Chapter 54: Writing again.

He Susu walked in the direction pointed by the passerby, and about ten minutes later she saw a two-story building with the word "Library" written on the door.

She walked in and saw a counter with "Lending Desk" written on it at the door. A staff member was standing by. He Susu walked over and asked, "Hello, comrade. Are there any requirements for borrowing books from the library?"

The staff looked up at her lazily and said, "Come here with your ID card to apply for a library card. You can borrow five books at a time for a month. If you exceed the time limit for each book, you will be fined 50 cents."

"Okay, thank you comrade. I'll come back to get a library card later." He Susu smiled and thanked him. Fortunately, she had prepared in advance and thought of bringing her ID card with her just in case.

The staff saw her carrying a backpack and a package, and could vaguely see that there were meat and vegetables inside: "You can't bring these things in. Leave them with me for now. Get a temporary storage card and come back to take them when you leave later."

He Susu smiled and agreed, taking off the package in the backpack and handing it to him.

There was no other way. She had to buy the meat and vegetables first. If she went too late, there would be nothing to buy at the grocery store. And this time, she had to be taken to the slaughterhouse by her sister-in-law. Just carrying them all the way to the library was tiring.

The staff member took it, wrote a few words on a piece of paper, tore it into two pieces, put one half on the backpack, and handed the other half to He Susu: "This is a temporary storage card, keep it."

"Thank you, comrade." He Susu took it with a smile and put it in her pocket.

He Susu walked into the library. The layout here was a bit like a school, with classrooms separated by rows of shelves. The classrooms were filled with all kinds of books. A wooden sign at the door wrote the category of books placed in that classroom.

She looked through every classroom on the first floor, but couldn't find the book she wanted, so she had to go up to the second floor.

The layout of the second floor was similar to that of the first floor. She kept running into people reading books. After walking around for a while, she finally found a classroom with a wooden sign that read "Industrial Technology". After entering, each row of shelves was marked with corresponding categories.

He Susu walked in and looked around. Most of the books on the shelves were related to mechanical engineering and steel and iron making.

She picked out possible books based on their titles and flipped through them one by one, looking for the content she wanted in the catalog and then deciding whether it would be useful for her writing.

Because time is limited, if I go back late I will miss the bus and will have to wait for the afternoon bus.

He Susu finally picked out five books: "History of Fugang", "Mechanical Engineering", "Domestic Industrial Atlas", "Past of Yecheng Steel", and "Contemporary Steel Technology", and went downstairs to the counter.

"Comrade, I'm here to apply for a library card. I want to borrow these five books."

Staff: “Give me your ID card.”

He Susu placed five books on the counter, took out her ID card from her pocket and handed it to him.

The staff member took out a piece of cardboard that had been cut long ago from the drawer, wrote down the ID information on it with a pen, and stamped it with the library's red seal. Then he took out a large notebook, turned to the latest page, registered the names of five books on it, and added the corresponding library card numbers.

After finishing, he handed the ID card, library card and five books to He Susu: "Take it."

"Thank you, comrade." After taking it, He Susu took out the temporary deposit card and took out the backpack and package. She put the five books into the package, looked at the library card which showed her name, hometown and library card number, and put it in her clothes pocket together with her ID card.

I left the library and walked back to the supply and marketing cooperative. I wanted to take the electric fan home this time, but my backpack and bag were full, so I had to wait until next time.

There were already many military wives waiting with their belongings beside the supply and marketing cooperative. Su Yu was among them. When she saw her sister-in-law coming back, she asked with a smile, "How was it? Did you borrow the book you wanted to read?"

He Susu nodded: "I borrowed five books. I'll read them slowly when I get home. I'll always find what I want."

"That's good." Su Yu said with a smile.

Soon the car came, and we lined up to get on the car and found a seat. We chatted for a while on the way, and when the car drove into the military area and arrived at the first drop-off point of the family quarters, He Susu stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll get off first."

"Okay, go ahead." Su Yu waved his hand.

He Susu got off the car and walked back with Wu and Fang. She arrived at her home first, so she said goodbye to Wu and Fang and went in.

She bought a lot of things and carried them all into the kitchen, sorting them into the corresponding cabinets, and put the two crucian carps into a bucket of water. Then she opened the shopping system and took out the things she had exchanged earlier.

This is the advantage of being the head of the household. She can take things out of the shopping system under the pretext of going to the county town to buy things, but she doesn't have to take them out in advance and carry them in the county town. Anyway, she comes back earlier than Cheng Shi, so it's just right for her to take them out directly from the kitchen.

Twenty eggs, one pound of seaweed plus six ounces of dried shrimps, two pounds of apples, five pounds of refined rice, five pounds of flour, a bottle of soy sauce, half a pound of salt, and one pound of white wine. The soy sauce is directly put into the existing bottles at home.

After putting the things in place, He Susu deducted the money she had on her for the things. Although Cheng Shi would not notice this, she was still careful to avoid being exposed.

After finishing her work, she looked up and saw that it was almost half past eleven, so she started to prepare food. For lunch, she had seaweed, egg and shrimp soup, braised tofu with minced meat, and stir-fried Chinese cabbage.

Seaweed, egg and shrimp soup is simple, just cook it later.

She took out a piece of tofu and cut it into small pieces for later use. She kept the remaining piece of tofu for cooking crucian carp and tofu soup in the evening. She also cut out the amount of meat for lunch from the hind leg and chopped it into minced meat on the chopping board with a kitchen knife. She also broke the cabbage into leaves, washed them and put them aside.

After preparing the dishes, He Susu simply took out the three-pound pork belly, cut about one pound into it and kept it for stir-frying, and marinated the remaining two pounds and air-dried it to eat later when the rest of the meat was finished.

She put two kilograms of pork belly into a basin, poured in white wine and rubbed the pork belly. After a few times, she poured out the white wine in the basin, turned on the coal stove, fried the bay leaves, star anise, tangerine peel and other spices that she had prepared in advance, poured them into the basin, poured in enough soy sauce, barely rolled the pork belly together, and covered it with a plate upside down.

As there was no well here, she had to get a bigger basin to hold water, and then put the basin containing the pork belly in it, and try to stabilize it with the help of the water.

By the time she finishes these, Cheng Shi will be back.

He said hello, washed his face and went straight into the kitchen.

He Susu walked in: "I happened to see some seaweed when I went to the county town this morning, so I bought a pound of seaweed and six ounces of dried shrimp. I can cook some seaweed, eggs and dried shrimp soup for lunch, and make some braised pork with tofu and stir-fried Chinese cabbage."

"Okay, the seaweed soup is delicious." Cheng Shi was also happy to see seaweed.

He turned on the coal stove, first poured the minced meat in and fried it until fragrant, then added tofu, water, soy sauce and salt, covered the pot and began to simmer. At the same time, he took another pot and added water to boil, then added seaweed and dried shrimps, and then beat an egg and stirred it.

In between his busy schedule, he asked with a smile, "Did your trip to the county town go smoothly today?"

He Susu nodded: "It went smoothly. Thanks to my sister-in-law who saved a seat for me after she got on the bus, I had a place to sit. When we arrived at the county town, we went to the grocery store to buy some things. Then my sister-in-law took me to the slaughterhouse to find out where to go. We bought some pork belly and ribs. After that, I went to the library to get a library card and borrow books. Now I won't be bored at home anymore. I have books to read."

She had previously mentioned that she wanted to borrow books to learn about the steel mill so that she could write her third long story. Cheng Shi smiled and said, "As long as it goes smoothly, it's really hard to buy food for ten days at a time. The library in the county town is smaller than other places, but it still has the necessary books. It's good to be able to borrow the books you want to read."

"Yes. Fortunately, I was smart enough to bring my ID card. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get a library card and I wouldn't be able to borrow books." He Susu said thankfully.

Cheng Shi smiled when he heard this: "You have always been careful in your work and never fight a battle without preparation."

As they were talking, the seaweed, egg and shrimp soup was ready, the tofu and minced meat stewed in the iron pot was also cooked and served, and Cheng Shi then continued to stir-fry the cabbage.

He Susu went to get the bowls and chopsticks, scalded them with hot water, and filled them with white rice.

As usual, Cheng Shi cooked and then went to take a shower. He Susu was not very hungry, so she waited for him to eat together.

The couple started eating quickly.

The tofu is smooth and tender after being stewed, with a hint of sauce on the outside and the aroma of soybeans when biting into it. The minced meat is stewed and well-flavored, and it is also fresh and smooth after being thickened with starch water. It tastes even more delicious when you scoop some of the soup and pour it on the white rice. The Chinese cabbage is juicy and tastes delicious when fried.

After finishing the rice in the bowl, He Susu used a spoon to scoop a bowl of seaweed, egg and shrimp soup.

The stirred eggs were floating in the air, with strands of seaweed tangled together and dotted with some dried shrimps. She tasted it and it was very sweet.

Cheng Shi was also drinking the seaweed, egg and shrimp soup and exclaimed: "This seaweed soup is delicious, thanks to the shrimp you bought, it is much sweeter after boiling."

"It's really good." He Susu agreed. The meals at home had meat and vegetables every day, and sometimes some dried seafood, which was better than most people's.

She was eating nourishing food and felt that she was gaining a lot of weight. She needed to walk more.

Because there was a lot cooked, each person drank two bowls of soup before finishing the whole pot of seaweed, egg and shrimp soup.

It was another empty stomach. Cheng Shi put away the dishes and went into the kitchen to wash them. Then the couple went back to their room for a nap.

Needless to say, Cheng Shi was tired from training, so he lay down on the bed, closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

He Susu got up early today and went to the county town to buy things and borrow books. After coming back, she sorted things out and was busy preparing meals. She was tired now and fell asleep earlier than Cheng Shi.

When she woke up in the afternoon, she reached out and touched the place beside her, which was already cold.

He Susu still felt a little sleepy, so she closed her eyes for a while before getting up. She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, then washed an apple and started to bite into it.

After she was fully awake, she returned to her room and sat at the desk. On the desk were five newly borrowed books. She picked up one and started reading.

The development of the domestic steel industry was tortuous and difficult, but also full of vigorous vitality. It made breakthroughs and improvements in difficult situations, achieved innovative breakthroughs, and led the rise and development of the domestic industry. During this period, there were so many people and events that He Susu gradually learned about in the book and gradually became fascinated.

Reading is the easiest way to kill time. After finishing each chapter, He Susu would give her eyes a rest, drink some water or stand up and move around, and then sit back to continue reading.

In a blink of an eye, more than two hours passed. She raised her hand to check the time. Seeing that it was getting late, she put down the book in her hand, stood up and stood outside the door to breathe some fresh air, and then went to the kitchen to prepare food.

He Susu spent the next few days reading.

She learned a lot about the history of the steel plant's development and gained a deeper understanding of the plant's existing machinery and manufacturing level.

Although these books were published in the past few years, which means that the knowledge she knows is a bit outdated, she can only create stories based on the past and the present in terms of technology, so this knowledge is enough for her to use.

If the protagonist is too innovative, requiring her to use her imagination to come up with ideas, the content she writes may be too floating and make readers lose interest.

The five books gradually became thinner after being read day after day, and turned into knowledge stored in my mind.

After giving herself a day to free time, He Susu took out a pen and paper to conceive a new story. Based on the character of the protagonist, she set up corresponding supporting roles, laid out the corresponding important storylines according to the growth line, and established the contents of several stages of the story in a spiral form.

Then comes the introduction, development, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing and revelation.

He Susu spent several more days to complete the preparations for the creation, writing nearly ten pages of letter paper. She also had a deeper understanding of the story she was going to write.

With countless images emerging in her mind, she simply took a pen and paper and began to write the beginning of the story. She wrote very smoothly and it was no exaggeration to say that her ideas were flowing like a spring of inspiration.

The first 20,000 words of a long story are very important. The first submission determines whether it will be accepted by a magazine for publication, and it is also the key to measuring the manuscript fee.

The two times before, He Susu was very cautious, thinking over and over again, and weighing every word and sentence over and over again, but this time she seemed to have returned to nature, just following the most sincere thoughts in her mind, picking up the pen and writing, and completing it in one go.

When she reached the first break point of the current story and stopped at the most appropriate plot point to break the chapter, He Susu breathed a sigh of relief. She put down her pen, picked up the letter paper and read it from beginning to end. She was very satisfied with what she had created.

Because it was the beginning, she only wrote about 3,000 words this time. It is said that everything is difficult at the beginning, but the first step of the long march has been taken, and the rest will be easy.

He Susu put aside the beginning of the story she had written and prepared to take a break.

In the next few days, she was addicted to writing articles, because she wrote smoothly every day, often with a smile on her face, and did not feel that writing was a tiring task.

Every time Cheng Shi came back from training and saw the smile on his wife's face, he couldn't help but smile with relief. Susu didn't feel bored at home, as long as her writing went smoothly.

He would also be curious and ask tentatively: "Susu, can you let me see the story you wrote? I haven't read your articles yet. It doesn't matter if I can't. I still know how to respect the privacy of the creator."

He Susu was very calm and generous: "Of course, you are my husband, why can't you read it? Anyway, I have to submit it to the magazine editor and readers after I finish writing it."

As he said this, he reached out to open the desk drawer, took out a recently written manuscript and handed it to him.

After hearing this, Cheng Shi raised the corner of his mouth and said, "It's my honor to be the first to see it."

He took over a stack of manuscripts and began to read them. Susu's handwriting was beautiful and elegant, without any traces of erasure, and the whole article looked very smooth.

Cheng Shi gradually became fascinated by the show and had a preliminary understanding of the protagonist's character. He saw that he had learned relevant knowledge in advance, was calm and steady when working in the steel plant, and began to think about the machinery used in the factory. He couldn't help but look forward to what he would achieve in the future.

The cultural atmosphere of the slum where the protagonist lives and the funny things that happen from time to time among the workers in the factory make people smile.

Cheng Shi finished reading the existing manuscript and praised: "Susu, you wrote it so well! I am looking forward to what Lu Yang will do in the steel plant in the future. Your writing is good, and the characters speak in a very distinctive way. The beginning of the story alone is very attractive."

I had heard before that Susu could write articles to earn royalties and that her writing was quite talented, but when dating someone, one would mostly chat about everything to get to know the other person's personality and character. This was the first time Cheng had seen an article written by Susu.

At this moment, I am filled with admiration and pride, and I am proud to have a daughter-in-law like Susu.

He Susu was amused by his praise: "I took your praise seriously and became more confident about this story. This time, everything went smoothly from the early stage of conception to the beginning of writing. As soon as I picked up the pen, inspiration kept coming to my mind. I was quite satisfied when I looked back after finishing it. I should be able to achieve good results."

Cheng Shi nodded in affirmation: "Although I am not a professional editor, I like this story very much from the perspective of a reader. I'm sure you can do it."

He Susu showed him the manuscript just to hear his praise, and now that she actually heard it, she couldn't help but believe it.

With more confidence in her heart, she was more motivated to write the rest of the manuscript. Within a few days, she had written the 20,000 words required for the first submission.

That morning, after she had breakfast, she saw that it was not very sunny outside, so she went back to her room to change her clothes, opened the drawer, took out the manuscript that had been put into the envelope a long time ago, and went out to the mailroom.

When she arrived at the mailroom, she explained her purpose to the staff, wrote the magazine's mailing address on the envelope, and waited for the other party to affix stamps and postmark it. He Susu paid for the mailing, and it was done.

After finishing her work, she walked back. On the way, she met Sister Ye with her daughter playing with some other children. He Susu smiled and greeted her, and made an appointment to visit Sister Ye when she was free, and then continued walking back.

He Susu originally wanted to go home, but then she changed her mind and thought that she had been immersed in writing articles for so many days since she came back from the county town for shopping. She hadn't seen her third sister-in-law and Dabao and Erbao for a long time. It was even more difficult to see her third brother, because he went to the army for training during the day and it was rare to see him at night.

Although she would go to the county town to see her third sister-in-law in a couple of days, He Susu still walked a few more steps and went directly to the second family quarters.

On the way to the second family quarters, she met many familiar military wives, and they all greeted her with a smile.

"Susu is back? Are you here to see your third sister-in-law?"

"Yes, come and talk to her."

"I haven't seen you since you got married and moved to the family compound. Come over and visit me more often when you have time."

"Okay, thank you sister-in-law."

"Susu, I heard Dabao and Erbao talking about you a few days ago. They must be happy that you are back."

"I miss them both, too."

He Susu chatted with the military wives who came to chat with her, then walked to Building No. 5 and went up the stairs to the third floor. She knocked on the door: "Sister-in-law, are you home? I'm Susu."

"Hey, I'm home." Soon Su Yu's voice came from inside, and then the door opened. Su Yu said happily, "Little sister, come here, come in and sit down."

He Susu walked into the house familiarly: "Sister-in-law, I didn't bring anything here, please don't be offended."

Su Yu pretended to be angry: "Little sister, what are you talking about? This is also your home. Why do you need to carry things home?"

After that, she shouted into the room, "Erbao, my aunt is here."

He Susu looked towards the two children's room, and saw a little cannonball rushing out towards her, hugging her legs and shouting excitedly: "Aunt, you are finally here! I haven't seen you for a long time."

"I was writing an article recently and didn't have time to come over. So I came over right after I finished my work." He Susu explained with a smile. She was a little surprised because this child was not usually so enthusiastic.

Erbao then let go of her legs, looked up and showed his white teeth: "Okay, I forgive my aunt."

"Go away, stop bothering your aunt. Go to the kitchen and get some mung bean cake for your aunt." Su Yu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry and ordered Erbao around.

"Okay." Erbao hurried to the kitchen with his short legs.

He Susu looked at his chubby body and asked, "Sister-in-law, does Erbao look a little fatter?"

Su Yu nodded: "Yes, he is a little fat. This child loves to eat meat. He always fights with his brother for it. He also often eats candy and cakes. I am planning to control his diet and let him run more so that he can lose weight."

He Susu agreed: "Although it is better for children to eat more nutritious food, we still have to control it and feed them more solid food."

The two spoke in low voices to avoid the children hearing and getting upset.

Erbao excitedly took out a bag of mung bean cakes, opened it and took out a piece for his sister-in-law to eat.

He Susu took it with a smile: "Thank you, Erbao."

She ate the mung bean cake, which was made with solid ingredients and had a strong mung bean flavor. After such an activity in the morning, it was good to eat a piece of mung bean cake to fill her stomach.

Su Yu also took a piece to eat, and told Erbao: "You can only eat one piece."

Erbao bit the mung bean cake in his mouth and reluctantly agreed.

After eating the mung bean cake, he went to his room, moved out his toys, and sat on the floor in the living room to play with them, under the pretext of accompanying his aunt.

After hearing this, He Susu couldn't help but laugh and shook her head.

Su Yu went to boil water and make tea, and asked, "Have you been writing articles at home recently? I haven't seen you for a few days, so I planned to go look for you."

"Well, I borrowed five books and was busy reading them the past few days. I got a lot of knowledge from the books, so I started writing an article and just finished it yesterday. I took it to the mailroom to mail it this morning. I originally wanted to go home, but then I thought I hadn't seen you for a few days, so I just came over to see you." He Susu explained.

Su Yu smiled and said, "It's good as long as you get what you want from reading. Come over here often when you have nothing to do, even in the evening. It just so happens that your third brother is still thinking about you."

He Susu smiled and agreed: "Okay, Cheng Shi and I will come over in the evening when I'm free."

Su Yu talked about serious matters: "By the way, little sister, didn't I register my information with the Women's Federation before and ask them to help me find a job? I finally got some news recently. The Women's Federation said that there is a vacancy for a teacher in our military elementary school. It just so happens that I have enough academic qualifications, so they asked me if I would like to go there to teach."

He Susu nodded: "This is a good thing."

Su Yu: "I want to go. I can take care of Dabao who is studying there, but it's not appropriate to take Erbao to school because he is not old enough to go to school. It's not good to trouble Mrs. Chen all the time. Her children also go to school during the day. I was thinking of asking if I can send Erbao to your place during the day to help take care of him?"

"This child is not very troublesome and you don't need to accompany him. Just do what you need to do and keep an eye on him occasionally. I'm afraid that if I leave Erbao alone at home, he might play with fire or climb high and fall down."