The lard for making soap has been prepared, and He Xianqiu is in a good mood.
But this morning they rushed all the way to the commune, and after arriving at the commune they went straight to the meat processing factory. Now both of them were hungry.
Ji Chenzhou suggested going to a state-owned restaurant for dinner. He Xianqiu nodded, and the two went straight to the state-owned restaurant.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Ji Chenzhou found two empty seats and asked He Xianqiu to sit and wait while he went to order food.
After being together for so long, Ji Chenzhou knew very well what He Xianqiu liked to eat, so he ordered all the dishes that He Xianqiu liked.
He Xianqiu's eyes lit up when she saw the braised pork and pork ribs soup, both of which were her favorite meat dishes.
The portions at the state-owned restaurant were very generous. He Xianqiu was full after eating a little, and Ji Chenzhou finished the rest by himself.
After eating, Ji Chenzhou packed ten more buns for He Xianqiu to eat when he was hungry.
It was still early, and thinking of the last time he promised He Xianqiu that he would take her to the junk collection place, Ji Chenzhou asked in a low voice: "Qiuqiu, do you want to go to the junk collection place to take a look?"
"Yes." He Xianqiu nodded immediately.
If Ji Chenzhou hadn't reminded her, she would have forgotten about it.
Ji Chenzhou said softly: "Okay."
Ji Chenzhou brought He Xianqiu to a remote path. The path was quiet and few people passed by.
Walking through the alley, He Xianqiu saw the five big words "Collection of Used Items" at a glance. Outside were piled up some wooden tables and chairs that were smashed to pieces and could not be put together.
He Xianqiu could tell at a glance that most of these tables and chairs were made of rosewood and huanghuali.
These were all carefully carved by craftsmen, with lifelike phoenixes on them, but now they have all been smashed to pieces and can only be used as firewood...
What a pity, they are all antiques, He Xianqiu sighed.
However, her purpose of coming to collect waste was to find things, so He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou walked towards the waste collection area.
There was an old man guarding the door of the scrap collection center. He was drowsy sitting at the door. When he saw someone coming, he tried to open his eyes.
"What are you looking for here when you collect scrap?" The old man looked up with a listless look.
Ji Chenzhou said slowly, "Let's find some scrap paper and wood to use as firewood."
The old man nodded nonchalantly and let the two in.
The wood and paper collected from the scrap yard are very cheap, 50 cents for 50 kilograms.
People who couldn't afford coal briquettes would often come to buy some to use as firewood. The old man was used to it, so he went back to sleep.
When He Xianqiu entered the scrap collection area, he was immediately shocked by the messy arrangement of things. It was too messy.
Everything was piled together in a mess, including tattered paintings and calligraphy, smashed tables and chairs, and dusty books.
Perhaps seeing He Xianqiu's surprise, Ji Chenzhou explained: "It seems that these things are useless now, so I just put them there randomly..."
He Xianqiu nodded in understanding. It seemed that these things were useless at the moment, so of course he would not put them there specially.
He Xianqiu flipped through the pages and dust flew up. She coughed because there was too much dust.
When Ji Chenzhou saw it, he signaled her to move aside so he could search.
He knew what He Xianqiu was looking for when he came to collect the scraps, so he was always paying attention when he was searching to see if there was anything He Xianqiu needed.
He Xianqiu stopped coughing. She handed Ji Chenzhou a handkerchief, covered her mouth and nose with another handkerchief, and continued to search for something.
She searched for a long time but didn't find anything she wanted. It must have been taken away, so there was nothing.
He Xianqiu felt a little disappointed. She had come to Taobao with great enthusiasm, but ended up finding nothing.
Her eyelashes drooped. How come she didn't even have a guidebook on math, physics and chemistry that she would need for the college entrance exam?
He Xianqiu lowered his head and looked at the ground, feeling very depressed. Suddenly, he looked closely and saw a golden nanmu box in the corner. He Xianqiu's eyes lit up instantly.
The box is still well preserved, and the patterns carved on it are lifelike.
He Xianqiu walked briskly to the box, picked up the box and opened it. It was empty inside, but He Xianqiu was not disappointed at all.
Because this box itself is a rare old item, made of golden nanmu wood.
He Xianqiu touched the box. It was delicate, smooth, and warm to the touch. He could smell a faint fragrance.
She opened the box and felt inside. The interior was still silky smooth, which showed the fine craftsmanship of the craftsman at that time.
Suddenly, He Xianqiu paused. There seemed to be a layer in the box, and there was a small piece on the side that could be pushed in.
She pressed her finger on the small pushable piece and the layer opened.
When He Xianqiu saw the golden bars and sparkling gems, he was stunned for a moment, then surprised.
He Xianqiu was quite excited as he didn't expect to actually find something.
In the past, He Xianqiu would not care too much about these things because she had plenty of them, but now in the 1970s, this box of treasures is a huge fortune.
But she quickly calmed down and closed the mezzanine. The old man guarding the door was still outside, so she had to be careful.
It's okay if your things are confiscated, but it would be bad if you are taken to the police station.
He Xianqiu was really happy now. When he saw Ji Chenzhou coming over, he shook the golden nanmu box in his hand at him.
There was a smile in his eyes, and his eyes were saying, "Look, there are treasures in there, and I have found them."
Seeing how happy she was, Ji Chenzhou couldn't help but want to touch her head, but thinking that it was too rude, he could only control his restless hands.
He Xianqiu found what she wanted, and she picked and chose again, finding a few books that could be read now.
Seeing that she had finished her selection, Ji Chenzhou took out a sack, put all the things she had chosen in it, and then took some broken leg stools to cover it.
He Xianqiu was a little shocked when he saw Ji Chenzhou take out a sack. He wondered where he got it from. Then he bent down and put the stool legs into the sack.
The two of them covered up everything and then walked out of the house.
The old man outside the door saw that they had made their selection and opened the bag to take a look.
He Xianqiu was made a little nervous by the old man's action and his hands began to tremble.
I was afraid that the old man would pour out everything and then find out what was inside. After all, at this time, this would be a crime.
When Ji Chenzhou saw this, he signaled to her with his eyes not to be afraid. He Xianqiu's anxious heart was instantly calmed down, and she calmed down.
The old man just took a look inside, and when he saw it was all wood, he stopped looking.
"A total of twenty pounds, twenty cents." The old man weighed it.
Ji Chenzhou took out two cents and handed it to the old man. After the old man took it, the two left.
Ji Chenzhou was carrying a sack and walking steadily, without any panic on his face. He Xianqiu followed closely beside him.
When they reached the corner and the old man was no longer visible, He Xianqiu finally felt relieved.
Ji Chenzhou saw that He Xianqiu's expression relaxed, and he smiled in a gentle voice.
"It's okay, we left."
He Xianqiu smiled: "Yeah."
After the two men left to collect the scrap, they found a secluded place to put the things in the backpack.
He Xianqiu looked at the ground filled with stool legs and was in a dilemma: "What should I do with these?"
There is no way this pile of wood can fit on a bicycle.
"It's okay, I'll take care of it later." Ji Chenzhou said gently.
He Xianqiu nodded, feeling completely relieved.
I always feel at ease when Ji Chenzhou is around. He will consider every aspect and there is no need for others to worry about me.
He Xianqiu looked at his watch. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, when the sun was the hottest, so the two left the commune.
If we don't leave now, we won't be able to see the road clearly when it gets dark.
However, before leaving the commune, Ji Chenzhou took the bag of wood and gave it to a child who was picking up cardboard on the roadside.
The child was about ten years old, but he was very thin, his face was yellow, and his clothes were washed white and full of patches.
If Ji Chenzhou hadn't said that he was eleven or twelve years old, He Xianqiu would have thought he was only six or seven years old.
He looked at He Xianqiu and Ji Chenzhou warily, and after confirming that they just wanted to give him the bag of wood, his expression softened. He touched his head and said thank you embarrassedly.
He Xianqiu heard Ji Chenzhou say in a gentle voice that it was not necessary. She looked up at Ji Chenzhou, smiled, and gave him a thumbs up.
Ji Chenzhou noticed her gesture and felt a little embarrassed, but he was still very happy in his heart. At least in the eyes of the person he admired, he was a helpful person.
Perhaps because He Xianqiu praised him, Ji Chenzhou didn't feel tired at all on his way back on his bike.
The whole person is very happy, with a smile on his face and full of motivation.
He Xianqiu also felt his happiness. Although he didn’t know why he was in such a good mood, when the people around him were in a good mood, He Xianqiu also felt very good.
Moreover, all the materials for making soap have been prepared today, and He Xianqiu is in a better mood, which means that he is getting closer to his goal.
The two men returned to Qinggang Brigade facing the sun, put the things they found in the old house, and then hurried to the soap manufacturing site.
At this time, everyone was boiling lard, and there were several barrels of boiled lard next to them.
He Xianqiu was very satisfied. She asked the person who came to deliver the lard to tell everyone how to make the lard, and everyone was doing it well.
Now that all the materials have been prepared, He Xianqiu begins to have people filter the wood ash water that has been left to stand, leaving only the clean wood ash water.
Although no one understood why, they knew that this was a step in soap-making, so they all did it seriously.
After filtering, He Xianqiu instructed two people to pour the lard into the wood ash water, and called three people to stir it.
After stirring for more than an hour, it became a milky white substance. Some salt was added to increase the hardness of the soap.
"Okay, now you can put it in the mold and cut it into pieces after it solidifies." He Xianqiu pointed to the rectangular mold next to him.
"Does this make soap?" Everyone looked at each other, staring at the milky white substance in the bucket in confusion.
"It will form soap only when it solidifies." He Xianqiu nodded.
Everyone nodded. Although they still didn't understand, they stopped talking and put the milky white object into the mold.
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