Time flew by! It was soon the morning of the twenty-fifth, and Chen Lan, preoccupied with the greenhouse, woke up early.
Seeing that she was up earlier than their usual training time, Xu Mingxuan knew she was anxious about something and got out of bed too.
"Brother Mingxuan, it's still early, you should sleep in more!" Chen Lan said upon seeing him.
"I'm not sleeping anymore, I can't sleep. I'll go join the fun and see how you build the greenhouse," Xu Mingxuan replied.
The couple quickly got dressed, washed up, and each carrying a brother and sister sleeping like little pigs, they took them to their mother.
Together, they went to the kitchen to heat the steamed buns and flower rolls made the previous day, and then made a pot of spicy soup. A simple breakfast was ready.
Chen Lan did not let Xu Mingxuan have the spicy soup, as he had injuries and couldn't eat spicy food.
She pointed to the snow fungus and pear soup simmering on the stove and said, "Brother Mingxuan, you should drink this in the morning."
Xu Mingxuan frowned as he looked at the soup. "Lan'er, you know I dislike these sweet, soupy broths. Why don't you drink it? I'll have the spicy soup; the sour and spicy smell is quite fragrant."
Chen Lan couldn't agree to that. "Brother Mingxuan, you have injuries and cannot drink spicy soup. You must obediently drink the snow fungus and pear soup simmering on the stove! This is a love soup personally stewed by your mother-in-law, my mother! You know that your mother-in-law rarely cooks soup for me herself. I'm a little envious of you, jealous even."
By the time breakfast was ready, everyone else had also gradually woken up to eat. At the table, Uncle Fu asked, "Little Lan, did you ask your father-in-law how to build the greenhouse?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment. "Uncle Fu, I did ask. My father-in-law said the materials for building the greenhouse have all been prepared for us. I estimate that three days will only be enough for us to lay the concrete foundation and pre-embed the prefabricated parts. It will take a while longer to finish building the greenhouse."
Uncle Fu said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. It's difficult to just stay at home with nothing to do. We'll build it slowly. As long as it's completed before the heavy snow seals the mountain, that's fine."
Seeing that Uncle Fu didn't mind the time, Chen Lan continued, "My father-in-law has also found a place to build the greenhouse. It's next to the fifth house, built facing north and south like our house. My father-in-law said this would make management easier. In the future, we'll build greenhouses like this, with one every five houses. The people living in these five houses will be responsible for managing the greenhouse."
As she spoke, Chen Lan turned to Xiang Dong and said, "Brother Xiang Dong, after breakfast, I'll move the materials for building the greenhouse to the fifth house. We have cement, sand, red bricks, and steel bars. Father-in-law didn't buy them this time. Su Dan Novel Network. My job is to operate the bulldozer to level and compact the ground, leaving the spots for the four corners where cement piles need to be driven for the greenhouse. The rest of the work will be yours." She then took out the greenhouse blueprint from the system warehouse and handed it to Xiang Dong.
Xiang Dong took the blueprint and began to examine it carefully. This greenhouse blueprint was the result of Chen Lan's extensive comparisons and her decision based on the current situation in the valley. She decided that the first greenhouse in the valley would be a brick-walled solar greenhouse. This type of greenhouse primarily maintains its temperature through solar radiation, making it an energy-saving structure. The advantage of a brick-walled greenhouse is its sturdiness and long lifespan, averaging fifteen to twenty years. The brick walls would be twenty-four bricks thick, and to improve insulation, an additional layer of insulation would be added, making the winter solar insulation more reliable.
After breakfast, Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan went to get started. The couple went to the side of the fifth house and took out the materials for building the greenhouse, which had been purchased earlier from the system warehouse, and placed them in a convenient location. They walked back and forth several times, carefully observing the surrounding terrain. They chose a spot that faced north and south, slightly leaning east, which would benefit the greenhouse's light exposure in winter, promoting photosynthesis and plant growth.
Chen Lan asked Xu Mingxuan to wait there while she went to get the bulldozer. She soon drove the bulldozer over. Xu Mingxuan wanted to learn how to operate it, so Chen Lan let him sit beside her, explaining the operating principles and steps as she shoveled earth.
Chen Lan dug the area for the greenhouse to a depth of forty-five centimeters, which would help improve the greenhouse's insulation. First, she used the bulldozer to push the top thirty centimeters of soil, the fertile topsoil, to one side of the greenhouse. This soil would be used for backfilling later. After removing the topsoil, she began to level the ground, repeatedly driving the bulldozer back and forth over the surface to compact it. Then came the excavation of the foundation trenches.
Watching Chen Lan operate the bulldozer with just a few repetitive movements, Xu Mingxuan said to her, "Lan'er, operating this excavator looks quite simple. Let me try, and you can sit beside me and keep an eye on me."
Seeing his eagerness, Chen Lan smiled and did not object. It would be good for him to learn another skill. She got out of the bulldozer, vacated the seat, and let Xu Mingxuan sit in the driver's position. She then sat in the passenger seat next to him, where he had been sitting. At first, Xu Mingxuan was a bit cautious, but after a few passes, he became more confident. Now, Chen Lan was completely free and could just sit beside him, directing him on how to dig and level.
The greenhouse was designed with a net width of ten meters and a length of sixty meters, running east to west, with a slight eastward orientation. The foundation for the solar greenhouse would be a concrete strip foundation, with twenty-four brick walls and additional insulation materials. The height of the rear wall would generally be between two point four and three meters; they chose two point six meters. The framework of the solar greenhouse would be made of galvanized oval steel tubes, and the covering material would be polycarbonate sheets. The insulation quilt would be a high-performance, waterproof, and well-insulating quilt.
As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work. In less than three hours, the couple quickly completed the foundation work. They then handed over the work to Xiang Dong, Uncle Fu, Uncle De, and others. Before handing over, Chen Lan reviewed the greenhouse blueprint again. Finally, she dug a drainage ditch running east to west in front of the greenhouse, about half a meter wide and thirty centimeters deep. This was to address waterlogging issues and prevent water from flowing into the greenhouse from above. After handing over the work, Chen Lan headed home, while Xu Mingxuan stayed behind to help.