Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

Old Sun felt a little awkward when he saw Master Geng, his eyes darting away somewhat, but he couldn't pretend not to know him, so he said:

"What brings you here?"

Master Geng smiled and said:

"When I arrived, you weren't here yet. I renovated this house myself. Oh, the west side is built up too, but my skills are so-so, haha!"

To the west is a house that Old Sun built himself out of stones for temporary residence. Master Geng probably recognized Old Sun's craftsmanship, which is why he made a joke about it.

Chen Wenfeng was surprised that the two old gentlemen knew each other, and seemed quite familiar with each other. He smiled and said:

"The west side was built by Master Sun himself. He lives there now. Master Geng, please don't make fun of him. After all, not everyone has your skills."

Master Geng responded, pulled Chen Wenfeng aside, and asked:

"Will Old Sun help you out here?"

"Yes, raising chickens. He has experience; he used to work at Damin Chicken Farm. Later, I bought laying hens and cages from Damin Chicken Farm, and Master Sun came over."

Seeing that Master Geng seemed hesitant to speak, Chen Wenfeng asked:

"Master Geng, there's a hidden meaning in your words. Master Sun is a good person. Just say what you have to say."

Master Geng paused for a moment, glancing at Old Sun with his eyes, but Old Sun seemed not to care.

Master Geng lowered his voice even further and said:

"Old Sun is definitely a good person, but everyone has their own past and secrets. When the time comes, he might tell you himself. But I can guarantee that his character is beyond reproach."

Seeing that Master Geng had already gone this far, Chen Wenfeng stopped pressing him and smiled:

"Of course I know Master Sun is a good person. We've known each other for so long, if there were any problems, I would have noticed them long ago. Besides, you can't distrust someone you employ!"

Chen Wenfeng stopped talking about the previous topic and took Master Geng on a tour of the chicken coop. He also showed him Old Sun's place, both of which needed to be upgraded and renovated.

As before, Master Geng quickly got to work.

Chen Wenfeng then arranged for everyone to unload the items from the mule cart. This time, Master Geng's cart was still fully loaded with things like glass, wood, red bricks, and cement.

After careful measurement and calculation, Master Geng began the upgrade of the chicken coop. The original chicken coop was surrounded by a stone wall with a tiled roof, and inside were several chicken cages.

Master Geng's plan is to reinforce and raise the stone wall, leaving a small window on the north side and adding a large window on the south side.

The large roof tiles also need to be removed, and beams, purlins, and rafters need to be added. Then, bramble strips should be laid on top, mud should be applied, and then tiles should be added.

Installing a ceiling inside the chicken coop will greatly improve its heat retention.

Meanwhile, an earthen stove was built on one side of the chicken coop, and pipes made of adobe bricks were extended into the chicken coop. This way, when firewood was added to the earthen stove outside, the chicken coop would be warm.

This is much more efficient than Chen Wenfeng's original plan to put fire pits in the chicken coop.

With Master Geng's plan approved by Chen Wenfeng, Chen Wenfeng arranged for Niu Da and Niu Er to go to the river to collect sand, while he and Master Sun mixed mud to make clay bricks.

Fortunately, although the river water is cold now, it has not yet frozen, otherwise we would not be able to do any of the sand washing and clay shaping.

The whole job was difficult to talk about and very hard to do. It took five whole days to build up the walls, install the glass windows, and set up the earthen stove and pipes.

As Chen Wenfeng rubbed his aching arms, he looked at the new chicken coop and remarked with emotion:

"The chickens are living in a better place than most people in Chenjiazhuang!"

Everyone saw that the chicken coop was indeed brand new, and the conditions were more than enough for people to live in.

After the chicken coop was finished, it was time for Old Sun's room to move in.

According to Master Geng's plan, the lower part of the stone wall surrounding the house will be preserved, while the upper part will be demolished and replaced with a brick wall to facilitate the installation of doors and windows.

To keep warm, part of the pipes from the earthen stove in the chicken coop were extended into this room, which was then divided into two rooms.

In this way, as long as a fire is lit in the chicken coop, both houses will be very warm.

The small wooden bed in the original house (the one Chen Wenfeng moved from the watermelon patch) was dismantled, and the wood was used to make doors and windows.

The small wooden bed wasn't very big to begin with, and it had been used for a long time, so there wasn't much usable wood left. Fortunately, with the wood that Master Geng brought, it was barely enough.

Since there was no bed, Master Geng built a kang (heated brick bed) here.

After the earthen bed was built, Master Geng asked Chen Wenfeng to arrange for people to keep the fire burning, firstly to dry the earthen bed as quickly as possible, and secondly to test the chimney.

As wisps of white smoke rose from the chimney, Chen Wenfeng touched the earthen bed with his hand; it was damp and warm.

I estimate that after a few more hours of heating, the earthen kang (heated brick bed) will be habitable.

Those who know Master Geng know that he is a craftsman who excels at exceeding expectations. After fulfilling Chen Wenfeng's requests to a high standard, he once again offered his thoughts:

"Wenfeng, the accommodation problem on the mountain is solved, what about the food problem?"

"As for food? I plan to dry more vegetables, and store more cabbage, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes..."

Master Geng put a pencil behind his ear and asked:

"Dried vegetables can be stored, but where do you store the cabbage, radish, potato, and sweet potato you mentioned?"

"You mean... dig a vegetable cellar?"

Chen Wenfeng suddenly remembered Master Geng's hint.

"right!"

Master Geng smiled and pointed to a spot at the foot of the mountain on the east side, continuing:

"That place is fine. I think this cellar doesn't need to be dug too deep. Just dig it in from where it's next to the cave."

"Great idea!"

Under Master Geng's guidance, a small to medium-sized vegetable cellar was completed. Rather than a vegetable cellar, it was more like a small, semi-underground storage room. Most of the storage room was embedded in the mountainside, with a thick wooden door on the outside. When it gets cold, a cotton curtain can be added so that the vegetables stored inside won't freeze.

This time, Master Geng stayed at Jiming Mountain for ten days. All the work was finished by the morning of the tenth day, but Chen Wenfeng asked Master Geng to stay another night. He said to Master Geng:

"Last time we slept on the floor in a cave, and the food and lodging were terrible. This time the conditions are better, so we'll stay an extra day."

On the evening of the tenth day, after finishing all the work, Chen Wenfeng asked Old Sun to slaughter a chicken and asked Niu Er to buy five catties of pork from Zheng Dali. He then stewed a large pot of pork with tofu, vermicelli, and cabbage.

Chen Wenfeng then asked Zhou Zhiming to buy two cases of beer from Guangrong Convenience Store.

Niu Da lit a fire, and Niu Er placed a low dining table next to it. Everyone ate stewed chicken soup and drank ice-cold beer, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The mountain breeze that night was exceptionally refreshing.

Fueled by the alcohol, Master Geng quietly asked Old Sun:

"Are you really going to keep your martial arts skills a secret like this?"

Old Sun replied calmly:

"It's fine as it is now."

"I feel that even if I told Wen Feng, he wouldn't be surprised."

"Perhaps when the opportunity arises, he will naturally find out. Besides, he's no ordinary young man; he sees everything clearly, like a mirror!"

"Alright, let nature take its course!"