"Battalion Commander, what are your plans?" Song Fumin and the others put down the wooden cart and entered the main room.
Wow, they were also shocked at first glance. How could there be so many things inside? The walls were gone, and it was just a huge open space.
"Let's move these big vats to the yard first. Wang Maohe, you continue shoveling the snow in the yard. You guys come with me and move this vat."
These large vats are all waist-deep and very heavy. To prevent them from being bumped or damaged, they are first tied with ropes and knots, and then lifted with a wooden stick. Two people working together can carry the vats to the yard.
The first one was a bit difficult. They had to hold the rope in place to prevent it from slipping down, and they also had to leave two knots at the top so they could lift it up with a stick. After a few tries, they finally got it right, and soon they carried one out.
The rest was a bit more difficult because these large vats were erected in pairs, mouth to mouth. It took a lot of effort to carefully flip them over, then wrap them up one by one and carry them out.
"Battalion Commander, what are you going to do with all these large vats?"
The speaker was Zhou Ermao, a southerner who didn't understand what use these huge things could be, and instead found them to take up a lot of space.
"It can be used to pickle sauerkraut, make soybean paste, and store grain." Song Fumin had already figured out how to use it for their battalion commander.
"If we were to use this to pickle sauerkraut, it would last us at least a year, and we wouldn't even be able to use it all. There are eight of them."
Lu Yang was also a little worried. These large vats were probably for storage in the commune. They were big and very heavy, and he figured his family wouldn't need them. He would have to find a way to send them away.
There were two small vats that reached up to his thighs. Song Qing could move these vats by himself. After moving all these things out, he started to tidy up the wood.
Zhou Lian had only swept the ground clean; the wood hadn't been moved. It was still covered with a thick layer of old ash. When the wooden planks were lifted, dust filled the air, and the group quickly covered their noses.
"You take An'an out first, we can handle things here."
Lu Yang gently tugged at Song Qing's wrist, pulling her back slightly, while turning his face towards An An.
They told An'an to go out when they were moving those large vats inside the house, but she was very curious and kept looking around. Song Qing had no choice but to hold her on the kang (a heated brick bed) and not let her get down, only allowing her to watch from a distance.
"Sister-in-law, you should go out. It's too dusty here. We can move it."
Song Qing didn't try to be strong. They were stronger, and there wasn't a need for so many people here. She picked up An'an and went into the courtyard.
"An'an, we're all busy and don't have time to look after you. Just stand at the kitchen door and don't go anywhere, okay?"
“Okay.” An’an sat at the kitchen doorway, holding the wooden stick in both hands, looking towards the main room.
Soon, several men carried out the logs, separating the better-quality, newer pieces from the rotten, crumbling ones. They moved quickly.
They quickly carried all the wood out of the house, but even so, it was already getting late.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Come with me to the cafeteria for lunch." Lu Yang checked the time and quickly urged them to leave.
Those guys refused to let Lu Yang treat them, declining and even trying to run away. Lu Yang didn't hold back and lightly kicked them in the foot.
He laughed and scolded, "Get lost! I never noticed you guys were so polite before. Hurry up, you have training tonight. If you miss training, you'll be sorry."
The canteen in the family compound wasn't open yet, and people outside couldn't get into the canteen in the barracks. Song Qing could only wait for Lu Yang to call them back.
"Wait here for a bit, I'll go to the guesthouse to get the lunchboxes. You don't need to get those things, I'll come back and get them later," Lu Yang instructed before following them.
The wood in the main room had all been moved out, and there was a lot of dust and fallen wood chips on the ground. There was also a lot of straw nearby. There was still some light outside, but it was already quite dark inside the room.
Song Qing searched the wall for a long time before finally finding the light switch. The cord was covered in cobwebs, and it was broken when she pulled it.
Finally, they discovered that there were three lights installed in the room, two of which were working. Song Qing sighed. Once the walls were built, they would need to install electrical outlets in the main room and the two side rooms. If they had enough money, they could buy an electric fan, and maybe even a television.
When she was in Ancheng, one of her colleagues had a TV at home. Those things were very rare, tickets were hard to come by and expensive. It was the only one in the neighborhood that had one. In the evenings, a group of children would gather at their house to watch TV, and An'an was very happy.
However, nowadays, TV tickets are probably only available to high-ranking officials.
An'an remained standing on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Song Qing carefully gathered up the straw, shaking off the wood chips and ash.
Although the straw was somewhat rotten, it was still quite dry and could be used as kindling. Surprisingly, when she gathered up all the straw on the ground, she actually managed to tie it into a small bundle.
As for the sawdust on the ground, she picked up the larger, still-burnable pieces and set them aside. She swept up the rest along with the ashes. She gathered the burnable pieces in the kitchen and shoveled the garbage onto the cart outside.
Before she could finish preparing, Lu Yang rushed over with the lunchbox in his arms. Song Qing was initially puzzled as to why he ate so quickly, but then she realized that the portion was for two people and he hadn't shared it with his brothers.
When Lu Yang returned, it was already completely dark on the road. He had just rushed to the guesthouse to get his lunchbox.
There was leftover braised pork in the lunchbox, so I simply took it to the cafeteria, borrowed an enamel basin and a pot of hot water from the cafeteria, and put the lunchbox containing the braised pork into the hot water to scald it.
At this point, there weren't many dishes left in the cafeteria, so he ordered stir-fries for them at the stir-fry window and also packed two more portions to go.
"Battalion Commander, aren't you going to eat with us?"
Their battalion commander is too generous. He ordered two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes for the four of them. The stir-fry window is usually for high-ranking leaders to have a good time. The food there is extremely expensive. They only come here to treat themselves when they receive subsidies.
"Battalion Commander, if you're not going to eat here, you can pack this stewed meat to go. We can't finish it."
Song Fuming was also somewhat dumbfounded. Their battalion commander was not usually a stingy person, but he had never been so extravagant before. The two pieces of meat and two dishes cost more than three yuan, and he also packed two more portions for himself. This meal cost at least five yuan.
Huh, is their battalion commander not planning to resign?
Regardless of what they were thinking, Lu Yang packed up the food and then touched the lunchbox in the enamel basin. After it warmed up slightly, he put it away and left.
"Stop talking nonsense and eat quickly. Tomorrow I'll let you eat the cafeteria's communal dishes."
He finished speaking and left, leaving the remaining people to watch his retreating figure.
"The battalion commander and his wife have such a good relationship; he's worried that she might be hungry over there."
While they were still marveling at it, Zhou Ermao quickly sat down, grabbed a large piece of stewed meat, and stuffed it into his mouth. By the time they finished marveling, they realized that he had already reached for a second piece.
"Damn it, Zhou Ermao! How come you're so cunning?"
"Eat quickly, eat quickly, he'll finish it all in no time."
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