Chapter 93 Burning Charcoal
The sky was still dark in the morning, and the cold wind was sharp, scraping across my face like a knife. The air was filled with the smell of frost, making people shiver.
The men held tools and walked along the snow-covered ridges of the fields, taking one step deep and one step shallow, towards the nearby mountains.
"What a pity! It's such a pity that such good farmland is left to waste!" Lin Youfeng shook his head and sighed.
"Uncle Youfeng, there's snow everywhere, how do you know it's a good farmland?" Lin Xianpeng looked around but couldn't see anything good.
The distance from the yard to the foot of the mountain was not far, about a hundred meters, with fields in between. The fields extended from the back of the yard to the foot of the mountain, and then there were endless mountains.
There were more than 50 people who went up the mountain to cut trees, all of them were young and strong men in their teens to s. Others were in the village repairing walls and roofs before it snowed, and the women were cleaning and tidying up the house.
After a while, everyone arrived at the foot of the mountain and climbed up.
Shi Yong patted a tree beside him that was so big that one person could hug it and said, "This one is good, the size is just right."
The two brothers Lin Youpeng and Lin Youcheng, each holding one end of a small saw, sawed the tree back and forth.
Shi Yong stood next to his brother-in-law Lin Youcai and said with envy, "Fourth brother, which blacksmith shop did you go to to get your tools? It must have cost a lot, right?"
Lin Youcai waved his hand, "I don't have the ability to get these good tools. The tools belong to others, not bought by me, so let's use them first."
These sharp and shiny tools must belong to people who are either rich or powerful. These tools are not something that ordinary people can buy. He doesn't care who they belong to, he doesn't know who they belong to, just use them. Shi Yong thought about it for a while and then returned to choosing trees.
When it comes to trees for firewood, it is easy to choose. In summary, anything that can be burned can be firewood.
We cut down trees today, mainly to prepare for charcoal burning.
The biggest advantage of burning fire in the fire pit is that it is convenient to boil water and cook food in winter. After cooking, you can eat while warming the fire. While cooking, you can also smoke bacon, sausage and other preserved food, and roast sweet potatoes, potatoes, meat and glutinous rice cakes while warming the fire.
The downside is that it is too smoky, and the house is black. People often have tears and runny noses from the smoke. Sometimes the wood is too wet, and the smoke is so thick that people can't open their eyes. The air is very bad, and everyone smells like smoke.
Therefore, it is better to burn charcoal for heating, and remember to ventilate the house.
The snow creaked underfoot, and the entire hillside was filled with people, some chopping branches with hatchets, some chopping trees with axes, and some sawing trees.
In the cold weather, everyone was working hard and steam was coming out of their bodies.
Lin Youxing stood on the other side of the mountain and shouted at the top of his voice: "Brother Youcai, there is an acorn tree here! There are fallen acorns on the ground!!!"
When the people on this side of the mountain heard this, they all looked over.
Lin Youcai replied loudly: "I'll be there right away!" He put down the shovel and ran over there.
When Lin Youcai walked over breathlessly, he saw several people digging the ground.
Lin Youshou held up a peeled acorn kernel and said, "This bitter bead doesn't seem to be bad. Take a look."
Lin Youcai took it, pinched the kernel, put it under his nose and smelled it, and then looked at it carefully. "It's really not broken. This thing can be stored for 2 or 3 months without any problem."
Lin Youfeng rubbed his hands happily, "Then let's pick it up and take it back! It will give us more food rations."
"I really miss this. It's springy, refreshing and delicious." Lin Youxing said as he swallowed his saliva.
Lin Youcai: "No hurry, let's light the charcoal first. Acorns are everywhere in the mountains, and we are the only ones here, so no one will compete with us for them."
"Row."
"middle."
Lin Youcai touched the acorn tree and said, "The wood of this tree is hard and is the best for burning charcoal! The charcoal produced is expensive! Let's not cut down the tree. Let's cut branches. The branches as thick as an arm or a thigh will do."
Lin Youxing: “Really?”
"When did Youcai say anything nonsense? It must be true! I'll go get someone over!" Lin Youfeng said as he went to call for help.
Lin Youcai went back, picked up a shovel, and looked for a suitable location to dig a kiln so that he could make charcoal later.
The snow here only fell for half a day and one night and stopped on the next day. The snow layer was not thick and the temperature hovered around 1 or 2 degrees above or below zero, so it was not difficult to dig mud pits.
Lin Youcai turned around and around, up and down, and finally found a slope. Like going up and down, a vertical slope is best.
Because the fire mouth must be lower than the cave, so that the flame can burn upwards.
Lin Youcai used a shovel to draw a line on the snow to mark the area and began to dig a mud pit.
It is easier said than done. After a while, I was out of breath and sweating all over.
"Let me do it. You take a break. Let's dig according to the circle you drew, right?" Lin Yougui took the shovel, took off his coat and started digging.
Lin Youcai opened the water bag and drank some warm water. "Yes, if you want to burn more, you have to dig bigger and deeper. Let's burn one first to try! Once the charcoal is burned, we can burn a few more kilns of charcoal."
Tian Daniu came over with a hoe to help dig, "It will definitely work."
"I hope so. It's my first time burning charcoal too." It was the first time to burn charcoal in this world. Lin Youcai laughed as he spoke. It was really... magical. "If the fire is well controlled, we will have charcoal to use. If the fire is not well controlled, when we open the earthen kiln, there will only be ash and wood inside."
After they dug for half an hour, Lin Youcai directed the digging to be wider and deeper.
Some of the brothers who were chopping firewood were dragging the firewood back, while others were dragging the wood over.
After digging the pit, dig a kiln door next to the pit. Dig a long trench so that the pit and the trench are like a spoon, and the trench is like the handle of the spoon.
The trench didn't need to be long or wide, and it only took a few minutes to dig. Lin Youcai picked up a hoe and went to the bottom of the slope, that is, the lower bank, to prepare to dig the crater.
The crater is the place where the earth kiln is used for burning fire. After the crater is dug, connect the earth kiln and the crater.
The next step is to dig a chimney. The chimney doesn't need to be too big, just a few hoes will do. Then use mud to seal the chimney from bottom to top, leaving a palm-sized hole on the ground for smoke to escape.
Dig a small ditch in the earth pit, from the chimney to the crater, a straight small ditch. Because the firewood is wet, a lot of water will flow out during the burning process. The water can flow out of the crater along the small ditch.
Lin Youcai took a breath while leaning on his shovel. "Okay, the earthen kiln is done. Let's cut the firewood into similar lengths and stack them neatly in the kiln."
"Put the wood vertically, with the thin wood against the chimney and the thick wood in the middle. Leave some space where the fire mouth should be, so as not to block the fire mouth." Lin Youcai said worriedly as he stood there.
"Put some wood horizontally on the empty space above to fill up the uneven spots. This will make it easier to build the kiln shed and make it easier for the wood inside to burn." Lin Youcai slapped his head and said, "I almost forgot to get some grass, leaves, and branches to cover the top to block the mud and prevent it from falling down."
Lin Youfeng and his friends went to find some withered grass and leaves to cover it.
Seeing that it was built quite tightly, Lin Youcai waved his hand and said, "Cover it with soil! Cover it slowly! Once it is covered with soil and compacted, the kiln shed will be ready."
After everyone patted the soil on top to make it firm, Lin Youcai patted it and pressed it. "Okay, light it! Let's get it started in one go! This is a cold kiln, and there's a lot of moisture in it. If it doesn't get started the first time, it'll be hard to get it started the second time."
Tian Daniu took out the pine torches he brought with him and patted his chest, "Don't worry, I will definitely make it burn vigorously!"
The people watching burst into laughter. They stopped cutting trees and picking up acorns. They just focused on learning how to make charcoal.