Chapter 14: A Homemade Solar Water Heater

Successfully persuading Old Master Fang, Fang Mingyuan's grand plan to purchase monkey stamps was able to continue. Old Master Fang did not try to persuade Fang Sheng and his wife or Fang Mingyuan's two aunts; instead, he only took out the money that should be allocated to him, Fang Bin, Fang Mingyuan's grandmother, and Fang Mingyuan himself, and handed it over to Fang Mingyuan to manage. Fang Mingyuan also considered that buying too many monkey stamps might draw attention. Although he did not believe that stamps would be restricted for circulation in the future, it was better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, he asked his grandfather to find a few old friends and his uncle Fang Bin to find his friends. It took them two months to buy all the monkey stamps from the post office, spending over 130 yuan. Fortunately, with the help of Zhou Yuanchao, who had a deep memory of him, the operation went very smoothly. However, Fang Mingyuan was still not satisfied. Through Zhou Yuanchao's internal connections at the post office, it took nearly half a year to buy another 240 yuan worth of monkey stamps from the post offices in Pingchuan County and its neighboring counties and cities. This, of course, was a later development.

Fang Mingyuan secretly rejoiced. This was only possible in such underdeveloped townships where people had no interest in stamp collecting, let alone realizing the value of monkey stamps. If it were in densely populated cities or the southeastern coastal regions, it would be impossible to gather so many monkey stamps. The large population would easily consume the mere five million monkey stamps nationwide. He remembered that by the end of his previous life, a single monkey stamp had risen to over 6,000 yuan, increasing in value by more than 70,000 times in just over two decades. Even considering inflation, this was an extremely profitable deal.

"Xiao Yuan, the iron bucket has been installed!" Uncle Fang Bin's voice came from the roof, snapping Fang Mingyuan out of his daydream about a bright future. The modified, simple homemade solar water heater was finally installed, marking the end of Fang Mingyuan's "embarrassment" of having to use the public bathhouse. Although this device could only be used in the summer, Fang Mingyuan was not too concerned. Even in winter, on sunny days, it could produce some warm water for washing hands and face.

This simple homemade solar water heater was quite rudimentary. A black-painted iron bucket was placed horizontally on the roof, connected to an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, with a showerhead attached to the outlet pipe. It could not regulate the water flow or temperature, but in this era, being able to achieve this was already very satisfactory for Fang Mingyuan.

"Come down, Uncle, we'll see how it works in the afternoon!" Fang Mingyuan quickly retreated to the house. Although it was morning, the summer sun was already scorching, and he had no interest in the "healthy skin" of the future.

In the following time, Fang Bin naturally returned to Old Master Fang's place to help make buns. Fang Mingyuan, who stayed at home, could not find peace. The aunts and uncles from the neighborhood, noticing the black-painted iron bucket suddenly appearing on Fang Mingyuan's roof, were filled with curiosity, and the stream of visitors was endless. Fang Mingyuan, unable to bear it, had to hide at his grandfather's house for some quiet.

When the sun began to set, after a day of work, Fang Bin, along with Old Master Fang and Grandma, returned to Fang Mingyuan's house. Fang Mingyuan was eager to test the results of his work over the past few days. At the front door, they coincidentally met Fang Sheng and his wife returning from work.

"Let me try it!" Fang Bin greeted Fang Sheng and his wife and then rushed into the toilet.

"Uncle, be careful not to get scalded!" Fang Mingyuan knew that after a day of exposure, the water in the bucket would be around 50 to 70 degrees Celsius, and without preparation, it was easy to get scalded.

"Fang Sheng, what are you up to now?" Fang Sheng immediately knew that his precious son had come up with another new idea. A few days ago, he had seen the black-painted iron bucket in the yard and asked Fang Mingyuan what it was for, but Fang Mingyuan had been mysteriously evasive. He did not expect the iron bucket to be installed on the roof today. If such a heavy iron bucket were to collapse the roof and injure someone, what would happen?

"Fang Sheng, it's not your turn to discipline Xiao Yuan yet! Your old man is still alive!" Old Master Fang immediately stepped forward and scolded, "The child is only a few years old, and you're always frowning. What kind of example is that?"

Fang Sheng, caught between laughter and tears, said, "Dad, you spoil Mingyuan too much. How can I discipline him if you keep doing this?"

Old Master Fang proudly laughed, "I spoil him because he's so talented. If you had been as good as him, I would have spoiled you too! Mingyuan is the top of his grade, hah! When you were young, I often went to school to listen to the teachers scold you. If you had been as outstanding as him, I would have spoiled you too!" Fang Mingyuan secretly laughed, realizing that his father had not been a good student in his youth. This was big news, something he did not know in his previous life.

Fang Sheng could not help but feel embarrassed, being exposed by his father in front of his son. His face was a bit red.

"Success!" A loud, excited voice came from the toilet, and Fang Bin, with wet hands, jumped out. "Xiao Yuan, it works! It's definitely good for a shower!"

His shout immediately drew the attention of the neighbors, and Fang Mingyuan saw Uncle Guo and Uncle Zhu standing at his door.

Old Master Fang, with a delighted expression, rushed into the toilet first. After a while, he came out with a beaming face, hugged Fang Mingyuan, and said affectionately, "Our Xiao Yuan is so smart, he can turn an old iron bucket into a shower! Hah, if someone could do this at six or seven years old, I would treasure them just as much!"

Fang Sheng, ignoring his father's sarcasm, rushed into the toilet before his wife. He saw a simple showerhead hanging on one wall of the toilet. When he turned it on, a stream of hot water immediately gushed out. He tested the water temperature and found it to be just as Old Master Fang and Fang Bin had said—sufficient for a shower, even a bit too hot. He was momentarily stunned, not expecting his son's random idea to actually work!

"Fang Sheng, get out! Let Xiao Yuan and your mother and wife take a shower first while the water is hot. Men can wait!" Old Master Fang's voice, tinged with dissatisfaction, came from outside. Fang Sheng could only laugh bitterly and come out, realizing that he had stirred up a hornet's nest and that his father was not looking at him favorably.

Next, the Fang family's courtyard turned into a place of joy...