CH 228

They could also put the bicycle and the other household items inside the shed. Since the items couldn’t fit in the house, placing them in the shade would avoid them from being exposed to harsh winds and stormy weather, making it easy to corrode or spoil.

It was much easier to build a straw shed than a house. Han Qingsong used the south wall to build a cob wall on the opposite side. Then, he utilised some bent wooden sticks that could not be used as purlins, covering them with some thatch, reeds among other things.

Han Qingsong went to prepare the materials first. In the afternoon, Lin Lan helped him. After work in the evening, the eldest brother of the Han family and Han Qingyun came to help him. With that, the straw shed was erected.

The eldest brother and Han Qingyun naturally refused to stay for dinner, so they left after helping.

Han Qingsong aided Lin Lan to remove the haystacks that had been soaked in the rain outside.

Grass or straw that had been exposed to the rain was very easy to rot. If they were not dried soon, they would become soil in a few days.

Lin Lan looked very satisfied and boasted, “Director Han truly is capable; he can both attack and defend.”

Han Qingsong glanced at her, not knowing where she had learnt these pickup lines.

…

The children came back for dinner one after another in the evening.

Lin Lan motioned for Erwang to listen to the radio and he said in surprise, “Mother, do we have batteries?”

Lin Lan smiled, “Your father borrowed it from the Brigade. We’ll buy some and return them later on.”

Erwang happily began to tune the station. At this time, the radio program included singing, opera, revolutionary opera, storytelling, etc. Songs such as ‘I Love Beijing ***’ and storytelling like ‘Taking The Tiger Mountain by Wisdom’ were very popular now.

However, children were also prone to disputes. For example, Dawang and Sanwang liked to listen to storytelling that were related to wars, Erwang and Maisui liked to listen to various songs, but Xiaowang liked to listen to instrumental music such as songs that feature the erhu, flute, tambourine and guzheng. The sound… The arguments that broke out among the children were not silent in any way.

Lin Lan quickly dissipated the fight, “How about you take turns listening?”

“The storytelling is a daily series; if we stop listening for one day, it wouldn’t make sense anymore afterwards!”

“You didn’t need to listen to it when we were out of batteries a few days ago!”

The children quarrelled and the atmosphere in the two huts were about to boil like an opened pot.

“Stop, stop!” Lin Lan tried to persuade them with a few words, but the children didn’t listen at all. Instead, they argued even more.

Han Qingsong entered the room from the outside. His thick eyebrows furrowed, “Everyone, stand at attention!”

The conditioned reflexes of Dawang, Erwang and Sanwang were the same as the trio immediately stood straight and still.

Maisui proudly enjoyed listening to the radio and tuned it to the singing program.

Sanwang looked at his sister, dissatisfied. He pushed his elder brother with his hand and groaned.

Maisui also pouted at them proudly.

“Why is she the only one who can listen to the radio? I want to listen too!” Sanwang was starting to become very unsatisfied.

Han Qingsong turned the radio switch with his big hand, “You want things to be fair? Okay, then no one has to listen.”

Suddenly, the house was quiet.

Han Qingsong handed the radio to Lin Lan, “Don’t let me hear any of you arguing again.”

The children pursed their mouths tightly, all looking rather angry.

Lin Lan thought for a while, “How about I make a few wooden sticks and we’ll draw lots to choose whether we should listen to storytelling or the songs?”