I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 314: The Beginning of a New Era

Chapter 314: Chapter 314: The Beginning of a New Era

Qiao Qingyu opened the door to the storage room.

The room was adorned with a cement floor and wooden shelves, now filled with cotton cloth bags of flour.

Qiao Qingyu’s storage room held fifteen bags of flour.

She kept plenty because anything extra could be given away.

Against the north wall was the millet she had grown, amounting to five bags.

Cornmeal, corn cobs, and kernels were piled on the shelves to the west.

The quantities were considerable; with sufficient food at home, there was no panic, and Qiao Qingyu felt happy just looking at her storage room, with the only pitiful sight being the rice.

It weighed only five or six pounds, contained in a small cloth bag, placed off to the side.

Qiao Qingyu glanced over and thought that in the future, rice would be nothing special, and millet would be much more expensive than rice.

Qiao Qingyu scooped two bowls of flour.

She poured hot water over the flour, adding a bit of soybean oil, sprinkled with Sichuan pepper, green onions, and salt before spreading it on the rolled-out dough, then rolling it up.

Cut into pieces and then rolled into circles, this was how she made the fragrant scallion pancakes.

The quartermaster had brought in quite a lot of soybean oil this year.

In fact, oil could also be extracted from corn and even rice.

But the technology was not yet mature.

And at this time, He Xiuyu had already cleaned himself up, and Qiao Qingyu took a glance—oh, he had lost quite a bit of weight.

Despite his weight loss, he was clearly elated and in high spirits as if he had encountered some great news, and the smile in the corner of his eyes and brows couldn’t be hidden.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Qiao Qingyu asked, "You’re in such a good mood, why is that?"

"Do you remember that test tube you gave me?"

Qiao Qingyu nodded, "I remember, did it yield any results?"

"It yielded results long ago, and then it was applied in practice, just today..."

At this point, He Xiuyu paused, tapping his fingers on the kang table as they both sat cross-legged on either side of it, a warm yellow light above their heads. Qiao Qingyu thought He Xiuyu seemed mysteriously excited, a look she had never before noticed on his face.

Qiao Qingyu considerately said, "If it’s not convenient to talk about it, then don’t. I’m happy just knowing it’s good news, and I’m glad to see you’re happy."

He Xiuyu just smiled at Qiao Qingyu, shaking his head. She deserved to know; she was the greatest contributor, even though she was bound to remain unmentioned, destined not even to be an unsung hero. Her name would not appear in any documents or even reports.

But He Xiuyu felt that was for the best in protecting Qiao Qingyu.

Perhaps this was also his selfishness.

But though such matters were classified, he could tell Qiao Qingyu. In a voice low enough for only her to hear, he said, "Just today, January 9, 1982, our country’s new generation of independently developed armed helicopters has successfully completed its test flight!"

"Really?" Qiao Qingyu exclaimed excitedly, her eyes wide.

Although she wasn’t a military enthusiast, she knew that independently developing armed helicopters was a task for the next century, with the current trend leaning more towards purchases or collaborative development, always beholden to others.

She hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

"It’s true, and that’s all you need to know."

Now that he had mentioned it, He Xiuyu continued, "Right now, everyone is working overtime in an effort to quickly develop a fleet of armed helicopters to deploy into battle."

Qiao Qingyu hummed softly in acknowledgment, then with a worried notion remembered Rongrong’s father, "How is my big brother doing over there?"

"We got in touch a few days ago, he’s enduring some hardships."

Which meant no serious issues, but certain hardships were inevitable.

"Can we help in any way?"

"You have already been of great help," He Xiuyu said meaningfully. "It’s hard to get a winter break, so rest well at home, eat some good food; you’ve lost weight..."

While speaking, He Xiuyu reached out to touch his wife’s cheek. Although still fair and tender, her cheeks did indeed seem less full.

But he was changing the subject.

Some things simply had to be touched upon lightly, not suitable for further discussion.

Space Devices, laboratories, seed cultivators, energy sources, and various biological type test tubes—he knew that the emergence of the armed helicopters signified the beginning of a new era.

The future was truly unpredictable.

Qiao Qingyu glanced at He Xiuyu, "Look who’s talking, you’ve lost weight too. Work is important, but so is your health." She pointed to the ceiling, "You haven’t unraveled the secrets of the Space Device yet. On our Earth alone, we’ve got over three hundred thousand plant seeds, but there, there are over seven hundred thousand, twice as much, including extinct and new hybrid mutant species. There are so many projects waiting for your research."

"I know, and not just for any reason, but for you, I will take good care of myself."

This was He Xiuyu’s heartfelt truth. He didn’t favor pushing his engineers to exhaust themselves unnecessarily; the future was long, and the country was continually producing more talent, allowing them breathing room.

It turned out the couple hadn’t seen each other for more than ten days. Oh, they had missed each other intensely, and their longing, tenderness, and passion were clearly visible in each other’s eyes.

While the adjectives might be plenteous, they perfectly described their current state.

The moon had ascended to the zenith, and the north wind howled as it swept past the house, warming with spring.

Not lingering, it quickly receded into the distance.

Leaving only the tranquil night and the silver moonlight behind.

...

The workers at Tenghai Base Farm could finally take a break, but even though it was winter, there was still plenty to do, such as slaughtering some of the base’s sheep.

It was said each household would get half a pound of mutton.

No helping it; this was the classic case of "more wolves than meat."

But this year, the quartermaster brought in a train car full of frozen pork.

Now they were doing the final tally, and of course, it couldn’t be divided equally; it had to be allocated according to the level of contribution.

Like the most senior engineers and the quartermaster staff of the same age.

Even if all revolutionary work is noble, true egalitarianism just isn’t feasible.

Though the senior engineers genuinely didn’t care, the treatment they deserved had to be provided. Otherwise, who would bother striving and inventing?

And the frontline workers were also among the hardest working, as important mechanical parts and materials passed through their hands; naturally, they would receive more than the officials who sat around drinking tea and reading newspapers.

Regardless, this year was shaping up to be better than the last.

Qiao Qingyu discussed the Chinese New Year arrangements with He Xiuyu, and he would have a little over a week of rest.

So the couple decided to head to Yun City for the New Year first, then after the fifth day, travel from Yun City to Beijing, stay there for three days, and then return to the base.

That was pretty much the plan.

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