The French fries Lin Qingqing made were different from the kind of fries you’d get from places like KFC.

She made hers with sweet potatoes, and they were sweet.

The recipe for sweet potato fries was very simple: First, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into strips. Then, place them in boiling water to cook. You don’t need to cook them for too long—just about half-done before you take them out to drain.

Next, mix flour, eggs, sugar, and water together to make a batter.

Once the batter is ready, coat the sweet potato strips in it, making sure they’re evenly coated, then fry them in hot oil.

The fries that come out are not only sweet but also have a chewy texture because they’re made with sweet potatoes.

Lin Qingqing loved these sweet potato fries in her past life.

Maybe she got tired of regular potato fries and wanted a change in flavor.

“Mom, it smells so good!” Lu Haici stood by, occasionally looking at the fire in the stove, but his attention was mostly on the food.

It smells good?

Lin Qingqing didn’t smell anything, but she knew the little guy was getting hungry. “It’ll be ready soon. After we finish, I’m going to work. Do you want to come with me, or would you rather go play with your little friends, Ji Yang and Qin Ming?”

Lu Haici thought for a moment: “I want to go play with Qin Ming and Ji Yang. I’ll come find you in the cafeteria for lunch.”

Lin Qingqing smiled: “Alright then.”

She knew the little one just wanted to show off.

She had made a lot of fries from the ten large sweet potatoes, but she didn’t make them all at once.

She only used five sweet potatoes to make the fries and planned to make the rest the next day.

The fries just out of the oil were a bit hot. Lin Qingqing picked one up, blew on it, and then handed it to Lu Haici: “Eat slowly, it’s still hot, be careful not to burn your mouth.”

Lu Haici blew on the fries a few times: “I know, I know.”

Lin Qingqing smiled, placing the rest of the fries in a container. “I’m going to leave these on the table. You can eat them, but remember, eat slowly.”

She was about to head to the cafeteria.

She was supposed to distribute the wages to Yu Xiuyou and the others in the afternoon, but there wasn’t enough time, so she would have to wait until evening.

This… was all Lu Cheng’s fault.

He could have played with his son any other time, but he had to pick this moment.

Lu Haici kept his eyes glued to the fries in the container.

He didn’t even follow Lin Qingqing when she left, but still managed to say, “Goodbye, Mommy.”

Lin Qingqing shook her head.

Every child was like this—when there’s food, parents are put aside.

She turned off the kitchen, then headed to the Third Company’s kitchen.

After Lin Qingqing left, Lu Haici stayed by the table, still staring at the fries.

Lu Haici was staring at the fries in the basket.

Not only was he staring, but he was also blowing at them with his mouth, trying to cool them down so they wouldn’t be too hot.

After blowing on them for a while, Lu Haici went to his room to grab his small backpack.

Then he picked up a prepared lunchbox and carefully placed each fry into it, one by one, before putting the lunchbox into his small backpack.

After everything was packed, he didn’t let his hands stay idle; he grabbed a few fries with each hand and left the house.

First, he went next door.

He saw that Ji Yang’s door was closed and called out loudly, “Ji Yang… Ji Yang…”

Actually, Lu Haici had a feeling Ji Yang wasn’t home.

If he were, Ji Yang would definitely have come looking for him after he returned from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Since Ji Yang wasn’t home, Lu Haici went to find Qin Ming.

In the past, Lu Haici only had Ji Yang as a friend.

If he couldn’t find Ji Yang, he would go straight home.

But now, he had other little friends.

Especially since Qin Ming had fought with him against Chen Zhou—brotherly friendship had been forged through that fight.

While eating the fries, Lu Haici bounced along on his way to Qin Ming’s house.

“Lu Haici, where are you going?” A little friend from kindergarten saw him and came running over to greet him.

Lu Haici took a bite of a fry and replied, “I’m going to find Qin Ming to play.”

“Qin Ming and Ji Yang are playing ball on the playground,” the little friend said.

“Playing ball?” Lu Haici was surprised. “What kind of ball?”

“A soccer ball! It’s the first time I’ve seen one, but Qin Ming doesn’t let us play. Do you want to go?”

“I’ll go take a look.” Lu Haici knew where the playground was.

There was a big open space at the family compound where they used to play.

“I’ll go with you,” the little friend said.

Lu Haici nodded.

“Lu Haici, what are you eating?” the little friend asked curiously.

“It’s fries, made by my mom,” Lu Haici replied.

After thinking for a moment, he handed one of the fries to the little friend.

The little friend took the fry and took a small bite.

It was crispy at first, then soft and chewy, but overall sweet in taste.

It was like… a fried dough stick, but fried dough sticks are salty. “Lu Haici, this tastes like a little fried dough stick.”

The little friend had eaten fried dough sticks before, so that’s how he made the comparison.

Lu Haici, who had also eaten fried dough sticks, agreed when he heard the little friend say that. “Yeah, it’s like a little fried dough stick, but this is called a fry.”

“Why is it called a fry?” the little friend asked curiously.

Lu Haici didn’t know why it was called a fry, but he was a thoughtful little boy, so he…

After thinking for a moment, Lu Haici came up with a suitable answer: “Because these are made from sweet potatoes, and they’re cut into strips, so they’re called fries.”

Even though the little boy ate slowly, each fry was so small that it was gone quickly.

He then asked, “Lu Haici, can I have another one? I have peanuts at home, I’ll trade you peanuts for it.”

Lu Haici replied, “Okay.”

He handed the little boy another fry.

“Lu Haici, your mom is really nice,” the little boy said, feeling envious. “When we were in kindergarten, your mom would prepare food for you every day, like milk candies. Now that it’s vacation, she even made you fries. She’s so nice. I wish I had a mom like that.”

“Yeah, my mom is the best mom in the world,” Lu Haici firmly believed.

“Your mom is nice, and your dad is nice too. Your dad takes you to school. My dad never takes me to school,” the little boy said wistfully.

He wanted to have a dad like a hero who would take him to school, but when he saw his dad, he was a little scared and didn’t dare to say anything.

Speaking of his dad reminded Lu Haici of the ice creams his father had taken, which made him unhappy again. “My dad is not nice. He ate my ice cream. I don’t like him.”

“Ah? What’s ice cream? Is it yummy? Is it as good as fries?” The little boy, attracted by the mention of food, asked.

Lu Haici answered, “It’s yummy. Ice cream is like popsicles, but it’s different from sugar-water popsicles. This one has a nice flavor, like milk powder.”

The little boy smiled, “I also like milk powder. It’s so tasty, sweet and fragrant.”

Lu Haici continued, “My mom makes sesame paste, and it’s so delicious, sweet and fragrant. She also makes tofu pudding…”

---

At the Third Company’s Kitchen:

“Comrade Lin, have you spoken to Deputy Commander Lu about the food competition at the National Day festival?” Qi Shao came over to Lin Qingqing and casually asked after remembering something.

“I haven’t yet. Why?” Lin Qingqing had completely forgotten about it.

Qi Shao replied, “I mentioned it to the other head chefs in our independent company during the lunch break, and everyone is interested in participating. We just don’t know what the higher-ups think.”

Although Lin Qingqing had forgotten about it, she was still interested, as there were very few events like this in this time. “Alright, I’ll ask him tonight. By the way, Qi Team Leader, I’ll give you the money for the wood ash. You can use it to buy mung beans. The weather’s been hot, so we can start making mung bean soup for lunch every day.”

Lin Qingqing had calculated the price of the wood ash based on a half-cent profit per pound of ingredients, and for 1680 pounds of food, the total was 84 yuan.

Qi Shao was stunned when he saw the 84 yuan. “How could it be so much? With just this grass ash, it’s not worth that much.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “If it’s extra, then consider it my thanks to the comrades for protecting the country. By the way, how much are mung beans per pound now?”

Qi Shao knew the answer, as he frequently bought supplies. “Six fen per pound.”

“That means the 84 yuan could buy 140 pounds,” Lin Qingqing quickly calculated.

Qi Shao looked at her.

He really didn’t want to accept the money, but after spending a week with Lin Qingqing, he knew she was a person with strong opinions.

Since she was insistent, he accepted it. “Then on behalf of the Independent Regiment comrades, I’d like to thank Comrade Lin.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “It should be me thanking you on behalf of the common people.”

As dinner time approached, Lu Haici returned, bringing both Ji Yang and Qin Ming along.

All three children were sweating, but each of them wore a big, bright smile.

“Mom, we’re here for dinner!” Lu Haici shouted towards the window.

Lin Qingqing had been looking out the window and, seeing them all drenched in sweat, couldn’t help but ask, “What did you guys do this afternoon? Why are you all so sweaty?”

Qin Ming answered, “We went to play ball. My mom bought me a soccer ball from the department store.”

Qin Ming’s mother, Qian Yuelan, rarely came to the family compound, but recently she had been coming back often.

She was worried that if she wasn’t home, her mother-in-law might start gossiping about her.

To win over her son, she bought him many nice things, including the soccer ball.

Her goal was to show her mother-in-law that although she hadn’t changed diapers for her son, she still loved him dearly.

“You guys are amazing, you can all play soccer now,” Lin Qingqing smiled and praised them.

Upon hearing her praise, the three children felt very proud and stood a bit straighter. “Auntie’s fries are really delicious, and today Lu Haici gave us fries,” Qin Ming said eagerly.

Ji Yang followed with, “Yeah, they’re really good. Lu Haici said ice cream is good too. We want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to buy some. Today, Qin Ming treated us to play soccer, and Lu Haici treated us to fries. Tomorrow, I’ll treat them to ice cream.”

Xu Huijuan had given Ji Yang some pocket money, so now he had the confidence to invite everyone for ice cream.

But then Lin Qingqing asked, “How are you going to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ice cream?”

“We’ll walk there. I know where it is,” Qin Ming answered.

“I know where it is too,” Lu Haici added.

Lin Qingqing looked at them, not sure how to respond.

These three little kids really had some guts.

They were willing to walk all the way to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ice cream.

Xu Xiaoyao doesn’t know how to do the accounting, so she handed the task over to her son, Da Wang, but she asks him about it every day.

Now that Lin Qingqing has come to check the accounts, she called Da Wang over and brought the ledger.

Lin Qingqing continued, “In June, we received a total of 1,680 jin of ingredients. Among them, sister-in-law, you received 525 jin, and the others received 385 jin. Is that correct?”

The ingredients were evenly divided among them, so no one had to fight for them, and there was no conflict.

Lin Qingqing thought this method was good.

Xu Xiaoyao looked at Da Wang. “Is what your aunt said correct?”

Da Wang replied, “Yes, it matches what I recorded.”

Lin Qingqing continued, “According to what was agreed, sister-in-law, you should get a profit of 1.5 cents per jin, so for 525 jin, you should receive 79 yuan. In addition, since you are the group leader, I will…”

“Wait…” Xu Xiaoyao interrupted Lin Qingqing’s words. “Qingqing, everyone else is getting a profit of 1 cent per jin. It wouldn’t be good for you to give me 1.5 cents per jin. I’ll just take the 1 cent per jin. Otherwise, if word gets out, it won’t be good for you.”

Lin Qingqing said, “If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, they won’t know.”

Xu Xiaoyao firmly said, “No, no, I’ll stick with the 1 cent per jin.”

Lin Qingqing knew that Xu Xiaoyao, despite being an open and straightforward person, could be particularly stubborn sometimes.

So she thought for a moment and said, “Okay, then. If you insist, I won’t give you the leader’s subsidy, and I won’t give you the subsidy for delivery and pickup. You’ll just get the leader’s treatment, 1.5 cents per jin, and that way, no one can complain. Even if they do, there is a clear difference between a leader and a regular person. Even in a factory, workers have different ranks, right?”

Xu Xiaoyao sighed.

She knew that Lin Qingqing’s arrangement meant she was still getting a better deal.

She thought to herself that if she did a good job, she could repay Lin Qingqing’s trust. “Alright, then. Let’s do it this way.”

Lin Qingqing handed Xu Xiaoyao 79 yuan. “The other three sisters-in-law each received 385 jin, and at 1 cent per jin, that’s 39 yuan each. Since Sister-in-law Cui has a bicycle, she delivers and picks up with you every day, and we had agreed to give her a 2 yuan subsidy per month. Since there are only 8 days this month, I’ll calculate it as half a month and give her a 1 yuan subsidy. So she will receive 49 yuan. You check if there’s any problem.”

Xu Xiaoyao looked at her son.

Da Wang said, “It should be 385 yuan each, and Aunt received 39 yuan.”

Lin Qingqing said, “It’s fine, if there’s any division in the future…”

“Just move one place forward.”

Xu Xiaoyao said, “According to what your aunt said.”

Da Wang replied, “Then there’s no problem. Everything matches.”

Lin Qingqing took the 127 yuan for the other three sisters-in-law and handed it to Xu Xiaoyao. “Sister-in-law, you can divide the money for them. I won’t go there.”

Xu Xiaoyao, thinking of herself as the group leader, naturally took on the responsibility without hesitation. “Alright, leave it to me.”

“By the way, I bought some defective cloth from the supply and marketing cooperative today. You can ask the other sisters-in-law if they need cloth. They can come to my house tomorrow noon to have a look.” Lin Qingqing remembered this matter.

Xu Xiaoyao was delighted when she heard this. “I’ll ask them about it later.”

Once the discussion was over, Lin Qingqing didn’t stay any longer. “I’ll go back now.”

Xu Xiaoyao, feeling uncomfortable holding other people’s money, added, “I’ll go deliver the money to them and walk with you.”

That night, Lin Qingqing felt especially happy and content.

Holding the money in her hand, she felt confident about everything she did.

For example, Xu Xiaoyao, although the salted duck eggs hadn’t been processed yet, so that income hadn’t been included, she could still earn 20 to 30 yuan a month from Lin Qingqing.

This was even higher than what most workers earned, and for a woman who had been a housewife her whole life, it was something she had never imagined.

As for the other sisters-in-law, they earned about 4 yuan in 7 or 8 days, which added up to about 12 yuan a month.

While the household expenses were covered by their husbands, they could still save 12 yuan of their own pocket money each month.

After receiving their money, they started planning to buy meat the next day.

The happiest one was Lin Qingqing.

After settling everyone’s accounts, she found that she still had 802 yuan.

Adding the wages she received from the canteen, she earned a total of 832 yuan last month.

Although this wasn’t as much as her earnings from live streaming, Lin Qingqing felt that this was even more satisfying than her live-streaming income.

After her bath, feeling happy, Lin Qingqing found that Lu Haici wasn’t in her room.

Curious, she went to the next room and saw him lying on the bed reading.

She asked, “Little Lu Haici, aren’t you sleeping with mom today?”

Lu Haici looked up from his book and replied, “Mom, I’m sleeping with Dad tonight. I’ll sleep with you tomorrow.”

Lin Qingqing couldn’t believe it at first.

Since she had come into this world, Lu Haici had always slept with her, so she wasn’t used to this sudden change. However, she smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll wait for you tomorrow.”

She turned around and went to ask Lu Cheng about it.