Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 775 Chapter 774 Sophora japonica cake

A meeting is in progress in a conference room of the Science and Technology Commission.

If Tang Zhitong were here, he would definitely be able to recognize several academic giants who only exist in textbooks and film and television materials.

Ding Hui reported to his superiors as soon as he returned from the Metallurgical Institute yesterday.

Although technology is accidental, it is still unbelievable for the leader to find a new material so easily emerge. However, several pieces of silvery-white metal just lay quietly on the desk.

The metals are attracted to each other, and if you pry them apart with your hands, you can clearly feel the difference in magnetic force from that of ordinary magnets.

Both its appearance and magnetism clearly show the world that this is something that has never appeared before.

The Science and Technology Commission attached great importance to this new material. It notified the relevant scientific research departments overnight and convened a meeting of relevant experts early the next morning. Local experts participated in the offline meeting, while experts from other places participated in the telephone conference through confidential lines.

Zeng Xinghuai, as the person in charge of the first batch of testing the magnetic force of new materials, was invited to make a preliminary test report on neodymium iron boron magnets in the morning.

The meeting lasted from morning to afternoon. A group of bigwigs discussed the application scenarios of this new material, all of which were practical and could be realized in a short period of time. They also discussed the material ratio. Most of the bigwigs believed that this ratio could be improved, and the optimal ratio would need to be explored and studied in the later stage.

Finally, everyone had a disagreement on whether it should be promoted in the civilian field.

The experts present here include those from the military field as well as those from non-military fields.

Experts in the military industry focus on confidentiality, fearing that the outflow of this technology will cause losses to the country.

Those in non-military fields strongly demanded promotion based on the problems they encountered in their actual work, and explained them with practical examples.

First of all, water pumps. The current water pumps use old-fashioned magnets, which require large volume and multiple coils to meet the use requirements. This makes the water pumps rough, clumsy, heavy, power-consuming, and poorly mobile. They cannot be quickly moved for water irrigation in the dry season. In many places, the water pumps are not powerful enough to supply water over long distances, which is very unfavorable for agricultural work. It is urgent to update the equipment with new materials.
The second is power stations. The power generation equipment also uses old-fashioned magnets and also faces the problem of low efficiency. If new materials are replaced, the same amount of coal and water can generate more electricity every day, which can not only save money for the country, but also create income.
As for things like fans, refrigerator door stops, speakers, etc., they have become secondary.

The military industry says that these problems can be overcome, and that although the new materials are small in size, their cost is too high, which is not conducive to promotion. Once the promotion is not conducive to confidentiality, it may bring uncertain losses to the country.

Non-military industries say that only large-scale applications can determine the reliability of this new material and better feed back to the military industry. If it is not applied on a large scale, the production cost will remain high, which is also a waste of national funds. It must be considered comprehensively and in a coordinated manner.

There are also experts who do not support or agree with the opinions of both parties and are only interested in taking over the follow-up research work of new materials...

Everyone had different thoughts, and for a while, everyone was talking about all kinds of things. The atmosphere became a little deadlocked, and no one could convince anyone else.

In addition to mediating the dispute, the Science and Technology Commission will also record the opinions of the experts and discuss them again behind closed doors later.

Anyway, at the end of the day, everyone had consensus and differences, and no complete agreement was reached.

The Science and Technology Commission did not announce on the spot which unit would be responsible for the follow-up research work. After collecting the new material samples and sending the experts away with courtesy, the leaders of the Commission continued the discussion behind closed doors, focusing on how to improve the new materials and which unit should be responsible for it...

Tang Zhitong didn't know all this. On his way home, he was thinking about the locust flowers on Nanchizi Street and passed by them on purpose.

The locust flowers on Nanchizi Street have bloomed, and their unique sweet scent can be clearly smelled from a long distance away.

The locust flowers are dotted together, and from a distance they look like pieces of white jade among the green leaves, which is very festive.

Sophora japonica flowers, like elm seeds, grow in clusters and bunches. There are no leaves where the flowers are, as if they were born to be easy for people to pick them.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people like elm seeds and locust flowers.

The elementary school finished school early, and when Tang Zhitong arrived here, some naughty monkeys had already climbed up the tree to pick locust flowers.

Occasionally, there would be children crying out in pain from being stung by bees in the trees.

Although there are not many professional beekeepers at present, there are still quite a few wild bees. Wild bees are not picky about flowers and can be found wherever there are flowers.

Tang Zhitong did not compete with the children for the flowers. He only picked the locust flowers from the highest part of the locust tree. The children could not reach such places. If no one picked them, most of them would fall to the ground after they were ripe and be trampled on.

After riding his bicycle slowly across Nanchizi Street, Tang Zhitong found that there was already a small pile of locust flowers in his space, enough for the family to have two meals of locust flower cakes.

Sophora flowers are different from other things. They don't need to be hidden. When Tang Zhitong came out of a small alley, the Sophora flowers had been tied into bundles and hung on the handlebars.

"Hey, Anzi, are you back from picking locust flowers?" At the entrance of Tieluguba Hutong, one-eyed Grandpa Zhu was guarding the water pipe in the sun. Among the people coming and going, he accurately spotted the locust flowers on the handlebars of Tang Zhitong's cart.

"There are quite a few over at Nanchi. I picked some on the way back." Tang Zhitong replied with a smile.

"Brother Eucalyptus, Brother Eucalyptus, are the locust flowers from Nanchi delicious?" Children from the neighborhood came over and drooled at the sight of the locust flowers.

"Oh, this is difficult for me. I've only been busy picking them and haven't tasted them yet." Some children blocked the road, and Tang Zhitong couldn't squeeze through. He simply stopped the car, reached out and grabbed a few locust flowers, put them in his mouth and chewed them for a few times, and told the children very confidently: "It's delicious, a little sweet, and tastes like honey!"

"Haha, are you still trying to play tricks on your brother Anzi? Everyone in this area knows that your brother Anzi has made great progress?" Old Zhu laughed out loud beside him. Children often do this when they are embarrassed to ask for food, and adults will usually give them some to try. But today, when they met Tang Zhitong, this trick didn't work.

Tang Zhitong also laughed. He was not stingy with these locust flowers. He just wanted to amuse the boys and girls. After seeing the children blushing at Lao Zhu's teasing, he took a bunch of flowers from the handlebars and acted like a "flower-scattering boy": "Come, one each, use it to satisfy your cravings."

Before liberation, there were quite a few locust trees near Baiqiao, but they were all Sophora japonica. After liberation, the stinking ditch was renovated and several trees that were blocking the way were cut down. The rest still stood quietly at Baiqiao. However, it is not the time for Sophora japonica to bloom, so these children cannot eat the flowers yet.

When he arrived at the front door of his house, Tang Zhitong plucked another handful of locust flowers to make up for the shortage. There were too many children, and there were not enough left to make locust flower cakes in the evening.

After putting away his bicycle and taking down the locust flowers, Tang Zhitong walked into the yard. He looked back at the self-built house of Yan Zi and his wife. Perhaps the soil was not dry enough, so they had not moved in yet.

"Mom, let's eat Sophora japonica cake today." Tang Zhitong put the Sophora japonica flowers on the ground when he entered the house, and then took off his shoulder bag. The temperature rose again today, and he rode his bicycle all the way back, and his back was soaked with sweat. "Okay. Where did you pick this?" Zhang Guifang found a basin and planned to put the Sophora japonica flowers into the basin.

"Nanchizi, the street over there is full of locust flowers. I estimate there will be more tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. After we finish eating, I will pick some when I pass by after school." Outside, people were adding more rice and reminiscing about the past, but I didn't do that at home. This was a good opportunity to teach my sisters a lesson, especially Fengzhi.

"Forget about climbing trees. You've never been familiar with it since you were a child. Besides, you're so grown up now, and you might get bumped into something. It's not worth it." Zhang Guifang glanced at her son and refused.

"I don't climb trees. People use hooks tied to bamboo poles. I help the residents to hook a little, and then I hook some more and take it back." Tang Zhitong actually saw someone picking locust flowers with a hook today, but he didn't help, but he didn't make trouble either. Tang Zhitong didn't use his space to pull the locust flowers from the locust tree that was "taken care of" by the hook.

"We have to be careful about the impact though. We should just use the money for their use instead of competing with them." Zhang Guifang nodded in agreement after hearing what her son said. It was not that she was overthinking it, but that was the current rule, which tacitly stated that the output from the big tree at the door belonged to the residents.

"Okay, I'll go check the water. It's a bit hot today, so I'll take a shower later." It was not pleasant to be sticky all over. Tang Zhitong missed the days of solar energy and electric water heaters. He could take a shower whenever he wanted. It would be even better if he had an air conditioner. If he had half a chilled watermelon, he could sit cross-legged on the sofa and watch videos all day without feeling tired...

"What are you doing up there? You're not afraid of the sun." Tang Zhitong was standing next to the oil drum and daydreaming when Xiao Wang's voice came from behind him.

"Hey, I'm measuring the water temperature. I plan to take a bath later." Tang Zhitong winked at classmate Xiao Wang and walked down from the shelf.

Xiao Wang saw her husband's winking expression and knew what he was up to, but what could she do? Since the days were good, she could only follow his inner expectations and let him do what he wanted...

The locust flower cake for dinner was made by Tang Zhitong.

Sophora flower cakes are not difficult to make. Some people like to blanch the Sophora flowers in water to remove the bitter taste of the calyx, while others like to soak the Sophora flowers in salt water and then rinse them.

Both methods are correct, but if you do so, the remaining sweetness in the locust flowers will be gone.

Tang Zhitong chose to pour some clean water to wash off the dust on the surface, then took it out and kneaded the dough.

The ratio of locust flowers to flour does not need to be very strict, it can be roughly one to one, a little more or less does not matter.

Pour some salt water into it, then secretly add some sea rice noodle rolls and five-spice noodles, and knead it evenly.

Spread a thin layer of oil on the bottom of the pot, scoop out a piece of locust flower cake from the water diaper soup, throw it into the pot, and spread it into a cake.

As the weather had turned warmer, the stove in the main room was moved out. Tang Zhitong asked Fengzhi to help him get a stool and squat beside the stove to watch the fire.

The iron pan at home has a round bottom, and the locust flower cakes are relatively large, so it is easy to be heated unevenly, so someone has to watch and move the iron pan every one or two minutes so that all edges and corners of the locust flower cakes can be roasted with the same heat.

After one side is baked, turn the locust flower cake over so that both the front and back are evenly coated with dew. If the surface is browned, it is baked just right. If it is black, it means the fire is too high or it is baked for too long, and it will taste bitter in your mouth.

After Fengzhi brought the stool to Tang Zhitong, she did not leave. She squatted beside him with a locust flower in her hand, picking and eating it while watching her brother making pancakes.

"Is it delicious?" Tang Zhitong glanced at his sister. Judging from her expression, it didn't look like she didn't like locust flowers at all.
"Well, delicious and sweet!" Fengzhi nodded affirmatively, her face full of love for the slight sweetness in the locust flower core.

Tang Zhitong let out a "tsk". Okay, I was thinking about making my sister recall the good and bad times today, but it seems like she can't recall the bad times anymore. I guess she will enjoy eating this pancake.

It may not be bitter but it can satisfy your stomach. The locust flower cake contains a lot of locust flowers and a lot of moisture, and can be torn apart with a light touch.

Maybe it was the natural fragrance of the locust flower cake, or maybe it was because there was no limit on the amount today and we could eat to our heart's content, my family showed great enthusiasm for this spring limited snack.

"Brother, our class is organizing a spring outing to the botanical garden this Sunday." Feng Zhen said while eating.

"Brother, I want to go too, I want to go too!" Fengzhi couldn't stand it. When she heard her sister going out to play with a locust flower cake in her mouth, she raised her hand and shouted that she wanted to go and play with her.

"Which botanical garden?" Tang Zhitong ignored the younger sister and asked the older sister.

There are two botanical gardens in the city of Sijiu. One of them is on the outskirts of the city, located to the west of the construction site where he worked as a temporary worker. This botanical garden is not very famous, but the gardener who works there is famous. He is the last master of the Qing Dynasty.

After being pardoned last year, he had been living at his sister's house, but it was not a good thing for him to stay idle all the time, so the higher-ups decided to find him something to do, so he went to the botanical garden after the Spring Festival.

Originally the news was kept secret, but later it was spread somehow. A group of old men and young men who still had pigtails in their hearts were waiting for him at the bus stop where he was taking the bus home. When they saw him, they knelt down, which scared him very much.

"It's the one over there at Longtan Lake." Feng Zhen pointed to the south.

"Okay, go ahead. Take your sister-in-law's kettle with you and I'll prepare something delicious for you on Saturday." Tang Zhitong nodded. The botanical garden over there was established in 1957. It was mainly used for teaching and open to primary and secondary school students. Later, due to the increasing shortage of land in the city, it was occupied by other units after the wind started. It was reopened after being put into use.

"What about me? What about me?" Fengzhi asked anxiously.

"Then you have to wait for your sister to go to the school and ask if you can bring family members. Don't worry, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Tang Zhitong fooled his younger sister and gave the choice to Fengzhen.

In fact, the school management is not strict at the moment. Every student has several younger brothers and sisters, and every spring outing there are always a few people who bring their children with them.

It is not necessarily the case that older brothers and sisters take care of their younger brothers and sisters voluntarily. They may be forced by their parents. However, Tang Zhitong does not want to do so, so Fengzhen can choose whatever she wants.

After hearing what her brother said, Fengzhi immediately turned into a little fan girl, picking up food for her elder sister and pouring water for her.

There was nothing else to eat at home, so after Fengzhen finished drinking the water, Fengzhi poured more for her and asked caringly, "Sister, are you thirsty? I've poured you some water."

That expression, that movement, is just like having a tail-wagging puppy at home.

"Okay, I'll take you there." Feng Zhen was so tender-faced that she couldn't stand her younger sister's hospitality, so she chose to take her there, but she also made a request: "Follow me closely, and don't run around."

(End of this chapter)