Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

Gao Junsong said: "The beets grown by the brigades around us are all of the same variety. When we produce sugar here, I will take people to the surrounding brigades to buy beets."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Uncle Captain, it's no use just making candy, we have to sell it."

Tian Dazhuang smiled and said, "Don't worry about the sales. We will arrange it! As long as we have sugar, we won't have to worry about not being able to sell it."

An hour passed quickly. Yan Jiekuang took a look at the situation in the tank and felt that it was almost done. He found tools and began to filter the beet juice in the water tank. With the help of Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang, the filtering step was completed quickly. Then lime was used for decolorization. The three of them worked for more than half an hour and finally entered the last step of crystallization. Without modern equipment, only traditional methods could be used. The sugar juice was poured into the pot and slowly boiled on the stove until the water was almost dried up. Yan Jiekuang then extinguished the fire in the furnace, and then scooped the sugar in the pot onto the pre-prepared dustpan and took it outside to dry.

Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang looked at the sugar in the dustpan, and both of them smiled innocently. Gao Junsong asked, "Old Tian, ​​do you think this can be done?!"

Tian Dazhuang replied: "Yes! Of course I can."

"Come! Come! Come! Try the sugar water we made ourselves!" At this time, Yan Jiekuang came out of the kitchen with four cups of water for washing pots. Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang turned around at the same time when they heard Yan Jiekuang's words. Gao Junsong smiled and took a cup of sugar water from the tray in Yan Jiekuang's hand and said, "It's time to taste this." After that, Gao Junsong took a sip of the sugar water in the cup, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Not bad! This is the taste. It tastes the same as the white sugar bought from the supply and marketing cooperative."

Tian Dazhuang couldn't wait to pick up the cup and take a sip. The taste was really the same as the sugar water he drank before, but it was probably because Yan Jiekuang put too much sugar in it. Su Zihui also picked up the cup at this time. However, Su Zihui was not as bold as Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang who drank half of the cup directly. She just took a small sip. Su Zihui nodded with satisfaction and said, "It seems that I have not worked in vain today."

Gao Junsong asked, "Yan Zhiqing, how many beets did you use today?!"

Yan Jiekuang replied: "I haven't weighed it exactly, but I estimate it's about thirty kilograms."

Tian Dazhuang said, "Yan Zhiqing, we all know the process. Can you give us some of the candy you made today?!"

Yan Jiekuang understood what Tian Dazhuang meant and said, "I'll keep one can, and you and the captain can take the rest. If it's not enough, I'll make some more."

"Enough! Enough! After the busy farming season is over, it's time to put it on the agenda. But before that, there are still some procedures to be completed. These candies are the stepping stone to complete the procedures." After saying that, Gao Junsong looked at Tian Dazhuang with a smile.

Tian Dazhuang said, "I will take the sugar to the commune tomorrow. Lao Gao, the task of collecting sugar beets from other brigades will be left to you!"

"No problem!" Gao Junsong assured, patting his chest.

Yan Jiekuang reminded him with some concern: "Uncle Captain, when you harvest the beets, you must check the variety carefully. Don't harvest those with low sugar content. Otherwise, we will lose money."

"I see!" Gao Junsong agreed with a smile and asked, "Xiao Yan, how much longer do you need to let it hang out?!"

Yan Jiekuang felt the temperature of the sugar and said, "We have to wait until the sugar is completely cool before we can pack it up. Otherwise, it will easily clump together."

After waiting for another hour or so, the sugar finally cooled down. Yan Jiekuang found a small glass jar, filled it with sugar, and said, "Captain, you can take the rest!"

Tian Dazhuang looked at Yan Jiekuang like the Big Bad Wolf looking at Little Red Riding Hood and said, "Little Yan, how can such a small can be enough for you to eat?! Put more in!"

Yan Jiekuang hurriedly shook his head and said, "No need! These are enough."

"Okay! If you want some candy next time, go to the workshop and get some as soon as possible. Your team leader and I will not be polite. We'll take the dustpan with us too. I'll send you a few new ones later." After saying that, Tian Dazhuang was worried that Yan Jiekuang would suddenly change his mind, so he winked at Gao Junsong, picked up the dustpan and walked out of the yard.

Looking at the backs of Tian Dazhuang and Gao Junsong, Su Zihui couldn't help laughing and said, "Brother Jie Kuang, these two are so funny, aren't they?!"

Yan Jiekuang said: "If you switch places with them, maybe your reaction will be greater than theirs."

Yan Jiekuang originally thought that Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang would take action the next day. But he did not expect that these two people were so patient. It was not until the busy farming season was over and the public grain was paid that Tian Dazhuang and Gao Junsong began to take action. Gao Junsong led the village militia and Wu Haiwang to drive the ox cart to other brigades to collect sugar beets. Tian Dazhuang took the sugar made by Yan Jiekuang to the commune.

"Hey?! Old Tian, ​​how come you have time to come to the commune today?!" Tian Dazhuang just turned into the commune compound on his bicycle, and the commune president Ge Yunfei just came out of the office. Tian Dazhuang hurriedly got off the bike and said, "President, didn't we apply to the commune to open a brigade workshop a while ago? We haven't received a reply, so I came to ask."

Ge Yunfei said: "You just said you wanted to open a workshop. You didn't tell us what kind of workshop you wanted to open, so how can we agree?!"

Tian Dazhuang hurriedly apologized with a smile and said, "Boss, why didn't we tell you? You even mentioned the products and asked you and your comrades in the commune to taste them. I also brought everything produced in our brigade workshop today."

Ge Yunfei asked: "What does your brigade workshop produce?!"

Tian Dazhuang hurriedly took out a paper bag from his bag, opened it and said, "Boss, this is the sugar produced by our brigade workshop."

"White sugar?!" Ge Yunfei's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to take a handful of sugar from the paper bag and put it in his palm. He rubbed it a few times, then licked the sugar in his palm with his tongue. An excited smile immediately appeared on his face, and he said, "This sugar is good!" Then he asked, "What do you use to make sugar?!"

Tian Dazhuang said: "President, I can tell you other things, but I can't tell you this."

Ge Yunfei's face changed and he asked, "Why?! Are you afraid that other teams will learn from them?!"

Tian Dazhuang replied: "President, you are wronging me. I am not afraid that other teams will learn from me. Sugar production is a technical job, and the raw materials are limited. I am afraid that if I tell other teams, they will not do their job properly. After all, our primary task is to grow food. We can't lose sight of the main and secondary for the sake of sugar production, right?!"

Ge Yunfei came back to his senses at this time and said, "You are right. In this case, in order not to affect your brigade's grain production, you should hand in your technology! The commune will set up a sugar factory. In this way, nothing will be delayed."

"Wow?! So they were waiting for me here?!" Tian Dazhuang thought about it and said hurriedly, "President, it's not that our team is unwilling to hand over the technology. It's that this technology belongs to an educated youth. You know better than me what kind of people the educated youth are. And he is an educated youth from the old city."