Chapter 119 Tea Mountain Fire
Although the people from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau were temporarily persuaded to leave, the notice ordering them to make rectifications and await processing was like a sword hanging over their heads.
People in the family compound were in panic.
Shen Lingning took a deep breath and suppressed his anxiety.
She knew that the only way out now was to complete that special supply mission.
She carefully asked Shen Yuchuan about every detail of the task: the intensity of degreasing, the absence of corrosive ingredients, pH value requirements, odor preferences, and even packaging and delivery time.
Behind closed doors, she began the difficult research and development.
The information in the space gave her some ideas for natural surfactants and mild cleaning, such as the clever use of soapberry powder and soapberry extract, but the specific ratios and processes required her to experiment again and again.
The stove in the workshop was burning day and night. She tried different ratios of tea seed powder and tea oil, adjusted the concentration of the alkaline solution, added soapberry powder to enhance the detergency, and added extremely fine pine wood powder to try to absorb oil stains and bring a fresh scent.
I failed again and again. The soap I made was either not strong enough to clean stains, too harsh on my hands, or had the wrong smell.
"Mom, stinky..."
Fubao wrinkled his nose because of the strange smell in the experiment.
Zhou Weiguo silently helped her move raw materials, clean up the residue from failure, and put clothes on her at night.
Although Aunt Sun, Liu Jinfeng and others could not help with technical matters, they took the initiative to take on all the miscellaneous tasks to ensure the basic operation of the factory. They brought food from time to time, and their eyes were full of trust and encouragement.
After several sleepless days and nights, Shen Lingning's eyes were red and his hands were covered with raw materials and alkaline liquid.
Finally, after adjusting the grinding fineness and adding order of soapnut powder, the newly baked batch of soaps showed a delicate texture.
Rubbing with cold water can also produce rich foam, and the oil removal test effect is amazing. After washing, the hands are only slightly dry, and the pine fragrance is faint.
She immediately tested it herself and asked Shen Yuchuan to help find some parts with serious oil pollution to try. The results even exceeded the other party's expectations!
On the delivery day, Shen Yuchuan left with the carefully packaged samples.
The waiting time is extremely long.
Shen Lingning appeared calm on the surface, directing everyone to deal with the trivial difficulties raised by the Industry and Commerce Bureau, but his heart was always hanging.
On the third day, people from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and the fire department were standing in the service department, causing customers to take a detour and not dare to come in.
Shen Yuchuan returned, an irrepressible smile on his face, his voice rising an octave: "Passed! Not only passed! The leaders over there are very satisfied, saying that a major problem has been solved! They specifically asked for long-term cooperation! The contract will be signed immediately!"
The news spread like wildfire.
The industrial and commercial personnel who had been arrogant before had a 180-degree turn in their attitude when they came back the next day.
He was so polite that he almost flattered her: "Director Shen, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! The inspection is over, there's no problem, you guys continue production, continue production!"
There was no news of Section Chief Jia from the daily chemical factory again.
The dark clouds covering Songtaogou dissipated in an instant.
The sun shone on the brand new factory building, and the aroma of soap and tea became more mellow. Shen Lingning stood at the door, looking at the cheering sisters and the gratified look in her husband's eyes, her heart filled with a huge sense of accomplishment and unprecedented confidence.
It was a deep night, Songtaogou was immersed in the cool autumn moonlight, with only the chirping of insects occasionally breaking the silence.
Zhou Weiguo gently placed Fubao, who had just fallen asleep after playing with him, back into his crib and turned to look under the lamp. The dim light of the kerosene lamp softly enveloped Shen Lingning's profile. She was concentrating on recording the soap recipe data, a little ink on her fingertips.
Zhou Weiguo's heart warmed up, and he walked over. He put his big hands around her slender waist and gently bit her earlobe. Before he could say anything tender,
"Bang! Bang, bang, bang!"
The rapid and life-threatening knocking on the door suddenly exploded, almost shattering the momentary tranquility.
A hoarse, distorted, sobbing roar pierced through the door: "Captain Zhou! Director Shen! It's bad! There's a mountain fire! The back mountain... the back mountain is on fire!!"
All of Zhou Weiguo's romantic thoughts were instantly crushed by the bad news, and a surge of anger mixed with the irritation of being interrupted suddenly rose up.
With a sullen face, he suddenly opened the door and shouted, "What are you making noise for? It's the middle of the night, and you're crying..."
The voice stopped abruptly.
In the direction of the distant mountain, there was no longer the familiar dark mountain shadow, but a flame rising into the sky!
Thick smoke rose into the sky like a ferocious beast, and the red and hot tongues of fire licked the night sky frantically. With the howling autumn wind, it was spreading and devouring the surroundings at a terrifying speed!
The fire was so bright that it turned half of the sky into an ominous orange-red color. One could even vaguely see the terrifying sight of burning trees crackling and collapsing.
A hot wind with the smell of ash and burnt grass blew in my face.
Zhou Weiguo's blood suddenly ran cold and his face turned pale.
That's the tea mountain! It's the hard work of Ling Ning and all the factory family members for more than half a year!
More importantly, the base’s family quarters are right below the wildfire!
"Emergency assembly! Everyone! Fire! Quick!"
He practically roared, his voice slightly inflected by extreme fear, and he snatched up his coat draped over the back of the chair and dashed off into the night like an arrow.
Shen Lingning also rushed to the door, and was so frightened by the doomsday scene that his legs went limp. He only managed to avoid collapsing by holding onto the door frame.
My heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an ice-cold hand, and a suffocating pain spread.
She seemed to smell the bitter, burnt smell of the tea leaves burning and hear the hideous grin of the flames as they greedily devoured everything.
The shrill sound of the emergency assembly whistle tore through the night sky.
The entire Songtaogou was boiling in an instant.
All the men who were able to move - soldiers, workers, young and strong family members - were all furious. They picked up shovels, hoes, brooms, and axes and ran like crazy towards the back mountain where flames were shooting up into the sky.
The women and the elderly quickly organized themselves, using buckets, basins, and any household items that could hold water to form a long dragon from the river at the foot of the mountain, desperately trying to pass the life-saving water up the mountain.
Zhou Weiguo rushed to the front line, his voice was already hoarse, his face was blackened by smoke, and sweat mixed with black ash flowed down.
He directed the crowd to cut down trees, clear dead grass, and dig firebreaks.
Every shovel of soil he dug seemed like a race against time and a fight against death.
The heat from the flames burned the skin painfully, and the thick smoke made it impossible to open one's eyes, causing tears to flow.
Shen Lingning was forced to stay in the relatively safe rear to command and dispatch. Her eyes were fixed on the sea of fire. There were the tea seedlings she had planted with her own hands and watched grow one by one, and there were the figures of her sisters picking osmanthus flowers with laughter...
At this moment, everything was consumed by the blazing flames. Her nails dug deep into her palms, leaving bloody marks, but she felt nothing, only endless despair and heartache.
After a night of almost desperate fighting, when the sky turned pale, the wind finally weakened, and the isolation belt took effect, and the fire was put out.
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