The educated youth was reborn and wanted to disappear, but he was locked into a military marriage.

Thirty-six rolls of cloth were weighed, and the coarse cloth was weighed on the scale. Three hundred and sixty kilograms was still a bit high. Yan Yimin thought that she was higher than the three cents in the shoe factory, and the polyester was included, so it was calculated as three hundred and sixty kilograms. Including fifty pounds of cotton, the total is more than 210 yuan.

Zhu Xiaomin took out the 100 yuan she had brought, plus the money from the eggs and dates that Chen Xudong had just collected, the total was more than 150 yuan. The remaining 60 yuan was written in an IOU and given to the staff along with 50 kilograms of cotton coupons.

Chen Xudong felt her flesh aching when she saw it. This was four months' egg money, and she spent it all at once to buy such a large amount of moldy cloth.

Zhu Xiaomin was very happy and urged him to load the cloth into the car. The cotton was carefully wrapped and she leaned on it. She got in the car and went straight back.

After the tractor left the county town, the wind blew from the front and the smell of mold was stronger. Chen Xudong couldn't bear it and couldn't help but ask: "Xiaomin, this cloth is moldy, why did you buy it?"

Zhu Xiaomin's eyes brightened, she stretched out her hand and patted it and said, "Did you know that the one hundred yuan I originally prepared can only buy more than six horses here, that is to say, two hundred yuan can buy thirteen horses, but Now we are thirty-six horses, and we haven’t asked for cloth tickets yet, it’s just like picking up for free.”

"But, what is it used for?" Chen Xudong still didn't understand.

"Making clothes and quilts." Zhu Xiaomin smiled, "You haven't seen that many people's quilts have exploded."

Exploding means that the quilt cover has been torn, exposing the cotton inside.

Chen Xudong scratched his head and said helplessly: "But the smell is too strong."

"It can be washed off." Zhu Xiaomin smiled.

Chen Xudong looked back and expressed doubts.

The tractor stopped at the edge of the threshing floor. When Zhu Xiaomin saw Song Zhian and others drying grain, he waved and said with a smile: "Send the things back first."

"What did you bring back?" Several people came out and saw a lot of cloth piled in the tractor. They were surprised and asked, "Not buying cotton? What is this?"

She talked about buying cotton yesterday.

Zhu Xiaomin smiled: "I happened to come across these things, so I bought them together." He urged, "Send the things back first, and talk to you later if you have anything to say."

"Okay!" Three people came out. Together with Chen Xudong, one person found a pole and tied the cloth with hemp rope, one on each side of the pole.

On the threshing floor, there were not only educated youths, but also other commune members and some women.

Seeing so much fabric at once, a woman immediately asked: "Zhu Zhiqing, where did you get so much fabric?"

Zhu Xiaomin smiled: "It's the county supply and marketing cooperative. These cloths are moldy, so sell them to me cheaper."

"Is it cheap?" When several women heard this, they dropped their tools and ran over, pulled out a piece, touched it, and started talking about it.

These cloths are full of mold and cannot be sold in the city, but in the village, everyone hears the word "cheap".

Thirty-six rolls of cloth, plus fifty pounds of cotton, were quickly tied up with four people and four picks.

Zhu Xiaomin took the egg basket, said hello to the sisters-in-law and ladies, and followed a few others across the river back to the educated youth spot.

In the educated youth spot, Luo Tingyuan and Luo Ye were a little surprised to see them suddenly picking up a lot of things, and hurried over to help.

Zhu Xiaomin smiled: "Put it on the table first, and we will clean it up slowly." He first took the cotton and put it in his dormitory.

Chen Xudong went to get his own money, took it to the brigade headquarters to pay the account, and left with three other people.

Zhu Xiaomin asked the father and son to help spread the thirty-six rolls of cloth on the table to dry, and then went to think about the rooms.

There is a granary and a warehouse in the front yard. Those cloths are obviously not suitable for storage in the granary, but the warehouse is full of debris. Not only is there not much space, but there is also a lot of dust.

Next is the house where Shi Meijun and Nie Yifei lived. After the two moved out, everyone cleaned out the debris, repainted the mud, and even washed the mats with water several times.

Ah!

Zhu Xiaomin pointed: "I'll put the cloth there later. Let it dry now."

The Luo family father and son were also stunned as they looked at a table full of moldy cloth.

In the past years, they didn't know how much effort it would take to get some cloth, but they had never seen so much cloth, let alone so much moldy cloth.

When they came back from work in the evening, everyone was a little surprised to see a table full of cloths. Zhu Xiaomin said with a smile: "With these cloths, we can wear new warm cotton clothes this year."

He directed everyone to move the cloth into that room and put it away, and then made arrangements: "Starting tomorrow, we will slowly clean the cloth out, starting with the fine cotton cloth, and then remove the mold spots."

"Clean it out?" Miao Shiwen said helplessly, "Xiaomin, how much soap do I need to buy?"

"Of course you can't use soap." Zhu Xiaomin said, "These cloths are not too dirty, they just became moldy after being soaked in water. We don't need to send the ashes from the fire every day for retting. We stir them with hot water and then let them clarify. It’s perfect for washing these cloths.”

Song Zhian was surprised: "Is it okay?"

Xie Chengzhi nodded: "Plant ash is alkaline, so it can indeed be used. It seems that ancient people used vegetable ash water to wash clothes."

"Is it really possible?" Song Zhian murmured.

Miao Shiwen said with a smile: "Soap is also made from plant ash water and oil."

Zhu Xiaomin took the opportunity to teach: "You see, this is the difference between learning chemistry well and learning it poorly. If you don't study, you will think about eating all day long."

Song Zhian scratched the back of his head: "Then...can't I take responsibility and contribute?"

Several people looked at it funny, but feeling the cool autumn wind and thinking about the soft and warm new cotton-padded clothes, their hearts were filled with anticipation. While several female educated youths were cooking, several people took buckets and ran over. Carry water.

No matter how you wash it, it cannot be separated from water.

When it was time to eat, everyone talked about the cost of these things. Miao Shiwen suggested: "In previous years, we couldn't make much money, and we had to support our families. If we buy something, whoever has it will use it first. This year, everyone will get a share." If we don’t have enough money, why don’t we also open a public account.”

"What public account?" Zhang Qiaomei asked.

Miao Shiwen said: "Just like these cloths and cotton, Xiaomin bought them to make cotton clothes for everyone. She can't be allowed to produce them herself."

Xing Qingsheng was the first to nod: "Yes, it adds up to more than 200 yuan. If we share it, it's only a few yuan."

Miao Shiwen said with a smile: "After that, there are other things like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. It's troublesome every time. I just want everyone to take out 20 yuan each and put it in the public account. Every time I buy something for public use, , just come out from here, just write down the accounts every time."

Song Zhian nodded when he heard this: "This is good, this is convenient, otherwise it would cost a few cents to buy a pound of salt, and everyone would have to share it, which would be very annoying."

"Yes!" Everyone nodded immediately, and someone had already gone back to get the money.

Zhang Qiaomei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but it was obvious that someone had already handed money to Miao Shiwen. She finally held back and went back to get the money, watching Miao Shiwen write down her name.