August 11th, morning!
This is a day that will definitely be remembered in the history of East Spring Farm!
There are so many people here on the south slope, it’s so lively!
All preparations for the kiln have been made, bricks, briquettes and other items have all been brought in. Now they are just waiting for Zhou Yang's order.
At nine o'clock, under the watchful eyes of Zhang Hanwu, Anping and hundreds of villagers, Zhou Yang began to put bricks into the experimental kiln.
Soon, all 800 yellow and black bricks were put into the small brick kiln.
After installing the bricks and tiles, Zhou Yang asked people to seal the kiln door with mud and bricks to ensure that there was no air leakage, and then started to light the fire.
After repeated inspections to ensure that there were no problems, Zhou Yang personally lit the first fire of the experimental kiln!
After the fire was lit, everyone at the scene could not help but applaud as they looked at the thick smoke gradually rising in the direction of the smoke outlet!
Although it's not yet time to open the kiln, and I don't know if it can produce qualified bricks and tiles, the big guy still doesn't hesitate to applaud.
Moreover, they also believe that Zhou Yang will definitely succeed!
Just like how he solved the water shortage problem for the villagers before, he does what he says!
Generally, it takes three days and three nights to bake bricks in a kiln. After alternating gentle and strong fires, the bricks are almost ready.
But this is an experimental kiln in Zhou Yang. There are only 800 bricks in the kiln, so the time is shorter.
In addition, they use briquettes as a relatively full-burning fuel to burn the kiln, which is hotter than the firewood and wheat straw used in ordinary brick kilns, so Zhou Yang estimated that it would be enough in two days.
Soon, two days passed!
Zhou Yang has been staying on Nanpo for the past two days, not even returning to his parents' shack at night.
There was no way, kiln burning was a technical job, and without skilled kiln workers, Zhou Yang could only watch it himself.
Fortunately, Zhang Hanwu saw that he was really too busy, and in order to allow him to train a few qualified kiln workers, he selected a dozen young and strong people from the villagers to help him.
With these people around, Zhou Yang did feel a lot more relaxed.
Usually, he just talks and other people do most of the business.
Zhou Yang spent most of his time explaining to them some techniques and precautions for firing kilns. When he was free, he squatted on the bricks and translated manuscripts. His life was busy and fulfilling.
On the morning of the 13th, when the bricks and tiles were cooked through, Zhou Yang ordered people to slowly turn off the fire.
The kiln cannot be opened after the fire has stopped. It is necessary to "drink the bricks and tiles", that is, seep water into the kiln. Only in this way can the bricks and tiles in the kiln be guaranteed to have no problems.
This process is slow and requires a certain amount of patience.
If water seeps in too quickly, it will cause faults in the bricks and even risk explosions in the brick kiln.
If the penetration is too slow, the bricks and tiles will be unevenly cooked, affecting the quality and later use.
In short, it’s neither fast nor slow!
Fortunately, the kiln Zhou Yang built was just an experimental kiln. It only fired a few hundred bricks at a time, so it was still easy to control.
By the afternoon, the water had almost seeped out.
Zhou Yang asked people to open the kiln mouth and door, and after the heat had dissipated, the bricks and tiles could be taken out of the kiln.
But because the temperature in the kiln was so high, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening when the temperature naturally dissipated.
But even so, the number of villagers and soldiers watching on the south slope not only did not decrease, but more and more people gathered together.
During the day, everyone was busy working and watering the ground. Even if they knew that bricks and tiles were being burned here, they didn't have time to look at it.
It was evening, and most people had left work. I heard that the kiln was about to open, so they came to watch the fun.
Feeling that the burning temperature was no longer inside the brick kiln, Zhou Yang smiled and said to Zhang Hanwu: "Uncle Zhang, I think it's almost done. I think this first brick in the Dongquan Farm Brick and Tile Factory should be made by a big man like you." Director, please take it out with your own hands!"
Although Zhang Hanwu was very moved, he still said: "It was you who proposed the idea of building a brick and tile factory. You personally led people to dig the first kiln. You even did the work of making bricks, making coal cakes and firing the kiln." I personally took care of it, so you should be the one to take out the first brick!"
Anping also said: "Comrade Zhou Yang, don't refuse, everyone is waiting!"
Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhou Yang immediately nodded and said, "Okay, I'll get the first brick!"
After saying that, Zhou Yang walked into the experimental kiln carrying a basket on his back!
When Zhou Yang came out of the experimental kiln, his basket was filled with new brown bricks.
Everyone was very surprised when they saw the bricks fired on site for the first time. Was this done?
Everyone couldn't hold back their inner joy and burst into cheers.
In an instant, warm applause erupted from the scene.
Zhou Yang signaled everyone to be quiet. The bricks were fired, and it looked like that on the surface.
But whether it works or not, whether it meets the building standards or not, you still have to check!
At that moment, Zhou Yang placed all the dozens of new bricks in front of the villagers, then found a shovel and chopped down one of the bricks hard.
"Crack!"
The brick was broken into two pieces, but it was not shattered, and the sound of gold and stone intersecting was heard the moment it was chopped, which was a bit harsh and dull!
The strength is good and meets the standards.
He handed the clay brick broken into two parts to Zhang Hanwu and Anping and let them feel the weight and hardness of the brick.
Later, Zhou Yang found another sintered brick with coal gangue added.
It was also struck with a shovel!
Immediately afterwards, a shocking scene appeared!
There was a "click" sound, but this time it was not the brick that broke, but the wooden handle of the shovel.
Look at the new brick again, only a piece has been chopped off, but it has not broken.
Shocked, Zhang Hanwu immediately said: "I'll do it!"
As he spoke, he used the half of the clay brick in his hand to hit the gangue sintered brick on the ground.
"boom!"
The two bricks hit each other hard, making a dull sound and kicking up a lot of dust.
However, when the dust cleared, everyone was surprised to find that the clay brick Zhang Hanwu smashed had broken into several pieces.
But the coal gangue sintered brick only cracked a crack and still did not break.
Everyone was shocked. The strength of this brick was too high!
At that moment, Zhang Hanwu asked someone to get a big hammer, and then he smashed it at the "Xiaoqiang"-like coal gangue sintered brick.
With a "bang" sound, the brick was instantly smashed into two pieces, revealing the black and green core inside!
"Hey, why is this brick so black-hearted?"
"Yes, these bricks are too strong. If you use them to build a house, it will not fall down in a hundred years!"
"One hundred years is a bit exaggerated, but thirty to fifty years is definitely no problem..."
Compared with the villagers discussing whether the house built with black bricks is strong or not, Zhang Hanwu thought of what Zhou Yang had said to him before, which was a trump card to dominate the market!
He was doubtful before, but after seeing the quality of this black brick, he believed it!
The quality of this kind of brick is indeed far better than ordinary bricks. At the same price, as long as your head is not kicked by a donkey, you will definitely buy this kind of brick.
It is completely foreseeable that once they can bake this kind of strong and durable bricks on a large scale, they will be able to defeat all the brickyards in the county.
Will you still worry that no one will buy it?
Once someone buys it, there will be money!
With money, not only is the food problem solved, but won't the entire farm be completely revitalized?
Thinking of this, Zhang Hanwu was so excited that he almost trembled!
.........
PS: The third chapter has been delivered. The water shortage problem has been solved. The experimental kiln has been built and the bricks have been fired. Zhou Yang’s story at Dongquan Farm is coming to an end for the time being. The next chapter will return. Comment!
