of skills and their desire for new skills.

Zhang Heping pulled Mianlianlang up and said with a smile: "I've let you watch me for so long. If you haven't learned it yet, there's no point in worshiping me as your teacher."

Mian Mianlang's face turned red. The craftsmanship was taught to his disciples by his master and no one was allowed to steal it, but he watched openly for a long time.

"The fine mesh is made of this bamboo frame, with thin threads like this..." Zhang Heping taught a few times, and Mian Mianlang understood how to wrap thin threads up and down to weave fine mesh.

Zhang Heping cooperated with Mian Mian Lang and made two more quilt cores. Mian Mian Lang learned how to make quilt cores.

When Mian Mianlang left, Zhang Heping gave him wages, but the other party hurriedly postponed and promised to come over tomorrow to continue helping.

This cotton man is sincere, unlike Yan Laoji, who wants to secretly learn Zhang Heping's fishing skills, but can't save the face to become his disciple.

……