The road to wealth of a peasant widow

After breakfast the next day, Chen Cui went to the backyard to check on the wood that had been dragged back from the mountain. She thought it was almost dried, so she decided to start experimenting with charcoal burning.

She dragged the oilcloth to the backyard, spread a mattress on it, put Sui Sui on it to play, and then started working with her three sons.

The wood had been cut into pieces about one meter long. She chose a thicker one, dug a hole in the ground, and buried part of the thick wood vertically, making it a standing wooden stake.

Surrounding this wooden stake, other pieces of wood as thick as arms are placed one by one to form a circle.

When Chen Cui was doing this, she explained all the steps to the three brothers one by one and pointed out all the precautions.

Then she asked the children to build another firewood pile like the one she had just made, while she went to dig the soil and mud.

Fortunately, the soil in the vegetable garden was very soft and easy to dig. By the time she had mixed a large puddle of mud, the children had already piled up the firewood.

Chen Cui asked them to go to the firewood shed in the front yard to get some wheat straw, put it around the firewood pile, and then cover the wheat straw with a thick layer of mud.

When applying the mud, be careful not to cover it all with the paste. Leave a few fist-sized holes at the bottom. Do not cover it with mud. Use them as air inlets to provide oxygen for combustion. The top should not be pasted tightly either, as it should be used for ignition.

Chen Cui personally prepared one pile of firewood and let the three brothers work on the other one.

The country boys were very familiar with playing with mud. Their speed and proficiency in making mud were much better than Chen Cuiqiang's, and they completed the task successfully in a short while.

Next, we will start to light the fire.

Stuff some wheat straw and small branches into the hole on the top of the firewood pile, then use a flint to ignite it, and the inside of the firewood pile will begin to burn.

Although the firewood was not dry enough, it burned quickly with so many ignitable things.

As the internal combustion intensified and the temperature rose, the mud on the outside began to slowly dry out, and small cracks appeared from time to time, with smoke emitting out.

Once a crack was discovered, Chen Cui would ask Changping to dig some mud and paste it on to block it.

The mud cannot be applied too thickly, it just needs to fill the gaps to avoid the firewood pile collapsing due to continuous weight.

When making the mud, eight fist-sized holes were left at the bottom. Chen Cui asked them to pay attention and if fire came out of any of the small holes, they should block the hole with mud.

At noon, Chen Cui went to the kitchen in the front yard to cook and sent a few children to watch here. When the meal was ready, one person stayed here while the others went to eat.

By the time everyone had finished lunch, the small holes under the two firewood piles were all blocked.

Chen Cui asked them to pay attention to the big hole above, and when there was a flame coming out of the hole on the top, they should cover the hole on the top with mud.

The process was boring and tedious. The whole family stayed in the backyard. Sui Sui fell asleep on the oilcloth, and Chen Cui covered her with a quilt.

The three Changping brothers felt that waiting was a bit boring, so Chen Cui suggested that they write on the ground with wooden sticks.

Liu Eryong once taught them all the characters he knew. As there was no paper and pen, he just used a wooden stick to draw on the ground. Now was a good time to take them out for review. The three brothers compared to see who remembered more characters.

After comparing the results, it was found that the youngest student, Changfu, wrote the most characters and had the highest accuracy rate. He wrote almost all the characters he knew accurately. Changping made occasional mistakes, but Changan made the most mistakes.

Logically speaking, Liu Eryong should teach Changping first, but Changfu, who had learned the shortest time, took the lead. It seems that he should have more learning talent than his two brothers.

Changping and Changan felt embarrassed to see this result, especially Changping. As the eldest brother, he was not as good as his younger brother who was four years younger than him. He felt very ashamed.

"Changfu, you are so smart. When I make money in the future, I will definitely send you to school. After you graduate, you can go to the city to work and earn money." Changping said seriously.

Chang An Ye said quickly: "Yes, yes, and I, your second brother, will also work with your eldest brother to earn money to support your studies."

Changfu was a little overwhelmed by the sudden love and care from his two brothers. How could he become the only hope for study in this family? He felt that he could not afford it!

Chen Cui felt both relieved and amused watching this scene.

"Okay, don't just put the heavy responsibility of studying on Changfu's shoulders. When our family has money, all three of you should go to school. The knowledge you learn is yours, and no one can take it away. If you can't read, you won't even be able to read the store signs or sales contracts when you go out, and you won't even know if you've been cheated."

This is true. There are not many literate people in the whole village of Liujiaping. Before Liu Eryong's elder brother Liu Wende went to school, the village chief Liu Youcai was the most literate and knowledgeable person in the whole village.

When villagers wanted to write letters, they would ask him to draft contracts and deeds. They would rely on him to help interpret anything that had to do with words.

This is another reason why Liu Youcai is prestigious in the village. His literacy is unique in the village. Everyone relies on him, and he is also willing to help others, so he is respected.

Chen Cui explained the relationship to them, and the three brothers sat around the pile of firewood, thinking.

When the sun was setting, flames finally appeared from the hole at the top, and Chen Cui quickly asked the children to seal it.

"Okay, our task for today is accomplished. Let the firewood burn slowly inside. When the sparks inside are completely burned out, the charcoal will basically be ready. Wait for another day or so, until the mud outside has completely cooled down and the heat inside has gone. Then we can dig it open and see the specific results." Chen Cui said happily.

In fact, it was also Chen Cui's first time to do this. She had only seen someone else do it before. However, she strictly followed that person's instructions on all the processes and steps, so there shouldn't be any problems.

If this experiment is successful, we can continue to produce charcoal and sell it in the county town. In this way, the family's income will increase greatly, and sending these children to school will no longer be a dream.

Influenced by Chen Cui's mood, the three brothers were also very excited.

They used to think that what their mother said about their father appearing in a dream was nonsense, and they went to the mountain to chop trees the day before yesterday just to chop firewood and brought them back home.

But today, mother instructed them step by step on how to burn charcoal, and everything was very organized, which was obviously not imagined out of thin air.

Not to mention their Liujiaping Village, even in the nearby villages, no one has ever heard of anyone who knows how to burn charcoal. How did their mother know this method? The only explanation now is that their father is still in heaven.

The three brothers all hoped that the method their father gave would be useful and that they could successfully burn charcoal.