"Brother, are you going to the noodle shop after dinner?"

Xiao Guo looked at Qin Anming who was in a hurry to drink porridge and asked, he had gone out to chop grass early in the morning, and he came back only after Xiao Guo called him to eat.

"Yeah, yes. I'll be back early this afternoon and put on the tiles."

Qin Anming told Xiaoguo to go early in the morning so that he could come back early in the afternoon.

Xiao Guo nodded and was about to say that there was probably nothing to do in the noodle shop today, just to familiarize himself with the business model and preparation of ingredients, and that he could go later. But seeing how enthusiastic he was, he didn't say anything and just gave him another fried egg.

After Qin Anming finished his meal, he put down his bowl and drove out in his donkey cart. Xiaoguo looked at his positive back and just told him to come back early. Qin Anming waved his hand and left.

Xiaoguo went back and continued eating with Zhuangzhuang. Seeing that Zhuangzhuang had finished his porridge, there was still some left in the pot, so she served him some more.

"Mom, I can't eat anymore~"

Zhuangzhuang looked at the half empty porridge in the bowl and looked at Xiaoguo crying.

Xiaoguo prepared a little too much food today. Seeing that Zhuangzhuang really wasn't full, she discussed it with him.

"Zhuangzhuang, let's share this porridge, okay?"

Zhuangzhuang nodded and said, "Okay!"

Xiaoguo gave the fried egg to Zhuangzhuang and asked him to eat it with the porridge.

After dinner, Zhuangzhuang went to wash the dishes as usual. He had nothing to do at home, so he decided to put up the tiles on the barn. It was not difficult anyway and he could do it himself.

Zhuangzhuang wanted to help, so Xiaoguo gave him an easy job, asking him to help deliver the tiles while he himself received the tiles on the ladder.

Zhuangzhuang was in a hurry to move the tiles, and when Xiaoguo was laying the oil paper, he had already placed six or seven tiles under Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo asked Zhuangzhuang to hand them to her one by one, and she watched from above how to arrange them. With Zhuangzhuang's help, Xiaoguo saved a lot of time, and the whole roof was quickly built.

Xiaoguo slowly climbed down the ladder and looked at the result. It was pretty good!

The tiles bought this time have not been used up yet, and there are five or six extra tiles. Zhuangzhuang moved the tiles to the corner of the wall, and the next step was to make the trough.

Zhuangzhuang wanted to mix the lime, but Xiaoguo didn't dare let him touch it, so he asked him to continue moving the bricks while he went to the well to fetch water and then started mixing the lime.

A bag of lime cannot be used up completely, just pour out half of it. First, dig a hole in the middle, then slowly add water and mix well.

Zhuangzhuang had already placed the bricks in the shed. Xiaoguo used an unwanted basin to scoop a basin of mixed lime and carried it into the shed.

First, apply a thick layer of lime on the ground, and then place the bricks on top, one layer of lime and one layer of bricks, stacking up to form a rectangular trough, and then apply a layer of lime inside and outside to make the inside more uniform.

Use the remaining bricks to stack closely together to build a smaller rectangular sink. Use the same method to stack the last brick and then seal the inside and outside with a layer of lime.

Zhuangzhuang was curious and touched the lime with his hand. The lime stuck to his hand. It was fine at first, but slowly he felt that the place covered by the lime was a little hot. Zhuangzhuang let out a cry of surprise. Xiaoguo was applying lime and did not notice Zhuangzhuang's action. He just heard a cry of surprise suddenly and turned around subconsciously. He saw Zhuangzhuang holding his hand and studying the lime on his hand with his two big eyes.

After seeing this, Xiaoguo felt relieved. Lime and water would become hot, but his hands were so small that they wouldn't get burned.

"Mom, why is it hot?"

Zhuangzhuang just learned from his mother that this is called lime, but he didn't expect it could also generate heat.

"Because when lime meets water, it turns into slaked lime, just like boiling water."

Xiaoguo thought about the knowledge learned in class and Zhuangzhuang's explanation, while wiping the last bit of lime in the basin.

Zhuangzhuang seemed to understand, so he came behind Xiaoguo and lay on his back, "Then why does lime become hot when it touches water?"

Zhuangzhuang is a person who asks a hundred thousand whys and is always trying to get to the bottom of things.

Xiaoguo knows that Zhuangzhuang is at the age when he is curious about everything. At this time, he will answer whatever he is curious about. Even if he does not know something, parents should honestly answer that they do not know instead of impatiently educating the child or telling lies.

Xiaoguo knew about Zhuangzhuang's question. At this moment, she was thinking in her mind how to say it so that Zhuangzhuang could understand.

"Before adding water, this lime is quicklime, which is made of a substance called calcium oxide. This substance will boil as soon as it touches water and become slaked lime. Just like a strong fire, cold water will become hot water when heated by fire."

Zhuangzhuang looked at Xiaoguo in admiration, "Mom, you are so amazing!"

Xiaoguo felt guilty inside, but smiled on the surface, enjoying Zhuangzhuang's kiss on his face. Fortunately, Zhuangzhuang didn't ask him what calcium oxide was. If he had asked, he wouldn't have been able to explain the chemical composition.

The finished trough was left to dry, and the lime in the basin had dried up, leaving only a little mixed in the yard. Xiaoguo scooped the rest into the basin and used it to smear the cement in the corners of the house, so that no lime was wasted.

Seeing that there was only half of the lime left, Xiaoguo tied it up carefully. This thing would be useless if it got wet and would become a big hard lump, so she had to tie it up carefully.

Xiaoguo carried the lime to the kitchen, looked around to see where to put it, and finally carried it to a corner where it would not get in the way.

After coming out, he drew a basin of water from the well, shouted "Zhuang Zhuang", and came to wash his hands.

Zhuangzhuang put his hands into the basin. Xiaoguo was afraid that he couldn't wash them thoroughly, so she bent down to wash them for him, applying soap carefully and washing every fingertip and nail crevices thoroughly.

“That’s enough!”

Xiaoguo checked Zhuangzhuang's hands and found them very clean, so she asked him to wipe them clean. She poured out the dirty water, replaced it with a basin of clean water, and washed her hands carefully with soap. Lime is harmful if it stays on the skin for a long time, so it must be washed clean in time after touching it.

After washing his hands, Xiaoguo returned to the house and remembered the clothes he had made the day before yesterday. He was supposed to wash them yesterday when the weather was good, but he had no time all day, so he decided to wash them today. Today's weather was also good and the sun was high in the sky.

Zhuangzhuang saw that Xiaoguo was going to wash clothes, so while Xiaoguo was getting the clothes, he moved the basin and soapberry to the well. When Xiaoguo came out, he saw Zhuangzhuang carrying a bunch of things towards the well.

I really don't know who Zhuangzhuang's strength comes from. Xiaoguo asks herself this question every day, because Zhuangzhuang carries a pile of things that are more than twice his size, such as grass. Every time he feeds grass to the chickens and ducks, he holds a large pile of grass and throws it in. You can't even see Zhuangzhuang's head because he holds the grass in his arms. Yet he can still reach his destination safely, like a god.

Xiaoguo sat on a mat and washed clothes, while Zhuangzhuang sat behind her, pounding Xiaoguo's back very hard, his little fists moving rhythmically. Xiaoguo enjoyed Zhuangzhuang's back pounding service very much. With Zhuangzhuang's back pounding, Xiaoguo felt that she had more strength to wash clothes.

In the afternoon, Xiaoguo took Zhuangzhuang outside to herd the cows. When it was almost time to go home, Zhuangzhuang, with his sharp eyes, saw Qin Anming driving a donkey cart at a glance.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

From a distance, Qin Anming heard Zhuangzhuang's shout, raised his arms and swung them vigorously, greeting him.

He came in front of Xiaoguo and the others, stopped the donkey cart, got out and picked up Zhuangzhuang, with infinite joy on his face.

Zhuangzhuang happily lay in Qin Anming's arms, "Uncle, why did you come back so late?"

He really missed his uncle after not seeing him for a day.

"Haha, Zhuangzhuang misses his uncle?"

Qin Anming's cheerful laughter was heard, his voice full of energy.

Seeing him like this, Xiaoguo guessed that today should be a good day and he should have gained a lot!