Chapter 554: Returning to the Village
The next day was indeed a sunny day. The sun was high in the sky and the sunlight was shining in the courtyard.
Unfortunately, the snow on the ground has not melted yet and the wind blowing in our faces is still cold.
In the morning, Gao Mingcheng first sent Xuanyuemei and Xiaoxuxu to the clothing store. During the two days of snow, Gao Mingcheng still took time to go there, but Xuanyuemei did not leave the yard.
Now walking down the street, she looks quite happy.
Not only her, little Xuxu was also very happy. While being held in Gao Mingcheng's arms, his little head looked around and he liked the outside world very much.
After arriving at the clothing store, he called her "Auntie" affectionately, which made Gao Shufang immediately put down what she was doing and reach out to hug him.
After calling her aunt, she called her auntie and grandma, mainly because she was sweet-mouthed.
After not seeing each other for two days, everyone felt a lot closer to each other.
There were no customers in the store at the moment, so everyone gathered together to talk. When Gao Shufang learned that her second brother was going to buy an electric blanket for grandma, she smiled and said, "Second brother, I bought socks for grandma and my parents. You can help me send them back later."
The last time Gao Shufang bought socks for herself, she thought the socks were of good quality, so she bought some more and planned to find time to give them to her grandmother and parents.
Gao Mingcheng nodded and said, "Okay, go get the things and I'll leave soon."
"Hey." Gao Shufang responded, quickly went upstairs to her room, and took down the socks. There were thirty pairs in total, ten pairs for each person, enough for them to wear for a whole winter.
After Gao Mingcheng got the things, he drove the tractor out and first went to the department store to buy four electric blankets. When he went to buy them, he was told that the electric blankets were almost sold out. Because it was relatively cold this year, many people came to buy them.
After hearing this, Gao Mingcheng casually reminded them to hurry up and purchase the goods because more people would come to buy them in the future.
After coming out of the store, Gao Mingcheng tightened the rabbit fur hat on his head, put on gloves, and then continued to drive the tractor towards the village.
Along the way, the sun was shining, but the wind was biting. The snow on the roadside had melted, but the hillside further away was still covered in silver.
Perhaps it was too cold, there were few vehicles on the road, and the occasional people we saw were all fully dressed.
After returning to Gaojia Village, Gao Mingcheng first stopped at the old village, took two electric blankets and the socks bought by Gao Shufang, and walked towards the houses where the old villagers lived.
He first gave an electric blanket to his grandmother, and then took the other things and went to his parents' house.
In the fields outside the village, the green vegetables were covered with white snow, but in the village, the hardworking people had already cleared the snow.
This first snow was not heavy, with the snow layer covering the eaves and tree branches only about one centimeter thick. However, the arrival of the first snow indicated that the weather was cooling rapidly.
Because the weather was cold and there was not much work to do in the fields, when Gao Mingcheng arrived, his parents and grandmother were watching TV in the main room, and other people in the village were also watching.
When they saw Gao Mingcheng coming back, they all started to greet him. Some saw him holding something and asked curiously what it was.
"This is an electric blanket. Put it on the bed and plug it in, and it will become warm." Gao Mingcheng demonstrated the electric blanket as a scientific introduction to everyone.
Many people don’t even know what an electric blanket is. After listening to Gao Mingcheng’s popular science explanation, they were amazed and felt that there is such a good thing.
Gao Mingcheng explained in detail where it could be bought and the price, implying that if they wanted to buy it, they could just go to the county and buy it themselves.
As he spoke, Gao Mingcheng took out the socks that Gao Shufang had bought, and carefully explained that they were bought by Gao Shufang. Then he put them down and let his mother put them away.
"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." After Gao Mingcheng finished his work, he was ready to leave.
As soon as I walked out of the yard, I saw Gao Zhuang and others waiting on the small path next to me.
Seeing Gao Mingcheng coming out, Gao Zhuang immediately came over and said with a smile: "Brother Mingcheng, my grandma wants you to eat here at noon."
Gao Mingcheng had just delivered the electric blanket and left, so I didn't have time to say much.
"Okay, I'll go over there and take a look first, and come back around noon." Gao Mingcheng nodded in agreement, and without further ado, he went back to Niuweiling.
I haven't been home for a while, and there are a lot of things at home that I need to take care of.
I went to Zhang Chengyuan’s house first.
Zhang Chengyuan's family was at home at this moment, but Zhang Chengyuan couldn't sit still and was sitting in the yard cutting bamboo chopsticks.
The bamboo chopsticks that the villagers use to eat are of course not bought, but made at home.
Go to the mountains to cut bamboo, and after drying it in the shade, you can find time to make bamboo chopsticks. There are also some requirements for making bamboo chopsticks. They are generally 22 cm long. The lower end of the chopsticks is rounded, which is convenient for picking up food without cutting the corners of your mouth. The upper end has four edges.
These four edges also have uses and can be used to peel ginger.
Zhang Chengyuan's family had limited tools, so he could only use a hatchet to round the bottom of the chopsticks little by little.
Seeing Gao Mingcheng coming, Zhang Chengyuan immediately stopped what he was doing and greeted him.
"Brother, where is my second sister?" Gao Mingcheng asked.
"In the house, Xiao Shitou was playing in the snow just now and accidentally fell into a puddle, getting his clothes dirty. Duoyu was changing his clothes in the house." Just as Zhang Chengyuan finished speaking, he heard Xiao Shitou's wailing.
Well, changing clothes is true, but being beaten and scolded is also true!
It’s a big deal if a child gets his clothes dirty because of mischief!
It is troublesome to wash clothes in winter, and clothes are not easy to dry. No wonder many people get angry.
Gao Mingcheng smiled and decided to go and rescue his nephew.
"Second sister, Duomei asked me to buy you an electric blanket. You put it on the bed, cover it with a sheet, plug it in, and you will be warm." Gao Mingcheng said as he walked into the house.
After entering the room, he began to look around and found that the temperature inside and outside the room was exactly the same!
This house is very old. It was built when Yu's father was young. After living in it for so many years, the materials are no longer good and it leaks everywhere.
"Uncle-in-law! My mother hit me!" Little Shitou ran to Gao Mingcheng crying, seeking his protection.
He was beaten, his cheeks were red, tears were in his eyes, and a long line of snot hung from his nose.
Little Stone sniffed his nose and sucked some of it in, but it was of no use. There was still a lot of snot, and it was even about to flow into his mouth.
But Little Stone was not afraid and even licked the snot into his mouth with his tongue.
Seeing this eye-catching scene, Gao Mingcheng could hardly look straight!
He quickly took out tissue from his pocket and wiped Xiao Shitou's nose.
Since having a son, Gao Mingcheng has gotten used to carrying paper wrappers in his pocket. Now, it comes in handy!
"Does it need to be plugged in? Does it consume a lot of electricity?" Xuanyue's attention was attracted by the electric blanket. She stopped lecturing Xiao Shitou. She touched the electric blanket, feeling a little curious, but at the same time she was reluctant to use electricity.
In the past two years, more and more people have been installing electric wires in the village. Many Yu families have also installed electric wires this year. However, out of habit, she is reluctant to use electricity and only turns on the light bulbs when necessary. As a result, she only uses a few kilowatt-hours of electricity in a month.
Gao Mingcheng said: "You plug it in before going to bed, and when it's warm and ready to go to bed, turn it off. If you turn it on for an hour a day, it won't use much electricity."
Many people were relieved when they heard that it did not require much electricity.
Although he didn't know how much this electric blanket cost, he guessed that it was quite expensive. So, Duo Yu, who was always stingy, invited Gao Mingcheng to have dinner at his home for the first time.
Unfortunately, Gao Mingcheng did not give her the opportunity to entertain her.
He really didn't want to eat at Xuanyu's house because it was too late! Xuanyu was reluctant to add oil and salt, so the dishes she cooked were not tasty.
Instead of eating at the Manyu family, he might as well cook a bowl of noodles for himself.
Many jades could not be retained by Gao Mingcheng, which was half a pity and half a joy.
Since Gao Mingcheng didn't eat at home, she could save trouble. And she had already invited him, but it was Gao Mingcheng who refused to eat, so she felt at ease.
Gao Mingcheng was very familiar with Xiu Yu. As soon as he saw her expression, he knew what she was thinking, so he didn't stay any longer and went back home.
Sitting on the tractor, he looked out at Xiaofushan from afar and saw that there seemed to be no oranges on the hill where oranges were planted.
At this moment, Chen Dasong and Chen Duofu walked over from the shed at the foot of Xiaofu Mountain.
From a distance, Chen Dasong shouted, "Mingcheng, you're back. It snowed a few days ago, and I was afraid that the oranges on the tree would freeze, so I called Duofu Duoxi to pick them quickly. Now they are in a large vat in your utility room, covered with straw."
"We moved the beehives that were in the mountains back home two days ago. Now they are in the shed. Plastic sheets have been installed around the shed, and it's warm inside!"
"There's still some honey in the beehive. Do you think we should let the bees eat the honey or feed them sugar water?"
After saying this series of words, he walked in front of Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng said, "You should feed him some sugar water to prevent him from starving to death. I didn't buy any sugar today, but I should have half a pound of it at home, right? I'll go find it and use it first. Next time you go to the cooperative to buy something, buy me a few pounds of sugar. I'll give you the money so I don't have to run back and forth."
"Okay." Chen Dasong nodded and agreed, and then said, "Now that the weather is cold, the chickens don't like to lay eggs anymore. I haven't found many eggs recently. There are only 20 to 30 eggs in the house."
Gao Mingcheng knew that chickens would not lay eggs when the temperature was below five degrees. Of course, if the temperature in the chicken coop was relatively high and there was enough feed, the chickens would still lay eggs, but just not many.
"It's okay, this is normal. Uncle Chen, it's snowing, are you cold living alone in the chicken coop?" Gao Mingcheng asked with concern. It is necessary to show proper care to employees.
Chen Dasong smiled and said, "When I built the house, I built it myself. I used enough materials. A few days before it snowed, I covered the outside of the house with a layer of plastic sheeting. I even covered the windows, leaving only a small gap. People can stay in the house and it's warm even without a fire!"
"Don't worry about the chickens. With so many chickens gathered together, they won't get cold. But I'm afraid the dozen ducks will get cold if they are kept alone nearby. Mingcheng, do you want to drive the ducks to the chicken coop as well?"
As soon as he heard this, Gao Mingcheng shook his head and rejected Chen Dasong's proposal.
Chickens and ducks can get along well, but the problem is that mixed breeding can easily lead to disease!
If there were only a dozen chickens, it wouldn't matter, but he raised more than a hundred chickens! - Oh, if you count, there are probably about ninety chickens, because some died and some were eaten.
A while ago, there was a chicken plague in other places. Because of proper defense, he did not get the chicken plague here, but it is better to be safe than sorry, so we still have to be cautious.
Gao Mingcheng said: "Chickens and ducks should be raised separately and not mixed together. Put more straw in the duck house so it will be warmer."
"Oh, I have one more thing to tell you. It's winter now, and pests are dormant, so the fruit trees need to be more defensive. From today on, you must brush a layer of lime water on the trunks of the fruit trees in the mountains."
There are many benefits to whitewashing tree trunks.
It can kill bacteria and insects, prevent frost damage and sunburn, and avoid early spring frost damage. The temperature this winter will be much lower, so the fruit trees in the mountains need to be protected in time.
Gao Mingcheng continued, "There should be some quicklime in the warehouse. Dissolve the quicklime with water, add some salt, and then mix it. For shorter fruit trees, just apply half a meter high. For taller fruit trees, apply more than one meter high."
In fact, the whitewashing agent also requires lime sulfur, adhesive, etc., but Gao Mingcheng didn't buy them, so he used quicklime water. Except for the poor adhesion effect, there was no other problem.
The technology for whitewashing tree trunks has been around for a long time, but it has not yet been fully popularized, so Chen Dasong does not know how to do it specifically.
So Gao Mingcheng simply took action, mixed some lime water on the spot, and applied the lime water to the tree trunk with a homemade small mop.
It may sound complicated, but after watching Gao Mingcheng do it once, Chen Dasong understood it and said, "Okay, since we have nothing to do right now, Duofu and I will slowly paint the whole mountain white."
This is actually a big project, but we can take our time, so there is no need to rush.
While the few people were talking, the five dogs in the family gathered around Gao Mingcheng, wagging their tails and playing around, as if trying to attract Gao Mingcheng's attention.
Unfortunately, Gao Mingcheng didn't have time to play with them until he had finished talking about the serious matters.
Seeing Gao Mingcheng's attention shifted to the dogs, Chen Dasong smiled and said, "These dogs are really great. With them by my side, I don't feel scared when I'm on guard in the chicken coop."
"A while ago, they caught a lot of voles in the fields. They were really good! They were also very smart. They brought the voles to me. After I plucked their hair and removed their internal organs, they ate them with big mouthfuls. They were very well behaved!"
Several dogs seemed to know that Chen Dasong was praising them, so they started barking proudly. The black tiger firmly occupied the C position, allowing Gao Mingcheng to touch its big head with just one hand.
Gao Mingcheng touched Black Tiger and said, "Keep up the good work and catch more field mice!"
Farmers hate field mice the most.
This thing will dig holes in the ground, eat seeds buried in the soil, and then eat the crops after they grow.
If there are too many members of the vole family in your field, then you can forget about getting a harvest!
(End of this chapter)
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