Yang Xinghua sat next to her on the bed, looking at the design drawing in her hand and sighing, "We are all very happy that Momo is so successful, but it's a pity that we can't be with you.

Zhiqiu, your father and I don't have many years left to live. What are you going to do in the future? When I think about this, I feel so heavy in my heart."

As she spoke, Yang Xinghua lowered her head and wiped away her tears.

Yang Xinghua is 65 years old this year and her hair is almost completely white, but Huang Zhiqiu still has to worry about her daughter. He feels uncomfortable about it.

My daughter is already married, and it’s time for her to let go of the people and things in the past.

Huang Zhiqiu exhaled softly, "Mom, after I finish the order that Momo found, I will definitely think about it carefully, okay?"

For all these years, her daughter had never given in, but today she suddenly gave in. Yang Xinghua couldn't help but feel surprised and happy.

"real?"

"Yes, really. Mom, I didn't consider it before because I was afraid of hurting Xiaoyao. Now Xiaoyao has returned to her biological parents, and Momo has found a home, so I have nothing to worry about. If there is a suitable candidate, I am willing to start a new family with him."

Yang Xinghua cried with joy and held her daughter's hand, "Okay, okay, then I'll ask someone to keep an eye out for them. If there's a suitable one, you can meet them first. If it works out, we can date. If not, forget it."

Huang Zhiqiu hesitated and said, "Okay."

After a short while, Huang Kailin and his son Huang Jianjun came back dragging some high-quality bamboos of very good age.

After that, the family began to divide the work.

Huang Kailin scraped the protruding nodes on the bamboo flat with a knife, and Huang Jianjun sawed off the head and tail of the bamboo, leaving only the round and symmetrical part in the middle. This way, the bamboo weaving will be the strongest and most durable.

Liu Zhi and Huang Zhiqiu went to the woodshed to get some straw and wheat straw, preparing to cut the bamboo strips.

Fresh bamboo contains a lot of water and is prone to rotting and deforming. It also breeds bacteria and microorganisms, leading to mildew and insect infestation. Killing bamboo is a process of natural drying or baking that removes the water and humidity from fresh bamboo, allowing it to be preserved for longer.

Huang Kailin and Huang Jianjun are both experts in bamboo weaving. In less than half an hour, they processed several bamboos into strips of uniform width and thickness.

Liu Zhi, Huang Zhiqiu and Yang Xinghua put the bamboo strips, which still smelled of bamboo, on the fire to bake.

After the green color on the surface of the bamboo strips is baked into yellow-green, place them in a ventilated place to dry in order to dissipate the fire smell in the bamboo strips.

Drying takes at least 24 hours, but everyone couldn't sit still, so they found some unused bamboo strips at home and started practicing.

Among the entire Huang family, Huang Kailin is the most skilled in bamboo weaving. He had already finished weaving a three-layer rice dumpling box before evening.

Seeing that Huang Kailin had finished weaving, the others put down their work and gathered around.

"Dad's craftsmanship is still the best. This is exactly the same as the picture Momo drew."

Huang Kailin sat at the side with a proud look on his face, "I followed your great master to the mountains to cut bamboo when I was 7 years old, started to weave straw mats when I was 8, and could do it on my own when I was 10. If I can't even weave such a small thing, then I have lived in vain for decades."

Huang Jianjun chuckled, "That's right, Dad. You are the pillar of our family."

Huang Kailin rolled his eyes at his son, but he couldn't stop smiling.

Huang Zhiqiu took the rice dumpling box from his elder brother, looked at it carefully, and frowned slightly.

"Zhiqiu, what do you think of this rice dumpling box that Dad made?"

"Of course Dad's cooking skills are good, but..."

Huang Zhiqiu looked up at his family and said, "Momo helped us get a big order. We need to ship 10,000 pieces in total. We can't just rely on Dad to do it alone."

Hearing this, the Huang family members came to their senses.

After the reform and opening up, a large number of the village's labor force flocked to the city to make a living. There are less than ten bamboo weaving experts with Huang Kailin's skills in the entire Shili Township.

If there are sufficient materials, it takes a veteran like Huang Kailin nearly three hours to weave a rice dumpling box. Even if he works from morning to night all day, he can only weave four at most.

Even if we count from now, there are less than three months left to delivery. To complete the weaving of 10,000 rice dumpling boxes, at least 30 veterans like Huang Kailin are needed, not to mention the labor required for cutting bamboo, scraping bamboo strips, and killing the green leaves.

"I made a rough estimate. Even if we include our own people, we will have to hire at least 40 workers. With so many people, the factory space and food will be a big problem."

After hearing what Huang Zhiqiu said, the whole family was suddenly in trouble.

Huang Jianjun said: "Why don't you let them weave it at home and then bring it over for delivery."

"No, if you let them make it at home, the quality cannot be guaranteed. Take the bamboo strips for example, the width, thickness and color need to be consistent. If you let them make it at home, the thickness will definitely be uneven, and the rice dumpling boxes they make will not meet the requirements. Will you accept them or not?

If we accept the goods, we won’t be able to deliver them. If we don’t accept the goods, it will cause disputes and conflicts. Only by gathering everyone in one place can we supervise and control the quality more conveniently.”

Huang Kailin nodded in agreement, "Zhiqiu is right. Momo has worked hard to help us find such a way to make money. We can't embarrass her. We must ensure the quality and quantity of the work."

Huang Jianjun could not help but explain: "To gather dozens of people in one place, we need to build a factory building at least as big as the grain drying ground of a production team, and it would be best if it had two floors, with the upper floor used to store the finished products to prevent them from getting moldy and damp."

Hearing her husband's words, Liu Zhi couldn't help but smack her lips, "Oh my God, how much will that cost?"

Huang Zhiqiu: "First you have to ask the village committee to approve the land. If you don't have the land, it's useless even if you have money."

Liu Zhi: "Our factory can also be regarded as a way to generate income for the village. The village committee shouldn't make it difficult for us, right?"

Huang Jianjun: "That depends on who the income is generated for. If the people in the village committee don't have any benefits, how can they care about your life or death?"

For a moment, everyone was a little discouraged and the atmosphere suddenly became dull.

After a while, Huang Jianjun suggested hesitantly, "Dad, how about we ask Momo for advice? She is well-educated and knowledgeable, so she must have more ways and means than us."

Huang Kailin hesitated for a while, then looked up at his daughter, "Zhiqiu, why don't you give Momo a call and ask her?"

Although he didn't want to cause trouble for his daughter, Huang Zhiqiu couldn't think of any other way at the moment, so he nodded and agreed.

The next day, Huang Zhiqiu set off before dawn. Liu Zhi was worried that it would be unsafe for her to walk the mountain road alone, so she went to accompany her.

It took us almost three hours to walk the 20-mile mountain road, and we arrived in the town at exactly 9:30.

(End of this chapter)