The method of making dried peaches is very simple, all you need is salt and sugar. However, nowadays, rural people have to spend money to buy sugar and salt, especially white sugar, which costs three cents more than pork.

Each household receives about 70 yuan at the end of the year. It is rare for someone to be willing to spend 78 cents to buy a pound of sugar to make sweet dried peaches. If anyone does this, they will be criticized for the whole year.

Chen Qiangwei brought two enamel basins and put the pitted peach flesh into the two enamel basins. She liked sweet food, so she planned to make more candied peaches and less salted peaches. She still had a lot of white sugar in her space.

After packing the peach flesh, Chen Qiangwei added appropriate amounts of salt and sugar into the enamel basin, then mixed them evenly with her hands to ensure that each piece of peach flesh was coated with salt/sugar. She then placed it under the eaves for an hour, squeezed out the moisture, placed the peach flesh on a dustpan, and placed it in the sun for 2-3 days before canning and sealing.

Unfortunately, a pound of peaches can produce less than two ounces of dried peaches, and a basket of peaches can produce less than fifteen pounds of dried peaches.

The dried peaches made in this way are not only delicious but also long-lasting, and are a rare snack in the countryside.

There are only four days left until the double harvest. Yesterday, there were still many peaches left on the peach trees on the mountain. Chen Qiangwei decided to continue picking peaches on the mountain, leaving a small part to eat as fruit, and making the rest into dried peaches and sending some to her uncles and cousins.

In mid-to-late June, the mulberries on the mountain gradually ripen, and it is time to pick them. Mulberry wine is not only delicious but also nourishing, killing two birds with one stone.

Gu Ling'er had the same idea as Chen Qiangwei. Gu Ling'er's family was large, and they had consumed half of the peaches they picked yesterday. The rest could be eaten in the next two or three days.

Moreover, her fourth brother who was in the army liked to eat dried peaches since he was a child, so her mother would make some salted dried peaches for him every year.

Huang Meixia didn't go to work these days. Instead, she went up the mountain to look for wild fruits like Chen Qiangwei and the others, just as a snack.

After spending a few years in the Huaihua Brigade, she learned how to salt and candied dried peaches. In previous years, she would send some dried peaches home as snacks for her younger brothers and sisters.

There were quite a few peach trees they found, and since they were about to become colleagues, they didn't mind taking Huang Meixia with them to pick peaches.

Of course, picking peaches cannot just be boring and repetitive picking movements. Gu Linger's mouth moved again.

"Did you know? Wei Zhiqing came to see my dad last night."

Huang Meixia and Chen Qiangwei paused after hearing this, looked at Gu Linger, and encouraged her to continue with their eyes.

"He wanted to use his own money to build a house next to the school, a red brick and tile house, and asked my dad if it was possible."

Chen Qiangwei raised her eyebrows. "Oh, a red brick house costs at least a hundred yuan. Comrade Wei Sijue is quite rich."

This is not an exaggeration. In addition to the cost of bricks and tiles, you also have to pay for hiring helpers. There are beams and other wood on the mountain, but you have to buy them too. If you calculate it carefully, it will cost you about 120 or 130 yuan.

If everyone in the village helps each other, it would be enough to provide a meal, but for the educated youth, it is more convenient to pay them. Otherwise, where can they find a place to cook for a large group of people?

Huang Meixia was a little tempted. She also didn't like sleeping in a big bunk bed with several people, where it was difficult to turn over. However, she hesitated when she thought about the money it would cost to build a house.

She has been in Huaihua Brigade for several years and gets a little money every year. In addition, her family subsidizes her with food from time to time, so she doesn't live in poverty.

She couldn't afford a brick house, but she could afford a mud house. A mud house would cost seventy or eighty yuan in total, but once the house was built, she would be no different from being penniless. It was more reassuring to have some money on hand.

Chen Qiangwei, "What does the captain say? Is this possible?"

Gu Linger, "There has never been a precedent in our brigade for educated youth to build houses in the village alone. The primary school was just built.

But Wei Zhiqing was very generous. He said directly that he would live here for a few years after the house was built, and after he left, the house could be turned over to the brigade and regarded as the brigade's collective property.

Huang Meixia hissed and gave up the idea of ​​building a house even more. We mortals should not compare ourselves with others.

Gu Linger said excitedly again, "When Wei Zhiqing said this, my father immediately agreed. I saw that his mouth was grinning from ear to ear."

Isn’t it? The red brick and tile house was obtained for free. Gu Aiguo wished there were more educated youth like Wei Sijue, so that the Hope Primary School could be expanded to twice its original size.

As they chatted, they unknowingly picked a full basket each. After two more trips in the afternoon, they had picked all the peaches in the field. They would start washing the peaches and making dried peaches tomorrow.

The first batch of dried peaches was ready. Chen Qiangwei kept a portion for everyone to eat together, and divided the rest into two equal parts. One was given to Sister Guihua. Gu Linger happened to be going to the commune, so Chen Qiangwei asked her to help deliver it, and the other was delivered to Nanshi herself.

Chen Qiangwei tied the backpack to the back seat of the bicycle and set off for Nanshi.

Halfway through the journey, she took out half a basket of vegetables from the space and put them in her backpack. The weather was hot now, and the vegetables would become stale after a day. It was difficult to buy fresh vegetables in the market, so Chen Qiangwei took out half of the stock as a gift.

When she arrived at the police station’s staff quarters, Chen Qiangwei was warmly welcomed by Li Xianghong.

Li Xianghong hurriedly asked Chen Qiangwei to come in. "Guoyu just told me that it's been a while since I saw you. It's true that when you mention the devil, he appears. Xiaoyu, your Aunt Weiwei is here. Come out quickly."

Xu Guoyu brought his younger brother out of the room. Today is Sunday and they don’t have to go to school. They will have exams next week and will be promoted to a higher grade after the exams.

"Aunt Weiwei, you're here. Please take a seat. Xiaowei, this is the Aunt Weiwei my sister was talking about. Call her."

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