Chapter 62: Successful Kiln Opening, Ideological Transformation

As the temporary head of the brick factory, Zhou Yinghuai began to introduce the situation of the brick factory to the two leaders, from the selection of clay to the construction of the kiln, in great detail.

There are two processes that take the longest time in brick making, one is drying the brick blanks, which requires natural air drying;

The other process is firing, using firewood and oil to burn together, this process from loading to extinguishing the fire and opening the kiln takes half a month, loading and firing bricks is the most laborious and tiring process in brick production.

Secretary Yang bent down and picked up a red brick from the ground, it looked perfectly fired from the surface. He slammed it down hard, the brick smashed a shallow pit in the mud, but the brick itself remained intact.

“Good brick!” he praised.

Chen Xingtong knew more about practical matters, he couldn’t contain his excitement and hurriedly asked, “What is the success rate of a kiln of bricks? How many bricks can be produced?”

Zhou Yinghuai had specifically asked Yang Qing to answer this question. He established the kiln to increase his voice in the brigade and facilitate his work.

After the investigation was over, he would return to the army, and Yang Qing would be fully responsible for the kiln in the future.

Yang Qing gratefully glanced at Zhou Yinghuai, she didn’t waste this opportunity to show off in front of the leaders, she answered confidently, “The success rate can reach 90%, because it’s a small kiln, it can produce 200 good bricks, 90% of them can be fired successfully.”

This was the best result after countless experiments by all the young intellectuals.

Chen Xingtong’s voice trembled with excitement, “Good! Very good!”

He exchanged glances with Secretary Yang, their smiles almost reached their ears, they had another achievement to report this year, they would definitely shine among all the communes.

Not far away, Xiang Hongbin shouted towards them, “Get ready, we can open the kiln soon.”

He was usually taciturn, but when he spoke, his voice boomed like thunder, scaring the two leaders.

They took a closer look, and saw that Xiang Hongbin was carrying two large wooden buckets in his hands, as if they were just water cups. Good heavens, his arms were as thick as their thighs! Looking at the others who were struggling, the contrast was stark.

Finally, it was time to test the results in front of the leaders, the young intellectuals were all on high alert, they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

The success of a kiln of bricks depends on the key step of cooling down with water. Today was the third day of cooling, when the kiln had cooled down, they could open the kiln door and take out the fired bricks.

They had practiced opening the kiln many times before, so everyone worked in an orderly manner, no less skilled than the experienced brick factory workers.

Even though the commune members of the Nanxi Brigade had seen this many times, they were still holding their breath, their hearts were bubbling like porridge.

In the midst of everyone’s silent prayers, the kiln door opened, revealing a kiln full of finished red bricks.

The young intellectuals carried them out one by one, stacking them neatly in the open space, Yang Qing was responsible for recording.

In the end, they even found some blue bricks, although there were less than ten, it was a great encouragement.

As everyone knows, blue bricks have the highest hardness, while red bricks are semi-finished products, with lower hardness and are relatively easy to break.

“There are 300 raw bricks in this kiln, 210 red bricks were successfully fired, and 9 blue bricks.” Yang Qing reported the data from the side.

Chen Xingtong pinched his thigh hard, feeling the pain, he finally felt real. The technical direction was correct, given time, the young intellectuals would definitely be able to fire more blue bricks.

If the floating red flag didn’t belong to the Red Flag Commune this year, he would eat shit upside down!

Secretary Yang’s voice trembled with excitement, “The brick kiln will be expanded soon, report the needs as soon as possible, the commune will invest money. The commune will return all the money you invested, and it will be converted into work points for each of you according to the amount. When the kiln is established, the commune will also have rewards.”

In those days, personal buying and selling was not allowed, so the young intellectuals’ investment in the kiln was not allowed, but they could get their money back, they could also exchange it for work points, and there would be rewards at the end of the year, most importantly, they were remembered by the leaders, all the young intellectuals were very satisfied.

Yang Qing was prepared, she handed the materials to the two leaders and said eagerly, “We have prepared the application, we are just waiting for your approval.”

Secretary Yang was stunned for a moment, he smiled and said to Jiang An’an, “Little Jiang, the women in your Nanxi Brigade are amazing.”

A group of women didn’t expect to be praised by the commune secretary, they were overjoyed, as if they were soaking in honey.

Jiang An’an took the opportunity to encourage them, “The aunties are planning to send their daughters to learn to read and write with the young intellectuals.”

Secretary Yang continued to praise after hearing this, “The women in our Nanxi Brigade are more progressive than other brigades, they have a high level of political consciousness. Little Jiang, your Women’s Federation is doing a great job!”

The women: !!!

Reading!

They would send all the girls in their families to study!

“Jiang An’an, get out here. You instigated my daughter to report her husband, you have no shame, my Li family still has shame, you’ve ruined the reputation of the Nanxi Brigade.”

Suddenly, a scolding voice came from outside the crowd.

This remark stirred up a hornet’s nest.

The women of the Nanxi Brigade were furious. What did she mean by saying that Jiang An’an had ruined the reputation of the Nanxi Brigade? The old woman was spewing nonsense, daring to slander them in front of the commune leaders!

So, before Jiang An’an could react, the women of the Nanxi Brigade unleashed their fury, showering the old woman who had come to cause trouble with a torrent of abuse.

“Wang Laosan broke six of Li Dayi’s ribs, he’s worse than a pig or a dog. Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, you’re her own mother, you don’t stand up for your daughter, but instead you come to make trouble with her benefactor. I think your head has been squeezed by a door, and your brain has been soaked in water.”

“Li Dayi is still in the hospital, her life is hanging in the balance, and you, as her mother, are afraid of the strong and bully the weak, you dare not seek revenge on the culprit, and you dare to make a fuss here?”

“Li Dayi married into the Nanxi Brigade, she is a woman of the Nanxi Brigade, no matter if you’re her mother or stepmother, no one from outside the village can bully her.”

“Our An’an was just trying to help, who would have thought that her kindness would be taken for granted. If Li Dayi didn’t report Wang Laosan, are you waiting to visit her grave during the Qingming Festival?”

Li Po was so shocked that she questioned her own existence. This wasn’t what she expected, shouldn’t these old women be holding Jiang An’an, the good-for-nothing girl who ruined the atmosphere, down and beating her? Why were they all attacking her? “You, you…”

“You look like an idiot from the left, you look like a fool from the right, you look like a pig from above, and you look like a donkey from below.” Lin Meiru pointed at Li Po’s nose and cursed:

“If we were to choose the top ten worst mothers of the year, the pregnant woman from the neighboring village would be first, and you would be second. You two should be nailed to the pillar of shame, your descendants will spit on you, you vicious thing.”

Li Po’s face turned pale, then red, she regretted it, she shouldn’t have listened to Wang Lao Tai’s instigation and come to pick a fight with Jiang An’an.

Just then, a wave of wailing suddenly erupted from the village, “Don’t arrest my son.”

It was Wang Lao Tai’s voice!

Everyone was curious, they ran towards the village, and when they entered, they saw two policemen, each holding one of Wang Laosan’s arms, dragging him forward.

No matter how much Wang Lao Tai cried and begged, they remained unmoved.