Because there is a leap month in April this year, the Lesser Heat season has passed in the middle or early May of the lunar calendar. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and cicadas start chirping early in the morning.

Lin Lan did not go to the commune these days, but ran around the various brigades. Fortunately, she had a special car and a straw sun hat, so she did not feel how hot she was when she was busy.

She returned home around five in the evening and found the door of her house open and someone was cooking.

Da Wang hasn't returned home yet. Er Wang and Mai Sui won't come back so early because they are in school. Han Qingsong has been very busy these days and won't come back so early.

Lin Lan entered the yard and walked past the screen wall, she saw Xiao Wang pumping the bellows with great effort. His hair was messy and covered with grass, and his little face was covered with white, black and gray.

Hey!

Lin Lan's heart suddenly melted.

"Mom, you're back?" Xiao Wang greeted her happily, "Dinner will be ready in a while."

Lin Lan hurried into the house, squatted down and hugged Xiao Wang, "Son, what delicious food can you make for us?"

She checked Xiaowang's hand to see if it was cut by the knife.

Xiao Wang smiled and said, "Boiled two-grain flour cakes, fried beans, and egg stewed with sauce are all made by mother on a daily basis."

Lin Lan kissed his dirty little face and said, "My son has grown up."

Xiao Wang was very happy to hear his mother calling him old son. "Mom, you are very tired from work. You should take a rest. I will cook."

He began to pump the bellows vigorously again.

Lin Lan looked around calmly. It was the first time for a child to cook, so don't expect the house to be very neat. It even looked a bit like a murder scene. There were various vegetables on the chopping board and on the ground, including green onions, ginger, beans, and Chinese cabbage. Judging from the remains of the vegetables, the knife skills were probably a bit poor.

In addition, the noodle table had not been cleaned yet and was covered with noodles. I guess the dough was a little too soft, so new flour was added.

Lin Lan took a quick look, smiled, and hurried to clean up.

Xiao Wang was embarrassed, "Mom, did I mess it up too much? I only realized how hard it is for you when I cook for myself. You have to wash and pick vegetables, knead dough, and light the fire. It's so busy. I'm a little overwhelmed. I forget to do one thing while doing another."

Lin Lan rubbed his head lovingly, "My old son did a great job."

She tidied up quickly and took a sweater to knit. This year she was knitting a navy blue sweater for Sanwang.

"Son, tell me how you cook and make me happy." She thought the process must be very colorful.

As expected, Xiaowang began to speak, "I'll get the grass first, then I'll wash the pot. Then I'll go pick the vegetables, I'll pick the cabbage, oil beans, and eggplants. Then I'll knead the dough. Oh, kneading the dough is a little tricky, it always gets my hands dirty, but it's okay. I'll light the fire and stir-fry the vegetables, then I'll add water. Then I'll start to steam the cakes. Mom, is this right?"

Lin Lan nodded and praised him, "Good, very good, absolutely right. As long as there is not too little water to make it mushy, it will taste good."

Xiao Wang counted on his fingers, "Mom, I think my eldest brother will be back soon, right?"

Lin Lan nodded, "Almost."

The day before yesterday, they received several letters from Sanwang, some from Fu Zhengyuan and others, and some from Sanwang himself, telling him about his recent life, training, and competitions. But that was before Dawang passed away, and Lin Lan and the others didn't know what happened afterwards.

Soon Mai Sui and Er Wang returned home, riding the Black Tiger bicycle they had assembled themselves.

Because I made it myself, it is not as good-looking as the purchased ones, but it has many functions. The chassis is more stable, the rear seat is longer and wider, and there is a footrest underneath, so two people can sit back to back at the same time.

Today, Erwang brought Mai Sui back.

Lin Lan couldn't help laughing when she looked at the black tiger. "Come quickly, Brother Xiaowang is cooking for us."

"Really?" Mai Sui and Er Wang ran in, "Brother Xiao Wang, what delicious food are you making?"

Xiaowang told everyone again very seriously.

Erwang was sensitive and felt that Xiaowang had added too much water, so the cake must not have been simmered. The dishes were not cooked separately, but he put them all together! But he said nothing, and even smiled and praised it twice.

Mai Sui was looking forward to it. Although she often helped her mother cook, her cooking skills were average and not much better than Da Wang's. The food was just not bad, but not as delicious as Er Wang's.

When Lin Lan felt the fire was about right, she told Xiao Wang not to light the fire, as the charcoal fire under the pot could smolder for a while.

They went to the vegetable garden to clean up, then cleaned the yard and prepared to eat. When the children were busy, Lin Lan quickly opened the pot quietly to see if she could save Xiao Wang. Sure enough, all kinds of strange-shaped cakes had been soaked in the vegetables, and because the vegetables were of different types, it was naturally difficult to describe.

She tasted it and found it was not bad but rather fragrant.

Haha, it seems that Xiaowang’s cooking is really full of love, and love makes everything sweet.

At this time, Da Wang just came in from outside with a bag on his back. Although he looked tired, he was clean and tidy, not disheveled.

Lin Lan turned around and saw him coming in from outside. She smiled happily and said, "My eldest son is finally back. He must have suffered a lot on the way."

Da Wang shook his head, "No."

Lin Lan asked Sanwang how he was doing, whether he had grown taller, lost weight, and whether he missed home.

Da Wang answered them one by one.

He took out three blue stones of different sizes from his bag and placed them on the table. "For you."

Lin Lan's eyes widened. Oh my god, this is not a dream, is it real?

The largest one was as big as an egg, and the smallest one was as big as the belly of a thumb. Although it had not been processed, it looked very transparent. She picked it up and looked at it against the light, "Haha, hahahaha."

It’s sent. It’s sent.

Seeing her as happy as a child, Da Wang felt that it was worthwhile to run a few extra miles to pick up the stones. If he hadn't gone to pick up the stones, he could have gotten home earlier.

Lin Lan grabbed his arm, eyes crooked, "Son, where did you pick it up?"

I need to borrow a big truck to pull it!

Da Wang: "No more, just a few pieces."

He always walked that road, and sometimes he would branch out to take a walk. He was used to looking at things with a detective eye, and this kind of blue stone was quite special so he had some impression of it, but he had no interest in picking it up before.

Even if there are more than these pieces, they may have been picked up by others. After all, they are really beautiful and can be used as flints. Adults and children will pick them up when they see them.

Lin Lan was a little disappointed, but she still smiled happily and picked up all the stones. "Thank you, son. Mother is very happy to accept them." She took them away and locked them in the coat closet.

Da Wang leaned against the door frame of the west room and looked at her, "Is this stone worth money?"

Lin Lan shook her head: "It's not valuable, it's just beautiful. Mother likes beautiful stones of various colors. Don't tell others, or you may make a mistake." It's not valuable now, but it will be valuable in thirty years, hehe.

Da Wang nodded, "I won't tell you."

Lin Lan quickly washed her hands and gave Dawang a cucumber, "Let's eat some thirst-quenching pad first, go take a shower, and I'll prepare the meal."

Da Wang went to the bathroom to take a shower and change his clothes. At this time, his younger brothers and sisters also came back.

Everyone was very happy to see the eldest brother, and they started by asking about Sanwang.

When they heard that Sanwang was going to the provincial sports school, they also thought about it. Xiaowang was a little worried, "So from now on, will we only be able to read letters and not listen to Xiaosange on the radio?"

After all, it’s not that easy to get on provincial radio.

Erwang smiled and said, "Third brother is so popular, he will be able to appear on a bigger radio show when he goes to the province."

Mai Sui and Xiao Wang also felt that they had great confidence in San Wang, believing that no matter where he went, he would be the center of attention and the focus of everyone's attention, and that he would definitely be on the provincial radio.

When everyone saw the rice that Lin Lan took out of the pot, there was a moment of silence.

Xiao Wang burst into tears, "Mom, I did something wrong."

Erwang immediately said, "Ah, you are really amazing, this is Pao Mo, we have eaten it in the provincial capital, and there is also Lu Huo Shao, which is made in this way."

Mai Sui: "It's on the menu, it says in Shaanxi or somewhere, there's mutton soup with steamed buns, it's delicious. This is pretty similar to that."

"It's just baked pancakes. They're delicious." Everyone hurried to comfort Xiaowang.

Da Wang pressed Xiao Wang's head, took out his schoolbag, and pulled out a bunch of candies from it and gave them three. "Ji Tingshen gave them these."

Ji Tingshen was always upset about not having enough money to buy candy for his children. When he finally got his allowance, he would rather not spend any money himself but buy a big bag of candy for Da Wang to bring back for the children.

Da Wang didn’t know what was going on in his mind, and he didn’t like to refuse things, so he just took it.

Xiao Wang burst into laughter again, "Brother Ting Shen is so nice and handsome."

Mai Sui and Er Wang started talking about Ji Tingshen, Zhou Shuguang and Luan Yaohui, and asked the king how their training was going.

Mai Sui smiled and asked, "Is Luan Yaohui still in confinement?"

Dawang: "No, this time it's Ji Tingshen."

"Him? Why?" Mai Sui was very curious. Ji Tingshen looked quite smart, but he was also put in confinement?

Dawang: “Fighting.”

Mai Sui curled his lips, "Not following the rules, need to be punished."

Da Wang glanced at her and said nothing.

It was not Ji Tingshen's fault that he got into a fight this time. After a year in the military camp, the new recruits became half-old veterans. After the freshness wore off, they began to feel bored, like a maggot growing in their bodies. However, they could not go out casually, so they could only find fun on their own. It was common for them to play cards or fantasize about girls in private, especially the pretty female soldiers or female art troupes, who were all the targets of their teasing and flirting.

When someone heard that Da Wang had a sister, they said that she must be very beautiful and asked to bring her to see him sometime. They were restrained in front of Da Wang, but when they left Da Wang, they started to talk nonsense. Ji Tingshen saw them and started fighting with them. Zhou Shuguang and Luan Yaohui were the kind of people who would help Ji Tingshen whenever he had a problem, regardless of whether he was right or wrong. As a result, a group of people fought fiercely. Da Wang originally went to stop the fight, but when he heard Ji Tingshen shouting that they were coveting his sister, he started to fight without saying a word. The four of them were beaten black and blue by the dozen or so people on the other side.

Finally, the company commander got angry and put them all in solitary confinement. Ji Tingshen was the only one who took the punishment, while Da Wang, Zhou Shuguang and Luan Yaohui were fine. However, the other dozen or so were also put in solitary confinement because they were bad-mouthed and they couldn't beat four people. The commander wished they could lock them up for a year!

Da Wang is not a talkative person, so I won’t talk about these.

Lin Lan also cared about the three children, but she mainly asked about Sanwang. She asked about every detail, even asking Dawang to measure how many centimeters Sanwang was taller and how many centimeters wider his shoulders were. She was secretly worried that her son would have strong shoulders but an extremely thin waist, and the imbalance would affect his future search for a wife.

After chatting for a while, the food finally cooled down enough to eat.

Lin Lan: "Let's eat first, your father will be back later."

There was nothing serious in their commune. At most, three animals were killed, and Han Qingsong caught the perpetrators. But when the animals in their commune were killed, food thefts occurred in other communes. In one commune, the grain management office was first robbed and then looted by masked people. The warehouse of the brigade was also robbed, and so on. In short, many cases emerged at once.

Because Han Qingsong was in charge of the cooperation among the communes in the county to combat bad elements, all the cases in the communes were reported to him. He would inspect each commune in the past few days and personally go to the commune with the most serious food theft to catch the food thieves.

But even though he was busy, he would come back every night.

When we were eating, everyone thought the food tasted good.

Mai Sui smiled and said, "Sister Fan said that her brother in Northeast China wrote to her and said that there is a dish in Northeast China that is just a random stew, with eggplant, potato, cucumber, tomato and the like thrown in and stewed, and it tastes quite good."

Erwang: "I accidentally invented a new dish for our family."

Xiaowang was completely happy. He didn't care whether it looked good or not, as long as everyone liked it.

Lin Lan: "This is the taste of our home, a meal full of love. Even if you don't know how to cook, as long as you have love, it will be delicious. Right, big brother."

Da Wang: “...Yes.” That’s why you always pick me out for questioning.

Xiao Wang smiled and said, "I have talked to each vegetable and thanked them. They are willing to be eaten by us and show their value."

He bowed towards the rice bowl and said, "Thank you for your gift."

Everyone followed his example, clasping their hands and thanking nature for its gift. They had a particularly pleasant meal, and could tell Sanwang, Fan Xiao and the others about it.

As they were talking and laughing, Han Qingsong pushed a cart into the yard.

Lin Lan: "Third brother came back early today. Did you find anything?"

Han Qingsong: "We found the two who stole food."

It's not the time when they can't afford to eat, but there are still people stealing food. Lin Lan doesn't understand. However, Han Qingsong basically doesn't discuss this kind of case at home, so Lin Lan doesn't ask and tells him to eat quickly.

Han Qingsong washed his hands and face and sat down. As usual, he asked Dawang a few questions about the military camp. He knew there was a fight but did not express any opinion. He treated it as normal as training.

Seeing that her eldest son was a little nervous when talking to his father, Lin Lan said to Han Qingsong, "It's getting cold, let's eat first." She brought him a small bowl of vegetable stewed pancakes that she had served earlier.

Han Qingsong was stunned for a moment when he looked at the large bowl of stewed steamed buns with various vegetables, but he didn't say anything and just started eating in silence.

Lin Lan told him about Sanwang. After that, Lin Lan asked Dawang, "Have you been able to keep up with your studies during these days away?"

Mai Sui smiled and said, "Mom, there are still me and my second brother. We will not let the eldest brother fall behind in his studies."

Da Wang's grades were neither good nor bad, just average for sure. When the time came for the exam, he put in a lot of effort and made a concentrated effort, and he managed to get into the top ten.

Mai Sui and Er Wang Tie came in first and second.

Seeing that the children were so sensible, Lin Lan felt relieved.

At night, when going to bed, Han Qingsong took out a few fingertip-sized stones from his schoolbag and gave them to Lin Lan. There were blue, blue-purple, and yellow-green colors. Although they were all stones, they were translucent and looked very cute.

Lin Lan's eyes widened as she looked at him, and she rushed forward, "Third brother, where are you from?"

Han Qingsong: "A bad guy jumped into the river and ran away. I chased him and stole it by chance."

Lin Lan smiled and crooked her eyes, hugged his neck and gave him a kiss, "Third brother is really amazing." If he caught a bad guy, he could also pick up a few gems for her. She said, "I will also go to Qingshi Commune tomorrow to see if I can pick up a few more gems."

Han Qingsong: “No more.”

Lin Lan didn't believe it: "Is there anything you haven't seen yet?" She refused to give up and wanted to go and see if she could find any bargains. Besides, since he could touch it, maybe the children in the village also had it, and she could buy it from them.

Even though it will be very valuable thirty years later, at this moment stones are just stones and are worthless. The kids will scramble to exchange them with her for a nest of stones!

Isn't this how antique collectors pick up bargains? They buy them before their value is discovered and before their prices are hyped up, so that they can appreciate in value in ten or twenty years.

She played with a few pebbles and held them up to the light. One of them looked like the azure sky and the blue sea. It was so beautiful.

She had a wild thought, "Third brother, do you think there is a mountain full of these stones?"

She began to count the mountains in the area, but after checking several famous ones, none of them were the right ones. The flat-topped mountain near her home was definitely not one because she had never seen it before. It seemed that the members there could pick up a lot of blue flint, so it must be there. "

Han Qingsong: "This... as far as I know..."

Lin Lan was listening intently, but heard nothing. "Third brother, what do you know?"

Han Qingsong looked at her.

Lin Lan was very anxious. She went over to kiss him and said coquettishly, "Tell me." Her soft and charming voice made Han Qingsong feel numb all over.

…

In the middle of the night, Lin Lan was already dying, but she was still thinking, "Third brother, where is he?"

Han Qingsong hugged her and said slowly, "There is a county to the east of the area. There is a small Xuan Mountain in the county. It seems that there are such blue stones."

Xiaoxuan Mountain is 50 miles away from the military camp. They passed by there during the three-day cross-country hiking competition, and later went to Xiaoxuan Mountain for field reconnaissance and target shooting training. The mountain is full of black stones, which indeed emit blue light when the sun shines on them.

Lin Lan scrambled to her feet, her eyes glowing in the darkness, "Really?"

Han Qingsong pressed her against his chest and asked, "Are you not tired anymore?"

Lin Lan: ...No matter how tired you are, I'm not afraid. Why are you still sleeping? Get up and go dig up the stones.

"Third brother, I declare that I have taken control of that hilltop."

Han Qingsong: “…”

Lin Lan likes gems, but she has never thought about wearing them on her body. Instead, she wants to pick them up and look at them. She can look at them when she is in a bad mood, and it will be even better to look at them when she is in a good mood.

It can cure all diseases!

Han Qingsong embraced her and began to draw a big cake for her. "After this busy period, I will take you to pick them. After the heavy rain, the mountains there are full of blue stones."

How could Lin Lan sleep at all? She wanted to pick it up right away. She almost woke up laughing just thinking about it.

On the second day, Lin Lan expressed her desire to go to Qingshi Commune with Han Qingsong.

Han Qingsong knew she had an ulterior motive as soon as he heard her words. "The people there are quite fierce. Let's go there later."

Lin Lan said seriously, "I have to go check on the propaganda team."

"They didn't promote it." Han Qingsong said.

Lin Lan had even more reason: "How can there be no publicity? I have to supervise it."

The Qingshi Commune is located to the west of the Shanshui Commune and is closer to the mine, so it is normal for there to be two more blue stones in their river ditch.

They went to the commune first.

Lin Lan first went to the canteen to buy some coarse grains and put them in her schoolbag, then went to report to Minister Zhuang, saying that some communes were not keen on promoting policies and the people were still ignorant, so they stole food.

Their Propaganda Department has the obligation to help brother communes!

Because Lin Lan is the county's propaganda red flag bearer, she is qualified to supervise and guide all communes and brigades in the county, so there is no problem with that.

Minister Zhuang: "Lin Lan, you must have worked hard."

There is enough work to do in this commune, but Lin Lan also goes to supervise brother communes. He is truly a good comrade who respects his job and loves his work.

Lin Lan: "Isn't this the action that Director Han is responsible for cooperating with the communes? I think it's not enough to just crack down on bad elements, we also have to keep up with the publicity and make it happen."

Minister Zhuang made the decision: "Okay. Go ahead. The ministry will provide you with a meal ticket."

Lin Lan thought for a moment and said, "Then let an official go with me?"

Minister Zhuang looked around and saw that Secretary Liu and Secretary Qiu had to follow the deputy minister to work on the project that Lin Lan had set up in the commune. Only Cao Guangrong was free. "Let Secretary Cao go with you to gain some experience."

After all, they are relatives of martyrs, so we should provide them with care if possible.

Lin Lan didn't mind, "Okay."

Cao Guangrong didn't expect that Lin Lan would still bring him along. He was surprised and shocked.

Lin Lan called him, "Hurry up, we are going with Director Han. If we are late, he won't wait for us."

Cao Guangrong's legs weakened for a moment, but he reluctantly followed, pushing his bike.

Han Qingsong glanced at her and saw that she was carrying a schoolbag and a large cloth bag. She was afraid that he didn't know what she was going to do.

His eyes swept over Cao Guangrong again, and Cao Guangrong was so scared that he subconsciously wanted to hide away.

"Ride a bike by yourself?" Han Qingsong looked at her.

Lin Lan: "How about you take me with you?" Of course I wouldn't like riding a bike if someone else took me with them.

Han Qingsong thought it was okay, as it would make her feel more relaxed.

Lin Lan let him ride in her private car. The new car was very comfortable to ride. Since it was a business trip, Han Qingsong did not refuse.

Han Qingsong took Lin Lan, followed by Han Qingyun and Cao Guangrong, and they went to Qingshi Commune together.

Lin Lan found that the further west he went, the worse the road became. This also showed that the conditions in the communes in the west were much worse than those in the communes in the east near the county town. Alas, wealth makes people swell, but poverty also makes people despair.

But with Han Qingsong leading her, it is more stable than riding a bicycle by herself, and she never has to worry about her falling.

They first went to Qingshi Commune to meet with the cadres.

Two days ago, they first handled a case of looting public grain in the commune. It is said that a group of people covered their faces in the middle of the night and went to steal from the commune's grain management office. As a result, they were discovered by the night patrol staff and it turned into a robbery. When the militia arrived, those people had already run away with the grain, and no thieves were caught. Han Qingsong brought people over and arrested several members in Dawangjiazhuang after investigation, and found wheat from the grain management office in their homes. If you catch one, you can follow the clues to catch a bunch of people. Han Qingsong will not care about the rest. He is only responsible for uncovering the most difficult part, and they will do the rest by themselves.

This time we are going to Xiaoyu Village where food was stolen.

The grain theft in Xiaoyujia Village happened two days later than the grain management office. Most of the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain to be delivered to the government, reserve grain, and seeds in the brigade warehouse were stolen. Because there were no dogs in the village and nothing had happened before, the patrolling militia was not active. As a result, the warehouse door was pried open and the lock was pried open quietly, and more than 20,000 kilograms of grain disappeared.

Their commune could not find anything, so they had to report the case to Han Qingsong. After all, he was in charge of the joint actions of the communes, and everyone had to listen to his orders. At the same time, they had to report to him and seek help when there was any problem.

The director of Qingshi Commune is Tan Zhaoxiang, the Minister of the Armed Forces is Tan Zhaomin, and the Director of Public Security is Wang Aiguo. Their commune does not have a public security bureau.

Originally, they didn't take Han Qingsong seriously, but ever since Han Qingsong caught the food thief from Da Wang's family yesterday, they have started to look at Han Qingsong with new eyes, and they are eager to let him solve any problems they have.

Tan Zhaoxiang was of medium height, wearing a dacron shirt with two pens in his left breast pocket. He did not look like a grassroots cadre, but rather a pampered person. He shook hands with Han Qingsong, and when he saw Lin Lan, he smiled and said, "Who is this female comrade?"

Han Qingsong: "My love, promote Lin."

"Secretary Lin, I've heard a lot about you." Tan Zhaoxiang shook hands with Lin Lan. "Secretary Lin's publicity ability is well-known far and wide. He should have come to our commune to help promote it a long time ago."

Lin Lan felt Han Qingsong's gaze fall on their shaking hands, so she quickly ended the handshake. She just nodded and greeted the other directors, but did not shake hands.

Han Qingsong wanted to talk to them about the situation in Xiaoyujia Village, so Lin Lan asked someone to find a propagandist so that she could understand the publicity situation of Qingshi Commune.

Together with the Propaganda Department and the Communications Department of their commune, there were four or five people in total.

Minister Qiu Aihua is a woman in her thirties with a square jaw, high cheekbones, single eyelids, thick lips, a loud voice and a hearty laugh. She speaks bluntly and doesn't pay much attention to the environment.

Lin Lan had met her when she went to the county to study some time ago, but they didn't become close friends. After all, she was close to Wang Fengxia and Qi Fengbo at that time.

She burst into laughter when she saw Lin Lan. "Comrade Lin Lan, we meet again. You are still as handsome as ever. You said it's summer, we are all tanned, how come you are still so fair and tender? What kind of vanishing cream do you put on all day? Don't you ever get in the sun?"

Lin Lan originally wanted to say hello to her, but in the end she didn't get a word out.

"Comrade Lin Lan, please come and give us some guidance on our work. We are currently carrying out a large-scale propaganda campaign to criticize Lin Biao and Confucius. The big red flag and big newspaper are all ready." Qiu Aihua wanted to take Lin Lan to see.

Lin Lan turned to Cao Guangrong and said, "Secretary Cao, please have a chat with Minister Qiu."

She has no time to chat: I don’t want to watch any promotions, I want to go find some stones!