beet
Another night of setting out under the stars and returning under the moon.
Seats at night school weren't assigned, and Wang Shuitao quickly became acquainted with two other female classmates, always squeezing together to sit.
In math class, Wang Shuitao would help them solve problems, and in political class, they would shout slogans with the reserved Wang Shuitao.
After discovering that the textbooks for political science and Chinese language classes were almost identical, Wang Shuitao's mood improved somewhat.
At least we didn't miss out on valuable knowledge.
Of the eight people, the other seven lived in single dormitories, and she would wait a little longer at the door after they left.
Until that tall figure reappeared under the hazy moonlight.
However, she only glanced at him from afar to make sure he was back safely, and Wang Shuitao never talked to him much, especially late at night.
Meng Songying also had a tacit understanding and would not come over. She would only go to rest after seeing Taozi enter the house.
That morning, everyone waited at the factory gate. The Heilongjiang Province had informed them that the driver would arrive that day.
Five rumbling trucks drove into the county town and then slowly drove into the sugar factory.
The car is painted in military green and has four main lights at the front.
Wang Shuitao looked curiously at the rearview mirror, which was installed together with the lights, and was quite a distance from the driver's seat.
They look like the two antennae growing from the mouth of a small insect; they're actually quite cute if you look at them for a while.
She got her driver's license during that perfect summer after graduating high school.
In order to be able to take the exam as soon as possible, I learned to drive a manual transmission car.
I don't know if it's the difference between trucks and cars or the different eras that caused such a big change in the position of the rearview mirror.
Wang Shuitao always felt that it was too dangerous to drive this far away, so she couldn't adjust the position of the rearview mirror in time while driving and had to stop and get out of the car.
The truck bed was filled with tightly sealed large wooden crates, stacked high, and filled with beetroots.
One by one, they rolled out of the opened boxes, scattering all over the ground.
They are purplish-red, and come in various shapes, including cone-shaped, spindle-shaped, and flattened spherical shapes.
There were no large clumps of mud on it, only a few specks of mud hidden in the pitted and uneven depressions.
Factory Director Sun was offering cigarettes to the drivers from Heilongjiang Province when one of them waved his hand and said, "I'm not smoking anymore. I've been smoking too much these past few days to stay awake."
The other four seemed to listen to him and didn't say anything, but just yawned one after another in the back.
Factory Director Sun didn't back down, saying, "Then let's go eat first. We'll treat you to a meal to welcome you back. We'll have dishes from your area and dishes from our area. Just pick what you want to eat."
The drivers cheered up and seemed much more energetic.
The further south you go, the hotter and more humid it gets. Not only is the temperature high, but the humidity is also high. For convenience, the only things you bring along are steamed buns and cornbread.
It was perfectly fine, but suddenly it grew hair, and it was all bluish-black fungal hairs.
With a car this heavy, you won't be able to hold the steering wheel without eating to replenish your strength.
The main reason was to cherish food. We even ate the moldy steamed buns after peeling off the outer layer, and luckily we didn't get an upset stomach.
Fortunately, he was the only one who was unlucky. It was because he was careless and did not store the food properly. In the end, he ran out of food and could only borrow a little from others.
Fortunately, the drivers were well paid, and to supplement their nutrition, everyone brought either milk powder or malted milk powder.
Even though it's clumped together, it's actually more convenient to put it in your mouth and chew it dry.
That's how I managed to get by.
At the dinner table, there were only three guests: factory director Sun Ming, Li Yuanhong, and Wu Dong.
Eight people, each with a bowl of dry-mixed mustard green and pork wontons.
Chef Zheng had initially thought it was too hot to serve soup, but at Jiang Manyun's suggestion, he gave them a bowl of plain wonton soup without any other ingredients.
On the table are two different cuisines, a menu approved by Li Yuanhong.
The local dishes served included braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, steamed yellow croaker, minced meat and egg custard, and cold eggplant salad.
The dishes served in Heilongjiang Province included sweet and sour pork, stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli, egg sauce, and stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant.
With six meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, it's clear that the company values its drivers quite a bit, considering it's not a one-time transaction and they'll be making several trips in a row.
Surprisingly, four out of the five people ate a lot of local dishes.
The remaining person also reached for all four dishes with their chopsticks before focusing on the dishes from Heilongjiang Province.
He couldn't get used to eating anything except for minced meat and egg custard.
The people in the factory only ate wontons, and mainly drank a couple of glasses of wine with them.
On the other side of the unloading area, the head chef of the canteen squatted on the ground with a mournful expression, peeling beetroots with a large cleaver.
Such a fine feast, all of it was done by outsiders, and I didn't get any benefit from it.
Jiang Manyun was one thing, but who could blame him for being a native of the county and never having left the county town?
But he believed his skills were no worse than Zheng's.
As a result, after eating his cooking for so many years, none of the factory leaders thought of him when something happened.
Wang Shuitao also squatted down nearby, waiting for the chef to give her a piece. After receiving it, she couldn't wait to try it.
Beetroot is crunchy, not overly sweet, and has coarse fibers that can get stuck in your teeth.
It tastes a bit like mud, but sugarcane is much tastier.
She casually nudged the person next to her and asked, "Will sugar made from beetroot be different from sugarcane sugar?"
When her lower back was touched, Meng Songying stiffened for a moment, then slowly squatted down and cleared her throat: "There will be a little."
Just as Wang Shuitao was about to say something, she heard someone call her name.
"peach."
Jiang Manyun came out with a lunchbox in each hand, calling out affectionately that the work was well worth it and she had to thank him properly.
"Hey, I'm here!"
Wang Shuitao responded quickly and darted towards her.
So Meng Songying was quickly left there, and could only continue to slowly touch each beetroot, as if she were conducting some important research.
Only when his hands were covered in mud and the numbness and pain in his legs from squatting for so long overshadowed the strange sensation did he finally stand up.
Wang Shuitao has long since disappeared.
He could only return to his office in frustration, open his drawer, and pick up the box hidden in the far corner.
After much deliberation, I chose a slightly misshapen peach candy, chewed it up like a bone, and swallowed it.
"Why are you back here? I couldn't find you earlier."
The missing peaches suddenly reappeared.
She said excitedly, "Do you remember the liqueur candies I mentioned last time? It turns out they're produced in Heilongjiang Province, and they even earn foreign exchange for the country."
?
Meng Songying tilted her head; her accent had changed in just a few minutes.
Wang Shuitao put her hands on her hips: "Trying to be cute won't work! Tell me quickly, do you remember or not?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
