Traveling through the famine, I stockpiled supplies like crazy

Chapter 409: Celebrate the New Year with great excitement 2

For several days, everyone spent their time eating and drinking, and when the sixth day of the New Year came, those who had been idle for a few days could no longer sit still.

I was used to a busy life, and I felt uncomfortable after a few days of idleness. At first I felt relaxed and comfortable, but after a few days it felt like my body was covered with thorns and I couldn't sit still.

Early that morning, after Xu Han got up, she did not see Lu Chuan and the others.

After walking around the front and back yards, she didn't see anyone. Just when Xu Han was wondering where everyone had gone, Zhao Yunyun came in from outside holding Ze'er.

"Sister Xiaohan, you're up."

Xu Han's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. It seemed that she was the last person to get up today.

"Where did they all go? Why didn't I see anyone?"

Zhao Yunyun smiled and explained, "Everyone has been so idle these past few days that they are almost going moldy. So early in the morning, grandpa called them to go to the fields to weed together."

There are few weeds in winter, but there are still some frost-resistant weeds in the ground. I haven't cleaned the weeds in the wheat field for some time, so I think there should be quite a few.

While washing up, Xu Han laughed and said, "Hahaha, you can't sit still anymore and you've started to find work for yourself."

Zhao Yunyun put Ze'er down and let him walk by himself. She smiled and said, "That's right. You can't just sit there. There's breakfast in the pot. Eat it first."

"Okay, I'll go eat first, you can play with Ze'er."

After saying this, Xu Han turned and went into the kitchen. After finishing breakfast, she took her tools and went to the wheat field to weed.

Several people were working in the wheat field, chatting and laughing.

We have been chatting every day these days, but we always have endless things to say, just like this time when we meet, we want to say all the things we didn’t say during the past year when we were apart.

There is strength in numbers. In just one morning, everyone cleared half of the wheat field. After lunch in the afternoon, they continued to weed. All the weeds were cleared in one day.

On the third day, Zhao Yunyun took Mu'er to learn medical skills, while Grandpa Zhao followed Lu Chuan and others to the orchard.

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone is not busy during this period, and with Yunhua and Grandpa Zhao helping out, everyone took advantage of this time to quickly tidy up the orchard.

If it is not cleaned up now, it will be overgrown with weeds again in spring, and the small shrubs in the orchard will sprout and grow again.

Including Xu Han, there were five of us in total. It took us two days to clean up the orchard. It took another two days to reclaim all the uncultivated orchard and dig out all the tree roots in the soil.

By the tenth night of the first lunar month, all the tasks were completed. After dinner, everyone sat together, and Xu Han took the opportunity to propose a new task.

"The stream at the entrance is neither wide nor narrow. Although the water is not very deep, it usually makes your shoes wet when you want to cross to the other side. Why don't we take advantage of this time to build a small bridge so that it will be convenient to go back and forth."

Lu Chuan thought about it and realized that it was indeed true. For this reason, few people went to the other side of the stream. There was a large valley on the other side, but every time they went there, their clothes and shoes would get wet, so everyone would rather walk further away than go to the other side of the stream.

Grandpa Zhao interrupted, "If it were you, we should have built a small bridge there a long time ago, so it would be convenient to travel back and forth."

Zhao Yunyun also agreed, "It would be much more convenient to have a bridge."

Yunhua asked the most critical question: "Who among you can build a bridge?"

Xu Han thought for a moment and said, "We can just use wood to build a bridge. It doesn't need to be too big, just enough for a cart to pass through."

Lu Chuan continued, "It's not difficult to build a bridge with wood. I can't say it's very sturdy, but at least it will be able to last for a few years."

Xu Han thought about it and went back to the room to get out pen, ink, paper and inkstone. They discussed together how to build the bridge at the door.

Lu Chuan suggested, "I think an arch bridge is better, but it is relatively difficult to build an arch bridge. I am afraid it will not be strong enough."

Grandpa Zhao denied it, "I don't think it's possible. If we build an arch bridge, the cart will be hard to push and will slide down easily."

Everybody was discussing at once, and everyone was sharing their ideas. Grandpa Zhao was listening and drawing at the same time, and in the end the small bridge turned into a big bridge.

Finally, the Taoist priest made the decision, "Since we have already done it, we might as well build a big bridge right away, so that it will be convenient for traffic later."

Lu Chuan thought about it and nodded, "I think it's okay. Anyway, we are not short of wood, so let's give it a try."

Xu Han also agreed, "Okay then, let's just build a slightly larger bridge."

Eventually, for convenience, the bridge on the creek side was turned into a flat bridge.

The bridge deck is supported by six piers at the bottom, and then a slope is built on both sides of the stream.

In this way, the bridge deck is high in the middle and low at both ends. Even during the flood season in summer, there is no need to worry about the water destroying the bridge deck.

The bridge deck does not come into contact with water, so it can be used for a relatively longer time and is not easy to rot.

After confirming, Lu Chuan led everyone to the creek to measure the dimensions the next day.

After measuring the dimensions, everyone started to build the bridge.

The bridge deck is made entirely of long wooden strips spliced ​​together, supported by a keel underneath. After it was built and tested, it turned out to be quite sturdy.

Because there is never a shortage of wood at home, all the wood used to build the bridge is the best hardwood. Bridges made of hardwood will also be stronger.

After four days of working together to make some modifications, we finally built the basic structure of the bridge. Now all that’s left is to install the bridge on the other side of the creek.

But now it's dark, and I definitely can't finish it today. I can only install it tomorrow, and tomorrow is the Lantern Festival.

Unfortunately, the installation of the bridge has to be postponed, at least until after the Lantern Festival.

That night, Yunhua said, "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Time has passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, we have already been at home for almost 20 days."

Zhao Yunyun also echoed, "Yes, this is too fast."

Grandpa Zhao laughed and joked, "Hahaha, you guys don't want to leave?"

When Yunhua heard this, he immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice, and almost said yes directly.

But he accidentally caught a glimpse of his master's face and couldn't say this sentence at all.

There was a hint of awkwardness in the air for a moment, and the Taoist priest slowly spoke and directly decided whether Yunhua would go or stay. "After the bridge is installed tomorrow, you can go back the day after tomorrow."