Chen Lan, seeing that both of them understood, continued, "The third and most crucial step is laying the cement road. This process is a bit complex for those of us who aren't specifically in this line of work. I'm afraid you two might not remember it all, so I've written down the entire process for you. I'll give it to you in a moment."
She then looked at the two of them.
Seeing Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen eager to start, Chen Lan quickly stopped them, saying, "Don't rush, you two. Listen carefully as I finish speaking. This road we're building isn't just for walking; more importantly, it will be used to transport sugarcane and sugar beets back by tractor in the future. So, we need to build it to be strong and durable.
This means we must strictly adhere to the process requirements during construction to ensure the road is sturdy and lasts. That is, you must follow the process requirements on the paper exactly as written. You must do it according to the requirements, and you must do it as required. Can you both do this?"
She looked at the two of them very seriously.
Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen exchanged glances and solemnly nodded in agreement, "Yes, Xiao Lan, we can do it!"
Chen Lan gave them a thumbs-up with great admiration and then instructed, "The surface layer of cement concrete must be at least sixteen centimeters thick. The ratio of cement to fine sand is one part cement to two parts fine sand.
Mix the cement mortar thoroughly according to this ratio. Once the cement mortar is spread over the ground, use a leveling tool to smooth it, ensuring the cement mortar adheres tightly to the base. Finally, sprinkle a mixture of cement and fine sand on the surface, compact it, and then smooth and polish it. This final mixture is half cement and half fine sand."
Chen Lan looked at the two of them again and emphasized, "The most difficult part of this process is leveling. The leveling tool used last time to build the drying area should still be in the warehouse. You two should remember to send someone to get it from the warehouse. You need to use it for leveling when building the road."
Cui Qiao asked, "Xiao Lan, is it the long wooden pole by the wall in the warehouse?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, it's that long wooden pole. It's called a leveling tool. Remember to use it when building the road, otherwise, the road will easily be uneven, and might even be sloped."
Seeing them nodding, Chen Lan continued, "The last step in building the road is curing the surface. Do you two remember how the road surface is cured?"
Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen nodded repeatedly and replied, "We remember, we remember, Xiao Lan. Did you forget? Last time we built the drying area, you two were responsible for its maintenance!"
With that, they happily took the road construction process flow from Chen Lan and went off to get busy.
Just then, Ru Yi, who had gone to the garage to drive the bulldozer, and Liu Man'er, Zhang Dani, and Wang Yuling, who were driving the tractors, arrived. They also immediately plunged into their respective tasks.
For a moment, the construction site was filled with the roar of machines, bustling with activity, presenting a vibrant and prosperous scene.
Although Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen were less physically strong when it came to manual labor, they made up for it with their meticulousness and seriousness. Crucially, having worked together for a long time, they had developed an excellent rapport, understanding each other's intentions with just a glance. Coupled with their down-to-earth nature, every step they took in building the road strictly adhered to the process requirements, ensuring quality and quantity. This was the most important reason why Chen Lan dared to entrust them with the important task of road construction.
Chen Lan was very satisfied with their diligent work ethic. She believed that everyone should develop a serious and responsible attitude in everything they do. After all, the road was being built for their own use, so it naturally had to be strong and durable.
As this was the first time they had been given such an important task on their own, Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen were afraid of making mistakes. They meticulously confirmed every step before starting construction, which took nearly half a month to build the first road.
With the experience gained from the first road, building the road from the drying area to the fields was much faster. This road was about three times the length of the first one, and Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen only took a little over half a month to complete it.
The remaining task was to arrange for people to take care of the maintenance. Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen had already made arrangements for this, so Chen Lan didn't need to worry about it.
After more than a month of continuous hard work, everyone was exhausted and tired. Chen Lan gave them half a month off to go home and rest and recover.
After everyone had rested, they would prepare to undertake the first harvest of alfalfa.
The villagers happily went home for their holiday, much to the envy of people on other construction sites. Xiang Xi, who was currently building the feed warehouse, was particularly disgruntled. He also approached Chen Lan and requested, "Xiao Lanzi, our group also wants a few days off."
Just as Chen Lan was about to agree, she saw Uncle Fu looking serious, his face ashen, and he loudly reprimanded, "Rest? Have you finished your work? They worked overtime tirelessly for over a month to earn half a month of vacation. Are you still envious? You want to rest too, but have you finished your work? With less than three months left until the autumn harvest, our grain warehouse still hasn't materialized. Aren't you in a hurry?"
Xiang Xi was immediately silenced. Chen Lan quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Uncle Fu, please don't be angry! It's not Xiao Xigua's fault. This is my fault. If I hadn't suddenly asked you to add a feed warehouse, your grain warehouse would probably be half built by now."
Uncle Fu's expression immediately changed from gloom to cheerfulness as he said with a smile, "Xiao Lan, I'm not angry with you. I'm angry at this kid. He's so grown up, but he has no foresight and just messes around. Is this the time for fooling around? Doesn't he see that his brother Xiang Dong and Er Hu's five construction groups are working for over two hours after dinner every night to catch up with the schedule? Yesterday, at dinner, I heard Xiang Dong mention to your mother-in-law that the five houses they are building can be handed over in the next two days, and that she should arrange for which families will move in."
Chen Lan's eyes lit up with joy upon hearing this good news. Besides, everyone had been working overtime for over a month, and it was time to reward them.
Although they were not poorly fed normally, Chen Lan, having come from seventy years in the future, deeply understood the truth that to make a horse run fast, it must eat well.