With the help of two machines, the soap factory reduced a lot of time and energy, increased the output of soap and perfumed soap, and quickly completed several large orders.
These large orders brought huge profits to the soap factory, and soon they made back half of the money they spent on buying the machines.
Several months had passed during this period, and it was now July, 1977. People no longer needed to wear cotton jackets to go to the soap factory, and they all wore thinner clothes.
But because Qinggang Brigade is in the south, relatively speaking, the weather is very hot at this time, sometimes even up to 38 degrees, but under normal circumstances, the temperature stays between 32 and 35 degrees.
Because the weather was too hot, although the workers in the soap factory worked very hard, there were still some differences from before. The heat dampened everyone's enthusiasm, and they were all quite listless. After all, they were sweating profusely and getting irritated from the heat. No one was really happy or energetic.
So He Xianqiu thought of some solutions. Although he couldn't afford air conditioning at the moment, he could afford popsicles. Then he asked someone to go to the ice factory to buy a few boxes of freezers, as well as popsicles and ice cubes.
Soon after that, I bought a freezer, popsicles and ice cubes, and ordered a month's supply of popsicles and ice cubes from the ice factory, asking them to deliver popsicles and ice cubes at regular intervals.
Soon everyone at the soap factory knew that the factory had bought freezers, popsicles and ice cubes. Every worker at the soap factory could have two popsicles a day, but they had to sign to get them. This was a benefit from the soap factory. As for ice cubes, there was no limit on how many they could get, and for some reasons, one cent could get a large bowl of ice cubes, which was cheap and affordable.
None of the workers in the soap factory were unhappy about having to spend money to buy ice cubes. After all, they only had to pay one cent to get a big bowl of ice, and no tickets were required. Who wouldn't like such affordable ice cubes?
It can be said that everyone in the soap factory was very happy and worked with much more energy. They were looking forward to it very much and were just waiting for the notice to come out so that they could go together to get popsicles and buy some ice cubes for one cent to take home.
Soon a notice was issued from above that people could go to the cafeteria to get popsicles after work. When everyone knew about this, they were looking forward to it and were very happy. They went to get popsicles as soon as they got off work, and many people bought a big bowl of ice to take home.
When everyone went to collect them, they were all very excited. Then they packed up their food and went home happily. They wanted to take some popsicles home for their children and elderly to try.
After all, popsicles are not easy to buy. You have to go to the commune to buy them. Moreover, they will melt halfway when you get home, so you can only eat them quickly. You can't even take them home to give to your family.
He Xianqiu, who was standing by, saw that everyone was happy, and she couldn't help but smile. Then it was her turn to get her share, and she also asked Mr. Zhong to get his share. She also bought a few cents worth of ice cubes and took them home, planning to use them to make juice and milk tea.
Because he was afraid that the ice cream would melt, He Xianqiu walked very fast and arrived home in a short while. He walked in and wanted to ask Ji Chenzhou and his son to eat popsicles, but he only saw Ji Chenzhou and not the child. He Xianqiu asked, "Where is the son?"
Ji Chenzhou smiled and replied, "He went out to play with Aunt Li's Hu Zi. I'll go get him back now."
Now that the child has grown up, he will go and play with other children in the village. The one he plays with best is called Hu Zi, so he often goes to play with Hu Zi, or brings Hu Zi home to play with his toys.
He Xianqiu nodded, then gave Ji Chenzhou a popsicle, "By the way, give Mr. Zhong's popsicle to him."
Ji Chenzhou nodded, took the popsicle, said OK, and then walked away with his long legs.
Afterwards, Ji Chenzhou sent the child to the old man's house and went to look for the child. When he came back, he brought his friend Hu Zi with him. Hu Zi was one year older than the child and was more than four years old now. He followed Ji Chenzhou very reservedly, and then when he saw He Xianqiu, he timidly called him "Auntie".
He Xianqiu responded with a smile, and then handed a popsicle to the little boy and Hu Zi respectively, "It's hot now, eat some popsicles to cool down."
Because He Xianqiu was in charge of the soap factory and held a relatively high position, he was given six popsicles this time, which was more than enough for everyone to have one.
After the child took it, he immediately said thank you mom. Hu Zi next to him also obediently said thank you aunt to He Xianqiu. Then the two children happily started eating the popsicles.
Later, He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou each took a popsicle and started eating. Eating popsicles in the summer really makes you feel better.
After eating the popsicles, they took a watermelon they had bought a few days ago and made iced watermelon juice. However, because the little boy and Hu Zi were still young and had poor stomachs, and they had eaten popsicles before, He Xianqiu asked Ji Chenzhou to give each of them only a little to try.
Then the two children drank watermelon juice and played with toys in the yard, while He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou sat on the lounge chairs in the yard, leisurely drinking large glasses of iced watermelon juice.
When it was dinner time, he let Hu Zi eat here before sending him home.
At night, He Xianqiu and his family of three read as usual. After finishing the book, he told a bedtime story to the children, and then the family of three went to bed.
Morning.
Because today is a rest day, He Xianqiu was resting, so when he got up in the morning he played with building blocks with the kids for a while, and then the family of three went to the mountains, planning to pick some wild fruits and some wild vegetables.
Ji Chenzhou had discovered several wild fruit trees on the mountain before. Now it was July and some of them were already full of fruits, and they were near the halfway point of the mountain, not too far away.
Ji Chenzhou first took them to the wild peach forest, and then Ji Chenzhou climbed up the tree to pick fruit, while He Xianqiu and the children were picking up the wild peaches he threw down. The mother and son were very happy picking them up.
The child had a small basket of his own. He put the wild peaches he picked up in the basket, and then picked them up one by one and put them back in.
He Xianqiu also had a beautiful basket, which was several times larger than the children's basket. Only Ji Chenzhou's was a backpack that could hold a lot of things.
Afterwards, the family of three went to look for other wild grapes. Each one was very big and purple-red. Du He Xianqiu was very happy to see them. Now that the weather is hot, they can make grape berries, grape jam, and biscuits. They, father and son, will definitely love them.
After that, the family of three picked a lot of grapes. The little boy picked them most seriously because his mother told him that there were many ways to cook grapes. He was looking forward to it, so he picked them very enthusiastically.
After picking a lot of wild fruits on the mountain, the family of three hurried down the mountain when the sun was not so hot. After walking for a while, the child was tired, so Ji Chenzhou picked him up and carried him back home.
After arriving home, the family of three washed the fruits immediately. Some of the fruits were not easy to preserve, so they planned to make jam or canned fruits. They had a great harvest this time, including wild peaches, wild grapes, wild loquats, wild dates, and wild bananas. It can be said that there are rich varieties.
The products at that time were really abundant. There were so many fruits, animals and other supplies on the mountain that the baskets and backpacks of their family of three were not enough to hold them all. But they were satisfied with so much and it could last them many days. When they had finished eating, they would go to pick mulberry leaves.
Because they picked a lot this time, the grapes were going to be used to make jam, and the ripe wild peaches were going to be used to make canned fruit, so the three members of the family got to work washing the fruits.
Even the children had a small basin to wash the wild grapes. With their small fleshy hands, they washed the grapes seriously.
However, after the child washed for a while, He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou stopped him, fearing that he would catch a cold. Then the child obediently took a small stool and sat in the main room to play with toys, watching his parents wash fruits from time to time.
Not long after they finished washing, they started to light the fire and cook the sauce. Because it took a long time to cook the sauce, He Xianqiu sat in the kitchen, stirring it with a spatula from time to time.
Ji Chenzhou was watching the fire beside the fire, from high fire to low fire. It took an hour and finally the grape jam was made. He Xianqiu tried it with a spoon and it was sweet enough. There was no need to add sugar at all. In total, the grape jam filled three glass bottles.
Then take boiled water and add sugar water and stir it. Then put it into a glass jar together with ripe peaches to make sweet canned fruit.
This is faster than grape jam. After the sugar water is ready, it is put into the glass tube together with the peeled peaches. Then He Xianqiu also puts rock sugar in it. After the water boils, it starts to steam for fifteen minutes.
It was several hours later when everything was done. Although He Xianqiu was tired, she felt a great sense of accomplishment. This time, she made the grape jam by herself, and the resulting jam turned out very good.
Now everything is done, the grape jam and canned fruit have cooled down, so He Xianqiu took out one of the canned fruit and shared it with the family of three, and also washed it down with water.
Then He Xianqiu looked at the father and son who had eaten some and asked how it went, his eyes full of anticipation.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ji Chenzhou and the children nodded and indicated that the food was delicious.
Seeing that the child particularly liked canned fruit, He Xianqiu put several pieces of fruit into his bowl and let him eat slowly.
The child nodded happily and continued to eat the fruit in his small bowl. The peaches were soft and sweet, and the rich peach flavor spread in the sugar. He especially liked them.
Then He Xianqiu gave the rest to Ji Chenzhou, because he also liked sweet things, but was embarrassed to eat them in front of outsiders, so He Xianqiu would specially buy more sweet things and leave them for him.
The family of three felt extremely comfortable under the cool shed, drinking sweet grape water and canned fruit, and could feel the cool breeze. Now that the weather is hot, they even eat under the shed because it is cool.
He Xianqiu also placed a lot of flowers and plants, as well as small stickers he drew himself, next to the shed. It can be said to be a very elegant and childlike little shed. Even children like to play with toys in the shed just because it looks beautiful.
He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou also like to stay in the shed on their days off, drinking some herbal tea and iced juice from time to time, eating some cut fruit, and then lying on a chair and reading a book. They are so relaxed and comfortable.
It can be said that they do whatever makes them comfortable. After all, life is short and we should enjoy it while we can.
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