After sending this man away, Li Long looked at the dried meat hanging on the rope and decided not to go out today, but to take care of the wooden house first.
The wind is strong in the mountains. Yushanjiang and the others took this into consideration when they built the wooden house and added a layer of mud to the outside of the wood. After living here for a few days, Li Long found that the mud was not thick enough to keep warm, so he prepared to mix some mud with it and apply another layer, mainly on the west and north sides. The cold wind blows from those two directions.
Of course, if there is enough time, he is also prepared to strengthen it in other directions.
The matter of getting rid of mud is a bit technical. It is not as simple as a baby peeing on mud. You have to find good soil first. The surface layer of humus beside the spring is not so easy to use. It is not sticky and falls off easily after drying. It is also black mud and looks a bit like dung, which Li Long doesn't like either.
So you need to dig out the top layer and use the hard soil clay underneath. Of course, it would be better if you can find yellow clay, but unfortunately this requires luck. Li Long dug out two pits near the spring and found no yellow clay, so he didn't insist. He could use ordinary black sand and hard soil mixed with crushed grass residue to plaster the wall. But without a tile knife and a big shovel, the wall may not be able to be smoothed by then.
Anyway, you live in it yourself and no one cares about it, so you don’t need to pay too much attention to it.
Pull out the soil from the pit one by one, find a piece of flat land near the wooden house and pile the soil into a pile. Make a nest in the middle of the pile, raise the surrounding area, and bring some basins of water over. Pour it into the nest, slowly wait for the water to soak the soil, sprinkle with grass foam, and start mixing with the mud. At this time, use a shovel to turn over the wet soil. After turning it a few times, it turns into mud. The grass foam is mixed in it and acts as bones and muscles. Now it is a labor of strength.
When my eldest brother was building a house, he saw those people doing it in full swing and it was very lively. When he was building a house, those people and Niba were also happy and full of laughter. Why am I alone now? , the workload is less than one-tenth of what it was then, why is it so tiring?
While he was making peace, a man came from the east and greeted Li Long from a distance:
"Boss Li, what are you busy with?"
Li Long put down the shovel in his hand, recognized the person as Sun Jiaqiang, and said:
"Mix some mud and wipe the wall. This wooden house is still a little drafty and not warm at night."
"Already. That's good, right?" Sun Jiaqiang, who was carrying the bag, said, "You tell me, how can we live in a squatter's house?"
Li Long chuckled.
"You got a lot of meat again. Where did you beat it? You haven't gone to the place I told you yet?" Sun Jiaqiang had already seen the dried meat hanging on the rope and asked.
"Yesterday I went to get coal in the mountains and encountered a group of wolves attacking a roe deer. I happened to have a gun with me, so I shot a wolf and picked up another roe deer." Li Long said, "I must have wanted the meat I got. I couldn’t finish it in a while, so I thought about drying it to preserve it.”
“You are living a good life,” Sun Jiaqiang said with emotion, “I can eat meat at will. I've been wearing condoms for two days and nothing. "
After that, he glanced at the incomplete pile of coal that Li Long had covered with branches, and sighed again:
"There are treasures everywhere in this mountain, you said so. Can the coal area be dug in the open? "Tsk, this is an open-pit coal mine!" Long suggested kindly. Sun Jiaqiang could help him catch the person who stole things. The bruise on his face has not completely faded yet. He is a good person and worth friends.
"No, no. There are wood everywhere in the mountains, and it's too troublesome to carry that. Yesterday I dug some caladiums and came over to exchange some things with you. I wanted to exchange some snacks, so I might as well exchange them for some meat."
He put down the bag and opened his mouth Let Li Long look at it, and his tone was a little proud:
"Look, I brought this all for you. I picked it up and washed it before bringing it. Is it clean?"
Li Long Tan took a look and found that it was indeed very clean.
He weighed it and said:
"You can have five or six kilograms. You can do it. You can dig so much in two days during this season. When late April and May, you can't get seven or eight kilograms in one day?"
"Don't you dare?" , How is that possible?" Sun Jiaqiang waved his hands modestly, but there was still a bit of pride in his tone, "It's a lot to get three to five kilograms a day, and you can sell half a kilogram for about ten yuan."< br>
"Then you have to save up." Li Long said, "Thanks for exchanging snacks. Don't you have to save money to go back and marry a wife?"
"I don't want to live so much anymore." I'm more comfortable than in my hometown. I don't want to go back. If I don't get caught after the fritillary, I'll find a job outside the mountains. It's easy to make money here. Let's see."
This one. Live free and easy.
"Then you can choose the meat on it yourself." Five or six kilograms of fresh fritillaries can be exchanged for a sheep, so Li Long let him choose as he pleased.
"Do you have any wolf teeth? Can you give me one? How about half a kilogram of this fritillary for a wolf tooth?" Sun Jiaqiang didn't know where he heard that wolf teeth have the effect of warding off evil spirits, so he knew that Li Long got it Wolf, that’s why I ask.
"One for you." Li Long took out a wolf fang from his pocket and handed it over. This wolf fang has not been coiled and is gray-white.
"Thank you so much. If you can't make peace with Niba like this, why don't you take off your shoes and step on it?" Sun Jiaqiang took the wolf fang and looked at it for a while, and couldn't put it down. Seeing Li Long continue to be with Niba, he just Couldn't help but say.
"I dare not step on it because I am afraid of getting stuck on my feet." Li Long told the truth.
In my previous life, when I was young, I went to play in the fish pond, taking off my shoes, and then a thin wire was tied under my foot. It was quite deep. When I pulled it out, I was nervous and couldn't pull it out for a long time. It was really painful.
From then on, when working in the water, Li Long would not put his feet in a dangerous position, even if he stepped on mud.
"Hey, you look squeamish." Sun Jiaqiang asked Li Long to get out of the way. He took off his shoes and was about to get in. Li Long waved his hand hurriedly:
"No, no, no, hurry up after changing things. Go ahead, it’s important for you to make money, I’m so idle It's okay, just take your time."
"What are you talking about? If you don't treat me well, how can I leave? Come on, look at me." Sun Jiaqiang threw off his shoes. Kai immediately stepped on the mud and said while stepping on it:
"You see, step on it more and more to break up the hard soil that has not been soaked by water. The mud will be easier to use. When it is applied to the wall, there will be no big lumps and it will be smooth."
Okay, Li Long has nothing to say. Then he lowered his head and saw Sun Jiaqiang's shoes, which were already worn out.
Remembering that there were several pairs of yellow rubber shoes brought here in the cabin, he asked:
"Old Sun, how big are your feet?"
" Forty, what? Are you going to get me a pair of shoes?”
"I bought some pairs of yellow rubber shoes from the county department store and gave you a pair."
"You still have rubber shoes? Boss Li, you are dishonest! Why didn't you see such a good thing in front of you?" "Sun Jiaqiang heard that there was yellow glue. Shoes, he suddenly became excited and complained, "Quick, quick, bring it, bring it, I don't want any meat, I want a pair of shoes! My mother made these shoes, they are cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, but they are comfortable to wear at home." , it’s really uncomfortable in the mountains, when it gets wet I can’t do it, my feet are smashed!”
Listening to his complaints, Li Long smiled, went to the cabin, took out a pair of yellow rubber shoes, put them next to the mud pile, and said:< br>
“This meat should be exchanged for Change. If you work for me today, I’ll give you these shoes.”
“How about that? It’s not easy for you to get them from outside the mountains.” It will also be charged.”
"Okay, okay, you're welcome. Come wash your feet and try on the shoes first. I still have socks here. You can put them on together."
"No, no, no, just try on the shoes." Sun Jiaqiang hesitated for a moment, but still could not resist the temptation of new shoes. He went to the spring to wash his feet, came over and sat on the wooden floor, wiped his feet with his clothes, and happily put on the new shoes.
The laces of the new yellow rubber shoes were not worn properly. He tried it on, stepped on it carefully on the ground, and said:
"Just right!"
"Then just wear it." Li Long said with a smile, "This is indeed more convenient in the mountains."
"More than just more convenient!" Sun Jiaqiang was strongly dissatisfied with Li Long's statement, "There is simply nothing better than this. Even if there is dew in the morning, you won't get wet, and you won't be afraid of getting hurt when touching hard branches. These big-toed shoes in winter are as good as summer ones. The yellow rubber shoes are the most awesome thing!"
He took off his shoes and started to put on the laces. After putting them on, he put them aside, and put aside the socks that Li Long gave him, quickly. I ran into the mud and started stepping on it, very hard.
Li Long thought to himself, don’t you know that in a few years, hiking shoes will be released and they will be a good thing in the mountains. Now, these yellow rubber shoes will not be worthy of being carried by anyone.
Of course, yellow rubber shoes are indeed a good thing for ordinary mountaineers now. He stepped on the mud, and Li Long went to get some grass foam and look for tools.
Two people work faster than one. Li Long has finished the tools here, and Sun Jiaqiang has almost trampled the mud over there. After resting for a while, we started working. This pile of mud could barely cover two walls.
"Aren't you going to wipe both sides? Let's continue in the afternoon?" Sun Jiaqiang's desire to work was quite strong. Li Long waved his hand hurriedly:
"No, no, no, no. After lunch, you Just go about your business." Li Long doesn't want Sun Jiaqiang to work here all the time. He is not Tao Daqiang, so he can't delay his way of making money.
"Okay, what's for lunch?"
"Cut a plate of heart, liver, lungs, intestines and belly that were stewed yesterday," Li Long said, "How about frying a plate of wild celery and steaming rice? ?”
"Is there any steamed buns? I'm not used to rice." Sun Jiaqiang waved his hand, "You steam your rice, just give me a steamed bun."
"Okay, then I won't steam the rice, I'll put the steamed buns Distill it." Li Long Congshan Ruliu said, "You go wash up, I'll make food."
"I'll help, I'm the best at fighting fires." Sun Jiaqiang didn't want to eat for nothing, and after putting on his new shoes, he was happy He ran to chop wood and make a fire.
Li Long thinks that it is actually quite good to have such a companion in the mountains, but again, he cannot delay others from working and making money. I can make money even if I am idle, but this person is different and takes risks.
Li Long went to the spring to find some wild celery. This thing looks relatively ordinary, and is similar to the kind of celery grown at home (not celery or hair celery), but it grows taller. There is another kind of poisonous weed that is very similar to this thing. Some people cannot distinguish it clearly and are easily poisoned.
After getting the wild celery, Li Long cut vegetables and braised meat on the table outside, and placed steamed buns on the stove inside.
While lighting the fire in the stove outside, Sun Jiaqiang said:
"Boss Li, yesterday I met a man digging caladiums. I told him that you can exchange things here. He still didn't believe it, saying how could such a good thing be possible? "You must be from the forestry team to arrest us."
"It seems that there are a lot of fritillary people in the mountains this year." Li Long didn't answer the question, and there was no need to answer it. In this way, Sun Jiaqiang has now entered the fence.
"There are quite a few. I have met several of them these days. There are many people coming from Kou. They go into the mountains if they can't find a good job or are afraid of being caught." Sun Jiaqiang Turn on the fire, boil water on one of the two stoves, and prepare cooking on the other. Seeing Li Long cut a plate of intestines, he came over, picked up a piece and tasted it, then showed a satisfied expression:
"The meat is still delicious."
Of course!
Young people have big appetites. They both started with two steamed buns. The large plate of braised food they cut was not enough to eat. Li Long cut another plate temporarily and left a little fried wild celery. Son.
After eating, neither of them moved. There are too many things in my stomach and I am too tired to stand up.
Mr. Yuan Kuocheng's storytelling "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was playing on the radio. Li Long listened in fascination. The skill of the old gentlemen in telling this story was really extraordinary and fascinating, as if he were personally there.
"Let's go." After a while, Sun Jiaqiang stood up and walked east:
"I can't stay any longer. If I stay any longer, I will feel that I am not living a human life."
"Take the bag and put some meat in it." Li Long hurriedly got up Sun Jiaqiang brought him a bag to pack the dried meat, "Can I pack some marinated meat for you?" Unable to resist the temptation of meat, I left with dried meat and braised offal.
Li Long started to clean up the dishes. After finishing, he rested for a while and prepared to go to the back to dig out the hole in the toilet.
He planned to build the toilet with wood that was as thick as an arm, similar to the kind used to build a raft. He would put the wood of about the same thickness together and nail it down. The upper and lower sections would be sandwiched between the wood and tied or nailed together. There are no bricks here, and it is not easy to build adobe, so this is more convenient.
In fact, many people think that building toilets in the mountains is redundant. After all, the place is big and there are not many people there. You can just find a place to go to the toilet. But in Li Long's view, the toilet is also a symbol of civilization. Of course, this is speaking in a big way, but in a small way. After a while, poisonous insects, snakes and ants will come out, and you still need to find a clean and safe place to go to the toilet. Better.
Halimu told him that at least two of his horses have been bitten by snakes over the years, and even more sheep have been bitten. Most of the snakes in the mountains are venomous, and you will basically not survive if bitten. In other words, horses are usually bitten on the legs by snakes. Horses sleep standing up and cannot lie down. Once the legs are injured, the horse is basically useless.
Dig the pit, clear away the grass around the pit, and level it. Lay a wooden board over the pit to make it easier to step on. In order to make it more stable, he also shoveled some of the soil under the wood, which is equivalent to embedding the wood into the soil. This way it is stronger and will not shake under his feet when squatting in the pit.
There are not enough wooden strips here. Li Long plans to cut some branches when he drives the tractor to haul coal after the dried meat outside is ready tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so that he can build a toilet.
After finishing this, Li Long returned to the front of the wooden house with the shovel, put down the shovel, returned to the small room, and spread out the fritillaries.
There were so many caladiums that there was no room for them in the small room, so Li Long took out some of them and spread them out on the wooden floor outside to dry first.
Sun Jiaqiang happily walked back to his home with the bag of meat and his brand new yellow rubber shoes.
He didn’t throw away the mille-feuille cloth shoes made by his mother. He would find tools to sew them and still wear them later. He hid the meat in the bag and put it away, and then took the pair of thousand-layer cloth shoes to the stream to wash them. If you don't have a brush, just find a small wooden stick to clean the mud from the soles, and then slowly rub the shoes in the water with your hands.
Some of the clothes on his body were torn. Since Li Long could get shoes here, he was wondering if he could ask Li Long to get some clothes for him next time. I have worn this outfit for a long time. Although I can wash it during the day when the weather is sunny, I don’t dare to wash it too many times. If it’s just this outfit, if I can’t get it done, I will be the one who suffers.
The shoes were almost clean and were left to dry by the side of the pit. Then he packed up his belongings and put them in a bag, carrying them to dig fritillaries in a nearby ditch.
Although he was laughing and joking at Li Long's place and didn't want to leave, Sun Jiaqiang still knew what he should do in the mountains.
Only by digging more fritillaries can you exchange money to make your life better. He now has some security because he has Bolati's approval, and Li Long can exchange things. There is basically no problem with safety and supplies, and he is much better than other fritillary diggers.
Sun Jiaqiang entered a ditch and dug a dozen caladiums when he heard someone calling him in front:
"Hey, fellow, you are a little late today."
He looked up and looked at the man whose clothes were tattered than his, whose hair was longer and his beard had grown a lot, and said:
"I went to change my shoes."
" Change your shoes?" The man was stunned for a moment, "What kind of shoes did you use to replace the shoes?"
"Look, they are yellow rubber shoes." Sun Jiaqiang showed the man proudly.
The man came over with the bag and saw the shoes on Sun Jiaqiang’s feet. He was stunned for a moment, and then said with envy:
"Really exchangeable? You didn't lie to me?"
"Haha." Sun Jiaqiang didn't want to waste more time. The day before, he said that Fritillaria can be exchanged for supplies. This guy didn't believe it, so he stopped talking about it.
“I not only changed my shoes, but also some meat.” Sun Jiaqiang said with a smile, “The braised cooked meat is delicious.”
He thought to himself, he was so envious you!
The man licked his lips and asked suspiciously:
"It can't be the meat of dead things, right?"
"How can it be the meat of dead things when people eat it themselves?" Sun Jiaqiang retorted, "I was with that person at noon just now Let’s have a meal. Okay, let’s go ahead and dig the fritillaries, you’re not interested anyway.”
The man was about ten meters away from Sun Jiaqiang. Said: < br>
"Can you... give me your shoes in exchange? It only costs a few yuan to leave them outside. I will give you a kilogram of Fritillaria?"
"Get out." Sun Jiaqiang was angry. , "If you say such bastard words again, I'll beat you." These days, Sun Jiaqiang eats well and is nutritious. Although he has never beaten that person before and there is a bruise on his face, the thin and small one in front of him... He can still fight.
The man was startled, and seeing that Sun Jiaqiang's expression was genuine, he had no choice but to mumble and leave. (End of this chapter)