60s: I have a store

Chapter 265 Digging a cellar

In Zhoujiazhuang, Zhou Yimin brought two braised ducks home and hung them on the kitchen table.

The two elders in the family are used to it. The food has been better recently, and their faces are rosy, which is obviously different from other villagers.

Fortunately, Zhoujiazhuang has a single iron barrel, otherwise with such a difference, it would be difficult not to be reported.

Qianqian, the girl, has grown plump and white due to the adequate milk powder, and has already started to crawl. Laifang is playing with her nearby, and the two sisters are getting along well for now, but it is hard to say whether they will fight each other in the future.

The old man is not at home. He must have gone out.

The old lady was listening to the radio at home and mending something.

In fact, given their situation, there was no need for repairs at all, as they had new cloth and the coveted Dacron that others dreamed of.

However, the old man is used to saving.

Wait a minute, the old lady still has to feed the chickens and ducks!

Yes, Zhou Yimin's grandmother now raises chickens and ducks. Now that the family has good food, sometimes there are leftovers, so it is good to raise some poultry. Besides, the old lady also needs to find something to entertain herself, otherwise she will be too bored.

"Yimin, I heard from the branch secretary that the chickens like the feed you gave them." The old lady said.

OK! Zhou Yimin knew what grandma wanted.

He smiled and said, "I'll get some home some other day."

The old lady was happy: "Not too much, just a little is enough."

Mainly because she heard that feeding that thing would help chickens grow faster, which made her interested.

In fact, Zhou Yimin was a little disgusted. How could a feed chicken be as delicious as a pure free-range chicken? However, since grandma liked it, he let her make it!

"Grandma, where is my grandpa?" Zhou Yimin asked.

The old lady guessed, "He! He's been wandering around outside all day long. Maybe he went to watch someone dig a cellar today!"

"Then I'll go take a look too."

The old lady smiled and said, "Go ahead!"

The old man just went there to wander around, but her eldest grandson went there to provide guidance on the work. They are different.

Zhou Yimin came to the place where the cellar was dug.

The old branch secretary and others were standing nearby.

"Is Yimin here?"

Everyone said hello.

Zhou Yimin took out a pack of cigarettes and gave one to each man present.

"Digging a cellar so early?" Zhou Yimin asked.

He was a southerner in his previous life and had rarely seen a cellar, so he was a little curious.

Zhou Yimin knew that digging a cellar to store sweet potatoes was indeed a very convenient and effective method.

Ever since the idea of ​​"reserving grain" was proposed, the village has been busy with this matter, and it has been listed as one of the more important things in the village, and the old branch secretary has personally led people to do it.

There are some techniques to digging a cellar. You can't just find a place and dig down.

The first thing is to choose a site, which should be a place with stable geological structure, moderate soil hardness and good drainage to avoid collapse and water seepage. At the same time, a relatively high ground position is conducive to preventing heavy rainfall, while the surrounding low-lying areas are convenient for drainage.

Then determine the size and shape of the kiln based on actual needs. Usually the size of the kiln will be determined based on the amount of food you want to store in winter.

You can use white lime and other tools to draw two-dimensional and three-dimensional structural markings of the kiln on the ground to ensure that the entrance can at least accommodate one person to facilitate entry and exit for taking items.

During planning, special attention should also be paid to keeping all surfaces dry to prevent moisture from entering.

During the excavation process, the excavation surface needs to be kept stable to avoid collapse.

When digging, you can dig layer by layer from top to bottom, first dig out the general shape of the cellar, and then fine-tune it. During the digging process, if you encounter large stones or other obstacles, you should clean them up or adjust the digging route in time.

After the excavation is completed, the cellar needs to be reinforced. This includes building earth walls around the cellar to prevent rainwater from flowing in, and providing necessary support and reinforcement inside the cellar. At the same time, dry straw can be tied into bundles or rice bran can be burned and smoked several times around the circumference of the cellar to disinfect and sterilize and reduce pests.

"Dig early. When the weather gets cold, the soil will freeze and it will be difficult to dig," explained the old branch secretary.

In addition, dig it early and use it early.

Part of the money in the village has been given to Zhou Yimin, asking him to help buy sweet potatoes and other coarse grains. This winter, we must have enough.

"Yimin, give us more sweet potatoes and potatoes." someone said.

Even if people don't eat it, it can be fed to livestock, poultry, etc.

The old Party Secretary glared at him and asked, "Do I need you to remind me?"

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "Don't worry! We're already in contact and will bring them back in a few days. You guys should prepare the cellar first."

The cellar storage method can effectively extend the shelf life of sweet potatoes, because the underground temperature is lower, which can prevent the sweet potatoes from being affected by the external temperature and reduce the possibility of rotting and deterioration. At the same time, the humidity in the cellar is lower, which is conducive to keeping the sweet potatoes dry and taste good.

In addition, sweet potatoes contain a lot of starch and sugar. If they are exposed to too much oxygen in the air, oxidation reactions are likely to occur, causing the sweet potatoes to deteriorate.

The cellar can also effectively control the entry of oxygen and reduce the contact between sweet potatoes and oxygen.

Zhou Yimin looked around and didn't see his grandfather, so he couldn't help but ask, "Have you seen my grandfather?"

"My uncle was here just now." said the old branch secretary.

Suddenly someone told me, "He went to look for someone."

Zhou Yimin was stunned. What did he want to do?
"He probably wants to dig a cellar too," the man continued.

Everyone suddenly understood.

Zhou Yimin's family has a lot of food, so it would be better to dig a cellar to store it.

"Well! It's reasonable for your family to dig one." The old branch secretary said to Zhou Yimin.

“By the way, do you have any more feed? It’s pretty good.” The old branch secretary asked again.

Zhou Yimin: "Let me ask."

Zhou Yimin had checked the supermarket in his mind and found that a bag of 50 kilograms of feed was sold for 0.5 yuan, or one cent per kilogram.

Before, he bought 1 kilograms for 100 yuan, and it seemed that it was not cheap at all.

Besides, 1 cent per pound, isn’t that the same price as sweet potatoes?

Zhou Yimin felt that it would be better to buy sweet potatoes directly!
Therefore, Zhou Yimin said he would ask first and did not immediately agree to the old branch secretary.

What he didn't know was that the feed sold in the supermarket in his brain was more nutritious than sweet potatoes. This may sound a bit ridiculous, but it is true.

Chickens need high-quality protein, high-energy feed and feed rich in vitamins and minerals.

The ingredients of feed are corn, barley, wheat, soybean meal, bran, etc., which are refined grains themselves!

At the same time, the feed also contains green feed additives such as enzyme preparations, acid preparations and saccharide terpenes, which also help the growth and weight gain of chickens.

The price is the same as sweet potatoes, which is already cheap.

In later generations, the price of sweet potatoes is actually cheaper than some feed.

Zhou Yimin looked at it for a while and soon felt it was boring. The cellar dug in the village was very simple and not very large.

"Yimin, there is one more thing."

"What's the matter?" Zhou Yimin asked.

The old Party Secretary said, "Shangshui Village also wants to learn from our Zhoujia Village and start to reserve grain. We would like to ask you to help buy some coarse grains."

Forget about fine grains.

"Let me ask." Zhou Yimin said the same thing.

(End of this chapter)