chsdbacks Chapter 142 142
Chapter 142 142
Sticky and cool, the sound of her footsteps on the mud was thick and sticky, like stepping on a large, over-fermented dough. She stomped on it, one step at a time, from one end of the wooden trough to the other, then back again. Clay, fine sand, chopped straw, and water were repeatedly squeezed and stirred under her feet, the color of the mud changing from patches of light and dark to a uniform dark red, the straw pieces no longer clustered in one place but evenly distributed in the mud, like marble patterns embedded in the dark red clay. She bent down and grabbed a lump of mud from the trough, kneading it—the mud clump formed into a ball in her palm, neither crumbling nor cracking, its surface smooth and moist, and when she broke it open, she could see the straw fibers evenly distributed in the cross-section. She threw the mud clump back into the trough, stomped on it a few more times, then stepped out of the trough, standing barefoot on the grass, the backs of her feet covered in mud, and straw fragments still stuck between her toes.
The mortar was ready; it was time to start building the base. Su Peixue squatted in front of the dry-laid brick foundation, picked up a trowel with her left hand, scooped some mortar from the wooden trough, and applied it to the brick surface. The trowel made a soft, rustling sound as it spread the mortar evenly, the thickness just covering the brick joints. With her right hand, she picked up a red brick and placed it on the mortar-covered base brick, gently pressing down with her fingers to align the edges. The brick landed on the mortar with a dull thud, and mortar squeezed slightly out from the joints. She used the trowel to scrape away the excess mortar along the joints, leaving the brick joints neat and tidy. The act of laying bricks was actually quite monotonous, but every step was crucial—without applying mortar, there would be gaps between the bricks; if they weren't aligned, the entire wall would be crooked; without grouting, the mortar would leave unsightly marks on the wall after it dried.
Brick by brick, her rhythm grew increasingly steady. Before placing each brick, she applied a layer of mortar underneath, gently pressed it to align, and then smoothed the joints with a trowel. The joints were staggered—each vertical joint was offset by half a brick, ensuring the wall could withstand the load and wouldn't crack along a single vertical line. When she reached the third layer, she picked up a spirit level and placed it on the brick surface. The bubble on the level was slightly off. She gently tapped the brick with the handle of her trowel, checking the bubble, then tapping again. The bubble stopped precisely in the middle of the two lines. She continued laying the bricks, the wall rising little by little beneath her hands. By the fifth layer, her knees were numb from squatting. She stood up, straightened her back, shook her hands, and then squatted down to continue.
She stopped building the base on the seventh layer—the height was just right, and with the thickness of the refractory bricks, the entire base reached about waist-high. She removed a few refractory bricks from the top of the stack—refractory bricks were grayish-white, rough-surfaced, lighter than red bricks but harder, and produced a crisp sound when tapped with her fingers, like tapping porcelain. She laid the refractory bricks on the top layer of the base, one next to the other, fitting them perfectly. This was the layer that would directly contact the flames; ordinary red bricks would brittle after repeated firing, but refractory bricks could withstand high temperatures and last for many years. After laying them, she used a trowel to apply a ring of mortar to the joints, sealing them, and then checked it one last time with a level. The base was complete—a square brick platform stood steadily in a corner of the courtyard, the joints neat, the surface smooth, gleaming in the morning light with the colors of red bricks and refractory bricks.
After the base is built, the next step is to pile up the sand mold. This step determines the kiln's structure.