Chapter 295 There is a Thief
"Sure. There isn't much farm work these two days. You can do anything."
Lin Yue agreed with a smile.
"Xiu Lan, I'm going to Hongfeng Mountain." Lin Heng turned around and said, then went to Hongfeng Mountain with his elder brother Lin Yue.
Father Lin was having breakfast when they came over. Seeing the two of them, he asked, "Are you planning to come over to build a composting pit today?"
"Let's go and see how to repair the dam first." Lin Heng said.
Father Lin nodded and said, "I haven't fed the shrimps, cattle and sheep yet. You can feed them first. After I finish my meal, we can go to the mountains to see where it would be best to build a dam."
"Okay." Lin Heng agreed, and went to the warehouse with his elder brother to get feed to feed the shrimps.
He really missed the granular feed made by the machine, which could be directly thrown in. This kind of powder feed also needs to be mixed with water.
However, building a feed factory is not a one-time task and needs to be done slowly. He plans to find an opportunity to see if he can borrow or rent a pellet machine from the Fisheries Research Institute and make a batch himself to feed the shrimps.
After feeding the shrimps, Lin Heng brought up the two bags of silage that he had used in his earliest experiments. The two bags had already fermented.
Even after a night, the smell in the cattle and sheep pen was still not very strong, which showed that his ventilation facilities were working properly.
"This silage is really amazing." Lin Yue exclaimed in amazement after pouring out the silage. There are very few large-scale cattle and sheep breeding in the mountains, and no silage has been made. This is the first time he has seen it.
Lin Heng explained: "This thing preserves nutrients completely, it's much better than hay."
The new crop of forage grass is about to grow, and then we can store some more green grass and yellow grass. If we store more forage grass, we won’t have to worry about the cattle and sheep running out of food.
"It's time to eat! Ding-a-ling!!"
Lin Heng shouted and rang the bell, calling the cattle and sheep to graze.
After a night's rest, the cattle and sheep have basically adapted to the environment here. They squeeze over when they see grass, and it is obvious that they are hungry.
The reason for ringing a bell to signal for food is to train muscle memory. After doing it many times, they will know that this is the command to eat. Even in the wild, they will come over when you shout and ring the bell, making it convenient to graze.
It is the same when feeding chickens in the countryside. You have to call them "cluck, cluck, cluck" every time, and then all the chickens can be called back with just one shout.
Both the black goat and the Qinchuan calf are very cute. Lin Heng likes to touch the cow's chin the most, which feels very good.
Unfortunately, he was unfamiliar with these calves, and he reached out and removed their heads.
"Let's go!" Lin Heng glanced at the silly cow, then walked out with his elder brother.
Lin Yue looked at the foundation of the composting pond outside the cattle and sheep pen and said with emotion: "Dad is really hardworking. He has already built the foundation."
"Yes, very diligent." Lin Heng affirmed. Father Lin has built the foundation here in the past two days. The remaining work is to build a one-meter-high front with bricks to block the manure.
There is no need to cover the top of the composting pit, just cover it with tarpaulin or film paper.
"Let's go and take a look. By the way, we can build a big pond and connect a water pipe to the cowshed. It's too inconvenient to feed the cattle and sheep without water." Father Lin said after finishing his meal.
The only things missing from the cattle and sheep pens are a composting pit and running water.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded, and each of them went down and took a tool and walked up, while Lin's father took a knife and cut a path.
Lin Heng planned to build a small path from here to the cabin. It would only need to be 40 centimeters wide. After it was built, it would be paved with cement so that it would be unobstructed even in the rain.
They used knives to cut down larger trees, and used hoes to dig out shrubs like thorns with a diameter of three or four centimeters. It took the three big men nearly an hour to open a path up the mountain, which was more than a thousand meters long.
However, this road is not in good condition yet. It is too steep and needs to be repaired and have a few turns.
After the road was repaired, they came directly to the forest on the mountain. The Dendrobiums on the trees had already sprouted new buds. The forest was particularly transparent because all the small trees had been cleared away, and the mottled shadows of the trees made it seem like a paradise.
Lin Heng opened the door of the cabin and walked over to feel it. He found that it was indeed very cool here. The thermal insulation cotton in the interlayer of the wooden boards prevented the heat from penetrating in.
"Let's pack up today and live here for the next two days." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"It's really cool in this forest." Father Lin looked at the tall maple trees about thirty or forty meters in front and behind the cabin and said, "Nothing can absorb heat better than trees."
"Let's go to the ginseng garden and take a look." Lin Yue suggested.
Lin Heng and the other person naturally had no objection, and the three of them went to the ginseng garden together. The ginseng seeds germinated very well, but they looked a little too dense.
"It doesn't matter. Just wait and see next year." Lin Heng said.
Now there are a lot of weeds and small trees growing in the ginseng garden, but he has no intention of taking care of them. The ginseng under the forest imitates the wild environment and he will not care about it as long as it is not a big problem.
"Something is coming in from this side!" Father Lin said from a distance. The fence on his side was damaged a little.
Lin Yue saw the footprints on the ground and said, "Someone must have stolen the ginseng seedlings."
Lin Heng saw it at a glance, nodded and said: "Someone must have stolen it, the seedlings here are much scarcer."
Ginseng is so precious, it's rare that it hasn't been stolen.
Then he shook his head and said, "But it's obvious that these people have no experience in growing ginseng. It's hard to grow ginseng if they steal it and bring it back now. We have to wait until autumn to dig it up."
"Then what should we do?" Father Lin said worriedly.
Lin Heng patted his father on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Just steal it, there are only a few pills. Wait for three years for them to take effect, then it won't be too late to get a dog to guard them."
He felt that by that time he would almost have built his villa, and he could put up an iron fence to enclose the entire forest.
"That's all we can do." Father Lin nodded. He knew that this kind of thing could not be avoided. Thieves are everywhere.
After cutting the thorns and re-enclosing the area, they walked around the ginseng garden to check the situation. After making sure there were no other problems, they went out to the mountain stream to investigate a suitable location for building a small dam.
"This is a good place. I think it's a good idea to build the dam right at this opening." Father Lin pointed to the location next to the Dendrobium plantation.
This place is already at the top of the mountain stream. The opening is a whole blue-gray granite mountain, which is semicircular. There is a three-meter drop from here, similar to a small waterfall.
By building a cement dam in this semicircular area, a small reservoir about 30 meters long and five or six meters wide can be formed inside.
Lin Yue also said: "This place is indeed good. It has natural advantages and does not require much stone to build. I estimate that the three of us can complete it in ten days or half a month."
Father Lin also said: "Besides, once we finish the work, we can bury the water pipes here, and we won't need water pumps down the mountain."
"Then let's go down and take a look." Lin Heng nodded. He wanted to build a dam here.
After walking a little further down, there is a flat area about sixty to seventy meters long on the mountainside, which widens to more than ten meters on both sides.
The slope is only about 30 to 40 degrees, so it is entirely possible to build a large dam here to form a water area of about one acre.
Father Lin shook his head: "This place is good, but it takes too much time to build it. Not to mention three people, even if it's thirty people, it will take two months to build it, and the materials needed are also very large."
"We won't repair this place for now because the workload is too large." Lin Heng said directly that if this place needs to be repaired, an excavator must be hired and manpower is not suitable.
The last location you can choose is at the bottom of the mountain, inside the road and west of the shrimp pond.
Building a three-meter-high arch dam at this location can also form a water area that is thirty to forty meters long and seven to eight meters wide, which is about three hundred square meters.
After looking around twice, Father Lin said, "Although the construction difficulty here is lower, it is still not easy. I estimate that it will take the three of us more than a month to complete it. The only convenience is that it is close to the road, so it is easier to transport sand and gravel."
Lin Yue also nodded and said, "I think it's about the same."
Lin Heng had roughly drawn out these three locations when he drew the planning map. After careful inspection now, only these three locations are suitable, and the other locations are not very reliable.
"So should we choose the top of the mountain or the middle of the mountain?" Father Lin looked at his two sons, seeking their opinions.
Lin Yue spread his hands and smiled: "It depends on what my brother chooses. Even if it is difficult to repair, we just need to take our time and do it slowly."
Lin Heng thought for a moment and decided: "Let's fix the top first, and we can fix the bottom later. Even if we fix the top, I think the three of us are not enough. I'll go get Sandie and Lin Hai."
In addition to using water, he also wanted to build the dam for the purpose of breeding some black carp (Qinling salmon) for experiments and see how to artificially breed this fish.
The water temperature for plum fish is not easy to exceed 20 degrees, so the location on the top of the mountain is naturally more suitable. After the repair, fish can be raised and water can be used, and the road to the mountain is also built, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.
"I also think it's better to repair it on the top of the mountain." Father Lin grinned, "After the dam is built, we will open up the land to plant pasture grass, and then we will have to harvest the crops. The mountainside and the foot of the mountain can only be repaired next year."
After making sure, the three of them headed back. They didn't dare to work under the hot sun at noon.
In the house, Lin's mother was picking vegetables. She no longer raised cattle and sheep, but kept them all at home. There was enough grass for food, and it was not cost-effective to take so many cattle and sheep out for a visit.
The male dairy cow will be kept in the cowshed here for feeding later. Four white goats, one big and three small, are tied outside and are free-range, not getting along with the black goats.
Originally, the intention was to keep the little white male goat as a stud, but now there was no need for that, so he was just fanned and raised for meat.
There is no need to keep the young ewes, as they can all be killed for meat. Longdong black goats are much better than local white goats. Although white goats have better fur and a higher wool yield, they are inferior to black goats in other aspects such as meat yield.
Also, every household raises white goats, so if you don’t have them anymore, you can easily buy new ones.
Lin Heng didn’t have lunch here. He chatted with his parents for a while and then went home.
“Woof woof~”
When Lin Heng opened the door and returned home, Xiongba came to greet him. It hugged one of Lin Heng's legs and rubbed against him, as if saying that they had not been up the mountain for a long time.
"Maybe after a few days!" Lin Heng rubbed its head.
Hearing Lin Heng's voice, Xiulan came out of the house and said with a smile, "The meal is ready, come and eat."
What she wore today was a one-piece red tea-colored suspender dress with small white flowers printed on it that Lin Heng bought for her when he went to the city. It revealed her snow-white arms and calves, as well as a small area of the collarbone below her neck.
She looked very elegant and intellectual, and there was joy in her eyes when she looked at Lin Heng.
"Okay!" Lin Heng nodded and smiled, "You look really good in this outfit, so beautiful."
This is one of the more suitable clothes he bought for pregnant women. The straps of the skirt can be adjusted according to the waist size, and the skirt is also easy to put on.
Xiulan touched her belly and smiled, "My belly has started to grow. It will soon look ugly."
"Your face will still be pretty even if your belly is big, and it will recover quickly after giving birth." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Lin Heng was about to serve the dishes, but Xiulan stopped him and stood on tiptoe to pick the spider silk out of his hair: "Where have you been? There's spider silk wrapped around your head again."
Lin Heng looked at the pretty face so close and smiled, "On Hongfeng Mountain, we opened a road from the breeding base to the mountain, and then inspected the location for the dam and prepared to build the dam later."
Xiulan has been bored at home recently, so she not only reads books and practices calligraphy, but also studies makeup. Her paintings are becoming more and more natural, and they look good even from a close distance, with a faint scent of perfume.
"Where did you finally decide to build it?"
After Xiulan picked the spider silk for Lin Heng, she went into the house to serve the dishes.
"The top one is where we grow Dendrobium." Lin Heng said as he helped get the bowls and chopsticks.
The two of them brought the food and dishes. Xiaoxia was still playing with building blocks and puzzles on the mat. Those were the new toys that Lin Heng bought for her when he went to the city this time.
"Put on your shoes and come over to eat, Xiaoxia!" Lin Heng shouted.
"Here I come." Xiaoxia put the last two building blocks together and came over wearing sandals. Just as she was about to start, Xiulan glanced at her and she quickly went to wash her hands in the basin next to her.
Lin Heng saw how she was washing her hands and squatted down to help her and taught her the correct way to wash her hands.
For lunch, Xiulan made rice and fried it with sour cowpea and minced meat, which is Lin Heng's favorite. In addition, there was braised chicken with scallion oil, stir-fried bitter melon, stir-fried mustard greens, and soup made from loofah.
After Xiulan finished cooking, she ate a little, then ate a little more and watched Lin Heng and Xiulan eat, chatting with him from time to time.
After finishing the meal and clearing away the dishes, Lin Heng went to get two two-meter-long pieces of large spotted bamboo and brought them back to the house. He sawed them into thirty-centimeter lengths, then shaved them into bamboo strips and cut them into different lengths.
After cutting it, he went to get some glue and started pasting it together.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Xiaoxia asked curiously, tilting her head.
"I'm making a sofa model. You'll know when it's finished." Lin Heng said with a smile.
He had never worked in a related profession such as sofa making in his previous life, but he had repaired sofas several times and knew their internal structure, and now he was trying it.
Although he drew a picture, he was not completely sure, so he planned to make a small model first to see the shape, and then proceed to make the real thing.
This took him the whole afternoon and two hours. The watering process was slow, so he wasted a lot of time.
Xiulan couldn't wait to go back to the house for a nap, and Xiaoxia also fell asleep on the mat.
“It’s finally done!”
Lin Heng took a deep breath as he looked at the small model sofa in front of him. It took him a lot of effort to make it.
(End of this chapter)
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