Liquor-filled candies

Before leaving home in the morning, Wang Shuitao glanced back at the wooden box placed on the bedside table, and her heart seemed to settle down a little.

As expected, Meng Songying was waiting at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The subtle distance prevented us from seeing the front of the face from the side.

Each person passing by was like someone walking through a tourist attraction, exchanging greetings and then hurrying away.

It wasn't until Wang Shuitao came out that their eyes met briefly before looking away, and only then did Meng Songying's frozen figure begin to move.

They walked slowly toward the cafeteria, one after the other.

The four of us ate breakfast together again.

The crushing season is over, and the sugar mill's sugar-making operations will end in less than a month.

Most of the remaining sugarcane bagasse needs to be used for brewing, and Meng Songying is responsible for planning the production process.

Sugarcane residue needs to be put into a large pot, water is added, and it is boiled to dissolve the sugar and form syrup.

Yeast can only be added after the syrup has cooled to a certain temperature. Stir well and wait for fermentation.

After fermentation, the resulting liquid is distilled to collect the alcohol. After cooling, the original wine can be obtained.

And then there's the subsequent filtering, seasoning, and storage.

Each step involves precise temperature and time control, requiring Meng Songying to monitor changes in the raw materials.

His responsibilities also include debugging equipment used in some overlapping processes of sugar and wine production.

As Wang Shuitao listened, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind:

Liquor-filled candies were once all the rage at wedding banquets.

She remembers that when she was a child, liqueur-filled candies were quite popular.

Every newlywed couple distributes wedding candies at the banquet.

It's a small red cardboard box, and on one side, there's a picture of a pair of big-headed chibi figures pouting and kissing or holding hands.

Besides liqueur-filled candies, it also contains Indulge Silky Chocolate, sorghum candy, corn gummies, Ooh-Ooh milk candy, White Rabbit candy, various fruit hard candies, almond candy, coconut candy, and peanut brittle.

And of course, there are the indispensable candied dates, which must be labeled with the auspicious phrase "May you have a son soon" on the outer packaging.

The gold coin chocolates and the unnamed small candies wrapped in colorful, transparent, holographic plastic were placed on a large plate and casually scattered out as a gesture of goodwill.

Although Wang Shuitao felt that the candy's shell had a strange, cheap chocolate flavor, and the filling was cloyingly sweet, it was not delicious at all.

As for the so-called grain aroma in wine, Wang Shuitao has never tasted it, which may be related to her dislike of drinking.

But history has already proven that this candy has the potential to become popular, and the factory happens to produce both sugar and alcohol, so I had to say something about it.

I just don't know if factories in the county have the equipment to make this kind of liqueur-filled candy.

Wang Shuitao's introduction was a bit disorganized, but Meng Songying listened attentively, only frowning when she heard the word "chocolate."

He put down his chopsticks, organized his thoughts, and said, "The factory doesn't have this kind of raw material."

After saying that, he glanced at Taozi's face and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no problem.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary today, but having your carefully crafted ideas refuted will definitely affect your mood.

He remembered that Taozi had been in a bad mood ever since she came home yesterday.

As for the peach candy that was specially delivered last night... Meng Songying regretted it after returning home, wondering if she had chosen the wrong time.

Wang Shuitao scratched her face, completely unaware that in Meng Songying's heart she had become a fragile and easily broken person.

He continued describing the liqueur-filled candy: "It's probably not real chocolate, but, well, the taste is somewhat related. As for the texture, it's not hard candy, nor is it soft candy; it's more like..."

She suddenly realized that she shouldn't have said so much, in such detail.

A hint of annoyance appeared on his face.

Meng Songying's attention was focused on Wang Shuitao, and she didn't miss this subtle emotion. She gently asked, "What's wrong?"

Director Sun, who was listening intently nearby, suddenly looked over in horror.

The noise was so loud that Li Yuanhong, who lived next door, stomped her foot and pulled her away.

He added, "You guys eat, Lao Sun and I have finished eating."

With his back to the two young men, Director Sun gestured to his wife and muttered under his breath, "You stepped on me too hard, I'm going to limp."

Li Yuanhong, dragging a 140-pound man, charged forward without much panting. He spat and said, "Hurry up! What do you need me to look at Engineer Meng for? Don't you know to keep your head down and eat your food?"

If Old Sun hadn't been so clueless, she might have stayed there and watched a little longer.

If we stay any longer, I'm afraid they'll be too shy to ask for permission, so I'll just have to drag my clueless friend along first.

Meng Songying was usually quiet and unsociable, and when she was being stared at, she remained unmoved.

I just regret that I should have been more tactful.

As for how to tactfully address the fact that there are no raw materials, we'll discuss that later.

He recalled lying in bed tossing and turning last night after returning to his room, reviewing the comforting words he had come up with during the entire conversation.

This finally gave him a chance to use his skills.

Meng Songying straightened her shirt collar, which attracted Wang Shuitao's attention, and then cleared her throat.

He has a long neck, and his Adam's apple moves up and down when he speaks.

Wang Shuitao narrowed her eyes, feeling that the praise accompanying her words about being meticulous, hardworking, responsible, and brave was somewhat hypnotic.

But she couldn't help but smile, her face flushed pink.

Everyone likes to be praised, and praise coming from Meng Songying always seems more credible.

After finishing their meal, Meng Songying went to the workshop, while Wang Shuitao went to find Li Yuanhong.

She has been officially transferred from the sugarcane purchasing department, which had only three people, to the factory office, which has a full eight people.

I still need Sister Li's help with the transfer procedures.

There was a lot of written material to submit. Wang Shuitao had written an application, which included the reasons for the transfer, her own strengths, and her expectations for the new position.

The most important thing is naturally the production and sales of the new candy gift boxes.

Then, with the approval of the factory office and finally the approval of Director Sun, it can be stamped by the personnel department, namely Li Yuanhong.

Actually, if the factory office's review hadn't taken so long, it wouldn't have dragged on until today.

On the way to the office led by Li Yuanhong, Wang Shuitao couldn't help but become more vigilant.

Something unusual is bound to happen. Given her understanding of human nature, the unusually long review period must mean that someone is up to no good.

"Hello everyone, I am Wang Shuitao. I will continue to contribute to the sugar factory from now on by working in the factory office. You can call me Xiao Wang or Taozi."

Standing next to Li Yuanhong, Wang Shuitao spoke in a soft, cheerful tone.

Her promotion was brought forward, and her salary increased by a full three yuan, so of course she was happy.

Unexpectedly, the colleagues in the factory office were all easy to get along with. After listening to the newcomer Wang Shuitao's self-introduction, everyone tacitly divided into two factions.

Regardless of age, women call her Peach, while men call her Little Wang.

Of course, Wang Shuitao is indeed the youngest here.

The comrade who was originally only referred to as Old Wang by Director Sun found that he was now being called Old Wang by everyone.

Including those lesbians.

He had no objection. Was he going to fight the little girl for the right to her name? Besides, the name "Xiao Wang" wasn't exactly gilded or jeweled.

He picked up the broom again and started sweeping the floor. When the director comes back later, he'll definitely point fingers at him if he sees him not moving.

He said he had fallen into the vices of capitalist hedonism.

The factory office was responsible for a lot of paperwork, much like a secretariat in later times.

Internally, they are responsible for organizing the quality inspection of raw materials, monitoring sugar production, winemaking, and parameter control.

Externally, they need to receive leaders from the State Sugar, Tobacco and Alcohol Corporation and industry associations, and also liaise with supply and marketing cooperatives, non-staple food companies, and so on.

The work is complicated and tedious. As soon as Wang Shuitao sits down, she is greeted by a constant stream of colleagues. She feels like she is being overwhelmed by all kinds of reports and can't breathe.

Fortunately, she was young, energetic, and quick-witted.

Approach these documents with the same intensity you would during the final 100 days of your senior year, meticulously analyzing and dissecting each one.

By the afternoon, things had become clearer, and the tangled mess of forms had been organized into a coherent structure.

Li Yuanhong happened to be looking for someone at the factory office. Seeing her moving between different workstations with bright eyes, finding work to do on her own, she was very satisfied.

That's right, she said. Peaches are more suitable to work in the factory office. The job of sugarcane purchasing agent is too easy and will spoil people.

He waved and took the person away.

Every year around this time, the sugar factory would ask the winery for a few master chefs.

Please ask them to provide technical training to the people at the sugar factory, since a year has passed and the brewing process and operating procedures must have changed.

We are all affiliated units of the sugar, tobacco and alcohol company, so it's good to help each other.

The other sister company, a tobacco company, didn't have such a close relationship with the two of them.

Moreover, every year when I went to speak at the company, the sugar factory had the loudest voice, followed by the winery, and lastly the tobacco factory.

This is what it means to have the authority of a health supplement manufacturer!

The eldest and second eldest sons were indeed unwilling to involve the youngest son, Karami, in their games.

Li Yuanhong walked with large strides, displaying a majestic and powerful gait, with Wang Shuitao following behind her.

Holding a file folder in her hand, her ponytail swayed with the rhythm of her steps.

According to Li Yuanhong, we should first go to the winery to borrow people, and after bringing them back, go directly to the logistics department to collect this month's tickets.

No money will be given.

Because the winery had already given them the vouchers and money.

However, the master chefs are all level seven workers, and the sugar factory hopes they will teach their own workers well, so giving them a few more tickets is no big deal.

As they walked, Li Yuanhong gave instructions: "When the time comes, we'll subtly remind the master craftsman that the people from the sugar factory, including the next generation, have all worked here, so that he won't hold back his work just because he's afraid of losing his job."

Wang Shuitao kept this in mind, determined to use plenty of sweet talk to seduce the master chefs.

They walked on in silence for a while longer.

As I passed the workshop, I saw Meng Songying kneeling on one knee, holding a wrench in her hand.

The shirt sleeves were rolled up quite high, only covering the upper arms.

He had a smear of brown machine oil on his clothes, but he didn't pay attention to it. He just kept his head down and reached the wrench under the machine.

You can't see what he's doing, you can only see the muscles in his arms bulging as he exerts force, and the rolled-up cuffs are noticeably taut.

Wang Shuitao couldn't distinguish between biceps and triceps; she only knew that they were a kind of attractive muscle that made her blush.

A rare moment of shyness washed over her, and her thoughts quickly drifted elsewhere, wondering why the thief had specifically targeted him.

Having muscles is rare these days; one's salary must be quite high, and one must be eating well.

Soon, the workshop was over.

Meng Songying stood up, holding two screws she had just unscrewed.

As if sensing something, he looked out the window and saw only a wisp of hair flying up.

It disappeared in the next instant.