Chapter 56

Mrs. Li patted the bench beside her and motioned Xu Wen to sit down and talk. "This is a long story."

Xu Wen sat next to Mrs. Li, peeled a lychee, and ate it while listening to the story.

The sweet lychee is full of juice once the skin is peeled.

Take a bite of the sweet flesh and your mouth will be filled with sweetness.

It's really enjoyable.

It would be more delicious if it could be soaked in ice water.

It’s just that the stories told by Mrs. Li are not so pleasant to listen to.

Wang Ying was an educated youth assigned to a farm in the countryside of Haicheng.

She must have been considered a delicate lady before, how could she endure such hardship?

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I secretly planned to escape.

Educated youth who ran away were also called "deserters." Not only was it unpleasant to hear people say this, but once it was reported to the organization and dealt with, the consequences would be serious.

When Wang Ying was about to be caught, he stopped a passing car in a panic.

Who knew that a military vehicle happened to be blocked.

The person driving the car at that time was Zhao Gang, who had just returned from a mission.

Wang Ying said that the men pursuing her were all human traffickers and hoped that Zhao Gang would take him away.

With Zhao Gang's temper, could he tolerate the traffickers? He rolled up his sleeves and got out of the car to fight.

Wang Ying changed her story upon seeing this, saying that the man was from their village and that her parents forced her to marry an old man in order to get a high bride price.

They didn't want Zhao Gang to hurt them, and only asked him to take her away.

Zhao Gang's appearance showed that he was a simple-minded man with strong limbs. How could he be a match for Wang Ying? After being deceived by Wang Ying, he believed her and took her back to the compound, temporarily placing her in a guesthouse.

But the compound was strictly managed, and not everyone could enter. The only outsiders who entered the compound were those on official business or family members.

Zhao Gang said that Wang Ying was someone he had just met, so he arranged for her to stay in the guesthouse.

"Wang Ying stayed in the compound for a few days and saw that we, the wives of soldiers, did not have to work and stayed at home all day to cook and take care of the kids. She thought this kind of life was pretty good.

So she had a bad idea and coaxed Zhao Gang to file a marriage report and marry her. In fact, it was just so that she could follow the army and not have to work on the farm. "Mrs. Li shook her head and sighed, "But this girl is really too smart and treats others as fools."

Zhao Gang was in the same company, so the marriage report he submitted had to first pass the review of the expedition and the instructor.

There was no way Wang Ying's little trick could fool Lu Yuanzheng and the instructor, but they couldn't say anything to Wang Ying directly so they could only persuade Zhao Gang.

But Zhao Gang was really obsessed with the idea and had his mind set on Wang Ying.

Wang Ying is good-looking and knows how to coax people, so Zhao Gang was dizzy.

As leaders, Lu Yuanzheng and the instructor had no choice but to approve Zhao Gang's marriage report without a legitimate reason. After all, Wang Yingzheng had found no problem with it. He was just an ordinary educated youth who was assigned to work in the countryside after graduating from junior high school.

When the farm heard that Wang Ying was going to be a soldier's wife, they did not make things difficult for her. They thought that Wang Ying had returned from a mission to meet her target, and did not pursue the matter of her escape.

In this way, Wang Ying married Zhao Gang.

It was fine at the beginning. Wang Ying cooked and washed clothes for Zhao Gang, which made him dizzy and he would not touch Zhao Gang unless Wang Ying allowed him to.

Until one day a sister-in-law brought back some rice wine from her hometown and shared it with everyone.

Wang Ying didn't know how powerful rice wine was and drank too much.

Somehow the two of them ended up becoming husband and wife.

Normally, Zhao Gang treated Wang Ying very well. Although the two had a quarrel, they lived a good life.

Later, Wang Ying became pregnant. She started to cry and even fought with Zhao Gang from time to time.

Zhao Gang thought Wang Ying was a pregnant woman and always gave in to her.

Just a few months ago, she gave birth to a son for Zhao Gang.

At this time, the country announced the resumption of the college entrance examination and the policy of allowing educated youth to return home.

Wang Ying's mind suddenly became active again, and he started to think about taking the college entrance exam.

"Isn't it a good thing to go to college?" Xu Wen was puzzled.

Mrs. Li sighed: "Yes, going to college is a good thing. But she not only wants to go to college, she also wants a divorce!"

Xu asked, "Is there any necessary connection between going to college and getting divorced?"

"How many people do you think are as courageous as you? She didn't even go to college after being admitted, but followed Lu Ying to this deserted island to suffer. Wang Ying doesn't have your ability, but she is much more ambitious than you! She thinks she will pass the exam on the first try, so of course she doesn't want to be dragged down by Zhao Gang and his son." Sister Li curled her lips in disdain, "She is ambitious! She is still thinking about returning to the city to be her daughter after being admitted to college. Aren't there more and more educated youth returning to the city now? She will regret marrying a rough man like Zhao Gang after hearing about it! She might as well stay on the farm for another year or so."

Xu Wen didn't understand, "What's wrong with being a soldier? How can he not be worthy of her?"

"So you are different from other girls. Besides, Lu Ying is a cadre after all, and Zhao Gang is just a soldier. His monthly allowance is not much, and he can't keep a woman like Wang Ying. Fortunately, our military marriage is protected by law. As long as Zhao Gang doesn't agree, Wang Ying can't get a divorce."

"A forced melon is not sweet! Why don't you let them leave? Isn't it uncomfortable to beat them like this?" Xu Wen didn't understand.

"Zhao Gang is the only boy in Zhao Gang's family. In order to marry him off, the family's savings were emptied and they even owed a lot of money for famine. Now they have a baby who is still breastfeeding. If Wang Ying leaves, what will happen to the child? Zhao Gang is an old man, and his parents are too old to take care of themselves, let alone the child. You can't ask Zhao Gang's married sisters to take care of his child, right?"

Sister Li shook her head and said, "You said Wang Ying is the same. He looks down on Zhao Gang. Why are you bullying him?"

Xu Wen didn't know what to say. He only blamed himself for speaking too quickly and causing all this trouble for Zhao Gang by borrowing the information.

There were shouting and cursing, as well as the sound of things breaking in the tent. After a while, it gradually became quiet.

Mrs. Li quickly asked, "Go back and get some sleep while it's quiet! They might start fighting again soon. You have to be careful too, Wang Ying may look quiet but he's actually very fierce! Don't let him come back and make trouble for you too."

Even if you want to take a nap in the scorching sun, you can't fall asleep just by thinking about it.

The tent cloth is so thin that when exposed to the sun, it can be turned into a sauna inside the tent.

Xu Wen thought it would be nice to have an air conditioner at this time.

It's okay if there's no air conditioning fan.

If that doesn't work, ice cubes will do.

Thinking of the ice cubes, Xu Wen had an idea.

She remembered that people could make ice cubes in ancient times. There was no electricity or refrigerators in ancient times, which was similar to her current situation.

Then she should be able to do it.

But being able to does not mean being able to do it, luckily she has the magic mirror.

Xu Wen closed his eyes, calmed down and summoned the magic mirror: "Magic mirror, magic mirror, my child wants to know how ice was made in ancient times?"

The mirror surface suddenly became a display screen and played an animation for Xu Wen to see.

Making ice is very simple, and all you need is a substance called saltpeter.

“Can the ice made in this way be given directly to children?”

"Of course not! Ice made from saltpeter is more poisonous than the apple in Snow White's stepmother's hand! Do you want to poison your child?!" The magic mirror made a harsh sound angrily.

Xu Wen's head was buzzing, and he thought to himself, I'm just asking if it can be eaten, but your broken system requires me to be famous as a child.

The magic mirror heard her thoughts and felt a little guilty. For the first time, he answered her without asking about the child's reputation: "If you want to eat it, you can use the double-layer ice making method."

After the magic mirror finished speaking, a detailed tutorial animation played on the display screen.

Saltpeter is still used to make ice, but it is not put directly into the water. Instead, two basins, one large and one small, are used. The small basin is used for drinking water, and saltpeter is put into the water in the large basin, and ice is formed between the basins.

What’s even more amazing is that the ice formed by saltpeter can be recovered and recycled through evaporation and crystallization.

"Warm reminder. Although there were no refrigerators in ancient times, there were ice cubes, which functioned like refrigerators..."

The more Xu Wen read on, the more he felt that life didn't have to be so hard.

"Mirror, mirror, my child wants to know how to make a simple refrigerator?

"Mirror, mirror, my child wants to make an air conditioner by himself. What materials do he need?"

"Magic mirror, magic mirror..."

In the name of children, Xu Wen received a lot of DIY handicraft tutorials and necessary materials.

When they returned to the tent after a long journey, Xu Wen was fanning Dongsheng with one hand and writing and drawing on paper with the other.

He took off his clothes and hung them on the rack, then asked Xu Wen: "What are you busy with if you don't want to sleep?"

Xu Wen sighed, "It's too hot to sleep."

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at the bed, thought for a moment and said, "When I'm done with my work these few days, I'll make you a bamboo bed. It will be cooler for you to sleep on."

"Okay! But I want some ice now. Lu Yuanzheng, do you know saltpeter?"

"I know." Lu Yuanzheng nodded. How could he not know about this, one of the raw materials for making gunpowder? "Why are you asking this?"

"I want to make some ice. Can you ask someone to buy some for me?"

"Do you use a lot? If not, you don't need to buy it. We have it on the island."

"Ah?" Xu Wen's eyes lit up, "Really? Where is it?"

"The white rocks we saw on the beach today are the white frost on the surface."

Xu Wen stood up and asked, "Can you come with me to find some saltpeter now?"

Lu Yuanzheng frowned and hesitated: "Now? The sun is very strong outside. If I get blisters all over you, you will be the one who will feel the pain!"

"It's okay, I'll keep myself covered." Xu Wen got up and looked for his coat. It's better to be hot than to be sunburned.

Dongsheng rolled out of bed and signed up: "I want to go too!"

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

Xu Wen turned around and looked at Dongsheng: "Why are you still awake?"

"It's too hot. I can't sleep." Dongsheng lowered his head as he spoke. He felt a little embarrassed to let Xu Wen fan him for so long.

Xu Wen touched Dongsheng's head and said, "It's okay. It's not your fault that you can't sleep. Let's go and pick up saltpeter to make ice. If we succeed, we won't have to be afraid of the heat."

"Okay!" Dongsheng clapped his hands happily and put on his clothes.

Lu Yuanzheng took out two of his own straw hats and gave one to each of them.

Xu Wen: It’s okay, beautiful people are beautiful no matter what.

Dongsheng is small, and the straw hat he wore during Lu Yuanzheng is too big for him, which makes him look funny. It often covers his eyes, so he has to hold it up from time to time.

Lu Yuanzheng led the mother and son to the island to look for saltpeter.

Rocks, small caves, and abandoned dwellings also contain saltpeter soil.

They brought back a lot.

Xu Wen first borrowed a stove from the kitchen team, and put the saltpeter soil and saltpeter stones he had brought back through a series of procedures such as filtering, and finally obtained white crystals with a relatively high purity and took them back to his tent.

I also borrowed two basins, one large and one small, and filled the small basin with cool boiled water that could be drunk directly.

Pour saltpeter and water into a large basin in proportion.

While waiting for the water to freeze, Xu Wen also made a simple small refrigerator.

In fact, it does not require much technical skills. She found two wooden boxes and put them together, then filled the gap in the middle with sand. She first wrapped the small wooden box with a thick layer of cotton cover, and then covered the inside with cotton cover and a layer of plastic sheet for waterproofing.

When the ice cubes were ready, she took them out and put them in a simple refrigerator, and started making ice for the second time.

There is a layer of white frost on the ice surface of the big basin, which is saltpeter, which can be collected and reused.

While waiting for the ice to freeze again, Xu Wen took a few mangoes picked from the island, peeled them, and mashed the flesh.

The sweet taste of mango makes the winter food taste delicious.

Xu Wen took a mango, peeled it and gave it to Dongsheng.

Dongsheng shook his head, "Mom, I'll eat it after you finish cooking."

"Okay!" Xu Wen chopped the mango into pieces and threw them into a large bowl. He added some water and put it into a larger basin. He scraped the saltpeter off the ice and put it into the large basin again.

After a while, when the mango water had frozen into ice, Xu Wen took out the big bowl, took out several small bowls and placed them on the table one by one, washed and scraped the mango ice into mud with Lu Yuanzheng's folding knife, and spread a layer of it on the bottom of the bowl first, then put a layer of mango flesh on the ice mud, and then spread another layer of ice mud, until the three bowls were full.

Xu Wen took a small spoon and handed it to Dongsheng, "Taste!"

"What's delicious to eat?" Lu Yuanzheng walked in and said, "It seems a little cool? Did you bring some ice cubes?"

Xu Wen took the towel that could squeeze out water from Lu Yuanzheng's neck, threw it into the basin, and handed him a bowl of ice smoothie: "Try it! This is called mango ice cream!"