Chapter 96

Li Dong pondered for a moment and decided to modify the content of the experience class. Otherwise, he might lose his beloved daughter, especially since Teacher Chen Shuo was quite supportive of Li Dong's somewhat tricky plan for his daughter.

Even Teacher Chen wanted to add more content, which made Li Dong laugh and cry at the same time. Without adding more, Li Dong suspected that Li Jingyi would go crazy, and if he added more, he feared his daughter would bite him with her little tiger teeth.

While nodding to Teacher Chen Shuo's suggestion to add more experience items, Li Dong began to modify his small plan, reducing the amount of labor and focusing more on fun and education.

The real experience should be left to Li Jingyi. It's not about tricking her, but rather training her. Li Dong didn't feel much guilt. "I am truly a good father. For my daughter's healthy growth, a little misunderstanding and a little hardship are nothing."

"Experience Plan for the Farm." Li Dong revised it again. Being a father is tough, especially being the father of a smart daughter.

Li Dong spent the whole night revising. The next morning, he went to the village to find Uncle Han San and ordered a batch of modified water wheels.

This was the result of Li Dong's efforts from the previous night. He had re-planned some of the experience items and added some new tools.

One of these was the modified mini water wheel, for which Li Dong explained his idea.

"Mini water wheel?" Uncle Han San was a bit puzzled. What exactly does this mini water wheel look like? "Smaller, or?"

"Yes, compared to the water wheels used by adults, it should be smaller, suitable for children around ten years old to pedal." Large water wheels are quite heavy to pedal, though not as heavy as those used in the 1970s. However, even adults can only pedal for about half an hour before feeling tired, making them unsuitable for elementary school students.

"I'll give it a try."

The shape of the water wheel is fixed, and the principle is quite simple. After Li Dong explained his requirements, Uncle Han San thought about it and agreed to try.

"Uncle San, this is the design drawing I made. Look at it; the data is marked here." After receiving the call, Li Dong started preparing. This matter was quite serious, and he was afraid of messing it up, as he wouldn't be able to explain to his daughter.

"The water level in the paddy field is so low compared to the water source?" When Uncle Han San saw the design drawing, he was a bit surprised. According to the data marked by Li Dong, this mini water wheel would be almost useless, as the height difference was so small that it would be easy to just let the water flow directly.

"Mainly for the city kids to experience." Li Dong smiled. "You know, city kids don't understand water wheels. As long as they can pedal and see water come out, they will know the function of the water wheel."

"Alright then."

With the low height, the force required to pedal the water wheel would be much less. Combined with the reduced water capacity, the weight of the children would be enough to operate the water wheel, making it very suitable for children around ten years old.

"The water wheel problem is solved. We can skip the millstones. I'll bring some myself, but the grinding can let the children try their hands at it."

Mini grinding stones are available on Taobao, so Li Dong decided to order a batch. The large grinding stones at home couldn't be used, as they would tire out these delicate children.

"A group of elementary school students, what a challenge."

If it were just Li Jingyi, Li Dong wouldn't be worried. One-on-one guidance would be fine, but a whole class of kids on a field trip would be a real challenge.

A batch of small wheelbarrows would be needed. Making a few to cope with the situation was quite a challenge.

"What a headache. I originally wanted my daughter to experience the hardships of rural life, but now I'm the one who's suffering first."

A few small threshing machines could be added for the children to play with, and a bowl of rice could be threshed for fun. As for the horse-drawn cart, forget it; there are no small horses. Oh, wait, there are small horses.

"Uncle Weishan, is the farm you mentioned that raises small horses far away?"

"Not far, just in the back street of Meicun." Han Weishan, who was organizing small baskets, replied. The baskets were for picking, and almost every household in Han Village could weave bamboo baskets and chairs. Li Dong had inquired and learned that this bamboo weaving craft started to flourish in the late 1980s after the economic opening.

However, in the past ten years, bamboo products have been gradually replaced by more convenient household items.

These baskets were all woven by Han Weishan himself, and Li Dong bought them at a low price, around ten yuan each, with good quality.

After organizing the bamboo baskets, Han Weishan introduced the situation of the small ponies in the back street. They were mainly raised as pets and sold as foals. Li Dong wondered if he should buy a few.

"Let's wait. There's not enough time now. I'll order a few small horse-drawn carts first and consider the small ponies later."

For the horse-drawn cart, it would be better to use a large one. As for the plowing experience, Li Dong thought it would be best to just watch from a distance. After all, plowing with oxen is no joke, whether in paddy fields or dry fields. Moreover, any accidents could be serious.

Li Dong didn't want his farm to become famous for such reasons. This item would be skipped, and at most, they would watch from a distance.

In total, pedaling the water wheel, grinding, threshing, picking, pushing the wheelbarrow, and carrying mountain spring water were all labor-intensive activities. Next, he planned to arrange some relaxing activities to relieve fatigue.

The farm currently had no activities, but the few animals could be utilized.

He needed to train the swans, cranes, and deer to add some performance items. They couldn't just rely on their cuteness, dancing, and being adorable. These cute animals could help alleviate the children's fatigue.

"I am truly a good teacher and a good father." After making all these arrangements, Li Dong felt that they were perfect. Indeed, his daughter's intelligence must have been inherited from him. He shouldn't have been so modest and said she was like Gao Lan.

"Jiajia?"

While indulging in his self-satisfaction, his phone in his pocket vibrated. Li Dong took it out and listened to a voice message from his daughter. The little girl was quite curious about what fun activities her father had prepared. She sent a cute and flattering emoji.

Li Dong glanced at the small buckets, water-carrying poles, and a row of small mud brick molds and shovels, which were the newly purchased experience tools.

This was hard to explain, so Li Dong replied with a fairy-tale-like description, such as accompanying her to experience the beauty of rural life and building a fairy-tale cottage, a thatched hut with mud walls.

After listening to her father's description, Li Jingyi was a bit excited. She asked her father to take some photos, but Li Dong was afraid that if he took photos, he might lose his beloved daughter.

Photos were out of the question. Before Li Jingyi came in early November, there would be no photos. However, there would be a lot of surprises.

"Surprises need to be waited for."

The reason was quite good, and Li Jingyi agreed. Li Dong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Although some items had been reduced, the overall labor intensity was still quite high. "Should I discuss it with Teacher Chen again?"

Li Dong was really afraid that Li Jingyi and her classmates might go crazy, as many children were pampered these days.

"Ah, I hope my daughter can come up with a good solution."

All he could do was train the swans, cranes, and deer, but unfortunately, these animals weren't suitable for labor. How could he find some animals that could work, so that the children would follow them eagerly?

However, Li Dong knew this was just a luxury. There were no such animals. "Forget it, I'll just prepare some good food and drinks. If they eat happily, it will be fine."

Over the next few days, Li Dong and Han Weishan optimized some of the experience items. They built a small wooden bridge with a railing over the stream and set up three mini water wheels in the low-lying paddy fields, with a height difference of less than half a meter.

Li Dong tried it out and found that it didn't require much effort to operate the water wheel. Uncle Han San's craftsmanship was truly excellent.

"The small stone rollers will take some time, and my daughter won't be able to experience them."

"I also need to contact someone about the small horse-drawn carts."

If the children came and didn't experience the threshing, it would be a waste. Li Dong's designed experience items were almost all labor-intensive. "Rubber boots, raincoats, and cleaning the stream of silt and rocks, these are also part of the river work."

What other items could be added? Li Dong wondered and added another item to the plan.

"Cutting pig grass, buy two small fragrant pigs." Small fragrant pigs cost around 500 yuan each, were quite cute, and could grow to about 100 pounds. They grew slowly and were originally pets in the city but had become the main pig breed in the countryside.

When Li Dong first arrived in Han Village, he was quite surprised to find that small fragrant pigs had become the preferred pig for raising for the New Year. He learned that they tasted good and 100 pounds was enough for a family, and people's standards for food were getting higher.

"Get two small fragrant pigs and start a pig grass cutting project."

After calculating, Li Dong realized there were quite a few experience items. "There can't be any more. If there are more, Uncle Weishan and I won't be able to handle it."

"Uncle Weishan, that's enough for today. You can go home now."

The vegetable garden was tidied up, and colorful "bamboo" was set up, giving it a fairy-tale feel. The ribbons just needed to be tied.

As the National Day holiday approached, Li Dong's projects increased. He started with a few items but ended up adding many more.

"Let's tidy up and go back to 1978."

He had been back for several days, and if he didn't return soon, it would be daylight. If he ran into someone, it would be hard to explain.

This time, he had a lot of items to bring, but they were all packed and ready to go.

"Ah, I have a busy life. I just tidied up the farm, and now I have to go back and do river work again."

The stream needed to be cleaned, and the children would need to do something meaningful. It wouldn't be right to just waste their energy.

"Stop thinking, my head is going to explode."

This situation was a mess. He originally wanted to let Li Jingyi experience the diligence of farmers in the 1970s, but now it had turned into a big mess.

"Stop thinking."

It was time to go back to 1978. There were still many things waiting for him there. The items were packed, and Li Dong waited until around 8:00 AM, closed the courtyard gate, and returned to his bedroom, closing the windows and turning off the lights.

303:25:35

422

1978.10.25

"Activate."

The numbers changed, and Li Dong returned to the morning of October 26, 1978, in the small forest of Han Village.