Chapter 73 Urban District

When I entered the kitchen, I saw Jiang Xiurong using a spatula to scrape the cakes stuck to the iron pot.

Xia Zhizhi doesn't eat dessert very often, so she didn't recognize what it was at first.

Let’s just order some cookies for now…

The biscuits were the size of dumpling wrappers, about one finger thick, with the edges cracked like saw teeth. They were stuck firmly to the bottom of the iron pot, and Jiang Xiurong had to shovel them off several times with a shovel.

A pancake was scooped up by Jiang Xiurong, and with a duang sound it fell back into the pot with a crisp bang.

Jiang Xiurong wiped the sweat from his forehead and comforted her softly, "Zhizhi, you can't wait, right? It will be fine soon."

"Actually, I'm not in a hurry..."

Xia Zhizhi swallowed her saliva and looked at the pot of unknown object. She had the urge to close the door and leave immediately.

But Jiang Xiurong is a delicate and sensitive person. If she did that, Jiang Xiurong would probably be sad.

She frowned, looking bitter and resentful, and stood hesitantly at the door, not daring to go in.

Jiang Xiurong was working hard with a spatula. She had gained strength from picking mushrooms recently, and otherwise she might not be able to shovel it down...

After a lot of clanging and clacking, all the cakes were finally shoveled down and put into a small wicker basket, filling it up.

Seeing Xia Zhizhi standing still at the door, he waved at her: "Come here, Zhizhi, I baked some cookies especially for you."

This small biscuit is probably related to naan.

She walked over reluctantly, picked up a piece of biscuit and put it in her mouth under Jiang Xiurong's expectant gaze.

No bite.

Unable to bear the disappointment of Jiang Xiurong, she broke the cake into two pieces.

It took her so much strength that she had to grit her teeth to break the biscuit open.

Then I nibbled on the crumbs on the edges. Apart from being a little hard to chew, there was nothing wrong with it. After all, it was fine grain with sugar, oil and milk added.

In ancient times, it would have been more or less a strategic reserve.

It can be used as a breastplate when you go to the battlefield.

If you are hit in the chest by an enemy, you can replenish your strength by taking out half of it.

The remaining half can be used as a brick to hit the enemy's head in close combat.

Kill several birds with one stone.

Looking at Jiang Xiurong's expectant eyes, she praised it against her conscience: "It's salty, sweet and crunchy, and tastes better than the ones you buy."

"As long as you like it." Jiang Xiurong stuffed the basket into her arms with a look of satisfaction: "Eat it, and I'll make it for you after you're done."

Xia Zhizhi was silent for a while, then stammered, "I'm so sorry, how much flour do I need..."

"It's okay, it's okay." Jiang Xiurong waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's not worth anything, just eat what you like, let's go out and eat."

Jiang Xiurong pushed her out and started preparing lunch.

Xia Zhizhi stood in the yard holding a basket of naan, not knowing where to go.

When he looked up, he saw Tang Mingli coming in carrying a load of firewood.

Tang Mingli saw her eyelids twitch and was about to walk around her when she spoke up: "Tang Zhiqing, wait a minute."

This was one of the few times Xia Zhizhi spoke to Tang Mingli in a normal tone. Tang Mingli stood and looked at her from a distance.

She looked around and saw that no one was around, so she walked over and handed the basket of naan to Tang Mingli: "Sister Xiurong asked me to give it to you, please keep it and don't let others see it. If people knew, they would say that Sister Xiurong, a lesbian, was sticking with a gay man, which would be very unpleasant."

Seeing that Tang Mingli didn't extend his hand, she snorted: "Do you think I want to give it to you? This is Sister Xiurong's gift. Do you want to make him sad?"

Tang Mingli gritted his teeth, took the basket and put it into his room.

After finishing the basket of dry food, she clapped her hands, realizing that one should not be too idle, and decided to go to the city early tomorrow morning.

She couldn't stay at the educated youth center all the time, in case Jiang Xiurong suddenly had the urge to make her something delicious.

Jiang Xiurong's cooking skills are very homely. He can make rice or something like that, it won't be mushy at all. But he makes noodles which are simply a mess and most people can't stand it.

I don’t know if Tang Mingli will turn into Mengdan after eating that basket of naan.

The next morning, Xia Zhizhi packed her bag, carried her camera, and took a ox cart to the city.

She first took a bus around the city.

Mudanjiang city is larger than her hometown Yangshi, mainly because there are many factories, including wood factories, machinery factories, paper factories, tool factories, textile factories, etc., each of which is quite large.

The factory's profitability is estimated to be good, as can be seen from the number of bicycles on the streets.

The buildings on the street were also nice. She took the bus and passed by two Russian-style buildings, which were the family buildings of the locomotive factory. She got off the bus and took a walk around.

The locomotive factory in Mudanjiang City is currently the most important steam locomotive repair factory in the country. The factory's performance is very good, and the living standards of the people in this area are also good. She saw several aunties who went shopping for vegetables had meat in their baskets.

The eldest mother was also enthusiastic. Seeing that she had been looking around, she called out, "Big sister, are you looking for someone? What's your name? Tell me so I can see if I recognize you!"

Xia Zhizhi smiled awkwardly. She knew that people in Northeast China were warm and welcoming, but she didn't expect them to be so warm and enthusiastic. She lied, "I made an appointment with my classmate. She asked me to wait for her here."

The eldest mother couldn't help but mutter: "You young people have nothing to do at home, so why don't you help with the housework? You always run out to make trouble. The one in my family is also... day after day..."

Xia Zhizhi didn't want to listen to her nagging, so she trotted away.

She wandered around several nearby family buildings and finally went to the coal mine.

He raised the camera in his hand to the gatekeeper and said nonsense to him: "Master, I am a reporter from the South China Daily. I want to interview Section Chief Zhang Ming of our coal field. Please let him know for me."

She never fights a battle without preparation, and she has already made inquiries in advance.

After saying that, she touched Bao Qinjian's cigarette and passed it over.

She exchanged all the cigarette coupons in her hand for cigarettes, which were not always available at Daqianmen, and she also bought some other cheap cigarettes.

It's not that she suddenly became generous, this pack of cigarettes is only 8 cents, so she doesn't feel bad about giving it away. She thinks she may need this master again in the future, so she's trying to establish a good relationship with him first.

The master held a cigarette and enthusiastically asked her to stay in the reception room: "Wait here for a while."

I didn’t remember a single word about what daily newspaper or what interview it was. I went in and knocked on the office door: “Chief Zhang, there’s a photographer outside looking for you.”

The production manager of the coal yard was named Zhang Ming, who was in his 40s. He was drinking tea from an enamel mug. When he heard the words, he looked up and thought about it. He really couldn't understand why the person who took the photo wanted to see him.

I was too lazy to waste my brain cells and said, "Just let him in."

Their coal mine is not very big and there is no coal production nearby. All the coal is brought in from other places. They select it, process it, and then supply it to factories and residents.

The front row is an office, and behind the office is a large space with a lot of coal piled up on the open space.

The larger pieces of coal roll down to the bottom, and the rest are coal faces that cannot be burned. Due to the production process, the best way is to mix some yellow mud into it to make honeycomb coal.

As soon as Xia Zhizhi entered the office, she rushed to Zhang Ming, held his hand and shook it vigorously.

"Chief Zhang, I've heard a lot about you. I finally get to meet you today!"

Zhang Ming was a little confused. What did this girl want to do?

Xia Zhizhi said, "Chief Zhang, I am a reporter for the South China Daily. I am currently working in Xinglong Commune to support rural construction. These articles are all written by me."

She took her own clippings from her small bag and handed them over.

Zhang Ming took it and looked through it.