Civil Engineering in the Mortal World: Ten Years Without Knowing Today's Events

The water pipes were repaired five days later.

The water company came twice. The first time, they said it was a fire hydrant pipe belonging to the factory next door and not under their jurisdiction. The factory next door said the pipe was buried underground and they would have to dig it up to find out if it belonged to them.

After three days of wrangling, the client finally made a decision: fix it first, and we'll talk about the money later. Upon digging it up, they found a cast iron pipe with a rusted hole, from which water was seeping out, barely as fine as a pinhole, but leaking several tons of water in a day and a night.

The pipes have been replaced, but the soil is still wet.

Old Huang came to check on the crack every day, measuring it with a ruler and recording the measurements in a notebook. The crack stopped widening, but it didn't close either; it just stood there, gaping open like a mouth that couldn't speak.

Work at the bottom of the slope stopped, and the workers moved to the east area, making the work area much more crowded. Old Wang and his men tied steel bars in the east area, but the space was small and they couldn't work very hard, so they couldn't get much done in a day.

"Engineer Chen," Old Wang said, squatting on the steel bars, twisting the ties in his hands rapidly, "when will the West District be able to resume work?"

"Let's talk about it once the slope has stabilized."

"How long will it take?"

"have no idea."

Old Wang didn't ask any more questions. He finished twisting the wire in his hand, stood up, squatted down again, and continued twisting. His back wasn't very good, and he couldn't straighten up after squatting for a long time. Every time he stood up, he had to support himself on his knees with his hands and slowly rise up.

Looking at him, I couldn't help but sigh; the withdrawal might already be on the countdown. Could this side of the slope afford to wait? Could the project afford to wait?

My phone rang. It was a message from Xiaohui.

A photo, a bowl of noodles, with a poached egg on top, the yolk intact and the white without any burnt edges. She had been frying poached eggs for a month, and finally, she could fry them properly.

"Brother Chen, today's noodles."

I replied with two words: "Not bad."

"Brother Chen, when are you coming?"

"weekend."

"Okay. Brother Chen, I'll wait for you."

Chatting with Xiaohui every day has become a regular thing.

I put my phone in my pocket.

Xiao Liu ran over from a distance, holding a folder in his hand, panting. "Brother Chen, the supervisor is here, the new one." Old Huang has been transferred.

Before leaving, he stopped by the construction site for a quick look, said "Take care, Mr. Chen," and then left. He took his thermos and his notebook, but left nothing behind.

The new supervisor's surname is Zhu, he's in his early thirties, wears glasses, and I heard he used to work on projects in the provincial capital. I've never met him, but I've heard he's not very approachable.

When Xiao Liu ran over, I had already seen the white hat. It wasn't the old, grayish white of Lao Huang's hat; it was brand new, shiny white. Under the hat was a young face, in his early thirties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a white shirt tucked into his trousers, and gleaming leather shoes.

"Engineer Chen?" He walked up to me and looked me up and down.

"Engineer Zhu."

"Let me see the monitoring data for the north slope."

I handed him the folder. He opened it and looked at it slowly, pausing for a few seconds on each page. After he finished, he closed the folder and gave it back to me.

"The data is normal. But I need to measure it myself. I'll bring a surveyor this afternoon."

"OK."

He turned and walked away. His steps were quick, his leather shoes creaking on the steel bars.

Xiao Liu leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Chen, this guy is tough to deal with."

"When you first came, you also said that Lao Huang was not easy to deal with."

"Old Huang is a shrew, and this guy—" Xiao Liu thought for a moment, "is like a robot."

I didn't reply. Robots or fritters, they're all supervisors. Change the person, and the work will still get done.

In the afternoon, Engineer Zhu arrived with a surveyor. The level was set up on the top of the slope, and three points were measured. The readings were similar to ours. He wrote it down in his notebook, closed it, and walked over to me.

"Engineer Chen, the soil below the slope is still wet. Have you done any drainage?"

"It's done. A drainage ditch has been dug at the foot of the slope so the water can flow away."

"That's not enough," he said. "You also need to make drainage holes on the slope. Drill some holes to drain the water from the soil. Otherwise, the soil will keep soaking, and the slope won't be stable."

"Okay. I'll arrange for someone to do it."

"Let me know when it's done. I'll come and inspect it."

He left. Xiao Liu stood beside him, watching his retreating figure. "Brother Chen, was he right?"

"right."

"Then he—"

"If he's right, we'll do it. If he's wrong, we'll argue it over." I patted Xiao Liu on the shoulder. "Get to work."

Xiao Liu is gone. I stood at the bottom of the slope, looking up at the crack. The sun was blazing, shining on the crack like a dried-up wound.

When Lao Huang was there, the cracks were a problem, but not insurmountable. Lao Huang left, and Engineer Zhu came, but the cracks remained cracks, and the problem remained a problem. With a different person in charge, the problems still needed to be solved.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from Lao Hu.

"Are the tender documents ready?"

"The technical specifications are still being written."

Give it to me by Friday.

"Okay, Mr. Hu."

I put my phone in my pocket and walked up the slope. Standing at the top, I looked around. The construction site was full of people and sounds. Tower cranes were turning, pump trucks were running, and workers were shouting.

Everything seems the same as before. But I know that some unspeakable things have changed.

Old Huang is gone, Engineer Zhu has arrived. The slope has cracked, the water pipes have been repaired. The project is changing, I'm leaving.

These things, like water, seep in little by little, soaking and softening the soil, cracking the slope. You don't know when it will collapse, but you know it will collapse sooner or later.

I went to see Xiaohui over the weekend.

She was wearing that pink dress and her hair was tied in two braids.

I took her to the supermarket, and she bought strawberries again. This time, she didn't let me pay; she took out her change from the plastic bag and counted it out for the cashier one bill at a time. The cashier waited, and the people in line behind her waited too. She counted very slowly, her fingers trembling slightly. I didn't rush her. A middle-aged woman behind her clicked her tongue. I glanced back at her, and she stopped clicking her tongue.

As Xiao Hui walked out of the supermarket, she hugged the bag of strawberries and lowered her head.

"Brother Chen, am I too slow?"

"Not slow."

"Auntie just clicked her tongue."

"No, you misheard."

She looked up at me, her eyes bright. "Brother Chen is lying."

I was stunned for a moment. She knew I was lying to her.

"Xiao Hui, you counted the money very well just now. I'll help you count it next time."

"No. I'll count them myself."

"Okay. Count them yourself."

She smiled. It was a faint smile, but a genuine one.

We sat on a park bench. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground. Xiao Hui took a strawberry out of her bag and handed it to me.

"Brother Chen, eat."

I took it and took a bite. It was sweet.

"Brother Chen, are you unhappy?"

I paused for a moment, then said, "No."

"You do. You're not saying anything."

I really didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Should I say I was going to the provincial capital? Should I say we might only see each other once a month from now on? Should I ask if she could wait?

"Brother Chen," she looked down at the strawberries in her hand, "don't you want me anymore?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Who said that?"

"Nobody told me. I'm scared." She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. "Brother Chen, I'm afraid you won't want me anymore."

I looked at her. A twenty-six-year-old girl with the mental capacity of a nine-year-old, but she knew fear. She knew the fear of being abandoned. She knew nothing else, but she knew this.

"No," I said. "I won't leave you."

"real?"

"real."

She smiled. No tears fell, but her eyes were red.

I sat on the bench, the sun warm on my skin. Xiao Hui was eating strawberries beside me, one by one, very slowly. I watched her, remembering what Lao Hu had said, "You have to talk to her." I didn't say anything. I couldn't bring myself to say it.

On the way home, she sat in the back, her hands gripping my sleeves.

"Brother Chen."

"Um."

Are you coming to see me again next weekend?

"Come."

"Okay. Brother Chen, I'll wait for you."

I wish I could keep riding like this forever.

Back at the construction site, it was already dark. I went into my office and turned on my computer. The tender documents weren't finished, the slope monitoring data hadn't been submitted, and the construction logs weren't filled out. I sat there, staring at the screen, unable to type a single word.

My phone lit up. It was a message from Xiaohui.

Goodnight, Brother Chen.

I replied with two words: "Goodnight."

Then I put my phone on the table and started writing the tender documents. Even though I knew I wouldn't win the bid, I still had to do the work.