Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 763 Chapter 762 Swallow Picks a House
Fengzhi swallowed a piece of candy ear, but still felt unsatisfied. She stretched out her little paw to take another piece, but was stopped by Zhang Guifang: "Just taste it, how can you eat it as you please? There are not many in total. Bring the rest to Jingmin tomorrow."

Fengzhi had no choice but to obey her mother's order. She stared at her sister-in-law's lunch box with a pouty mouth, drooling madly, savoring the taste of the candy ears.

Tang Zhitong smiled beside him, knowing that his mother would do this.

Whenever there was any good food at home, Zhang Guifang would always remember to share some with Chunshu Hutong.

Director Ye is also very open and honest. In addition to hiring tutors for Fengzhen and Fengzhi, he also gave us a sack of Iraqi dates, which we haven't finished yet.

Normally, any canned food or something like that would be shared here, and all the old clothes that Jingying had discarded would be given to Fengzhi.

Fengzhi no longer clamors for new clothes. When she puts on Jingying's clothes, she becomes the prettiest girl on the street.

"Okay, stop pouting, rinse your mouth, and brush your teeth carefully after dinner to avoid cavities." Tang Zhitong slapped Fengzhi on the head. Fengzhi and Jingmin were both old enough to have fissure sealants, but the main material for dental fillings in China is still amalgam, which seems inappropriate for fissure sealants.

"Hate it, it hurts." Fengzhi was hit and her head tilted. She covered her head and protested to her brother.

"Why are you teasing the child?" Xiao Wang pushed her husband and took out another half piece of meat from the lunch box and handed it to Fengzhi: "Okay, this is the last piece. Rinse your mouth after eating."

Although Beijing Library contacted the dim sum factory, which provided many kinds of dim sum, they were very strict about the quantity limit. Each employee could only buy one kilogram, and they would not sell more. The half piece was broken into pieces to make up the weight.

"Hehe, I think the soybean paste is almost ready. Let's try it tonight." Tang Zhitong smiled. Xiao Wang treated Fengzhi and Jingmin very differently. I wonder if his brother-in-law will be anxious when he finds out.

The soybean paste has been fermenting for about half a month, and fortunately it has not attracted maggots. Maybe because the weather has been hot recently, Tang Zhitong thinks it tastes like what he eats in Northeast China. Since there is no other food today, he plans to try it.

Soybean paste is very versatile. It can be used with anything that can be eaten raw, such as onions, garlic sprouts, lettuce, lettuce leaves, cucumbers, and bitter gourds. Even if there are no vegetables, you can just scoop a spoonful and spread it on steamed bread or steamed buns to make a meal.

The vegetables in the yard have not grown yet, and only two rows of green onions are already as thick as chopsticks. Tang Zhitong doesn't mind them being too small, so he plucks a few, washes them, and plans to eat them as vegetables.

"Today I saw swallows flying around the gate of our house. Maybe this year they will build nests here." While eating, Zhang Guifang thought of what she saw today and said with some anticipation.

She had heard since she was a child that swallows would not marry into poor families, and that swallows would only marry into wealthy families. If a family was chosen by a swallow, it would be a very good omen.

"That's great. Don't let Beibei go out except to pee in the next two days." Tang Zhitong glanced at Beibei who was squatting at his feet waiting to be fed. Maybe it was not the month yet. In the dead of night, the occasional miserable cat cry like a baby's cry could be heard from a distance, but there was no sound from his own baby.

"Well, I didn't let Beibei out much today. When a swallow chooses a house, good fortune will come naturally. This swallow must have seen that our family is doing well and wanted to join us." Zhang Guifang said confidently.

"Maybe he has taken a fancy to the vegetable patch in our yard." Tang Zhitong laughed. According to the saying in Sijiucheng, there are three joys in a house. The first joy is the spring coming back to life, which means a comeback and full of vitality. The second joy is the magpie announcing good news, which means good things are coming and good things are happening frequently. The third joy is the swallows building nests, which means the house is prosperous and talented people will emerge.

As for whether it is accurate or not, there is no way to verify it, and it is a bit idealistic, but Zhang Guifang firmly believes it: "We have been growing vegetables in our yard for several years, and we have never seen swallows build nests before."

"Yes, you are right." Tang Zhitong did not argue with his mother.

Most swallows are more loyal than mandarin ducks. At least the male swallows don’t have to worry about their offspring not being their own. People also stubbornly believe that swallows are loyal and faithful, which symbolizes harmony between husband and wife and good luck.

In addition, swallows feed on insects, so people have a very high degree of recognition of them. Even if they excrete feces under the nests after building them, most people will choose to clean them up quietly rather than destroy the nests.

"Beibei, don't scare the new neighbors when you go out next time." Seeing that Tang Zhitong had no intention of feeding him, Beibei ran to squat at Zhang Guifang's feet. What he received was a bunch of instructions and a mouthful of steamed bread.

Beibei meowed, and it was unclear whether he understood or not.

Seeing that his mother was certain that the swallows would build a nest in his house, Tang Zhitong did not say anything to spoil the fun. Having a cat at home does not necessarily mean that the house will be the swallows' first choice for building a nest.

To be honest, swallows are very particular about choosing their nests.

First of all, it has to be popular, and it can't be too shabby, otherwise it can't shelter them from wind and rain.

The swallows in front of the Wang and Xie halls flew into ordinary people's homes. It could be that the Wang and Xie families fell into decline and their homes lost their popularity, or it could be that the lives of ordinary people became better.

Secondly, it is best to have a water source or farmland nearby. Water can make it easier for them to carry mud, and farmland means there is plenty of food, making it easier to catch them.

Finally, you have to avoid living with cats. After all, cats’ diet includes not only mice, but also all the birds they can catch, small ones like sparrows and swallows, and even larger ones like pigeons and turtledoves.

The next day, April 4, Thursday, do not move house or set up the bed.

When the young couple finished breakfast and went out, Zhang Guifang put a bowl of soybean paste in it and asked the couple to take it to Chunshu Hutong to show their mother-in-law a taste.

When Tang Zhitong went out, he looked up at the sky, but didn't see any swallows. He wondered where they had flown to.

After sending Xiao Wang to the gate of the Women's Federation dormitory, Tang Zhitong did not go up. He did not finish all the homework yesterday and had to continue today.

After arriving at the Post and Telecommunications College, Luo Zhiping handed over a letter, and then took a second-rate daily newspaper and asked Tang Zhitong for confirmation: "Teacher Tang, was this proposed by you?"

"What do you mean it was my suggestion? The second-rate daily newspaper is not run by my family, so how can they publish whatever I say?" Tang Zhitong joked, took the letter, and tilted his head to look at the place where Luo Zhiping pointed.

The title "my country has overcome the difficulty of artificial rainfall and the technology has reached the world's advanced level" catches the eye.

Continuing to look further down, the Agricultural Machinery College, in conjunction with the Central Meteorological Bureau, with the strong support of a certain military unit, completed the first rain-making operation, with the rainfall area reaching a certain number of square kilometers, the average precipitation being a certain number of millimeters, and so on.

"So it rained yesterday because of this. I heard that you almost had a quarrel with the school leaders at the Agricultural Machinery College because of this. It was your idea, right? They didn't even mention you at all." Luo Zhiping said indignantly.

"You are well-informed. How did you know?" Tang Zhitong did not follow Luo Zhiping's focus, but was curious about his source of information.

"Some people from our college went there to listen to it, and then it spread slowly after they came back. At that time, some people laughed at you for being fanciful. No, it's already this critical moment, why are you still paying attention to these things?" Luo Zhiping was a little anxious for Tang Zhitong. "Calm down, calm down, I just mentioned it at the time, and there was no quarrel. Besides, they are responsible for the specific implementation, and they must have worked hard. I'm very happy if it succeeds." Tang Zhitong comforted Luo Zhiping in return.

If the newspaper didn’t mention him, then so be it. Tang Zhitong didn’t care. After all, he just played an inspiring role in this matter. As long as it could succeed and benefit the people, what would it matter if he remained unknown?

"You are quite a man of high moral character..." Luo Zhiping's momentum stagnated. It turned out that the emperor was not anxious, but the eunuch was?
"Calm down. It's good that it succeeded. I am now looking forward to promoting it quickly to benefit the general public." Tang Zhitong laughed, but in his heart he felt that it was a bit hasty to publish this news.

The entire article only contains data about yesterday's rainfall, which means that it has not been verified by other means. Moreover, the test was conducted yesterday and it was reported in the newspaper today, which is quite fast.

There is a lot of information behind this. On the one hand, technological leadership can bring honor, and on the other hand, it can also prove that the drought has reached a very serious level and we need to come up with something to boost morale.

Second-rate daily newspapers have several printing points across the country, and they are basically printed simultaneously.

As the newspapers were delivered and the working day began at 8:30, the news of artificial rainfall swept through the relevant departments like a whirlwind. Soon, calls for verification from all over the country were made to the superior department of the Central Meteorological Bureau.

The Central Meteorological Bureau also received some calls seeking verification, but more of them were cloud monitoring reports from various meteorological stations in the city.

As soon as the news was reported yesterday, the relevant leaders gave instructions after learning that the artificial rainfall was indeed successful, to publish the news in the newspaper first and then carry out a second verification as soon as possible.

The Meteorological Bureau didn't know the deep meaning behind this move, but the leader who issued the instructions knew that the grain reserves in Sijiu City were running low, and there was currently great resistance to the transfer of foreign grain, so the gap was not small. If the situation continued like this, it wouldn't be long before the grain depot in Sijiu City was empty...

To prevent panic, this information was kept secret.

In order to transfer grain, cadres have been sent down to the area, but the results have been unsatisfactory.

The leader thought of using artificial rainfall and putting it in the newspaper first. In addition to boosting morale, there would definitely be calls coming in from all over the country.

The places that are most eager for artificial rainfall are definitely those where the drought is most severe. The amount of rainfall required can serve as an auxiliary basis for judging this year's grain output.

The drought is not that serious in places where the situation is not so urgent, so is the grain production more guaranteed? Can it be used as a basis for judging the next grain adjustment?

Tang Zhitong didn't think about the twists and turns here. After comforting Luo Zhiping, he read the letter carefully.

The handwriting was unfamiliar and the mailing address was written as the Power Supply Bureau. Tang Zhitong couldn't remember who it was from.

After opening the letter and reading the signature, I remembered that it was written to me by the young man named Ding Jianhui whom I met during the Qingming Festival.

After reading the letter again, Tang Zhitong smiled.

Xiao Ding was obviously an honest child and probably didn't know what to say. In the letter, in addition to introducing his own situation, he also made some presumptuous praises of Tang Zhitong's actions. Finally, he said that he must learn from Tang Zhitong and hoped that they could make progress together.

This mutual progress is scary. Generally speaking, it is used by young men and women to express their feelings.

You can tell at first glance that he is a single guy who has never been in a relationship. I don’t know how many brain cells this letter has killed in him. He may even have written it under the strong pressure from his mother.

It's better to look at the face of the Buddha than the monk. It was Ye Zhijuan who proposed to "establish diplomatic relations" with Ding Jianhui, so Tang Zhitong could not ignore this letter.

For friendships like this, which are brought together by elders, if they develop step by step, people will always feel that there is something between the two of them. If they can help each other in some way, it will greatly promote the development of the relationship.

After thinking for a while, Tang Zhitong wrote a letter back to Ding Jianhui.

Tang Zhitong did not respond to the question of common progress. He just said that he had an invention that required the cooperation of an electrician who could climb ladders to verify it and provide some suggestions on its use. He asked Ding Jianhui if he was willing to cooperate.

Well, Ding Jianhui is an electrician, just as Tang Zhitong guessed when they met, and he did not avoid it in the letter.

After sealing the envelope, Tang Zhitong prepared to do his homework while also thinking that he had to put the making of the foot buckles on the agenda.

As the artificial rainfall incident developed, a call finally came to Ye Zhijuan.

Ye Zhijuan was still a little surprised after hanging up the phone. She never thought that artificial rainfall would be related to her son-in-law. When her daughter came to deliver food this morning, she didn't show any abnormal behavior.

In fact, not only in the morning, but also in the afternoon when Xiao Wang went back to get the bowl of soy sauce, there was still no abnormality on her face when the mother and daughter met again.

"You don't know about this?" The words "world's advanced level" are of high value. Before liberation, the Chinese people were always labeled as the "sick man of East Asia". The country was also eager to enhance its international influence, but its foundation was too weak and it could only worry about many things.

Relatively speaking, sports competitions are the easiest to achieve good results. The first National Games was held not long ago, and although many people broke world records, it didn't make any waves outside because it was not an international competition.

Therefore, after Rong Guotuan and Mu Xiangxiong won places in international competitions, they set off a nationwide craze. Their current reputation is no less than that of Liu Xiang who won the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the Olympics.

"I don't know. He never told me about it when he got home." Xiao Wang was confused after hearing this.

"Oh, go back and ask. Although he was not mentioned in the newspaper, don't rush to claim credit for this. The education department will have follow-up arrangements." Ye Zhijuan was afraid that the young man would lose his patience and ruin the good situation, so she gave a solemn warning.

"I didn't know about this either. I just mentioned it casually when I was giving a report at the Agricultural Machinery College a while ago. They never contacted me again afterwards. Who knew they took it seriously and made it happen." After returning home, Tang Zhitong complained repeatedly about Xiao Wang's "questioning".

"Our mother told you not to compete for credit." Seeing that her husband was indeed unaware of the situation, Xiao Wang told him what Ye Zhijuan had told her.

"What credit should I claim? I just proposed an idea and did not contribute anything. I feel embarrassed when people give me credit. I just hope that it can be popularized as soon as possible so that farmers can produce more grain." Tang Zhitong shook his head repeatedly. There was no need to talk about credit. If it could be popularized and the grain output could be increased by one or even two percentage points, it would be an immeasurable merit.

Although he did not seek credit for it, Tang Zhitong was secretly proud of himself. Inspired by his proposal, artificial rainfall came into being ahead of schedule. How many people could this help solve the problem of hunger?
Maybe this is the meaning of coming to this era.

(End of this chapter)