The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

Hearing everyone's praise, Zhao Shi'an modestly said a few words and continued to work. The water in the pot evaporated quickly, and soon only a little was left, with snow-white salt grains soaking in the brine.

Seeing this, he stopped cooking, knowing that it would burn if he continued. So he said to his younger brother:

"Shijie, stop burning it!"

"Understood, big brother!"

As Zhao Shijie spoke, he began to withdraw the fire.

Zhao Shi'an scooped out the remaining salt water and put it in a bowl, while the wet salt grains in the pot were slowly dried by the residual heat of the pot!

"Boss, it's not even finished cooking yet, why did you scoop it out?"

Seeing her eldest son's actions, Liu Guiying asked in confusion.

"Mom, if you keep boiling it, it'll burn. This salt water can be used directly when stir-frying vegetables or making salty soup, or you can dry it in the sun before using it!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he gently stirred the damp salt grains. The salt in the pot was quickly dried over a low flame. He then used a spatula to scoop some salt for everyone to taste.

"Mom, Auntie, Uncle Tian, ​​Auntie Tian, ​​please have a taste!"

As he spoke, Zhao Shi'an handed over the shovel.

"Salty! Not bitter at all!"

"That's right! Shi'an is really capable. Those coarse salt grains are so bitter, but you've made them so bitter that you can't even taste the bitterness. The coarse salt we eat costs nine hundred a catty, so this must sell for over a thousand!"

"More than that, this salt is white and salty, not bitter at all. It's as good as the salt that sells for three thousand yuan a pound at the supply and marketing cooperative!"

After tasting some salt, Tian Fusheng gave a very fair assessment.

"Three thousand? My goodness! That's worth that much!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Cuilan quickly saw a way to make money, but when she thought about how strictly the country controlled private salt, she immediately gave up the idea.

After hearing this, Liu Guiying felt even more that studying was useful.

"Yes! Shi'an, could you share some of your salt with me? I'll trade you something I've woven!"

After tasting the boiled salt, Tian Fusheng immediately proposed an exchange.

"Okay! Mom, just replace whatever you need at home."

Zhao Shi'an readily agreed upon hearing this, entrusting the entire exchange to his mother.

After tasting the salt cooked by their eldest brother, Zhao Shijie, Zhao Xiaoyue, and the other kids' eyes lit up.

"Mom, the salt my eldest brother made is really delicious!"

"That's right! It's not bitter at all!"

"Mom, let's stick with this salt!"

Hearing what the children said, Sun Cuilan and Liu Guiying readily agreed.

"Mom, from now on we'll use this kind of salt. We'll put the leftover brine in the sun to dry. Even though the quality is a bit lower, it'll still be better than the big blocks of salt we have at home!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he gave some of the dried salt to his aunt, some to Uncle Tian, ​​and the rest into the small jar he had bought that morning. He then gave his mother some instructions.

"Okay! From now on, I'll use this salt for your stir-fries and to make salty porridge!"

Liu Guiying smiled and agreed.

Seeing that his mother agreed, Zhao Shi'an washed the earthenware basin clean and poured the mud and other impurities into a broken flowerpot to dry.

"Shi'an, this is all mud! Why did you leave it here?"

Seeing her nephew's actions, Sun Cuilan was very puzzled.

"Auntie, what's left is all bitter salt. It's bitter as it is, but it can be used to feed the chickens. After drying it, we can mix it into the chicken feed, and it will last for more than a month!"

"You can feed chickens with this? Shi'an, you're really something!"

Sun Cuilan was completely convinced after hearing this!

"able!"

After Zhao Shi'an finished speaking, he tidied up briefly, sat down at the table, picked up his pen, and wrote an article on the purification of crude salt, which he prepared to submit to the Youth Daily. The article was quite detailed, starting with the issue of salt consumption by residents, explaining why crude salt is bitter and how to purify it, covering both theory and practical operation, and listing some alternative methods. It also fully considered the cost issue and was more than four thousand words long.

To avoid risks, he specifically added at the end: This article introduces a simple method for improving coarse salt... In addition, according to actual calculations, homemade refined salt consumes more firewood, labor, and raw materials, and the cost is similar to that of state-run salt, leaving no room for profit.

The reason I wrote this is that as early as 51, the State Council issued the "Interim Measures for the Investigation and Handling of Smuggled Salt," which strictly prohibited the sale of smuggled salt. Naturally, he would not risk losing more than he gained by doing so!

That evening, after Zhao Youtian and Zhao Youliang returned, they tasted the salt that Zhao Shi'an had boiled and praised it highly.

The following day, a new week began, and he went to class as usual.

Having skipped a grade to senior year for over a week, Zhao Shi'an has already adapted to the pace of senior year. While following the teacher's review schedule, he is also using his spare time to catch up on what he has fallen behind.

As the college entrance examination approaches, students are working even harder.

Time passed slowly. On the morning of April 22nd, just after the third period, Li Zhankui walked into the classroom and said to the students:

"Now bring your chairs to the auditorium for the meeting. Class monitors and sports committee members, make a headcount! Everyone must be present!"

"Teacher, what kind of meeting is this?"

"Yes, teacher! They're already in their final year of high school, couldn't you just notify them directly?"

"Exactly! Isn't holding meetings a waste of time?"

Upon hearing the teacher's words, the class erupted in discussion.

"What kind of meeting is it? You'll find out when you get there! This concerns your future. Class leaders, do your statistics work well, and get there early so it'll be over sooner, and you can all come back to study!"

Li Zhankui spoke in a bad tone, said a few words, and went to the next class. He was not only the homeroom teacher, but also the grade leader of the entire grade.

"Teacher, what's wrong with him today? Who upset him?"

"I don't know! Hurry! Grab a stool and head to the auditorium!"

Squad leader Liu Zhenhua immediately stepped forward to maintain order.

After a few words of discussion, the students in the class took their benches and headed to the auditorium for the meeting.

Zhao Shi'an followed the flow of people to the grand hall in the backyard.

The school's auditorium was converted from the Sanqing Hall of the Yaowang Temple. It is the largest building in the entire three-courtyard complex, with five large rooms, covering at least two or three hundred square meters. It is the venue for important school events!

With fewer than 100 students in the entire senior year, the auditorium felt empty after everyone was seated!

"Teacher, everyone in our class is here!"

"good!"

Li Zhankui nodded upon hearing this, went to Class 2 of Senior Three, and after learning that everyone had arrived, walked to the stage in the middle of the auditorium, reported to the principal, and then found a seat.

Principal Fu Jufeng walked to the standing microphone, leaned slightly forward, cleared his throat, and then addressed the students below the stage:

Good morning, students!

I've gathered everyone here today to announce something important!

The school has just received an official document from the Municipal Education Bureau, conveying an important decision to everyone:

According to the unified arrangements of the State Council, this year's college entrance examination will be held one month earlier.

As we all know, the college entrance examination in the past two years was in mid-to-late August. This year, the college entrance examination has been moved to July 15. The examination time remains the same, still three days, ending on July 17.

In addition, the professional entrance examinations for students applying for music and fine arts have been rescheduled to July 12-14.

For students applying to drama and sports programs, the professional entrance exams have been rescheduled to July 18th to 27th…

"What? The college entrance exam is being moved up? How come there was no prior notice?"

"If the college entrance exam is moved up a month, we'll only have a little over two months left to study, which is simply not enough!"

"Why is it being moved up so much all of a sudden? Last year it was postponed by five days. Even if it's going to be moved up this year, it can't be this much!"

"This is terrifying..."

Before the principal could finish speaking on the stage, the graduating seniors below erupted in a cacophony of noise, filling the entire auditorium with discussions and disbelief over the earlier college entrance examination!