When they returned, Lu Qiqi had Lu Dahai and Li Changlong put on the cloaks.
The villagers of Lijia Village were all extremely envious, staring at the cloak again and again.
Once outside the city gates, the cold wind became even more biting, as if it were holding its breath, trying to blow people away.
Li Shoucai wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and called out to Lu Dahai, who was driving the oxcart ahead, "Dahai, it's better to raise a daughter. Daughters are caring. They've even put cloaks on you all in this freezing weather."
"Of course! I wouldn't trade my niece for three boys!" Lu Dahai felt warm inside his cloak, and he longed for a heater to warm his heart.
Lu Qiqi had no time for jokes. Her face was stinging from the wind, so she wrapped herself up tightly from head to toe in her cloak, afraid that the wind would blow her face again.
Back in the wooden house in the veterans' village, Lu Qiqi finished her meal and quickly went into her spatial dimension to take a hot bath. She warmed up her curled-up limbs before reluctantly getting out of the tub.
I slept soundly, wrapped in my blanket.
The next day, Lu Dahai and his group led the villagers to deliver charcoal to Zuixianju. The manager of Zuixianju placed an order for all their charcoal, paid a deposit, and agreed to deliver charcoal to them periodically.
Lu Qiqi did not go to the city with Lu Dahai, but went to the village chief and told him about the charcoal cake business.
Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately thanked Lu Qiqi and then gathered the villagers to make charcoal cakes under Lu Qiqi's instructions, delivering the goods on time.
The village chief was quite capable of gathering people. In less than an hour, the villagers brought tables, wooden basins, benches, and even their cooking pots to the charcoal factory at the foot of the mountain.
Lu Qiqi opened the factory door and stood at the entrance, saying, "Let me make this clear from the start: if I find that these charcoal cakes are made with substandard materials or not according to the requirements, not only will I not be paid for the work, but I will also have to bear the cost if the buyer asks for a refund!"
"But don't worry, as long as we make it according to the requirements, there won't be any problems. I believe in our villagers and in our craftsmanship."
Lu Qiqi: "I've assigned group leaders, who are responsible for managing their respective group members."
"My third aunt was in charge of leading the team to weigh and distribute the incense."
"My aunt was in charge of leading the team to cook glutinous rice paste."
"Aunt Fang is in charge of leading the team to make fragrant cakes."
"Li Dalang was in charge of leading the team to select hard charcoal and grind it into fine powder."
"Yes!" everyone answered in unison, as if Lu Qiqi could see the villagers' cohesion.
Lu Qiqi had previously taught Li Shi, Lu Shi, and Aunt Fang how to make charcoal cakes.
The first step is to crush the charcoal and grind it into powder. Then, mix the incense powder and charcoal powder evenly, and use glutinous rice paste to bind the two powders together. Knead repeatedly until it becomes a dough.
Finally, press the mold onto the charcoal ball to make the desired shape, and then let the charcoal cake air dry to get the finished product.
Everyone moved their things into the factory. The factory was spacious and bright, accommodating more than thirty people, as well as so many tools and charcoal, without feeling crowded at all.
Lu Qiqi felt that the wood for building the house was a good buy. After selling all the charcoal, she would take good care of the factory and then plan whether to use it for breeding or planting.
Li Dalang led the villagers to crush the selected hardwood charcoal using a large stone mortar for pounding rice cakes, then finely grind and sift it using a small stone mortar before handing the charcoal powder over to the Li family.
Li Dalang finished making the charcoal powder, and Li's side also weighed out the incense powder. While mixing them evenly, attention had to be paid to the proportions. Therefore, Li also weighed out the charcoal powder and then handed it over to Aunt Fang to make charcoal cakes.
Madam Lu was an impatient person. Her glutinous rice porridge had been cooking for a long time and she had added water twice, while Madam Li had not yet weighed the incense powder. "Little sister, you two hurry up! If you don't have enough manpower, I'll give you some more people."
Li was in charge of the delicate work, so of course she wouldn't refuse. "Sure, it's good to have a few more people help."
Lu Qiqi didn't care about the personnel changes in their group leader; she was only responsible for keeping an eye on Aunt Fang's group members and making sure they could perfectly take the charcoal cakes out of the mold.
Shopkeeper Fengyi provided quite a few molds, including plum blossoms, small carp, and persimmon calyx patterns, all in compact and delicate shapes.
There are also simple, cylindrical charcoal pillars.
Lu Qiqi noticed that most of the orders were for cylindrical shapes, which she guessed was because this shape was convenient to use.
After all, other shapes are different, and they are not as convenient to burn as cylindrical ones. They are all placed in hand warmers, and no one will keep staring at the charcoal cakes inside.
It's better to do whatever is most convenient and easy to use.
The villagers worked all morning, and as noon approached, they washed their hands and went home for lunch.
After touching the charcoal all morning, everyone's hands were already shiny with black charcoal. Lu Qiqi had already asked Lu Yao to bring soapberries from home so that the villagers could wash their hands.
Aunt Fang rubbed soapberries to make foam and laughed, "You're so thoughtful, otherwise we'd all have to go home with black hands to cook."
Lu Qiqi laughed and said, "I was just overthinking it. If I hadn't thought of it, you would have used this laundry detergent to wash your hands when you got home."
That's the logic, but Lu Qiqi had their own interests at heart, and everyone appreciated it.
...
Lu Qiqi stayed up for three days straight while making charcoal cakes.
That day, Lu Qiqi got up very early, packed the dried charcoal cakes into portions, loaded them onto Hu Jinfei's carriage, and took them to Luzhou Prefecture to deliver the goods.
Wearing a fiery red cloak, rabbit fur earmuffs made by Lu Yao, and a white mask made by Zeng Shi, Lu Qiqi drove the carriage, completely covered up.
Upon arriving at Dongshi, Lu Qiqi asked the shop assistants at the perfume shop to help unload the goods.
Feng Yi was probably in her thirties, with a beautiful face and a graceful figure. She walked with an elegant gait. What Lu Qiqi could never forget was the strong scent of perfume that always clung to her.
As soon as Lu Qiqi entered the perfume shop, Feng Yi walked over with a smile and said, "Oh, Miss Lu is here. Let me see if you look better than before."
Lu Qiqi was stunned and didn't say anything.
Feng Yi smiled and changed her words, "Let me see how your charcoal cakes are made."
Lu Qiqi took out a round hand warmer, which she had borrowed from the Zeng family.
It must be said that Zeng was worldly-wise and had excellent taste. The lid of the round hand warmer was carved with delicate and beautiful patterns of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums.
Lu Qiqi lit the charcoal cake with a tinderbox, then placed it in the hand warmer and covered it with the lid.
Soon, the firelight bathed the charcoal cakes, and the aroma gradually spread.
Looking through the openwork pattern, the scarlet flames gradually engulfed the charcoal cake, as if to dye the entire hand warmer red.
Feng Yi closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the aroma wafting from the burning charcoal cakes.
The calming incense inevitably brings people peace of mind and a sense of tranquility.
Feng Yi suddenly opened her eyes, just as Lu Qiqi missed seeing the glimmer of light in them.
Lu Qiqi gently sniffed the aroma of charcoal. She was quite satisfied with the charcoal cake, but she still needed Feng Yi's approval.
She asked, "Manager Feng, how are my charcoal cakes?"
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