Chen Lan toiled alone on the riverbank of the underground river for an entire afternoon, her hands gripping the shovel, relentlessly filling snakeskin bags with gravel. Her hands blistered and she was utterly exhausted, so famished her vision blurred, her arms felt as if they would break. Only then had she managed to fill two hundred bags of gravel. This meager amount of gravel for repairing the drying field would be like a drop in the ocean. Looking at the small pile of two hundred bags of gravel lying on the ground, what could she do? Chen Lan decided to seek help from the system and search for merchants selling gravel.
With that thought, Chen Lan opened the system with her mind to purchase. She first bought herself yogurt and bread. While eating, she typed "Gravel for Sale" on the system screen with her thoughts. Soon, many merchants selling gravel appeared. Chen Lan chose a merchant with a high reputation score and purchased fifteen cubic meters of gravel to mix with the gravel she had brought back from the underground river. Chen Lan had a plan: she would secretly add more as she worked on the drying field. She couldn't take out too much at once now.
Habitually, she checked the system time. It was already late, 6:30 PM. Dusk was approaching, and she had to hurry back, or her mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and the children would worry. She couldn't keep everyone waiting.
Chen Lan stored the two hundred snakeskin bags of gravel she had filled on the riverbank into the system warehouse. She hurried back from the riverbank. Upon reaching the valley, she retrieved the two hundred snakeskin bags of gravel from the system warehouse and placed them near the house in the preparation area for construction. She also took out the fifteen cubic meters of gravel she had just bought from the system warehouse and mixed it with the gravel from the riverbank.
Then, she ran back quickly. However, she was still late. The sky had begun to darken. Her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, each holding a child, were looking in the direction of the valley. Seeing Chen Lan return, they quickly walked a few steps to meet her. Her mother-in-law anxiously asked, "Lan'er, why are you back so late? Where did you go? Why did everyone else come back, and you were the only one not with them? Don't you know your family would worry if you didn't come back?"
Her grandmother-in-law chimed in, "Xiao Lan, your mother is right. It's really not safe in these desolate mountains. You can't be so daring and run around everywhere. Although your father-in-law protects you, you still need to be cautious."
Chen Lan stepped forward, took Huihui from her mother-in-law's arms, and quickly explained, "Grandmother-in-law, Mother, I didn't go anywhere! Really! I wasn't running around. The autumn harvest is coming soon. Uncle De said he wants to build a large drying field in front of the new house. I saw everyone was busy rushing the schedule, so I went to the riverbank of the underground river alone to get gravel. I got so caught up that I lost track of time. That's why I'm back late."
Upon hearing that Chen Lan had spent the afternoon shoveling stones, her mother-in-law's heart ached. She quickly took Huihui from Chen Lan and said with concern, "You must be exhausted after working all day! Go back, eat, and take a bath to relieve your fatigue."
Everyone else had already finished eating. Only the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and daughter hadn't eaten. They placed the twins in the car and asked Wenkai and Wenqi to help watch them. The three of them quickly finished dinner. The grandmother-in-law took Mingzhe back to her car to rest. Chen Lan and her mother returned to their own car.
Her mother said, "Lan'er, after you rest for a bit, go take a bath to relieve your fatigue. You've worked hard all day. Go to bed early tonight!"
Chen Lan replied, "I know! Mother, I've eaten and rested for a while, and I feel much better now. Don't worry about me." She continued, "Oh, right! Mother, the new house is built. It's beautiful and grand; you'll love it when you see it. I've also built a pavilion in the front yard. You can sit there and admire the flowers and trees, and chat with your grandmother-in-law and the others. Next to the pavilion, I've installed a double swing set. Wenkai and Wenqi can play on it." As Chen Lan spoke, she drifted off to sleep! Her mother didn't wake her, letting her doze for a while longer before getting up to take a bath.
The next morning, as soon as it was light, Uncle De came to find her grandmother-in-law. After talking for a while, they went to breakfast. After breakfast, everyone was about to leave to attend to their own tasks when her grandmother-in-law spoke. "Today, except for Auntie Qin and Mrs. Shan who are watching the children, and Lin Mai, Hong Xiu, and Chun Mei who are cooking and tending to the mushroom shed, everyone else will come with me to the valley to help repair the drying field."
Mingzhe quickly asked, "Mother, will the three of us also go to help?" He then pointed to himself, Wenkai, and Wenqi.
Her grandmother-in-law said, "You don't need to go help in the valley today. You will help watch the four children at noon, so Lin Mai, your Mother Liu, and Mother Cui can deliver food to the workers in the valley."
Then, her grandmother-in-law said to Lin Mai, Mother Liu, and Mother Cui, "Maizi, Chun Mei, Hong Xiu, your meals at noon should be simple. Steamed buns or flatbreads with a meat dish will suffice. The simpler, the better! Otherwise, delivering meals for over twenty people will be difficult."
The three of them nodded repeatedly to indicate they understood.
After breakfast, her grandmother-in-law led the group of women to the valley to join the construction crew.
Uncle De and Uncle Fu, along with Xiang Dong and Er Hu, had deliberated and decided to carry out the construction of the drying field in three steps:
First, level and compact the ground for the base layer.
Second, evenly lay twenty to thirty centimeters of gravel on the compacted road surface. This would depend on the actual amount of gravel available. If there was more gravel, they would lay it thicker; if less, it would be thinner.
Third, the road surface would be prepared with sixteen to eighteen centimeters of cement concrete as the top layer, with a ratio of 1:1 cement and sand sprinkled on top, compacted, and smoothed. This thickness would also depend on the actual stock of cement and sand.
Chen Lan didn't understand these technicalities, so she didn't participate in the discussion, only contributing her physical labor.
After a few people discussed and finalized the specific construction plan, the first step was to compact the base ground. Since Chen Lan had already leveled and compacted the ground with the excavator yesterday, there was no need for further compaction work today.
Therefore, after asking Uncle De, her grandmother-in-law gave the order, and the women rushed forward, using rakes to spread the gravel around. Chen Lan also used a rake to spread the gravel, walking towards a secluded area far away. As she walked, she secretly scattered gravel from the system. She moved to places where there was no gravel. With this cheat tool, everyone quickly completed the second step of laying gravel.
Next was the third step of laying sand. With the experience of laying gravel, laying sand became even faster. Everyone quickly completed the sand laying. They were all working with great enthusiasm.
Now only the final step remained. This step required experienced personnel. The women were only responsible for transporting cement mortar with wheelbarrows. In this way, with everyone's concerted efforts and mutual cooperation, the drying field was finally completed with the last step of laying concrete on the third day. It only needed to be cured for another two to three days before it could be put into use.