Chapter 87 – Eating Canned Peaches

When Zhou Yimin returned home and saw that the roof had already been completed, he knew the next steps would be the flooring and interior wall painting. Of course, only the inside would be painted—painting the outside as well would make it stand out too much and not in a good way.

“Brother Zhiming, don’t lay the floor in this back bathroom for now. I want you to dig a pit outside here next to the house,” Zhou Yimin said.

He planned to install a septic tank.

In the countryside, you could be a little bolder with such things.

After all, Zhoujiazhuang was very safe now—not to the ridiculous point of saying not even a fly could get in, but at least no one would report them.

The bathroom would be partitioned, and next to it would be a squat toilet. Tomorrow—or whenever—he would get a ceramic squat toilet. As for a sitting toilet, forget it. Even though he came from the future, he still wasn’t used to it. Sitting down just made it harder to go.

“Dig a pit? Not a cellar?” Zhou Zhiming was stunned.

If it was a cellar, he could understand—but a pit? What was that for?

Even as a “professional,” he was momentarily baffled.

Zhou Yimin nodded and explained, “Yes! More accurately, it’s a septic tank—for collecting waste…”

A septic tank is a small treatment structure that separates and settles domestic sewage, allowing anaerobic digestion of sludge.

The principle is that solid waste decomposes at the bottom of the tank, while the upper liquid flows into a pipe, preventing blockages and giving the solid matter (like feces and garbage) enough time for hydrolysis.

This kind of thing had already existed in Europe back in the last century.

Initially, septic tanks in urban areas were meant to collect fertilizer. As urbanization progressed and pollution worsened, septic tanks started playing a more protective role for water bodies.

After hearing this, Zhou Zhiming sighed in admiration. His sixteenth brother really was raised in the city—he knew so much more.

He had barely spent time in the city and just assumed that this was how things were done. He didn’t realize that even in the city, septic tanks weren’t that common anymore—dry toilets were still widespread, and waste was regularly collected.

“We’ll need to get some pipes then. I don’t know where to find any,” Zhou Zhiming said.

“Brother Zhiming, you just focus on the other stuff. I’ll bring back the pipes for the drainage,” Zhou Yimin replied.

“Alright, that’s good. What about the doors? Have you had them made yet?”

“I’ll go check on that in a bit.”

Zhou Yimin’s grandfather had asked a village carpenter to handle the doors and furniture. No one knew how it was turning out.

After that, Zhou Yimin took out two cans of canned yellow peaches.

“Brother Zhiming, let everyone have some of this yellow peach canned fruit.”

Zhou Zhiming saw them and immediately waved his hands, “Oh, no need, no need. You take it back.”

These were canned yellow peaches! Expensive stuff! A single can must cost quite a bit, right? No one in Zhoujiazhuang had really seen such things before. In the city, this might be a gift when visiting friends or relatives, but in the countryside—who would dare to eat it?

“I’ve got plenty. A friend gave them to me. Just eat it, no need to be polite,” Zhou Yimin said as he set the cans down and walked inside, no longer paying them any mind.

The others looked at the cans, then at Zhou Zhiming.

“What are you looking at me for? Want to eat them now? Let’s wait until we get back and divide them up,” Zhou Zhiming suggested.

The others quickly agreed.

They didn’t want to eat them on the spot anyway. It’d be better to take them home and let their families try them too.

“Uncle Sixteen is so generous! Just gave us two cans of yellow peach!”

“Isn’t that obvious? When has Uncle Sixteen not been generous? Whatever he eats, don’t we always get some too?”

…

“Big Brother, what is this?”

Lai Cai and Lai Fang surrounded Zhou Yimin, eyes fixed on the canned peaches. In their short lives, not even ten years yet, they had never seen such a thing—let alone tasted it.

They had never eaten it before, but just by looking at it, it seemed delicious.

Zhou Yimin opened a can.

Many people in the future didn’t even know how to open these without tools—completely at a loss.

You could flip the can over and smack the bottom seven or eight times, then twist it in the direction indicated. That made the lid easier to open.

Those who knew would understand—the air in the top of the can vibrates through the liquid when shaken upside down, causing small bubbles near the seal to burst, briefly increasing the local density and making it easier to open.

“Get some chopsticks. Eat it straight from the can,” Zhou Yimin said after opening it. He handed the can to the siblings to share.

Lai Cai immediately ran to fetch chopsticks.

“Second Brother, you eat first—whatever’s left is mine,” Lai Fang declared, trying to claim the can with a bit of polite maneuvering.

But Lai Cai had the same idea.

The two kids pushed the can back and forth, neither willing to take the first bite.

Zhou Yimin could clearly see what was going on.

He sighed and took the can back, calling out to Lai Cai, “Go get a bowl—and wash it, remember.”

Only Zhou Yimin would be this particular. Even though the bowl had already been washed, he would still rinse it again before eating, just as he was used to in the future. Maybe in the North it wouldn’t matter much, but in the South, bowls and chopsticks might have been crawled over by cockroaches. Better to wash them again.

Zhou Yimin had seen southern cockroaches—they were all the flying kind, and not just one or two. If you saw one, there were probably dozens hiding in your room.

Then he opened another can.

When Lai Cai came back with the large washed bowl, Zhou Yimin poured half of each can into the bowl, then handed the remaining half-can to each child.

This time, there was no more arguing.

Both Lai Cai and Lai Fang were thrilled, hugging their half-can tightly, screwing the lid back on with all their strength—they couldn’t bear to eat it. Lai Cai wanted to show off to his friends, and Lai Fang planned to hide hers.

If Zhou Yimin knew Lai Fang planned to hide hers, he definitely would have stopped her.

Once opened, canned fruit should be eaten as soon as possible. It could last a long time unopened, but after opening, it wouldn’t keep for long.

As for the bowl, Zhou Yimin shared it with his grandparents.

“Yimin, you eat it. Grandma—”

Before she could finish, Zhou Yimin interrupted her, “Grandma, there’s more here. You and Grandpa should eat some too.”

He didn’t intend for the elderly to eat too much canned fruit. While canned foods in this era didn’t contain many strange additives—at least not the outrageous kinds found in the future—they still shouldn’t be overconsumed, especially by seniors.

Just a little taste was enough.

“Alright! I’ll have one piece then,” Grandma said with a kind smile.

Whether she ate it or not didn’t matter—what mattered was that her beloved grandson was so thoughtful. She cherished that deeply.

“Take this one. This one’s the best,” Zhou Yimin said, pointing to a particularly good-looking slice in the bowl.

It was the nicest piece in the bowl, and of course, the old lady could tell.

Compared to her grandson, her own son had been a disappointment—a waste of a lifetime raising him. His only contribution was giving her this sweet grandson.

“Grandpa, you take this piece.”

The old man smiled, “Alright, I’ll try it too.”

The old man had lived long enough—he’d tasted this kind of thing before.

(End of Chapter)