1958, early winter.
South Luogu Lane in Sijiu City.
In the evening, Yan Jiecheng hurriedly entered a courtyard.
I saw him entering the gate, walking around the screen wall, and entering the wing on the left.
"mom"
Yan Jiecheng shouted to the woman who was cooking in the room, then took out his hands from his sleeves and leaned against the coal stove to warm his hands.
Yan Mu was only in her thirties, with short hair. He wears a short gray cotton-padded jacket on his upper body, a pair of loose trousers of the same color underneath, and several patches of different shapes.
"Boss, it's time to finish work. Is today the last day?" Yan's mother asked casually without raising her head.
Without waiting for Yan Jiecheng to answer, he added: "Have you paid your wages? Remember your family's living expenses."
Yan Jiecheng said angrily: "You two are really good at calculating. Your own son needs living expenses."
"Is it okay to support you guys, if you don't know how to calculate? You are starting to make money on your own, and you don't have to pay for your family's living expenses."
Yan Jiecheng argued: "I am doing odd jobs. The railway over there has been completely dismantled. The street has announced that no one will be needed anymore. If you really want living expenses, you and my dad should find me a serious job. I promise that every month Hand over ten dollars."
"You're so beautiful. It's good to leave you five yuan a month. I'll hand over ten yuan."
The mother and son exchanged some silly words, and Yan Jiecheng went to the adjacent room next to the wing room.
The room is not big, about ten square meters, with a bunk bed and some sundries inside, making it very cramped.
Yan Jiecheng took out a wooden box under the bed, took out the money inside, put it together with what was in his pocket, and counted it.
"93 yuan and 4 cents, three months is not a short time." Yan Jiecheng muttered to himself, thinking about what he had done in the past three months.
I was a track engineer in my later life, and collapsed from exhaustion during a rescue operation. When I woke up, I arrived here, the Forty-Nine City in 1958.
The key is not the serious historical time and space, but the world of the film and television drama "Love in the Courtyard". He became the character in the play, Yan Jiecheng, the eldest son of the third uncle's family.
Yan Jiecheng graduated from junior high school this year. He was not admitted to high school, let alone technical secondary school, and did not have a serious job, so he had to work odd jobs.
Fortunately, during this period, the Railway Bureau dismantled the ring railway and recruited a large number of workers. Only then did the company have stable employment for three months. Because the construction period is very tight, the wages are generous. It costs 30 yuan to work 26 days a month.
Don't think that the salary given is higher than that of Yanbu Gui, and he also gives two meals.
But demolishing old railways is really hard work. There is no mechanical work these days, it is all manual work. Removing ballast, resisting sleepers, and lifting rails are not only exhausting, but can also kill you if you are not careful.
In the previous life, Yan Jiecheng was a railway engineering professional. He went to the construction site and did maintenance, and the hardships he endured for more than ten years were not as hard as these three months.
In the days without construction machinery, work was really hard!
Fortunately, he made a huge sum of nearly a hundred yuan.
In the evening, the family eats around the table.
The corn paste was served with pickles, and Yan Jie thought it was quite delicious at first. After the novelty was over, my stomach protested, and now I just feel nauseous when I see the glutinous corn dough buns with mixed noodles.
Other people's Erhe noodles are a mixture of corn flour and wheat flour. His family uses a mixture of corn flour and sorghum or bean flour, and the grinding is not very fine, which really hurts the throat.
Hey~ Hey~ Yan Bugui slurped the corn paste and asked Yan Jiecheng: "Boss, your work over there is over? What a pity, there are no more Erhe Noodles and steamed buns to eat. Go to the street tomorrow and ask if there is any other work. "
As expected of the third uncle, he is still thinking about Yan Jiecheng's steamed buns on the construction site.
"It's not interesting to work part-time, why don't you find me a job." Yan Jiecheng said preemptively.
Just looking at Yan Bugui's expression, he obviously wanted to talk about living expenses.
"Well, well, there are so many people in the family who need to eat, how can we still have money to find a job? You should start paying living expenses to the family this month, ten yuan a month, no less." The third uncle is also unambiguous, and he can never do things that are calculated. Don't let it go.
Yan Jiecheng said angrily: "Dad, you are so calculating. Ten yuan is enough for two people to eat for a month, and that's Dun Dun Er He Noodles and Steamed Buns." Then he pointed to the corn paste in the bowl: "That's it for you. Three dollars is a lot of money."
"Why are you talking to your dad? What's wrong with the cornstarch? If it wasn't for your dad and I plotting against each other, would you have eaten your cornstarch?" The third aunt pointed to the backyard and said, "You were born in 1942, and you didn't know how to feed yourself. One price per day, not counting how long you can live? Your father and I, the four of you brothers and sisters, are all pulling us together. Look at how many people in this courtyard were originally... ugh..."
The third aunt sighed and said nothing.
The third uncle continued: "Those years were chaotic. In the troubled times, you sold your sons and daughters, and he exchanged his sons for food. So, what happened to my calculations? What calculations are there to survive?"
After hearing this, Yan Jiecheng also understood the third uncle. Although life is relatively better now. But his calculating personality cannot be changed.
Listening to what the third uncle said was true and false, Yan Jiecheng finally compromised with the third uncle and paid ten yuan a month for living expenses. Of course, the premise is to find a job.
A night of silence.
Early the next morning, Yan Jiecheng wrapped himself in cotton-padded clothes and headed towards the street office.
After a while, we arrived at Siheyuan No. 6, where the neighborhood office is located. At first glance, it looks like a courtyard with two entrances. The staff are coming in and out, making it look very busy.
There were also some office workers pushing bicycles, which made Yan Jiecheng extremely envious.
Stomping his feet, he hurriedly walked over to Director Wang while he was free.
"Good morning, Director." Yan Jiecheng greeted quickly.
Director Wang saw him and smiled: "It's you, boy. Do you have anything to do with Aunt Wang this early in the morning?"
"No, I haven't found a job since I graduated from junior high school. I have been doing odd jobs. Recently, the odd jobs have disappeared. Come to the street to see if there are any jobs here." Yan Jiecheng quickly explained the purpose of his visit.
Director Wang took out a notebook from the drawer, opened it and looked at it carefully for a while. He closed the book and said, "I have a few here."
After a pause, he continued: "There is a cotton spinning mill recruiting apprentices, and there is a third steel rolling mill. They are recruiting electricians and linemen. Electricians need electrician certificates."
Yan Jiecheng was overjoyed when he heard this.
Electrician, lineman, he can do it all!
You must know that although he was an engineer in later generations, he also started out as a line worker.
From intermediate workers to senior workers to technicians, they all pass the exam all the way. Later, he was responsible for the training and grade examination of line workers. So the job of a lineman is hand-holding.
Electricians are not bad either.
Not only had I studied courses such as construction electricity, but to subsidize my studies, I had taken the high and low voltage electrician senior engineering certificates respectively.
In this era when the average person is illiterate, being an electrician must be extremely suitable.
After a few thoughts flashed through his mind, Yan Jiecheng said to Director Wang: "Aunt Wang, is there another electrician exam this year?"
