The grandmother said, "What kind of a flaw is that? The person who cooks should clean the cooking pot and stove thoroughly every day. Washing pots and bowls is not a troublesome task."
Chen Lan saw that everything had been made clear and there was nothing for her to do here.
So she said, "Grandma, we've agreed on the meals! My children, my mother, my two younger brothers, Uncle Fu, and Mama Liu will all eat at home. That means everyone living in the first house will no longer eat in the main kitchen for dinner from today onwards.
Please remember to help inform Lin Mai later so she doesn't cook for us.
Oh, right! And Xiaoshan's mother will also be eating with us tonight.
Grandma, if you don't have anything else, I'll go find Xiangxi and the others to help install the cotton door curtains and the fan heater."
With that, Chen Lan turned and walked out of the shed. Standing outside, she used her mind to access the system and purchased a thickened door curtain and a smart fan heater.
This fan heater was simple to operate and had super performance. As long as you set the desired temperature, it could automatically adjust to your liking.
She took the purchased items out of the system warehouse and placed them at the entrance of the shed, then turned to leave and find Xiangxi and the others to help with the installation.
Chen Lan found Xiangxi and Xiaoshan at the place where they were digging the septic tank. She looked at the progress of the work and estimated that they were in the final stages. So she greeted Xiaoshan and Lin Mao.
Then she said to Xiangxi, who was busy with his head down, "Little Watermelon, if you have time later, take Xiaoshan and the others with you, grab your tools, and go install the curtains and fan heater at the fungus shed."
Seeing that Xiangxi hadn't responded after she had been talking for a while, still busy with his head down and not joining the conversation, Chen Lan decided to give him a shock!
So she said, "Little Watermelon, my mother-in-law, Aunt Cui, and Mama Liu are all waiting for you at the fungus shed! If you don't go over soon, I'm afraid they'll come looking for you."
Xiangxi immediately lost his composure! "Ah!" he exclaimed, "I'll go now, immediately, right away."
He then complained, "Little Lanza, you're not being fair. Why didn't you say so earlier? You've been rambling on here for so long. Couldn't you have just said your mother-in-law was looking for us to do some work?"
Xiangxi quickly tidied up, called for Xiaoshan, Lin Mao, and Xiaoshan, grabbed their tools, and strode towards the fungus shed.
Chen Lan quickly followed.
Uncle De saw Xiangxi and his team arriving and immediately said, "Xiangxi, since you're all here, see who among you can take that pile of soil dug up from the septic tank and move it over here. We need it for plastering the walls."
Xiaoshan spoke before Xiangxi could, "I'll do it. I still have the tractor keys in my hand, so I can get it done in no time with the tractor. You guys wait."
With that, he turned and quickly went to get the soil. Uncle De was also busy. He told the grandmother and the others to continue cutting grass by the mountain, and asked Xiangxi and the others to help twist ropes with the grass. Uncle De and Uncle Fu tied the grass into bundles with the ropes.
Chen Lan saw that this method was too slow and laborious, so she said, "Uncle De, Uncle Fu, this way is too slow and laborious. Why don't we plaster the roof of the shed with mud and then cover it with a layer of rainproof cloth? The rainproof cloth can be nailed directly onto the wooden frame with wooden strips."
Uncle De thought for a moment and said, "That's a good idea, but I'm afraid the snow might be too heavy and collapse the roof."
Chen Lan agreed. So she said, "How about we add another layer of wooden planks on top of the shed roof and then plaster it with mud?"
Uncle De said, "Yes! That would be more secure."
Chen Lan immediately said, "Uncle De, Uncle Fu, then I'll go to the mountain to saw wood. I have a lot of branches I sawed yesterday and left to dry on the mountain that I haven't brought back yet. I'll go and bring them back now."
Without waiting for their refusal, she turned and ran towards the mountain where she had cut firewood yesterday.
If that was the case, there would be no need for Xiangxi and the others to twist ropes. At this moment, Xiaoshan arrived with another cart of soil. After unloading the soil, he drove away to fetch more.
Uncle De asked Lin Mao and Xiaoshan to dig a pit in the middle of the soil pile and pour water into it. Then he asked Xiangxi and Chen Lan to chop the grass into smaller pieces and put them into the pit. He then asked Lin Mao and Xiaoshan to follow him and Uncle Fu and continuously turn the mixture with shovels. In Uncle De's words, it needed to be thoroughly mixed. The prepared mud also needed to rest for a while.
Xiangxi couldn't help but chuckle. He had something to say but didn't dare to say it in front of Uncle De, so he muttered softly, "It sounds like making steamed buns. It needs to rest? Why don't you say knead it?"
Chen Lan suppressed her laughter, her shoulders shaking. Xiangxi glared at her as a warning.
Just as the mud was prepared and left to rest, Xiaoshan arrived with another cart of soil. The four of them continued to prepare the mud, and Xiangxi continued to chop grass. Soon, the three of them, carrying bundles of grass, returned from cutting grass and were about to rest before going to cut more.
Uncle De stopped them and said, "We have enough grass, no need to go again. Please help chop the grass! Xiangxi and Xiaolan are chopping too slowly."
With the addition of the three of them, the work of preparing the mud went much faster.
Uncle De saw that the first batch of mud had rested enough. He and Uncle Fu took buckets of mud and scooped handfuls of it with their hands, flinging them forcefully onto the wooden walls.
Uncle De said that by flinging the mud with force, it would not fall off easily. The mud would easily seep into the gaps between the wooden planks, making it stronger. By the time one wall was covered with mud, Uncle De and Uncle Fu were sweating profusely.
At this time, Xiaoshan brought the third cart of soil. Uncle De asked Xiaoshan to bring the tools used for plastering the septic tank with cement mortar later.
After Xiaoshan left, it was Xiangxi, Xiaoshan, and Xiaoshan's turn to fling mud onto the other walls, while Uncle De, Uncle Fu, and Lin Mao prepared the mud.
Fl inging mud seemed simple, but at first, the three of them hadn't mastered the technique. The mud they flung didn't stick well and fell off. After Uncle De guided them a few times and they experienced several failures, the three of them finally found the knack, and the amount of mud falling off decreased significantly.
Uncle De saw Xiangxi and the others flinging mud in one spot and said, "You need to spread the mud out, don't just fling it all in one pile. You need to spread it evenly now so it's easier to level later. When Xiaoshan brings the trowel, we'll use it to smooth the mud, and the walls will be strong and look good."