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墨書 Inktalez
A patch of white seemed to begin melting overnight, the thick ice layer on the river cracking into lines, slowly thinning and gradually disappearing.
The frozen, silent earth regained its vibrant life. The dead grass covered by heavy snow revealed a pitiful sight, while hibernating animals in the forest peeked out from their warm burrows, their eyes darting around curiously.
The snow at the burrow entrance gradually melted, leaving a damp patch. A claw tentatively emerged; it was not as cold as expected, and a cute creature joyfully hopped out.
With a call, it summoned its friends, and the forest suddenly became lively.
Just like in Ten Li Pu, every household opened their doors, shedding their thick winter coats, rushing to share the news that winter had passed and spring had arrived, bringing new life.
People who had been cooped up at home all winter were bursting with energy, eagerly waiting for the chance to work hard in the coming spring.
As people regained their vitality and stepped outside, some headed to the fields while others climbed the mountains to begin their new busyness.
The bright and warm sunlight shone down on them, completely different from the bright light of previous days that lacked warmth. Liu Qingxi looked up at the blue sky at a forty-five-degree angle, shielding her eyes from the sun's glare.
It felt as if the temperature had suddenly risen after just a short time; her bulky cotton coat was gone, revealing her slender waist and developing figure due to proper nutrition.
Having planned grand ambitions all winter long, she thought: "Ah, it's time to prepare for work!"
The girl sighed lightly; her fair skin appeared almost translucent under the sunlight. Her dewy skin looked better than anything in modern advertisements, with not a single pore visible.
While marveling at the distinctness of the season and its unpredictable changes, she did not notice the crowd approaching from afar.
Until a shout startled her awake: "Qingxi! We came to find you." A middle-aged man dressed neatly in blue clothes and gray pants with black cloth shoes stood there, followed by several young men.
Suddenly turning around, Liu Qingxi was stunned by the person who approached so quickly. Upon closer inspection, the man was none other than Village Head Liu from Sanhe Village.
"Uncle Liu, what brings you here?"
Village Head Liu's face was flushed, unsure if it was from excitement or having run too fast. "Oh, Qingxi, everyone in the village is so grateful! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know how to get through these days."
It turned out that thanks to Liu Qingxi's renovations, the houses in Sanhe Village had managed to weather this difficult period smoothly.
However, they remembered Liu Qingxi's advice: if it snowed heavily, they must clear the accumulated snow from the rooftops after the snow stopped. Otherwise, the excessive weight could cause the already fragile walls to collapse under the pressure of the roof.
Even in the design of reinforced concrete structures, snow load is an important factor that must be considered.
So, during this winter, families suffering from the harsh conditions would tremble at the sight of the cold winds and snow outside, along with their fragile homes.
They feared that one night of heavy snowfall might cause their roofs to cave in.
Fortunately, with Liu Qingxi's reminders, they would climb up to clear off the thick layers of snow whenever it snowed. They managed to secure their roofs and safely get through the harsh winter.
Now that the weather had finally improved, they came to see him right away.
"Uncle Liu, there's no need for such exaggeration; this is what I should do."
"We still have to thank you! We’ve come to ask you to help us build houses. Over a dozen families are looking for you. When can we start?"
With a furrowed brow shaped like a king's character and an expression full of anticipation, Village Head Liu looked quite comical as he slightly bowed his head, humble yet patient.
"Now it's warm, but it still gets a bit cold at night. Let's start in two days, but everyone can prepare in advance by digging clay and making molds. We need to get ready to make Mud Bricks."
Liu Qingxi thought for a moment and arranged the work. After all, making Mud Bricks is the most labor-intensive part of the project. A house requires more than just a few hundred Mud Bricks; it takes a lot of time to produce them.
Moreover, once they are made, they need a certain curing period before they can be used.
"Alright then, we'll follow your lead!" The shaky house successfully endured these two months under Lu Qingxi's seemingly simple yet Masterful Craftsmanship.
The people of Sanhe Village had complete faith in her. If anyone doubted Liu Qingxi's abilities at this moment, it would surely provoke the villagers' outrage.
"We have plenty of soil here; it's everywhere. There's no need to dig specifically for it; we can use whatever we find! Don't worry, we’ll have it done in no time."
Village Head Liu waved his hand dismissively, confident that if one family couldn't manage, others would come to help.
Wait!
Liu Qingxi suddenly noticed an issue with Village Head Liu's statement—using whatever was available?
No, making Mud Bricks cannot be done that way; there are specific requirements. First, when selecting the soil, it must be clayey. The soil quality varies from place to place; not just any soil will do.
If it's sandy soil, it definitely won't work for Mud Bricks. Even if it could be made, it would easily crumble.
As for soil with low stickiness, that's also not acceptable; houses made from such material lack durability and compressive strength.
"Wait a moment!" Liu Qingxi quickly ran off to take a closer look at the materials for building the house. She had overlooked an important detail.
Then, she ran to another house and carefully examined the complete Earthen House. It turned out that the method was the same; that is, when making Mud Bricks here, there was no consideration for adding crushed straw.
However, she hadn't noticed this when helping Zhang Sanyou repair his house before.
Right, at that time, she was focused on reinforcing the wall structure and overlooked the important factor of the material's own strength.
When the suggestion to add crushed straw or wheat straw was raised, everyone had no doubts, and Liu Qingxi didn't pay attention.
After all, the houses were old, and the exposed Mud Bricks were peeling off. If one didn't peel them back to take a closer look, it was impossible to tell whether crushed straw had originally been added.
So just now, Village Head Liu's words awakened her; otherwise, if everyone finished their work and then encountered problems, it would be too late. It would be troublesome if all the effort put into making those Mud Bricks went to waste.
That’s why she hurried over to observe the houses and address this easily overlooked issue.
“Uncle Liu, how do you usually make Mud Bricks?”
Village Head Liu looked at Liu Qingxi with an incredulous expression as if to say, "How could you not know this?" He replied, “What else can we do? We just make the molds, mix the mud well, and press them one by one.”
This has been the method passed down through generations; everyone does it this way. Village Head Liu and the young people behind him didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
“Ah, Uncle Liu, you can't do it like that. If you do it this way, they won't be sturdy.”
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