After the first month of the lunar calendar, time begins to build the oven.
The blueprints have already been drawn up, and the construction steps are already clear in my mind. The next step is to put the theory into practice.
The oven is divided into two layers: the lower foundation is made of blue bricks, and the upper kiln is made of sticky yellow mud.
The foundation was originally intended to be made of mud bricks, but Lin Momo accidentally found a batch of blue bricks in the weeds, about two hundred of them, which should be leftovers from when the house was built.
So, the mud bricks were replaced with blue bricks.
This also saved us time from figuring out how to make clay molds, shortening the construction period by half.
While the foundation was being built and the soil was drying, Lin Momo and Shiguang left the valley to search for clay.
Clay is fire-resistant, maintains volume stability under high temperature conditions, is not easy to dry and crack, and becomes exceptionally firm after being fired in a fire.
This kind of soil is actually not hard to find; as far as Lin Momo knows, it can be found by the river.
So she took time with her and walked for an hour to a stream where she dug clay.
After filling two large baskets, the two headed back.
There's snow everywhere outside right now, and the temperature is still quite low, so there's really nothing to stay in.
After returning to the valley, the two entered the space and began mixing mud in the cement yard in the front yard.
To increase the stickiness, Lin Momo suggested adding some river sand and chopped hay together.
The sand we scooped from the river last time is still piled up in the corner of the yard; we can just use it directly.
As for hay, there's plenty in the valley, enough for as much as you need.
Originally, straw or wheat stalks should have been added, but there was nowhere to find them for the time being, so dry grass will do. Anyway, the effect is the same, both can increase the stickiness of the mud.
At this point, the materials are basically all prepared.
It took the two of them a whole day to finally finish making the oven, albeit with some difficulty.
The arched kiln opening and dome-shaped kiln body, though somewhat ugly, still look quite presentable.
After the earthen kiln was completely dry, Lin Momo immediately made a glutinous rice roasted chicken, and the result was surprisingly good.
The roasted pheasant meat is tender and melts in your mouth, with an irresistible aroma. The glutinous rice and mushrooms blend perfectly with the chicken's fragrance, making it incredibly delicious.
Time can eat a whole one by itself.
Benben and the wolf cub, who were playing in the front yard, scurried to the backyard after smelling the aroma. They wagged their tails at the two of them, staring longingly at the chicken, their mouths watering.
Lin smiled and tore off two chicken wings, tossing them to the two little ones. Before the chicken even hit the ground, they snatched them up in their mouths and began to wolf them down.
It seems the roast chicken received unanimous praise.
Lin silently decided that of the remaining ten or so pheasants, she would keep five or so to make soup, and the rest would be roasted and preserved.
It wasn't until March that the snow in the mountains had mostly melted, but the snow on the shady slopes, where the sun never shines, was still shining brightly.
As the saying goes, "The year's plan starts in spring," and it's that time of year again for spring plowing.
To grow sweet potatoes and potatoes, Lin Momo cleared out two more plots of land next to the cultivated field, about a hundred square meters in size.
We will proceed according to the same procedure as last time.
Burn the stubble, cover it with a layer of humus, turn the soil over, and then leave it there to bask in the warm spring sun.
After finishing all that, a spring rain fell from the heavens.
As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil.
This seems to be a good start.
Lin Momo couldn't help but wonder if a drought would really occur this year.
However, the rain only dampened the ground slightly before it stopped abruptly.
The day after the rain stopped, the two began planting the two plots of land they had cultivated the previous year.
Time pulled the plow and loosened the soil again, finding that turning the land was much easier this time. Where the plow passed, the moist soil underneath was turned up.
The soil was loose and dark, and looked very fertile.
Lin Momo was quite satisfied.
It seems that after half a year of fermentation, the humus soil that was originally mixed with decaying leaves has become integrated with the soil underground, enhancing the overall soil fertility.
Lin Momo had already recalled the steps villagers took when she was a child to farm, so she had a general idea of what it was like.
After loosening the soil and picking up any exposed stones, the next step is to use an iron rake to level the land, and to break up any hardened clods of soil.
Next comes the sowing stage.
This one still needs Lin Momo to come.
Since there was no seeder, the seeds had to be sown manually. She was really worried about letting Shi Guang do this, fearing that this novice would sow the seeds unevenly, making some too thick and others too thin, requiring replanting later.
Although it was also her first time sowing seeds, she was more experienced than him.
The two had a clear division of labor: one sowed the seeds, while the other followed behind, raking the soil and covering it with earth.
In just one morning, wheat was planted on the plot of land on the east side of the walkway.
After sowing the seeds, Lin looked at the land and wondered if he should try planting winter wheat this year.
The climate and environment here are exactly the same as in her hometown, so there shouldn't be any problem growing winter wheat.
Okay, I'll give it a try this fall.
If it can be successfully planted, corn can be rotated after the summer harvest, allowing for two harvests in one season.
However, since there are no chemical fertilizers for farming nowadays, the soil fertility may not be sufficient without fallowing, which will affect the harvest.
Currently, she only has a few options for fertilizing the land: farmyard manure, straw returned to the field, and humus.
Farmyard manure needs to undergo a long fermentation process before it can be used, and even if you include the couple and their poultry, they probably wouldn't produce much farmyard manure in a year.
Returning straw to the field is actually the most reasonable method.
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