At the beginning, he took his seven younger siblings to join Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhongding would only carefully apply a smear of soap once or twice when he saw his sister-in-law washing clothes for several small children.

The clothes for the three adults were made by crushing natural soapberries and soaking them in water.

Each time, you have to scrub the clothes hard or beat them with a stick.

It's both laborious and damaging to clothes.

I've had the idea of ​​making my own soap for a long time.

However, they were hampered by the lack of animal and vegetable oils.

So no action has been taken.

He wanted to use the precious lard in his house to make soap.

Even Yi Zhonghai might not be able to resist giving him a smack on the head.

Waiting until...

last month.

When the space expanded to 20 acres, he gained the authority to physically enter and exit the space.

There is now ample land space.

He then made another trip to the markets around the capital, adding many herbs and plants to the space.

They even ordered live wild boar piglets, wild goats, and some wild animals from the mountains surrounding the capital from hunters.

However, the tiger he wanted most was not available.

There are still many tigers around Beijing.

But the hunters dared not venture deep into the mountains to hunt tigers, and there was nothing they could do.

He originally planned to wait until the wild boar piglets grew up before slaughtering them, eating the meat, and rendering oil.

But the two ewes that were initially kept in the space became pregnant.

This was not unexpected.

Ewes typically begin to reproduce 3-6 months after birth.

Besides, the space is so nice, and there's plenty of food.

So he slaughtered the first ram that had been used for breeding.

Anyway, six new pairs of male and female lambs have been added to the space.

One more won't make a difference.

A 100-pound sheep yielded 3 kilograms of fat, which, after being rendered, produced 5 pounds of oil.

It has an oil yield of approximately 6% and an oil extraction rate of 85%.

have to say.

The quality of animals raised in this kind of environment is high.

One pound of mutton fat can make half a pound of soap.

So a total of about two and a half pounds of soap was produced.

And all he makes are soaps.

There are plenty of flowers of all kinds in the space.

Yi Zhongding brought all the handmade soaps home.

Tan Xiulian looked at the huge bag of soap and thought he had robbed a soap factory.

Yi Zhongding casually used a "classmate" as an excuse.

He said his father worked in a soap factory and could buy "defective products" through insider connections.

Moreover, it's sold by weight.

Two cents a pound.

Tan Xiulian happily told Yi Zhonghai about it.

Besides praising him, the two of them also...

That's all I wanted to say.

Defective products have existed since ancient times.

Since then, Tan Xiulian has started using soap, and while she wouldn't say she uses it lavishly, she certainly doesn't have to be frugal anymore.

Yi Zhongding then took the opportunity to teach his younger siblings how to play the "blowing bubbles" game.

Now, when I do laundry every day...

They can fill a bottle with soapy water and play with it.

As for mutton.

Yi Zhongding naturally took it home to eat.

Lambs raised in open spaces have a rich, milky flavor in their meat.

Lamb boiled in plain water.

Then dip it in a sauce made of sesame seeds, peanuts, fermented red bean curd, chive blossom sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a broth (made with Sichuan peppercorns and star anise).

It smells so good you'd want to swallow your tongue.

I ate mutton for dinner.

The next morning, my burps still smelled of mutton and milk.

On the other side...

The two little guys, Zhongxin and Zhongyan, were sitting on a tank each, excitedly waving their arms and legs.

This is also a toy masterpiece made by Yi Zhongding in two months.

As the saying goes, "One trick is all you need to succeed."

This is the technique he uses when making semi-automatic toys.

The toys the two little ones are playing with have two different power sources.

One option is that they can step on it themselves.

The foothold was right beneath their feet.

Step on it.

The tank can move three or four meters.

If you keep stepping on it repeatedly.

Then the tank will keep moving.

This utilizes inertial force.

Another option is the joystick they have on hand.

This thing can be rotated backwards, then released slightly, and it will automatically reset; that's how you wind it up once.

You can repeat this action to wind it up.

Tanks can be driven indefinitely.

Moreover, he now has the support of the Ministry of Light Industry.

Although the outer shell is still made of wood.

However, the internal parts were a complete upgrade.

The core components, such as spring plates, gears, and flywheels, are no longer made of rubber bands, bamboo strips, or wood.

Instead, they are custom-made steel components.

Both practicality and durability have been greatly improved.

Moreover, this tank can fire "shells" with a caliber within the size of an adult's fist.

However, this requires a bit of strength.

Because it's equivalent to stringing a bow and arrow.

Only then can the shell placed in the breech be ejected.

Now the kids are playing war games in tanks every day.

A tank carrying a load of 100 kilograms is not a problem.

The heavier the load, the slower it becomes.

If it weren't for the slow speed...

It can be used directly for hauling goods.

Besides tanks.

Similar examples include jeeps, cars, wooden airplanes that can fly, and wooden ships that can swim in water.

There are three versions of each, each corresponding to a different power source.

Both types of cars use inertial power.

One way to generate power is by pedaling, and the other is by turning the steering wheel.

Another type uses rubber bands for power generation.

Turn the steering wheel.

Twist the rubber band inside the car a sufficient number of times.

Then release the steering wheel.

The car will then drive itself.

The distance traveled and the speed depend on the number of times the rubber band is wrapped around the vehicle.

There are also three types of wooden airplanes.

The first one requires manual winding.

The propeller on the head is the spring knob.

However, this one can't fly high or far; it falls down after only a dozen meters.

The other two models use rubber bands to provide a power source.

One is a modified version of an old two-wing aircraft.

A rubber band connects the front and rear of the fuselage.

It can fly without twisting the rubber band, but it can't fly very far.

If the propeller at the nose is rotated, the rubber band on the fuselage will become tangled.

Then throw it out.

The more times the rubber band is wrapped around a bird, the longer, higher, and farther it can fly.

Even without wind, they can fly tens or hundreds of meters.

If the wind is stronger.

That would be even more incredible.

There is also a bird-inspired ornithopter, which uses the same power source.

The only difference is the flight attitude.

The wings of an airplane flap up and down like a bird in flight.

After Yi Zhongding finished making the wooden airplane.

The first thought that popped into my head wasn't how happy my younger siblings would be.

Instead, I was thinking:

It would be great if I could send a flying wooden airplane to the son of a meritorious official.

Then tell him: Your dad didn't lie to you, the wooden airplane really can fly.

Suddenly, it occurred to him.

There might actually be a chance.

It's only 1953 now.

His son wouldn't be born for another ten years.

It all depends on whether Yi Zhongding has the luck to recognize his achievements at that time.

These are figures who were born in response to the fate of the nation.

I hope we can meet.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it luck.

of course.

He saw his younger siblings get their wooden airplanes and make them fly with their own hands.

He was so excited he jumped for joy.

The way he looked at her with such adoration.

He was just as happy.

All the toys he created in the past two months were donated to the country.

People from the Ministry of Light Industry came to register the donation, presented a donation certificate, and then took the blueprints away.

However, the wooden airplane wasn't anything special.

This thing already came out in the 1920s.

It's just that rubber is scarce in China, which is why it's so rare.