fictionpage Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Chen Zheng walked around the yard, his gaze landing on the second-hand oil press.
The machine is an old-fashioned screw oil press.
There were several burlap sacks of rapeseed residue piled up next to it. These were solid residues left over after pressing the oil, and they smelled like roasted sesame seeds.
He squatted down, grabbed a handful of rapeseed residue, and crushed it in his hand. The oil hadn't been completely extracted, leaving a slippery residue on his fingers.
"Master Qian, do you know what else you can do with rapeseed residue besides feeding pigs?"
Qian Da Nao was stunned for a moment: "What else can I do?"
"It can be used as fish food."
Chen Zheng stood up, patted the crumbs off his hands,
"The crude protein content in rapeseed residue is over 30%, which is higher than that in soybean cake. If you grind it up and mix it with wheat bran and rice bran in the right proportion, it becomes a high-quality feed."
Grass carp and black carp dart around very fast after eating it.
Qian Da Nao's eyes widened: "Really?"
"There are solutions to the wastewater problem."
Chen Zheng walked over to the tin barrel that held the wastewater.
"You can dig a sedimentation tank in your yard, let the wastewater flow in and let it sit for a day or two. The grease will float to the surface, you can scoop it out and use it to make soap, and the remaining water can be discharged into the ditch without causing pollution."
The technique for making soap from oils is documented in the county agricultural science institute; the method isn't difficult, it just takes some time.
Qian Da Nao's eyes darted around several times.
Although this person's nickname is Big Head, he is actually quite intelligent.
He immediately realized the two paths Chen Zheng had mentioned.
Using rapeseed residue as animal feed and wastewater and oil to make soap not only solves pollution problems but also generates extra income.
"Station Chief Chen," Qian Da Nao swallowed hard.
"Could you explain those two paths you mentioned in detail? I won't let you teach me for free; I'm willing to pay tuition!"
"Tuition will be waived," Chen Zheng said. "I have one condition."
From now on, all wastewater from your oil press must be treated in the sedimentation tank; you are no longer allowed to discharge it directly into the drainage ditch.
He put the forty yuan compensation from Wang Laoliu into his pocket, turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate.
"Find me at the promotion site when you have time, and we can chat in detail."
Back in the village, when Chen Zheng handed the money to Wang Laoliu, Wang Laoliu squatted by the irrigation ditch and counted it for a long time.
Forty dollars exactly, no more, no less.
He raised his head, his lips moved, he folded the money, put it in the inside pocket of his cotton-padded jacket, and pressed it down hard.
"Jianshe, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy two bottles of wine, glass bottles, please."
He suddenly blurted out that sentence, then realized it wasn't right, and looked up at Chen Zheng.
"Um... what brand is good?"
"No need to buy alcohol." Chen Zheng was amused by his reaction.
"If you really want to thank me, do me a favor after the New Year."
I'm setting up a Poria cocos cultivation base behind the promotion station, and I need two meticulous helpers.
Wang Laoliu's eyes immediately reddened.
He originally thought he would fight Qian Da Nao to the death.
I didn't expect it to turn out like this.
On another note, Qian Da Naotou arrived three days later.
This time, he didn't wear his oil-stained work clothes; instead, he changed into a clean Zhongshan suit.
He had cleaned his canvas shoes and was carrying a bag of rapeseed residue samples.
Chen Zheng received him in the promotion station office, explaining the proportions for using rapeseed residue as animal feed and the construction methods for sedimentation tanks.
I explained the simple process of making soap from oils to him, step by step.
Qian Da Nao listened attentively, took out a small notebook and wrote several pages of notes, asking questions whenever he encountered something he didn't understand.
Ask questions and understand before taking notes.
Although this former fitter was not highly educated, he had an instinctive sensitivity to mechanical and chemical things.
"Station Chief Chen, what's wrong with your brain?"
"Fish farming, medicinal herbs, fish feed—how do you know everything?"
Qian Da Nao closed his notebook and sighed sincerely.
Chen Zheng smiled.
These are things you're not born with.
It was another afternoon, and Chen Zheng was organizing the construction drawings for the Poria cocos cultivation base.
Old He, the town's postman, arrived on his bicycle, his mailbag on the back seat bulging.
"Station Chief Chen, there's a letter for you, sent by the Provincial Fisheries Research Institute. There's also a money order."
Chen Zheng took the letter and opened it. The letter was written by Ma Yuanchao, and the handwriting was as messy as ever.
Comrade Chen Zheng:
The pilot-scale project for mandarin fish in Danjiangkou Reservoir has completed its third batch of spawning-inducing experiments this month.
The spawning rate of the parent fish is stable at over 85%, the fertilization rate is 72%, and the survival rate of the fry exceeds 25%.
This figure is five percentage points higher than the same period last year.
This indicates that the technical approach for artificial breeding of mandarin fish has been preliminarily verified and matured.
Enclosed with the letter was a draft of the "Technical Operating Procedures for Artificial Breeding of Mandarin Fish Seedlings".
You can modify and improve your records by referring to the records you have accumulated in the circular seedling pond.
March next year.
The Provincial Fisheries Research Institute will hold a small-scale promotion meeting on mandarin fish seedling breeding technology at its Baiyang Town extension station.
Technicians from the Danjiangkou, Dongting Lake, and Poyang Lake basins were invited to participate.
As the host, you need to prepare a detailed experimental report.
This includes water temperature curves, initial feed density change curves, fry growth curves, and survival rate statistics.
In addition, this year the Provincial Department of Fisheries will upgrade the Baiyang Town Extension Station to a provincial-level grassroots aquatic technology extension demonstration station.
The official approval for the Civilization was issued in January of that year.
After the upgrade, the per capita subsidy for promotion stations increased from 20 yuan to 50 yuan per month.
An additional 3,000 yuan was allocated for the construction of a demonstration station to purchase water quality testing equipment and expand the training venue.
Regarding the Poria cocos cultivation that you mentioned on the phone last time, I asked my old classmate from the Edible Fungi Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
He said the key to Poria cocos cultivation lies in temperature and humidity control during the sclerotium induction period.
It is recommended to conduct the experiment in an underground or semi-underground environment.
Fortunately, there were several abandoned air-raid shelters around the Danjiangkou Reservoir, which we used for sclerotium culture experiments, and the results were quite good.
Does your Baiyang Town have similar terrain? For example, old air-raid shelters or cellars?
If so, we can consider making use of it.
Please give my regards to Teacher Zhao Deming.
Ma Yuanchao
After reading the letter, Chen Zheng's heart skipped a beat.
Provincial-level grassroots aquatic technology extension demonstration station.
This means that the Baiyang Town Promotion Station has been incorporated into the formal provincial system.
The per capita subsidy has increased to fifty yuan, which is two and a half times the current amount.
The 3,000 yuan for the construction of the demonstration station can be used to advance the construction of the Poria cocos cultivation base simultaneously.
The training room was expanded, and a bacterial inoculation room and a water quality testing room were equipped all at once.
He folded the letter and his gaze fell on Ma Yuanchao's last sentence.
Abandoned air-raid shelter.
Baiyang Town is a town with a long history. In the early years, this area was an important military town.
Chen Zheng had seen this information in the county annals, and Liu Jiawang had also mentioned it.
I just hadn't connected these two things before.
He put down the blueprints, got on his bicycle, and went to the town government archives.
Old Guo, the archives administrator, was dozing off when Chen Zheng woke him up and he mumbled a few words.
Rubbing my eyes, I pulled out a yellowed copy of "Distribution Map of Civil Air Defense Projects in Baiyang Town".
Chen Zheng spread out the blueprints and traced the markings on them one by one.
North of Baiyang Town, at the foot of Yingzui Cliff Mountain, are two abandoned air-raid shelters.
One of them is located below the earthen slope at the bend of the dirt road on the back mountain.
He thanked Lao Guo.
I rode my bicycle along the dirt road behind the mountain for less than fifteen minutes and found the air-raid shelter at the bottom of the earthen slope.
The entrance to the cave was completely hidden by wild roses and paper mulberry trees, and it was impossible to find it without getting close.
Chen Zheng used a machete to cut through the bushes, revealing a semi-circular archway made of brick.
The cement grout is still there, and the iron hinges on the door frame are rusted beyond recognition, but the opening itself is intact.
He shone his flashlight inside and found that the cave was about 30 meters deep, 3 to 4 meters wide, and a little over 2 meters high.
The ground was compacted mud, dry and flat.
The temperature inside the cave is significantly lower than outside, but it remains stable.
In winter, when the outside temperature drops to several degrees below zero, the cave is only slightly cooler than in late autumn.
He took a thermometer and measured it.
The temperature inside the cave is 14 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is 65 percent.
This temperature and humidity range, combined with the cave's natural light-blocking environment, allows for easy modification.
Lay out electrical wires, install a few lights, and build a partition wall to separate the inoculation room from the culture area.
It is a ready-made culture base for Poria cocos sclerotia.
This is much better than digging open-air cultivation trenches in the backyard of the promotion station.
He moved the beam of his flashlight from the cave ceiling to the cave wall, and then to the ground, already mentally drawing up construction plans.
The cave is divided into three sections.
The area near the cave entrance should be used as an inoculation room for the microorganisms. This room needs to be enclosed, shaded, and kept at a constant temperature.
The inoculated logs are piled up in the middle to allow the mycelium to colonize.
The deepest part is kept at a constant temperature and humidity for sclerotium induction culture.
Zhou Jimin said that the minimum temperature for the P-8 strain is 15 degrees Celsius.
The natural temperature of this cave in winter is just above the minimum.
When spring arrives and temperatures rise, hanging a cotton curtain at the entrance of the cave will keep the temperature above 20 degrees Celsius.
Emerging from the air-raid shelter, Chen Zheng stood on the earthen slope and looked down the mountain.
Baiyang Lake gleamed with a silvery-gray light under the midday sun.
The reeds in Nanwan rustled in the wind.
Several egrets took flight from the reeds, their wings dazzlingly white in the sunlight.
His family's three fishponds lay side by side in the low-lying fields at the east end of the village, descending step by step from east to west.
The impeller of the aerator on the pond surface was spinning, creating circles of water droplets.
The newly replaced asbestos tiles on the roof of the pump house next to the circular seedling nursery gleamed bluish-green in the sun.
A year ago, this place was just a low-lying field, without even a decent pond embankment.
He looked away, got on his bicycle, and rode down the mountain.
When I passed by Wang Laoliu's house, he was mending the netting around his fishpond.
After Qian Da Nao's oil press improved its wastewater treatment, the water quality in his fishpond returned to normal.
The remaining crucian carp were lively and jumping around, splashing water everywhere as they fought for the food.
He saw Chen Zheng riding by, quickly stood up, wiped his hands on his pants, and went to greet him as if to say something.
However, he moved his lips several times but couldn't say anything.
Chen Zheng nodded to him but did not stop the car.
When Zhang Cuihua got home, she was hanging clothes out to dry in the yard.
Chen Rong and Chen Feng's school uniforms, blue cloth shirts and gray cloth pants, were hanging on the clothesline, clean and tidy.
She saw Chen Zheng push the door open and come in, clipping the last piece of clothing in his hand and wiping his hands on his apron.
A bowl of noodle soup was brought out from the kitchen.
A poached egg rests in the soup, its white trembling tenderly, while the yolk remains runny.
"Mother, this dress is so torn, don't mend it."
Chen Zheng sat on the threshold with a bowl in his hand, pointing to Chen Rong's school uniform with frayed cuffs hanging on the clothesline.
"I can wear it for another semester."
Zhang Cuihua sat down next to him, picked up her needle and thread again, and began sewing Chen Feng's trousers.
"Buy them new fish when your pond yields a harvest next year."
"No need to wait until next year." Chen Zheng put the last piece of fried egg into his mouth.
"At the end of December this year, a batch of fish from Pond No. 2 will be delivered to Guo Changlin; it will be the last batch before the Lunar New Year."
"Still selling fish before the New Year? Won't that keep you busy until the very end of the year?"