Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

After lunch, the eldest brother didn't waste a moment. He took the outhouse design plan that Xingbao had prepared, immediately gathered several group leaders, and the group went straight to the village's bricklayer uncle's house to ask for advice on the details.

No sooner had the older brother and his friends explained the dimensions, structure, and materials of the outhouse to the bricklayers than the uncles became enthusiastic, praising the idea as excellent. They all grabbed their trowels and mallets and headed straight for the breeding base—eager to finish the outhouse as soon as possible, solving the children's problem of finding a place to relieve themselves and helping collect manure for compost, thus contributing to the children's breeding base. Seeing this, the older brother didn't hesitate either, immediately calling on a few older friends to head into the mountains with their machetes to cut sturdy branches and resilient vines to build the outhouse's fence. Xingbao also pulled Guixiang along, and called over some familiar friends, planning to go to the breeding base to help the uncles and learn some practical building skills.

When Xingbao arrived at the breeding base with Guixiang and his friends, the uncles were already busily working. They first went to the village's tile kiln to collect some discarded broken tiles, carrying them back and forth to the mortar and pestle. They took turns stepping on the pestle to crush the tiles into powder, then ground them into fine powder. Next, they mixed the yellow soil from digging the cesspools with fine sand, added water according to the specified ratio, and stirred it evenly to form a mixture of soil, sand, and clay. Then, they repeatedly pounded and compacted it with wooden mallets, carefully applying it layer by layer to the bottom and sides of the pre-dug cesspools, making sure each layer was firmly sealed to prevent leaks later. Xingbao watched intently, his eyes glued to the uncles' movements. He would occasionally step forward to help, handing them a small trowel or a wooden mallet. If he encountered something he didn't understand, he would quietly memorize it, and during a break when the uncles took a breather to wipe their sweat, he would lean over and whisper to ask for guidance. Gui Xiang and her friends were not idle either. Some picked up tiles and poured them into the mortar, some squatted to the side to clean up the rubble around the latrine, and some carried water jugs to hand water to their uncles. They were all sweating profusely and their little faces were rosy, but none of them complained of being tired. On the contrary, they were full of energy because they could help.

After three whole days of hard work by everyone, the core of the outhouse—the squatting pit and the cesspool—was finally completed. The uncles and elders had been exceptionally thorough; to prevent rainwater from flooding the cesspool, they raised the entire outhouse floor by three inches and reinforced the foundation with sturdy timbers. Thick wooden stakes were also deeply embedded around the perimeter to ensure the outhouse's stability. However, the mortar used for the flooring wasn't completely dry yet, emitting a faint earthy smell. The uncles and elders instructed them to let it air out for at least four or five days before use, lest it spoil the newly constructed cesspool.

As for the remaining walls and roof, seeing the children's enthusiasm, the uncles simply let them work on it themselves—after all, they had the branches and vines they had cut earlier, so all they had to do was build the framework and plaster it with mud; it wasn't too difficult. Xingbao watched and learned carefully the whole time, not only figuring out the proportions of mixing broken tile powder, yellow soil, and fine sand into a mortar, but also writing the recipe down in his notebook. He knew that while lime was good, it had to be bought with copper coins, and there was only one lime kiln in the whole township, which was usually in short supply and not available to ordinary households; tile kilns were common in almost every village, but grinding broken tiles into fine powder was laborious and time-consuming, and few families were willing to go through that trouble. Using broken tile powder mixed with mortar was the most economical method at the moment.

Looking at the smooth, solid rammed earth floor beneath his feet, Xingbao secretly began to ponder: This rammed earth looks flat and durable. If it really doesn't leak after it dries, as his uncles said, then it can be used as a composting pit, eliminating the need for the hassle of composting. After all, the south has a lot of rain, so composting is more convenient and easier to manage. He also thought that if he could change the floor of his own kitchen to this, it would be so much better than the current muddy floor! The kitchen floor is uneven, and every time he sets up a table, he has to find stones and pieces of wood to stand on. If he's not careful, the table will wobble, making it uncomfortable for customers to eat. With rammed earth, it's much easier to clean. A quick sweep and wipe and it's spotless. It won't be muddy on rainy days, and customers will feel more comfortable.

But then he thought again and worried: the work looked simple, but it was actually very labor-intensive and material-intensive. Precise proportions of the three-component soil were required, and compacting the ground required a lot of effort. He also had to go to the brick kiln to collect broken tiles and grind them into powder. Nothing was easy. His parents were already busy enough managing the shop and taking care of the fields. Would they find it troublesome and disagree with his idea?

Xingbao glanced discreetly at his eldest brother, who was saying goodbye to his uncles and preparing to lead everyone in winding the vines. He had an idea: he needed to explain the difference between composting and fermentation to his brother first, letting him make a choice so he could better arrange everyone's work. Once that was settled, he would explain the idea of ​​renovating the kitchen to his brother when he got home that evening, clearly outlining the benefits of improving the floor. He would then ask his brother to persuade their parents, and together they could discuss it with them. Perhaps then, the deal would be done.

Seeing that their uncles and elders had gone far away, the older brothers led everyone to start weaving the vines. Seeing this, the younger children rushed forward to help, handing over the vines, but with so many people and so little space, the scene quickly became chaotic as they jostled and bumped into each other. The eldest brother, helpless, could only laugh and shoo the group of little ones aside, making them stand and watch.

Xingbao seized an opportunity and saw that his older brother had just finished winding a vine, so he quickly stepped forward and called out, "Brother, come here for a moment, I have something to tell you."

Upon hearing this, the older brother casually handed over his work to an older colleague, then walked straight towards Xingbao, wiping the sweat from his brow, and asked, "Xingbao, what's wrong now?"

"Brother, didn't I write down a composting method for you a few days ago?" Xingbao got straight to the point. "That was a temporary solution we came up with before because we didn't have a suitable container for composting. Now that we've seen how useful the three-in-one soil is, we can use it to make a composting pit. After all, composting is time-consuming, laborious, and takes up a lot of space, while composting is much more convenient."

The older brother frowned and asked seriously, "Xingbao, which method is better, composting or fermentation?"

"In terms of fertility and applicability, compost is still better," Xingbao replied without hesitation.

"Is there any way to make composting as simple and easy to do as fermentation?" the older brother asked again, clearly preferring compost with better fertility, but worried about the trouble of subsequent maintenance.

Upon hearing this, Xingbao lowered his head and began to ponder. In his previous life, the only thing he had personally tried was composting; the methods for composting were all learned from books, and he had no practical experience. He carefully recalled the relevant knowledge in his mind, and after a while, he suddenly remembered a modified composting method he had seen in a video before.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly said to his older brother, "I've got it! We can dig a pit with a mixture of soil, concrete, and wood for composting. When composting, we can insert wooden sticks at intervals as ventilation holes. This way, we won't have to turn the fertilizer over frequently, and it's almost as simple as fermenting manure! The only thing to do is to control the amount of water, less than when fermenting manure, and rely more on the ventilation holes to ensure the fermentation effect."

"Then we still need to make a pond using a mixture of soil, concrete, and lime, and add a thatched shed to keep out the rain. Okay, I'll discuss it with them later and then decide."