Upon hearing "one thousand jin," Lin Wanqiu's eyes lit up instantly, and a weight was finally lifted from her heart. She said excitedly, "Director Wang, thank you! We'll organize the villagers to start brewing soy sauce as soon as we get back, and we can supply you with the goods in half a month at most!"
"Okay!" Wang Jianguo nodded, took out an order form from the drawer, and filled it out carefully. "Here's the order form. Take it and contact me directly when it's time to supply the goods. By the way, does your soy sauce have a name? You can't just keep calling it 'Late Autumn Brewed Soy Sauce,' can you?"
Lin Wanqiu was taken aback; she hadn't actually named the soy sauce before. She looked at Shen Tingzhou, her eyes questioning. Shen Tingzhou thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Our soy sauce is brewed in the Hongqi Production Brigade, so how about we call it 'Hongqi Flavored Soy Sauce'? It reflects the place of origin and highlights the aroma of the soy sauce; it's simple and easy to remember."
Lin Wanqiu and Wang Jianguo both thought the name was good. Wang Jianguo wrote "Red Flag Flavored Soy Sauce" on the order and handed it to Lin Wanqiu: "Let's use this name! I believe that before long, 'Red Flag Flavored Soy Sauce' will become famous in our county and even be sold in neighboring counties!"
Emerging from the supply and marketing cooperative, Lin Wanqiu clutched the order form tightly in her hand, her heart brimming with excitement. She looked up at Shen Tingzhou and said with a smile, "Tingzhou, we did it! Director Wang ordered a thousand jin of soy sauce; our soy sauce workshop finally has a market!"
Seeing her happy expression warmed Shen Tingzhou's heart. He reached out and ruffled her hair, smiling as he said, "I knew we could do it. However, a thousand catties of soy sauce is no small amount. We need to organize the villagers to expand production as soon as we get back, otherwise we definitely won't be able to complete the order in half a month."
Lin Wanqiu nodded, already starting to plan in her mind: "We currently have twenty earthenware vats, each capable of brewing one hundred jin of soy sauce, so twenty vats would yield two thousand jin, enough to fulfill Director Wang's order. However, brewing so much soy sauce requires more soybeans, salt, and starter culture, as well as more help. We need to hurry back to the village and discuss it with the villagers, getting everyone involved. This way, we can speed up the brewing process and help everyone earn more money."
The two rode their bicycles happily back to the village. As soon as they reached the village entrance, they saw a group of villagers waiting for them, their faces full of anticipation. It turned out that everyone was very concerned about the soy sauce sales and had come to the village entrance specifically to wait for news.
"Late Autumn, Tingzhou, how did it go? Did Director Wang of the supply and marketing cooperative approve our soy sauce?" Aunt Li was the first to come up and asked anxiously.
Lin Wanqiu held up the order in her hand and said with a smile, "It's approved! Director Wang not only approved our soy sauce, but also ordered 1,000 jin (500 kg), which will be delivered in half a month! Our soy sauce has a name now, it's called 'Red Flag Flavored Soy Sauce,' and we can buy it at the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town from now on!"
The villagers cheered excitedly upon hearing the good news. Aunt Li grabbed Lin Wanqiu's hand and said, "That's wonderful! Wanqiu, you're truly our village's lucky star! With this order for a thousand jin (500 kg) of goods, we'll earn a lot of money, and our lives will be even better from now on!"
“Yes,” Aunt Wang chimed in, “Wanqiu, just tell us what you need us to do, we’ll do whatever you say! Even if it means working overtime, we’ll finish the orders on time!”
Lin Wanqiu was deeply moved by everyone's enthusiasm. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you all for your support! To complete this 1,000-jin order, we need everyone's concerted efforts. Next, we need to expand the scale of soy sauce brewing, which requires more people to help with sorting soybeans, soaking beans, steaming beans, fermenting, and sun-drying the soy sauce. I think we can calculate wages based on the amount of work done, so that everyone can earn money through the soy sauce workshop."
The villagers all agreed. They had been hoping to make money through the soy sauce mill for a long time, and now that the opportunity had arrived, they were naturally very enthusiastic.
The Hongqi Production Brigade was bustling with activity for the next few days. Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou organized the villagers into several groups. Some were responsible for going to the commune's grain station to pick up soybeans, buy salt and yeast, some were responsible for sorting soybeans and cleaning earthenware jars, some were responsible for soaking and steaming soybeans, and some were responsible for fermentation and sun-drying soy sauce. Everyone had a clear division of labor, cooperated well, and was full of energy.
Nian'an wasn't idle either. Every day, he followed Lin Wanqiu to the soy sauce workshop, helping to sort soybeans, clean, and hand out water and towels to everyone. Watching everyone busy, his little face was full of seriousness: "Mom, I must help out well so that we can brew the soy sauce quickly and supply it to the supply and marketing cooperative on time. That way, I can buy new clothes for Mom with Dad!"
Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart as she listened to her son's words. She squatted down, rubbed her son's head, and said with a smile, "Okay, Mom is waiting for Nian'an to buy Mom new clothes. But Nian'an is still young. As long as he eats well and studies hard, that's already helping Mom."
Nian'an nodded vigorously, her little face full of determination: "Mom, I know! I will definitely eat well and study hard. When I grow up, I will help Mom and Dad run the soy sauce shop better and better, so that all the villagers in our village can live a good life!"
As time passed, the brewing of soy sauce progressed faster and faster thanks to the villagers' joint efforts. Half a month later, 1,000 jin of "Hongqi Jiangxiang Soy Sauce" was brewed on schedule. Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou organized the villagers to pack the soy sauce into celadon bottles and earthenware jars, and then transported it to the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town by bicycle and oxcart.
When they delivered the soy sauce to the supply and marketing cooperative, Wang Jianguo was already waiting at the door. Looking at the truck full of soy sauce, a satisfied smile appeared on his face: "Wanqiu, Tingzhou, you're really punctual! I've already contacted all the major restaurants and canteens in the county. They all want to try our 'Red Flag Flavored Soy Sauce.' If it tastes good, they'll definitely place large orders in the future!"
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