Return to the small mountain village in 1986

Near the brick kiln, a simple shed was erected, with dried mud bricks stacked underneath, and beside the mud bricks, there was a mountain-like pile of firewood.

The firewood includes dead trees picked up from the mountains, and wood cut from the hills divided by one's own family. Because burning bricks requires a lot of firewood, it is not enough for people to go to the mountains to collect firewood. Therefore, in order to burn bricks, high Last autumn, Yuan Yuan cut down almost all the trees on the hilltop of his home.

The good wood will naturally be kept for building houses, but the branches and tree pockets can be used for fires.

Gao Mingcheng came here with an ax, and his task was to split the thick tree trunks and tree pockets. As for Gao Yuan and Gao Mingpeng, they came with machetes to chop off the longer firewood.

Usually when burning firewood in your own stove, the firewood needs to be chopped into small pieces, otherwise it will not fit into the stove and it will be difficult to make a fire. But if you burn bricks, it can be slightly larger.

After a few people arrived at the place, they didn't chat much and just lowered their heads and got to work.

The work that Gao Mingcheng had to do took a lot of effort, but fortunately he was very strong. He held an ax and chopped down, and the firewood was split easily.

After working for a while, Gao Yuan and Gao Mingpeng seemed a little tired, so they put down their machetes and took out matches and cigarettes from their trouser pockets.

This time they were quite frugal and lit two cigarettes with a match.

"Mingcheng, take a break and have a cigarette?" Gao Mingpeng greeted him proactively and handed Gao Mingcheng a cigarette.

Gao Mingcheng glanced at the cigarettes they smoked. They were the cheapest cigarettes in their area. This kind of cigarette tasted bad and caused bad breath after smoking. Gao Mingcheng was not willing to smoke.

Of course, he has not smoked since his rebirth.

Fortunately, he was reborn at the age of nineteen, and his body was not addicted to smoking yet. He just had to overcome the addiction in his heart.

Gao Mingcheng shook his head and said, "I don't smoke."

Since his father and brother had taken a break, he couldn't keep working, so Gao Mingcheng put down the ax in his hand and decided to take a walk around the area.

Since moving to Niuweiling, he has come here less often.

The back mountain was originally lush and lush, and most of the hills assigned to the villagers were here. However, as Gao Fuqiang's family began to build brick kilns and bake bricks, the back mountain has become bald. Those hills belonging to Gao Fuqiang's family are now All bare.

Oh, it can’t be said to be bare. In fact, there are still some saplings planted in the mountains, but those saplings are too small, so at a glance, they are not eye-catching at all.

The hilltop belonging to Gao Yuan's home is now bare. Gao Yuan started cutting down trees in late autumn last year, but in March this year, he also bought saplings to plant. He planted some fir trees, pine trees, and sassafras trees. wood, paulownia and birch.

These types of trees are all common in their local area. Fir and pine are excellent timber, while birch is a fast-growing forest with strong adaptability and is very suitable for afforestation.

Some of these trees grow fast, and some grow slowly. As long as the saplings don't die, in a few years, there will be a green shade here again.

Gao Mingcheng looked over one by one and suddenly found that the hilltop that belonged to him was also bald!

Gao Mingcheng continued to walk forward, and after walking for a while, he saw many beautiful hills.

When the land was distributed to each household, the villagers bullied many Meis who had no parents or brothers, so they refused to give Duomei a land. However, in the end, they allotted a mountain to Duomei.

Today, many beautiful hills are still lush and lush.

Seeing this scene, Gao Mingcheng breathed a sigh of relief.

His hilltop was next to Gao Yuan's and the others, and he had never come here to collect firewood since he went to live there in Niuweiling.

But when his family wanted to build a house and make bricks, they cut down all the firewood on the hilltop.

In fact, it's not just his, the hills in Gaomingwan and Gaomingli are also bald now.

Gao Mingcheng looked at the many beautiful mountains, thought about it, and decided to forget it. Even if I say it, there is no point in it anymore. The trees have been cut down. What else can I do? Just ask his dad to plant saplings for him again!

Fortunately, his father had actually planted trees. Gao Mingcheng took a quick look and saw that most of the trees planted were pine trees and birch trees.

He didn't have any requirements for this, so he staggered back to the brick kiln.

Gao Yuanyuan and Gao Mingpeng had finished smoking a cigarette and were working. When they saw Gao Mingcheng coming back, they immediately said hello.

Gao Yuanyuan knew that Gao Mingcheng had visited the hilltop, so he said: "Our family's hilltops are all connected together. When we cut down the trees, they were cut down together, but now saplings have been planted."

Gao Mingcheng hummed, indicating that he already knew.

He had spent a lot of money to build a house at home, so he didn't care about the wood anymore. Besides, all the hills at home were cut down to make bricks, so there was no need to favor one over another.

Since it takes four days and four nights to burn bricks, a large amount of firewood is needed. Only part of it is piled here now, and the rest is still in the mountains. It takes time to carry the firewood down the mountain.

"Mingcheng, why don't you stay in the village for a few days? You might as well come here to help." Suddenly, Gao Yuanyuan shouted to Gao Mingcheng to stay in the village.

Gao Mingcheng subconsciously refused: "No, I came back this time to take eggs and clothes to sell in the county. In a few days, after my eldest brother asks someone to find out the news about the prefabricated panel boss, I will come back again. "

Gao Mingcheng refused to agree, and Gao Yuanyuan had no choice but to continue chopping down trees silently.

He chopped down the kind of miscellaneous trees with thick wrists, which can be basically broken with two or three cuts. Then he placed the chopped trees neatly so that they could be filled with firewood when the kiln was fired.

Gao Mingcheng stepped on the wood to fix it, and chopped down with the ax in his hand, leaving deep cuts on the wood.

After cutting the wood a few more times, Gao Mingcheng said, "Dad, did the brick-making family hire a potter?"

A potter is a person who can help people bake bricks. Although the method of making bricks has been passed down from ancestors in Gaojia Village, not everyone can bake bricks well.

Therefore, if you are not sure when you are making bricks, it is best to hire someone who knows. This person is a potter. He will teach you how to step on the mud, how to make molds, how to make bricks, where to stack the bricks, and how to make bricks. After drying in the shade for a few days, what should you pay attention to when firing the kiln?

There are considerations when to seal the kiln roof, when to seal the kiln door, when to drain water, and when to open the kiln.

In addition to hiring a potter, if there are not enough manpower at home, you will also have to hire someone to watch the fire.

After the brick kiln starts burning, it will continue to burn for four days and four nights. The fire cannot be stopped day and night, so more people need to be rotated. Otherwise, one or two people will not be able to bake bricks at all.

Of course, in the village, when bricks are fired, relatives basically come to help, or help each other.

Seeing Gao Mingcheng asking questions, Gao Yuanyuan said: "Instead of calling the potter, I called Gao Fuqiang to help give some guidance. This brick kiln belongs to him. He fired bricks from seven or eight kilns last year. He knows everything very well."

Gao Mingpeng also said: "It originally only cost 30 yuan to rent a brick kiln, but Gao Fuqiang said that if he asked for advice, it would cost 35 yuan."

Gao Mingpeng's tone was somewhat dissatisfied with this. But Gao Yuan was enlightened and said to his two sons: "If we hire a potter, it will cost more and we will have to pay for it!"

So Gao Mingpeng remained silent.

Gao Mingcheng asked again who would help when lighting the fire. Gao Yuan said the names of several relatives. If they rotate together, then the kiln bricks can be burned.

There was a lot of firewood piled near the brick kiln. Gao Mingcheng came here to help with the work and worked until five o'clock in the afternoon.

The work was not completely done, but Gao Mingcheng couldn't keep him.

He put down the ax and said, "It's getting late, I have to go back to the county."

If we don't go back, it will be unsafe to drive when it gets dark.

Gao Yuanyuan was also wearing a watch. After taking a look at the time, Gao Mingcheng was no longer around.

Gao Mingcheng quickly returned to Gao Mingpeng's house, first took the eggs and brown sugar to bring to Wang Xiuxiu, and then returned to Niuweiling.

Chen Dasong was serious about his work. He had already piled the eggs and meat in the trunk of his car. When others came back, he could just drive them away.

It was a May day, and the vegetables in the field had just been planted and were not yet ready to be eaten, so there was nothing else but hundreds of eggs.

As for the honey, I won’t take it with me this time because I have to take a bag of clothes back later.

He greeted Chen Dasong, then drove the tractor towards the county in a hurry. When passing by Xing'an Mountain, he was about to take his clothes and leave, but found that Gao Shouwang's family was cooking and they were all ready to eat.

When he saw Gao Mingcheng, Gao Shouwang asked him to stay at home for dinner.

But Gao Mingcheng didn't agree. After loading the goods into the car, he continued to drive away.

After the sound of the tractor got farther and farther away, until it was no longer heard, Dong Feixia's food was completely cooked, so she called Gao Shouwang to come over for dinner.

Since the opening of the clothing workshop, the couple has mostly eaten here. Sometimes after eating, they would take a slow walk back to the house in the old village to sleep.

Sometimes if I'm too busy, I just stay here and don't go back to the village.

Such days are simple and busy, but also reassuring.

Gao Shouwang and Dong Feixia had already eaten hot meals, but Gao Mingcheng was still hungry, facing the wind, and headed all the way to the county.

Fortunately, the wind in May is not cold, and although the evening breeze is slightly cool, it is also pleasant.

By the time he returned to the clothing store, it was getting dark. When he looked at the time, it was already past six o'clock.

When he returned, Duo Mei and the others were having dinner. Seeing him coming back at this time, Duo Mei couldn't help but said, "Why are you coming back so late? I thought you weren't coming back!"

In the first half of the year, there was a lot of work in the village, so it was normal for Gao Mingcheng to stay in the village for a few days. However, according to Gao Mingcheng's habit, he would tell her in advance, and even if he made a last-minute decision, he would also use Gao Shouwang's phone number. Called to her.

So although Gao Mingcheng didn't come back for a long time, food was left for him at home.

As soon as Gao Mingcheng entered the yard, he first went to the faucet to wash his hands, and then sat down at the table.

When he sat down, Gao Shufang had already brought out the portion of food left for him. Because they had just eaten, the food was still hot.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Gao Mingcheng was unbearably hungry, so he took a big mouthful of rice first, and then sighed and said, "I've been caught as a young man!"

The whole afternoon, he helped chop wood in the back mountain!
It's also because he has good physical fitness, otherwise he wouldn't be able to lift his wrist at this moment.

Hearing what happened to him, everyone laughed, and Gao Mingli said: "Second brother, you said I won't even dare to go back during the holiday this week!"

During previous holidays, Gao Mingli would drive his tractor back to the village. He had to help Gao Mingcheng bring eggs to the county to sell, and occasionally he would take some goods from Gao Shouwang to sell.

In order not to work, Gao Mingli decided not to go back to the village during the holiday this week, but he never expected that someone wanted to express himself!
Lou Xinyu said: "I can bake bricks! My grandfather can bake bricks. When I was a child, he took me to bake bricks for others several times!"

"Shufang, why don't I go home with you before the weekend? I can meet your parents and help them with some work."

His tone was quite eager to try!

Lou Xinyu wanted to get married as soon as possible. His relationship with Gao Shufang was approved by Gao Shufang's brothers, but he had not met Gao Shufang's parents yet!
If you want to marry Gao Shufang smoothly, you must also go through the hurdles of your father-in-law and mother-in-law!
Therefore, Lou Xinyu really wanted to express himself.

One of his arms is weak, so he might not be able to do such work as chopping firewood, but he can make a fire!

He also knows how to bake bricks, what kind of fire is needed in the brick kiln, and when the kiln roof is to be capped. If he knows these things, he can weaken the problem of losing strength in his arms.

Lou Xinyu looked at Gao Shufang with excitement, but Gao Shufang became a little nervous.

She looked at Gao Mingcheng as if asking for help and asked: "Second brother, have you told your parents about my relationship with Xinyu?"

Gao Mingcheng swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "No. Haven't you said it yet?"

When he returned to the village, he really forgot to tell his parents about it, thinking that Gao Shufang had already told his family.

Gao Shufang's cheeks were slightly red and she said, "Xinyu and I have been dating for less than half a month..."

The implication is that I haven’t told my family yet.

When Lou Xinyu heard this, he became even more anxious. He felt that he should go home with Gao Shufang as soon as possible!
So Lou Xinyu looked at Gao Shufang and said, "Shufang, take me back and we can tell your parents face to face."

Gao Shufang's eyes flickered for a moment, and finally she nodded.

Okay, just take it back, it will happen anyway!

After his wish came true, Lou Xinyu started thinking about what gifts to buy.

After dinner, Lou Xinyu didn't stay long and went back to the hospital to rest. By the way, he asked his colleagues what gifts he should buy for his first visit.

After he left, Gao Mingli teased Gao Shufang exaggeratedly: "Little sister, you are so good with this partner! I really hope he will be so hard-working and willing to work in the future!"

Every time he returned to the village before, his family would catch him doing some work. Gao Mingli really felt that working was really tiring, and farm work was even more tiring!
The job he didn't want to do at all was now being rushed to do! (End of chapter)