Han Zheng and Zhao Xuelin had arrived at the county machinery factory at this time. Zhao Xuelin gave two bottles of wine and cigarettes to the relatives of an acquaintance, and asked them to take them to see the parts that had been discarded by the factory.
Although Han Zheng has been serving in the army for many years, he is not an ordinary soldier. Because of his parents and elders, he grew up in a military compound. He has been exposed to far more things than Zhao Xuelin, and assembling a set of rice milling equipment is no problem at all.
There were a lot of discarded parts, so the two of them rolled up their sleeves and slowly picked them out, picking out the useful ones and putting them in a pile.
Thinking about the price of the parts offered by the machinery factory, Han Zheng whispered to Zhao Xuelin, "This part I have is for an oil press. I just took a quick look and I think I can pick out an oil press from this pile of scrap metal. The price is very cheap. Do you want to buy one?"
"Of course."
Zhao Xuelin's eyes sparkled. He knew asking Han Zheng for help was the right decision. He said excitedly, "In Yang County, there's only one oil press in the county seat. The production teams in the communes down below have to queue up to schedule an appointment. If we can build a set of oil presses, the five communes near Hongxing Commune will definitely come to us to press their oil."
"I can guarantee that the machines will not be a problem. You should first consider where to locate the rice mill and oil press." Han Zheng reminded him.
The village has less arable land than other brigades, but there are also many wastelands that cannot be reclaimed for growing crops. Zhao Xuelin had considered this a long time ago and discussed it with the village cadres of the brigade.
"We will plan a piece of vacant land in the village, then use the least amount of money to buy a batch of defective red bricks and cement bricks from the brick factory, cut some wood in the mountains, and buy some black tiles to build a simple rice mill and oil press."
"What about labor?" Han Zheng reminded of an important point.
Zhao Xuelin knew what he meant and rolled his eyes at him, saying, "With so many laborers in the village, the men should definitely do the hard work, while the women will do the lighter tasks. High school students like Yun Huaying are perfect for bookkeeping and settlement."
Han Zheng also wanted to arrange an easy job for her. After thinking about it, he said, "I'll go back and ask her what she thinks."
"OK."
Zhao Xuelin had no objection. He felt that as long as Yun Huaying had a common sense, she would not refuse such a good thing.
It was lunchtime when Han Zheng and his crew returned with a tractor loaded with old, dirty parts. Yun Huaying was sitting in a roadside ditch, washing the mud off her body. Seeing them return, she glanced at the items on the tractor and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing with all these parts?"
Han Zheng stepped on the brakes and told her with a smile, "The team leader wants to build a rice mill and oil press in the team. We just went to the machinery factory to buy some discarded parts and will assemble a set of equipment later."
"Can you assemble?" Yun Huaying's eyes lit up when she looked at him.
Han Zheng caught the light in her eyes, and joy quickly rose in his heart. He smiled and said, "Yes, I learned from a mechanical maintenance master before."
Yun Huaying nodded without asking him about his other abilities.
The man climbed out of the water, picked up his cloth shoes, walked forward barefoot, and asked casually: "Did you buy meat for me?"
"I bought it."
Han Zheng would not forget this most important thing. He handed her the meat wrapped in lotus leaves and said, "Huaying, I'm going to unload the truck now. I'll come back later to tell you something."
"Okay, I'll go back and cook now. Come over for dinner later, and I'll give you the money too." Yun Huaying said and turned away.
Han Zheng wished he could go there for free meals every day, but seeing that Zhao Xuelin didn't say a word but looked at him with a faint gaze, he gave him a smug look and continued to step on the accelerator and move forward.
When Lin Shan and the others came back, Yun Huaying had just finished cooking the rice and said to them, "I just asked Han Zheng to bring some meat back. We'll have a good lunch today."
"Wow, there's meat to eat."
Seeing the pork on the chopping board, the two men's fatigue disappeared halfway, and they all stared at the greasy piece of meat.
"How do you want to eat?" Yun Huaying asked them.
"I'm fine with either."
Jiang Yuan couldn't help swallowing. Seeing them all looking at her, she smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed. "Apart from the meat sauce Lin Shan gave me earlier, the last time I ate meat was actually in February when my grandmother celebrated her birthday. My parents and uncles and aunts weighed out ten pounds of meat. There were more than twenty people in the family, young and old, eating. The elders each had one spoonful of meat, the grandchildren each had one spoonful, and we granddaughters each only had two pieces of meat. I almost forgot what pork tasted like."
"Poor kid." Lin Shan felt very sympathetic and compassionate towards her.
Yun Huaying smiled slightly. Although there were a few vampires in her family before, life at home was still manageable. She could eat meat occasionally, so she didn't have to go without the taste of meat for half a year.
We worked hard these past two days and all three of us were very tired. We cut up the entire pound of meat and planned to save the two ribs to make soup in the evening.
There were a lot of dried beans in the cabinet, all brought from home. Yun Huaying took out a large handful and soaked them in water, planning to use them to stew meat later.
As for vegetables, the pumpkin that Han Zheng had sent over earlier was peeled and stewed in a pot.
They had worked for the whole morning and were very tired. The ingredients were limited and they didn't have the energy to make too many dishes. They just had two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, plus Lin Shan's meat sauce, for a simple meal.
Han Zheng unloaded the car and hurried back home. He soon came over with a bowl in hand. "Huaying, my grandfather cooked a bowl of snail meat. I'll share some with you."
The snails were picked up by his grandfather in the fields recently and stored at home. They were just enough to make a bowl of food. When he learned that he was coming downstairs to eat, he took out a bowl and asked him to share half of the food.
It was impossible for them to eat the dishes that the old man had worked so hard to cook with a clear conscience. Yun Huaying took a bowl and filled it with some stewed meat with dried beans. Lin Shan also scooped a spoonful of meat sauce into the bowl, "Brother Han, these are for Grandpa Han."
"Okay."
Han Zheng smiled and went back with the bowl.
When he came down, the food had already been served on the table. They still sat at the door to eat, each with a bench on each side. They were all tired, so they sat down and started eating with big mouthfuls.
"The meat is so delicious." Jiang Yuan ate a piece of meat and sighed with satisfaction.
"It's really delicious." Lin Shan also grinned, her round eyes bubbling with happiness. "Our family is well off, and we usually don't want to stew a pound of meat for a meal. Huaying is really generous."
“What we seek in life are poetry, distant places, three meals a day and four seasons.”
Yun Huaying hadn't been here long, but she was deeply moved. Bright starlight swirled in her clear, deep eyes: "We are temporarily trapped here. We don't have the leisure to recite poetry or travel the world to distant places. But we can eat three good meals a day, enjoy the four seasons, and make the present life the most beautiful."
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