Chapter 52 Garden and Fish Pond
On the 13th day of the fourth lunar month, the main beams of my eldest brother Lin Yue's house were put up, and the tiled roof was completed in one morning.
In the afternoon, everyone continued to help move stones. The eldest sister-in-law saw the stone floor made by Lin Heng and became jealous, so she made one for herself.
On the 14th, with everyone's help, the earthen walls of the two houses were completed in just one day.
At this point, the main structure of the two houses was completely completed. After all the workers had been paid and a big meal had been had, so many people would no longer be needed in the future.
Only some relatives were left to help, mainly Lin Heng's eldest uncle, third uncle, younger uncle-in-law, and third father.
My second uncle left yesterday because of some family matters.
Early in the morning on the 15th, Lin's father borrowed a wooden cart, pulled it with his own ox, and went to the town with his eldest brother Lin Yue. They were going to pull gypsum powder and buy some things.
Because it was a mud house, the materials were cheap, and including the labor costs and other expenses, the total cost was only more than 300 yuan.
So Lin's father decided to plaster the walls inside and buy some pots, pans, and other items for easy use after the separation of the family.
After breakfast, Carpenter Liang went to Lin Heng's house to continue his carpentry work. He would stay there for a long time before leaving.
Xiulan and Lin Heng went to clean up the yard together, and Lin's mother helped Liu Juan clean up her house.
"Wife, please help me pass the stones, I will take care of the rest." Lin Heng said as he came to the fish pond.
He built the stones in the fish pond himself, forming a circle around the inner wall of the fish pond.
The reason is the same. Since there is no cement, we can only use stones to block the soil. Otherwise, after the water is released, the inside of the mud fish pond will easily collapse.
"good!"
Xiulan nodded and handed him the stones piled in the yard.
The fish pond dug by Lin Heng is a large pond that is nearly rectangular, four meters long, two meters wide, and more than two meters deep.
Originally, Lin Heng's bricks were only thirty centimeters away from the edge, so it wasn't a lot of work and was done in half an hour.
"Is that all?" Xiulan looked at him.
"Of course not. We also need to build stone walls along the stream."
The well and the fish pond are both on the west side of the yard. The backyard is 100 square meters, 12.5 meters wide and 8 meters long. Lin Heng's fish pond occupies about half of the area.
From the secondary reservoir coming out of the well to the fish pond, Lin Heng made a stream more than five meters long, one meter wide, fifty centimeters deep, with two bends.
The inner walls on both sides of the stream also need to be built with stones.
After everything was initially brewed, Lin Heng had the oddly shaped stones that he had selected earlier brought down from the mountain and placed them on the edge of the fish pond and stream, both to block the view and to beautify the surface.
Some of these stones are volcanic rocks, some are natural water-absorbing stones, and they have various shapes. Many of them are covered with moss. When placed on both sides of the fish pond, it immediately makes the fish pond look much more beautiful.
"Okay, let's put some water in it first, then plant some water plants like calamus, put up a railing, and then build a small wooden bridge. Build a wooden pavilion next to it and it will be perfect."
After Lin Heng turned on the water, he put his hands on his hips and said.
Xiulan looked at the fish pond. She didn't think it was very good when it was being repaired, but after it was decorated, it did have a different feel. Adding to what her husband said, she thought it would be a very nice landscape.
"Honey, should we build a chicken and duck pen and a pig pen in the yard first?" Xiulan suggested, looking at the half bare yard.
"No, it's too smelly to put these things in the yard, which is not good for the body. I plan to persuade my eldest brother and the others to build the pig and chicken pens in the woods behind."
Lin Heng shook his head. For the sake of convenience and safety, people in rural areas would choose to build chicken coops and pig pens in front of their houses. In fact, this poses a huge health hazard and is very bad for human health.
"But it would be difficult to deal with if someone steals chickens or poisons pigs later on." Xiulan was a little worried. There are bad people in the countryside, and where there are people, there are trivial things.
"It's okay. This is very simple. Just raise two dogs and build a fence around it with pyracantha trees. It will be difficult for others to come in." Lin Heng said.
"Okay, that's fine." Xiulan nodded and looked at the yard again: "Then what are we going to do with these two yards?"
"Of course it's for living." Lin Heng smiled.
"What do you mean?" Xiulan didn't quite understand and looked a little dazed.
"You'll understand after I plan it out for you." Lin Heng grabbed a handful of white ash and began to spread the lines to make a plan.
“As for the backyard, I plan to plant a grape tree in the remaining half, build a trellis, and plant some flowers and plants underneath.
Plant some small trees next to it, build a swing chair, and a set of tables, which is equivalent to a garden. You can eat and rest here in the future."
Lin Heng simply marked out two paths, which he planned to pave with pebbles to create narrow paths. The pavilion for dining and the area under the grape racks were also planned to be paved with stones picked up from the mountains.
Xiulan looked at Lin Heng's plan and was a little surprised: "Where did you learn these? They seem very novel. I think only leaders would play with these flowers and plants."
Listening to her husband's explanation, a beautiful picture appeared in Xiulan's mind.
"As for the front yard, we will leave more land for the vegetable garden and grow fruits and vegetables, and plant two trees. We can also build a thatched corridor in the middle of the road leading to the gate to protect it from rain."
People in rural areas today are still at the stage of barely having enough to eat, and don’t have much pursuit for aesthetics.
Lin Heng had experienced a lot in his previous life, and had also done work like repairing yards for wealthy people, so these things were easy for him.
A small garden-type yard is enough. It is more economical to grow some fruits and vegetables in the large yard in front. You can just pick them when you want to eat them.
"This is good." Xiulan nodded vigorously.
This really touched the heart of her heart. She was just thinking about how to persuade Lin Heng not to turn the front yard into a garden. Although it looked nice, she would rather grow some edible fruits and vegetables.
"Hehe, of course I understand what you are thinking." Lin Heng smiled.
"Then let's start cleaning up the yard, and then do it according to your plan." Xiulan held a shovel, full of motivation for building a new home.
Lin Heng focused on building his backyard today. He carried a backpack and spent fifty cents to find an uncle from the village to help him, and went to the river to carry pebbles together.
It’s strange that when you are doing something that interests you, you don’t feel tired even if you are carrying heavy pebbles.
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, the pebbles he carried were finally enough to fill up the two paths that Lin Heng had planned in his backyard.
Small stones are laid in the middle of the road and large stones are laid on both sides of the road to be used as curbs. Finally, these stones are hammered into the soil with a wooden hammer, and some gravel is laid between the gaps between the pebbles. The path is then completed.
Before it got dark, Lin Heng arranged the remaining stones he had moved from the mountain and cleaned up the clutter. The basic outline of a beautiful farmyard took shape.
The path has been completed and the water in the fish pond has become clear, flowing out of the outlet and out of the yard.
All that’s left is to build the grape trellis, plant the grapes, and plant some flowers, plants and trees, and the whole courtyard will become full of vitality.
(End of this chapter)
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