Chapter 42 Ancient Construction Site

A new day began. Feng Qi went through the pile of equipment for the elderly that she had stockpiled and dug out a drag-type speaker.

It's the kind that older people usually use for square dancing. It makes a loud banging sound and doesn't require an internet connection. You can just plug in a USB drive to play it.

The playlists are all inspiring, featuring hits by Phoenix Legend, main themes like “Strong Army Battle Song”, and Northeast Rain Sister’s BGM.

Amid the background music of "thump thump thump thump", work began at the ancient construction site.

The current priority is to build houses. Luo Jiu set a small goal for everyone at the swearing-in ceremony: "We must ensure that everyone can live in a house before winter comes."

When Cheng Yaoyao heard Luo Jiu say this, her heart trembled and she sighed inwardly: She is so bold.

None of the four had ever built a house, let alone a house, let alone a doghouse, yet Luo Jiu dared to make such a bold statement.

It is around mid-May now. When the weather gets cold in December, we will have to stop working. They only have about six months.

To build a house for sixty people, you need at least twenty or thirty rooms. How easy is that?

It takes several months to build a house nowadays. Not to mention that they have nothing now and have no place to buy materials, they even have to study and make bricks themselves.

The more Cheng Yaoyao thought about it, the more she felt sweaty. She pulled Luo Jiu aside privately and said, "Can we finish the project in six months? Isn't your goal a bit too high?"

Luo Jiu said: "We are not building a high-rise building, just a one-bedroom brick house. We can build 30 units. With so many people, it won't be a big problem. If everything goes well, we can finish it before winter."

Cheng Yaoyao asked: "What if it doesn't go well?"

Luo Jiu said: "If it doesn't go smoothly, then we can take a step back and build a stone house. It won't require bricks, so it will be much faster.

If all else fails, take a step back and build a wooden house, which will be faster than a stone house.

If all else fails, just take a step back and build a mud house with hay and mud.

Anyway, just tell me, no matter what kind of house it is, have I let them live in it?"

Cheng Yaoyao opened her mouth, but was unable to refute.

That’s right, don’t worry about what kind of house it is, just build it first.

When digging the foundation today, the four of them found all the usable tools in the space.

Luo Jiu said that we should focus on the present first, and when the tools are gone we can return to the modern era to stock up, and the most important thing is to quickly carry out construction and development.

Amid the sound of passionate music, everyone waved iron spits, shovels and iron spades, raising dust everywhere.

There was a whiteboard next to the construction site, on which Luo Jiu had written the specific task assignments, and there was also a slogan written in lipstick: Safety first, civilized construction, and create a better home together.

Luo Jiu divided the people into several groups to work simultaneously, some were digging the foundation, some were building the brick kiln, some were digging the soil, some were making molds, some were picking up stones, and some were cutting down trees.

The entire tribe was like a huge construction site, and everyone was busy.

Of course, while carrying out construction, we must not forget to focus on production.

Zhong Jialing took the children and pregnant women with her, and was responsible for feeding the pigs and sheep while others were building a house. She also set up a tent as a temporary breeding room to hatch chicken, duck and goose eggs.

The first batch of fifty eggs were placed in a small incubator and carefully cared for, waiting to see if they could hatch.

Anyway, Luo Jiu said, don't make it public for now, for fear that failure will dampen everyone's enthusiasm. Let's incubate it first. If it succeeds, it will be a surprise. If it fails, we can just make a baked egg and eat it.

The breeding room was left to Datian and his wife to look after, as they had another important task to do.

Luo Jiu planned a vegetable plot in front of the house, about three acres, equivalent to a 2,000-square-meter garden, and asked them to try growing some vegetables first.

Cheng Yaoyao had planted a garden with her grandmother before, so she had some experience. In this season, she could also grow a lot of vegetables, fruits and melons, greatly enriching the primitive people's dining table.

Zhong Jialing and Cheng Yaoyao studied and worked at the same time. They read books and then discussed how to operate them, applying what they learned immediately.

The two men took out two small hand-held plows and started to open up the land.

Digging the ground over there and turning the ground over here.

Zhong Jialing worked so hard that she gritted her teeth. She had never experienced such hardship before.

In the past, you had to apply sunscreen when driving a luxury car, but now you get your face covered in dirt when driving a plow.

After working for two hours, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she went to the space to find a silk scarf and wrapped it around her head to block out the dust, just like the women working in the fields in the countryside.

Seeing that the two girls were sweating profusely from exhaustion, the five children rushed over to help.

Luo Jiu was worried, so while he was looking for the mold, he went to take a look at the vegetable garden.

Seeing the two young girls, Zhong Jialing and Cheng Yaoyao, so tired that they could not even straighten their backs, and staggering forward with difficulty, while a group of children beside them helped them hold the machines and rub their waists, the scene was so sad.

"Hey!" Luo Jiu shouted, "Come here and rest for a while."

When Zhong Jialing turned around, tears were about to fall.

When Luo Jiu asked how she was doing, Zhong Jialing could no longer hold back her tears and cried, "I'm so tired. Farming is so tiring..."

"I know that everything is difficult at the beginning. Reclaiming wasteland is very tiring. Planting in the second year won't be so hard." Luo Jiu said, wanting to reach out his hand to wipe her tears, only to notice that he also had his hands covered in mud from working at the construction site.

She took off the Hermès scarf on Zhong Jialing's head, shook off the dirt on it, and wiped her tears.

Seeing that Zhong Jialing was getting more and more emotionally broken, Luo Jiu quickly encouraged her, "Don't cry, think about it, we are doing a great cause, we are fighting for the rise of China, for future generations, for the party and the people."

Zhong Jialing cried even harder, "But I'm not a party member..."

"I am, I am," Luo Jiu promised her, "I will introduce you to the party when we get back, and you can just consider it as serving the people in advance."

Zhong Jialing pursed her lips and muttered, "You're lying. The whole world is full of zombies. I don't even know who to hand in my application to join the party to."

She sobbed and cried. Luo Jiu had never seen Zhong Jialing so miserable. There was a layer of dirt on her pretty face, and when her tears flowed, two grooves appeared in her face, and her face was covered with mud.

Cheng Yaoyao was also extremely tired, so she just lay on the ground. At this moment, it was a luxury for her to be able to straighten her back, lie down and have a good rest.

Luo Jiu held their hands and advised them earnestly: "No one is forcing you to finish the work today. Take a rest if you are tired."

Cheng Yaoyao sighed, "We feel bad. Seeing the primitive people working so hard while we are just plowing the land and taking breaks every now and then, we feel bad psychologically."

Luo Jiu said: "We can't compare with them, we are all scholars, we grew up reading and writing in the classroom.

What about them? They were born to play with their lives, fighting with wild beasts with almost bare hands, and working non-stop, just to have the qualification to survive.

We have more cultural knowledge, and they have more physical strength. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses. Why are you two competing with them? Do you want to be the model worker of the month?"

Zhong Jialing burst into laughter and her mood finally calmed down.

Luo Jiu stood up and looked at the land. Three acres of land may not sound big, but only those who work on the fields know the feeling of despair when they look up and see no end.

Luo Jiu thought for a moment, "This small plow is too inefficient. Don't we have a large plow? It can plow ten ridges at a time and turn the land in an hour."

Cheng Yaoyao said: "Won't we have to reclaim a lot of wasteland in the spring of next year? We think we don't have much diesel in stock, so we'll save the large plows for next year, so we can just use the small ones for now."

"Who said we have to use diesel?" Luo Jiu suddenly had an idea. "The plow is detachable. We can remove the plow and use the electric car to move it."

Cheng Yaoyao's eyes lit up when she heard this, "Is it okay?"

"Try."

Luo Jiu did what he said and used wire to fix the eight-meter-long plow to the rear of the tram.

Zhong Jialing took some time to wash her face, and brought out half a box of popsicles, giving one to each of the children. She also took one and said, "I can do this job, let me do it."

She drove the car and plowed twenty ridges in one go, and her efficiency increased quickly.

Luo Jiu and Cheng Yaoyao ate popsicles and clapped their hands excitedly, resolving a major concern for next year in advance.

Zhong Jialing drove over and stopped the car when she saw the children watching eagerly. "Want a ride?"

"think!"

The children rushed into the car. Zhong Jialing opened the sunroof. The children curiously stuck their heads out and stretched out their hands to feel the wind passing through their fingertips.

The children began to sing involuntarily: "I always want to confess to you how heroic my feelings are. I always want to tell you how much I love life. The hardworking and brave Chinese people are entering a new era with high spirits. Ah, we are entering that new era with high spirits..."