The next day, Han Qingsong arrived at the commune twenty minutes earlier than usual, so that he could intercept the correspondent going to the county. He put the application form of the Shanzui Village Brigade and the commune documents together and asked the correspondent to deliver them to the County Revolutionary Committee.

After breakfast, Lin Lan went to find Dong Huaihua and Liu Chuncai first to explain the content of the next promotion - that crude cottonseed oil is poisonous and should not be consumed randomly.

This shocked Dong Huaihua and Liu Chuncai. Liu Chuncai's face turned pale. "Sister, is this true?"

Lin Lan nodded, "Eighty percent of it is true, even if it is thirty percent true you have to believe it. Someone said that there was a rooster in Kanjia Town that became a spirit and turned into a hen and started laying eggs. Don't you believe it?"

Liu Chuncai grabbed his hair and said, "It's over. I'm going to be the last one left!"

Dong Huaihua: "What's up, Liu Chuncai? Does your family eat cottonseed oil?"

Liu Chuncai nodded and said, "Eat it. My sister brought it back and said it's cheap. Oh my God, what can I do? I haven't married yet."

Lin Lan smiled and said, "It's okay. It doesn't take long to eat, and the toxins can be eliminated from the body. Besides, how much oil can your family eat? You don't eat it every day."

Liu Chuncai: "That's right, the whole family eats that one spoonful a day, haha, I'm too nervous."

After that, Lin Lan didn't bother to help them think of a program. Dong Huaihua just needed to summarize the theory and Liu Chuncai just needed to come up with jokes. In addition, their publicity team also had several non-staff members, such as Chang Fuyu and Xiuyun, who could also help.

After discussing with them, Lin Lan went to the brigade. The secretary and the brigade leader were basically in the brigade headquarters during the day. If they were not there, there would be someone on duty. After all, they had to receive the staff from the commune from time to time. In addition, there were always people coming in and out of the brigade to do things, so the brigade headquarters could not be empty.

When she entered, Shen Yu was also there. When he saw her come in, he gave his seat to her.

Lin Lan smiled and said, "It's okay, you're welcome." She told Han Yongfang and the team leader about writing the application to the county.

The captain smiled and said, "The secretary was right. He knew that Captain Lin must be a practical person." He knew Han Yongfang well. If the team had something to ask Han Qingsong for help, it would be embarrassing, as it would be suspected of using a backdoor. Now that Lin Lan is the team leader, she will consider whether to help or not. They are a family, and Han Qingsong will take the initiative to help her solve problems.

Look, he has even taken over errands like delivering letters.

Hey, who made Director Han love his wife so much?

Shen Yu also told Lin Lan that he had asked someone to go to the commune to buy materials for the experiment, mainly oil residue and alkali, as well as pots, large vats, basins, etc., which the brigade also had.

"It is a blessing for our team that Shen Zhiqing is so serious."

Several team leaders also nodded frequently. Shen Yu was a really good guy. He was the most comfortable one among all the educated youth.

Shen Yu looked at Lin Lan and said with a smile: "Team Leader, can I give you some advice?"

Lin Lan was startled, then nodded, "Of course, go ahead."

"You..." Shen Yu was a little embarrassed, "Can you please stop calling me Shen Zhiqing all the time? You can call me by my name."

The captain also laughed, "Yes, it's always Shen Zhiqing who is so awkward when it comes to calling names."

Lin Lan: "Okay, if you want me to call you by your name, I will. We country folks should always be respectful to you."

Lin Lan chatted with him about some work matters and asked him to call her after the experimental materials arrived.

At this time, the sound of the postman's whistle was heard outside, and the mail deliveryman came.

Regardless of whether they have their own, everyone is still very curious when the postman arrives and goes out to join in the fun.

There were actually letters from Lin Lan, and several of them. She took a look and found that they were all sent from other communes. They should be the propaganda personnel discussing work matters with her.

In addition, there were work letters from the educated youth and the brigade, and two letters from the members.

At this time, the educated youth heard it and ran out.

"A letter has come. A letter has come."

The postman took out a list and said, "Fan Xiao has a package." All the packages were sent to the commune for the recipients to pick up.

Fan Xiao ran over and said, "My package has arrived? It's been over a month, it arrived so fast." She took the list and couldn't wait until the afternoon, so she went to the commune to pick up the package immediately and came back in time for lunch.

Lin Lan took the letters home. She cooked first, and then opened the letters while lighting the fire. Some of the letters were from the county, and some were from other regions. They all wanted to exchange experiences with her. She guessed that this was the effect of the county-wide promotion of the Red Flag Bearer.

One of the letters was very well written. It talked about some interesting things in the promotion and also discussed the difficulties at work with Lin Lan.

Lin Lan looked at the signature, Qi Fengbo. She had some impression of this person, he was the propaganda leader of Jiashan Brigade. He was quite eloquent when he gave a speech that day, and his quotations from classics stood out among the propaganda officers of the brigade who had a low level of education, so she remembered him.

After the children came back, had lunch and went to school, Lin Lan took some time to continue knitting a sweater. While she was busy, Fan Xiao ran over.

"Captain Lin, I'll give you a book." Fan Xiao put a book on the kang.

Lin Lan picked it up and took a look. It turned out to be a book called "Feng Qiuping's Velvet Weaving Book", which was published in 1949.

"This book is really good. Let me borrow it to read. You can't keep it. I will return it to you after I use it."

Fan Xiao didn't take it seriously. "Who would want to read this kind of book except those who can knit sweaters? Captain Lin, just take it. It's just for me to use as a table mat. Haha." She looked at what Lin Lan had knitted and said in surprise, "Captain Lin, you are really good. You can even knit patterns."

Lin Lan: "Isn't this what Mai Sui and Er Wang were instigating? They thought the needle was too monotonous and insisted on researching something."

Fan Xiao looked at it for a while and felt a little bored. Although she liked beautiful clothes, she was not keen on making them. She thought it was more interesting to play with Mai Sui and Erwang, so she said goodbye.

After leaving Lin Lan's house, Fan Xiao ran into Chi Min and Gao Lu who were washing clothes in the river.

Gao Lu curled her lips, turned around and left.

Fan Xiao naturally ignored her and raised his head higher as he walked towards the educated youth point.

Gao Lu said angrily: "Chi Min, do you think she got a recommendation for a university next year?" She must have gone to give a gift to Captain Lin just now.

The principle of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University is: voluntary registration, mass recommendation, leadership approval, and university review. This means that the brigade recommends, the commune approves, and then the school reviews.

Now Lin Lan's family has a very high status in Shanzui Village. If she makes a recommendation, Fan Xiao will definitely be able to go to university.

Chi Min: "If she wants to go to college, won't her family help her get in? She doesn't need to go to Captain Lin herself."

Gao Lu whispered, "I heard that her family is ruined. Her parents were locked up, her brother was driven to the southwest, and her younger brother went to the Great Northern Wilderness. Don't tell anyone. I found out this with great difficulty."

Chi Min glanced at her and asked, "Her brother also went to the countryside?"

"How could it be false? Otherwise, why would she come to this barren place?"

"Who sent her the package?"

"Maybe a relative of hers."

The two of them left while talking.

It gets dark early in late autumn, and the sky is a bit cloudy, so it’s barely 3:30 and I can’t see clearly inside the house.

Lin Lan thought that she should install glass windows at home. The wooden lattice windows blocked out too much light and made the room dark. She put down her sweater and went out to move around, rubbed her eyes, and stretched her body. Then she heard the children's voices coming from outside.

Han Qingsong came back with the children pushing their bicycles.

Lin Lan: "Oh, you guys are here so early today?"

Han Qingsong: "We went on a training camp today and caught a few wild rabbits. If nothing else, we'll come back early."

Sanwang was a little listless: "It's too dark in the classroom to see clearly. The teacher said we should go home and memorize the books and do our homework."

Lin Lan looked around, "Where are Sister Mai and Second Brother?"

Sanwang pouted, "Now they are fine with Shen Yu and don't care about us anymore." He looked a little lost with his pouty lips.

Lin Lan pinched his cheek and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Brothers and sisters are learning from Shen Zhiqing. You should also learn more."

Sanwang: "We don't know anything about soap or physics and chemistry."

Lin Lan heard his sour words and laughed, stroking his head, "When you go swimming, don't you just ignore your brothers and sisters and just enjoy yourself?"

Sanwang thought about it and it made sense. He held Xiaowang's hand and said, "Brother Xiaowang, come swim with me tomorrow."

Xiao Wang smiled and said, "But it's cold now. I'm afraid of catching a cold. If I catch a cold, my parents will be worried. I don't want to make my mother worry."

Sanwang: "Then you wait for me on the shore."

Xiao Wang: "That's fine."

The two of them agreed.

Lin Lan wanted to pick up the rabbit ears with their feet tied in the basket, but Han Qingsong quickly held her hand and said, "Be careful."

The rabbit bared its teeth and almost bit Lin Lan's hand. Han Qingsong quickly grabbed its ears and pulled it out.

Sanwang and Xiaowang's attention was drawn to it. "Haha, what a fat rabbit!"

Xiaowang was happily trying to hug the rabbit, but was kicked by the hare and fell to the ground.

Xiaowang: “!!!” He was a little dazed by the kick.

Lin Lan quickly helped Xiao Wang up and rubbed his chest, "Are you okay?"

Xiao Wang shook his head, "Mom, it doesn't hurt, I just got scared."

Sanwang pointed at the hare and shouted angrily: "You bad rabbit!"

Xiao Wang pulled him and said, "Little Third Brother, let's not argue with it. It will be eaten by us, how pitiful it will be."

Sanwang looked at Xiaowang, then at the rabbit, and thought, forget it, he would feel embarrassed to eat other people if he continued talking.

At this time, Mai Sui and Er Wang also came back from the educated youth center.

Sanwang: "Why are you two back so early?"

Mai Sui: "The lab is fine, let's come back and help mom cook."

Sanwang: "You two can just play, my brother and I will help mom cook."

Lin Lan smiled, wondering who was unhappy that his sister and brother left him to go play with Shen Yu.

The two of them also saw the big fat wild rabbit. Mai Sui said: "Dad, how about we keep it?"

Han Qingsong: "You can't keep wild rabbits alive."

Erwang laughed, "That's even better. We have meat to eat."

Sanwang: "Mom, how about we... hehe, stew it in the middle of the night?" I still remember the time when we ate snake meat. The whole family enjoyed it so much in the middle of the night, as if it tasted even better when they woke up in the evening.

Xiao Wang: "Ha, you guys want to cheat on me again."

Sanwang: "We'll leave it for you. Haha."

"But it tastes better when we eat together." Xiao Wang said seriously, "Seeing you guys enjoying the meal, I think it tastes even better. It doesn't taste good when I eat alone."

Lin Lan immediately hugged Xiao Wang and said, "Brother Xiao Wang, I apologize to you and will never eat in the middle of the night again."

Xiao Wang touched Lin Lan's face and shook his head with a smile, "Mom, it's okay. It tastes better when you eat it in the middle of the night."

Lin Lan kissed him: "Good son, so thoughtful."

Xiao Wang: "But... remember to call me when you eat in the middle of the night!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lin Lan smiled and said, "If you don't want to eat it in the middle of the night, just make it at night and let Dad handle it."

Mai Sui and Xiao Wang didn't dare to look, Er Wang didn't care, but Da Wang and San Wang were very excited and took the initiative to take knives and basins to help Han Qingsong.

Han Qingsong took the wild rabbit and took Da Wang and San Wang to the riverside to kill the rabbit. After washing and skinning it clean, he cut it into pieces and put them in a clay basin, and brought it back for Lin Lan to cook.

The children asked one after another how to eat.

Lin Lan looked at the children's expectant eyes and said, "Let's make one pot of spicy and one pot of non-spicy, you can eat whatever you want." Wild rabbits are usually not big, but this one is very fat. The autumn harvest was very good a while ago, and Lin Lan wanted to make spicy rabbit meat to reward him, and braise the bones and other meat in a pot with potatoes and beans.

She removed the meat from the four legs, cut it into small pieces, rubbed it with salt, and chopped the rest. She also asked Erwang to take a handful of chilies, cut them with scissors, and put them in a large bowl and soak them in boiling water.

Mai Sui took the initiative to light the fire, and San Wang came over and said with a smile: "Sister, let me light the fire for you. Now I know how to do it."

Mai Sui: "Oh, you love doing housework so much."

Sanwang: "I just want you and my second brother to feel the warmth of home more."

Mai Sui laughed and pinched his nose, "Stop playing tricks on me, what evil idea do you have?"

Sanwang naturally didn't admit that he felt a little jealous when he saw his brother and sister had a good relationship with Shen Yu. Although they used to play separately, they went to school and went home together every day, and ate together. The key point is that even if his brother and sister played with others before, they didn't have such a good relationship with Shen Yu.

He always felt that Shen Yu was their elder brother and he was lagging behind.

But he is grown up now, I am embarrassed to say it now.

Soon the water boiled, and Lin Lan threw the rabbit meat pieces into the water to drain the blood, then scooped them up in the colander to drain.

"Little Third Brother, since you love to light fires so much, come and light the stove in the east room."

Sanwang immediately ran over to light the fire.

When the pot is heated up, Lin Lan pours a spoonful of oil, adds peppercorns and star aniseed to sauté, then adds the rabbit meat and stir-frys. She then throws in the green onion, ginger, and homemade pickled peppers and stir-frys. When the rabbit meat releases oil, she adds soy sauce, sugar, perilla leaves, chopped red peppers, etc. and stir-frys for a while. Finally, she pours in the water from the pickled peppers, brings to a boil over high heat, covers the pot and simmers over low heat.

Erwang also cleaned out the pot in the west room and cooked braised rabbit meat with potatoes and beans according to Lin Lan's instructions. He also steamed a circle of two-grain dough cakes on the edge of the pot and simmered it on low heat after turning on high heat.

Lin Lan washed her hands and tried to fit the knitted sweater on Han Qingsong. At this time, Mai Sui remembered and took out a handkerchief from her pocket, "Mom, Sister Fan gave me a handkerchief."

Her hands trembled and she unfolded the handkerchief.

Lin Lan thought it was the kind bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, and wanted to tell the student to keep it, but when she turned around, she saw a dazzling array of lights.

The handkerchief was one foot square, and on it was a northern countryside scene, with rolling wheat fields, a field path leading to a farmhouse, a dog, a fence, a red scepter, an apricot tree full of fruits, a farmer's couple holding sickles with a happy face, a girl in a red coat, and a naked little boy. There was even embroidery on the back, a scene from the south of the Yangtze River, a small bridge, a branch of peach blossoms slanting on the water, a black-sailed boat swaying on the river, and a young man in white clothes and black hair standing on the bow.

The snow-white silk background and the gorgeous embroidery threads sparkle in the light, and the images are vivid and alive.

Lin Lan knew at first glance that this was a famous double-sided embroidery, and the composition on it was complex and exquisite, which was definitely not something that ordinary people could embroider.

"We can't have this, my lady. It's too expensive."

Although Mai Sui didn't understand, she knew at a glance that this handkerchief was special and nodded, "I didn't expect it to be so good. I'll send it back to Sister Fan."

Lin Lan said, "I'll serve her some rabbit meat."

Although Fan Xiao stopped buying meals for her family, Mai Sui would still secretly send some of the delicious food to Fan Xiao. Lin Lan knew about it but pretended not to know because she respected the friendship between the children.

Mai Sui: "Mom, why don't we invite Sister Fan and Brother Shen Yu to our house for dinner."

If it was sent to Fan Xiao, she would definitely eat it in hiding. Fan Xiao never shared the food sent by Lin Lan's family with the people in the educated youth center. She would eat it by herself and then be satisfied for several days. She felt that everyone had such a good relationship, it would be bad to invite Fan Xiao but not Shen Yu. Huo Hongzhen was not eating at the educated youth center now, but eating with Han Qingping and others like Huo Yuan, so she didn't need to invite them.

Lin Lan: "That's fine."

Mai Sui went to the educated youth center and invited Fan Xiao to ask Danji to teach Xiaowang how to paint, and invited Shen Yu to her home to discuss a soap experiment.

As soon as Fan Xiao heard it, she knew she was invited to dinner, and she was so excited that she felt like dawn had arrived.

Shen Yu also knew that they were invited to dinner, but he felt that it was inappropriate to invite Fan Xiao to go again when there were so many children in Lin Lan's family. Besides, he was the class leader, and if he went to Lin Lan's house instead of the educated youth site during dinner time, some people would inevitably make wild guesses, which would also affect Lin Lan.

He smiled and said, "I just happened to need to talk to Captain Lin about something. I'll come over after dinner."

Mai Sui just smiled and didn't mind.

Fan Xiao: "Shen Yu, please save some food for me. I need to eat when I come back."

Humph, even if you don’t eat it, it’s not cheap for some people.

On the way, Mai Sui returned the handkerchief to Fan Xiao and said, "If you give me a handkerchief from the supply and marketing cooperative, I will take it. This one won't do."

Fan Xiao: "Why not?"

"It's too expensive."

"Where is it expensive? Where is it heavy?"

Mai Sui: "My mother said this is double-sided embroidery, it's very valuable."

Fan smiled: "Just like Captain Lin knitting a sweater, this thing is embroidered by ourselves, it's really not expensive, don't worry about it."

“That’s also two-sided…”

"Well, this is really embroidered by me. Let me tell you, I have an aunt who loves embroidery all her life. She embroidered several large boxes. We have a lot of hands. I think this one is very suitable for you. Look at the many ears of wheat." She laughed, "I really think this one suits you. In fact, if I didn't have good paint and canvas, I would paint one for you. But this one will do."

Seeing that Mai Sui was still in a dilemma, she smiled and said, "Okay, don't always listen to what adults say. Adults measure the value of things by their value. In fact, isn't our friendship more valuable than this? I think that the kindness you have shown me is worth more than a hundred handkerchiefs. If I could sew one myself, I would sew one for you. I wouldn't bother to take someone else's. What a pity, haha, my hands get hurt even when I sew buttons."

When she said this, Mai Sui started to laugh.

"Then I'll embroider one for you later," said Mai Sui.

Fan Xiao shook his head, "Forget it."

Mai Sui: "Why? Do you think nothing of my embroidery?"

Fan Xiao laughed, "How could that be? I just don't think there's anything good about embroidering this thing. I don't know how tiring it is for my eyes. Just watching people knitting sweaters is boring enough for me. If you want to give me something, either give me a painting of your own or make me a beautiful skirt."

Mai Sui: "We agreed to make skirts a long time ago."

Fan Xiao was afraid that she would continue to get tangled up, so he pulled her away quickly, "I'm so tired, let's go."

Talking about eating rabbit meat, Fan Xiao was happy that he didn't need to turn on the lights when walking at night, because his eyes were like light bulbs.

At this time, Han Qingsong came over from the Xihe River.

When he saw Han Qingsong, Fan Xiao subconsciously stood at attention and greeted him loudly, with the same posture as a primary school student.

Mai Sui was startled by her sudden action, "Sister Fan, you don't have to do this if we're not training now."

Fan Xiao said, "I'm just afraid of Jing Tiao." She held Mai Sui's hand and felt a lot more secure.

As soon as he reached the screen wall, Sanwang, who was hiding there, jumped out from beside the screen wall, "Ha!"

Children like to hide aside and scare people. When the people are frightened, they will laugh triumphantly.

Mai Sui is used to this kind of trick and doesn't take it seriously.

Fan Xiao was frightened. She touched her chest and laughed, "Mom, what should I do if you scare me to death, little brother? You have to compensate me."

Xiao Wang laughed and said, "Auntie can call back souls. She will call back my soul for you. When I fell into the water, it was she who called back my soul." She was referring to Xiuyun's mother. Children believed in this superstition.

Fan Xiao was very curious, "Can you really call back the soul?"

Sanwang: "Then... you have to lose your soul first."

Fan Xiao: “…” Thank you, I don’t want to fall.

Lin Lan said to Fan Xiao, "Fan Xiao, don't listen to his nonsense, come into the house quickly."

Fan Xiao went into the room to greet Da Wang and Er Wang, and found that Da Wang was stuffing peppers into his mouth. The fiery red peppers were eaten by him. She immediately felt a burning sensation in her stomach as if by reflex.

Da Wang ate the chili pepper expressionlessly and greeted her.

When they sat down, Fan Xiao discussed with Xiaowang and decided that she would sit there while Xiaowang would sit with Lin Lan.

Xiao Wang asked curiously, "Sister Fan, why don't you sit with my mother?"

Can Fan Xiao say that I am afraid to sit opposite your father and dare not pick up food? She smiled and said, "I want to sit between you and Xiao San Ge."

Sanwang nodded: "Well, you sit here. Hey, if you lose your soul, I can still help you pick it up."

…

Fan Xiao: “…………” You don’t have to pick it up, I can keep it myself.

Lin Lan: "Little Third Brother, please be serious and stop talking nonsense every day."

Sanwang: "Mom, what did I say? I am so serious."

Xiao Wang: "Your pomegranate wife, will she give you a pomegranate doll to eat?"

Sanwang: "...He said he would send it next year."

Fan Xiao didn't know what was going on and quickly asked.

Sanwang: "No, you are a girl, I can't tell you."

Fan Xiao: "..."

Lin Lan: "Let's eat quickly and stop listening to his nonsense."

Da Wang didn't listen to their nonsense. As soon as the meal started, he buried his head in the spicy rabbit meat that Lin Lan made for him. Rabbit meat has few bones and is tender and juicy. After stir-frying, it is fragrant on the outside and tender on the inside. The addition of seasonings and chili makes it even more spicy and fragrant. Eating it gives you a special sense of satisfaction that makes you want to stop.

He not only ate the rabbit meat, but also the chili peppers. He ate so much that beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose and his cheeks turned a little red.

Lin Lan likes to eat potatoes and beans in stewed meat. They absorb the aroma of the meat and are so delicious!

Fan Xiao ate with tears in her eyes, "It's so delicious!"

Xiaowang gave her a piece of rabbit meat and said, "Sister Fan, if it tastes good, eat more."

Sanwang gave her a big chili pepper and said, "Sister Fan, it tastes better with this."

Mai Sui: "Third brother, you talk the most, but you didn't miss out on eating meat."

Sanwang smiled proudly, his mouth full of oily smile, "Yes, that's what we call ability."

Erwang: "Today is an interesting day with rabbit legs and lentils stewed with rabbit meat."

There is a kind of white lentil, which the local members call rabbit legs. It has a lot of meat and large seeds, and it tastes very good when stewed.

Fan Xiao recalled, "I know a kind of kidney bean in Northeast China called Rabbit Rolling Eyes. Haha, is it the same as Rabbit Legs?"

The children were all curious about what it looked like when a rabbit rolled its eyes.

Fan Xiao shook his head: "I haven't seen it either, I just heard about it. The pork belly and potato stewed rabbit is so delicious, I guess it's similar to our pot of rabbit legs stewed with rabbit meat."

After a while, Lin Lan was full and Fan Xiao put down his chopsticks.

Sanwang: "Sister Fan, please eat more."

Fan Xiao said, "Thank you, Xiao San brother. I'm full. It's so delicious. I've never eaten such delicious rabbit meat in my life!"

Lin Lan discovered that Fan Xiao was very well-mannered at the table. Although he loved to eat, he didn't eat too much, and his appetite was not even as big as Sanwang's.

She took out the hawthorn cakes she had made herself for them to eat to help them digest their food, and also made some hawthorn water for Han Qingsong and Dawang to drink, but the two of them disdained to eat such sweet and sour snacks for children.

After dinner, everyone was digesting the food in the yard and listening to the radio. Then Shen Yu came over.

Lin Lan invited him to dinner, and Shen Yu said he had eaten before. He took out his notebook and showed it to her, "I have listed the test steps and details. Team leader, please take a look to see if there are any problems. If there are no problems, we will start tomorrow morning."

Lin Lan, Mai Sui, Erwang and Shen Yu sat around the table in the main hall and started discussing.

Han Qingsong went to fetch water, while Dawang went to do his homework.

Xiaowang pulled Fanxiao and Sanwang to look at his sketches.

At first, the paper Xiaowang used for painting was not good, it was too slippery, so Lin Lan got him some rough-edged paper, and now he can paint quite well.

Fan Xiao had already taught him the basics, such as perspective, light and shadow, and brightness and darkness, and Xiao Wang was very serious about learning. Fan Xiao asked him to draw eggs, apples, hawthorns, pears, and even sweet potatoes, and he was very obedient and did everything he was told.

Sanwang always says, what's so good about painting, isn't it just an egg? But when Xiaowang is immersed in the painting, he forgets about the outside world.

There were times when he felt that he and Brother Xiaowang could no longer play together.

When he was little, he chased after his eldest brother, and later took Xiaowang to play. His sister and second brother always cooked with his mother at home, and he felt that it was great to be together as a family. But now he thinks that his sister and second brother are having a good time with Shen Yu and Fan Xiao, and for some reason, he feels a little sad.

Now he feels that he and Xiaowang may not be on the same page.

He can also participate in singing, playing the harmonica, etc., for example, Xiaowang plays the harmonica and he sings, or the two of them can sing a duet.

When Xiaowang was immersed in those black lines, Sanwang felt that Xiaowang had a mysterious power, a power more mysterious than the way he used the toot-toot-toot tone to express his feelings. If he rubbed his own lines, he would be criticized for the dirty and messy lines, but Xiaowang's rubbing and smearing could win everyone's praise.

Because Xiaowang can turn those black pencils into eggs, duck eggs, ground eggs, sweet potatoes...

It’s so…grandma’s amazing!

Oh, I feel a little sad when I think about it.

He does not understand some of the psychological problems that come with growing up, and he has a big and sensitive heart, which easily leads to some unique emotions.

The next day after breakfast, Han Qingsong went to work and the children went to school. Lin Lan took the time to knit a sweater at home, and then the brigade sent someone to call her.

Lin Lan knew that Shen Yu was ready, so she put down her sweater and hurried over. Han Yongfang, the captain, Erwang and Mai Sui had already arrived, and they were all very excited.

The laboratory is ready, mainly including oil residue, pyrolyte, salt, and containers for heating.

Han Yongfang said: "The technology must be kept secret. No one is allowed to come to the laboratory without your permission."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Secretary, don't worry. There is no big secret about soap. Everyone can make it. The key is the raw materials and sales."

"That also has to be done seriously and carefully." Han Yongfang insisted that in the past, only masters were allowed to enter the mixing rooms of those workshops.

Shen Yu nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to the secretary."

Han Yongfang: "Let's get started."

Mai Sui helped to light the fire, Erwang put a small iron pot on the fire, Shen Yu added water and alkali according to the proportion, slightly heated it to melt the alkali liquid, then added the oil residue and continued to stir at a higher temperature to complete the saponification. If it was not thorough, continue to add alkali liquid.

At this time, a foul smell came out and everyone covered their noses.

Lin Lan pinched her nose and said, "If we want to produce in the future, we have to move to another place." It stinks so much that it will make people dizzy in the village.

Everyone pinched their noses.

Han Yongfang: "Ask the barefoot doctor for some masks."

Lin Lan reminded Shen Yu, "Adding alcohol can make the saponification faster and more complete."

Alcohol can make the oil melt faster in the alkaline liquid. She once helped her best friend make handmade soap and remembered the simple steps.

In fact, making soap is not difficult. It is nothing more than putting oil in alkaline solution to complete saponification, then adding salt to perform salt precipitation and let it stand to obtain soap base. You can repeat the steps to purify and get better quality soap. The key is to be careful and patient, and to master the heat and the ratio of raw materials.

After saponification, it needs to be left alone for a while, depending on the amount of material.

Lin Lan rubbed her eyes and said, "This smell is really irritating to my eyes." She looked at Mai Sui and Er Wang and said, "Can you two handle it?" Mai Sui was a bit of a germaphobe and she was afraid that the girl wouldn't be able to handle it.

Mai Sui smiled and said, "Mom, it's okay. It's said that if you stay in an abalone shop for a long time, you won't smell the stench. We won't be able to smell it even if we stay there for a long time."

I didn't expect that she could speak classical Chinese at such a young age. Shen Yu laughed and said, "Okay, it will take about two hours. I will be in charge then. After the salt is purified, it needs to be left overnight. You can see the soap the next day."

After salt precipitation, it needs to be left alone for a longer time. If the quantity is large, it will take overnight. If there is any deficiency, it needs to be put back into the pot and heated up again, so someone needs to check on it from time to time.

This way, it takes about a day and a night to prepare a pot.

Lin Lan: "How about we take turns?" Although the team leader is responsible for signing and the deputy team leader does the work, Lin Lan is too embarrassed to ask Shen Yu to do it herself.

Shen Yu: "No, I'm close by, I can just ask Wu Wenyi to come with me."

After the salt was precipitated, Lin Lan and Erwang Mai Sui went to check it out at night. After all, it was their first experiment and they were curious. They would not be able to sleep if they did not see the result. They helped to pour the completely precipitated soap into a square iron box, left it overnight and checked it the next day.

The oil residue wastewater from soap extraction can be used to extract glycerin, which is the material for making basic skin care products and cannot be wasted. These all require technicians to study.

Because of the soap-making work, Lin Lan and the other two came back around ten o'clock, and the three Da Wang brothers had already gone to bed.

They quickly washed up and went to bed quietly on the kang.

Lin Lan took good care of herself and took off her coat before getting on the kang. She climbed on the kang and sniffed herself, "Third brother, can you smell me? Do I smell bad?"

She always felt that there was a stench of cooking oil residue in the laboratory.

Han Qingsong held her in his arms and sniffed, "It smells good." He looked at her smiling eyes again, which were moist, "It looks good."

Lin Lan smiled. He was truly a beauty in the eyes of a lover. She kissed the corner of his lips and said, "I hope that when I am old, with wrinkles all over my face and white hair, Third Brother will still think I am fragrant and pretty."

Han Qingsong kissed her.

As she grew younger and younger, he was afraid that he would age too quickly and fail to keep up with her.

Early the next morning, Han Qingsong took the children to do morning exercises as usual. After the morning exercises, Da Wang was doing strength training outside, San Wang was swimming in the river, and Xiao Wang had sweat on his head. Han Qingsong asked him to go home and not follow San Wang.

Erwang and Mai Sui called Lin Lan to go to the educated youth center, "Mom, the soap will be ready today, let's go and take a look."

Lin Lan: "You guys go first, I'll finish cooking."

Mai Sui looked around and saw that there were only Xiao Wang and his father at home.

She smiled and said to Xiaowang: "Brother Xiaowang, please light a fire."

Xiao Wang wiped his face and hair with a towel, "Okay."

Mai Sui smiled and said, "Xiao Wang, you are so nice. I owe you a piece of candy."

Xiaowang: "You guys go ahead, I'll take care of the house."

Lin Lan was also excited. She didn't know whether the soap was successful or not. She said goodbye to Han Qingsong and left with the children.

Looking at the backs of his mother and her two children leaving in a hurry, Xiao Wang sighed and said to Han Qingsong, "Dad, what Xiao San brother said is right. This family has to rely on us men to support it."

Han Qingsong silently withdrew his gaze, a little regretful that he should not have let her go last night. He went to cut the salted vegetables that Lin Lan had put on the chopping board and had not yet cut them, and washed off the excess salt with boiled water.

Xiao Wang: “Hey…”

Han Qingsong: “…”

After a while, Dawang and Sanwang came back one after another and saw Xiaowang and Han Qingsong sitting opposite each other at the dining table.

Xiao Wang: “Hey…”

Han Qingsong: “…”

Da Wang: “?” What’s going on?

Sanwang: "Hahaha, where are the women? Is this house dominated by men?"

He had figured it out. Mom would not run away as long as Dad and her boyfriend were around. And his older brother, sister, and second brother would have to go to middle school and high school when they grew up and eventually leave, but as long as Mom and Dad were around, they would come back.

So he is not sad anymore, he is quite happy. But why does Xiaowang seem to be sad?

Xiao Wang: "Hey... my glasses are fogging up again. Third brother, the second brother is a boy."

Sanwang whispered, "Isn't he a womanizer?"

Da Wang glared at him and wiped his hair, "Dad, eat first." He had to go to work.

Han Qingsong was about to speak when he saw his little son resting his hands on his chin. His two big dark eyes looked at him sympathetically behind the misty lenses, and he said, "Ah..."

Han Qingsong: "…………Let's eat first."

Da Wang opened the pot and took out the rice for them, leaving the other cakes and sweet potatoes in the pot to keep warm, and took out some pickled vegetables, stewed eggs, salted duck eggs, etc.

The four of them had a tasteless breakfast, and even Sanwang was silent.

After Da Wang finished eating, he looked at his two younger brothers, asking them why they had not finished eating yet.

Sanwang: "...Why is it tasteless? Who cooked today's meal?" He looked at his eldest brother, thinking that he was the one who cooked it.

Da Wang glared at him.

Xiaowang: "Mom did it."

Sanwang: "Impossible, I don't even know how delicious my mother's cooking is. It definitely wasn't made by my mother." He looked at Han Qingsong again.

Han Qingsong ignored him and said, "Let's go to school after we finish eating."

Sanwang estimated the time and asked, "Dad, aren't you going to work yet?"

Han Qingsong: “…” What do you care!

So after the meal, the father and his two sons sat opposite each other at the table, and none of them moved, as if something was missing.

Xiao Wang: “Hey…”

Sanwang: "Ha..."

At this time, Lin Lan's laughter came from outside, "Really? Haha, that's great."

Mai Sui: "Mom, we will have soap in the future, you can use it as much as you want."

Erwang: "Let's make some more fragrant soap, that's more expensive."

The three of them came back chatting and laughing, and when they walked to the door, they found that the atmosphere in the room was a bit weird. It was a bit heavy.

The four people in the room turned their heads and looked at the three of them, their eyes full of resentment.

Lin Lan: "...What are you doing?"

Mai Sui and Er Wang couldn't laugh anymore, "What's going on?"

Han Qingsong stood up and said, "No, I'm waiting for you to eat."

Da Wang stood up to help take the food out of the pot, then sat down again.

Sanwang: "Mom, we can't enjoy our meals when you're not home!"

After he said this, several people thought to themselves that this was the case.

Xiao Wang immediately ran over and held Lin Lan's hand, "Mom, please eat quickly. My dad misses you."

Lin Lan: “…” We don’t eat every meal together throughout the year, why do you miss me so much after not seeing each other for such a while?

Mai Sui and Er Wang took out the food from the pot, and the three of them sat down. Xiao Wang sat next to Lin Lan again and ate with relish. "Hmm, this stewed egg is so delicious! Mom, come and try it."

Lin Lan: "Isn't it the same as yesterday?"

Xiao Wang: "It smells especially good today."

As he said this, Sanwang also sat down and started to eat, "Dad, come and eat too, the rice smells delicious again."

Mai Sui: "What are you doing?"

Erwang: "Yes, it tastes delicious when eaten in the fields during the autumn harvest."

Sanwang glanced at him and laughed.

Seeing that Han Qingsong hadn't left yet, Lin Lan looked at her watch and reminded him, "Third brother, it's time to go to work."

Han Qingsong responded and came out with his bag on his back.

Lin Lan was about to see him off, but he came over and sat down next to her, asking her to continue eating.

Lin Lan: What's going on? Why is it so weird?

Lin Lan didn't eat much for breakfast. She drank the millet porridge after a few mouthfuls, and then had a sweet potato and some salted vegetables. After the meal, she said to the children, "I'll clean up the dishes myself. You guys should go to school."

The children went into the house, picked up their schoolbags, said goodbye to their parents, and the five of them happily went out to school together.

Lin Lan sent Han Qingsong to work and told him about the success of the soap. "Thank you, Third Brother, for helping us deliver the message. Once the raw material problem is solved, we can continue production."

At this time, the shortage of materials was not a problem, but the key was to keep the supply of oil residue, alkali and salt. She wrote to the county committee not only to contact the oil residue, but also to ask the county committee to determine the scale of the brigade's sideline business. After the scale was determined, their supply of raw materials was also determined. If the brigade's small sideline business applied for alkali and salt, it would be restricted by the brigade's population and public grain tasks. If there was an instruction from the county committee, it would be more flexible.

Han Qingsong was not in a hurry to leave, so he just stood there and listened to her.

Lin Lan patted him and said, "Let's go, I'll pack up and go to the team."

He put his arm around her waist and said, "Work hard and take a rest."

It was hard enough to do publicity, and now with the addition of a large sideline, he was worried that she would be too tired. But he knew she was working very hard, so she would not fall behind.

Lin Lan smiled and said, "I know. Let's go now."

After Han Qingsong left, Lin Lan went back to pack up and went to the laboratory.

Two days later, Han Qingsong brought back the county committee's instructions. He not only contacted the oil refinery to provide oil sludge, but also set a sideline scale for the Shanzui Village Brigade - a small processing plant. This meant that they were small factories, not ordinary brigade handicrafts. If they had funds, they could buy machinery.

With the support of the county committee, the Shanzui Village Soap Factory started operations immediately, drawing labor from its five production teams to work.