Chapter 265: Digging a Cellar

At Zhoujiazhuang, Zhou Yimin carried two braised ducks home and hung them up in the kitchen.

The two elders in the family were no longer surprised by this; they had long gotten used to it. The meals had been better lately, and the elders’ complexions were noticeably more rosy compared to other villagers.

Luckily, Zhoujiazhuang was tightly knit like an iron bucket—otherwise, such a difference would easily attract a report.

That little girl Qianqian had become chubby and fair thanks to the abundance of milk powder and had already started crawling. Laifang was playing with her on the side. For now, the two sisters got along peacefully, but whether they’d start fighting in the future was anyone’s guess.

Grandpa wasn’t at home—he’d probably gone out.

Grandma was at home listening to the radio while doing some mending.

To be honest, with the current state of their household, there was no need to mend clothes—there was still plenty of new fabric stored away, even the highly sought-after Dacron.

But old folks were used to being frugal.

In a little while, Grandma would go out to feed the chickens and ducks too.

Yes, Zhou Yimin’s grandmother was now raising poultry. With the improved meals at home, there were sometimes leftovers, so keeping some livestock was a good idea. Besides, Grandma needed something to occupy her time, otherwise she’d be bored.

“Yimin, I heard from the Party Secretary that the feed you gave us—the chickens really like it,” Grandma said.

Got it! Zhou Yimin immediately knew what she was hinting at.

He smiled and said, “I’ll bring some back home in a few days.”

Grandma was pleased. “Just a little will do—no need for much.”

She had heard that feeding that stuff made chickens grow faster, which really piqued her interest.

Zhou Yimin, truthfully, had a bit of a bias against it. Feed-raised chickens never tasted as good as free-range ones. But since Grandma liked it, let her have it.

“Grandma, where’s Grandpa?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Grandma guessed, “Him? Wandering around outside all day—he’s probably off watching someone dig a cellar!”

“I’ll go take a look too.”

Grandma chuckled. “Go ahead!”

When the old man wandered around, it was just aimless strolling. But when her eldest grandson went, it was considered “supervising the work”—totally different.

Zhou Yimin arrived at the cellar-digging site.

Standing nearby were the old Party Secretary and a few others.

“Yimin, you’re here!”

Everyone greeted him.

Zhou Yimin pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to each of the men present.

“You’re starting this early?” he asked.

In his previous life, he was from the south and hadn’t seen many cellars before—so he was curious.

He knew that digging cellars to store sweet potatoes was actually a very convenient and effective method.

Ever since the proposal to store emergency grain was made, the village had been actively organizing it and had listed it as one of the more important village-level projects, with the old Party Secretary personally leading the work.

There was a method to digging a cellar—it wasn’t just about randomly picking a spot and digging down.

The first step was choosing a location. One had to consider geological stability, moderate soil hardness, and good drainage to avoid collapses or seepage. Also, higher ground was better for avoiding heavy rainfall, and being near lower areas helped with water drainage.

Next came determining the cellar’s size and shape based on actual needs, usually based on how much food would be stored during winter.

Tools like white lime could be used to mark out a 2D and 3D outline of the cellar on the ground, making sure the entrance was wide enough for a person to get in and out easily.

During planning, it was essential to keep all surfaces dry to prevent moisture from getting in.

While digging, it was important to keep the excavation surface stable to avoid collapse.

Digging could be done layer by layer from top to bottom—first outlining the rough shape of the cellar, then refining it. If large rocks or obstacles were encountered, they needed to be cleared or the route adjusted.

Once digging was complete, reinforcement was necessary.

That included building earthen walls around the cellar to prevent rainwater from entering, and adding internal support. Dry straw bundles or ignited rice husks could be used to fumigate around the interior to disinfect and reduce pests.

“It’s best to get it done early—once the ground freezes in winter, it’ll be hard to dig,” the old Party Secretary explained.

Also, the sooner it was done, the sooner it could be used.

Some of the village funds had already been handed to Zhou Yimin to help purchase sweet potatoes and other coarse grains. They were determined to stock up thoroughly this winter.

“Yimin, try to get us more sweet potatoes and potatoes,” someone chimed in.

Even if people didn’t eat them, they could feed them to livestock and poultry.

The old Party Secretary glared at the man. “You think he needs your reminder?”

Zhou Yimin laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements. I’ll bring them in a few days. You guys just focus on getting the cellars ready.”

Cellar storage could effectively prolong the shelf life of sweet potatoes because the underground temperature was lower, which protected the tubers from external temperature fluctuations and reduced chances of rot or spoilage. Also, the lower humidity inside the cellar helped maintain the sweet potatoes’ dryness and texture.

Moreover, sweet potatoes were rich in starch and sugar. If exposed to oxygen too much, they could oxidize and spoil.

The cellar environment could also effectively limit oxygen exposure and reduce oxidation.

Zhou Yimin looked around but didn’t see his grandfather. He asked, “Have you guys seen my grandpa?”

“He was just here,” the old Party Secretary said.

Then someone added, “He went to find someone.”

Zhou Yimin was puzzled—what for?

“Probably wants to dig a cellar of his own,” the person explained.

Everyone immediately understood.

The Zhou family had plenty of food, so it made sense to dig a cellar for storage.

“Yeah, it’s reasonable for your family to dig one,” the old Party Secretary said to Zhou Yimin.

“Oh right, do you have any more of that feed? It’s pretty good,” he added.

Zhou Yimin replied, “I’ll check.”

He knew the supermarket in his mind had it. He’d looked before—a 50-jin sack of feed cost only 0.5 yuan, or one cent per jin.

He had previously bought 100 jin for 1 yuan—turns out it wasn’t even cheap.

Besides, at one cent a jin, it was practically the same price as sweet potatoes.

Zhou Yimin thought maybe it was better to just buy sweet potatoes instead.

What he didn’t realize was that the feed sold in his mind’s supermarket was actually more nutritious than sweet potatoes. That might sound absurd, but it was true.

Chickens required high-quality protein, energy-rich feed, and feed full of vitamins and minerals.

The feed ingredients—corn, barley, wheat, soybean meal, bran—were all fine grains!

It also contained enzyme preparations, acidifiers, and glycyrrhizin—green additives that helped chickens grow faster and gain weight.

At the same price as sweet potatoes, it was already very cheap.

In the future, sweet potatoes might actually cost more than some types of feed.

After watching for a bit, Zhou Yimin quickly got bored. The village cellars were basic, small-scale constructions.

“Yimin, one more thing.”

“What is it?” he asked.

The old Party Secretary said, “Shangshui Village over there wants to follow our example and start stockpiling grain. They’d like to ask for your help buying some coarse grains.”

Forget about fine grains.

“I’ll check,” Zhou Yimin gave the same answer as before.

(End of Chapter)