The products of Xifeng brand are exactly the same as those of Jinjiang brand, but the price is much lower. It is more obvious that this factory produces high imitation products. The most expensive product is the Guangzhou Shuangjian brand product. The price is 46 yuan.
"Which one do you like? I'll take it off for you to try."
Zhou Wenzhong shook his head and replied: "Thank you, I didn't bring enough money. I'll buy it next time."
"Okay, just watch."
"Forget it, you can't even pull it out after looking at it. Why are the Double Swords cards so expensive?"
"Is this expensive? You only need to press it once for the Double Swords card to fully inflate your energy. If you look at other ones, such as this one and this one, you have to press them 3 or 4 times to fully inflate your energy. They are expensive.
It’s expensive for a reason. If you want to buy it, I recommend you to buy the Double Sword brand. Not only is it of good quality, but more importantly, it matches the Pioneer brand bullets best.”
"Okay, I'll remember it and I'll come back to you to buy it. I forgot to ask you, do I need a gun license?"
"Hahaha... this is just a toy! If you want a gun license, go to the Palace of Culture and take a look, and a 6-year-old kid is running around with it, what? Are you going to issue a gun license to a child? Hahaha...
"
"How many meters can it hit at most?"
"50 meters high. It's enough for you to kill sparrows."
"Okay, let's go. I'll come find you next time."
Zhou Wenzhong stopped wandering around, went to the cashier and gave money. He returned to the cotton counter with three tickets and received the black cotton cloth he bought. It was also wrapped with a newspaper and tied with a rope.
"Comrade, how do you sell this hooked awl?"
"Wooden handle or iron handle?"
"Wooden handle."
"4 cents."
"Does this hemp rope need to be twisted?"
"You bought it to make shoes, right? There is this kind of hemp rope with two strands tied together. You can just take it and use it. No need to twist or rub it."
"Okay, give me a roll."
"Want buttons?"
"No, the kick I made doesn't need buttons."
"One roll of hemp rope is enough for you to make 4 pairs of shoes. A size 6 long needle goes well with this kind of hemp rope. It costs 1 cent a piece. Just get two. If the needle gets damaged, it will save you another trip."
"OK."
"The total is 6 cents and 2 cents. Go and pay over there."
"good."
Zhou Wenzhong went to the toll office again to pay. If you throw away the money for buying an awl, it would have cost 2 cents and 2 cents. Cloth ends cannot be counted. No one is as luxurious as him. He used new cotton cloth to make shoes and found some rag ends to break.
For clothes, just cut them. For starch, you can count on 2 taels of white flour at most, which is 4 cents. In total, 5 pairs of cloth shoes cost less than 3 cents. If you draw hemp rope and rub it yourself, the hemp rope will cost you only 3 cents.
I saved money again. I finished the shoes and threw them into the space. They can be worn in a month. I don’t know how many pairs I can make during this period.
25 minutes later, Zhou Wenzhong returned to the Erliang Station while chewing biscuits "crunchingly" in his mouth.
"Brother Zhong, where did you go at noon?"
Zhou Wenzhong patted his belly and replied: "Buy some cloth and prepare to make some pairs of shoes. By the way, I will also buy some aniseed materials. I will have to make banquet noodles on the 26th day of the lunar calendar! I have to use them all. My pet is still alive.
?"
"Living well in the kitchen."
Under Ma Erbao's puzzled gaze, Zhou Wenzhong walked into the kitchen, picked up the white porcelain bowl, opened the cage cloth, and took a look at his pet.
"Well, I'm doing well."
After finishing speaking, he reached into his arms, grabbed a handful of white flour from the space and sprinkled it on it. After pinching the yeast, he covered it with a cloth and sprinkled some water.
He walked to the stove and squatted on the ground, picked up a wooden stick and poked it a few times, shoveled a shovel into the coals and threw it in. Finally, he sat his casserole on the fire, poured water in, and the ratio of white flour to corn flour was 2
:1. Use a chopstick to stir in the casserole. No dough should appear. It must be completely dispersed until the water in the casserole dries up and the dough becomes a paste.
"Brother Zhong, you're not using this to make paste, are you?"
"if not?"
"Good guy! Can't you just beat it with newspapers and cardboard boxes? This is grain! It's all fine grain!"
Ma Erbao had a pity expression on his face, walked to the stove, picked up his chopsticks and stirred the pot a few times, then put the chopsticks in his mouth, rubbed the chopsticks, and pursed his lips to taste the paste.
"It smells so good! You are so wasteful! If my aunt sees you being so extravagant later, she will definitely whip you."
Zhou Wenzhong pointed to the headband on his forehead and said, "I have no mother!"
"Danglang..."
Ma Erbao dropped his chopsticks into the pot and walked over to Zhou Wenzhong to take a look.
"When did it happen?"
"Last night."
"It's so sudden. Brother Zhong, why didn't you tell me earlier? How old is your aunt?"
"Less than 40 years old."
"Look! You're gone at such a young age. Brother Zhong, please be patient. Everyone has this time. It doesn't matter whether it's early or late. They're all blessings."
Zhou Wenzhong nodded, didn't say much, and continued to stir the casserole.
"Brother Zhong, do you need help with anything at home? You're welcome, just let me know if you need help."
"There is really something right in front of me, and I need your help."
"you say."
"Please help me bring over the wooden board we use to pull the sacks. I will have to paint the pulp later. You can help me clean the board again. It's best to help me find a pair of big scissors."
"No problem, you're busy, I'll go now."
"good."
Ma Erbao ran into the grain warehouse like a house on fire and picked up the dusty wooden board on the ground. As soon as he walked to the door, he saw him sitting on a sack, dangling his legs, holding big scissors in his hand, cutting
Zhang Xiufang with the character [loyalty].
[For example, when burning incense and worshiping gods, there are three incense sticks. In this era until the late 1970s, under the self-portrait, there were three characters of loyalty posted. The word loyalty was used as the incense.]
"Are you still in the mood to hum songs?"
"Um?"
Zhang Xiufang looked at Ma Erbao with a puzzled look. Is this kid crazy today?
"Bring it to you."
Ma Erbao snatched the scissors from Zhang Xiufang's hand and carried the board out of the grain warehouse, leaving Zhang Xiufang with a confused look on her face.
"Crazy! Crazy! Everyone is crazy! They are grabbing things on my head!"
Zhang Xiufang jumped down from the sack angrily. The paper-cutting in her hand was clenched into a ball. She raised her hand and was about to throw it away. Then she quickly put her hand down. She looked around to make sure no one had seen it. She took a deep breath and patted it.
He patted his chest, turned around and ran out to chase Ma Erbao.
Zhou Wenzhong, who was still busy on the stove in the kitchen, finally waited for the wooden board.
"Dip some water and brush it clean. Is there still my writing on it?"
Ma Erbao stood up the wooden board to show it and replied: "It has been smoothed a long time ago. I will go and clean the wooden board first. These are big scissors. I will put a stool for you."
"Well, where did you get it?"
"Zeng asked, just go about your business."
"Gudududu..."
The paste was boiling in the casserole. After Zhou Wenzhong heard the sound, he quickly took the casserole off the fire and placed it on the ground to cool.
"boom!"
The wooden door of the kitchen was kicked open by Zhang Xiufang. She walked into the room and shouted loudly: "Ma Erbao! Where are my scissors?"
"Well, why are you so angry?"
"It's none of your business! Just stay there, I haven't asked you yet, what are you dressing up like?"
Ma Erbao walked up to Zhang Xiufang and muttered in a low voice: "Brother Zhong is gone. It happened last night."
When Zhang Xiufang heard this, she didn't care about being angry, and even looked at Zhou Wenzhong apologetically,
"Well, I don't know the situation. Just use the scissors. Are you planning to make shoes?"
"Um."
Zhang Xiufang thought about it and realized that it was right, Zhou Wenzhong should indeed make a pair of white shoes.
"Well...do you think there's anything you need help with?"
"No, I can do it myself."
Zhou Wenzhong was sitting on the bench smoking a cigarette without looking up at Zhang Xiufang. He kept staring at the movements of Ma Erbao's hands.
"Then...then what kind of work do you have to do today? Go home and do some work. I'll just tell the people at the grain station for you. Who doesn't have something urgent at home, right? I'm sure they will understand you.
"
"Oh... let's take it one step at a time. Thank you both for your concern."
"Brother Zhong, what you said is meaningless!"
"It's just that you forgot that you invited us both to have snacks a few days ago? The days have to go on, how about I ask for a few days off for you?"
"No, thank you. We can't delay the production tasks. No matter how big the personal matters are, they are all trivial."
Zhang Xiufang nodded and squatted on the ground to help Ma Erbao wash the boards. The two of them just wanted to help Zhou Wenzhong with practical actions.
"It's a cloudy day today, so we can just make shoe soles in the kitchen. It's okay if we can't get out of the sun. The temperature in this room is high and it can dry them out."
"Um."
The two placed the wooden boards on the two stools. Zhang Xiufang picked up a roll of black cotton cloth belonging to Zhou Wenzhong and blinked, somewhat confused about the situation.
Ma Erbao came up to her and explained in a low voice: "Maybe it's the custom of Brother Zhong's hometown. Don't ask."
"Then... I have to ask, this is new cotton. Do you use this as the sole of your shoes?"
"It is used not only for shoe soles, but also for uppers and uppers. Just make single shoes."
"Understood."
Zhang Xiufang walked to Zhou Wenzhong and squatted down, covering her nose with one hand, stretched out her right hand to point at the cotton shoes on Zhou Wenzhong's feet, and began to measure them one by one.
"There's no need to waste this matter. I'll just take off the shoes and measure them later."
"Stop it! If you take off your shoes, will this room still be inhabitable? I've already measured it, and you can smell it through your shoes. I won't say any more."
Zhang Xiufang picked up the scissors and pointed at a piece of newspaper, and finally cut out a piece the size of a shoe sole.
Zhou Wenzhong attached the cotton cloth to the wooden board, used scissors to cut off the excess part and tear it off hard, and repeated these actions until the wooden board was covered with black cotton cloth.
Pick up the casserole, use a spoon to scoop out a spoonful of paste, and spread it flatly on the cotton cloth.
"You two touch the ends of the cloth on both sides so that the rug can be spread out evenly."
Three people working together is very efficient. After applying two layers of black cotton cloth, Ma Erbao placed the wooden board in front of the stove for drying.
"How many pairs of shoes are you going to make?"
Zhang Xiufang asked while sewing the shoe panels.
"You can do as much as you can."
"How many layers should I make? I would say 4 layers is enough. It will break after one month of wearing it. It's useless to make more layers. What's more, your feet are still long. It's a waste to make too many layers. It's just a single shoe.
It can only be worn in spring and autumn. What about the side straps? They should also be in black?"
Zhou Wenzhong took off his headgear and threw it to Zhang Xiufang.
"Use this to cut a strip of cloth 7 centimeters wide and wrap it around the edge of the shoe sole."
"A strip of cloth two fingers wide is enough."
"Anything is fine."
"Ma Erbao, go and move some big bricks to lay down the foundation later."
"knew!"
Ma Erbao ran out to look for bricks, while Zhou Wenzhong adjusted the position of the wooden board in front of the stove. From this moment on, the commander was changed to Zhang Xiufang.