"Dad, Third Brother, it's still several hours before dinner starts, so let me go with you."
Father Du: This is his Du Shuisheng’s child, smart, clever and pretty. Whoever wants that idiot can take her away, he doesn’t want her anyway!!
After the discussion, the four of them went to a wasteland on the outskirts of the city. This place used to be a river, but it had been dry for a long time, with only scattered small puddles on the ground.
"This kind of soil is very sticky and makes stronger bricks."
Father Du handed each of the three men a shovel, and after marking out the area, the four of them started working.
I have to say that the soil really sticks to the shovel. Du Wanying couldn't dig anymore after two tries because the shovel was covered with a thick layer of clay.
On the other hand, Mr. Du dug quickly and dug big with each shovel.
"You need to wet the shovel before digging, so it won't stick."
Father Du demonstrated as he spoke, and Du Wanying followed his example, and indeed, she dug much more smoothly.
The four of them dug for nearly an hour and finally filled the flatbed truck borrowed by Du's father.
Du Wanying stretched out her hand and saw five big blisters on it.
I didn't feel anything when I was working, but now when I stop, my hands are burning with pain.
I guess it's similar for Third Brother and Xiaofang, they are also touching it with their fingers at this time.
Du Wanying held her hands loosely, using only the base of her hands, and worked together with her third brother and Xiaofang to push the flatbed cart onto the road.
On the road, Father Du stopped the car and took the hands of Third Brother Du and Du Wanying to take a closer look.
"Does it hurt?"
The third brother nodded, then shook his head.
Du Wanying imitated her father and pulled He Xiaofang's hands, "Xiaofang, your hands are all blistered. It hurts, right?"
He Xiaofang not only did not show any pain, but she was smiling the whole time. She said softly, "Yingying, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all."
Du Wanying wanted to say some words of thanks, after all, Xiaofang had really contributed to the Du family, but she was interrupted by Du's father just as she was about to open her mouth.
"Go home and ask your mother to apply some gentian violet to you. Each of you will get an extra chicken drumstick tonight!" Father Du said, looking at He Xiaofang. "Xiaofang, you want to come too?"
"Okay, then I'll trouble you, uncle and aunt."
Du Wanying also smiled happily, "Dad, you are so nice! You are the best dad in the world."
Hearing the praise from his daughter, Du Shuisheng couldn't stop smiling.
The four of them struggled to carry the cart full of clay back home. Father Du unloaded the clay, then rolled it into a mound, dug a hole in the middle of the mound, and filled it with water.
Then he took out a bag of rice husks, which Du's father bought from the rice mill for three cents.
"By adding rice husks to the soil, the bricks produced by drying will be stronger."
(Because they are made of earth bricks, they can be dried after forming, and are not the kind fired in traditional gold brick kilns.)
Father Du mixed the clay and rice husks evenly, then took out several wooden molds.
The mixed clay is then pressed into a mold and compacted with a hammer. The mold is then turned over, and a brick is ready.
"Yingying, Xiaofang, take the bricks to the wooden board to dry. Third brother, come and help me make bricks."
Father Du pointed to a wooden board in the distance, and Du Wanying and He Xiaofang happily picked up the bricks and ran over.
In this way, Du's father and third brother made bricks, while Du Wanying and He Xiaofang dried the bricks.
The brick-making process was very slow, and Du Wanying and He Xiaofang were eager to try while waiting on the side.
Father Du saw the look in the two girls' eyes and smiled, "Do you two want to try it too?"
The two nodded vigorously.
Father Du handed a mold to Du Wanying and He Xiaofang respectively, "Then you can try it too."
They took the mold and, imitating Du Shuisheng, shoveled the clay into the mold with a shovel.
You won’t know until you try it. It seems so easy for Father Du to do it, but it is really difficult to make bricks.
First of all, the clay is very sticky and it is difficult to remove it with a shovel. Secondly, compacting it in the mold is also a job that takes effort. If you are not careful, the gaps in the mold will not be filled and the bricks will be bumpy.
The four of them worked for most of the day and made about a hundred earthen bricks in total, of which Father Du made nearly seventy or eighty by himself.
"Thank you three for your hard work today." Father Du looked at the three of them with satisfaction.
"It's not hard." The three said in unison.
"Yingying, it's getting late. You should go cook first."
"OK."
When He Xiaofang saw Du Wanying going to cook, she followed her too. After all, it would not be appropriate for her to stay.
In the kitchen, everyone has not yet left work, so there are only Du Wanying and He Xiaofang.
The two people first quickly washed their hands and then began to divide the work and cooperate.
"Xiaofang, can you help me boil some water? I'm going to kill the chicken."
"Can you kill him? Do you want me to call my uncle?"
"I can do it. Don't underestimate me. I've learned it a long time ago by watching my dad kill chickens for so many years. It's just that I've never had the chance to show it."
Du Wanying really can do it. In her previous life, whenever she had a day off, she would rush to do things like cooking, killing chickens and fish. She had become proficient at it over the years.
Du Wanying first grabbed the wings with her hands and plucked the feathers from the chicken's throat, then cut a small incision with a knife to let the blood out.
Catch the chicken blood in a bowl and wait for the chicken to stop struggling.
He Xiaofang was stunned the whole time. She didn't expect that Du Wanying could actually kill a chicken.
It took her a while to go from shock to acceptance.
"Yingying, the water is already boiling."
"Here I come."
Du Wanying answered and skillfully put the chicken into the freshly boiled hot water. After soaking it for 2 minutes, she took it out, plucked the chicken feathers, cut open the chicken's belly, took out the internal organs, and rinsed it with clean water.
He Xiaofang had already accepted Du Wanying's hands-on ability, but she still couldn't help but praise her, "Yingying, you are so amazing, aren't you?"
Du Wanying smiled and said, "That's not bad. You'll be able to do the same once you learn it."
Since we don’t have any ingredients right now, we can only use what we have, but with the spiritual spring water, the taste will definitely not be bad.
Du Wanying made chicken soup and He Xiaofang was responsible for picking vegetables. With someone's help, Du Wanying's speed increased a lot, and she soon prepared three dishes and one soup.
After all, there are many people in the family, and if we cook less, it won’t be enough to eat.
As soon as the food was done, Du's father, Du Yuanzhan and Du's mother went into the kitchen together.
Du Wanying called out sweetly, "Dad, Mom, Third Brother, Xiaofang and I have prepared the meal."
"Thank you two girls for your hard work." Mother Du looked at the two children with a look of relief on her face.
Du Wanying didn't say anything, but just smiled at Du's mother.
Instead, He Xiaofang felt a little embarrassed.
Mother Du: "Yingying, Xiaofang, Yuanzhan, you three are tired after a day, so don't go to the hospital. Your dad and I can go."
Du Wanying was really tired today, digging mud, making bricks and cooking, so she didn't refuse.
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