Go back to the past to plant trees

Zhao Jinquan didn't return until the evening of the next day. After returning, he told Feng Cheng that he knew where to find stones to make millstones, but it was a bit far away, at the foot of the dam, on the other side of the county town, and it would take two days to go back and forth.

Feng Cheng said it was nothing, and told him to go to the county town first, stay in his dormitory, and then go look for stone materials the next day. If it was difficult to find, he could look for several more days.

There isn't much work in Bashang right now, so whether Zhao Jinquan is here or not isn't particularly important. Feng Cheng then sent him to find some stone materials.

When Zhao Jinquan came back this time, he also brought home the chisel and hammer used for making stone mills. He borrowed them from the team, but the team didn't use them much. He just needed to return them when he was done using them.

Zhao Jinquan was busy making the stone mill, while Feng Cheng leisurely acted as the supervisor.

After three days, Zhao Jinquan brought back two stones, each over sixty centimeters in diameter.

Feng Cheng had only a vague impression of stone mills and didn't understand them very well, so he curiously spent two days working with them with Zhao Jinquan.

However, this work needs to be done very meticulously, because if it's not done carefully, the stone will shatter, and all the previous work will be wasted.

Unlike later generations, where there are cutting machines, grinding wheels, and polishing machines, making stone mills is very simple. Now, it's all about chiseling and hammering. If you don't apply enough force, you can easily break things.

Zhao Jinquan has a job now, and he's very busy. He spends his days with Xiao Liu, hammering away. Feng Cheng can finally have some peace and quiet, at least he doesn't have to be dragged into playing chess by Zhao Jinquan anymore.

The production of the stone mill was very slow. Even though Zhao Jinquan was busy every day, it still took him almost a week to finish it. He was mainly worried about damaging the two only stones, so he worked very slowly, especially towards the end, for fear that a single mistake would render all his efforts in the past few days futile.

"Brother Feng, I feel this looks a bit ugly!" Zhao Jinquan looked at his time-consuming work and felt a little embarrassed, mainly because it looked terrible.

It's uneven and rough; apart from the two pieces that are joined together, the rest are all sharp and angular, and it has nothing to do with being aesthetically pleasing.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter if it looks good or not, as long as it works!"

Feng Cheng was an absolute pragmatist, and besides, he hadn't made this thing, so he couldn't very well complain about it. Although Feng Cheng also thought that this thing was indeed ugly, he couldn't very well do it himself since he hadn't made it.

"We don't have any beans here, so we can't try this mill!"

“We have some corn grits, let’s try using corn grits!” Zhao Jinquan suggested.

Feng Cheng nodded: "That's fine. Let's see if we can grind it into a paste. If we can grind cornmeal, then we can definitely grind soybeans too."

"Soak the corn grits first, and then grind them after they are fully soaked in water."

After spending half a day soaking the corn grits, the two of them started working around the stone mill.

"Brother Feng, this doesn't seem to be working. The cornmeal paste is too coarse; a lot of it hasn't been ground out."

After turning the millstone and waiting for the ground slurry to flow out, Zhao Jinquan immediately reached out to feel it.

Feng Cheng also reached out and touched it, and indeed there were many large particles that hadn't been ground up.

"Grind it first, then turn it over and grind it a second time. If it's still like this the second time, then the stone mill is no good. If the second time is better, then there's no problem. We can just grind it a few more times next time we make tofu."

A freshly made stone mill won't fit perfectly at the joints. It needs to be used a lot. After a while, those small edges will be worn down, and only then will the stone mill be considered complete, and the soy milk it grinds will be smooth.

"Then grind it a couple more times," Zhao Jinquan said, immediately increasing the speed of the rotation upon hearing Feng Cheng's words.

It took the two of them nearly half an hour to grind the corn grits three times before they could barely meet the requirements.

Zhao Jinquan was not entirely satisfied with the result.

"Don't make that face. You're really good with your hands. I thought you couldn't make this stone mill, but you made it on your first try and it's so good. If you want to be a stonemason, those stonemasons would definitely be willing to take you on as an apprentice."

Upon hearing Feng Cheng's words, Zhao Jinquan decisively shook his head, "I don't want to be a stonemason. Stonemasons aren't workers, and chiseling stones every day is exhausting."

"That's only now. If it were before, people would have spat at you to death if you said that. You're picky about learning a trade."

"When you have time, turn this stone mill more often. Don't leave it empty. Add some water so that the two stones can grind together more tightly, making the soy milk smoother and the tofu better."

"Then I'll come over whenever I have time. Next time I make tofu, it definitely won't be as coarse as it is now."

Zhao Jinquan made a stone mill, which was a happy thing, but the stone mill didn't seem to have much impact on Feng Cheng's life on the dam, mainly because there was nothing to grind at the moment.

However, this did not stop Zhao Jinquan from turning the stone mill whenever he had free time. Not only that, he also continued to trim the shape of the stone mill, knocking off those protruding edges and smoothing them out.

Time passed day by day, and September arrived in the blink of an eye.

Life on the dam was always the same. The two of them lived like wild men, leisurely yet bored.

Feng Cheng would occasionally have an idea, thinking of some little things from his previous life, such as origami, paper cutting, and how to fold and play with paper airplanes taught in short videos.

Zhao Jinquan was always amazed by the new things Feng Cheng came up with, and he was always happy when Feng Cheng came up with something new, because he had something to play with and something to kill time with.

Without Feng Cheng's gadgets, Zhao Jinquan's life in Bashang would definitely be extremely boring. Although he is still bored now, at least he can find a lot of things to do, and if he takes turns doing different things, time passes quickly.

In August, Feng Cheng made maltose again. This time, Zhao Jinquan went back to the team and bought 30 jin of sweet potatoes. Together with the more than 20 jin of sweet potatoes sent by the bureau, they made nearly 7 jin of maltose in total.

Seven catties of maltose is enough for the camp to use for a long time. Before the pumpkins and winter melons are harvested, Feng Cheng does not plan to continue making maltose.

When Feng Cheng went down to the dam, he also brought two jin of maltose with him to Uncle Liu. Old Liu was very surprised. He didn't expect that Feng Cheng could make maltose. He had only heard of it and didn't know how to make it.

After learning that Uncle Liu didn't know how to make maltose, Feng Cheng taught him how to make it so that he could make it himself when he had time. Not only maltose, Feng Cheng also taught Uncle Liu how to make pickled fish. It was hard to find a fish in the dam area, but it wasn't difficult to get one in the county town.

Although Old Liu didn't care whether he could make maltose or pickled fish, he was still very happy that Feng Cheng was willing to teach him, after all, it showed that Feng Cheng didn't treat him as an outsider.