Zhang Gangzi drove the donkey cart and went home happily.

In addition to being inspired by the old model workers, it was also related to Liu Qingshan's promise to him: as long as he was willing to work hard, he would definitely be able to find a wife within three years.

Thinking of the beautiful life of his wife and children on the hot bed, Zhang Zhangzi's lazy body was full of motivation.

Then starting from the next day, he drove the donkey cart to and from the county town and Jiapigou every day, one trip a day, leaving early and returning late, rain or shine.

At that time, the county towns were all bungalows and all used dry toilets. Basically, every square residential area had one or two toilets.

Residents often see a middle-aged man wearing rubber clothes and trousers with an unshaven beard, holding a dung spoon, scooping out ladlefuls of dung soup from the cesspit, and pouring it into the donkey cart.

After it was full, I closed the lid and drove away. The smell was definitely unstoppable and everyone stayed away.

Whenever this happens, Zhang Gangzi will shout: "Why are you hiding? When you eat the vegetables poured with excrement soup, each of you will eat more deliciously than anyone else!"

He was so angry that some people wanted to beat him, but when they saw the stains and dirt on his body, they decided to endure it.

When the dung water is brought back, it needs to be mixed with black soil and fermented. This is called spreading dung to paint the walls.

Of course, this work cannot be done in the village, otherwise, the entire Jiapigou will surely stink.

So a dung yard was built in the southeast outside the village. The southeast wind rarely blows here, so the smell cannot spread to the village.

Even though Zhang Ganzi was disliked by others outside, his status in Jiapigou had risen sharply. Farmers all understood the importance of fertilizer, so they all looked up to Zhang Ganzi.

Everyone greets them when they meet: "Hey, the general is back!"

General, well, is the abbreviation of General Spoon, and is also Zhang Gangzi’s new nickname.

Zhang Gangzi, who originally wished he could not take a shower for a year, is now more diligent and has to take a shower every day when he comes home. Otherwise, the smell will be unbearable for him.

Everyone says: dung soup can cure laziness.

Seeing this gratifying change, Liu Qingshan specially made a simple shower equipment and installed it on a pole next to his warehouse.

I just made a big bag with plastic cloth and painted the surface with black paint to absorb the heat of the sun.

Throwing the big bag on the lid of the warehouse, a shower head came out. Zhang Zangzi came back every day and took a hot bath, which almost made his nose soaked with snot.

This has attracted the envy of many women in the village, because after all, they are not like those half-grown men and grown-ups who strip naked by the river, plop, jump into the water and take a bath.

But asking them to take a bath at Zhang Ganzi's house, a bachelor's house, would never work. Therefore, Liu Qingshan's house was in short supply all day long.

Such a good thing, of course I want to get one at home.

It’s just that the shower head is hard to fix, otherwise, it would probably be popular in the village soon.

In the past few days, Liu Qingshan has also been working with everyone every day, and it is also the most tiring job in the countryside: mixing mud and removing slabs.

After they dig more than one meter underground, the black soil layer will disappear and turn into yellow clay, which is perfect for mixing mud.

In the loess, you also need to add some chopped firewood. The best thing is to use wheat roe, which is the shell of wheat, with wheat awns, shaped like a small fish.

We haven't harvested wheat yet this month. Even if we harvested it, there won't be that much wheat roe.

Everyone picked up bundles of hay from the fields, cut them into small pieces with a guillotine, and mixed them into the loess to increase the pulling force.

The adobe made in this way is relatively strong and can withstand wind and rain.

When mixing the mud, many people wear big knee-high boots and kick hard in the mud to make it even.

Then I use a big shovel to scoop up a shovelful of muddy water, dig it back and forth, and finally make a big mud pile for later use.

It cannot be used immediately at this time. It must be left at least overnight until the mud and water are mixed and it becomes sticky before it can be used to remove the dough.

There are also special tools for removing the blank, a blank mold with only four borders nailed together.

Place the blank mold on the flat ground, pour mud into it, wipe the surface twice with a mud board, and then gently pull out the blank mold upwards. A long strip of adobe will be made. After drying in the shade, it can be used.

Therefore, removing the blank can also be called spreading the blank.

This work was definitely tiring and dirty. But everyone worked hard because the greenhouse brought them hope they had never had before.

After working until noon, Liu Qingshan came home with a lot of mud and ideas. Just as he was about to take a shower, he found the sound of water rushing in the simple shed that was surrounded.

He quickly leaned against the window and asked Shan Xing, who was placing a table in the room, that it was his eldest sister who was taking a bath inside.

So Liu Qingshan simply rinsed his hands and face, and prepared to go to the natural bathhouse for a soak after dinner.

It is August now, the hottest season of the year. The river water is warmed by the sun, making bathing the most comfortable.

Lunch was stewed beans. Although there was no meat, meat oil was added, and the surface of the beans was oily with small oil bubbles, which was very appetizing.

As for the staple food, it is also very good. It is a big cake steamed on top when the beans are stewed. This thing is commonly known as "bean quilt".

Especially the circle on the edge of the pot is baked into a golden crispy rice cake, and is soaked in vegetable soup, which is the most fragrant.

Liu Qingshan broke off a piece of rice cake for each of Sifeng and Shanxing, and then shouted to Gao Wenxue, who was sitting at his desk on the floor: "Brother-in-law, it's time to eat!"

Gao Wenxue reluctantly put down the pen in his hand, and while eating, he was still chattering and discussing the plot with Liu Qingshan.

Liu Qingshan is not good at specific writing, but he has broad ideas and really made a lot of suggestions.

While the two were talking, they heard a timid voice: "Eldest brother-in-law, third brother, I will also go to school and take the college entrance examination in the future."

It's Shan Xing, and the little one has been listening to it because she knows that this book was written by her eldest brother-in-law.

Liu Qingshan touched her little head and broke off a piece of pancake dipped in vegetable soup for her: "Yes, our family is the most ambitious. We will definitely be admitted to university."

"Then I want to go to college with Shan Xing." The fourth child was unwilling to be lonely and raised his little hand.

"Then you should study hard. In a few days, you will be in first grade."

Liu Qingshan looked at the two little girls fondly, thinking in his mind: In a few days, he would have to go to the commune or the county to buy two sets of stationery.

When the two little girls were full, they took their little hands and went to the garden, gathered some water barnyard grass and the like, put them into a small basket, and went to feed the sika deer.

They took care of this sika deer every day, and it recovered well from its injuries. It became more and more affectionate to the two little girls.

But he was still not very friendly to Liu Qingshan. When meeting him, he would greet him with deer antlers, and Liu Qingshan would have to walk around him.

After finding a change of clothes and carrying them in a basket, Liu Qingshan went to the river to take a bath.

Walking from the west end of the village to the east end, the team expanded to more than a dozen people, all of whom were middle-aged and older, and a few older men. They had been working with Dani all morning. Since they had a rest in the afternoon,

Came to take a shower.

A few steps out of the village, there is a small bridge, and a winding river flows through it. This river has no name.

Because it is a small tributary of the Songhua River, everyone calls it Xiao Songjiang.

These days, the river water is not polluted and the water quality is very clear. Because it is safe to follow the adults, all the young people jumped into the water with a splash.

While I was washing, I didn’t know who was taking the lead, so I started having a water fight.

Or compete in the big tank squatting competition. This is also a very fun event. You have to submerge your whole body into the water and compete to see who can hold your breath longer.

In addition, there is a favorite game among teenagers: the name cannot be verified, which is to stick a piece of mud on the railing of a small bridge, about two meters high.

Then, the little kids lined up and started peeing to see who could get the mud off.

This game cannot be played without playing chicken.

"Brother Dajiang, come and play too."

Datou was so honest that he even shouted to his uncle and brother Zhang Dajiang in the water.

This made Da Zhangluo, who was in the shower, burst out laughing: "Brother Da Jiang got married last year and shoots water guns under the quilt every day, but he can't practice this."

Zhang Dajiang's face turned red: "Uncle Zhang Luo, why are you becoming less serious as you get older?"

Those half-grown adults who seemed to understand but didn't understand also laughed along, and the river was full of joy.

"Datou, help me touch some clams and scoops."

When Liu Qingshan saw the crowd, he shouted for help.

Clams grow in the mud at the bottom of the river. First, you have to step on them bit by bit with your feet. If you find something hard under your feet, you dig in and pick them up. You will find nothing but pebbles, just clams.

For these half-grown kids, this is nothing. It’s just like playing. They pick up one and throw it on the grass on the shore. After a while, it piles up into a small mountain.

Even the small ones were thrown back into the water.

Liu Qingshan's childlike innocence also suddenly emerged. He hadn't played this kind of childhood trick for many years, so he also played clams together.

I grabbed a big one and as soon as I lifted it out of the water, a column of water hit my face. This is a way for clams to protect themselves. They can shoot water.

His skills were a bit rusty, so he was definitely not going to get sprayed. Liu Qingshan was sprayed in the face, and even made the friends around him laugh at him for a while.

Of course he didn't care, but found it interesting.

When we went back, we carried them back and forth several times before transporting all the clams home. Several people sat on small benches and began to pick out the clam meat.

People in the village generally don't eat this stuff because it wastes oil. If you don't add oil, the fishy smell will be too strong.

The clam is closed and cannot be opened by hand, and it is easy to scratch your hands. You must put it in the sun to dry. When it opens slightly, insert the blade into it, cut off the adductor muscle, and then divide it into two halves.

Cut off the piece of meat at the foot of the axe, beat it with a hammer or a wooden stick until it becomes loose, cut it into thin slices, blanch it lightly in water, and then you can fry it and eat it.

It's best to add some red dried chili pepper, it tastes very delicious.

In addition, this month is the breeding season of river mussels. If it is a female and there are yellow eggs after breaking them open, they taste more delicious and are not much worse than crab roe.

The three people were deftly peeling the clams, and Liu Caifeng and Shan Xing'er were squatting next to them. They also helped clean up the clams and cut off the inedible parts.

"Wow, what a beautiful little ball!"

Suddenly, Xiao Caifeng cheered.

Liu Qingshan followed the sound and couldn't help but feel refreshed.

On the fingertips of the little old boy, he could see a round bead almost as big as a quail egg, which emitted a yellow halo under the sunlight.

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Chapter completed!