During the nap, the gatekeeper quietly walked into the lesbian's workshop and asked the person who was not yet asleep: "Which of you has a friend?" ”

People ask, "What kind of people?" ”

"Girl, not tall, dark, and nasal in her speech."

Everyone shook their heads. The gatekeeper said, "She kept saying that she was looking for a bricklayer at No. 17 of the West Shed, and asked her what her name was, but she couldn't call her, so she said that you had asked her to come." Qiu Minghua clapped his hands at this time, ran out with an "oh" sound, and went to the window to add: "Xu is looking for me." ”

It turned out that there was a group of visitors in the morning, and there was a little girl who stared at the female bricklayer Qiu Minghua as soon as she arrived at the construction site, and even made Qiu Minghua a little embarrassed, and when she happened to walk by the girl, she nodded to her and said with a smile: "Go back to my place to play, I live in No. 17 Xigong Shed." "She did.

Qiu Minghua took her hand and walked towards the big locust tree. Looking at the girl, she was half a head shorter than herself, an arm wider, and she looked no more than seventeen years old. The girl also looked at Qiu Minghua, seeing that she was in a moderate figure, with a white face, and the corners of her eyes hanging slightly upward, she was obviously quite energetic, and she walked very lightly. It's the same as the photo of "Female Bricklayer of New China" she saw in the pictorial.

"You sit down first, and I'll bring you some boiling water." Qiu Minghua pulled her under the tree and pulled a brick for her.

"No, let's talk, it's time for you to go to work soon." She spoke nasally.

"It's still early!"

Qiu Minghua went to the stall at the door and brought half a watermelon.

"What's your name?" Qiu Minghua asked while handing her a watermelon.

"My surname is Zhao, and my name is Zhao Meiying. I've seen your picture in a pictorial. As soon as I saw you that day, I felt very familiar, and I wanted to ask you, what are the conditions to come to the construction site, can I do it like me? Our family is a working people, my father is beating billets on the kiln, and my brother is the People's Liberation Army. If you don't believe me, ask the police station. She said this in one breath.

"You didn't go to school? Why did you remember to be a bricklayer? ”

"After graduating from high school, I want to participate in the construction."

"It's not too late to participate in the construction after you finish your studies, can your family agree now?"

"I calculated that the first five-year plan for a few more years of school was completed. I'm going to participate in construction now, and by the time I graduate from high school, won't I have been working for six years? Have you learned a set of techniques too? Isn't the state now calling on our high school graduates to participate in labor production? Together, my mom just didn't agree, and I was able to convince her. Think about it......"

By the time the clock was struck, the two of them were already like a pair of old friends. Qiu Minghua wanted to go to work, so he hurriedly told her that the construction site was recruiting apprentices, but she had to report to the district government first, and the district government would open a letter of introduction.

Zhao Meiying's uncle is the deputy director of this construction site, and she is afraid that her uncle will know about it first and suddenly reach her mother's ears, and if her mother does not agree, it will be troublesome. She wanted to get things done first, but when the time came, her mother couldn't help it, so she didn't dare to go directly to her uncle. After hearing Qiu Minghua's words, she went back and completed all the formalities.

Seven days later, Zhao Meiying came to report. She asked to be in Qiu Minghua's group. Qiu Minghua asked her with a smile: "Have you discussed it with your mother?" She said, "It's been discussed." Qiu Minghua asked, "How much do you discuss?" "At breakfast, I said to my mother, 'I'm going to work on the construction site after dinner!'" She said, 'Don't think of an idea, it's better to get ready for your secondary school exam!' I said, 'No, you have to go when you get on the board!' She asked me when I was going to be registered, and I grimaced at her and ran! Qiu Minghua said: "I knew you were haunted, go and discuss with your mother after work at noon, otherwise the construction site will not accept you." She pouted: "It's easy to send God, please let me enter this gate, and you still want to tell me to leave?" ”

She is the youngest in the group, so people don't call her Zhao Meiying, but call her Xiaoyingzi, and sometimes simply call her "little girl". She said: "Have you seen "The Man of the Stalin Era"? There was a Constantine there, who had been involved in construction since he was fourteen. ”

She tried her best to complain to the foreman, "My house is crowded, and I don't have a good rest!" "Tell me to live in a room with Qiu Minghua, and learn from her in business." But he pretended to be sad and said to his mother: "I will move to the construction site tomorrow!" Originally, it took her a lot of time to say that her mother had to agree to her coming to the construction site, and now she has to move out. Mom ignored it for a long time. It wasn't until dinner that he said, "Is it okay for my daughter's family to live there?" Xiao Yingzi pretended to sigh and said, "But the public can't help himself, now I am a construction worker, organized." Mother said, "Then don't do it, I'll tell your uncle to go!" ”

"Don't! Don't! The sadness on her face vanished like a wind. shouted earnestly: "After a few days of work and coming back, it's like joining the People's Liberation Army and deserting, and you have to carry a black pot for a lifetime!" You love my brother, if you don't write a letter to make him homesick, you won't hurt me! As he spoke, he squeezed his eyes at his sister-in-law again.

The sister-in-law hurriedly smiled and said, "Mom, hurry up and tell you to go Erge, I don't know how to bite people if you keep it again!" ”

The bed, pillows, and sheets were all arranged in imitation of Qiu Minghua's appearance, and then he lay on the bed, put his hands under his head, looked at the moon outside the window with two big eyes and said, "Sister Minghua, have you seen "People in the Stalin Era"? There's a "Two Female Companions" there, and we're like them! ”

Qiu Minghua shook her head and blushed - she didn't know much and was in the first grade of an amateur school.

"Sister Minghua," she turned sideways and said, "Let's not separate from Shuiyuan, when I celebrate my fiftieth birthday in the future, we will put all the models of the buildings we have built in our lives on the table, what Xinjiang Cultural Palace, where is the Tibet Grand Theater......

Qiu Minghua smiled and said, "Go to sleep, don't talk about it without edges!" Ming'er is dizzy, and you have to fall off the seam again. ”

"No!" She closed her eyes and added, "That's a good idea!" ”

Xiaoyingzi is interested in any job and works hard, which makes the whole group like her. But her mouth was so unforgiving that others were a little afraid of her. Especially male workers. So some people say, "Female workers are clever mouths!" Xiao Yingzi heard it, grabbed the male worker when he got off work, and shouted to everyone: "Don't go, don't go, I want to compete with him." He learns technology more than I do, I can't, let's work harder, I will come as many bricks as you pick, and I will follow as far as you go. Come! ”

The man was so agitated that he stacked forty wet bricks and circled the building. Xiaoyingzi took the burden from him, and the teachers advised her not to be serious, but she ignored it, and took her around in a circle. However, at night she could not fall asleep while lying in bed. Qiu Minghua said of her: "People tease you, and you take it so seriously." ”

"He looks down on people, and that's better than listening to him gossip." When she went to work the next day, she grabbed Qiu Minghua and whispered, "Don't tell me about my hi last night!" If you want to tell me, I'll race with them! ”

Although her strength is not small, she is still not skilled in bricklaying work. It was extremely hot, and it didn't take long for her hands to wear out, and the prickly heat on her thighs and arms gathered together, and she grinned when she sweated. However, when others suggested that the two hours of work at noon should be moved to the evening, she did not approve of it, and she quietly said to Qiu Minghua: "You see, the young workers in the newspapers and novels have all accomplished miracles under difficult conditions......

Qiu Minghua said: "We are here to build, not to suffer, we must be able to be comfortable and produce more." I will not suffer from it. ”

"You're right," said Xiao Yingzi, after a moment's thought, "the Soviet Union now has a lot of big blocks, and the construction workers are working in tall and big factories - yes, it's even better!" ”

Seeing that her hand was broken, the master told her to do a little lighter work, such as sewing and pulling the ash spreader.

Compared with hooking, she prefers to pull the ash spreader, a big trip, how heroic. What about the hook seam? Take a small trowel, like an embroidery needle, it really doesn't match this big construction site!

But she has very few opportunities to pull the ash spreader, and sometimes the master of the place where she can pull the ash spreader also asks her to hook the seam, and the master says: "Don't pull it, that thing is not as beautiful as my big shovel!" ”

"Why doesn't our master like to use the ash spreader?" One day she asked Qiu Minghua.

"Not only our master, but others don't like it very much, it's too heavy to pull up, occupy one person, the ash is uneven, and the place for a short trip can't be opened!"

"Can't you improve it?"

Qiu Minghua didn't answer for a long time. Then gently ask, "Can you draw?" ”

"I drew turnips and eggplants at school......"

"Can you draw with a plaster?"

"Take your time!"

"Listen to me," Qiu Minghua took a step closer to her and whispered, "I've been thinking about a new ash spreader, and I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I can't draw it." Shall we make a fuss together? ”

She remembered that Qiu Minghua always scratched on the ground alone, and sometimes stood aside to watch her pull the ash spreader, and it took more than ten minutes to look at it.

"Me? You mean I'll help you create! Xiao Yingzi opened her eyes again.

"Don't shout, let people hear!" Qiu Minghua still said calmly: "Let's just make a model first!" ”

Xiaoyingzi grabbed her hand and laughed "hey, hey, hey".

"Let's hurry up and make a fuss, try it out in the first month, and let's give it an excess of 200%."

"Be careful, you have to shout out, but don't blame me for ignoring you!"

In the co-creation, Xiaoyingzi put forward a lot of opinions, but unfortunately half of them were not practical. But she's a good assistant, and she understands it as soon as you give her advice, and she does it better than you say.

When he went to the work area to receive his salary, he passed by the window of the director's office and was stopped by his uncle.

The deputy director lifted the red gauze hanging on the window with one hand, stretched out the other hand and pointed at her and said, "Xiaoyingzi, how long has it been since you went home?" ”

"Come back every week." She glared and said with a sense of confidence.

"Lie! I met your mom on the street yesterday and she said you haven't been back for more than a month! ”

Xiao Yingzi blinked.

"I'll go back tonight! Take advantage of the money......" said the uncle with a commanding tone.

"You're still afraid that my mother forgot to ask me for money, and my mother forgot to stare at my sister-in-law."

"You see, I didn't give your mother three salaries, you learn to go cross-country anyway, ......" Speaking of the word "wild", the deputy director couldn't help but think of Xiaoyingzi as a bricklayer...... Thinking about it, he couldn't help but caress his eyes to look at the figure of Xiaoyingzi who had run away.

Last week, they went to the hardware stores on the street to buy two small wheels for the ash shoppers, only to ask where they were not there. This week, Xiaoyingzi still wants to go with Qiu Minghua to find out. Qiu Minghua said: "You go home as soon as possible, I can find it without you!" If you don't go back for several weeks, Auntie should blame you! He also instructed her: "Don't go back empty-handed, let people say that you participated in the construction and 'slam the door'." Buy a little dress for your little nephew or something to take back, it doesn't cost much, the old and the young all like it, and the sister-in-law also praises you for your sister-in-law's wisdom. ”

According to Qiu Minghua's "instructions", she went to the cooperative to buy a large bag of things. The car drove straight to her doorstep. As soon as I got out of the car, a small drum player came to meet him, and in the basket was a wooden duck that a child had broken out, and under the duck's belly, there were four small wheels.

"Hey!" Stop playing the drum, pick up the duck, and be reluctant to let go. Without even asking the price, he handed the man five cents. Holding a bag in one hand and a duck neck in the other, there is a spring on the duck's body, all the way "Ah! Ah", he ran straight to the Liujia tofu shop at the mouth of the alley.

"Aunt Liu, give this bag to my mother!"

"Girl, if you don't go back to the mouth of the alley, I don't care!"

"Thank you, I still have urgent business, tell my mother, I'll be back next week!" The car she had been in was turning back and about to drive away, so she jumped on it. The conductor blinked and studied her for a long time, tore up a ticket to the station where she had just gotten on the train, and smiled suspiciously: "You ran so far just to exchange that bag of things for a broken duck!" ”

Suddenly, the wind blew from nowhere, and legend has it that some female bricklayers wanted to change jobs to learn other skills. Xiao Yingzi peeked at Qiu Minghua's words and actions, Qiu Minghua still went to work as usual, and studied the ash laying device after work, Xiao Yingzi was a little breathless:

"Sister Minghua!" One day, when she got off work, she was walking on the road, pretending not to care, shaking a wicker in her hand and saying, "Do you love our technology?" ”

"What do you see?" Qiu Minghua said with a smile.

"Love. But what about asking you to do something else on the way? Are you going or not? ”

Qiu Minghua understood what she meant, so he said, "I'll go wherever my superiors tell me to go." Organizationally, we look at the problem from a comprehensive perspective, there is no special need, and we will not ask one person to change careers! ”

After a long silence—the wicker was lost at some point—she asked, "What if the organization doesn't order you to make your own choice?" ”

"If I knew there was another job that needed me more than this, I'd go!"

The gust of wind blew over, and Qiu Minghua did not transfer away. However, in the first two days of the ash spreader being reported to the Technical Improvement Section, a notice came, and the organization decided to transfer Xiaoyingzi to be a telephone operator. Because a telephone operator in the work area was transferred. Knowing that she was stubborn, the Youth League handed over the work of persuading Xiaoyingzi to Qiu Minghua. Qiu Minghua made preparations all day, but his confidence was still not strong. She knew that Xiaoyingzi loved the bricklayer industry to the bone.

In the evening, after turning off the lights, Qiu Minghua talked about the complexity of the work on the construction site, the cooperation of various organizations, the implementation of large blocks in the future, and the importance of the telephone, and the telephone operator ......

Xiao Yingzi suddenly laughed and said, "I know! ”

Qiu Minghua said in surprise: "Why, you know first!" How about it, do you agree or disagree? ”

"I know there's one less phone operator in the work area, and I guessed it when you mentioned it. The organization wants to call me there, doesn't it? Before Qiu Minghua could answer, Xiao Yingzi immediately said, "The organization has decided to have something to say." Didn't you say that if another job requires ...... I just don't know if the technology is complicated or not, it's good to be more complicated, there is a drill bit. ”

Qiu Minghua didn't answer her previous question, but said: "I have been to the exchange table, and one person is in charge of thousands of 'latches', which seems to be very difficult!" ”

"What about our ash spreader? Two hundred percent! After a long dull day, she asked in an aggrieved tone.

"Is it for the sake of the two of us to create the ash spreader? As long as it is good and promoted, are you afraid that others will not be able to complete 200%? ”

Xiao Yingzi was speechless, held it for a long time, and began to cry. Qiu Minghua ran over to comfort her, she swallowed hard and said: "You don't have to worry about me, I understand the reason, but I can't control this eye, I cry or cry, go or go." ”

On Monday, Qiu Minghua first sent the new ash spreader to the Technical Improvement Division, and then sent Xiaoyingzi to the exchange house. When he got off work that afternoon, the correspondent of the section came to call Qiu Minghua to answer the phone, and Qiu Minghua picked up the phone and just said "hey", when he heard a nasal voice shouting: "Have you come here to see?" Who said that the technology here is complicated, and I learned it in two days. Then, without waiting for a reply, he threw it down with a "bang".

Two days later, Qiu Minghua went to call the labor unit, and suddenly the fire brigade came inside, and then a woman came, and after a while, a Sichuan person came in, and the phone was chaotic, so everyone shouted: "Hey! Switching station, switching station' how? 'Sweaters again. The man from the fire brigade shouted.

The Sichuan people knocked on the iron kettle on the phone: "Hey, did you hear that?" What are you doing, shabu shabu [note 1]...... 吭朗吭哭...... Shabu jar! ”

Qiu Minghua couldn't help but think that this must be something wrong with Xiaoyingzi's work. I was very uneasy.

At noon the next day, Qiu Minghua prepared a belly of words to find Xiaoyingzi. When I walked to the exchange and asked, people said that she would not take over until 2 p.m. Qiu Minghua told his intentions again, and people smiled and said, "Don't worry, she's already fine." She was criticized last night, and she herself did a review, saying that she used to think that this work was too simple and did not want to do it, but now she realizes its complexity. Although he was criticized, his interest was high. ”

Qiu Minghua went to the dormitory to look for her, and around the corner he saw the deputy director shouting angrily at the sky: "You are still crazy there, what are you doing up there?" ”

Qiu Minghua looked up at the deputy director's eyes, and found that Xiao Yingzi was wearing a pair of foot hooks, standing on the top of a telephone pole, proudly rolled his left hand into a tube, and shouted down: "I'm studying business here, haven't you seen that the original telephone operator would pull the line when "Far from Moscow"?" ”

Qiu Minghua smiled and thought, "What else can I say to her?" ”

1956

[note 1] Sichuan dialect, meaning "to joke".