The autumn wind blew the fallen leaves, swirling around the small courtyard.
After washing up and preparing to go to bed, Chen Mo noticed a bulging cloth pocket next to her pillow.
"Qingyang, what is this?" She picked it up curiously; it was heavy.
Lu Qingyang was soaking his feet. Hearing this, he just smiled mysteriously and said, "Open it and take a look?"
Chen Mo untied the hemp rope at the mouth of the bag, and a roasted and burnt smell instantly hit her face!
In the bag, there were roasted pecans that were full, shiny in shell and plump in size!
"Hickory nuts?!" Shen Mo was so surprised that she almost jumped up. She picked up one and felt the slight warmth. "You... didn't you say you didn't want to eat it because it's not ripe yet?"
She looked at Lu Qingyang with a reproachful look, but her eyes were filled with unconcealable joy.
Lu Qingyang put his hand on her shoulder and said with a little pride: "I gave you a surprise. Look, how happy you are now?"
Shen Mo turned around and stuffed a walnut into his mouth. She also peeled one. With a crisp "crack", the familiar and ultimate fragrance exploded in her mouth. She squinted her eyes in satisfaction and snuggled into his arms: "Yeah! Happy! Very happy! This is even more fragrant and crispy than last year's!"
Looking at Chen Mo like a satisfied cat, Lu Qingyang's heart softened.
He took out a few small paper bags like a magic trick: "Here, here are some. Eat some of these when your mouth feels tasteless."
Chen Mo opened it curiously, and her eyes lit up instantly: the bright red hawthorn preserves were glowing with an alluring luster, the golden dried apricots exuded a sweet and sour aroma, and there were also black and shiny dried plums! They were all appetizing candied fruits!
"You even prepared this!" Shen Mo was pleasantly surprised. She picked up a dried hawthorn and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste instantly stimulated her taste buds. "I heard from Aunt Liu that pregnant women crave this sour and sweet taste!"
Chen Mo suddenly said, "Grandpa also told us a few days ago to stock up on cabbage and green onions before the weather gets completely cold and store them in the cellar for the winter."
Chen Mo chewed dried apricots and nodded: "Well, it's time to prepare, although..."
"It would be great if the people in the production team were like us and wanted to eat fresh vegetables in the winter. But it's not realistic to think about it. In this icy and snowy weather..."
"Wife," Lu Qingyang peeled a plump walnut kernel and fed it to Shen Mo's mouth naturally, and said casually, "Have you heard of greenhouses?"
"Greenhouse?" Shen Mo swallowed the walnut kernel and blinked in confusion.
Lu Qingyang lowered his voice, "In the south where winter is not that cold, they use bamboo strips or wooden strips as thick as arms, bend them into the shape of an arch, and cover it with a very thick, light-transmitting plastic sheet! The kind that... well, looks like thick oilcloth!"
As he spoke, he gestured with his hands to draw the outline of an arch: "When the sun shines during the day, the plastic tent is warm, several degrees higher than outside! At night, when the sun goes down, we use thick straw curtains to cover the plastic tent, like a thick blanket, and the insulation effect is very good! In this way, without a stove, we can grow spinach, rapeseed, black cabbage, garlic sprouts and other green leafy vegetables that are not afraid of the cold, absolutely no problem!"
Shen Mo listened to his vivid description, imagining the vibrant green in the snow, and her eyes gradually lit up with excitement: "Really? This really works? It sounds like... it seems that there is no need to burn coal?"
"I think it's absolutely feasible!" Lu Qingyang said confidently, and began to plan the details. "Think about it, behind the warehouse of the team, aren't there a lot of old bamboo poles and wooden rafters left over from building barns and repairing pig pens? Many of them are half-rotten and will rot if left alone, so it's a good time to recycle them! As for the plastic sheet... Among my 'treasures', there is the 'high-grade oilcloth' that is particularly thick, has excellent light transmittance, and is particularly strong and durable! It is a hundred times better than the thin ones sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives! As for the quantity... we can build a few sheds, enough!"
Shen Mo's heart was pounding, and she instantly understood Lu Qingyang's intention.
Using the discarded materials in the team, plus the "unknown origin" but super strong plastic sheet in his space, the cost is almost negligible! If it really succeeds, it will be a great thing! Not only will it solve the problem of difficulty in eating vegetables in winter, it may also increase everyone's income!
"Then... why don't we give it a try tomorrow?" Shen Mo's voice was filled with excitement and anticipation. "Let's build a small one first? Once it works, we can promote it later?"
"Sure!" Lu Qingyang slapped his thigh. This was exactly his plan. "I'll go find Wang Dagang tomorrow! Let's build a small shed to experiment first! Let's call a few skilled and idle old hands to help. If it really works, before winter comes and it freezes, we can build a few more so that everyone can eat green leafy vegetables during the New Year!"
The next morning, in the open space behind the warehouse.
Wang Dagang held a pipe in his mouth and looked at the broken bamboo poles and bent wood piled on the ground.
Then he looked at the unspeakably thick and translucent "plastic sheet" in Lu Qingyang's hand, and his brows were twisted into knots.
"Qingyang, are you really good at this? This cloth looks really good, but this broken bamboo pole...can't you hold it up? It's windy in winter, don't let it blow away."
Several old men who were called in to help were also talking in a flurry, full of doubt.
"Brother Wang, uncles, we will know if we try it." Lu Qingyang was full of confidence, "That's how it's drawn in the book! Let's make a smaller one first!"
He picked up an old relatively straight bamboo pole and gestured to bend it into a beautiful arch between the two fixed points.
The bamboo pole was quite resilient and actually bent over without breaking.
"Hey! It's really curved!" A carpenter named Uncle Lao Gen showed interest.
"Come on, give me a hand! Drive the pile deeper according to the position indicated by Qingyang!" Wang Dagang also became alert and gave instructions.
Several old masters are good at their work.
Clear the ground, drive in wooden stakes, select relatively strong bamboo poles or wooden strips, and erect them at certain distances along the simple arc drawn on the ground by Lu Qingyang, and cross-fix the tops with hemp ropes or thin iron wires.
Soon, a simple frame about 1 meter long and 2 meters wide consisting of eight arched frames was erected.
The next most important step is covering with plastic sheeting.
Lu Qingyang and the two old men carefully unfolded the wide, thick and smooth agricultural film.
The sunlight shines through the film, casting a soft halo on the ground.
"This cloth... is so translucent! And it feels thick too!" Uncle Lao Gen marveled as he touched the smooth and cool surface of the membrane.
"Qingyang, this 'disposable item' you found is really a treasure!" Old Zhao couldn't help but admire it.
Everyone worked together to cover the arched frame with huge agricultural film.
Lu Qingyang directed, first pressing down the edge of the membrane with long wooden strips on the windward side, and then nailing it firmly to the wooden stakes with large iron nails.
Next, smooth out the east and west sides carefully to avoid wrinkles, and then use wooden strips to press the edges and secure them.
The last is the south side, where you need to reserve a door that can be opened and closed. For now, use wooden strips to press down most of it, leaving a middle section.
After the covering was completed, a simple but embryonic "plastic shed" suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
The sunlight penetrated the thick and translucent film without any hindrance, and sprinkled on the dirt ground in the shed. It felt that the temperature inside seemed to be a little higher than outside.
"Oh my God! It seems to be really warmer in there!" An old man put his hand into the crack of the "door" that had just been left and exclaimed in surprise.
"Look, this cloth is so translucent! It's bright inside!" Another one also leaned over to take a look.
Wang Dagang walked around the novelty twice, knocking on the frame and pulling the taut plastic sheet. The doubt on his face was gradually replaced by excitement: "What a small thing! What a door! It's really interesting! This shed looks sturdy!"
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