Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 249 What to use during this time?
Seeing is believing.

After the pit was dug, Chen Fan began construction.

At this moment, everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on Chen Fan's movements.

Instead, Chen Fan explained to everyone, "Waterproofing is essential when building a toilet, but since we don't have asphalt here, we'll have to make do with our soil and cement for the waterproofing layer. This needs to be quite thick. Without waterproofing, water seepage will affect the foundation, shorten the lifespan of the wall, and create other risks..."

He talked as he worked, and occasionally directed the helpers to lend a hand.

As time passed, two brand-new toilets gradually took shape.

After the people who were digging the sewage pipes and septic tanks finished their work and returned, he was able to complete the construction of the two toilets with everyone's help.

Jiang Lili, Huang Ying, and several other female helpers also ran over and stood with everyone, staring blankly at the two toilets.

First of all, the architectural style has a postmodern feel.

There's definitely no problem with the blue bricks, but the roof, like the mud-walled house, is made of straw.

It's not that Chen Fan can't fire some tiles, it's that he's too lazy to do it.

It's just two toilets. A thatched roof won't make much difference. It's even more insulating than tiles. Why bother wasting tiles? Wouldn't it be better to save them for building your own house?

The toilet floor was entirely covered with ceramic tiles, and that wasn't all; ceramic tiles were also pasted on the lower part of the surrounding walls.

The reason given was waterproofing, and further up was a coat of white lime plaster.

Moreover, this toilet is quite large, with each room being 4 square meters and the two rooms totaling 8 square meters. Including the walls, it used more than 800 ceramic shards, which made the eyes of Captain Yang and the others twitch.

Building a toilet costs more than 40 yuan worth of ceramic shards. What a spendthrift!

This has made many people who were envious of the toilets quietly back down.

Why throw 40 yuan into the latrine? Are you out of your mind?

Then look at Chen Fan, and a sour smell spreads in the air.

Fortunately, Chen Fan noticed in time and quickly said, "Actually, you don't need to use ceramic shards. Just use soil and cement to smooth it out, and it will be fine too."

Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted again.

If it's possible to do without using ceramic shards, then the cost would be much lower.

Teacher Chen used blue bricks and pottery shards because he knew how to fire a kiln himself. If we were to make it ourselves, we could use earthen bricks, or even just cement instead of pottery shards.

You can make your own mud bricks and mud cement; it just takes a little time and effort. So, as long as you have a squat toilet, you can have a low-end version of this flush toilet and experience what it's like to use a toilet in an apartment in the city!

So the key lies in that "squat toilet".

Thinking of this, Captain Yang coughed lightly, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Xiao Chen, is it inconvenient to burn this squat toilet?"

Chen Fan gritted his teeth slightly, his face heavy. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Yang Ju on the periphery of the crowd say loudly, "This is really hard to fire. We tried several times before we could shape it into a clay blank. Teacher Chen ruined several of them in the process, and only two were successfully fired in the end."

Chen Fan smiled, wanting to applaud Yang Ju.

Captain Yang, with a dark expression, glanced at his eldest daughter, who was confused about the situation, and asked, "Which side are you on now?"
Then, not only Yang Ju said this, but An Quan also stepped forward and said seriously, "These squat toilets are not easy to buy. Many people in the city are renovating their houses and want to build their own toilets. There are two problems. The first is whether there are sewage pipes near the house, and the other is how to buy squat toilets. This thing is a building material, just like cement and steel bars. You need a permit to buy it, and so do those pottery shards. It's only because Xiao Chen knows how to fire a kiln that he can fire these things."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and shook his head with a sigh, "Ordinary potters wouldn't know how to fire these things."

The implication is, how did Chen Fan come up with the idea of ​​burning this?
Chen Fan was prepared for this. He grinned and said, "I'm not an ordinary potter, I'm not even a potter."

He turned to look at everyone as he spoke, “I learned the pottery firing technique from ‘Traditional Pottery Firing Methods’. As for the structure of this squat toilet, I learned it from newspaper reports about toilets in apartment buildings, and then from ‘Architectural Technology’. I drew and researched it myself. That’s all. I wanted to find a master to ask for advice, but I couldn’t find one anywhere.”

Upon hearing these words, everyone was speechless.

Anquan shook his head and smiled wryly. What could he say when he encountered a guy who could learn skills just by reading books?

Captain Yang clicked his tongue, pondered for two seconds, and asked, "How much do you sell this squat toilet for?"

Chen Fan looked somewhat troubled. After considering his words for a moment, he said, "Captain, to be honest, I never intended to sell this squat toilet. The main problem is that it's too difficult to mold; it's such a hassle to make one..."

Before he could finish speaking, Captain Yang waved his hand and said, "It's not like you're burning too much. We're all neighbors. If anyone needs it, just burn a few for them. Besides, everyone knows this stuff is hard to burn, so you definitely won't be shortchanged."

He turned to the others and said, "You all agree, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes."

Captain Yang turned back to Chen Fan and chuckled, "Of course, it can't be too expensive, otherwise..."

He hesitated for two seconds, then suggested, "How about we set the price at 10 yuan each, just like the charcoal stoves?"

Chen Fan clenched his fists, seemingly considering the matter seriously. After a long while, he reluctantly nodded, "Alright."

He was secretly laughing to himself. Making this thing was even simpler than making a charcoal stove, yet he could sell it for the same price. He was making a profit.

When everyone heard that Captain Yang and Chen Fan had made their decision, they weighed it in their minds. Spending 10 yuan to renovate a toilet to a similar standard, even without ceramic tiles, would be ten or a hundred times better than the old earthen latrine. What else was there to say?

They immediately went to Accountant Liu to register to buy squat toilets.

Chen Fan was having a hard time holding back.

There are more than a dozen households here that want to buy. The entire brigade has more than 400 households. If half of them want to renovate their toilets, that's a market of more than 2000 yuan.

If the same number of people want to renovate their stoves, and each household buys at least 5 yuan worth of ceramic shards, that would cost over 1000 yuan.

That adds up to over 3000 yuan. Once I've finished looting this batch, I should be able to start construction on my own brick and tile house!

Just as Chen Fan was making his own plans, Jiang Lili walked over with a flushed face, leaned close to him, and whispered, "Xiao Fan, they asked me to ask you when this toilet will be available?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "It's been quite humid these days, and since the soil and cement are filled underground, it will probably take at least a week to 10 days to dry completely."

Then, looking at her, he asked, "They can't wait to use it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili's face turned even redder, and she murmured, "No, I mean, what kind of toilet have we been using lately?"

Chen Fan was stunned.

Yeah, what should we use during this time?
(End of this chapter)