Chapter 715: The lively scene has returned; I

Li Jianguo was in the courtyard, sifting sunflower seeds. These sunflowers were ones he had planted at the north end of the melon field. He had hauled them back and knocked the seeds out of the heads one by one in his own yard, then winnowed away the chaff and discarded the shriveled seeds. The rest were collected and put into bags, with the intention of shelling some during his leisure time in the winter to stir-fry a plate for everyone to snack on.

Li Long's previous words made him feel that planting sunflowers was actually quite a good idea.

It was the third year since the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, and now, people were occasionally riding bicycles or driving horse-drawn carts over to collect those miscellaneous agricultural products.

Half a month ago, someone came to collect sunflowers, and the purchase price offered was ninety cents, more than double the price of oil sunflowers.

Li Jianguo didn't sell; he figured the family wasn't short of that little bit of money, so he didn't sell them. After all, stir-fried sunflower seeds don't dirty your mouth, whereas oil sunflower seeds, while fragrant, leave your mouth black after eating them, which doesn't look good.

Now, thinking about it again, if one were to plant sunflowers on a large scale, there was still money to be made.

The stir-fried sunflower seeds in the supply and marketing store weren't sold by the kilogram, but by small paper cups or enamel mugs.

A small paper cup—actually just a triangle folded from newspaper, which could hold seeds once the opening was spread—held less than fifty grams, and it started at five cents, now having risen to a dime.

Enamel mugs held more and were also more expensive, costing two or three dimes.

Calculating it out, stir-fried sunflower seeds were actually priced by the kilogram, at two or three yuan per kilogram.

So, if calculated by raw sunflowers, one mu of land could yield over a hundred kilograms. If sold, the price might rise next year; even at one yuan, it was still better than planting wheat.

The main thing was that the market for these sunflowers was much larger than for melon seeds; everyone generally snacked on these. When the county cultural palace showed movies or videos, basically all the young people who went in would buy some.

Now that it was the slack farming season, the idlers at the team's supply and marketing store would also buy some while drinking and chatting. Ordinary folks, during the New Year, would also buy some if they hadn't planted any at home.

Liang Wenyu was clearing out the last of the chili peppers in the vegetable garden. If there was no frost, chili plants were usually left to grow, and they would usually keep bearing fruit until they turned completely red.

Sister-in-law Lu from next door hurried into the courtyard and said to Li Jianguo:

"Juan's dad, why haven't you gone to the old horse corral? Xiao Long is there pushing dirt and hauling sand and gravel for work; many people have already gone."

Li Jianguo stood up and asked:

"Has it already started? I was still waiting for him to come over and tell me. Heh, this Xiao Long... I'll go right now."

"Then I'll go too." Liang Wenyu, still holding chili peppers in her hand in the vegetable garden, hurried out. "I'll go see if I need to cook."

"You go to the front yard and tell Mother; I'll start the tractor."

When Li Jianguo and Liang Wenyu arrived at the old horse corral together, the other tractors had already left to haul sand and gravel.

Wang Cai Mi was no longer standing calmly at the entrance directing; he had run over to chase Wang Dagui off the tractor and was operating it himself, to avoid wasting too much fuel.

When Li Jianguo and Liang Wenyu entered the old horse corral, they saw Li Long skinning a wild boar. Seeing his older brother and sister-in-law arrive, Li Long didn't wait for them to ask and said:

"Sister-in-law, have you pickled the sauerkraut at home?"

"Pickled it, why?" Liang Wenyu asked.

"Scoop some up, and soak some vermicelli too. Today at noon, we'll have sauerkraut, vermicelli, and pork stew, and steam a big pot of buns..."

As Li Long spoke, he felt his mouth watering.

This kind of dish was usually only eaten when slaughtering the New Year pig in winter; it was hard to come by at other times, and even if you could get it, it didn't taste the same.

"Alright." Liang Wenyu replied and turned to walk out.

She had just seen the piles of sand and gravel and knew that quite a few people had come.

Behind them, Lu Yingming and his wife also came to help. Liang Wenyu pulled Sister-in-law Lu away, while Lu Yingming propped his bicycle in the courtyard and then went with Li Jianguo to drive the tractor to haul sand and gravel.

Wang Cai Mi felt a pang of heartache; this trip was a loss. The soil under this saline-alkali land was particularly hard, making it very strenuous to push. It could be pushed if forced, but the fuel cost would be very high.

But there was no other way; he had to push. Although he was a bit of a miser, he had promised others, so he had to do it.

Wang Dagui ran to the courtyard to watch Li Long skin the pig and took the opportunity to complain about the matter.

"Then wouldn't it be better for you to plow it first, then push it? Wouldn't that be much easier? Plowing is always less strenuous than pushing, right?"

"Heh, that's true!" Wang Dagui slapped his thigh, turned around, and ran off to tell his brother.

Actually, logically speaking, they should have thought of this first, but the team rarely used bulldozers, and even less often did they coordinate plowing and pushing, so they hadn't thought of it.

This is what they call "the bystander sees more than the player."

Tao Dayong helped Li Long slaughter the pig. While Li Long was skinning it, he was helping Uncle Lao Luo set up the stove. When Li Long opened the carcass, he went to clean the internal organs; the two cooperated very well.

It had been a long time since they had worked together like this; the two could be considered to have good chemistry.

Uncle Lao Luo took the opportunity to let the dough rise. There were many people outside, so he made a big basin of dough. There wouldn't be few people eating buns later, and the young men's appetites were big; he didn't know if the three-tiered steamer of buns would be enough.

While Tao Dayong was washing the intestines, Li Long cut off the neck meat and sliced it with a knife.

In later times, when in a hurry, meat chunks were cut large, which required long stewing; he cut the meat slices smaller so they would be easier to eat.

This wild boar wasn't big, and the neck meat was only three or four kilograms, obviously not enough.

So Li Long cut off a piece of pork belly as well and sliced it in together.

With one stove outside and one inside, there wasn't enough time to make two dishes, so Li Long planned to make just one: sauerkraut, vermicelli, and pork stew, enough for everyone.

Before long, Liang Wenyu rode her bicycle over with Sister-in-law Lu. Sister-in-law Lu was sitting sideways on the back seat, holding a basin in her hands, which contained the sauerkraut and vermicelli.

After the two women arrived, the task of preparing the sauerkraut and pork stir-fry was handed over to them, and Li Long went over to help Tao Dayong turn the intestines.

After the intestines were turned, the tractor made another trip over, and the sand and gravel were successively unloaded by the pit pushed out by the Wang brothers, just waiting for the foundation to be pushed level before spreading the sand and gravel.

Hearing the sound of the tractor, Li Long rushed out to watch Xie Yun Dong and the others about to drive the tractor away, so he shouted:

"Make one more trip, make one more trip and then eat! Steamed buns, sauerkraut, vermicelli, and pork stew, enough for everyone!"

"Alright!" the people on the tractor shouted, and then drove off.

They were very motivated.

It was already nearly three o'clock when they ate.

There wasn't a table big enough, so everyone was given an enamel basin. The buns were in the steamer, piping hot. In the big pot was the sauerkraut, vermicelli, and pork stew; rarely, there was more meat than cabbage. Uncle Lao Luo handed out the buns, Liang Wenyu served the stew, and everyone took their own chopsticks; if there weren't enough, they just broke off two tree sticks, which worked just as well.

Wang Cai Mi didn't complain about the fuel cost of the bulldozer anymore; among these people, he ate the most enthusiastically. When being served, he specifically asked Liang Wenyu to give him more fatty meat. The big slices of fatty meat were stewed until very tender, sliding into his mouth like eating soft tofu; he didn't even chew much before swallowing.

On the contrary, he left the sauerkraut until the end, only eating a bite when he felt greasy in his mouth. The dish was rich in oil, and the remaining soup wasn't wasted either; buns were dipped in and mixed, and eaten directly. The enamel basins didn't even need much washing after eating, as they were wiped clean with the buns.

"Rest for half an hour and then we'll continue; we still have two days of work, and we can't be short on sand and gravel." Xie Yun Dong spoke before he had even finished eating. Originally, they had come to help voluntarily, but since Li Long had managed the logistics so well, if they didn't work hard, they would really be letting down this meal of meat.

Watching the small four-wheeled tractor hauling sand and gravel drive away with a chugging sound, Wang Cai Mi didn't move from his spot, just handed his enamel basin to his younger brother Wang Dagui, telling him to help wash it.

After washing it, Wang Dagui put the enamel basin back on the workbench in the courtyard, clapped his hands, walked up to Wang Cai Mi, and said:

"Brother, let's go, we have to work too."

"What's the rush? Take it easy." Wang Cai Mi waved his hand. "Rest a while."

Wang Dagui was a bit puzzled and asked:

"Doesn't finishing the work early mean we can finish the job early?"

"What do you know?" Wang Cai Mi looked around to make sure no one was there and said in a low voice:

"Working one day means eating fatty meat slices here for one day. Do you think this meat tastes bad?"

"How could it taste bad? It's delicious; meat boiled in a big pot is just fragrant!" Wang Dagui said hurriedly.

!

"Then isn't that it? If you rush to finish the work, when they're boiling meat here later, would you still have the face to eat? Let's work slowly, no rush."

Wang Dagui's look at his older brother changed. No wonder he could be his older brother; his thinking was so thorough.

The two of them were the last to leave the courtyard. Even Liang Wenyu and Sister-in-law Lu, who were cooking in the courtyard, had gone back. Uncle Lao Luo couldn't stand it and urged them twice before they were finally urged to go drive the tractor to continue pushing dirt.

Having eaten well at noon, the people working in the afternoon also had motivation. Cart after cart of sand and gravel was hauled over. Li Long didn't stay at the old horse corral in the afternoon. He went to the brickyard to take a look; bricks were still quite cheap now, so Li Long ordered fifty thousand bricks directly, intending to use them to build the enclosure walls.

As for the livestock pens, the mud-wall style is still used for the upper parts; wood and reed bundles are easy to come by and don't need to be too complicated.

Of course, the simplest would be the prefabricated modular houses of later generations, but they don't exist here right now.

The bricks are ordered, and I'll go haul them once I'm free; for now, the most important thing is laying the foundation.

When Liang Wenyu and Lu Dasao returned, they brought back two basins of food. There were both steamed buns and vegetables, meant for the elderly and the children—they didn't have time to cook at home, and they couldn't let the old folks and kids go hungry.

Liang Wenyu knew the next few days would be busy, so she had told her mother-in-law, Du Chunfang, early on that she just needed to look after the house; the family would eat together in the morning, and she would send food back at noon.

Du Chunfang told her to just cook over there, saying she could manage to get by at home regardless.

Since this work was for her youngest son, she naturally supported it with all her might.

The tractor plowed first and then pushed; the foundation was leveled very quickly. The five-mu pit parallel to the old horse pen was pushed out in just over three days, and a large amount of sand and gravel had already been piled up on the side.

Wang Cai Mi took the initiative this time to use the bulldozer to push those sand and gravel materials into the foundation pit, effectively filling and leveling the foundation.

Without a road roller, they could only use the tractor to pull the heavy roller used for threshing floors, pressing it over and over to flatten the foundation.

Next came building the brick walls.

Before building the brick walls, the soil around the perimeter had to be cleared again to dig out the trenches for the brick walls, and then the bricks had to be moved.

The tractors that had been hauling sand and gravel started hauling bricks again. The number of people from the production team coming to work also increased. Some moved bricks, some mixed cement and sand, some specialized in plastering walls, and others were busy tying reed bundles on the spot.

Watching this scene, Old Luo Shu sighed and said:

"It's been a while since our team has seen such a big scene!"

Back when Li Long was building his house, there weren't this many people.

"Our team members are just enthusiastic about working," the team leader, Xu Chengjun, said loudly.

"Pah!" Tao Dayong, who had come to work as well, retorted in a low voice, "Isn't it just because they've got their eyes on the wild boar meat Li Long slaughtered and the fatty meat they get to eat!"

To build this large pen, Li Long slaughtered two pigs, providing slices of fatty meat every day, boiled bones, and all the meat noodle soup they could eat.

With food like this, who wouldn't want to come and help?

Li Long didn't really mind; since people were coming to help with the work, how could he not let them eat well?

He earned plenty of money and didn't care about these two pigs.

But for some of the farming households in the team whose conditions were average or even poor, they would only get to eat big slices of fatty meat—or this kind of pickled cabbage, vermicelli, and meat dish—once a year, at the New Year.

So, because Li Long did this, many people were willing to come and work, even if they felt the job might be a bit tiring.

The food was truly excellent!

The work and meals over this one week would be remembered by some of the elders in the team for over a decade.

Many years later, when those elders gathered in the supply and marketing store to eat barbecue and play cards while reminiscing about the past, they would still talk about the new horse pen built next to the old one, and how fragrant that fatty meat tasted.

By then, people no longer liked eating fatty meat; if they wanted meat, even if they didn't raise pigs themselves, they could just go to the market and buy half a pig, eating it however they pleased.

But they never again experienced that mouth-watering, fragrant sensation of those days.

Young people would say it was because the pigs raised back then were fed pure grain, so the taste was good. The elders, however, would say it was because life is better now, and meat was rare back then, which is why they have such feelings.

In short, during this week, many people in the team ate the Li family's big-pot meat dishes, and many also participated in the construction of the new horse pen.

The speed and quality of the new horse pen's construction exceeded Li Long's expectations.

He hadn't expected that because so many people were involved, everyone did their absolute best, showing off all the skills they had to avoid being seen as incompetent by the experts.

And everyone's enthusiasm for work was very high; otherwise, with so many people watching, if they didn't work properly, others would make fun of them when eating meat.

This kind of scene wouldn't even have been possible during the big-pot rice era.

Inside the new large livestock pen, there were two warm pens and two open pens; the warm pens could easily hold three or four hundred sheep and forty or fifty cattle in winter.

The open pens were even larger, mainly to facilitate the movement of cattle and sheep. Feeding troughs and water troughs were also built along the edges of the open pens to make feeding easier.

The new pen's courtyard wall was two and a half meters high, with a new gate opened next to the old horse pen's gate; it shared the west wall with the old horse pen, forming a single architectural whole.

In short, Li Long was extremely satisfied.

Those two pigs were well worth the cost and were truly put to good use. (End of chapter)