My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 116 Building a House (Part 2)

It has to be said that Wang Lixian was quite lucky. His house was located in the northeast corner of the village, on high ground. It was the site of the former production team's warehouse. Although it was an earthen courtyard, the foundation of the former warehouse was solid, and the house was not flooded. It was one of the very few houses that could still be lived in, apart from Chen Ling's house.

Furthermore, he didn't plant any grain this year. He sold his ten acres of watermelons early on at a good price. Apart from the second crop of watermelons rotting in the field, he suffered almost no losses this year.

I didn't have anything else to do, so I came to help Wang Jusheng with all my heart and soul.

Wang Lixian, having worked on construction sites for over a decade, was a seasoned veteran, far superior to Chen Ling and Wang Jusheng. He worked methodically, and with him leading the way, efficiency increased significantly. After demolishing the house, they cleared away the beams, rafters, tiles, and other debris. They cleaned up usable bricks and stones, and smashed the remaining abandoned earthen walls with a sledgehammer, rolling them back and forth with a stone roller until the soil was broken up again and could be used for foundation work.

This year's floods have taught everyone a lesson, and everyone is preparing to build their houses on high foundations; no one dares to be careless.

This kind of work is meticulous, and it can't be done quickly even if you want to. It took seven or eight people from the three families of Chen Ling, Wang Jusheng, and Wang Lixian more than three days to finish it. Next, they will lay the foundation.

However, apart from Chen Ling and his wife, everyone else was exhausted. In particular, Wang Lixian had a bad back, and Wang Jusheng had undergone a tubal ligation. The two men couldn't take the strain and decided to rest.

Chen Ling had no objections, and he wasn't in a hurry to tidy up his backyard. Instead, he took the opportunity to grease the two bicycles in his yard. After being soaked in the rain, the chains and spokes were a bit rusty, making them much harder to ride than before. After grease, they were lubricated again.

After that, he didn't rest. He drove an oxcart carrying the bicycles that Qin Rongxian and the other person had ridden to the old couple.

The flood came suddenly, and I took a lot of other things with me, but I couldn't ride the two bicycles, so I left them at home. Fortunately, they weren't damaged by the water. At worst, I just had to replace the chains and the front and rear rims. Otherwise, they were fine.

He went to the county town and sold some watermelons, vegetables, eggs, and duck eggs. This time he went directly to the vegetable market and sold them off quickly. The prices weren't low either. In the current situation, even bok choy has risen to one yuan per kilogram, and spring peanuts have soared to more than two yuan. Even so, many people are still scrambling to buy them.

Because large areas of farmland in several neighboring cities, including this city, have been destroyed, vegetables and fruits are in short supply. Even if people start planting now, it will take two or three months. Vegetables are expensive, and meat is expensive too. Pork that used to cost two to three yuan per kilogram has now risen to five yuan, and beef and mutton have risen to more than eight yuan. Even so, many stalls are still empty and out of stock.

After Chen Ling arrived, he set up the baskets outside, and within twenty minutes, the goods were sold out.

He didn't even get to use the balance he brought with him before someone dragged him to weigh him.

The buyers were either from department stores or grain and oil shops; there were basically no ordinary residents. These people didn't care whether the food tasted good or not; as long as the quality was acceptable, they would let Chen Ling unload the goods.

Several people almost got into a fight over a basket of vegetables.

Watermelons can be stored for a long time, not to mention that Chen Ling raised the price twice, but the other party didn't even blink and just called for the watermelon to be weighed.

After this trip, Chen Ling calculated that the money he made was almost equivalent to the money he earned from selling two red eels.

Putting everything else aside, the peanuts alone sold for over four thousand yuan, the watermelons for a little over two thousand yuan, and with the eggs, duck eggs, and vegetables, the two fish didn't make that much money.

"Hmm, not bad, now we can plan the house and the estate properly."

"I'll get another TV next year. Just thinking about it makes me feel good."

Chen Ling counted the money in his hand, feeling quite pleased with himself.

……

Nearly a week has passed since they returned to their village from the county town after fleeing the disaster.

The disaster relief supplies and the engineering team to reinforce the dam have finally arrived, which has greatly accelerated the villagers' house construction speed.

The economic losses caused by this year's floods are extremely severe. However, there are too many affected areas across the province, so the post-disaster reconstruction work is mainly based on the self-reconstruction of affected households, with the county and township governments providing assistance and support, supplemented by relief funds and materials.

Recently, Qin Qiumei has been leading the propaganda team in the village to carry loudspeakers and keep shouting things like, "Post-disaster reconstruction cannot rely solely on the government; it must rely on the collective, the masses, self-help through production, and mutual assistance." The villagers don't quite understand these slogans, but as long as the supplies have been delivered to the village, they don't have to spend money or effort to prepare materials for building houses. In addition, there are construction teams from the city that help out from time to time, so they are already very satisfied.

As a result, everyone was busy this month.

Wang Jusheng and Wang Lixian had rested enough and were ready to start laying the foundation.

In rural areas, laying the foundation is the first step in building a house.

This year, with the city's construction team here, many families in the village have started using the team's tamping machines, but they have to wait in line. They can't wait, so they still use the old-fashioned methods from their ancestors.

In the old days, there were no machines, so everyone had to carry and pound the tamping machine together.

To lay the foundation, we need a heavy oval stone, at least 300 pounds, and four pine logs about the thickness of a bowl.

The lever and the round stone were tied tightly with hemp rope about the thickness of a thumb. To prevent them from slipping, some old shoe soles or burlap sacks were added in between.

The two things together are called a ram.

Laying the foundation is a strenuous task.

It takes three or four people to crouch down, grab the lever, and lift the ram, but they often can't work together, so they either can't lift it or they hit it crookedly.

In order to coordinate the movements and lay a solid foundation, we had to find a way to get everyone to put their strength into one place. So we shouted work songs and sang ramming songs, so that everyone would step on the beat and follow the rhythm to pound the soil down. Compared to ramming the soil silently, this was not only faster, but also made the foundation more solid.

However, this time, laying the foundation at Wang Jusheng's house won't be so troublesome.

Chen Ling brought over a ram from Wang Lixian's house. It weighed just over 300 pounds. He could lift it by holding the lever with both hands. After a few tries, he did a pretty good job.

When the others saw this, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Wang Jusheng gasped, "My God! You said you're no match for Yang Gangdan? With your sheer grit, even Yang Gangdan would be knocked over twice by you."

Wang Lixian, fearing that Chen Ling might overexert himself and harm his health, silently walked up to him, frowned, and patted his chest and arms back and forth. Seeing that he remained calm, without blushing or panting, he smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Come on, let's get started!"

"With Fugui here today, our backs can finally get some rest."

"Haha, we can't just sit around doing nothing. I think we should at least slaughter another sheep so we can give Fugui a good meal after we finish our work."

"Otherwise, if I get too tired, Susu will scold me."

"Get out of here, hurry up and come help Brother Xian spread lime."

When laying a foundation, lime is often applied twice. This helps the soil withstand greater pressure and also absorbs water, effectively draining and consolidating it. The loose soil is then better compacted, resulting in higher soil strength and water resistance. A foundation laid in this way is exceptionally solid, making the house stable and less prone to tilting or collapsing.

Quicklime was a commodity transported from the city, and every household could receive some based on the size of their house.

So Wang Jusheng and Wang Lixian carried buckets of lime and started spreading it. After spreading the lime once, Chen Ling carried a tamping hammer and pounded it on the ground one after another. With the banging sounds of tamping, white smoke rose from the lime, and the loose soil was tamped down and made solid.

Now Chen Ling's strength is increasing, and the 300-pound ram is a piece of cake for him. He can ram the ram quickly and steadily, making Wang Jusheng and the other person who were originally waiting to help take over become bystanders.

Seeing that he wasn't needed for the time being, Wang Jusheng hugged Da Tou and started clapping and singing a ramming song.

"Keep up the good work, Chen Fugui!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"Building a house is really tough for ordinary people!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"With Chen Fugui around this year, the ramming is going really fast!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"Chen Fugui, you're really strong! Half an acre of land in the blink of an eye!"

"Hey hey yo ah..."

Not only did it make Big Head laugh, but it also drew the attention of the people working in the distance.

Seeing that it was Chen Ling doing the ramming all by himself, the 300-pound ramming hammer in his hands was like a toy, rising and falling rhythmically.

Wherever they went, there was only white smoke from lime. Upon closer inspection, the ground had been smashed solid and firm, leaving everyone dumbfounded and speechless.

"Is this really that lazy rich kid?"

"I used to think this kid was so delicate and frail, and that he wouldn't have much strength since he doesn't do any work all day. I never imagined he'd be stronger than an ox."

"That's right, this guy handles the jackhammer like it's nothing, even Yang Gangdan would give him a thumbs up."

In no time, not only the villagers, but also Qin Qiumei's group from the township, and even the construction team from the city came to join in the fun.

Seeing this, Wang Jusheng snatched the megaphone from Qin Qiumei and shouted the work chants even more enthusiastically.

"Let's bounce it up!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"Heading south, we're forging ahead!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"Make a plum blossom pattern!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"May wealth bring you a healthy baby boy!"

"Hey ho ho..."

"May he become the top scholar in the imperial examination in the future!"

"Hey ho ho..."

When he shouted, the others followed suit.

Originally, it was only Wang Jusheng who shouted, and Chen Ling was actually a little embarrassed and felt quite awkward.

But when there are a lot of people, it becomes like a large chorus.

But it made him feel a little excited.

Especially as Wang Susu watched and listened to the deafening chants, her face couldn't help but flush red. Her beautiful eyes, however, shone brightly, as if she were very proud of her husband and felt a sense of shared honor.

In this atmosphere, Chen Ling became even more energetic when tamping the ground. Each time, he would raise the tamping hammer above his head and then slam it down heavily to increase the force, making the foundation tamped up quickly and well.

What would normally take three or four people at least a day to finish, he actually completed in half a day.

When Chen Ling finished his work at noon, the crowd was reluctant to leave. They felt they had broadened their horizons and had a great time, and spontaneously cheered for him.

"Is Fugui building a new house?"

"Cover it up, why aren't you covering it up?"

"I'll come and lend you a hand then, will you provide meals?"

"What are you saying? Do you think we'd let you go hungry while we're helping out?"

"Haha, that's right, we don't care about wealth and status, but Brother Xian and I will take care of you!"

"Come on, if you and Lixian are in charge, we won't go. I just heard that Fugui is a good cook and I want to mooch a couple of meals from him."

Everyone burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)