Druid's Country Retirement

Chapter 145

In the era of large-scale construction, in order to meet the needs of villagers in building houses, each village had its own kiln in the environment at that time, and brick kilns and lime kilns were also standard equipment.

The kiln farm in Caogou Village is located at the west end of the village, covering an area of ​​about ten mu. The brick kiln and the lime kiln are located at the north and south ends respectively, and the brick kiln is in the middle.

Early this morning.

The villagers have had breakfast, men, women and children, the whole village rushed to the kiln early with hoes and shovels, and stood by the kiln waiting. In the crowd, Li Hongbing was holding Anna, beside Shan Xing, Sister Cui, the blind man, and the idiot , four wolfhounds.

Caogou Village Kiln Factory is a traditional old-fashioned brick and tile kiln. It is shaped like a soil bag, with a round foundation, thick bottom and thin top. It looks like a large tomb from a distance. .

This kind of old brick kiln was built in the 60s, when all the bricks used in the construction of the village came from here.Later, temporary small brick kilns became popular. Whoever built a house built a small kiln to burn it by himself, and the old brick kiln was abandoned.

Especially after the emergence of machine-made brick factories in the 70s, machine-made brick factories bloomed everywhere, producing bricks quickly and saving manpower, resulting in fewer and fewer rural kilns, and finally abandoned them.

The loess, firewood ash, and firewood that were transported in advance yesterday were piled up on the drying yard. Around the kiln and on the top of the kiln, there were strings of firecrackers, and a few young men stood by.

The loess used in the production of bricks and tiles also has its own way. It must use high-purity yellow clay more than one meter deep below the surface. Loess can only be found in places with thicker soil. The fertile black soil on the surface must be cleaned up to keep only the pure yellow soil.

When the first ray of sunlight appeared in the kiln factory, Li Huaizhong accompanied an old man who walked tremblingly into the drying yard.

"Uncle Fu, he used to manage the kiln factory, and the level of kiln firing is very good." Dakui approached Li Hongbing and introduced.

Uncle You Fu looked up at the sun and nodded.

Stretch out your withered palm.

In the crowd, Tie Zhu hurriedly carried an old rooster and walked to Uncle Youfu.

"God."

Hearing Uncle You Fu's words, Tie Zhu took out a kitchen knife and slashed at the neck of the struggling old rooster.

The old rooster struggled more intensely, with blood gushing out.

After receiving the blood-spitting old rooster, Uncle Fu tremblingly walked through the four directions of the kiln factory, bowing down and bowing.

"This is to respect the father-in-law of the Quartet." Dakui continued to introduce.

After paying homage to the four square lands, Uncle You Fu took the old rooster to the entrance of the brick kiln, threw the chicken into the kiln pit, and then bowed to the brick kiln three times, muttering something in his mouth.

"This is the king of the kiln, and bless the first kiln to produce good bricks." Da Kui introduced the opening ceremony of the kiln just like the tour guide.

"Fuck, be scared!" Anna buried her head in Li Hongbing's arms when she saw the bloody old rooster, looked up from time to time, and then buried her head again.

When Uncle You Fu walked back to the center of the drying yard, he nodded at Li Huaizhong, "Light the cannon."

Crackling!

Younger students light firecrackers.

Immediately, the whole kiln was occupied by gunpowder smoke, and the crisp sound of firecrackers resounded all over the world. The frightened birds flapped their wings desperately to stay away from this terrible place.

Wait until the smoke clears.

Uncle Youfu probably was getting old, and his body couldn't bear to run around, so he walked to the sidelines on crutches, and made arrangements for the villagers who were waiting.

"The men shovel the soil, lay the bricks, and dry the slabs, while the women work with the mud. The older ones are responsible for boiling tea and cooking, while the dolls roll around and play."

Li Huaizhong repeated the words aloud.

The villagers dispersed after receiving their respective tasks.

Li Hongbing handed Anna to Shan Xing, and took the blind man and silly boy to the loess mound with the shovel on his shoulders.

The simple stone sieve frame has been erected beside the mound, which is made of four wooden sticks to form a square shape, a barbed wire is nailed in the middle, and the two sides are supported by wooden poles as fulcrums.

"Uncle Red Soldier."

"Master."

"Master Red Soldier."

The villagers greeted each other.

Li Hongbing responded with a smile, and walked to the stone sieving frame. To be honest, he had seen people sifting soil before, and it was the first time that he actually did it.

Recalling the action of sifting soil in memory,

A shovel full of loess was shoveled on the mound, and it was thrown on the screen vigorously.

bang.

The screen frame is directly dried down by this shovel.

I grass!

Li Hongbing only felt that his face was hot, as if everyone was looking at him.

"Grandpa, before shoveling the soil, pat it with a shovel. The loess is sticky, and it can be shoveled on the sieve when it is scattered."

The blind man asked Sha Wa to set up the screen frame again and demonstrate it himself.

Patting the soil, shoveling the soil, and throwing the soil, the movements are done in one go.

Scattered loess rolls down from the top of the screen, fine yellow sand passes through the mesh and falls on the back of the screen, and larger loess falls on the bottom of the screen frame.

Li Hongbing will be able to read it once, it is not too difficult to operate.

Shawa has great strength and is responsible for smashing the loess with a shovel, while Li Hongbing and the blind man are responsible for throwing the soil.

From the stumbling at the beginning, the three of them divided the work smoothly later.

The piles of fine yellow sand are getting higher and higher.

A villager next to him loaded the sifted loess into a wheelbarrow and pushed it to the woman.

The loess is piled up in a flat circular pit. The women are divided into two parts. Some women put an appropriate amount of water into the pit to allow the sand to fully penetrate, and the rest of the women trample back and forth in the round pit. Until the loess is fully combined with water, has enough viscosity, and can be shaped.

The entire kiln factory was full of people, and it was very lively, but the sound of gongs and drums and the fluttering of red flags.

It reminded many villagers that a few decades ago, kiln firing was as lively as this, but at that time they were standing on the sidelines playing, and the adults were busy working.

Time is another cycle.

"Uncle Red Soldier, take a break." Dakui walked over with the shovel and the two young men.

Li Hongbing wiped the sweat from his forehead and saw that the pile of loess had disappeared by half, "Okay, let's go drink some water."

After finishing speaking, he took the blind man and the fool out of their seats.

Walking to the side of the drying yard, Shan Xing was unable to move, and made tea with the elderly.

The bricks were built into an earthen stove, and a large pot was placed on it, and the tea was gurgling, and the tea was naturally big-leaf tea.

Taking the tea bowl from Shan Xing, Li Hongbing blew it and took a big gulp. He drank the boiled water, feeling comfortable all over his body.

"Where's Nier?"

"Let Goudan call him away, saying he's going to catch a spy." Shan Xing replied warmly.

Catch the spy!
Li Hongbing smiled, just like when he was a child, a group of people caught one, interrogated them, stuffed worms into their clothes, and poured mud into their mouths.

"Red soldiers!"

"Is the Red Soldier here?"

There were voices looking for him from the crowd, Li Hongbing looked over, it was Aunt Jinhua calling him.

"Aunt Jinhua, I'm here!"

Hearing the response, Aunt Jinhua came over angrily, "Come with me, and go see what your daughter has done. How can a city kid be so messed up, just like you were when you were a child."

What's wrong with Anna?

Confused, Li Hongbing walked towards the village under the pull of Aunt Jinhua, and Shan Xing, who was worried about Anna's accident, quickly followed behind.

When I came to a vegetable field on the Banpo at the head of the village, I saw Anna and four wolf dogs standing on the edge of the field with their heads hooked.

"Aunt Jinhua, what happened?" Li Hongbing asked distressedly.

"Look, is it as muddy as when you were a child?"

Aunt Jinhua's anger was over now, her face looked much better, and she pointed at the vegetable field.

Look at the vegetable field!
Li Hongbing looked in the direction.

The cabbage grows very well, very strong, no problem.

Whoops, I'm stupid!
what is that?
A dozen or so chickens were buried in the soil, with only their necks and heads exposed, and pairs of innocent corns rolled around, making cooing noises.

Seems to be cursing.

I really lack great virtue, if you want to play chicken, you can play it.

What is it to plant us in the soil?
Authentic chicken!

A row of exclamation marks floated above Li Hongbing's head.

This.
This is really a new level of play.

How come I never thought I could play like this when I was a child.

See how angry the chicken is.

Seeing this scene, Shan Xing, Blind Man, and Silly Baby couldn't help turning their heads, their shoulders shaking non-stop.

Seeing her father coming, Anna's clothes were covered with mud, her head was lowered, and her two little hands were mixed together.

"This Ni'er is not bad, I know I'm wrong and don't leave, those bastards can't even shout, they can run faster than rabbits." Aunt Jin Hua chatted on the sidelines.

Li Hongbing walked up to Anna with a smile on his face, "raise your head."

Anna raised her head timidly, "Papa, I'm wrong."

"Who came up with the idea to bury Aunt Jinhua's chicken in the soil." Li Hongbing stretched out his hand to smooth Anna's messy hair.

"It's a dog egg. He said that if you plant chickens in the ground, you can grow many chickens."

My little baby.

You believe it!

Li Hongbing shifted his gaze to the four wolfhounds with drooping heads, "You guys caught the chicken!"

Ow!

Dahua nodded.

Anna opened her arms and stood in front of the wolf dog, "Papa, I asked Dahua to catch them. Don't punish them, okay?"

"Silly girl, my father didn't say to punish them, but I can't be naughty in the future. Chicken breeds won't grow chicks in the soil."

Li Hongbing gently scratched the tip of Anna's nose with his fingers, and said to Aunt Jinhua.

"Auntie, I'll dig out the chicken, and if it dies, I'll pay you back."

Aunt Jinhua waved her hands in distress.

"No, no, I didn't ask for money last time when I saw a doctor. What are these chickens? Little baby, I didn't say anything when you stole my sweet potatoes when you were a child, so that my daughter can't play with that bastard Goudan in the future."

"That won't work, one size fits one size."

Li Hongbing knew a little about the situation in Aunt Jinhua's family. The man died early, and the three children who had worked so hard to raise them were all in the city and didn't come back usually. Aunt Jinhua relied on growing vegetables and selling eggs, which was not easy.

After speaking, I asked the blind man and the fool to dig out all the chickens that had been buried in the soil. The freed chickens were a little wilted and wobbled as they walked, as if they were drunk.

Li Hongbing secretly injected a little source power into each chicken, and the situation improved, and they were alive and kicking again after a while.

Seeing that the chickens at home were back to normal, Aunt Jinhua's worry dissipated completely. She picked up a stick and drove the chickens back home.

"Papa, I'm sorry." Anna apologized again.

Li Hongbing smiled and picked up his daughter, "Father is not angry, remember to run as soon as possible after doing bad things, you know? When I was young, my father ran away quickly after doing bad things. As long as you run fast, people will not be able to catch you."

"Yeah, Anna knows, she must run faster next time."

When Shan Xing heard Li Hongbing's heresy, she hurriedly took Shan Xing over, "Ni'er, don't listen to your father's nonsense, we are good boys and we can't do bad things."

Walking back to the entrance of the village, Li Hongbing saw Tie Dan and a few children hiding behind the persimmon tree and poking their heads out.

Don't be angry with your daughter.

It doesn't mean that he won't deal with these bastards and dare to push his daughter to take the blame.

Li Hongbing pointed at the little bastards, "Dahua, go and catch them."

Ow!

The four wolfhounds, suffocated with anger, rushed over with a low growl, biting and threatening, and drove Goudan and the others out from behind the persimmon tree.

"Master, help, your dog bit me."

"Erhei, lighten up, these are new clothes."

"Don't kick me, Big Flower."

Li Hongbing looked coldly at the children who were pushed in front of them by Da Hua.

"God, are you a man?"

"I pee standing up. Why am I not a man? If you don't believe me, look." Goudan puffed out his chest and was about to take off his pants to prove it.

"stop!"

Li Hongbing stopped him, pointing at Anna in Shan Xing's arms.

"It's fine for you breeders. Why did you run away and drag Anna down alone? It's not ashamed, you're still a man! Pooh, if you put it in the past, you would be deserters who abandoned your comrades in arms."

This!
Seeing Anna with red eyes, Goudan was speechless for a while after being educated by Li Hongbing, he groaned for a while, and said guiltily.

"I... I asked my little aunt to run together, but she didn't run away, and Grandma Jinhua whipped me with a stick."

"Little aunt, we made a mistake, I'm sorry."

"We will definitely take you running next time."

The other children also apologized, and Anna smiled sweetly, "I forgive you."

"Little aunt, let's eat roasted grasshoppers, do you want to go?" Goudan invited.

Children's tantrums come and go quickly.

When Anna heard that there was a new game, she quickly looked at Li Hongbing, her big clear and bright eyes were full of longing.

"Go, go." Li Hongbing's attitude towards children is that they can play casually, have fun, play openly, as long as they don't touch danger, they can play however they want.

Roasted grasshoppers are delicious.

When Li Hongbing was a child, he was not like KFC, McDonald’s, potato chips, chocolate, and all kinds of sweets and snacks now.

If you want to eat snacks in the countryside, you can only do it yourself. Wild fruits in the mountains, eels in the water, fish, loach, sweet potatoes in the field, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, grasshoppers in the meadow, mushrooms, and insects can all be used as snacks.

Roasted grasshopper is a delicious snack. Pick a big grasshopper in the meadow, pinch off its head and wings, put it on a thin wooden stick and roast it in the fire until it is browned.

It tastes crisp and fragrant.

Since Anna participated in the activity of making snacks by herself for the first time, Li Hongbing exhorted her worriedly.

"Dog, keep your eyes bright, pick big grasshoppers to catch, don't catch dirt grasshoppers, eat them and eat them, and find an open space when you start a fire."

Grass ants are green grasshoppers that can be eaten and taste good, while soil grasshoppers are black and yellow, with an earthy smell and diarrhea.

"Understood, long-winded."

Goudan waved his hand unhappily, and someone even questioned the ability of the Kid King in Caogou Village.

"Brat, take care of your little aunt."

Li Hongbing laughed and scolded, watching Anna surrounded by the children, walking towards the meadow, Dahua and the others followed behind.

There are big flowers and they accompany Li Hongbing still not at ease.

"Silly boy, you go with them."

"Oh!"

Sha Wa nodded, and chased after him with long legs.

At this time.

Two blue and white battered vans sprayed with the words "Forester's Press" slowly drove into the village and stopped beside Li Hongbing.

……

(End of this chapter)