Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 12 The Men Have to Endure

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Xiao Hong said to Xiao Wei, "Is this what you did at the construction site today? What kind of lousy job did my dad find for you? Isn't this just asking for trouble? I'm not going tomorrow. I'll wait for my dad to come back."

Xiao Wei pulled his hand back and said, "What are you making a fuss about? Everyone gets rough hands when they work. I just didn't have any experience on the first day. I'll be fine in a couple of days."

Xiao Hong said, "Then how are you going to work tomorrow? Won't it hurt terribly if you keep doing this?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay, I won't be moving bricks tomorrow, I'll just be pushing the cart. Besides, my foreman will make me gloves tomorrow, so it's really fine."

Xiao Hong looked at his hand for a long time before nodding and saying, "You need to be more careful. Don't try to force yourself like an idiot. Will you starve if you don't do this lousy work? What if you ruin your hand? Stop messing around and just watch. Raise your hand a little higher; it hurts more when the blood is gushing out."

Xiao Wei raised both hands in the air as if surrendering, and said, "Doesn't this pose look good?"

Aunt Wang and Xiao Hong were amused by Xiao Wei, and Xiao Wei laughed along, making the atmosphere warm again.

After cooking, the mother and her two children ate and sat inside to watch TV.

At 8:30, Xiao Wei, exhausted from the afternoon, went back to his room and fell asleep.

Station Chief Wang entered the house with a flushed face and smelling of alcohol. As soon as he sat down on the sofa, Xiao Hong pouted, glared at him, snorted, and got up to go back to her room.

Station Master Wang scratched his head and asked Aunt Wang, "What's wrong?"

Aunt Wang glanced at Xiaowei, shook her head, and said, "Xiaowei's hands were swollen like carrots when he went to work today. The girl is complaining that you found her a bad job. Well, couldn't you have found something easier? It breaks my heart to see her like this."

Station Master Wang chuckled, glanced at the door, shook his head, and said, "Where can you find an easy job? I'd love to earn money without doing anything too. What are you men afraid of? Can it be more tiring than farming? If you don't endure hardship when you're young, what will you eat in the future? Men have to persevere. Let's see how it goes in a few days, it's up to Xiao Wei. As for the girl, try to comfort her."

Aunt Wang nodded.

……

The next morning, at 5:30, Xiao Wei got out of bed with a grimace. He hadn't felt anything before going to bed, but after sleeping, every part of his body ached. His hands were burning, and his fingertips felt like they were about to explode.

Gritting her teeth, she put on her clothes and shoes and went out to the kitchen to wash up. Aunt Wang was already making breakfast. Station Chief Wang hadn't gotten up yet. Xiao Hong stood at the kitchen door, rubbing her eyes, yawning, and with her hair disheveled.

"Hey bro, how about we skip today? Let's go when your hand's better."

Xiao Wei struggled to brush his teeth, then soaked a towel in water, wiped his face, and said with a smile, "What are you talking about? You're just going to run away after working for only one afternoon? What kind of man am I? This is nothing. Hurry up and wash your face, or you'll be late and the teacher will scold you."

Xiao Hong pouted, picked up the towel Xiao Wei had just used, wrung it out, wiped her face a few times, and said, "I'm in the top ten of my class, the teacher is too busy praising me to bother with me. You should be more careful, don't be silly and stubborn, if you really hurt yourself, no one will take care of you."

Xiao Wei said, "How could that be? It's just a minor scratch. How could picking up a brick hurt your tendons? Am I made of plastic?"

Aunt Wang came over carrying a rice cooker and said, "Hurry up and eat, then get out of here. Xiao Wei made you some pancakes, take them with you and chew on them if you get hungry. This is for water, carry it on your back."

Xiao Wei agreed and sat down to eat with Xiao Hong. Aunt Wang went inside; it was still early, and she could sleep for a while longer.

After eating, he shouldered his military water bottle, put the wrapped biscuits into his military satchel and carried it on his back. He and Xiaohong, who was carrying a schoolbag, went out downstairs together. Once outside, they went one south and the other west, waved goodbye, and went their separate ways.

In Northeast China, it gets light early in the summer, around 3:30 a.m., and by then the streets are already bustling with people, cattle running and dogs barking.

Several breakfast shops were open, selling flatbread, tofu pudding, oven-baked flatbread, wontons, steamed buns, porridge, pickled vegetables, fried dough sticks, and soy milk. The aroma wafted through the streets on the gentle breeze. Xiao Wei, who had just eaten breakfast, smelled the aroma and his stomach rumbled a few times. He swallowed, rubbed his stomach, and strode towards the construction site.

I don't have the money to buy it.

When he arrived at the construction site, roll call had already begun. Old Liu saw him enter the yard from afar and waved to him. Xiao Wei quickly ran over and stood next to Old Liu.

"Come earlier tomorrow, or you almost won't get paid today," Old Liu said to Xiao Wei in a low voice, shoving a pair of gloves into Xiao Wei's hand. Xiao Wei took them, and Old Liu smiled, saying, "Swelled up? Does it hurt? Did you sleep well last night?"

Xiao Wei put the gloves on and looked at his hands, saying, "It's okay, it just hurt so much when I soaked them in salt water that I couldn't feel anything. I went to bed early last night, around 8 o'clock, and it's alright, not that painful."

Old Liu reached out and patted Xiao Wei on the arm, then turned to listen to the foreman speak.

"...Wang Yizuo, Ma Ming, Liu Laosi, Liu Yuhong, Zhang Wei..." The people below called out one by one.

After taking attendance, the foreman picked up a roll of the roster and said, "These past two days, we've been working on the beams, so we might not be as busy. I won't go into details about the work, but I'll reiterate the safety rules: don't take your life lightly. If you die, it's not a big deal, but it will drag down the brothers, me, and the company, you know? I'm telling you, even if you die, you won't escape it. You watch out for whoever's asking for trouble. I won't let your family get their compensation peacefully, you believe me? After that, I'll arrange for people to smash your windows every day. You're asking for trouble and you're not letting us all have a good time. Even if you die, your family won't have a good time either."

The workers below burst into laughter.

The foreman tapped his hand on the roster and said, "Don't think I'm joking with all those grinning faces. You only have one life, and if something happens to you, you'll be crippled if you don't die. What will your family do then? Ma Ming, Xiao Erdanzi, I withheld your wages yesterday, don't mention it to me before I pay you. Can't you die from walking a few steps? How many times have I told you not to ride on the crane? How many times have I said it? Tomorrow I'm not going to care anymore. Anyone who wants to ride it, come here and write a guarantee that if you die, it's your own responsibility. Put your fingerprint on it, and nobody will care."

"The beams will be finished today, and the bricklaying will begin tomorrow. Where there are bricks that haven't arrived yet, put in extra effort today. If you don't work hard, you'll delay the main construction and have to pay for it, understand? A few new people have arrived, so the foreman should put in some extra effort to train them. Explain what they can and can't do, and keep them informed. It's not easy for them to come here. Besides, you're not training them for nothing; you'll get a 'care fee' too."

"Hey steelworkers, be careful! Make sure it's sturdy. Make sure the corners are right, don't make it look like a jagged mess, you hear me? This building is going to be lived in for ten or twenty years, maybe even by your own relatives or something. Keep that in mind. Okay, that's all for now, get to work."

With a whoosh, everyone scattered, some talking and joking, others walking silently, heading back to their respective posts. Soon, the machines roared to life, and the construction site became lively.

Xiao Wei followed Lao Liu up to the top floor and onto Lao Liu's post. Lao Liu threw his gloves on the ground, plopped down, lit a cigarette, and said, "How's it going? A few more rounds? Shouldn't be enough? We'll be adding sand and ash tomorrow. Don't be afraid of getting tired; men have to persevere. If you persevere, you'll become a dragon."

Xiao Wei scratched his head, glanced at the wheelbarrow propped up to the side, and said, "Will it work? It should be about right. I'll push it around a few times and see." He put on gloves, walked over, grabbed the handlebars, and, enduring the pain that came with every effort, started pushing it around in the open space.

Actually, you get used to the pain.

……