Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 492: Sheepfold Construction

Lin Hai's house was very close to Tian Yan's house, and the wedding procession arrived soon. At the front was Lin Hai, leading a red-maned horse, which was pulling an open carriage in the style of the Republic of China, which he rented from the town.

The carriage soon arrived at the ginkgo tree amid the beating of gongs and drums. The carriage had to stop here. The road above was only one meter wide and the carriage could not go up.

Then everyone walked up, the gong and drum team beat the gongs and drums as they walked, firecrackers were set off all the time, and an old man who was close to Lin Hai and was beating the gongs sang as he walked. What he said was a special wedding blessing tune passed down from generation to generation.

Soon they arrived at Tian Yan's house, sang for a while and then went into the house. Then they looked for shoes and gave out red envelopes. This custom also existed in the 1980s.

After finding the shoes, I put them on the bride and carried her out to the car. The bride wore a red wedding dress but no red veil.

Then the people from Tian Yan's family and Lin Heng and other people who came to pick up the bride helped to get the dowry. Lin Hai's family gave a betrothal gift of 300 yuan and also bought other things such as a bicycle and a washing machine. Tian Yan's family gave a dowry of sewing machine, dressing mirror, wardrobe, radio, quilt and sheets, etc.

The bride is taken back home. There is a simple auditorium in the main hall. Under the arrangement of the master of ceremonies, they break the heaven and earth and the earth and the parents, exchange wedding rings and serve wedding tea. Then they ask the hired videographer to take a wedding photo for them and that's it. Next is the wedding banquet. Everyone eats and drinks, and there will be people singing on the stage for entertainment.

The wedding style of this era is in a period of collision and fusion between tradition and Western style. In rural areas, some couples still have to worship heaven and earth and ride in a sedan chair, some simply exchange wedding rings, give their parents a cup of tea and that's it, and some just follow the Western style wedding.

After discussion, Tian Yan and Lin Hai decided to hold a traditional wedding which is more common in rural areas, but the specifications were also very high and it was considered top-notch in the countryside.

"I'm so tired, but it's finally done." Xiulan came out of the bridal room and walked to Lin Heng and sighed.

She and Caiyun went there early to help Tian Yan put on makeup and pack up various things, and have been busy until now.

"You can go and eat now. I have to wait a little longer. I guess there are more people coming to present gifts." Lin Heng said with a smile. In addition to picking up the bride, he also had the task of writing the gift book today.

"Are Xiaoxia and the others with mom?" Xiulan asked again.

Lin Heng nodded: "Your mom and my mom are taking them outside, I think. I just saw them."

"Then I'll go find mom first." Xiulan nodded and said.

Li Shiwei came back not long after Xiulan went out. Today, he and Lin Heng collected the money one by one and wrote the gift book the other.

This year, more people gave money than in the previous two years, and they all gave one or two yuan. Those with close relationships would give more. Lin Heng didn't give much either, just ten yuan.

"I guess everyone who wants to give gifts has arrived. There shouldn't be many people left." Li Shiwei said as he counted the money.

"Whether there is or not, we have to wait until the end." Lin Heng spread his hands and said that this was their responsibility today.

"Then I'll go get some melon seeds and peanuts." Li Shiwei nodded and went out to get some melon seeds.

When Lin Hai's family started to have eight tables, many people came and they prepared more than thirty tables. Lin Heng's family was busy here until dark in the afternoon and went home after dinner.

They also called their parents-in-law to come here to help, and they had a free banquet here for a whole day. They both liked the lively environment very much.

"Daughter and son-in-law, we are going to go back tomorrow. We have been here for six days, which is long enough."

Chen Changxia said with a smile on the way back.

"What are you thinking about, Dad? Stay for a few more days. You can't do farm work if you go back now." Lin Heng flatly refused.

"Yes, Mom and Dad, you can just play here with peace of mind. We won't keep you after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month." Xiulan also said.

"That's too long. We've had enough fun." Wang Zhi shook his head.

Lin Heng found a legitimate reason: "We are planning to build a sheep pen these two days, Dad, you can help us."

Last year he pulled some iron tiles and barbed wire from Ancheng, saying that they would be used to expand the sheep pen, but he never started working on it. Now that the New Year has passed, it’s time to start.

"Is it true?" Chen Changxia was a little unconvinced. After all, Lin Heng's sheep pen was so big.

"Of course, just consider it as my help for a few days." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Okay then." Chen Changxia said helplessly. It was indeed inappropriate for him to leave when his son-in-law asked him for help.

After returning home and warming themselves by the fire for a while, everyone went to bed early. They had been busy all day and were very tired.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Lin Heng and Xiulan got up early and walked to the backyard to look at the sky. He sighed: "The New Year is over, it's time to work. This year is a crucial year."

If he succeeds this year, his assets will suddenly reach nearly 500,000. By 1990, he will easily become a millionaire with assets of several million, and be one of the first people to become rich.

It will be even easier from now on. You can invest freely according to your memories of rebirth.

"I can help you this year. The children are much easier to take care of now." Xiulan said with a smile.

She didn't want to stay at home all the time, she wanted to work with Lin Heng.

"Of course you can. Now that the child is older, we can go out and play together. We can go hiking, fishing, or anything else." Lin Heng nodded with a smile. He knew that Xiulan was a little bored taking care of the children at home for the past two years.

"it is good."

Xiulan nodded happily, and after exercising with Lin Heng, she made breakfast and asked her parents-in-law to come join them.

After dinner, everyone set out for Red Maple Mountain together. They first went to see the barbed wire and iron tiles that were piled up in the warehouse on the second platform last year.

"These can make a 200-square-meter sheep pen, right?" asked Lin's father.

"Two hundred square meters is definitely enough. I don't plan to use a full brick structure this time. I'm going to try a wooden brick structure." Lin Heng said.

He planned to use cement and bricks to build the load-bearing columns, and cover the other parts with wooden boards. The second-hand wooden boards on the construction site were much cheaper than bricks.

The sheep pen is suspended, and the bottom is covered with a special wire mesh he bought, so sheep manure can easily leak through. There is not much difference between sheep standing on it and standing on wooden boards. The service life can reach about five years.

The sheep pen fence is also made of steel pipes, which are strong and durable after welding, and much better than wood.

After listening to Lin Heng's introduction, Father Lin asked, "So what are we going to do today?"

"Let's go get the materials today, and you guys come with me to move them." Lin Heng said.

Today I will first go and get the small amount of cement and bricks that will be needed, and then go and get the wood boards and sand.

"Okay, let's set off now." Chen Changxia said.

"Let's go." Lin Heng took the car keys and drove to the town with his father and father-in-law. They bought cement and red bricks first.

Then they went to a second-hand wooden board store in the suburbs and bought some construction boards. These boards were sold by the ton and were very cheap. A truckload of boards cost only sixty dollars. They just needed to deal with the nails on them after they got them back.

Compared with red bricks, this truckload of wood was much cheaper, and Lin Heng was very satisfied. After all, the sheepfold was not a permanent project and would be demolished later anyway. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon when they finished all this. They had lunch at home, and then Lin Heng called his eldest brother to join them. The four of them drove along the national highway to a place on the Huangtan River that was accessible by car.

"Is this the place where they dug sand when they built the national highway?" Lin Yue asked after looking around.

Lin Heng smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's the place where they dug sand when they built the national highway before. We can just dig here."

They don't need much sand, just shovel some here. The quality of the sand here is also very good, it's a little coarse because it's not sieved, but that doesn't matter.

"It's convenient to have a car, you can just get it for free." Father Lin said with a smile.

Chen Changxia said enviously: "Yes, if there is no car, even if you know there is sand here, you can't get it."

"That's true." Lin Heng nodded with a smile. The convenience of having a car is increasing exponentially.

If you walk, your range is at most five or six kilometers. With a car, the entire city is not far away. With a truck, you can look for cheap materials throughout the city.

When you want to go out for fun, you can drive around the city.

"Brother, please bring me some sand later. I plan to build a cattle and sheep pen to raise some cattle and sheep." Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng and said with a smile.

Not only does he plan to raise cattle and sheep, he also plans to convert several paddy fields near the farmland into fish ponds. Now that he has some capital, he is ready to invest in these money-making projects.

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After all, farming in their mountain valley is too unprofitable. No matter how hard they try, they can barely avoid starvation.

"Of course you can, you can also open it yourself." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Forget it, I don't have the skills to do this. I need to practice for a while longer." Lin Yue smiled and shook his head. He didn't even dare to drive fast on flat ground, let alone this kind of rugged mountain road.

"Take it easy."

Lin Heng said this and started shoveling sand with a shovel.

Two of them shoveled the sand while two others lifted it and poured it onto the truck. The speed was quite fast and they finished pouring half a truck of sand before dark, which was estimated to be nearly two tons.

It was already dark when they got home. Mother Lin looked at them and said, "Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. You are more tired today than yesterday."

"It's okay. It's quite fun running around." Chen Changxia said with a smile.

After washing their hands, everyone sat around the table and drank some wine and ate some food. They also talked about plans for tomorrow.

The next morning, they had breakfast and went to work before the frost melted. Lin Heng spread the lines according to the designed size, while Lin's father and Chen Changxia mixed cement together. Lin Heng first laid the red brick pillars.

After the pillars are built, the wooden beams are placed. After waiting for them to solidify, the rafters can be nailed and the iron tiles can be installed. It is very quick to make.

There are 12 red brick pillars in total, which took them most of the day. After finishing, the rest of the time was spent removing nails from the second-hand wooden boards and cutting the bad ones with an electric saw.

The next day, Lin Heng continued to build the pillars for the sheep pen, one meter and two meters high, to suspend the sheep pen in the air, and he made a simple drainage ditch underneath.

By the fourth day, the red brick pillars outside had completely solidified and the wooden boards had been cut. They first laid the cut wooden boards up along the red brick pillars little by little. Vertical grooves for laying the wooden boards had been left on the red brick pillars before, so laying the wooden boards was very quick and the new sheep pen was surrounded in almost one morning.

"There are small gaps between the wooden boards." Father Lin said after taking a look at it after finishing it.

Lin Heng waved his hand and said, "The gap is only two or three millimeters, it doesn't matter, the air in the ventilated sheep pen will circulate faster."

"If you're worried about the sheep getting cold in winter, you can just wrap them with tarpaulin. That'll be all," Chen Changxia said with a smile.

"That's right. Let's go back and have dinner. We'll be almost done after laying the iron tiles in the afternoon." Father Lin nodded.

"It's time for me to go home tomorrow." Chen Changxia said with a smile.

"Dad, I'll take you home after breakfast tomorrow. Just put the cow on my car." Lin Heng said with a smile.

Chen Changxia shook his head and said, "We'll go back by ourselves. It's okay."

Lin Heng put his arm around his father-in-law's shoulder and said, "Xiu Lan and I can go over and play for a bit, unless you don't want me to go."

"Of course you can. I'm so happy that you are willing to go." Chen Changxia said with a smile.

"That's it." Lin Heng nodded.

We went back down the mountain and had lunch here. We didn't drink because we had to go to the rooftop in the afternoon. After lunch, we took a short break and then went back to work.

First nail the wooden rafters to the beams, then move the iron tiles up and nail them to the rafters. There are no power tools, only hand hammers. After nailing, apply silicone sealant to the positions where the nails are located and you're done.

The roof was successfully completed in one afternoon. After leaving the house, Lin Heng smiled and said, "This time the sheep pen was built much faster."

"The main thing is that you have a car now, which is much more convenient than before." Lin Yue said with a smile.

"Once the sheep pen fences inside are completed, everything will be fine. Thanks to my father-in-law for helping here these days." Father Lin said happily.

The sheep are in estrus earlier this year than last year, and have already started before the Chinese New Year. The sheep are expected to give birth in May or June, when the climate is warm and very suitable.

"What are you talking about? It's all as I should do." Chen Changxia waved his hand.

Lin Heng looked at everyone and said, "Don't be polite, let's go downstairs and eat."

After coming down the mountain, Xiulan and her friends prepared a very sumptuous dinner tonight as a farewell party, as Chen's father and mother will be going back tomorrow.

After finishing his meal and going home, after washing up and coaxing the child to sleep, Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and asked, "Wife, how much red envelope should I give to my parents tomorrow?"

"Ten dollars is enough. My two nephews gave five dollars, which is already a lot. If it's more, it will be difficult for them to return the gift." Xiulan said. She had thought about this a long time ago.

"Then I'll listen to you." Lin Heng said with a smile.

Xiulan got on the bed and leaned against Lin Heng and said, "Besides, we have shoes and clothes prepared for our parents. I think the red envelopes are enough for the two nephews."

"Then just give it all. It's not much money anyway. It's a good chance to express our filial piety." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"It's up to you." Xiulan said with a wink.

"That's it, let's get some rest. We have to come back early tomorrow. The day after tomorrow we have to send Caiyun to school and visit the factories in the city."

After Lin Heng finished speaking, he hugged Xiulan and lay down. They turned off the lights, whispered a few words, and then fell asleep leaning against each other.

(End of this chapter)