Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 76 Learned a lot
Chen Fan didn't sit down; instead, he squatted to the side and watched the commotion.

This was a spot he specifically chose. People rarely pass by here, and it's very close to the construction site, so you can clearly hear the workers chatting.

By this time, the foundation trench for the house had been dug, and then piles of rubble were shoveled into the trench. Soon after, a cartload of things was seen being pulled up from the bottom of the western slope. The cart was loaded with four planks, and it took one person to pull and three people to push it. It looked very heavy.

Chen Fan immediately ran over. He didn't act rashly; there were several people watching nearby, and it was unlikely to be his turn. If he ran up, he might disrupt their balance, which would be disastrous.

He simply stood a short distance away and examined the contents closely, discovering that it was actually a truckload of very thick, black mud.

What is this?

Someone nearby noticed Chen Fan's appearance and chuckled, "Master Chen, you've never seen this before?"

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head, "I really don't know."

A stranger laughed heartily, “Master Chen must be from a big city. In the city, houses are built with cement mortar. There isn’t that much cement in the countryside, and we can’t afford it or buy it. Our ancestors have been building houses with this kind of mud mortar. Whether a house is good or not depends on the mud bricks, there is something even more important, and that is the mud mortar.”

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Is there something special about this mud?"

"Of course there are rules."

After a truckload of mud was finally hauled onto level ground, he volunteered to help push it to the construction site, saying, "There's a mud pit at the bottom of the slope; you'll see when you get there."

At the bottom of the slope?
Chen Fan turned around and was dumbfounded.

What is that cow doing?

Looking back at the construction site, everyone was shoveling mud into the foundation, mixing it with the gravel.

After watching for a while, he walked down the slope and passed a pile of mud bricks about half a meter high. He stopped to take a look. These mud bricks were made of clay, and some straw fibers could still be seen on the surface. The mud bricks were also quite large, much larger than ordinary red bricks. They were about a foot long, about half a foot wide, and more than ten centimeters high. One mud brick was equivalent to several ordinary red bricks.

Moreover, all the mud bricks are the same size, so they must have been made from the same mold.

Continuing downhill, you soon see a mud pit of about 60 or 70 square meters at the bottom of the slope.

A man-made embankment was erected, and the mud inside was extremely thick. A large water buffalo was repeatedly trampling in the mud, and with each step it took, someone next to it would use a shovel to turn up its footprints.

There were also two other people guarding a large pile of smelly black soil, shoveling it into the mud pit from time to time.

Chen Fan asked curiously, "Is this the mud used for building houses? This soil looks different."

The other craftsmen nearby recognized him immediately, and one of them laughed and said, "Master Chen, you've never seen this before?"

Chen Fan shook his head, his eyes fixed on the mud without blinking. "I've never seen anything like it!"

The man continued, “This is the ‘soil cement’ of the countryside. First, you dig up clay, carry it to a flat place, spread it out to dry, and turn it over every two days. It’s left to be exposed to the wind and sun until all the soil has broken up.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan nodded in understanding, "Let the clay weather naturally."

The man laughed heartily, "Master Chen is truly knowledgeable; we didn't know this."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “After drying, pile them together, add straw dust or other hard, dry grass, add some water and mix well, then cover with an oilcloth to ferment. Before we had oilcloth, we had to build a thatched hut to cover it for fermentation. Actually, you can just wade through the mud without fermentation, but it won't last as long as it's fermented. Fermented mud can last for fifty years, while unfermented mud will only last for about thirty years.” He pointed to the large pile of black soil, “This is the fermented stuff. Shovel it into a pool, add some quicklime and lime water, then bring an ox over and tread on it repeatedly. It's the same principle as mixing it by hand, except that people aren't as strong as oxen, so using an ox is faster.”

Chen Fan was already dumbfounded. He thought that adobe houses were simply glued together with mud, but he didn't expect it to be so complicated.
I gained a lot of experience today.

After watching for a while, he saw that the truckload of mud had run out and they were getting more. He greeted them and then went up with the truck.

At this point, a row of foundations had been laid at the entrance, consisting of piled-up stones that were then sealed with mortar. A layer of broken bricks was also pasted on the outer wall, presumably to enhance waterproofing.

As time passed, the masters gradually got into the swing of things, and fewer and fewer people talked as they busied themselves with their work.

The skilled workers built the walls and mixed the mortar, while the unskilled workers were responsible for carrying the materials.

Chen Fan realized at this point that all the master craftsmen were hired bricklayers, while all the laborers were members of the team.

This is now the norm for building houses in rural areas.

A little while later, a bicycle bell suddenly rang, along with children's cheers.

Chen Fan was full of surprise. He had been here for several days and had never seen a bicycle except at the brigade headquarters. Who was this?

He got up and walked to the main road, where he saw three bicycles riding up the dirt slope, followed by a group of children chasing after them, leaving a trail of laughter.

The first vehicle was clearly from the post office; it was a dark green old-fashioned bicycle with a green tool bag hanging from the frame. One person was pedaling in front, while the other sat comfortably in the back. It passed Chen Fan in no time and then headed to the back.

Needless to say, these two are definitely technicians who came to install the loudspeakers.

If he hadn't come here to watch the construction, he definitely would have gone over to join the fun.

Looking at the two bikes behind, they were also old-fashioned bicycles, but black. One bike had two people on it, and the other had one person on it. However, there was a canvas tool bag tied to the back seat, along with a long saw. Tool bags were also hanging from the front crossbars of both bikes.

Is this someone who does carpentry?

Sure enough, the two cars arrived and immediately turned in, then greeted each other loudly.

Huang Laosi immediately took out cigarettes and came over, offering one to each of them. He then respectfully lit a match for them, exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, and led them to a pile of wood nearby.

Chen Fan wasn't afraid of being disliked, so he happily followed behind them, watching the carpenter critique the pile of wood.

“These beams are good for making main beams, these can be used for doors and windows, and these can be used to make furniture. There are eight people in your family. I have a plan for you to see if it's suitable…”

After the carpenter finished speaking, Huang Laosi grinned and whispered, "I'd like to make another bed and a five-drawer chest. Could you please check if we have enough wood?"

The carpenter frowned slightly. "I can barely make one more item. It just depends on which one you want."

After considering it carefully, Huang Laosi said, "Then let's make a cabinet."

The bed board is easy to solve; you can put two stools together to make a bed. It's more cost-effective to save the wood for the cabinet.

(End of this chapter)