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墨書 Inktalez
"Hey, Zi, what are you doing just standing there?" A somewhat thin man, wearing a towel around his neck, approached and shouted.
Jiang Yizhou turned his head and saw a man in his forties, dressed in a cheap shirt and dress pants with leather shoes—an outfit that could be pieced together for just a few dozen yuan at the market. However, he seemed unfamiliar to Jiang Yizhou.
"I'm fine, I grew up here, I'm not afraid!" Jiang Yizhou waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to worry.
The man stepped closer and pointed to a sign on the dirt road leading here. "It's not about that; this stretch of the riverbank has already been contracted out. They're going to start digging soon. You young people shouldn't go running down to the riverbank anymore; if something happens, it won't be good for anyone!"
Jiang Yizhou's eyesight was quite good, 50 vision, which made him feel relieved when he first arrived. From a distance, he could indeed see the sign's content, but it was on another newly constructed wide road, not the one he took to get down to the riverbank, which was why he hadn't noticed it before.
"Uncle, when did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?" Jiang Yizhou asked. He had only been away from home for a little over a month, and with his mother around, there shouldn't have been any significant events that she wouldn't have mentioned repeatedly. This matter should have been clear.
"They're still negotiating with the village. They’re starting to dig now; once it's settled, they can start extracting sand!" The middle-aged man said casually, seemingly unconcerned about whether this would actually happen. The wrinkles on his face seemed to smile as he spoke.
After understanding roughly what was going on, Jiang Yizhou replied with an "oh" and left the riverbank to return home.
Upon entering the house, Gao Qingzhen was knitting a sweater with needle and thread. Although spring was approaching and it wouldn't be needed soon, she occupied her time by working on it during her free moments. She would knit a sweater every month or two; once farming season began and various tasks piled up, she wouldn't have time to do anything. Most of the sweaters for her family were made by her during these idle times.
"Mom, I took a stroll behind the village and saw some big trucks going in; they must be digging for river sand. Why didn't I hear about this?" Jiang Yizhou asked as he moved a stool next to his mother and sat down.
"That? It doesn't help to worry. I heard that the boss has strong connections. All the paperwork is done; at most, each household in the village will get around eighty or one hundred yuan as a token of appreciation—just like selling off their share of land to that boss!"
The share of land could be considered a form of contracting. Besides farmland and homesteads, there were collective properties that were hard to divide up—like the forest behind the village and that stretch of riverbank nearby—these were all collective properties of the village, with each household having a share.
Although most houses were still made of mud bricks for now, once concrete buildings were constructed, each household could take some river sand for personal use from the riverbank but couldn't sell it without collective agreement. As for the collective decision-making process, no one had that kind of financial power; gradually it would be contracted out with each family receiving some money.
"Oh." Such matters generally had little to do with them; as long as the contracted boss offered a price that wasn't too outrageous—even if some wanted to demand exorbitant prices—it would be awkward for them to delay things among neighbors who see each other regularly.
……
At home, leisurely and without a television, computer, or internet, the entire village had only one family that built a two-story Western-style house and had a telephone. Life moved at a slow and monotonous pace. After dark, he lit a candle and dawdled for a while before lying down in bed, falling asleep unknowingly.
When he woke up, he quietly walked out of the room he shared with his sister. Although there was a distinction between genders, the space was limited, so their bedroom was merely separated by wooden boards and curtains into two small rooms, where even murmurs could be heard.
"Ahh~~" Upon entering the main room, Jiang Yizhou stretched and yawned, glancing at the clock on the table. It was just past six o'clock and still quite dark. He washed up with sleepy eyes.
Dressed neatly, Jiang Yizhou moved a stool intending to go outside to breathe in some fresh air and watch the sunrise but unexpectedly bumped into his father.
With an awkward expression, Jiang Yizhou stiffly set down the stool. "Dad... why are you up so early?"
Jiang Maoqiang's expression didn't change as he glanced at his son before turning away to exhale smoke. "Your mother cares about you and didn’t want to argue with you. She complained to me for quite a while last night! If she didn't sleep well, of course she'd wake up early!"
On this early spring morning, it was still somewhat cold. Feeling the effects of his father's secondhand smoke, Jiang Yizhou shifted his stool to a different spot.
"Son, be honest with me," Jiang Maoqiang suddenly asked. "Before you went out to work, you were quite honest; your mother and I were very reassured and didn’t ask much about your thoughts. Now, what do you really think?"
He quickly recalled memories of this father and realized he hadn’t sensed this side of him before!
Could it be that the original him was so lacking in intelligence or so honest that he only focused on obedience and daily life without considering anything else?
"Oooh~~" A rooster crowed, waking up the village, followed by several barks from dogs.
"Me?" Jiang Yizhou replied candidly. "I want to give it a try. If I lose this time, I’ll just work honestly to earn money!" If the timeline changes, he would still continue to move bricks while programming, trying out internet entrepreneurship since it was an inevitable trend.
Jiang Maoqiang felt as if his son had suddenly grown up and developed his own ideas. He didn’t know whether to feel gratified or helplessly sigh.
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a savings book, handing it to Jiang Yizhou. "Here, the money you've earned over the years hasn't been touched. The password is your and Er Ya's birthdays. Once this mess is over, come back home, got it?"
Jiang Yizhou looked confused again. What was going on? Could something have happened to him as well? This change was too sudden; it was simply unscientific!
The sun gradually rose, casting light over the vast plains, and people slowly began to wake up.
Jiang Maoqiang suddenly smirked. "What are you looking at? Your dad is still your dad. I can handle this much. Your mom is indeed too strict; she won't even let me smoke a good cigarette..."
"Thanks, Dad!" Jiang Yizhou stood up, bowed deeply, then returned to his room to pack his things, including the clothes he had washed and hung out to dry last night. He stuffed everything into a bag and left the house, quickly saying goodbye to his father as he walked away.
"By the way, Dad!" Jiang Yizhou turned back. "I think it's better for Er Ya to continue her studies. With me causing trouble like this, who knows? Maybe in the future, Er Ya will be the one supporting you in your old age!"
Then he continued walking away.
Wrapped in a coat, Gao Qingzhen sleepily walked out of the room and asked her husband sitting outside, "What's going on? Why is it so noisy?"
Jiang Maoqiang immediately deflated. "Your son just took the savings book and ran off..."
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