Chapter 424: Build the house!

The people in the village kept staring at this tractor, and even let Li Long drive it for a stretch before they finally dispersed slowly.

What shocked them wasn't just this first tractor, but even more so the price of it.

Four thousand five hundred yuan—nearly half a "ten-thousand-yuan household"!

Some asked with a hint of sourness, "What's the point of getting this tractor? The team uses the Dongfanghong-75 for plowing; this tractor definitely can't plow, it can't pull such a large plowshare."

"Hauling things? Doesn't the Li family have a horse cart? The tractor is just a bit faster, that's all."

"That makes its status a bit awkward, doesn't it?"

Of course, they only said this in private. After all, when it really came down to it, it was an "Iron Ox," and no matter what, it was still better than a horse or donkey cart.

Then, the people in the team learned the tractor's purpose.

The second day after the tractor was bought, Li Long drove it, taking several strong laborers from the family, to a section downstream of the Mo Hequ.

Thirty years later, the county would build a new Mo Hequ, the kind with a concrete base and sides, an inverted trapezoid. The old Mo Hequ would only occasionally serve a purpose. But at this time, it was different; there was only this old canal—locals preferred to call it the "River Dam."

Most sections of the old Mo Hequ had quite high banks on both sides, especially in places closer to the county seat, where it was simply straight up and down, with embankments three or four meters high.

But in a section downstream, the canal water was only half a meter lower than the ground level. Here, one could excavate river sand and gather pebbles.

Now that the snow here had melted, although the river water was cold, it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the people working.

The river sand was easy to dig, and so were the Gobi stones. This time, Li Long didn't call Tao Dayong or Yang Yongqiang; it was just the men from his own family. On the river dam side were Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang, and back at home were Li Qing Xia and Li Jianguo. The river sand and small Gobi stones he hauled were spread directly into the Li family's courtyard.

The Li Jianguo family's courtyard was not small. The whole family worked for three days, hauling twelve cartloads of river sand, before they finally covered the entire courtyard.

From the moment the first cart of sand was hauled, the others in the team knew. Then, Tao Dayong and Yang Yongqiang joined in. In their words, since they were idle anyway, and this energy would be wasted if not used, they might as well join in and haul some too.

Some in the team initially watched as a joke. The courtyards of all the households in the village, and even the whole township, were paved with yellow earth; no one used sand. Was this just showing off?

But others felt that Li Long naturally had his own ideas and reasons for doing this.

Xu Chengjun also asked Li Long, and Li Long replied:

"It's just thinking that when it rains, my feet won't get covered in mud. I've had enough of it raining and having mud on my shoes wherever I walk. That feeling is just miserable."

Xu Chengjun believed Li Long's explanation. Since he had bought a tractor, it was necessary to make his life better, and paving the courtyard with river sand was one such way.

The effect soon became apparent. When a few light rains fell in early spring, more people came to visit the Li family, especially those who came to watch TV at night. They could clearly feel that once they reached the Li family's courtyard, at least their feet wouldn't get muddy, unlike other places where they had to stop every few steps to find a spot or a tree branch to scrape the mud off their shoes, otherwise they couldn't walk.

Having a tractor is just great.

Just as the people in the team were marveling at how high-class the Li family's courtyard had become, Li Long and the Li family, including Tao Dayong and Yang Yongqiang, had already begun another task.

Building a house, laying the foundation.

On the Dongfanghong-75 tractor, Wang Jinbao pushed and pulled the control lever, moving the dirt pile on the homestead designated for Li Long by the team, the place where he planned to build the house.

The tractor had a bulldozer blade attached to the front. The hydraulic device lifted the blade, then dug deep, pushing the thick layer of saline-alkali mud on the surface of the earth forward as it rolled.

In over an hour, the saline-alkali soil on the homestead had been pushed away, thirty or forty centimeters deep, revealing the yellow earth underneath.

Wang Jinbao drove the tractor to the side and stopped. After he came over, Li Long took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and handed it over.

Wang Jinbao took it, tucked it behind his ear, and said with a smile:

"Is this... White Lotus? Good cigarette, good cigarette."

Li Long simply stuffed the pack of cigarettes into his hand and said with a smile:

"The work today was done efficiently."

Although Wang Jinbao had this or that minor shortcoming, to be honest, his tractor driving was truly beyond reproach.

"Haha, this is my trade, can I not do it well?" Wang Jinbao took the cigarettes and toyed with them in his hand.

Li Long had paid twenty yuan to have the tractor push this area for him; Wang Jinbao earned this money easily. If it were an ordinary family, they definitely wouldn't be willing, but Li Long felt that if he dug it himself, just digging the soil on top, even if he called over everyone he was close to, it would still take two or three days to finish.

It was better to spend money to let the tractor do the work quickly.

After Wang Jinbao left, Li Long began planning the foundation.

The design of the homestead came from the version of the house Li Long had built in the concentrated residential area in his previous life: a three-and-a-half-room house, with each large room being about forty square meters. There were three doors in total; the west side was a spare room for storing things, the middle room was the master bedroom with a small room partitioned off at the back, and the third room from west to east had a second door opening into the living room, unlike the mainstream houses now where the bedroom and living room were combined, which was inconvenient. The living room occupied half of the third large room, about twenty-five square meters, which was enough. Behind it was a corridor connecting to the small room, and further in were the kitchen and storage room—this was the last half-room. The storage room also needed an outside door for convenience in moving things in and out.

This was the main house; naturally, Li Long still thought about building small rooms behind it, but that was another matter, no rush for now.

Although Li Qing Xia and Li Jianguo both felt that doing it this way was a bit complicated, Li Long had made up his mind, so they could only support him. Next was hauling stones, getting sand, buying cement, and building the wall foundation. Only after the wall foundation was built could the yellow earth be poured and compacted in the room grids.

Of course, these two steps could be done simultaneously. Li Junshan was in charge of building the wall foundation, while Li Long, Tao Dayong, and Yang Yongqiang were responsible for hauling the yellow earth.

Li Jianguo went to Xu Chengjun's house and specifically shouted over the loudspeaker that Li Long needed a large number of mud bricks for his new house, and was now hiring people to make them at three cents a brick, requiring qualified quality, using wheat straw, sturdy, etc., with cash payment on the spot.

This message was shouted three times over the loudspeaker, and then the young men and strong laborers in the team acted one after another!

This was a real opportunity to earn money!

That afternoon, some people had already soaked the mud. The wheat straw left on the threshing grounds became a hot commodity, and some old wheat straw piled in their own courtyards also played a role. The brick molds also became objects of competition; some brothers even shared one, agreeing that one would use it in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

After all, at this time, the young men knew very well that if they wanted to get married, they had to have a partner, and if they wanted the partner to agree to marry, they had to have the essential items, all of which required money to buy.

If there were brothers in the family, and they were all of marriageable age, it was simply impossible to rely on the father alone to gather two sets of wedding items in a short time.

Then they had to work hard themselves.

Tao Dayong from last year gave them an example: wanting to earn money really wasn't difficult. The three Liang brothers caught fish all winter, and each earned the money for a bicycle, so why couldn't they?

This brick-making became the first opportunity for the young people and strong laborers in the team to earn money this spring.

Li Junshan placed the stones upright and built them well, with Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang helping him. Originally, the three Li Jianguo brothers didn't want Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang to work, but the old couple made it very clear:

"Xiao Long has grown up to now, and we haven't taken much care of him. Now that he wants to get married and build a house, we parents can't provide money, can't we at least provide some effort?"

To be honest, saying this back in their hometown would be quite proud, but Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang also felt quite guilty. Now that they could work and put in some effort, they felt better. So Du Chunfang, who usually didn't do much work, also joined in moving stones.

These stones were large ones picked out when hauling sand; paving the courtyard would be a waste and would make the courtyard uneven, so they were just piled together, which was just right for building the wall foundation.

The wall foundations of the houses originally built in the team also used stones, but the stones were mixed with mud to solidify. Now Li Long had bought cement, so the sturdiness was naturally different.

This area of Northern Xinjiang hadn't had any major earthquakes for decades. By the time there were, all the villagers in the team had already moved to new residential areas and were living in brick houses, which could withstand earthquakes of at least magnitude six or higher. As for magnitude eight or higher—the area where Li Long and the others were located had never had an earthquake above magnitude six in history, nor was it in an earthquake zone. Even later, there were no subsidies for earthquake-resistant housing, as in the experts' research, there wouldn't be such a large earthquake here.

So, it was fine as it was now.

Cart after cart of yellow earth was poured into the wall foundation built by Li Junshan, finally piling up more than a meter high. Li Junshan and the others then leveled the soil and compacted it with a roller.

When the foundation was well done, cart after cart of mud bricks were also sent over. Li Long counted them on the spot and paid. On the sixth day, he had to go to the places where the villagers were making bricks one by one to say that there were enough bricks.

Everyone's enthusiasm for earning money was really too high.

When Li Long went to say this, some people even wanted him to delay the time by a day or two.

Li Long said with a bitter smile:

"The bricks I'm collecting now, let alone the house, are enough to build the courtyard wall. There are too many, I can't use that many."

In view of this, Li Long ran to Xu Chengjun's house again that night and shouted three times over the loudspeaker:

"I am Li Long, I am Li Long! My bricks are already enough. I will still accept bricks sent before tomorrow night, but I won't want any bricks after tomorrow night."

He really couldn't use any more. After all, building a house didn't just use mud bricks, but also bricks. It wasn't easy to say about laying cement floors in the room at this time, but it was no problem to lay a layer of bricks. However, it still needed regular cleaning, otherwise, if no one lived there for a long time, it would still become alkaline.

Next, the most important work of building the house began: building the walls.

!.

Having Li Junshan as the master builder wasn't enough; there were also people in the team who could build walls. This time, Li Long directly led a wild boar from the old horse corral and slaughtered it. He called over the families he was on better terms with: Tao Dayong and his father, plus his wife; Yang Yongqiang and his parents; the three Liang brothers; team leader Xu Chengjun was definitely to be called; plus the Lu Yingming couple and Tie Tou.

Gu Bo Yuan also came, as well as Old Luo Tou and several other families in the team who were on good terms with Li Jianguo.

These people, plus the Li family's own people, twenty-something people in total. The women were preparing food in Li Jianguo's courtyard, while the men began building walls at Li Long's homestead.

Although Li Long was an expert at hunting and driving, at this time he could only be a laborer and help out. He was responsible for shoveling mud and handing bricks to Li Junshan. To make building the walls convenient, those bricks were piled on both sides of the wall foundation, which would be much more convenient when taking them. Whether it was Li Junshan or other master builders in the team, they all had the basic skills like using a plumb bob and line. The walls were also built two bricks thick; with such thick walls, there was no problem keeping warm in winter, and it would be very cool in summer. After all, houses were usually built one and a half bricks thick.

Nothing else, just that there were many bricks!

The walls were thickened, so the workload was large, and the physical exertion was high, so they could eat at noon. The Li family still had pickled vegetables, so at noon they directly ate hot steamed buns with the pickled cabbage stir-fried with pork from the slaughtered pig. In this day and age, it was very normal for one person to eat two or three buns the size of a bowl. With oil and fat, they recovered quickly, and the work was done efficiently.

In one day, the half-walls of the entire house were up; the speed was truly fast!

Of course, the further they went, the slower it got. After all, the height was up, and it was slower to hand up bricks and mud.

Fortunately, there were many people, and the work was done quickly. The second day was the same, and there were even more people who came to help. Li Long didn't refuse; since they came, he welcomed them all, and then the speed picked up again.

In less than four days, the walls of the house were built. They were left to shade for three days, and when the weather was good, after they dried, the ridge beam was put up, and reed mats were laid. These reed mats were leftovers from last year's sales, originally piled at the old horse corral, and now they came in handy.

The reed mats were laid densely to avoid rain leakage, and then the roof mud was put on. Li Long quite missed the iron sheet roof of the house he lived in later in his previous life; at least he didn't have to worry about rain leaking or sweeping the roof when it snowed.

Of course, there was no such technology at this time, so he had to wait. Now this kind of reed mat roof was more likely to attract mice, and once mice dug a hole from the roof, it was easy for rain to leak.

On the roof, there was a chimney with three fire walls; this thing was a must-have in this day and age. A smoke duct was left in the middle of the wall, and a hole for the stove pipe was left in the room. Whichever room needed to set up a stove, just poke open the hole that was pasted with mud.

After the roof mud was put on, the large structure of the house was basically done. The remaining things like doors, windows, and laying bricks on the ground were minor matters. However, these master builders didn't leave; they also built the courtyard wall. This was more convenient; after all, the courtyard wall at this time was basically one and a half meters high, no scaffolding needed, just surround it in a circle.

After the courtyard wall was built, the people in the village who came to help all left, and the rest was the family busy themselves.

Li Long didn't participate. After he hauled back the doors and windows made by the carpenter, he drove the tractor to Shicheng again. When he came back, there was a small three-share plow behind the tractor.

A small four-wheel tractor could also carry a plowshare; this really opened the eyes of the villagers. The problem was, what could this plow do?

Li Long let the villagers see the power of the small plow. He drove the tractor and, in less than an hour, plowed the vegetable plot in the courtyard, which was half larger than other people's.

This land was originally planted with safflower. After it was planted last year, it hadn't been plowed, and then it was allocated to Li Long as a homestead. Other people's vegetable plots had to be turned over after planting in autumn, but Li Long's hadn't been turned over once, so now it was just like turning it over again.

After turning it over, the four-wheel tractor carried a small leveling harrow to harrow the land again. Next, it only needed to be fertilized and divided into blocks, and then it could be planted.

Of course, it was still a bit early to plant now. In his house, Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, and Li Junshan were busy laying floor tiles and installing doors and windows, while Li Long himself took Tao Dayong and Yang Yongqiang and drove the tractor into the mountains, arriving at Halimu's place.

Halimu was also startled when he heard the "tut-tut-tut" sound of the tractor, but when he saw that it was Li Long driving, a look of surprise and joy immediately appeared on his face.

Seeing a friend living a good life, he was genuinely happy, unlike the kind in later generations who "feared friends' suffering, but also feared friends driving a Land Rover."

"I came over to haul sheep manure." Li Long stated his purpose. "My house is built, and next I want to plant vegetables in the courtyard, so I need a lot of manure."

This year, the Li family had more land, and Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang's land had also been allocated. The manure here wouldn't be enough to put on the large fields, so he would prioritize the vegetable plot at home first.

"Good, I'll help you load it." Halimu said, "Come, let's go into the house to drink milk tea, rest for a while, and we'll work together."

Li Long discovered that the two children, Nasen and Sasken, were no longer in the winter camp, and Halimu's mother was also not there, so he asked:

"Have your mother and children already gone to the pastoral team? I was originally saying I would help, but I didn't expect them to go so quickly!"

"The house over there is ready-made. Although it's not big, it can be lived in now." Halimu didn't act coy and said directly, "When the grass grows, we have to go. At that time, I will need you to go and see them often."

"No problem." Li Long said, "I'll go over after I finish building the house in these two days."

Halimu smiled. Since Li Long had said so, he was truly relieved.

He believed that Li Long would take good care of his mother and children. He also believed that if his family had any difficulties, Li Long would definitely not stand by and watch.

After hauling a full cart of manure back to the team and spreading it on the vegetable plot, Li Long hauled another cart. Most of this cart was to be shared with Tao Dayong and Yang Yongqiang.

After the manure matter was settled, the doors and windows of Li Long's house were already installed, and the floor tiles in the room were also laid. The rest was tidying up the details and tidying up some things in the kitchen, such as building a stove.

Not only that, when Li Long was building the foundation, he also dug a sewage channel in the kitchen. He bought thick pipes from the supply and marketing cooperative, buried them, and then dug a large pit on the east side of the homestead. The dirty water in the kitchen was led here through the pipes.

In his previous life, when new houses were built in the residential area later, every family went to dig the sewage pipes of the leather factory that had already been shut down. Those sewage pipes were fifteen centimeters in diameter, very hard and very thick, which were very good as household sewage pipes.

But now the leather factory's sewage pipes were still in use, so they couldn't be dug, then he had to buy them.

Finally, after half a month, Li Long's new home was basically completed.

Although there were still some details to be completed, such as building small rooms, such as paving the courtyard with sand and stones, such as the waist walls of the courtyard and vegetable plot not yet built, these were all minor matters.

The new home was basically done. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 425 =====