Bricklayer Li's attitude today is completely different from yesterday. Not only did he not make a fool of himself, but he smiled like an old chrysanthemum. When he saw Zhuang Keqing, he imitated the village chief and called her "girl" affectionately.
She was so frightened that she almost didn't dare to step into the house.
Li Shi saw Zhuang Keqing's expression and suppressed a smile in his heart.
My grandpa himself knows that although he may seem hard to talk to, he is actually just a young boy. If he has something he is interested in, he cannot wait for a moment.
It was the village chief who laughed and resolved the situation.
He stepped forward to welcome Zhuang Keqing in, glanced at his son who was standing there stupidly, and told him to quickly let his wife prepare lunch.
If the grandson of the bricklayer is willing to come today, then it means that the work of building the kiln is almost completed, and why should we entertain him well?
After Zhuang Keqing sat down, Li Baziang asked before the village chief could speak: "How big is your kiln for drying dried potatoes?"
It's not surprising that he asked this. In fact, the bricklayer's kiln uses a special burner, and the brick-burning kiln is not very big.
If you want to build a new kiln and meet the actual needs of Erli Village, you will have to redesign it.
Where the burner is located, how many flues there are, and whether to burn wood or charcoal are all important.
It's hard for laymen to understand.
Zhuang Keqing looked at the village chief after hearing this.
They hadn't decided on this issue before, so it was hard to discuss it in front of others.
But who knew that the old man trusted her very much, and he only smiled and nodded a few times, which meant that she could speak confidently and boldly.
Zhuang Keqing pondered for a moment, but did not answer. Instead, he asked another question.
"Grandpa, village chief, how many kilograms of sweet potatoes can the sweet potato workshop process in a day now?"
Not to mention the reaction of the village chief, Li Brick himself did not expect that this girl would talk about the workshop in front of an outsider like him, and she did not avoid suspicion at all.
But this move really won his favor. He felt that this girl looked young, but she was very cheerful in doing things, and she was not the kind to be careless.
And he, Lao Li, likes cheerful people!
"This workshop can process three to four hundred kilograms a day, but the weather has been bad recently, so no one dared to work on it."
The village chief responded. Although he was hesitant in his heart, he answered clearly.
Three or four hundred pounds?
Zhuang Keqing's calculations began to click in his mind.
Not talking about dried potatoes, but only vermicelli, if there are five kilograms of sweet potatoes and one kilogram of vermicelli, the rest will be dregs. In other words, after four hundred kilograms of sweet potatoes, there will still be three hundred kilograms of potato dregs left over in one day.
This amount is really not small.
"Grandpa Bricklayer, please build the kiln for us at four hundred kilograms."
Zhuang Keqing only thought for a moment before making a decision.
"only……"
"If you have any concerns, just say it, I, Lao Li, will do my best to take care of it!"
Li Shi listened as his grandfather called himself "Lao Li" to a girl younger than his grandson, and almost didn't make a sound.
"Grandpa Bricklayer, I only have one request, which is to ensure drying efficiency."
"What? What efficiency?"
Li Brick, who had just been slapped on the chest and tried his best to do anything, was dumbfounded.
What? Why can’t he even understand people’s words?
Zhuang Keqing hadn't been able to get out of his own thoughts, so he opened his mouth and brought up the vocabulary of later generations without even noticing it.
It wasn't until everyone in the room stared at him, waiting for an explanation, that he finally came to his senses.
"Ah, what I mean is that I hope I can dry a kiln of things in one day and night. It's too late."
With this explanation, I finally understood everything.
"Everything else, whether it's the size or shape of the kiln, can be made according to your ideas."
Zhuang Keqing's almond-shaped eyes were slightly curved, and he looked at Mr. Li with a look of trust.
"After all, you are experienced. It's better for laymen like us not to point fingers."
What she said was true. When Li Brick heard this, he was so happy that he slapped his thighs.
"Okay! Very good!"
"Girl, what you are saying is hard on me! I, Lao Li, will take over this job!"
The loud voice was so refreshing that even Li You outside the house heard it.
He smiled so brightly that his white teeth showed, and he quickly turned around and trotted back to the kitchen, and told his wife to cook a few more dishes.
The kiln construction has been completed, so why not have a good meal and drink at noon to celebrate!
Sure enough, the lunch was lively and enjoyable. Although he had no wine, Li Brickman was in such high spirits that he seemed drunk. He even talked about his Li family's unique kiln-burning skills.
"It's not that I, Lao Li, like to show off. Our ancestors were also craftsmen from the official kilns of the former dynasty, and they still have some skills in keeping things under control."
Sighing, he looked a little frustrated again, "It's a pity, alas..."
It seems that the next words are hard to say.
The village chief patted Mr. Li on the shoulder and said comfortingly: "I've been here too, and I understand how you feel. But as a human being, don't you have to look forward?"
"Look at our Erli Village. How could we have imagined in the new year that we could build a sweet potato workshop and make money?"
The village chief glanced at Li Shi, who had been following Li Bricklayer, and smiled again, praising: "I see that your family is prospering, and the younger generation is also promising! It won't be any worse in the future.
!”
The village chief was indeed a man of old age, and he kept saying these things, which immediately made Mr. Li relax his brows.
When it was time to leave, the two old men, with a combined age of more than a hundred, actually started to call each other like brothers.
You call this one Brother Li, and that one he calls Brother Li. They are so affectionate that they will be worshiping each other in the next second.
This was the first time Zhuang Keqing saw such excellent social skills as the village chief grandfather, and he was really dumbfounded.
After seeing off Mr. Li and his grandson, the village chief looked back and saw an expression of admiration and admiration on the girl's face, a rare display of the innocence she deserved at her age.
"How can you look at me like this?"
"Grandpa Village Chief, I really didn't expect you to have such a hand."
Zhuang Keqing's almond-shaped eyes widened, and he stepped forward to help the old man back to the house, and then moved the stool to the hot tea in time.
Just when the atmosphere was getting warm, the village chief inadvertently mentioned the kiln again. When asked about the cost of building the kiln, he meant that he was willing to pay the down payment first, and he would have to scrape together the rest, and he would pay the final payment when the kiln was completed.
.
But Bricklayer Li had already called the village chief Big Brother, and he was put on the platform unable to get off.
So he followed the good example and said that this kiln would only charge the cost price of the materials, and the payment would be made when the work was completed. Erli Village would never charge an extra penny! Let them keep it safe.
Although the specific cost has not yet been determined, according to the straightforward character of the bricklayer, he is sure to be a stickler and not to deceive others.
The village chief lightly twirled his short and sparse beard, feeling complacent for a moment, but then glanced at the girl beside him and said with a straight face.
"But even though people say this, we can't take advantage of others. We have to give what we should give. Do you understand?"
Zhuang Keqing should be like this.
On the other hand, Li Shi, who was returning from Erli Village with his grandfather, was a little confused.
Although my grandpa is very rough, he is rarely so easy to talk to. Why did he take the initiative to say so easily today that he would only charge for the materials from the kiln?
Judging from his experience, this kiln will not be too small. Not only does he have to spend time firing bricks, but he also has to have people busy with the work. This will definitely delay the usual business.
After thinking about it, he couldn't figure it out. He hesitated to speak and looked at Mr. Li back and forth so many times.
The old man is not a stupid person. After being watched like this many times, he already understood what his grandson wanted to ask.
"Why, I can't figure out why your grandpa took the initiative to lower the price today?"
"Yes, Grandpa, we need at least three young men in our family to do this job, but you..."
Li Brick glanced at his eldest grandson whom he valued, slowed down and followed the words.
"How many generations have we lived in Daxing Village? How has our life changed after coming here for so long?"
Judging from Li Shi's expression, it was obvious that he didn't understand why Mr. Li asked this question, but he still answered it honestly.
"No change, no..."
The young man paused and said, "It seems a little different this year."
"We started to eat tofu at the beginning of the year, and recently the vermicelli and dried sweet potatoes have been selling well, and we even have a construction team dedicated to making kangs for people!"
The more Li Shi thought about it, the more incredible it became, and he couldn't hide the surprise on his face.
"Have you ever wondered where these things started?"
Li Baziang suggested.
"where?"
Li Shi, who was still a little confused, suddenly had an idea in his mind.
"It's Erli Village! They are all from Erli Village!"
