Return To the Era with Space Supplies

Chapter 374 Finalized

Huo Lang turned back, gently pushed Si Ningning away, touched Si Ningning's head again, and said in a coaxing tone:

 “I know, but this is what I want to give you.”

 “Be obedient.”

"Well…"

The life-long events of the two of them were a matter of course. Si Ningning didn't think that because she was a girl, she would be looked down upon if she took the initiative to bring it up. However, after a little hesitation and thought, she nodded.

 Just wait and wait!

 It’s okay to wait.

 At present, everything in the team is on the agenda, and they are not able to spare time to properly take care of their own affairs.

“You just woke up. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty?”

Si Ningning shook his head, "How long have you had lunch? How could you get hungry so fast!"

Huo Lang smiled and raised his chin upwards, indicating to Si Ningning to look at the sky, "You had a long sleep this time."

Si Ningning quibbled, "I just lie down and do nothing while sleeping. The food in my stomach has not been digested yet."

But she was indeed a little thirsty.

Si Ningning licked her lips subconsciously, but Huo Lang saw through her little moves, took her shoulders and turned her around, pushing her towards the main room, "There is brewed scented tea in the pot on the table, it should have cooled down. , It’s a good time to drink.”

“You pour it down yourself, and I’ll pull down two more boards, and we’ll make leather.”

"Um!"

Huo Lang's arrangement pleased Si Ningning so much that she nodded without thinking and trotted to the main room.

In the courtyard, Huo Lang looked at her playful back and shook his head with a smile, bowed and continued his work.

At about 4:30 in the afternoon, Huo Lang finally finished his work and put down a series of tools such as the scroll saw and hammer. He washed the dust off his arms and face at the well, cooled down a little, and then waved to Si Ningning. .

Handlessly pulled out a piece of bamboo tube, Huo Lang opened it with a hatchet, selected one-third of the width of the bamboo piece to keep, and waved the rest aside.

He whittled one side of the bamboo slice with a hatchet, and roughly cut out a thin blade. He tried it by pinching it, and when he felt it was almost done, he took the rabbit skin out of the basin, turned it over and washed it with the side with the blood, flesh and grease. Spread out on the big stone:

"I learned this from my comrades a few years ago before I changed my career. I don't have to pay much attention to it. The first step is to soak it. After soaking, when the skin is softer, I use a bamboo knife like this or a similar stone piece to cut it. The remaining oil, minced meat, etc. are all cleaned up.”

“This is a delicate job, and this step of the whole process is the most troublesome. If this step is not handled well, all other work will be in vain.”

Si Ningning nodded, indicating that he was listening carefully again.

Horang smiled and nodded, his hands moving slowly. While he was busy, he shared some knowledge with Si Ningning, such as:

 Why choose to use bamboo knives and stones to clean the remaining minced meat instead of iron knives that are sharper and better controlled?

 The answer is that even if an iron knife is severely worn, its hardness reaches a certain level, so it may not look sharp, but it is actually much sharper than bamboo chips and stones.

 If it is too sharp, there will be less forgiveness and it is easy to accidentally damage the leather during operation.

Si Ningning nodded at the bamboo knife in Huo Lang's hand: "Most Chinese people are smart. Let's just talk about this. How many times did it take to experiment and come to this little trick and conclusion?"

Horang shook his head and smiled lowly:

“People are smart, but experiments are not so good. Just like when we were lucky enough to catch something in the wild before, we used whatever we had on hand to make the leather. If not, we should be particular about it.”

"No matter what tool you borrow, you have to be careful when cleaning it. If you are half-hearted, even if you use your hands to press the minced meat on it, you will still hurt the leather."

Si Ningning nodded obediently and took Huo Lang's words to heart.

After soaking a small piece of rabbit skin, it only takes half an hour for Huo Lang to clean it. Today is to show Si Ningning the process of making it, so Huo Lang needs to be more careful while cleaning it. While talking, it was already an hour later when we got to the next stage.

After rubbing the cleaned leather several times on the stone slab, Huo Lang went into the kitchen and shoveled out two shovels of plant ash.

 The rabbit skin was opened, two large handfuls of plant ash were sprinkled on it, rolled up and continued to be rubbed repeatedly. "Plant ash can remove oil and also have a certain cleaning effect. It is best used to deal with oil slicks on the leather."

Si Ningning nodded, his little head was racing, and after a while he asked: "Plant ash contains alkali, so it can remove dirt and oil. If we only look at the alkaline content, then can lime powder also be used?"

 Quick lime is an alkaline oxide, the main component of which is calcium oxide. However, after reacting with water and neutralizing it, it will turn into hydrated lime, thus producing "alkali".

 Whether it’s duck down or rabbit skin, there’s always something in common between the two.

Si Ningning asked Huo Lang: "After rubbing the plant ash, do you still need to soak it?"

"yes."

Si Ningning asked again: "Then how did you do it before?"

“Alum, plant ash, or salt, choose any one of these three and mix it with hot water, soak it for two to three days, then take it out, rinse it, and proceed to the next step.”

Si Ningning thought about it for a while. This step should have the effect of degrading the protein in animal fur. If this step is done well, the leather will be softer and there will be no odor when processed or worn in the future.

“Still follow your original method, but add a little lime powder, which can remove the smell and sterilize.”

Taste affects the quality of leather, and as for "bacteria", medicine is underdeveloped in this era. Si Ningning feels that "sterilization" must be strictly controlled.

 Luckily, there is such a good thing as quicklime, which is not only simple and crude in effect, but also extremely low cost, and can directly solve many thorny problems.

 “Okay.” Huo Lang agreed.

Euck down and rabbit skin are not things that can be dealt with in one go. Seeing that it was getting late, Si Ningning turned over the snakeskin bag that used to contain duck feathers and washed it clean, and finally put it in a corner of the backyard to dry.

After finishing these tasks, she clapped her hands and prepared to go home:

 “I’ve been out for a while today, it’s time for me to go back.”

"I send you."

"Yeah. By the way, I'll come back tomorrow morning and have breakfast here then."

 “Okay, I’m ready and waiting for you to come over.”

Si Ningning nodded, and the two of them walked together. When they reached the literacy class, she turned around and waved to Huo Lang, "Just send it here. There is a dormitory ahead, and this road is very busy."

Huo Lang stopped when he heard the words. In the blurry sky, he looked at Si Ningning, who was like a cunning rabbit, running into the path and disappearing.

Huo Lang stood there for a while, guessing that Si Ningning was about to reach the point of becoming an educated youth, then he slowly turned around.

 He thought silently in his mind:

 Still missing a cabinet…

The attic floor and stairs also need to be replenished with tung oil on both sides. In the south, surrounded by mountains and forests, there are many termites, so we must take precautions in advance.

In the dead of night, Jiang Yue was lying on the bed, half asleep and didn't know if it was a dream or something. A long flight of stairs suddenly appeared in front of her. She raised her steps and was about to step over one, but when she stepped out, she stepped on nothing. Douji Ling was awakened from his dream.

Jiang Yue sat on the edge of the bed panting with sweat on her forehead. After a while, she recovered and found that Si Ningning on the opposite bed had not rested yet and was writing furiously under the lamp.

Jiang Yue wiped the sweat from her forehead, put on her shoes and went to the main room to pour a glass of water. When she came back, she was standing at the table, drinking water and watching what Si Ningning was busy with. Si Ningning was recording the steps of washing duck down and cleaning rabbit skin during the day. After writing the outline, he wrote down a number of tips in the blank space below that he thought were feasible or could be replaced in a simpler way.

Jiang Yue could still understand the text, but there were several lines of letters below, and Jiang Yue could see the question marks in her head: "What are you writing?"

“Aren’t we going to raise rabbits as a team? We should be able to process our own leather in the future. I’m now considering the method to see which one is most suitable for current implementation.”

 Jiang Yue nodded, "I know, this is what I'm talking about, what is this? It doesn't look like foreign writing."

She tapped her hand on the notebook. Si Ningning looked over and said "Oh" calmly: "This is a chemical equation. I wrote it casually. Don't read it."

While recording just now, Si Ningning suddenly came up with the idea, could they try to make antiseptic detergents, bleaches, etc. at the lowest cost?

I made a rough calculation and found that I may have too few things on hand. To prepare what I need, I have to make the same formulas, do experiments to extract them, and then collect them...

Not only is it tiring, but it’s also a waste of time, so after thinking about it, I’d better forget it first.

Everything is in its infancy now, so it’s not good to spread the business too far, otherwise it won’t work, and it won’t just be her time and energy, but everyone will have to follow her.

 Let’s focus on the present.

 “You really can’t stay idle. It’s rare for you to take two days off, but I don’t even see you take a break.”

“I’m taking a rest right now. I’m just sorting out these things and playing around with them to pass the time.”

Jiang Yue said loudly. If she hadn't known about Si Ningning's character, she would have almost stopped talking to Si Ningning.

 Speaking of which, does it seem to be like this every time?

Si Ningning said that whatever you mess with will eventually shine...

Jiang Yue couldn’t help but sigh in her heart:

The difference between reading more and reading less is really big. For people like Si Ningning who are excellent in stages, it would be difficult for her to catch up with her even if she whips her horse and rides a horse.

 Reading is really important!

People who are poor need to study, and people who are ugly also need to study. People like her who are mediocre and have no family background should study even more!

Jiang Yue clenched her hands into fists in front of her chest. Si Ningning glanced at her from the corner of her eye, wondering why she suddenly became excited.

 “Did you have a nightmare just now?”

 “No, it’s just a trivial matter, so don’t mention it.”

Jiang Yue waved her hand, took two books and sat down in front of Si Ningning.

Si Ningning cleared the table for a moment, raised his eyes and asked her, "What are you doing?"

Jiang Yue shook the book in her hand and said, "Read a book!"

 “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

 “Go to sleep later! Wait until I finish reading these two pages!”

Jiang Yue's attitude was firm, so Si Ningning did not disturb her. After packing her things, Si Ningning opened the mosquito net and got into the bed. Occasionally, she would say a few words to Jiang Yue and remind her to go to bed early.

 For the rest of the time, Si Ningning was thinking silently.

 Zhao Hongbing is a philanthropic figure. He does everything he decides to do well. He always treats the children, teachers, and members of the team with clear rewards and punishments, and the intensity is not small.

But, if there is no progress in the rabbit farm, how long can this arrogant reward and punishment system be maintained?

 Although the rabbit farm is busy every day, the actual promotion is really very small.

Si Ningning knows the reason.

 One, it is the second half of the year again, and the time for storing forage is limited. When there are few rabbits, it can be taken care of, but when there are too many rabbits, it cannot be done.

 It just so happens that rabbits are so capable of giving birth.

 The second problem is the processing of leather.

Si Ningning has never given a clear explanation. Even if Zhao Hongbing believes in her and supports her, there are still many people in the production team who are in a wait-and-see attitude. These people are worried about gains and losses, and are afraid that their hard work will be in vain, so they act as role models when they work. A foreign worker.

Zhao Hongbing will motivate these people, but as the captain of the production team, he has many responsibilities and things to do, and he is not covered with eyes. There are always things he cannot take care of.

Si Ningning rubbed her face against the pillow, becoming more and more determined to finalize this leather-making technology as soon as possible.

 “Ning Ning?”

"ah?"

“I’m going to bed, do you still use the lamp?” Jiang Yue asked.

Si Ningning responded in a low voice: "No, I'm sleepy too, just blow on it!"

"good."

 Early the next morning, Si Ningning finished washing and put his things back in their place. Just like yesterday, he put on his water bottle and small satchel and went out to Chen's house.

Horang Yiyan had prepared the meal early.

Breakfast was nothing special, just a big pot of multigrain porridge and four eggs. Si Ningning came over and remembered to look at the duck down and rabbit skins, but Huo Lang quickly pushed him to sit down at the table.

Horang divided the eggs, and there were four eggs for each person. "Eat first, and then look at it after you finish eating."

"Oh fine."

Si Ningning took the egg and knocked it on the edge of the small table. After peeling the shell for a long time, he couldn't help but ask: "Have you checked today? Is there any change? Rabbit skin needs to be soaked for several days, so it can't be seen." What the hell, duck feathers can always tell something, right?"

Horang nodded first and then shook his head, "I went to see it. The duck feathers were all lumped together in the water, and I couldn't see anything."

"ah?"

Si Ningning was a little disappointed, and then Huo Lang added breathlessly: "But one thing can be confirmed, the lime water should be effective, and the duck feathers do not smell so fishy."

"real!?"

Si Ningning’s deer eyes lit up for an instant. This was considered excellent news.

“I’ll eat quickly, and I’ll go over and take a look later. If there’s no big problem, I can take it out today and wait for it to dry and then check the situation!”

"OK."

Huo Lang nodded in agreement, and calmly peeled off the plum blossoms in his hands and pressed them into his mouth. The white and tender egg whites were conveniently placed in Si Ningning's bowl.

 The author has something to say:

　A few days ago, I was supposed to update steadily, but it turned out that after three years of prevention, I still couldn't prevent it. I suddenly got Y, and I was stretched out in bed for seven days. Now I don't feel so uncomfortable, but I still often feel dizzy...

too painful! The little cutie who hasn’t yet grown up must be well protected!

 (End of this chapter)