Chapter 1485: 1486 Find your village chief
"Are you going to see those ugly monsters building roads again?" A woman was tidying up her stove and nagging her son with a dusty face: "Have you finished the homework the teacher left for you? That's serious. Damn it! If you are like your father in the future, you will have a hard life!"
She didn't even raise her head when she spoke. The boy made a face and walked into the next room. There was a ladder there. This ladder did not belong to their family, but was temporarily left here by someone who came to do construction in the morning.
The roof has been repaired before, which is the biggest honor of their family in the past year: the ancestral house has the opportunity to be renovated instead of being demolished. This is simply something they never dared to dream of before.
Just kidding, do you know how expensive tiles are? The reason why they can afford tiles is because a factory that can burn tiles was built in the next village. This allowed them to use red bricks and tiles that they couldn't afford in the past!
The roof of their house used to be thatched, but it is much better now. Several uncles from the village helped and replaced it with new tiles. There is no leakage or draft, so living in the house is much more comfortable.
It’s not just the tiles, the changes to their windows are even more dramatic: the window frames have been replaced with a white plastic material. I heard it was called plastic steel, but I have never seen it before.
They knew about glass, but even the landlords in their village couldn’t afford glass windows in the past! It's better now. All the windows in the entire village have been replaced with glass windows, which is called a transparent and bright place.
Even for these windows, there is a custom of installing curtains in the village. In the past, the windows were not transparent at all, so people outside could not see inside the house. But now it is better. Many half-year-old children climb the walls to peek at the baths of other girls and wives. Changing clothes has caused a lot of disputes.
The curtains are not expensive, and the windows, roof, and even bricks are all subsidized by the new village chief.
I heard that it was not the village chief who took the money, but borrowed it. Their village borrowed money that would take them ten lifetimes to repay, which scared several elderly people in the village to tears.
The village chief used the money to buy machinery and equipment, and then began to build a new factory nearby to directly make cans. With the special fruits in their village, the astronomical loan was repaid in a few months.
Now one-third of the girls and daughters-in-law in the village work in the fruit canning factory, and the men work in the fields and take care of the fruits. Everyone knows that their lives will be better next year than they are today.
In order to get the factory started, the village spent a lot of money to connect a wire. The village chief was a man who knew technology. He gritted his teeth and installed a transformer directly at the entrance of the village, and then began to persuade everyone to install electric lights.
Because the electricity bill was very expensive, the villagers were reluctant at first, but in the end they gave the young village chief face, and two families gritted their teeth and nodded in agreement.
As a result, these two houses will light up with dazzling lights at night, so the children can study for a while, and it will be more convenient for the family after dark.
The village chief was also smart and gave his old radio as a gift to the first household to receive electricity. Soon, that household felt the earth-shaking changes and benefits brought by electricity.
Now everyone couldn't sit still. Those who had saved some money were clamoring for electricity and the installation of electric lights.
A wire twisted into a twist hangs from the beam in the house, and a lamp holder hangs from the bottom. Inside is an upside-down screw, making it easier to screw on the bulb. Because this place is relatively remote, roads have just been opened and electricity has been introduced, so incandescent lamps are still the mainstream, and things like fluorescent lamps are not available here for the time being.
I looked up at the wire hanging above my head, and then at the switch that was deliberately installed higher - it was a pull cord with a beautiful red bead hanging from the bottom.
“What are you looking at, boy!” A rich voice came from behind, startling the boy. He hurriedly dodged, and behind him, a man wearing an electrician's overalls squeezed into the house.
He climbed up the ladder, screwed the light bulb in his hand onto the lamp holder, then climbed down, walked to the switch, stretched out his hand and pulled the light cord.
“Click!” There was a crisp sound, and the light bulb above his head suddenly turned on. The boy looked at the light above his head in surprise, and for a moment he forgot to scream.
The woman outside the house also walked in, looking shocked at the light that came on. She never thought that one day humans would be able to defeat the night. According to her understanding, the setting of the sun meant the end of the day's activities.
Now, the Tang Empire has used technology to extend human activity time. Night no longer restricts human beings. As long as the extra hours are fully utilized, the progress and development of the world will become faster.
"If it breaks, go to your village chief! Don't do it yourself! Otherwise someone will die." The electrician opened his mouth and explained the so-called "precautions". People in this era didn't know much about electricity, and he talked to them too much. It will only make them more confused. Therefore, it has become the best way to go to the village chief if something happens.
“Oh! Okay, okay.” The woman nodded cautiously. The death of a person was a big deal for a woman like her.
Wiping her calloused hands with the dirty apron on her body, the woman apologized and said to persuade this "capable man" to stay: "Stay and drink a bowl of water before leaving..."
They didn't have the habit of drinking boiled water here before. After the village chief came, he asked everyone to drink boiled water. I don't know where the "rule" came from. Anyway, if someone drinks boiled water, the village chief will come to the door after knowing it. Go for a beating and kick him in the butt. The pain is okay, but the shame is real.
"No." When he entered the house, he glanced at the stove in the outer room. When he saw the dirty and broken bowls, the electrician was a little worried about his own health, so he declined the other party's hospitality.
There were some colorful plastic bottles on the earthen stove, which were sold by passing caravans such as soy sauce, vinegar and the like.
These gadgets are now subsidized by the Tang Empire, and the prices are very cheap in Qin, Chu, and Shu. Merchants are not making money from ordinary people, but are receiving subsidies from the Tang Dynasty, so they are willing to do this business.
The current model is still relatively backward. You drive your car and sell all the way. No matter where you go, there will be markets in the future. Later, there will be larger commercial places in the town, and they will even be fixed.
Seeing the electrician turning around to leave, the woman asked a question that she was very worried about but did not dare to ask the village chief: "Sir... you said, those ugly monsters who are building roads outside can't harm people at night, right?"