I took on any work!
[To the south of Novosibirsk the steppe runs and the problem of fuel in the areas far from the railway is acute, there is no trace of either firewood or coal. Straw? The straw will rot or be burnt but a collective farm will never give straw to its workers. The only kind of fuel is dung bricks. That odorous fuel is made of any manure but mainly cow’s. At first the manure should be puddled with feet into homogenous mass then pressed in a wet form - a box without bottom - and shaken out as two dung bricks. Then one dries them turning around from time to time and puts in pyramids.]
It was still a bit cold for dung bricks but any work gave an opportunity to honestly earn some potato if not bread.