Chapter 95 Wooden Kang

Chapter 95 Wooden Kang

The sun shines through the thin clouds and falls on the ground. The snow begins to melt, crystal drops of water fall to the ground, and the air is filled with a moist breath.

The group walked through the snow and water on the ground, carrying the charcoal back to the yard. Butcher Zhao took out a scale, and the two of them lifted it up and weighed it, which was more than 50 kilograms of charcoal.

Butcher Zhao: "The next earthen kiln should be bigger. It will take at least three days to burn the charcoal in this kiln."

Lin Youcai: "We can burn charcoal outside the yard, dig a few more kilns, and burn them together. Anyway, we have more people and can take care of it."

Tao Mingyuan: "It's safer to burn charcoal nearby. If something happens, just shout and everyone can hear you. It's too risky to wait on the mountain."

Lin Benshu: "Okay, then those who dig the pit, those who go up the mountain to chop wood, and those who carry the wood back will all be assigned tasks."

Everyone was very happy to see the charcoal in the yard. Not only was everyone happy because they had charcoal to burn, but also because they could use any of the skills they had learned to support their family after settling down.

When Lin Zisu saw the charcoal, she thought of barbecue, and tears flowed unconsciously from the corners of her mouth. She had an idea, but unfortunately, she couldn't cook without rice.

Lin Zisu cried out silently: I really want to eat delicious food! My barbecue, hot pot, chocolate, ice cream, spicy strips...

The men divided up their work and went to work separately. They started working today, first choosing a good location and digging a kiln pit.

Old Man Shi brushed off the sawdust on his body and came over from the yard next to him. "Benshu, the wooden kang is ready. Where's Youcai?"

Lin Benshu: "I went to dig a kiln."

"I'll go call him back." Lin Xianwen said and rushed out of the yard.

Old Man Shi: "Hey, hey... this kid is really fast!"

After a while, Lin Youcai and his son came back panting.

Lin Zisu was already looking at the newly built wooden kang in the house. The wooden kang was inspired by the fire box used for heating in the southern regions of the past.

Although the winter here is not as cold as in the north, the damp and cold chill is bone-chilling. Sleeping on a mat on the ground is too damp and cold, and the chill is very severe.

Lin Zisu thought of the firebox used in her previous life. People sat in the firebox, covered with a quilt and warmed themselves by the fire, with an iron or ceramic basin underneath burning charcoal.

The firebox is made of wood, and is divided into two layers, with people sitting on the upper layer and a charcoal basin on the lower layer. In the middle is a hollow bamboo or wooden partition, and the warm air from the charcoal fire rises.

Now the workload of building a kang is too huge and there is no material. Everyone is just staying here temporarily, so there is no need to build a kang.

Lin Zisu thought of the fire boxes used in rural areas in her previous life, and changed them into wooden kangs, just like tatami mats, with a hollow space underneath for burning charcoal for heating.

There are many mountains and trees here. The Shi family father and son are carpenters and have tools, and there are also many tools in Lin Zisu's RV tool box.

The family of four said that as long as everyone didn't spend any money and just had to contribute, they hit it off.

In houses without fire pits, they cleaned the room and made a wooden bed like a tatami mat, and people would step onto the bed as soon as they opened the door. Four or six wooden shelves in a grid pattern were placed on the ground, and wooden boards were laid on top of the shelves.

There are old and new boards, and the new boards still have the fragrance of wood. The boards are connected one by one, covering the shelves in the whole room. The boards are punched with 1 cm or 2 cm holes, and one board is punched with 20 or 30 holes crosswise.

Dig a pit in the wooden space, burn charcoal in the earthen kang, and the warm air will come out of the holes. People can lie on the wooden board and cover themselves with a quilt to keep warm.

The room is about 10 square meters, with a mud floor under the wooden kang, and 5 or 6 earth pits dug. Charcoal is burned in the earth pits, and people need to add charcoal, cover with ash, lift the wooden board, and use tongs to pick up charcoal and remove ash.

When the charcoal is almost burned, add more charcoal. When the charcoal fire is big, cover it with ash. Put less charcoal. Put wooden fire tongs and a pile of charcoal in each room to make it easy to add charcoal and cover the ash.

Lin Zisu took off her shoes and walked onto the wooden kang, smelling a faint wood fragrance. She walked around on the kang, jumped lightly, and said with a smile: "Dad, it's quite stable and solid!"

Lin Youcai and Lin Xianwen also took off their shoes and walked up to try it out. Lin Youcai casually lifted a wooden board, looked at the earth pit below, reached down and compared the height with the wooden kang, and found that the height was right.

Lin Xianwen looked at the small window on the mud house. It was not appropriate to call it a window. It should be a hole for ventilation and lighting. The houses of poor people were not so particular.

Lin Xianwen: "When burning charcoal, you have to ventilate the room! Don't seal the holes in the room just because you're afraid of the cold!"

Lin Youcai: “I will emphasize this again and again later!”

Lin Zisu: "Burning charcoal without ventilation is like looking for shit in the toilet."

Old Man Shi leaned in and asked: "How is it? Is it possible?"

Lin Youcai gave a thumbs up and said, "Uncle Shi, the wooden kang is great! We trust you to do the work. We can try burning charcoal now and stay in the fire pit room. It will be very fragrant."

When Old Man Shi heard Lin Youcai praising his craftsmanship, he couldn't help but smile, "Then I'll make it according to the wooden kang in this room. I'll go to work on other rooms, and Shi Yong will be alone there."

Lin Youcai: "Uncle Shi, thank you for your hard work. Let's get a few more people to lay the planks and carry the wooden racks to help you two."

"Okay." Old Man Shi said and walked towards the other house.

Lin Youcai: "I'm going to work on the earthen kiln. You call your brothers and sisters to light charcoal and warm up the wooden kang. We can sleep on the wooden kang tonight, and the four of us can use the RV by ourselves."

Lin Xianwen raised his hands and cheered: "Oh! yes! I really don't want to sleep with a bunch of stinky men!"

Lin Zisu: “Hahahahahahahahahaha…”

Lin Xianwen rolled his eyes at his sister, "You don't know how loud the snoring is! Grinding teeth, farting, smelly feet, the stench is overwhelming... Have pity on me..."

Lin Youcai put on his shoes and said, "You can't jump on this wooden kang! If it collapses, there will be charcoal fire underneath! Don't scream if you get burned! Tell everyone to be careful! And remember to ventilate it! Remember!"

"I see." Lin Zisu turned to look at her brother, "It's the same in the RV, with people grinding their teeth, snoring and farting. How many places are clean when they are on the road every day? Lice and fleas, have you seen them?"

Lin Xianwen: "Nonsense, we see each other every day. Oh, how long will it take to catch up?"

Lin Zisu: "Oh, if I had known this, I would have been more careful in my previous life."

Lin Xianwen: "This is such a horrible outfit!"

Lin Zisu: "In this ancient countryside, the ground is either muddy or shitty. Who would want to wear it?"

Lin Xianwen: "Even the official roads are muddy..."

Lin Zisu: "Alas~"

"What are you two whispering about here?" Old lady Wang stood at the door and looked at the wooden kang in the room. "This is the wooden kang you mentioned. Is it okay?" Old lady Wang patted it, took off her shoes and walked up carefully.

Lin Zisu got off the wooden kang and put on her shoes, and replied, "Why not? A mud kang will collapse if you jump on it. This wooden kang is similar to a wooden bed. If you jump on it, the boards will definitely break! If you want to jump, just go to the yard. A bed is for sleeping."

Old Lady Wang: "Hey, kid, you are getting more and more talkative! I say one thing and you say ten things back."

Lin Xianwen quickly put on his shoes and walked away to get charcoal to warm the wooden kang.

Lin Zisu: "Grandma, you really can't be played. You get angry even if I talk to you more."

Old Lady Wang: "Hey, you're still excited."

"Ouch, my stomach hurts, I'm going to the toilet," Lin Zisu said, and then ran out of the yard.