Chapter 21 Optimizing the Backyard
After looking around, I found some fresh goods.
There were many pine stumps with polished skin, thicker than my waist, which looked like they could be used as cutting boards.
I picked the smallest piece, about knee-high, and loaded it onto the truck. This one piece is enough for me to make two or three cutting boards.
There were small scraps all around, but unlike the outside of the wall, these scraps looked nicer.
Circles, squares, small rods, etc., some or even parts of them have clear growth rings.
If it weren't piled up with some garbage and debris, I would have thought it was just normal semi-finished timber.
Since it's scrap, I don't feel any pressure.
They took out a sack and filled it completely.
That's enough, that's far enough.
This amount of wood is enough for me to make many tools, enough to last a lifetime.
After thanking the old man, I drove home.
All the wooden planks they had collected were put into the west wing where tools were stored.
I have to praise these three large side rooms; they are incredibly spacious. Without them, I don't know how I would survive.
On June 18th, I continued my outdoor work.
I first went to town and bought a grinding and polishing machine, and then bought a lot of spare grinding wheels and 60-grit and 100-grit sandpaper, which cost a total of 500 yuan.
I also bought 50 buckets of various wood varnishes and paints, and 200 brushes, spending 1,000 yuan.
With this sanding equipment, along with a chainsaw, air gun, and paint, all kinds of wood can be kept for slow research in the apocalypse to pass the time, or furniture can be repaired at any time.
However, I didn't rush to start fiddling with the wood; preparing for the apocalypse was the most important thing.
The paint on the chicken coop has dried completely; I'm going to use the chicken coop designed by the chicken seller first.
I felt his design was more ingenious, and I couldn't bear to let it gather dust, so I put it into use immediately.
From now on, the square-shaped house will be called a livestock shed.
First, place the chicken coop in the southwest corner of the breeding shed, and then place the small round chicken coops in the four corners of the upper and lower floors.
The four corners are perfectly concealed by the curved wooden planks at the entrance; chicks would surely love to lay their eggs here.
First, lay a layer of greenhouse plastic on the floor.
Then, wearing masks and gloves, they took out the fermentation bed, which consisted of various bits of straw, from the side room and spread it thickly on the floor.
The main purpose of the fermentation bed is to deodorize; I don't want my house to smell bad because of raising chickens.
Online tutorials say that applying a thicker layer will improve the deodorizing effect.
I used 1/5 of a bag of fermentation bed to thickly cover all areas except the chicken coop.
The fermentation bed sounds unpleasant, but it looks like straw, dry and not dirty at all.
Nail wooden sticks to both sides of the wall and tie the sticks to the fence with wire.
In this way, the fence completely isolated the south side of the gate.
It sounds simple, but I spent the whole morning doing these tasks.
In the afternoon, we planned to build a small shed to cover the timber.
That was my plan, but when I actually tried to do it, I found that the sticks were very difficult to keep in place.
The courtyard floor is paved with red bricks, and I don't want to pry up the bricks and damage the entire floor.
Then I discovered a very simple and crude method—cover it all with plastic sheeting.
I've stockpiled a lot of greenhouse plastic sheeting, enough to completely cover the pile of wood blocks; I probably won't even need half a roll.
Then I took out a plastic sheet and covered the entire wooden block with it.
Next, they used wooden sticks from the lumber mill.
In addition to the two sides of the wall, the other two sides were weighed down with wooden sticks, and then stones were placed on top of the wooden sticks.
When summer comes, remove the plastic sheeting and let the wood air dry; it won't get damp.
The wood is completely sealed underneath; my grandmother did this when I was little, and I learned it from her.
Perhaps because the stockpiling season is nearing its end, July is starting to feel like it's going to be a long time coming.
Time is no longer pressing, and I no longer need to force myself to spin like a top.
That concludes today's exercise.
On June 19th, I prepared to tidy up the little space outside the back door.
Although the initial idea of piling all the honeycomb briquettes here was somewhat naive, the idea of putting some of them here was the right one.
The coal can be taken directly from the back door, eliminating the need to brave temperatures of minus 60 or 70 degrees Celsius every day, fully equipped, to run to the front door to get coal.
You only need to go once in a concentrated period of time.
As I drove to the back door, looking at the towering mountain walls behind me and the sky above, I realized I had overlooked this place.
No matter what you put at the back door, it will be buried by the heavy snow.
Real-time snow removal requires shoveling snow through the house to the front, which wastes all the heat inside, making it not worthwhile.
Even if I cover it with a plastic sheet, it will collapse under the weight, but I really don't want to waste this space.
After much thought, the only solution was to find a construction team to build a roof for it.
I went back to the same construction team as last time. Firstly, the quality of their work was indeed quite good, and secondly, they were far away, so the chances of them seeing the firewood in my yard and trying to steal it were slim.
The phone call was made in the morning, and the construction team arrived at noon.
Since we're building very little this time, and the journey is long, I need to cover the travel expenses. I can accept this as a safety fee.
The foreman said that there was no wall on that side of the mountain, so the roof wouldn't be sturdy and a courtyard wall would need to be built.
I expressed my support, and the two workers went directly to town to buy bricks and cement.
The other construction workers then began measuring and cutting.
My requirements are that the roof must be sturdy, can be opened up in the summer, and that a light bulb be installed.
The workers spent the entire afternoon building the wall against the mountain.
The construction was simply impossible to complete and had to be extended to the next day.
The construction team arrived early the next day and finished the work in one day.
Steel was directly installed on top of the courtyard wall, and the top was fixed with an exceptionally sturdy metal material. A piece of explosion-proof glass was embedded in the middle to allow light to pass through.
Climb a ladder a little higher to reach the top, and you can push the entire top upwards.
I never imagined it could be designed so perfectly.
In winter, the roof is sturdy and can directly insulate against heavy snow.
In summer, when the top is not needed, it can be pushed up completely, essentially making it non-existent.
I never imagined that my humble rural courtyard could be worthy of such a high-class roof.
Of course, the price is still expensive. With the travel expenses, it costs 8,000 yuan. A regular roof would cost 2,000 yuan, right?
Before the workers left, a brilliant idea flashed into my mind: the area outside the back door could also be turned into a small hut, with only a wall separating it from the coal mine on the east side.
If I connect this wall to the threshing ground, will I no longer have to shovel snow and struggle to get coal?
I then told the foreman my thoughts, and he said that was indeed the case, but they hadn't brought the materials.
I decided to go to town to buy a door, citing the reason that I didn't want to waste time, and pay them directly for the labor.
The high price is due to the company's fees and materials; the workers may not earn much.
They are naturally happy to take on extra work and receive extra payment for their work.
The workers were demolishing a wall, and the foreman accompanied me to buy a door.
Doors bought by foremen are usually of good quality. He touched and looked at many doors and windows in the store and finally chose a security door for me.
It's very heavy and looks very sturdy, and it only costs 1300 yuan.
After I got home, the workers installed the door frame and door for me in just over an hour.
They also told me to let it air out for a few days until it's firm before opening the door.
I asked the foreman how much I needed to pay for the labor, and he said six or seven hundred was fine.
They didn't ask for an exorbitant amount. I saw there were four of them, so they gave 800 yuan, which was easy to divide and sounded auspicious.
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