The Siheyuan of the Young Educated Youth

Someone specializes in filtering this slurry and then waiting for it to settle.

Put the precipitated fine powder into an extra-large basin with a stand, add alum in a certain proportion, add an appropriate amount of boiling water, and start stirring with a rake.

The people who beat the flour are all strong men, so they have to be quick. If they can’t beat the flour anymore, they will be replaced immediately and the flour will continue to be beaten until the flour can’t be beaten anymore.

Then add the flour and dough. Several strong men circle around the steel basin, kneading the flour and dough as they go. While kneading, a master uses his hands to cut the dough to see how well it is kneaded.

The dough became stickier and stickier as they kneaded it, and it was difficult to pull it out with their hands. Several men were shouting slogans as they kneaded it, and they were sweating profusely.

Don't stop until the master says it's okay.

The next step is to leak the powder.

A rope was tied to the beam and hung down, with a ladle for leaking flour tied to the bottom, and under the ladle was a large pot of boiling water.

The master kneaded the flour into a ball and put it in a ladle. He held the handle of the ladle with one hand and patted it evenly with the other hand. The flour then leaked into the boiling water pot through the holes in the ladle and was cooked in the boiling water. Another person picked it up with a wooden stick, cooled it in cold water, and then took it out to dry.

The craftsmanship of the master is very good. The powder is dispensed evenly and long without any powder lumps.

Qi Feifei walked around inside and saw that everyone was busy, so he went over to talk to a few sisters-in-law who were washing potatoes.

"Sister-in-law, you guys are amazing. You can peel potatoes so quickly without even watching. How many potatoes do you peel in a day?"

A sister-in-law wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt said: "I'm used to shaving every day. I have to shave at least 700 to 800 kilograms a day."

Qi Feifei showed an envious and admiring look.

"Your welfare must be very good, right?"

A plump sister-in-law said: "This is a sideline job of the production team. It means earning work points, which means we can get labor protection, gloves, boots, and work clothes." She said so, but she couldn't hide the pride on her face. Although they didn't use them when they were working, they were not something that ordinary farmers could have.

Qi Feifei: "You guys are really lucky. We don't have any side jobs there. Apart from farming, we can only pick mushrooms and so on. We rely on the production team to distribute grain all year round."

Sister-in-law with pink half sleeves: "Why should you worry as a girl? Just find a partner and get married."

Qi Feifei: “Ah~! Ouch!” She covered her face with her hands.

She had many children and grandchildren in her previous life, so why would she blush? But she had to pretend!

In this day and age, if a girl doesn’t blush, she is definitely an anomaly and people will talk about her for the rest of her life.

The chubby sister-in-law pretended to say to the pink half-sleeved sister-in-law: "Xiao Lan, don't be so blunt, she is still a girl."

Sister-in-law with pink half sleeves: "I am serious here. Getting married is a lifelong event. You have to pick a good place and a good family."

Qi Feifei rubbed his face, not sure whether he wanted to rub off the red spots or to ease the embarrassment.

"Sister-in-law is right."

Abruptly changing the subject.

"You guys are so busy, you don't have time to go pick mountain products, right?"

The chubby sister-in-law said: "What are you picking? We are all so busy that we don't have time to cook. The old lady is taking care of us at home. There is nothing we can do even if we want to eat."

Qi Feifei: "The hazel mushrooms are especially good this year. Next time I come over, I'll bring some for you to try."

Sister-in-law with pink half sleeves: "Girl, what's the matter?"

It is impossible for people to give things to others when they first meet for no reason.

Qi Feifei: "To be honest, I am an educated youth. We don't have potatoes to exchange for vermicelli this year. I'll use hazel mushrooms instead. Do you think it's okay?"

The chubby sister-in-law and the sister-in-law with pink short sleeves looked at each other, and then looked at the other sisters-in-law.

He lowered his voice and said, "The flour in the flour mill cannot be exchanged like this. Except for the flour exchanged for potatoes, all other flour must be sold to the government."

Then he pulled Qi Feifei closer and whispered in her ear, "If you want less, I can exchange some with you from my own home."

Sit up straight and change your tone to normal: "You are a young educated youth, it is not easy to leave your hometown.

If you eat it alone, I'll give you a pound and a half of it.

Next time you come, I'll ask my mother-in-law to get it for you. My home is at the east end of the village, the second house on the front street.

My last name is Yao, and everyone knows Yao Chunli."

Qi Feifei: "Thank you so much, sisters-in-law. It will take about ten days for our team to come and pull vermicelli. I will bring mushrooms to you sisters-in-law by then."

Qi Feifei was chatting happily when Aunt Liu came over.

When Aunt Liu came, she was in Wang Zhongping's car. After she got off the car, Qi Feifei helped unload the potatoes. After the work was done, old lady Wang pulled her aside and talked to her about introducing a girl to her son.

After finally getting away, he quickly came to find Qi Feifei.

She still felt that Qi Feifei would be more pleasing to her as a daughter-in-law.

She told her son about it last time, but he still wasn't able to talk to Qi Feifei, so she had to slowly help him win over someone else.

Aunt Liu: "Fei Fei, let's get in the car. It'll be time to leave soon."

Qi Feifei agreed, said goodbye to her sisters-in-law, and then came out with Aunt Liu.

Outside, Li Guiying and Old Mrs. Wang were chatting with the accountant, asking if there were any good-looking guys around, wondering if they were planning on matchmaking for someone.

The villages with powder houses were much better off than the Toudaogou Brigade. It was also a good thing to be able to get married.

Aunt Liu led Qi Feifei out and went to Zheng Dazhu's carriage.

Zheng Dazhui was chatting with Old Man Zheng.

"Master (second tone), were you afraid when you were fighting bandits?"

Old Man Zheng: "Of course I am afraid. The landlords have watchtowers built on their walls.

Big bandits usually don’t rob poor people, because poor people have nothing to rob. They send messages to the landlords, or kidnap them directly, and ask them to pay a certain amount of money. If they pay, they won’t destroy the kilns. They only come if they don’t pay.”

Zheng Dazhu: "Have you really been here?"

Old Man Zheng: "I have been here and fought with them. I even hit one of them. They are mainly trying to scare people. But they are indeed more ruthless than ordinary people.

Generally speaking, unless you really risk your life, who doesn't want to live a good life?

They had a better life than us, the farmhands and guards. They could get married after robbing money. They didn't count the money they spent, because they would rob again after spending it.

Many landlords gave money after being threatened.”

Zheng Dazhu: "Is the gun in your hand the one left over from that time?"

Old Man Zheng: "The one in my hand is just a homemade hunting rifle. The one your uncle has is a Type 56, which is a good rifle."

Zheng Dazhu: "The militia also used it when shooting, it was really good, but they put it away after shooting."

Old Man Zheng: "You want a gun?"

Zheng Dazhu rubbed his head and said, "It's rare, but it's too expensive. My wife can't give it up. She doesn't want me to go hunting."

Old Man Zheng: "Live a peaceful life with a family and don't do anything dangerous."

Zheng Dazhu: "Yes, my uncle has not gone hunting in recent years because he doesn't want people to be in danger."

Old Man Zheng: "Well, nowadays, we shoot every year, and the wild animals all move to the mountains. As long as the wild animals don't come down the mountain, it's fine. If there are wolves nearby, your uncle will definitely take action."

Qi Feifei listened to the two chatting, her eyes sparkling.

Aunt Liu wanted to talk to her, but seeing her like this, she held back.

Qi Feifei turned around and asked her in a low voice: "Aunt Liu, can you shoot a gun?"

Aunt Liu: "I only know how to beat him, but I've never really beaten him."

Qi Feifei knew that Aunt Liu had a gun, but she only used it to scare people and to prevent people from climbing over the walls.

I have never gone hunting, not because I don’t want to eat meat or sell it for money, but because I don’t dare to take risks. A homemade rifle can easily explode, which can be fatal.

That's how Aunt Liu lost her husband.

Aunt Liu: "You are curious about everything. Shooting a gun is no joke. Stay away from it if you see it."

Qi Feifei: "Aunt Liu, I know. I'm just asking."

Everyone was chatting and laughing, except Wang Zhongping, who was still thinking about his newly-wed wife and wanted to go back as soon as possible.

He ran into the yard and called out Old Wang Po and Li Guiying, and then everyone went back.