When Reynolds saw that all of them were done eating and, with open seats in the mess tent, just enjoying after-dinner talk, she screwed up her courage and walked over to their table. She walked up behind GangHai and laid her hand on his shoulder.
GangHai turned his head to see who it was.
“Chen GangHai,” Reynolds said. “Would you walk with me?”
Reynolds slept alone that night, but she was in no hurry. She held her extra pillow to her chest and thought of GangHai, asleep on the other side of the room.
She slept very well.
Moving
The morning of the third day, there was something new on the announcements page for the Chen-Jasic group.
“We can move into our houses,” Stacy said.
“Because they’re ready for us,” Tracy said.
“But we still have to work,” Stacy said.
“Except some of us can do a half day,” Tracy said.
“Let me look at this a minute,” Jasic said, reading the notice.
“What does it say, Robert?” Chen asked when Jasic finished. “My English probably not good enough to understand details.”
“We can move into the houses. You know we finished our whole compound yesterday, and marked it off on the chart. And you got the portable toilets placed the first day. Also, there is a potable water tank being delivered today. So we have everything in place to move.
“The field workers, though, will be back in the field today. Those assigned to work in the building can take a half day to move our things. A truck will be available to help.”
Chen nodded.
“Makes sense. More houses to build, more toilets to set, and cows still need to eat.”
“That’s it exactly, LiQiang. But with the kitchens stocked and extra changes of clothes and sheets distributed, the manpower needs here are down. It’s becoming more important to start clearing out the building so we have a hospital. And it’s easier to do a few groups at a time as houses are built than to move everyone at once.”
Chen nodded.
“Very well, Robert. If those working in the building can handle it, we can move today, I think.”
“Yay!” Stacy said.
“I’ll tell the others,” Tracy said, heading next door.
“Strip the beds, everybody,” Stacy said. “Let the air out of the mattresses.”
“We take beds, too, Robert?”
“Yes, LiQiang. The mattresses, the beds, the pillows, the sheets and blankets. Everything.”
“And the supply boxes, too,” Maureen Griffith said. “But the sheets go to the laundry. We’ll take clean ones so we don’t have to keep them straight. And everyone should mark their pillows with their number.”
“I’ll borrow a couple laundry markers,” Stacy said, heading out the door.
The field workers each grabbed an MRE for lunch, then headed downstairs to get a hot breakfast. The others started stripping sheets and pillowcases, folding blankets, and letting air out of the mattresses.
“Unstack the bunk beds, too, and knock the headboards off the bedsprings so we can get everything on one truck,” Griffith said.
The bunk beds all had the same height head- and footboards – identical, in fact – so they could be stacked.
Stacy came back with laundry markers so they could mark the pillows.
Then Tracy came back with an electric cart, and they piled bedsprings and headboards on it. Once she had a full load, she headed for the dock, several others following behind.
“This you guys?” The truck driver asked as they pulled up toward the Chen-Jasic compound.
Stacy and Tracy were sitting on the front bench seat of the truck. It was the first time they had seen the compound.
“Wow,” Stacy said.
“Excellent,” Tracy said.
“Yes, this is us,” Stacy said.
“We’re pretty sure,” Tracy said.
“Look. There’s the guys,” Stacy said, pointing to where Bob Jasic and the others were finishing up the other houses on the block, in the northern half that wasn’t theirs.
“So we’re sure this is us,” Tracy said.
There was an opening in the middle of the set-back side – the east side where the Uptown Market would be.
“Can you drive on in so we can unload in the middle?” Stacy asked.
“That will be the shortest distance to carry everything,” Tracy said.
The driver chuckled at getting tag-teamed by the pair.
“Sure. Not a problem.”
He pulled the truck in through the opening in the enclosure, then turned around inside. He was in the middle of the compound pointed back out when he stopped.
“This is as good as it’s gonna get.”
“This is great,” Stacy said.
“Thanks,” Tracy said.
By that time, four of the guys – James, Jonah, Rick, and Paul – came walking in through the opening of the enclosure. The six of them made quick work of unloading the truck, then James and Jonah grabbed a quick peck from the girls.
“Back to work for us,” James said. “See you later.”
The fifteen-year-old twins climbed back aboard the truck for the ride back to town.
“You’re not going to put all the beds together now?” the truck driver asked.
“No. We need to get to work ourselves,” Stacy said.
“But we’ll have all our manpower tonight,” Tracy said.
“Everybody can move their own bed,” Stacy said.
“And put it together themselves,” Tracy said.
The truck driver just laughed.
The truck driver was just the latest person to see the finished Chen-Jasic enclosure and think it was a pretty good idea. Others groused about it, but the rules were clear: How you arranged things within your property lines – and the building lines along the streets – was up to you.
Several of the larger groups modified their requested lot layouts, building their own enclosures.
It had become just
