Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 491 - 376: Toiling Day and Night

After dinner, Zhou Jiao carried Ping’an, held a trumpet and a horn, and followed behind Aunt Wang and the others.

Aunt Wang is a good person!

Before dinner, Aunt Wang looked disdainfully at Zhou Jiao’s thin frame, especially in contrast with the chubby Ping’an, and with tightly furrowed brows, she gave Zhou Jiao an easy job.

Writing slogans, shouting slogans, blowing the horn—on the surface, it seemed like a non-stop twenty-hour job, but Zhou Jiao knew it was a gesture of care.

To avoid giving Aunt Wang ammunition for gossip, Zhou Jiao proactively took on several babies to care for so the adults could devote themselves to creating miracles.

The people began breaking up the limestone they had pushed back from the mountain during the day.

The foundation for the primitive blast furnace needed limestone, and to build a nine-meter tall furnace, the foundation required a layer of limestone rock. It was very strong and stable.

Next to them were two piles of iron ore and coke, the raw materials for smelting iron, which also needed to be broken up.

The fatigue of labor couldn’t dampen people’s passion. Loud conversations, hammering sounds, and county radio voices echoed all around, vibrant and intense.

Zhou Jiao looked up at the sky. This autumn had been dry, with no rain until now. As she looked at the child in her arms, wide awake and observing everything, she wished for rain.

At this moment, she hadn’t realized her thoughts were naive. It wasn’t until winter that just two rainfalls came, and people continued working tirelessly in the rain, with no days off.

In the distance, Mr. Zhang and Mother Zhang were hammering the limestone, occasionally glancing at each other’s hands.

"Hey husband, did you run into anyone from the village on the mountain this afternoon? I heard they’re also building a tall furnace in the village, but I don’t know where. Oh... my heart is so unsettled."

Mr. Zhang laughed, "I ran into Lao Wu and the others. Our village lacks guidance, so they couldn’t build the furnace that high; they just added a few more. I heard it’s being built on that wasteland at the foot of the hill. Our yard is fine, but if you’re worried you can take a moment to check it out tomorrow."

Mother Zhang shook her head while working, "Forget it, it’s useless to go back and look. I also don’t know how our three sons are doing."

Turns out she was still thinking about the sons? Mr. Zhang wasn’t worried at all about the younger two; his concern was for the eldest. The second son was clever, and Xiao Wu wasn’t foolish and had strength. But the eldest was too honest and easily taken advantage of. He couldn’t tell his wife, though, or she’d be sick with worry.

He laughed heartily, "They’ve done harder work; do you really need to worry?"

"Xiao Wu and the second son didn’t come back for dinner; do you think they’re hungry?"

"I just ran into Xiao Wu; he said the three brothers are eating at work. Don’t worry. They’re fine. You worry about them, but they’re thinking of you too."

Mother Zhang felt much better hearing her husband’s comfort. Looking at the youngest daughter-in-law speaking into the horn, she was filled with energy.

The three sons Mother Zhang missed were just as Mr. Zhang predicted.

Zhang Guofu continuously and vigorously broke the stones; the sweat stains on his back and the sweat on his forehead showed his dedication. As he worked, he thought about what Zhang Guoqing had said, and after pondering for a while, he decided to follow his younger brother’s advice. Since climbing the blast furnace was dangerous, he would forgo it.

The second son, Zhang Guoqiang, delivered stones to his seated colleagues, occasionally sitting down to hammer a few, occasionally passing cigarettes to colleagues, joking and bantering with them.

He clearly fit in effortlessly. He also remembered his brother’s advice; even without Xiao Wu saying anything, he understood the situation. There were plenty of skilled people in the bureau, all eager to impress; there was no need for him to step in.

As for Zhang Guoqing, at that moment, he had processed a pile of limestone into pieces, twice as much as others, attracting constant looks from Zhao Dashan.

He smiled helplessly at Zhao Dashan. He had no choice; his strength was well-known. Was he supposed to hide it now? Moreover, hearing Zhou Jiao’s voice from the nearby horn excited him and made him act rashly.

Just get on with it! Losses bring gains. At least now, aside from pushing stones down from the mountain, he just had to break stones. It was actually easy work for him.

Thinking of this, Zhang Guoqing began considering whether he should take their son at night himself; the horn’s sound undoubtedly kept Ping’an awake. But he wasn’t sure if his wife being without their son would mean she would be called to break stones.

The busy days passed quickly for Zhang Guoqing, caught between gains and losses, hesitant and undecided. Many earthen blast furnaces of various sizes and heights gradually rose on several open spaces in the county. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

After ten days of hammering, a small mountain-like pile of iron ore, coke, and limestone had accumulated not far from the blast furnace.

Now everything was ready except for the east wind.

The completion of the earthen blast furnace brought hope; everyone was filled with enthusiasm, wholeheartedly investing in the iron-smelting endeavor.

Whether for celebration or simply for joy, ceremonies to light the furnaces were held wherever there were earthen blast furnaces in the county.

As the broadcast music stopped, the designated leaders announced the start.

The furnace ignition team stuffed the furnace with firewood, and coke was poured into the furnace from the top. Below, people lit the firewood with oil and sealed it with firebricks, leaving a round hole for the molten iron.

At this moment, the blower kicked in—thick smoke shot up from the furnace top in an instant.

As people witnessed this moment, bursts of applause and cheers erupted on site; some people were so excited they shouted and jumped, shouting slogans.

The successful ignition indicated that the goal was close, filling everyone with joy.

Several furnace workers braved the scorching heat, laughing heartily while holding poking sticks to tend the furnace, cheering on the charge workers.

The charge workers, filled with confidence, carried baskets of iron ore, coke, and limestone up the ladders of the blast furnace, pouring them in from the top without a hint of fear, descending the ladders, and continuing with renewed strength.

Seated on the ground, the stone breakers couldn’t stop to chat, hastening their speed and strength, afraid of not keeping up with the blazing blast furnace.

Everyone’s face was beaming with happy smiles—the hope of producing steel filled people with excitement and pride, making them wish to stand guard by the blast furnace day and night.

The sky still had a hint of brightness, and looking up, dense smoke could be seen rising from all directions, slowly covering the county with a gray haze.

Gradually, the day grew darker; it was unclear whether it was nearing night or the smoke obscured the sky.

With nightfall, the bonfires burned brightly everywhere, illuminating the entire county.

Nights were filled with work, with no protective measures.

Throughout the process, the charge workers carried heavy loads up to the nine-meter height, a level of danger Zhou Jiao could not bear to witness. She couldn’t look upwards, only anxiously awaiting dawn with her heart pounding.

And so it went, the continuous work of the blast furnace, with only the physically strong rotating shifts, while everyone else slept deeply at night, starting work at five in the morning.

Conversations were centered around iron, and the reporting was all about iron, as life suddenly entered a world of steel.