Chapter 119 Half a Month of Digging the Fish Pond
After dinner, Lin Heng coaxed his daughter to sleep as usual and read fairy tales to her.
He has enough patience to educate his children in this life. He thinks that when the children grow up, they can decide according to their own wishes, and there is no need for him to plan these things for them.
I don’t want to learn. It’s good to have a happy childhood. I have my own backup anyway.
What he wanted to cultivate in his children was the habit of reading from an early age. He felt that inner spiritual development was far more important than external things.
If you can see the road clearly, you can reach the destination even if you walk slowly. If you can't see the road clearly, you can only fly around like a headless fly, spinning in circles.
Countless great figures have appeared in the long history of mankind, each of whom has indirectly or directly changed the course of human history in some aspect.
Their great thoughts and profound insights were all preserved through books.
Facts have also proved that the difficulties and problems encountered by ordinary people have also been encountered by those great men, and they have all left corresponding solutions in their works.
Reading these books can not only help you solve your own confusion, but also help you understand the thoughts of these great men and understand how they became great step by step.
Lin Heng got through the most difficult years in his previous life by reading books, so he hopes that his children will also develop a habit of loving reading.
With a mental age of sixty, he has enough patience to cultivate his children's reading habits little by little from an early age and take them to read.
Xiaoxia was very lively tonight. Lin Heng read her a fairy tale for more than 40 minutes before she fell asleep.
When Lin Heng went to bed, he found that his wife had also fallen asleep. He looked at her messy little face and saw a smile on her face.
He blew out the candle and lay down to sleep.
It was a peaceful night. At five o'clock the next morning, Lin Heng opened his eyes and turned to look at his wife. She happened to turn her head to look at him.
The two smiled at each other, their eyes full of love. Lin Heng tidied his wife's hair and touched her smooth face. She kissed him good morning and sat up with a smile.
The two got up together and went to the kitchen to check out the turtledove leaf fairy tofu they made yesterday.
The color is emerald green, and if you look closely you can see some tiny bubbles and very tiny remains of turtledove leaves.
Xiulan stretched out her finger and pressed it. It was very elastic. She turned back and smiled and said, "It worked. Do you want to eat it in the morning?"
"Yes." Lin Heng nodded.
"Then I'll cut it for you." Xiulan said with a smile, washed her hands and took a knife to cut the tofu.
Take out a piece and cut it into small slices half a centimeter thick, and freeze the rest in water to extend its shelf life.
After cutting, add some chopped green onion, garlic, chili, red oil from the chili oil, add aged vinegar, soy sauce, and a little bit of sesame oil and stir gently. A delicious and fragrant tofu with dove leaves is ready.
"Try to eat it!"
Xiulan handed the chopsticks to Lin Heng.
Lin Heng picked up a piece with chopsticks, which was just like picking up pork skin jelly, and it required a lot of skill.
Picking up a piece and putting it in his mouth, Lin Heng couldn't help but reveal an intoxicated expression: "Delicious!"
It has a light fragrance and a softer texture than jelly, similar to pork skin jelly.
It tastes like the unique cool aroma of the fairy leaf, and when mixed with vinegar and chili, it is simply perfect.
"You try one too." Lin Heng picked up another one for his wife.
Xiulan opened her mouth and ate a piece, with a happy smile on her face: "It's really good, the small leaf ones are much better than the large leaf ones, and not bitter at all."
The two of them each finished a small bowl of this thing. This thing is just like jelly. Not only does it have to taste good, but the technique of mixing it cold is also very important. Xiulan's cooking skills are worthy of praise.
Lin Heng thought that one day he would dig up a tree and plant it in the yard so that he wouldn't have to compete with others for picking fruits.
After eating the delicious tofu, they washed their faces. Xiulan made breakfast while Lin Heng went to feed the chickens and ducks.
"Do you need my help in digging the fish pond this morning?" Xiulan asked while eating.
Lin Heng shook his head: "No, you don't even have to cook, just bring some water."
This time, we hired twenty workers to dig the fish pond. Each worker was paid eighty cents a day, which was much higher than the normal wage in rural areas. So they had to bring their own food and tools.
Even so, there are still a lot of people who sign up, because people in rural areas generally help each other and there are few jobs that can earn money.
In the end, the village party secretary Tian Dongfu selected 20 people for him who were experienced, strong, and had no habit of cheating.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded and fed Xiaoxia a mouthful of noodles.
“Boom boom boom!”
Before they finished their meal, there was a knock on the door. Lin Heng was wondering who came so early when a voice came from outside the door: "Cousin, it's me, Lin Hai."
"I'll go open the door." Lin Heng put down his bowl and stood up.
"What are you doing here? What's the matter?" Lin Heng opened the door and asked curiously. Lin Hai was not among the workers he hired.
"Cousin, my dad asked me to come over to help you, and by the way, bring a bag of plums we picked yesterday for you and sister-in-law to try."
As Lin Hai spoke, he showed what he had in his hand, which was a full six or seven pounds of Sichuan plums.
"No need, I have enough manpower. I can't finish all the plums you bring." Lin Heng shook his head and led him into the house.
"I don't have much to do. I'll help you. It doesn't cost any money. Just a meal will do." Lin Hai said with a smile. Lin Heng had done him such a great favor that he would have come even if his parents didn't ask him to.
"Have you had breakfast?" Lin Heng looked at him and asked.
"Yes, I ate the soup." Lin Hai nodded.
Lin Heng poured a glass of water for Lin Hai and chatted with him while eating.
After dinner, Lin Heng ate a plum. It was the Sichuan crisp plum, which had a sweet and crisp taste and the plum pit was very easy to remove.
"This plum is good. I love it."
Lin Heng broke one in half, gave the small petal to his daughter, and the big petal to his wife.
"My dad said you like to eat it, and my family happens to have an abundance of plums." Lin Hai said with a smile.
As they were talking, the gate of the yard was pushed open again, and Lin's father and eldest brother came in.
"Dad, big brother, why are you here too? There's no need for so many people." Lin Heng said helplessly. Father Lin looked at him and said, "You're digging a fish pond, and it would be inappropriate for us not to come. Others will gossip if they see us."
"That's right. Farm work isn't particularly busy these two days, so we'll help you when we have time." Lin Yue also said with a smile.
"Okay then." Lin Heng could only agree.
He prepared all the tools in advance and even got a cannon.
At about 6:40, people started arriving one after another. Some were carrying shovels, some were carrying pickaxes, and the most common items were baskets for carrying soil and two wooden carts.
Lin Heng took out the work record book and asked everyone to come up and sign, once when they came in the morning and once when they left in the afternoon.
Putting away the work record book, Lin Heng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll trouble you all for the next few days. Don't worry about the wages. I will pay you on the day the work is completed. There will be no delay."
After a pause, he turned serious. "But I'll be frank with you. The wages I pay are definitely high enough. So I hope everyone will take it seriously. I don't want anything unpleasant to happen."
"Don't worry, Lin Heng. No one will cheat after receiving their wages."
"Yes, if he is caught, you don't need us to tell him, we will just kick him out. There are many people who want to do it even if they don't want to."
"Don't worry, once the wages are paid, we will treat it as if we were working for our own family."
A group of people echoed each other. What they were most worried about was the salary issue. With Lin Heng's face-to-face promise, they felt relieved.
"Let's go." Lin Heng nodded and walked in front of the crowd.
Everyone came out one after another with tools in their hands and followed Lin Heng.
They soon arrived at the wheat field of Hongfeng Mountain. Lin Hai took out his lighter and lit the firecrackers. After a few crackling sounds, they could start working.
Lin Heng looked at everyone and assigned tasks: "Everyone, help pull out the wormwood on the wheat field first, and remove the grass on the roadside. Build the embankment, and then I will spread the wire and everyone can start working."
A group of people dispersed to do weeding work, and Lin Heng assigned corresponding tasks to each of them.
After arranging the workers, Lin Heng looked at his father, elder brother and cousin and said, "Help me spread the line."
"Okay." Father Lin nodded. He felt that Lin Heng was quite like a boss when commanding people. Who knows, this fish pond could really be developed.
After careful consideration, Lin Heng decided to dig two fish ponds, each one acre in size.
The two are placed right next to each other, with only one meter between them.
The twenty acres of land at the bottom of Hongfeng Mountain are about four hundred meters long and more than thirty meters wide, forming a trapezoidal shape.
The wheat field is just a location at the foot of the easternmost mountain. If the fish pond is 50 meters long and 13 meters wide, one acre in size, at least seven fish ponds can be arranged from east to west.
The main purpose of today is to level the ground. Although it is only a dozen degrees, the slope must be leveled if you want to dig a fish pond. It is not realistic to have all the fish ponds on the same plane, but it is still possible to make each row level.
After the calculation, stakes are hammered in and lines are drawn, and then the workers are asked to start work, taking out the soil from the ground and pouring it outside the ground, and leveling the ground first.
On a piece of land that is 100 meters long and 15 meters wide, more than 20 people do not feel crowded at all.
However, Lin Heng is not planning to recruit any more people. It is too difficult to manage so many people. There is no rush anyway, so just take it slow.
Looking at the people working, Lin Heng initially considered finding an excavator.
But it is very difficult to find an excavator in this day and age. They are as rare as giant pandas. Most of them are state-owned and private individuals simply cannot afford them.
And even if we can find it, the cost is very high, not as cheap as manpower. After thinking about it, I decided to just dig it manually.
And there is another benefit of using people to dig. It can increase the village's prestige while adding jobs.
Since everyone makes a living under you, they will naturally respect you, support you, and not want to lose their jobs.
If you rely entirely on excavators, the villagers will not benefit at all. Someone might even become jealous of you and poison your fish.
By digging with manpower, everyone can make money. Even if someone wants to cause damage, most people will actively help, and it will be easy to catch those who cause damage.
Taking all factors into consideration, labor is cheap and convenient, and it can also establish prestige and reputation, so why not do it?
Lin Heng did not work, he was mainly inspecting and giving instructions, and he went back to get a few bottles of water halfway through.
People are let off work at 12 noon for lunch, and work starts at 2 pm and continues until 6 pm.
It has to be said that rural people have great labor force. Lin Heng originally estimated that it would take two days to complete the fish pond leveling work, but most of it was completed in one day.
The rest will probably be done in half the morning.
In the evening, Xiulan cooked some food, and Lin Heng, his father, elder brother, and cousin Lin Hai ate and drank together.
Lin's mother, sister-in-law and others did not come. When they were called, they had already eaten. At noon, Xiulan brought them some magical tofu.
After dinner, when everyone left, Lin Heng helped clean up the dishes while talking to his wife about the day's progress.
"That's pretty fast. How long do you think it will take to dig out both ponds?" Xiulan asked curiously.
"It will take about half a month to dig it out. If you work slowly, it may take twenty days." Lin Heng said.
After all, the project involves digging a pond covering two acres and two and a half meters deep, so the workload is still very large.
Xiulan nodded and said, "Then you can't go hunting in the mountains for a month."
"Let's wait until the weather gets cooler. We can't keep the prey we catch now, so let them grow their bodies first." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Although the beginning of autumn has passed, the temperature has not dropped at all, but has become even hotter.
The next morning, the surface of the two acres of pond was leveled.
In the afternoon, Lin Heng spread the outline of the pond. The outer bank of the pond was left two meters wide so that cars could come in after it was hardened. The banks in the other three directions were only one meter wide.
After the outer circle is determined, the slope around the pond must also be determined. Because this place is sandy, Lin Heng chose a gentle slope of 1:3.
After the lines are laid and the wooden stakes are nailed in, they can start digging. Twelve people dig and eight people transport the soil.
The excavated soil was first used to fill in some gaps in the ground, and the excess was used to pave the road, or directly poured into the woods under the road on the west side.
There is a steep slope below the forest on the westernmost road, which is very convenient for falling down. At the bottom is a large patch of thorny vines and no crops, so it will not cause any impact.
Moreover, this forest now belongs to the Lin family. The Shiban River is just a few hundred meters below. Lin Heng thinks that dumping the soil there can widen the road, which will benefit both himself and others.
Once these were determined, the daily work became repetitive, just digging and digging.
Lin Heng was originally worried that the soil here was not good enough and that a waterproof membrane would need to be laid, but after digging fifty centimeters, the soft sandy soil disappeared, and underneath was all very solid clay.
This is great news for Lin Heng. Clay has good water retention and almost no leakage after compaction. Fish can be raised directly in the fish pond without laying a waterproof membrane.
After the work on the construction site stabilized, Lin Heng handed it over to his father, eldest brother and cousin to take care of it, and he went to town.
Although I have written a plan for the Tuanjie Brick Factory, there are some things that still require personal guidance.
Fortunately, the owner of the brick factory was still a human being, and he gave the brick-pulling horse to Lin Heng as a mount.
"drive!"
Lin Heng rode the horse back. The horse had no saddle or stirrups, so he didn't dare move while riding and almost lay on the horse's back.
The next day, I fell down when I went to the town. Fortunately, the horse was not running fast and I just hurt my waist.
"Really? You're not careful. Look at your waist, it's all bruised and black."
In the evening, Xiulan said with heartache when she was massaging Lin Heng with safflower oil.
Lin Heng endured the pain, smiled and said: "It's okay, it's just like riding a bicycle. If you don't fall a few times, you won't be able to ride it. I feel like I've almost learned how to ride a horse."
He was planning to buy two horses for transportation when he bought a dairy cow at the end of the year.
I can't afford a motorcycle for the time being, but I can ride a horse when going hunting in the mountains, ride a horse on the street, or get a wooden cart to pull it.
Otherwise, it would be unbearable to keep walking.
"If you're not careful, I won't massage you next time." Xiulan warned Lin Heng while gently massaging him to reduce the swelling.
In the following period of time, Lin Heng went to the town five or six times and completely completed the technical matters.
Wang Jie also paid the remaining 1,000 yuan as promised and wrote an IOU for the last 1,000 yuan.
"Brother Lin Heng, thank you for your hard work these days. Please stay and have dinner with us tonight." After giving the IOU, Wang Jie smiled and tried to keep him.
After these days of contact, he really admired Lin Heng. This man knew the brick factory better than he, the real brick factory owner.
But he couldn't understand why Lin Heng didn't build a brick factory himself if he had the technology.
"I'm so sorry, I have to take care of some things when I go back this afternoon. Let's wait until next time. I'll treat you next time."
Lin Heng smiled and said that he and Wang Jie were in the same boat, and he was too lazy to drink to cultivate their relationship, so it would be better for him to go home and be with his wife and children.
"That's a pity. You can only wait once." Wang Jie didn't try to persuade him to stay.
On the way back, Lin Heng walked slowly, looking here and there, thinking about some things, feeling very leisurely.
In a blink of an eye, we have been digging the fish pond for ten days. Because we encountered several large rocks in the middle and it rained for a whole day, the first fish pond has only been completed now.
Lin Heng came to check it out this morning and was generally satisfied.
The bottom and sides of the fish pond are very flat and have been compacted.
He did not make the bottom drainage for this fish pond, but installed a drainage outlet at a depth of two meters in the middle of the fish pond. He installed a 30-diameter plastic water pipe bought from the town, so that the water can be drained from here when necessary to prevent the water from overflowing when it rains.
It is troublesome to drill a hole for the bottom drain, and he is afraid that if it is not done properly, it will leak all the time, which would be troublesome, so he decided to give up.
On the 18th day of the eighth month in the Gregorian calendar, which was the 3rd day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar and the 13th day of digging the fish pond, we encountered a big problem.
"Brother, what do you think we should do?" On the construction site, Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng and asked.
A group of other workers also looked at him, waiting for his decision.
When the second fish pond was halfway dug, a large stone appeared in the middle. At first, we thought it was not very big, but as we dug further we found that it was a huge bluestone that weighed more than ten tons.
If people want to dig it out, they have to break it up slowly first and then move it out.
"Forget it, just leave it in the fish pond and don't worry about it." Lin Heng waved his hand.
This problem cannot be solved now. Wait until we have money in two years, then we can clean the pond and use an excavator to handle it.
"Well, let's continue."
The crowd moved around the big rock and continued working, trying to dig out the second fish pond as soon as possible.
On August 19, Lin Heng went to the town to fetch 200 kilograms of quicklime, crushed it into powder, and threw it into the first fish pond for disinfection.
Water was brought in to a depth of 30 centimeters. While disinfecting, the water was tested for leaks so that remedial measures could be taken.
After two days of observation, Lin Heng was quite satisfied as no leaks were found in the clay base.
Everything seems to be going smoothly with the first fish pond so far, and Lin Heng is very happy.
But the second fish pond was a bit of a headache. First there was a large bluestone, and then when only one-third of it was left to be completed, it rained.
On August 23, a heavy rainstorm came without warning, and then turned into continuous rain.
The first fish pond was fine, as it was disinfected and drained. The second fish pond was terrible, as it had not been dug completely yet, so we had to build a drainage ditch in the rain that afternoon.
The heavy rain in Wumeng covered the entire mountain village in rain, and people hid at home, listening to the rain and looking at the sky.
It seems that no one noticed that it is already the end of August.
(End of this chapter)
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