"Mom, come in and tell me if you have anything to say."
Yang Xinghua sat on the bed side by side with her, looking at the design in her hand and sighing with emotion, "Momo is so promising, we are all very happy, but it's a pity that we can't be with you.
Zhiqiu, your father and I don’t have many years left to live. What will you do on your own in the future? When I think of this, I feel heavy and uncomfortable in my heart.”
Saying that, Yang Xinghua lowered her head and wiped away her tears.
Yang Xinghua is 65 years old this year, and her hair is almost white, but she still has to worry about her daughter. Huang Zhiqiu feels uncomfortable.
Her daughter is now married, and it’s time for her to let go of the people and things in the past.
Huang Zhiqiu breathed out softly, "Mom, I will think about it carefully when I finish the list Momo asked for, okay?"
For so many years, her daughter had never let go, but today she suddenly let go. Yang Xinghua was inevitably surprised.
"real?"
"Well, really. Mom, I didn't think about it before because I was afraid of wronging Xiaoyao. Now that Xiaoyao has gone back to her biological parents and Momo has a home, I have nothing to worry about. If there is a suitable candidate,
I am also willing to start a new family with him."
Yang Xinghua cried with joy and held her daughter's hand, "Okay, okay, then I'll let people keep an eye on it first. If there is a suitable one, you can meet her first. If it works, just get along. If it doesn't work, forget it."
Huang Zhiqiu hesitated and said, "Okay."
After a short while, Huang Kailin and Huang Jianjun, father and son, came back dragging several old and fine bamboos.
After that, the family began to divide the work.
Huang Kailin shaved off the protruding bamboo joints on the bamboo body with a knife, and Huang Jianjun used a saw to cut off the head and tail of the bamboo, leaving only the round and well-proportioned section in the middle. This way the bamboo braid will be the strongest and most durable.
Liu Zhi and Huang Zhiqiu went to the woodshed to pick up some straw and wheat oranges, ready to kill the bamboo strips later.
Fresh bamboo has a lot of water and is prone to decay and deformation. It also breeds bacteria and microorganisms, leading to mildew and insect infestation. Curing is the use of natural drying or baking to remove the water and humidity in fresh bamboo so that it can be stored longer.
.
Huang Kailin and Huang Jianjun are both good at bamboo weaving, and they processed several bamboos into evenly wide and thin strips in less than half an hour.
Liu Zhi, Huang Zhiqiu and Yang Xinghua put the bamboo strips with bamboo fragrance on the fire to bake.
Wait until the green color on the surface of the bamboo strips is baked into yellow-green, and then put it in a ventilated place to dry to dissipate the fire smell in the bamboo strips.
It takes at least 24 hours to dry, but everyone couldn't stay idle, so they found some unused bamboo strips at home and started practicing.
Among the entire Huang family, Huang Kailin is the most skilled in bamboo weaving skills. He had finished weaving a three-layered rice dumpling box before evening.
Seeing that Huang Kailin had finished knitting, others put down their work and gathered around.
"Dad's craftsmanship is good. This weaving is exactly the same as the picture Momo drew."
Huang Kailin sat aside with his golden sword, his face full of pride, "I followed your great master to the mountains to chop bamboo when I was 7 years old. I started weaving straw mats when I was 8 years old. I was able to stand alone by the time I was 10 years old. If even such a small child
If I can’t make up anything, then my life for decades has been in vain.”
Huang Jianjun chuckled, "That's right, Dad, you are the backbone of our family."
Huang Kailin rolled his eyes at his son, but he couldn't stop the smile on his face.
Huang Zhiqiu took the rice dumpling box from his elder brother's hand and looked at it carefully, his slender eyebrows frowning slightly.
Everyone was laughing, but she was the only one who was worried. Huang Jianjun couldn't help but wonder.
"Zhiqiu, what do you think of this rice dumpling box made by dad?"
"Of course Dad's craftsmanship is good, but..."
Huang Zhiqiu raised his eyes and looked at his family, "Momo has taken a big order for us. A total of 10,000 pieces of goods have to be shipped. Dad can't do it alone."
Hearing this, the Huang family members woke up one after another.
After the reform, a large number of laborers in the village flocked to the city to make a living. There were not even ten bamboo weavers like Huang Kailin in the entire Shili Township.
If there are sufficient materials, a veteran like Huang Kailin would need nearly three hours to weave a rice dumpling box. Even if he weaves from morning to night, he can only weave four at most.
Even if we count from now on, the delivery time is less than three months. To complete the weaving of 10,000 rice dumpling boxes, at least nearly 30 veterans like Huang Kailin will be needed, not counting bamboo cutting and scraping.
羾, the labor required to complete these processes.
"I made a rough estimate. Even if we include our own people, we will have to hire at least 40 workers. With so many people, factory space and food will be a big problem."
After hearing Huang Zhiqiu's words, the whole family suddenly felt troubled.
Huang Jianjun said: "Why don't we let them make it up at home, and then bring it over for delivery after finishing it."
"No, if you let them make it at home, it's hard to guarantee the quality. Take this bamboo strip, for example, the width, thickness, and color need to be consistent. If you let them make it at home, there will definitely be uneven thickness, and the resulting rice dumplings will be uneven.
Even if the box doesn’t meet the requirements, will you accept it or not?
If we accept it, we won't be able to deliver it, if we don't accept it, it will cause disputes and conflicts. Only by gathering people in one place can we more easily supervise and control quality."
Huang Kailin nodded in agreement, "Zhiqiu is right, Momo finally helped us find such a way to make money. We can't embarrass her, we must complete it with quality and quantity."
Huang Jianjun couldn't bear to explain: "If you want to gather dozens of people in one place, you need to build at least a factory as big as a production team's grain drying field, and it is best to have two floors, with the upper floor used for storage.
The finished product is protected from mold and moisture.”
Hearing her husband's words, Liu Zhi couldn't help but click her tongue, "Oh my god, how much will that cost?"
Huang Zhiqiu: "First we have to ask the village committee to approve land. If we don't have space, it's useless even if we have money."
Liu Zhi: "Our factory can be regarded as generating income for the village. The village committee shouldn't be in trouble, right?"
Huang Jianjun: "It also depends on who the income is generated for. If the people in the village committee are not good for you, can they control your life and death?"
For a moment, everyone was a little discouraged, and the atmosphere suddenly became dull.
After a while, Huang Jianjun came up with Ai Ai's suggestion, "Dad, how about we ask Momo for some advice? She has read a lot and is knowledgeable. She must have more ideas and connections than us."
Huang Kailin hesitated for a long time, then raised his eyes to look at his daughter, "Zhiqiu, why don't you call Momo and ask?"
Although he didn't want to cause trouble to his daughter, he couldn't think of any other way at the moment, so Huang Zhiqiu had no choice but to nod in agreement.
The next day, Huang Zhiqiu set out before dawn. He was worried that it would be unsafe for her to walk on the mountain road alone, so Liu Zhi even came to accompany her.
The 20-mile mountain road took almost three hours to walk, and it was exactly 9:30 when we arrived in the town.