A powerful country in scientific research

When all the greenhouses in the experimental field were built, the adobe kang in the Jiang family's wing room was also dry.

It was Friday, and Su Ran went to the team leader's house to call her uncle and cousin over in the morning, and started to build the kang. Yesterday, she told Zhang Xue and Li Yun that she would not go this morning, as winter was approaching, and the kang was urgent and had to be built quickly.

Jiang Fusheng and Jiang Yunhai had already arrived. The three of them divided the work and started working.

Jiang Fusheng can do simple carpentry work, so the task of polishing the kang surface was given to him. He first used a wood planer to smooth the kang surface, and then polished it with cement to make it flat and smooth. He then applied waterproof material, which is cement mortar. After applying the waterproof material, there is no need to worry about the kang surface getting damp or water seeping.

Jiang Yunhai and Su Ran worked together to apply cement to the kang body and kang base that had been made earlier. Applying cement would make it more fireproof and safer.

After they finished brushing, they started to do the most important step - installing the flue. They installed the flue on one side of the kang and connected it to the chimney so that the smoke could be discharged smoothly.

As Su Ran worked on it, she explained to Jiang Yunhai, "There are two most important things about building a kang. One is that the surface must be well made, just like repairing a house, it must be beautiful and without any potholes. The other is that the flue must be well made. The design of the flue and the placement of the partitions must be foolproof. If the kang is well built, the room will be warm and there will be no ash at home. If it is not well built, it will be easy for the east side to be cold and the west side to be hot. In serious cases, the smoke cannot be exhausted and it will be easy for the smoke to choke people. So, building a kang is also a technical job."

Jiang Yunhai kept nodding beside him. Ranran was right!

After Su Ran and Jiang Yunhai finished the flue, Jiang Fusheng also cleaned up the kang board. He took the wooden boards one by one. After putting them in the house, Jiang Fusheng and Grandpa Jiang built a stove with bricks next to it. There was only one room in the wing, so the stove had to be placed in the room.

Su Ran and Jiang Yunhai did not rest either. They began to lay the kang surface and install the kang boards. After that, they began to install the kang edge. The book said that the kang edge can be made of wooden boards or stones, or it can be made of cast concrete, so Su Ran chose wooden boards. The thing that is most in short supply in rural areas is wood. The price is not expensive now, and it is also strong. It is simply the best choice.

She chose wooden boards, but she still had to make it clear. Su Ran said to Jiang Yunhai, "In addition to wooden boards, the kang edge can also be made of stones or concrete. If concrete is used, use lines or ink lines to determine the range and height of the kang edge where concrete needs to be poured. Then use wooden boards or other materials to enclose the range, pour concrete into the kang edge fence, and compact the concrete with bricks or wooden sticks to ensure that it is even and dense. Finally, use wooden boards to level the surface of the poured concrete, so that it is convenient to use and clean in the future."

Jiang Yunhai listened carefully and tried hard to memorize it.

Su Ran loosely fixed the wooden board with nails, then measured its levelness with a spirit level. After adjusting it to be parallel to the ground, he fixed the board completely.

The edge of the kang was done, and the next step was to smooth the kang surface. To do this, the wooden ladder had to be placed on the kang edge and the windowsill. Su Ran carefully checked whether the kang surface was flat with a boring tool in her hand. Jiang Yunhai kept handing her a small bucket of cement. After 20 minutes, the entire kang surface was finally smoothed.

Su Ran looked at the relatively neat and clean adobe kang in front of him and smiled with satisfaction.

The kang is built, and now it is time to test the results.

Jiang Yunhai went outside to get the firewood that he had prepared in advance. After bringing it in, Su Ran lit the fire and started to heat the kang.

As the flames grew bigger and the smoke increased, Su Ran quickly closed the stove cover. Several people were waiting nearby. The kang didn't heat up that quickly, so they were waiting to see if the smoke could be exhausted.

Jiang Yunhai went to check on the brine outside, and when he came back, he said excitedly, "Of course, there's smoke in the brine, it looks like it's all gone out."

Su Ran curled her lips, "Well, it seems to be successful. Next, we have to see if the kang is warm enough. Let's wait for another half an hour."

Jiang Fusheng looked excited, "Yeah!"

Grandpa Jiang smiled and said to Jiang Fusheng, "Fusheng, your aunt has prepared lunch. Let's go eat first. It will be almost time after lunch."

Jiang Fusheng did not refuse, "Okay, then I'll let Xiao Hai tell his mother."

Grandpa Jiang: “Hey.”

Ten minutes later, Jiang Yunhai came over with a bag of rice and ten eggs. "Grandma, this is what my mom asked me to bring."

Grandpa Jiang frowned and said, "What are you going to do with this? We don't need it at home, we are all relatives, why are you so fussy about a meal?"

Jiang Fusheng motioned his son to put down his food and explained, "How can a younger generation eat empty-handed at an elder's home? It is because we are relatives that we have to care about these things. Only those who give and take are relatives."

Grandpa Jiang sighed. Knowing that his nephew was a man who cared about his reputation, he said helplessly, "Okay, hurry up and eat. If you don't eat now, it will get cold."

~

The family sat at the dining table, talking while eating.

Grandpa Jiang picked up a piece of bacon with chopsticks for Jiang Yunhai, put it in his bowl, and said with a smile: "How is your study today, Yunhai? Do you know how to cook it?"

Jiang Yunhai smiled sheepishly and said, "I've remembered everything I should remember. I should be able to do it now."

Seeing that he was very modest, Su Ran smiled and added, "Brother Yunhai is too modest. Today I just used my mouth. Most of the work was done by Brother Yunhai. His skills have been mastered, and he has no problem leading people to build a kang."

Grandpa Jiang was pleasantly surprised and said, "Yunhai learns so quickly, he is worthy of being our Jiang family's child, he is so smart, hahahaha."

Jiang Yunhai, who had been a poor student since childhood and was praised for his intelligence for the first time, said: "!!!" The praise came too suddenly.

As a result, Jiang Yunhai felt that the food in front of him tasted even better and he started to eat it voraciously.

Half an hour later, everyone finished their meal and went to the rooms together.

As soon as I opened the door, a warm breeze blew towards me.

Jiang Fusheng felt the warmth and said with a smile: "This adobe kang is not bad, it's also very warm."

Grandma Jiang: "Yes, it is warm indeed. This thing is really good."

Grandpa Jiang saw Jiang Fusheng's expression change slightly, and said, "Fusheng, I see that this adobe kang uses a lot of cement and wood, and the cost is not small. Someone in the team may not be able to afford it."

Jiang Fusheng sighed, "Yes, not only that, the workers who build the kangs have to be paid for their work. We can't let them do it for free."

Su Ran's eyes flashed, "Uncle, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's appropriate. Would you like to hear it?"

Jiang Fusheng nodded and looked at Su Ran expectantly. His niece was a smart person and might be able to come up with some good ideas.