Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 491

Chapter 491: Chapter 376: Toiling Day and Night

After dinner, Zhou Jiao carried Ping’an, held a trumpet and a horn, and followed behind Aunt Wang and the others.

Aunt Wang is a good person!

Before dinner, Aunt Wang looked disdainfully at Zhou Jiao’s thin frame, especially in contrast with the chubby Ping’an, and with tightly furrowed brows, she gave Zhou Jiao an easy job.

Writing slogans, shouting slogans, blowing the horn—on the surface, it seemed like a non-stop twenty-hour job, but Zhou Jiao knew it was a gesture of care.

To avoid giving Aunt Wang ammunition for gossip, Zhou Jiao proactively took on several babies to care for so the adults could devote themselves to creating miracles.

The people began breaking up the limestone they had pushed back from the mountain during the day.

The foundation for the primitive blast furnace needed limestone, and to build a nine-meter tall furnace, the foundation required a layer of limestone rock. It was very strong and stable.

Next to them were two piles of iron ore and coke, the raw materials for smelting iron, which also needed to be broken up.

The fatigue of labor couldn’t dampen people’s passion. Loud conversations, hammering sounds, and county radio voices echoed all around, vibrant and intense.

Zhou Jiao looked up at the sky. This autumn had been dry, with no rain until now. As she looked at the child in her arms, wide awake and observing everything, she wished for rain.

At this moment, she hadn’t realized her thoughts were naive. It wasn’t until winter that just two rainfalls came, and people continued working tirelessly in the rain, with no days off.

In the distance, Mr. Zhang and Mother Zhang were hammering the limestone, occasionally glancing at each other’s hands.

"Hey husband, did you run into anyone from the village on the mountain this afternoon? I heard they’re also building a tall furnace in the village, but I don’t know where. Oh... my heart is so unsettled."

Mr. Zhang laughed, "I ran into Lao Wu and the others. Our village lacks guidance, so they couldn’t build the furnace that high; they just added a few more. I heard it’s being built on that wasteland at the foot of the hill. Our yard is fine, but if you’re worried you can take a moment to check it out tomorrow."

Mother Zhang shook her head while working, "Forget it, it’s useless to go back and look. I also don’t know how our three sons are doing."

Turns out she was still thinking about the sons? Mr. Zhang wasn’t worried at all about the younger two; his concern was for the eldest. The second son was clever, and Xiao Wu wasn’t foolish and had strength. But the eldest was too honest and easily taken advantage of. He couldn’t tell his wife, though, or she’d be sick with worry.

He laughed heartily, "They’ve done harder work; do you really need to worry?"

"Xiao Wu and the second son didn’t come back for dinner; do you think they’re hungry?"

"I just ran into Xiao Wu; he said the three brothers are eating at work. Don’t worry. They’re fine. You worry about them, but they’re thinking of you too."

Mother Zhang felt much better hearing her husband’s comfort. Looking at the youngest daughter-in-law speaking into the horn, she was filled with energy.

The three sons Mother Zhang missed were just as Mr. Zhang predicted.

Zhang Guofu continuously and vigorously broke the stones; the sweat stains on his back and the sweat on his forehead showed his dedication. As he worked, he thought about what Zhang Guoqing had said, and after pondering for a while, he decided to follow his younger brother’s advice. Since climbing the blast furnace was dangerous, he would forgo it.

The second son, Zhang Guoqiang, delivered stones to his seated colleagues, occasionally sitting down to hammer a few, occasionally passing cigarettes to colleagues, joking and bantering with them.

He clearly fit in effortlessly. He also remembered his brother’s advice; even without Xiao Wu saying anything, he understood the situation. There were plenty of skilled people in the bureau, all eager to impress; there was no need for him to step in.

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