Chapter 117 [Repairing Bridges and Roads, Running Around Until Your Legs Break]
In just a dozen days, half of the fat Bel Singh had gained from his pampered life was consumed, and he was losing weight at a speed visible to the naked eye. This made the Singh family nervous. Bel Singh's life was not his own, but the entire Singh family's. Even though Bel Singh repeatedly opposed it, the family still held an enlarged meeting of all members.
The purpose of the meeting was to allow Master Singh to go to the construction site to supervise the progress of the project and maintain his body to restore his previous fat. In the end, it was decided that Master Singh could also go to the construction site to supervise the progress of the project, but he was not allowed to get within ten meters of the construction site.
If there was anything, he had to rely on Little Jamal to pass on the message, and find a cool place, put a recliner and coffee table, and have two maids serve him personally. In other words, while others were sweating profusely working and moving stones, Master Singh was still lying in the shade of the tree drinking tea and eating, and there were two maids beside him holding fans to fan him.
If these conditions were not accepted, the whole family unanimously decided that Bel Singh could only stay at home. Besides eating and sleeping, it would be better to kill himself. How could Bel Singh give up the century-long plan of building bridges and roads and live a pig-raising life at home? This stone road and these two cement bridges are related to the rise of the entire family and the tolls of tens of thousands of people. How much profit is this year?
Besides, the attitude of everyone in India, from the government to the people, towards large-scale projects is really worrying. If I hadn't seen with my own eyes that this group of people cut corners and built a shoddy project, the annual maintenance cost would be more than the tolls and bridge tolls collected.
Wouldn't it be a waste of time? So I was forced to accept the conditions of the people at home, just like I had just finished breakfast this morning. If it were in the past, Bel Singh would definitely ride his bicycle and bring a group of people to the construction site to direct the progress of the project and supervise the quality of the workers' completion of the project.
But this time it was different. He didn't ride a bicycle and sat on a bamboo sedan chair, and was carried by two male servants to the road construction site slowly. Moreover, on the hilltop 30 meters away from the construction site, a relatively tall wild fig was found. Although there were many insects on the tree, this fig was wild. It was also the tallest tree nearby. The crown of the tree formed an umbrella that reached hundreds of square meters, and the diameter of the beam reached more than two meters, which three people could not hug.
So this tree formed a natural shade. The male servant came under the tree and quickly placed the recliner and coffee table. The maid took out the small gas tank brought from home to boil water, and then made a pot of steaming hot black tea for Belsinger.
She also took out some snacks and put them on the tea, especially a half-pound chocolate cake on it. It was Mrs. Lina, who specifically told the maid to make sure to give it to Belsinger. In this way, 30 meters ahead, people were working hard, sweating under the scorching sun, moving stones, and then pieced them together bit by bit. The sound of knocking and hitting spread several kilometers away.
When a section of stone road is paved, a broken roller will roll back and forth on the stone road. When the stone road is flattened, cement mortar will be poured into the cracks of the stones for reinforcement, and then the road will be planted with perennial grass with super strong reproduction and trees to reinforce the foundation on both sides of the road.
Because the amount of stone required is so large, the blasting team members have to fire more than a dozen shots a day, and the sound of blasting can be heard from the distant hills every few dozen minutes. Then various vehicles pulled by livestock, carts, and even people carrying stones on their shoulders are used to transport stones to the construction site. The most peculiar thing is that there are some small vendors selling some strange things on the construction site.
Are there any fresh fruits for sale? There are small vendors selling sugarcane juice and cigarettes. These small vendors are some distant relatives from Lagar Village, Shah Village, Bel Singh, and my father-in-law's family who are close to do some small business. You really can't help but think that the business is so hot that the daily income is not cheap. For example, the daily income from selling sugarcane juice reaches 500 rupees, which is four times the salary of the road workers, and the level is even higher.
Among them is a villager in Lagar, who is the family of a male servant of a relatively high status in the Bel Singh family. The family's income is not cheap, and they invested a huge amount of money to buy a refrigerator and an incubator to freeze some ice cubes at home at night. They bought some popsicles and ice cream, and brought the incubator to the construction site to sell them during the day. A cup of iced cola costs ten rupees.
There is only such a small cup that people with big mouths can drink it in two gulps, but the demand is still huge. These iced cola have ice cubes and cola, which is very thirst-quenching and summer-heat-relief. The construction site is in full swing, and people shout and horses neigh. Everyone knows how much change the construction of this stone road can bring to everyone.
In addition, although the road construction salary offered by Master Bel Singh is only one hundred rupees a day, it is now the slack season for farming. Staying at home is just a waste of time. Why not get 100 rupees after a day's work? Therefore, the workers are very enthusiastic about their work.
Work starts on time at 6 o'clock every morning, and there is an hour break at noon. The kitchen, which is composed of several people from the Singh and Shah families, prepares a free lunch for these workers. Of course, due to the limited conditions, it is impossible to make any delicious food. It is just a 20-centimeter wheat cake wrapped with some green salad.
People with big stomachs can exchange for a half-full pancake, and people with small stomachs can eat a full pancake. Although this wheat pancake looks very simple, it is sold at 15 rupees per piece in Sinjar town. In the eyes of these poor residents, this free lunch is quite rich.
If you have a big appetite and can't eat enough, you can also bring some food to replenish your energy. If you have a small appetite, it's okay to leave 1/3 or half a pancake, whether it is taken home for children to eat or used as a dinner, it is very good.
Watching such a lively scene and watching the stone road being laid little by little to stretch to both sides, Belsinger felt very happy. Finally, the road out of the Lagar Valley was solved. From then on, even in the middle of the night without moonlight. You can take the stone road to Lagar Village or Sinjar Town, and there will be no more falling into the ravine and getting injured.
The journey that takes a whole day is shortened to within 1 hour, and the villagers in the village can also go to Sinjar Town to sell their own vegetables. Or some fruits, which can be regarded as supplementing the family income. The other three large villages and the affiliated small villages are not so lucky.
If you want to pass the stone road and cement bridge, you must pay a high toll. If you think about the tens of thousands of people who need to pay the toll, how much is the annual income. One hundred rupees per person makes people feel very excited. Others build bridges and roads to do good deeds to solve the travel problems of local residents.
But building bridges and roads by yourself can actually make a profit in exchange for high tolls, and such scenes can only be seen in rural India. Bel Singh felt that the days when he bullied men and women and dominated the village were not far away, and the toll was the first step for him to dominate the village.
No mistakes in one song, one post, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar, one look!