Get your little brains working!

Inside the humming machine, clear syrup heated to 150°C slowly flowed out.

The workers then added different colored pigments accordingly.

Since this was the first trial, we used the red and yellow dyes that the factory had the most of in stock.

The first thing poured into the mold is a base of clear syrup, which is cooled until the surface solidifies, but you can still see that the inside is still soft.

The second layer of evenly blended yellow syrup was slowly spread on top.

The third layer is red syrup.

Once cooled, they become perfectly colored tricolor hard candies that don't blend together.

This is Director Sun boasting, declaring to everyone that colorless is also a kind of color.

He almost always felt that rainbows weren't necessary; red and yellow were perfect enough.

Holding one of the candies in her hand, Wang Shuitao asked hesitantly, "Are you going to make these rainbow candies into square shapes?"

As soon as she finished asking the question, she seemed to hear a series of cracking sounds.

Meng Songying quickly swallowed the crumbs in her mouth and answered clearly, "Yes, there is only one type of mold."

Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of him, holding a piece of candy.

When Wang Shuitao saw that Meng Gong wasn't taking it, she thoughtfully handed it forward a little further.

She likes to suck on candy, and the sweetness will fill her mouth for a long time.

I didn't expect Engineer Meng to eat so much candy. Anyway, it's enough for each person to take three to five pieces of candy that were just produced.

Wang Shuitao decided to give him her share, as she owed him for the low blood sugar she experienced that day, and this was a way of repaying him.

People around were still discussing whether the factory's new method could attract more customers to buy the candy, since the candy tasted better than before, but it still couldn't compare to the ones from Haicheng.

It can't even compare to the osmanthus sugar in the city.

One woman said, "Osmanthus sugar is sweet and fragrant, and the aroma lasts a long time. When you talk to people, they can tell you've eaten osmanthus sugar just by smelling it. That makes you look good."

When Wang Shuitao heard this, she thought it made a lot of sense; even a child knows how to save face.

Go up to her and say, "Our candy is beautiful. If you take it out and eat it, other people will be envious."

The woman leaned closer and whispered, "You'd be jealous. You can't eat it in front of others."

Wang Shuitao made a sudden realization expression, pouted, and let out a long "Oh—".

The woman was amused and started laughing.

Factory Director Sun pushed through the crowd that was huddled together and talking loudly, and handed two brown paper packages to Wang and Meng respectively.

While muttering to himself, "This is a reward from the factory for you, ten pieces of candy each, and you'll get two extra yuan this month when you get paid."

Wang Shuitao and Meng Songying, one who came up with the idea and the other who adjusted the machine, were the ones who received the most.

The others could only take half. The woman from earlier was also holding a smaller brown paper package, and she looked even happier, saying that she would take it back to give as a gift during the holidays.

Wang Shuitao had a flash of inspiration: "Hey, could the factory make a nicer box, fill it with this kind of candy, and sell it as a gift during holidays?"

Now there are also candies and biscuits packaged in tin boxes, and that's the kind that immediately came to Director Sun's mind.

Gifts must look high-end.

He shook his head and said, "No, our factory can't get that many sheets of iron."

But they were also itching to try this idea, even though the government didn't assign them heavy tasks for county-level sugar factories.

Xiao Wang's suggestion immediately attracted a lot of buyers; perhaps their factory could meet its sales target with just one sale during the Chinese New Year.

In this way, the candy thread can be used for other purposes when not in use.

The factory was poor, so it had to be very careful with its finances.

Meng Songying reminded the factory manager: "Wooden boxes."

Wang Shuitao was the first to respond: "I think we can give it a try. Wood can be very high-end. There's a carpenter in our village. Can I go back and have him make one?"

Opportunities should be actively seized. Considering her family's chaotic situation, Wang Shuitao felt it was necessary to enhance her influence in the village.

Factory Director Sun hesitated for a moment, but feeling Xiao Wang's eager gaze, he still agreed.

After all, she was the one who came up with the initial idea.

On the way out, Meng Songying suddenly mentioned that there was a wood factory in the county town with an assembly line that could make wooden boxes, which was both flat and fast.

Wang Shuitao seemed to be deep in thought. Sensing the kindness, she tilted her head and smiled at Meng Gong, who was looking straight ahead and sitting upright.

Without asking any further questions, I spent the rest of my time helping out at the sugarcane harvest.

I also asked two colleagues about the wood factory.

The two seemed to get along very well, and were open and honest with each other.

Originally, the wood factory mainly engaged in the initial processing of wood in the county town, including processing trees into planks or strips.

Then it will be transported to various places.

They also produce some small farm tools, simple furniture, and large packing boxes.

It would be easy for the sugar factory to order smaller wooden boxes.

Therefore, we need to find the differences that must be done manually to gain an advantage.

The two colleagues had already changed the subject, occasionally introducing Wang Shuitao to the people from the commune who were bringing in sugarcane. She was the factory's new sugarcane buyer.

With an extra person on the team, today's tasks will be completed faster than usual, and colleagues and people in the commune are quite happy.

The ground was covered in mud and roots, so the three of them worked together to clean it up. All they could hear were the shouts of sugar-pressing workers not far away, as they worked hard.

These are temporary workers recruited from the commune's rural areas. Every October, the sugar factory would post a notice requiring them to work for five months straight.

Even though November to April of the following year coincides with the busy farming season, there are still many people vying for a spot.

Permanent employees have a priority quota for their family members, and basically everyone will take care of their relatives.

In the following days, Wang Shuitao went to check on the sugar block molding process several more times and suggested that a mold shaped like an arch bridge could be made, which would look more like a rainbow.

Simply bend the metal sheet; there's no need to remake the model.

The woman I talked about last time was named Hong Xiangchun; the color she mixed was particularly beautiful.

With everyone's joint efforts, the rainbow bridge of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet appeared.

Wang Shuitao is also preparing to go home.

My older brother, Wang Jinbu, should have already returned to his unit. I wonder if my sister-in-law, Sun Miao, has been bullied at home these past few days.

Is Mother reverting to her old ways, taking food from home and feeding that family over there?

Nowadays, factories only have one day off per week. The sugar factory is closed on Saturdays, so Wang Shuitao goes back home on Friday afternoons.

The cafeteria food is packaged in boxes.

Tonight there's stewed pork with potatoes. The pork is very lean, but there's still a layer of tempting oil floating on top of the dish. Wang Shuitao gritted her teeth and bought three servings.

When visiting someone you haven't seen in a long time, it's customary to bring a gift.

It was still that long road. On the way back, a few people with keen senses glanced at the lunchbox in her hand.

He quickly regained his composure and turned away, continuing his conversation with his companions.