In the army

After Lin Qingqing finished her accounting for July, she still had around 350 yuan in her pocket.

This was the profit she made in July, after deducting the cost of wood ash and the wages of people like Yu Xiuyao.

However, Yu Xiuyao and the others were also happy.

Yu Xiuyao had earned about 30 yuan this month, and even the other daughters-in-law had earned around 20 yuan.

It was even better than working in a factory because factory workers had to work all day, while they only had to wash things in the morning.

Lin Qingqing returned home in a wonderful mood and saw Lu Haici sitting at the door, drawing.

Ever since he started drawing animals, it seemed like a switch had flipped in him—he had fallen in love with painting. However… “Lu Haici, why aren’t you napping?”

“Mom…” Lu Haici looked up. “Dad went to pick up a package. I’m staying here to look after the house.”

“A package?” Lin Qīngqīng asked curiously. “Who sent it?”

Lu Haici shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll go check,” Lin Qingqing said, turning around, and saw Lu Cheng coming back with a large package in his arms. “Where is it from?” she asked.

“It’s from Gaoshan’ao,” Lu Cheng said after checking the return address.

“That should be from the Lin family side. Let’s see what’s inside,” Lin Qingqing said eagerly.

No matter what it was, receiving something was always exciting.

Lù Cheng set the package down. “I’ll go get the scissors.”

“I’ll grab them. They’re in the room,” Lin Qīngqīng said, standing up.

She was more familiar with scissors since she used them often.

She retrieved the scissors, and after opening the package, it was immediately clear what the Lin family had sent. “Dried goods! I love dried foods,” Lin Qingqing said. “By the way, since Grandpa often goes up the mountains to collect herbs, the Lin family always has a lot of dried goods.”

“Dad, what are these?” Lu Haici was intrigued and stopped drawing.

“These are dried bamboo shoots, dried wood ear mushrooms, dried shiitake mushrooms…” Lin Qingqing was surprised by the amount of dried goods the Lin family had sent.

So many dried items must have cost quite a bit in postage. “And these are dried vegetables. They’re great in soup, and here are dried sweet potatoes. Grandma made these herself. She steams the sweet potatoes, adds sugar, mashes them into a paste, and then spreads it into thin slices to dry. When it’s dried, it has a nice chewy texture and is really sweet.”

Lin Qingqing smiled, thinking about the scene of her grandmother making the sweet potatoes, which she had even livestreamed once.

It had been so fun. “Lu Haici, come try a piece. Is it delicious?”

“Okay.” Lu Haici took a slice and bit into it. “It’s delicious.” Just that one bite kept him chewing for a long time.

“Do you want some?” Lin Qingqing asked Lu Cheng.

“Mm.” Lu Cheng also took a piece and chewed it slowly.

Lin Qingqing laughed. “Actually, if you fry these sweet potato slices, they’re even tastier, but you have to fry them with sand, clean sand. Lu Cheng, do we have sand around here?”

“Sand? What kind of sand?” Lu Cheng asked.

“Very fine sea sand will work,” Lin Qingqing explained.

“That should be easy to find. We have dried seafood here, so there must be some sea nearby,” Lu Cheng replied.

“Right, how did I forget about that? I’ll ask the carpenter’s wife. She’ll definitely know.” Lin Qingqing thought for a moment. “What time is it?”

Lu Cheng answered, “1:05.”

Lin Qingqing quickly stood up. “Then I’ll go ask the carpenter’s wife now.” She didn’t have to work until 3:00, so there was still plenty of time. “Lu Cheng, soak the shiitake mushrooms. We’ll make soup with them tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

Lin Qingqing rode her bike to the carpenter’s wife’s house.

By noon, she wasn’t bothered by the heat.

When she arrived at the carpenter’s house, they hadn’t started working yet, since they usually worked later in the summer, though they also finished later.

The carpenter’s wife was happy to see Lin Qingqing.

They had a good relationship and had exchanged goods several times before, with each of them trusting the other.

Upon hearing Lin Qingqing’s intention, the carpenter’s wife understood immediately. “You’re going to use sea sand to fry sweet potato slices, right?”

Lin Qingqing replied, “Yes, is there a sea nearby? I want to gather some sea sand.”

“Yes, yes, there’s a sea. I’ll take you there,” the carpenter’s wife responded.

She hadn’t expected Lin Qingqing to use sea sand to fry sweet potato slices; it seemed like such a hassle.

Normally, the way they made sweet potato slices was simple—cut the sweet potatoes into strips, boil them, and dry them in the sun.

She had no idea that sea sand could be used in this way.

This is a matter of regional differences—some places have this way of preparing food, while others don’t.

The distance from the carpenter’s house to the beach wasn’t short, so Lin Qingqing rode her bike and took the carpenter’s wife there.

Although it was high tide, it didn’t affect Lin Qingqing’s sand collection.

She stood by the sea, looking for fine sand, and gathered some—just about two pounds.

After collecting the sand, Lin Qingqing first took the carpenter’s wife back home, then headed to her own compound.

She arrived at the compound around 2 p.m., and only Lu Haici was at home.

When he saw that his mother had brought back the sand, he was full of curiosity. “Mom, can this sand be eaten?” Children know that sand isn’t something you can eat.

“Of course not,” Lin Qingqing replied with a wry smile. “We need to wash it first, then dry it. Once it’s ready, we’ll use it to fry the sweet potato slices tomorrow. The slices will be crispy and sweet, really delicious.”

When Lu Haici heard that it would be especially delicious, he couldn’t help but drool. “Mom, I’ll watch the sand.”

Lin Qingqing smiled. “Alright, then it’ll be hard work for Haici. Once the sweet potato slices are done tomorrow, you can eat more.”

Lu Haici grinned widely.

Lin Qingqing washed the sand and spread it out in the yard to dry before heading off to work.

---

The Third Squad’s Mess Hall

“Comrade Lin, the soybeans and mung beans we ordered last time have been delivered to the market this afternoon,” Qi Shao called out as soon as he saw Lin Qingqing.

They had planned to make mung bean soup at the beginning of the month, but when they tried to order the beans, the market didn’t have enough mung beans.

It was understandable because, in these times, most crops grown are grains, and mung beans aren’t considered a staple, so they’re planted in smaller amounts.

It wasn’t until August that they were able to get the 100-plus pounds of mung beans they needed.

“How much did they bring?” Lin Qingqing asked.

“After adding more, we’ve got 500 pounds of mung beans and 116 pounds of soybeans,” Qi Shao replied, meaning the profits from the wood ash in June and July had already been fully spent.

“Then we’ll start making mung bean soup tomorrow. Once it’s done, we can store it in the freezer. By lunchtime tomorrow, everyone will be able to taste it.” Thankfully, the mess hall had a freezer, and freezing the soup would make it taste even better.

However, they didn’t have sugar, so the mung bean soup would be made without it. Even without sugar, it would still taste good once chilled.

Qi Shao laughed. “They’ll be thrilled tomorrow. Since Comrade Lin arrived, they’ve been eating so well every day. Now we even have desserts; they’re really lucky. And I’ve had my share, too.”

Lin Qingqing smiled. “The mung beans and soybeans aren’t just for the Third Squad; they’re for the whole independent regiment. Should we prepare it for everyone tomorrow at noon?”

A pound of mung beans with extra water can serve about ten people, so for 800 people, they’d need 80 pounds of mung beans.

But they had 500 pounds, so they didn’t have to worry.

“Yes, let’s prepare enough for everyone,” Qi Shao said. “Once we’ve made the soup, we’ll send it to the other squads’ mess halls. That way, the other squads will definitely envy our squad.”

“What’s the big deal? Mung bean soup tomorrow at lunch, and soybean milk the day after in the morning. We’ll serve both,” Lin Qingqing added.

Actually, she was looking forward to the soybean milk herself.

One pound of soybeans can make about four pounds of soy milk, which means 200 milliliters per person.

For 800 people, they’d need 80 pounds of soybeans.

The 116 pounds of soybeans would only be enough for one round, but that was okay; they could always use the leftover soy pulp for something else.

Suddenly, Lin Qingqing had an idea. “Qi Squad Leader, give me five pounds of soybeans, and I’ll make soybean sprouts.”

“Comrade Lin, do you know how to make soybean sprouts?” Qi Shao was surprised. “That’s impressive!”

Lin Qingqing smiled inwardly.

She was different from other food streamers; she focused on the people’s livelihoods and rural food.

She had grown soybean sprouts, made rice cakes, and more.

It wasn’t that she was particularly skilled, but everything was for survival, for the sake of viewership and making money.

People nowadays loved watching such content.

Qi Shao handed over five pounds of soybeans and kicked the others out. “Comrade Lin, making soybean sprouts is a technical job. We’ll leave you to it. Call us when you’re done.”

Lin Qingqing hadn’t expected Qi Shao to be so considerate.

To be honest, she hadn’t thought about it herself. “Alright.”

It didn’t really matter to her since she had learned the method online.

But since Qi Shao had brought it up, she didn’t object.