HUN Chapter 118: "Building a Greenhouse in Three Days"

After returning to the forest land, a construction routine that belonged to him alone officially began.

He first filled professional seedling trays with substrate soil, then carefully opened several seed packages, placing cucumber and tomato seeds one by one into the holes of the seedling trays.

After completing the sowing, he used a spray bottle to thoroughly moisten the substrate, then covered it with a transparent plastic lid, creating a mini greenhouse while quietly waiting for life to sprout.

Then, while performing daily scheduled water spray curing for the concrete pile columns, he devoted most of his energy to the rapid construction of a greenhouse.

He adopted a "high tunnel cold frame" solution popular in North America for its extremely fast construction speed.

Lin Yu'an started the XCMG XC760K loader and first cleared and leveled a plot of about 60 square meters (10 meters long x 6 meters wide) in the southeast corner of the camp.

Then, he brought out a new tool and showed it to the camera, "This is a T-post driver, usually used for fence post installation on farms, but today I'm going to use it to drive ground anchors for the greenhouse."

Lin Yu'an used a measuring tape and lime powder to make precise marks every 1.2 meters along the two 10-meter-long sides of the site.

He explained, "This spacing is very important. It determines the structural strength of our greenhouse. In Alaska, we must consider the load-bearing capacity for heavy snow, so it can't be too sparse."

Next, he aligned a heavy-duty galvanized steel pipe ground anchor, 50mm outer diameter, 2.5mm wall thickness, and 1.5 meters long, with the first marked point.

Then he started the post driver.

Thud! Thud! Thud!...

Accompanied by dull yet powerful impact sounds, the hard steel pipe was driven inch by inch into the thawed ground.

Lin Yu'an used a magnetic level to constantly check the verticality of the ground anchors.

Finally, when the anchor was driven a full meter underground, leaving only half a meter above ground, he stopped.

Within just two hours, 20 ground anchors stood precisely on both sides of the site like a formation of soldiers.

After the ground anchors were installed, Lin Yu'an brought out 10 pre-customized galvanized steel arch pipes bent into perfect semicircles from the supply pile.

"These arch pipes have a slightly smaller diameter than the ground anchors, 45mm, so they can fit perfectly together."

"However, I can't complete this step alone. I need someone to help me."

While saying this, he called Stan, who quickly arrived on his all-terrain vehicle after receiving the call.

Each arch pipe had a total arc length of nearly 9.5 meters, could span 6 meters in width, and reach a center height of about 3 meters.

They aligned both ends of the arch pipe with the ground anchors on both sides and pushed down with force.

With a "click" sound, the arch pipe fitted securely onto the ground anchors.

In just half a day, a modern-looking greenhouse frame composed of 10 huge arches rose from the ground!

Lin Yu'an brought out more connectors and straight pipes. Using the connectors, he installed three longitudinal purlins measuring 10.8 meters long at the center line of the arch tops and at the shoulder positions on both sides.

This connected all the arch pipes into an extremely solid whole.

After the frame was completed, Lin Yu'an quickly made end wall frames for the north and south sides of the greenhouse using lumber.

He reserved spaces for doors and two manually operated ventilation windows.

Finally came the most critical covering. He brought out that huge roll of agricultural greenhouse plastic film measuring 14 meters wide by 15 meters long.

With Stan's help, they completely covered the entire metal frame with the huge film.

Then using professional film pressing channels and spring clips, after laying the film properly and pulling it tight, they used wavy steel wire spring clips to secure the film into the channels.

Using this method, the film was stretched very tight, like a drum skin, capable of resisting strong winds over 80 kilometers per hour.

Moreover, in winter, another layer of film could be easily added to form a double-layer insulation structure.

In just three days, a modern greenhouse miraculously stood on this wilderness!

Lin Yu'an spent another day perfecting the elevated seedling beds and drip irrigation system inside the greenhouse, and transplanted all the previously cultivated seedlings inside.

Looking at this vegetable garden that had just burst with vitality, Lin Yu'an didn't linger long.

His gaze turned to an even more massive challenge on the other side of the camp: that "White Wood Mountain" piled up from 120 giant logs.

With sixteen or seventeen days left in the concrete curing period, he had to use this time to begin preliminary preprocessing of this timber.

After completing the routine water spray curing for the concrete pile columns daily, Lin Yu'an walked toward the portable band sawmill that had been assembled.

His first task was to transport a wall log about 35 centimeters in diameter and 8 meters long from the huge timber pile to beside the sawmill tracks.

The XCMG XC760K loader, equipped with grapple attachments, easily grabbed this log weighing several hundred kilograms with its huge mechanical grapple, then steadily placed it in the sawmill's staging area.

Next, he rolled the log onto the sawmill tracks and secured it firmly with the machine's built-in clamps.

He gestured with his hand on the log's cross-section, "My goal is to flatten both the top and bottom, giving it two absolutely parallel contact surfaces to prepare for subsequent wall stacking."

"Doing this also has another very important purpose: expanding the surface area for moisture evaporation from inside the wood, thereby accelerating its drying process."

He carefully calibrated the cutting gauge, setting the first cut thickness to about 5 centimeters.

Then he pulled the starting cord of the Honda engine on the band sawmill.

"Vroom, vroom..."

Accompanied by steady and powerful rumbling sounds, the long band saw blade began rotating at high speed.

Lin Yu'an put on safety glasses and ear protection, steadily gripped the saw head with both hands, and slowly pushed forward.

"Hissss..."

The sharp blade cut into the wood with smooth, linear sounds. Large amounts of wood chips carrying the fragrance of pine resin were carried out like golden fireworks, flying everywhere in the midnight sun!

In just over a minute, as the saw head pushed from one end of the log to the other, a uniformly thick and long board was completely cut from the top of the log.

The top of the log instantly showed a smooth, flat cross-section as if planed by a giant planer.

"Well done!"

Lin Yu'an muttered in praise, then didn't pause.

He again used the loader to lift this log with one flattened side, rotated it 180 degrees so the flat side faced down, and secured it on the tracks again.

Using this perfect plane as a reference, he cut again.

Soon, both the top and bottom surfaces of this log were processed into two absolutely parallel planes.

He transported this processed first piece of standardized building material to an open area using the loader.

He didn't place it directly on the ground but first used several blocking pieces to raise it, ensuring its bottom could also ventilate.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces...

In the following days, Lin Yu'an's life entered an extremely regular but incredibly arduous cycle.

Every morning, he would first water and cure the concrete pile columns, then inspect his precious vegetable garden.

Then he would start his one-man sawmill factory and begin the day's work.

The roar of the loader and the cutting sounds of the band saw became the only sounds on this land.

Working alone, he played multiple roles: crane operator loading materials with the loader, technician calibrating cutting dimensions, and warehouse manager neatly stacking finished building materials.

His main work was processing that pile of over seventy standard logs for walls that had been debarked by his brothers-in-law, as well as some timber for interior floor joists, into lumber with flat top and bottom surfaces.

Those dozen or so premium giant logs he had stacked separately didn't need processing through the band sawmill.

They only needed precise mortise and tenon processing at both ends during subsequent construction.

These giant logs would be used as porch columns and roof ridge beams, needing to maintain their original round form to support the entire home's style.

Lin Yu'an estimated the workload.

Processing one standard wall log (8 meters long, 30 centimeters diameter), from loading through two cuts to final stacking, took about 30-40 minutes once he became proficient.

With his physique enhanced by the golden finger, under midnight sun conditions, Lin Yu'an could maintain over 15 hours of high-intensity work time daily.

On average, he could process about 12 to 15 wall logs per day, meaning 16 days would allow processing over 200 logs.

This number already far exceeded the amount of timber needing processing in his total goals.

This meant he could not only complete the task but even have spare time for more detailed preparation work. This was an extremely astonishing, completely unimaginable efficiency!

Thus, during the concrete curing period, Lin Yu'an's life entered an extremely regular cycle.

During this time, he was both carpenter and farmer, processing logs one by one into standardized building materials for constructing his home, while constantly tending his vibrant greenhouse vegetable garden.

Just as Lin Yu'an was immersed in his busy but fulfilling dual-track work, one afternoon, an unexpected visitor arrived.

A tall figure emerged from the woods. She appeared to be in her thirties, with golden-brown long hair efficiently tied in a high ponytail, revealing a smooth, full forehead.

She wore a well-tailored outdoor jacket and cargo pants that outlined the powerful and healthy curves that only years of outdoor activities could create.

Her features were three-dimensional and striking, with a pair of bright blue eyes currently carrying a hint of wariness and intense curiosity as she surveyed this construction site that had suddenly appeared in the wilderness.

Her eyes were bright, but her face carried traces of fatigue and helplessness.

This should be Emily, the town's only veterinarian that Stan and Old George had mentioned.

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