At one-thirty in the afternoon, everyone arrived at the meeting point on time. Chen Lan called Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen over and explained the road construction plan to them, instructing, "Sister Cui Qiao, Sister Yuzhen, you two will be in charge of the road construction. I've already prepared the materials, which are over there."
She then pointed to the crushed stone, cement, and fine sand placed not far away.
Chen Lan continued, "I'll explain the specifics of how to build this road later. For now, I want you to have two people use the bulldozers to level and compact the section of road from here to the sheep pens."
Upon receiving their tasks, the two wasted no time. Each of them took a young apprentice and, hand-in-hand, taught them how to operate the bulldozer to clear and compact the ground.
Chen Lan then called Lin Mai, Chun Cao, Xiao Xue, and Ru Yi over. She instructed, "Ru Yi, take your apprentice and drive the last bulldozer out of the garage. Mai Zi, you and your apprentice should use the remaining bulldozer to clear away the dirt piles, weeds, and small trees around the area."
Both pairs accepted their tasks and immediately went to work with their apprentices.
Chen Lan then turned to Chun Cao and Xiao Xue and said, "Sister Chun Cao, you and Xiao Xue, along with your apprentices, should take the agricultural tractors and follow Mai Zi. Deep till the land to a depth of fifteen centimeters, then create rows about 1.5 meters wide. Leave a gap of twenty centimeters between each row, and make the rows about twenty centimeters high. Then you can start sowing the alfalfa seeds. The three sacks of alfalfa seeds are under the tree over there!"
She pointed to three large sacks placed under a large tree nearby.
Seeing that they knew where the materials were, Chen Lan continued, "For this planting, you two will only use two sacks of seeds. The remaining sack will be used for a new planting at the end of July. When the alfalfa is harvested at the end of September, it will be stored as green fodder for the sheep and pigs."
Chun Cao and Xiao Xue accepted their tasks and began working with their teams using the multi-purpose agricultural tractors.
Those who received their assignments immediately started working with great enthusiasm. The sound of machines roared from all directions in this area, creating a lively scene.
The sun was high in the sky. Chen Lan wiped the sweat from her forehead and watched from the side as everyone began their assigned tasks in an orderly fashion. Satisfied, she turned to walk in another direction.
As Chen Lan turned away, those who hadn't been assigned tasks started to worry. Qian Yingzi, Li Dani, Liu Man'er, Zhang Xiahe, Wang Yuling, and a group of others who hadn't been given work crowded around Chen Lan, anxiously asking in a flurry of voices, "Xiao Lan, what are we doing? You haven't assigned us any tasks yet!"
Qian Yingzi and the others wanted to contribute to the valley's development. They had waited patiently for Chen Lan to assign them work, but it seemed like she had forgotten them, assigning tasks to Chun Cao and the others without including them. Qian Yingzi and the group grew anxious.
They considered themselves diligent, smart, and capable workers who could do a good job. However, after waiting idly for so long and seeing Chen Lan about to leave without assigning them any tasks, they became flustered and rushed to her.
The scene became chaotic. Chen Lan quickly spoke up with a smile, explaining, "Sister Yingzi, sisters, and younger sisters, please don't worry! I'll assign your tasks now."
Chen Lan hadn't actually forgotten Qian Yingzi and the others; she had simply had other plans in mind when assigning the initial tasks.
She then patted Qian Yingzi's arm reassuringly, saying, "Sister Yingzi, don't worry! I'll explain slowly. There's one more tractor left, and three multi-purpose agricultural tractors in the warehouse. I recall that Sister Man'er, Sister Dani, Sister Xia He, and Sister Yuling, you all know how to drive tractors, right?"
Liu Man'er and the others who were called out nodded repeatedly in affirmation.
Chen Lan said with a smile, "Then hurry and go get the tractors and start working."
The four happily accepted their tasks and went off to work.
At this point, Qian Yingzi became even more anxious and said eagerly, "Xiao Lan, I can also drive a tractor! Why didn't you ask me to go?"
Chen Lan patted Qian Yingzi's hand again and said solemnly, "Sister Yingzi, I need your help with something very important."
Qian Yingzi replied with equal seriousness, "Xiao Lan, what help or no help? The matters of our valley are our own. Just tell me what you need Sister Yingzi to do!"
Chen Lan was touched by Qian Yingzi's promptness and stated earnestly, "Sister Yingzi, you will be responsible for the remaining comrades. Please lead them to assist Comrade Hu Yuzhen and Comrade Cui Qiao. For now, take the remaining few comrades to the tool storage room and bring all the handcarts and shovels from our valley here. We'll need them for road construction."
Qian Yingzi happily accepted her assignment and, along with more than ten other people, bustled away.
Chen Lan waited by the roadside for a while. Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen returned with their apprentices driving the bulldozers.
Chen Lan called them aside and asked, "Can your two apprentices operate the bulldozers independently?"
Both nodded and replied, "No problem. They got the hang of it during the land reclamation period. They might be a bit rusty after not using them for a while, but they got back into it after a couple of runs just now."
Chen Lan nodded and said, "That's good! Have them continue digging, and I'll explain how to build this road to you both."
The two immediately went to brief their apprentices.
Shortly after, they returned after explaining the tasks.
Chen Lan got straight to the point, "Sister Yuzhen, Sister Cui Qiao, we need to use the bulldozers to excavate the roadbed to a depth of at least forty centimeters, about the length of two of our hands. Then, we need to level and compact it. This is to prevent the road surface from collapsing. The depth you've dug so far is less than forty centimeters; you need to dig down a few more centimeters."
She paused and looked at them. They nodded and replied, "Okay! Xiao Lan, we understand."
Chen Lan continued to explain solemnly, "After the roadbed is compacted and leveled, we need to evenly lay a twenty-four-centimeter-thick layer of crushed stone on the surface. This step of laying the crushed stone is quite crucial. Try to make it as level as possible, avoiding thick and thin patches! Otherwise, the road surface may sink."
Chen Lan looked at them again. Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen both nodded repeatedly.