Aunt Liu was shocked: "You want to build a kiln?"
"Well, my father is gone, and the three of us, mother and daughter, have to survive. Building a kiln and making tiles is better than growing crops," said Xia Qianqian.
Uncle Liu heard this in the courtyard and came out in a hurry: "Qianqian, can you make tiles?"
Everyone sympathized with the Qin mother and daughter. But burning tiles is a technical job, and you can't just do it if you want to.
"know a bit."
“Making tiles is a technical job!”
"It's okay, I'll learn slowly." Xia Qianqian said, "Uncle Liu, can you help with the work for two days?"
"Sure, I helped build the Xia family's kiln." Liu Bo agreed. Winter will come soon after the autumn harvest, and there is not much work in the fields. I will go out to find a job. It won't be long before I have to go home for the New Year. Instead of tossing around, I might as well work for Xia Qianqian at home, earning ten cents a day!
"Okay, let's start tomorrow. Please help me find two more people who can do the work. The wages will be the same."
"good."
… …
The next day, Uncle Liu brought two people to Xia Qianqian's field. One was Yang Neng, who had helped speak up on the night when the Jiang father and son came to make trouble. The other was Uncle Liu's nephew Liu Bing, both of whom were very honest.
Xia Qianqian didn't have any paper, so she drew a blueprint on the cloth with charcoal and told Uncle Liu: "Uncle Liu, I want to build my kiln like this..."
"Qianqian, are you sure you want to build it like this?" Uncle Liu asked in surprise, holding the blueprint, "A kiln like this doesn't conform to the rules, right?"
Xia Qianqian smiled and said, "This kiln is different from the one my father built. I improved it myself. You can just build it according to it."
"But if we build it this way, what if we can't produce good tiles?" Uncle Liu asked worriedly, "I heard from your aunt that you sold all the seeds to build the kiln."
Xia Qianqian said confidently: "I am confident that I will succeed!"
"All right!"
Liu Bo couldn't be persuaded, so he started to lead people to build the kiln according to the blueprint.
Drawing blueprints is a technical job, while laying bricks and building kilns is a physical job. Uncle Liu led Yang Daneng and Liu Bing to start digging the foundation. Xia Qianqian pushed a cart to the neighboring Shihua Village to buy bricks.
Although it is said to be next door, it is actually quite far away. Xia Qianqian walked for an hour before reaching Shihua Village.
The brick seller's surname was Liu, and he was as famous as the Xia family. People in the surrounding area called them "Xia Tiles and Liu Bricks". The head of the family was Liu Qi, who was one year younger than Xia Dingshan, thin and capable. He was accompanied by a shy boy with a slightly dark skin.
"Uncle Liu, I'm here to buy bricks." Xia Qianqian stopped the cart and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Ms. Xia, are you here alone?" Liu Qi asked.
Xia Qianqian said: "Well, I'm alone."
"How many bricks do you want?"
"Two hundred dollars."
"good."
Two hundred green bricks piled high on the cart. In order to prevent the bricks from falling, Xia Qianqian specially borrowed a net, caught the bricks, and secured them with a hemp rope.
Liu Qi seriously doubted whether Xia Qianqian's frail body could pull the cart.
As a result, Xia Qianqian lifted the handlebars with a little effort. Liu Qi's eyes widened: "Miss Xia, you have some strength!"
"Not bad." Xia Qianqian smiled and pushed the cart back.
Her foot had not healed yet, and she walked with a limp, looking very pitiful. Liu Qi said to the boy, "Liu Xing, see Miss Xia off."
"Okay." The young man received the order, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he ran quickly to chase Xia Qianqian, "Miss Xia, my father asked me to help you deliver the bricks."
"Do you want money?" Xia Qianqian asked.
(End of this chapter)