Chapter 221: Pouring the Foundation Slabs
Chapter 221: Pouring the Foundation Slabs
The next day was a significant one as it was time to pour the foundation slabs for the new house, and they didn't need to go out to sea.
Jiang Xia woke up at six in the morning, but Zhou Chenglei was already nowhere to be seen, and she didn't know when he had gotten up.
Is he even human?
How does he have so much energy? Last night, although he had gone to bed early at around nine, he had stayed up late, probably until midnight, after all the fuss.
Where did he go so early today? Did he go for a run?
Jiang Xia snuggled into her blanket and turned over, still feeling tired and soft all over. She buried her face in the blanket.
She, who never lazed around in bed, decided to indulge in one minute of laziness!
The blanket carried the scents of both him and her, a crisp fragrance mixed with the dry aroma of sunshine.
Zhou Chenglei pushed the door open and saw Jiang Xia curled up in the blanket like a lazy caterpillar.
His usually stern eyebrows softened with a hint of a smile, and his cold, indifferent expression turned gentle.
This was the first time he had seen Jiang Xia being so lazy.
Hearing the door open, Jiang Xia sat up and relaxed when she saw him. She got out of bed and asked, "What time did you wake up?"
"Five o'clock," Zhou Chenglei replied as he closed the door, came to her side, and lifted her into his arms.
Jiang Xia hung on him like a koala!
He gently pecked her lips and asked, "Were you tired last night? Do you want to sleep some more?"
Jiang Xia shook her head. "No, I'm not sleeping. Isn't the construction team coming today to pour the foundation slabs?"
Zhou Chenglei lifted her a little higher in his arms.
"Yes, but it's still early. I bought some fried dough sticks this morning, and I'll make some congee for you to try. I think you'll like it." He carried her directly to the room.
Jiang Xia's heart almost jumped out of her chest when she saw him leaving the room with her in his arms, "Put me down, I can walk by myself."
Zhou Chenglei opened the door and carried her out, "Dad went to learn how to ride a motorcycle, Mom is in the vegetable garden, and Zhou Zhou was just called out by his brothers. There's no one at home."
Zhou Chenglei carried Jiang Xia to the skywell and placed her on a bamboo chair he had brought from the main hall. He prepared her toothbrush, toothpaste, and a rinsing cup, and asked her to brush her teeth and wash her face.
He had gone for an early morning run to the town, rode the bicycle back, and brought some fried dough sticks, buns, and pig offal with him.
The last time they went to the city, they rode the bicycle to the town and then took a bus, and on the way back, they rode the motorcycle, leaving the bicycle at the town's health clinic. Since they didn't need to go out to sea today, he rode the bicycle back.
Zhou Chenglei took the fried dough sticks and buns wrapped in oil paper from the basket of the bicycle and placed them on the eight-immortal table in the house. Then he picked up the pig offal from the basket of another bicycle and went to prepare it.
The last time at Jiang's house, Zhou Chenglei remembered Jiang Xia saying that fried dough sticks and soy milk were a perfect match, but he thought that congee and fried dough sticks were even better.
Jiang Xia brushed her teeth while watching Zhou Chenglei squatting and busily preparing breakfast for her.
In the early morning, the courtyard was bathed in gentle sunlight, and even the wind was soft. The sunlight fell on his side profile, making him look elegant and handsome.
The once overgrown courtyard now had flowers, trees, a swing, and them, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Zhou Chenglei cleaned and cut the pig offal, adding it to a pot of congee with plenty of ingredients.
Zhou's mother had started cooking the congee early in the morning and left it simmering on the coal stove before going to water the vegetables in the garden.
When Zhou Chenglei finished making the congee, Zhou's father and mother happened to return home with Zhou Zhou.
Ever since they had various balls, Zhou Zhou was called out to play by others as soon as he woke up, even on school days. He would play for a while before going to school.
Jiang Xia didn't mind; studying was important, but a happy childhood was equally significant.
The children of this era were not as academically driven as those in modern times, with various tutoring and interest classes.
As long as Zhou Zhou didn't neglect his studies and rest, Jiang Xia wouldn't stop him from playing.
Things were going well; Zhou Zhou had friends to play with every day, and she felt that he had become much happier.
The family enjoyed a hearty breakfast together.
Jiang Xia discovered that the congee and fried dough sticks were indeed a delicious combination!
Perhaps it was because she loved meat in her congee, and this congee had plenty of it. Zhou Chenglei knew that Jiang Xia liked meat, so he added extra pig offal, lean pork, and sea cucumbers, making it a bowl of congee with abundant ingredients.
The sweet congee made from fresh pig offal was even more delicious when paired with fried dough sticks, torn into small pieces and soaked in the congee broth. Zhou Zhou couldn't resist eating two bowls of congee, a fried dough stick, an egg, and even forgoing his usual favorite, corn. Jiang Xia also had two bowls of congee, and after finishing, she still wanted half a bowl more. Zhou Chenglei peeled a boiled egg for her and broke off a third of a corn for her to eat.
A hearty breakfast was important, having a little of everything for a healthy body. When eating the sweet potatoes and taro, he first let her have a few bites, and only after she was full did he finish the rest.
Zhou Chenglei was always a big eater, finishing three bowls of congee, two fried dough sticks, a steamed bun, a corn, a sweet potato, two taro, and an egg yolk. Jiang Xia couldn't help but think that raising several sons like Zhou Chenglei must have been challenging for Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu back in the 50s and 60s.
After breakfast at 8 am, the construction team arrived to pour the foundation slabs. The alley was bustling today as the neighboring family, Zhou Bingqiang's, had also chosen this day to pour their foundation.
In the past, when building brick and tile houses, the raising of the ridge beam was an important occasion. Now, with no need for a ridge beam, families treated the pouring of the foundation as a significant event, carefully selecting an auspicious date.
Today's date was considered favorable, which was why both families chose the same day.
Zhou Bingqiang and Zhou Guohua had gone out to sea this morning. Last night, Zhou Bingqiang's family had a domestic dispute, and Zhou Guohua's two older brothers decided to divide the family assets. So, last night, Zhou Bingqiang's family also divided their assets.
Zhou Guohua and Wen Wan divided a new boat and this new house. Although the division didn't yield much money, Zhou Guohua needed to go out to sea to earn more, as the money for building the house was still insufficient. So, Wen Wan stayed in the village to oversee the house construction while Zhou Guohua and Zhou Bingqiang went out to sea early this morning.
Wen Wan had shared her dream with Zhou Guohua last night, compelling him to go out to sea today. It was a perfect opportunity to retrieve those two stones before Zhou Chenglei's turn to go out to sea!
Wen Wan arrived early to supervise the construction. At this moment, both families' workers were mixing concrete in preparation for the foundation pouring.
Zhou Mu brought out a large pot of cooled soybean milk and a large pot of water, telling the workers they could help themselves to drinks when thirsty.
Jiang Xia carried out some bowls to offer the workers for their soybean milk and water. She spotted Wen Wan not far away but paid it no mind.
Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Fu, and Zhou Xin climbed onto the rooftop to help. Jiang Xia couldn't resist going up to take a look.
Seeing her climb up, Zhou Chenglei quickly went to assist her. The entire floor deck had already been nailed down, with a layer of rebar and iron rods laid on top, all secured with wires in a regular pattern.
The construction team, noticing their floor deck slightly cantilevered, asked, "The layout of your house is great, but why is the floor deck cantilevered beyond the exterior walls? Are you planning to make the second floor bigger?"
Usually, only balconies would cantilever, but this family's floor deck extended slightly on all four sides, not by much, about ten centimeters.
With just a ten-centimeter cantilever, the second floor wouldn't be significantly larger, and it didn't seem very meaningful. Zhou Fu laughed and explained, "This was my daughter-in-law's idea. She said that not only would it look better, but it could also prevent issues like water leakage in the exterior walls. Especially for the top floor, where the walls are prone to cracking and leaking. By extending the floor deck during the pouring and creating an eave, rainwater won't directly wash the walls but will fall onto the eave and drip down. This can prevent water seepage due to wall cracks during rainy days, though it may not be a perfect solution, it will help significantly."
That was the general idea, and Zhou Fu conveyed Jiang Xia's thoughts in his own words.
Wen Wan also heard Zhou Fu's explanation and looked up at her own house's floor deck, which didn't cantilever at all.
(End of Chapter)
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