Upon hearing this, the villagers all praised her, saying, "Comrade Wanqiu is so capable! This not only saves on maintenance costs but also on raw material costs, and our workshop's costs have dropped dramatically." "Following Comrade Wanqiu, our lives will definitely become more and more prosperous!" Hearing the villagers' praise, Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart—she knew that the workshop's development was inseparable from everyone's support, and being able to save costs for the workshop and help everyone earn more money was the happiest thing for her.

Over the next few days, Lin Wanqiu dedicated time each day to inspecting the machines in the workshop, promptly repairing any problems she found. She also taught the villagers the repair knowledge and machine maintenance methods she had learned, such as cleaning residual materials from the machines after each day's use, lubricating the bearings weekly, and regularly checking for loose screws. The villagers diligently remembered these instructions and maintained the machines according to her teachings. As a result, the machines malfunctioned less and less, and their operating efficiency increased significantly.

A week later, Lin Wanqiu did the math and found that she had saved over fifty yuan on repair costs alone. She had previously estimated that hiring a professional to repair the dough mixer and grinder would cost at least fifty yuan, but now, by repairing them herself, she hadn't spent a penny. Regarding raw materials, because the grinder ground them thoroughly, she saved ten percent on sesame seeds, peanuts, and other ingredients. Based on using twenty jin of sesame seeds per week, that's two jin saved, totaling over a hundred jin a year – a considerable sum. Furthermore, with fewer machine malfunctions and no more work stoppages, orders were completed on time, and she even received several new orders, resulting in a significant increase in income.

That afternoon, Director Wang from the supply and marketing cooperative came to inspect the workshop. Seeing that the machines were running smoothly and the villagers were all doing their jobs efficiently and without chaos, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Comrade Wanqiu, I've brought the long-term cooperation agreement I mentioned to you last time. If there are no problems, let's sign it now." Director Wang said, taking out an agreement from his briefcase. "From now on, you will supply 500 jin of pastries every month, and the supply and marketing cooperative will increase your purchase price by five cents. How about that?"

Lin Wanqiu took the agreement, read it carefully, and found the terms clear and reasonable, and the purchase price was significantly higher than before, making her very happy. "Thank you, Director Wang, we have no problem." She signed her name, handed the agreement back with both hands, and said, "Rest assured, we will definitely guarantee the quality of the pastries and deliver them on time."

Director Wang accepted the agreement, smiling as he said, "Of course I'm relieved. Your workshop's pastries not only taste great, but they're also hygienic. Last time we delivered them to the county town, they sold out in half a day. Now that your machines are running stably and production efficiency has improved, you'll definitely be able to complete the orders on time." He glanced at the noodle press beside him, noticing its smooth operation and the uniform thickness of the noodles it produced, and couldn't help but ask, "This noodle press malfunctioned last time, how come it's running so well now?"

“It was Comrade Wanqiu who fixed it herself,” Shen Tingzhou explained from the side. “She can also fix dough mixers and crushers. Now, if there are any problems with the machines in the workshop, she can solve them herself, which not only saves on repair costs but also improves production efficiency.”

Upon hearing this, Director Wang looked at Lin Wanqiu in surprise: "Comrade Wanqiu is truly multi-talented! Not only can you cook delicious food, but you can also repair machines. No wonder your workshop has developed so quickly. In the future, if other units in the commune have problems with their machines, we might have to ask you for help."

Lin Wanqiu smiled and said, "Director Wang, you're too kind. If there's anything I can do to help, I certainly won't refuse." She knew that Director Wang's recognition was not only an affirmation of her, but also of the workshop, which would make the workshop's development in the commune even smoother in the future.

As evening fell, the villagers dispersed from the workshop, and Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou sat under the lamp checking the accounts. The numbers in the accounts were becoming increasingly impressive; costs were steadily decreasing while revenue was steadily increasing. Looking at these figures, smiles appeared on both of their faces. Nian'an leaned over the corner of the table, calculating the day's raw material consumption with a small abacus. Her little fingers deftly moved the beads, and she muttered softly, "Grinding one pound of sesame seeds into powder can save two ounces, ten pounds can save two pounds, twenty pounds can save four pounds..."

Lin Wanqiu looked at her son's earnest expression and felt a surge of pride. She reached out and patted Nian'an's head, saying softly, "Nian'an is so clever; he can even help his parents with the accounts now." Nian'an looked up, his little face full of pride: "Mom, I want to learn more arithmetic in the future so I can help you and Dad manage the workshop and make it bigger and bigger."

Shen Tingzhou grasped Lin Wanqiu's hand, his eyes resolute: "With you here, with Nian'an here, our workshop will definitely get better and better. Now that the machine problem is solved and the cost has come down, shouldn't we consider launching new products? You mentioned wanting to make dried fruit before, and now the conditions are ripe."

Lin Wanqiu's eyes lit up. She had indeed considered making candied fruit—it was currently the harvest season for fruit, and the apples, pears, and hawthorns in the commune's orchard were ripe and inexpensive. Making candied fruit would not only be low-cost but also enrich the variety of pastries. "You're right," she said excitedly. "Tomorrow I'll go to the commune's orchard, buy some fruit, and we'll try making candied fruit. If we do it well, we can use it as filling for pastries and sell it separately; it'll definitely be popular."