Chapter 7 Going to the market
That night, Xu Qiang took out a green plastic-covered notebook from home. There was a picture of Tiananmen Square printed on it. It was issued by the factory that year. His father did not graduate from elementary school, so the notebook had never been used. Xu Qiang could use it to record some things.

As a chemical expert, Xu Qiang certainly wants a chemical laboratory of his own, so that both product testing and development of new products can be on the right track.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang had his own independently managed chemical laboratory, which was equipped with all kinds of equipment, including thousands of various instruments and instruments, many of which were imported from abroad, such as spectrometers and gas chromatographs.

But if it is a company's laboratory, the equipment required is different, mainly testing instruments for specific products, and the testing methods are also different.

Xu Qiang wanted to mass-produce humic acid, so purity testing of the product was crucial. However, dedicated humic acid testing instruments were unavailable these days, and he only had a few hundred yuan. So Xu Qiang had thought of a feasible method, which was the volumetric method.

This so-called volumetric method uses a strong oxidant, potassium dichromate, in a strong acid medium to oxidize the carbon in the humic acid molecules into carbon dioxide, and calculates the humic acid content based on the consumption of potassium dichromate and the carbon coefficient of humic acid.

Because this method has fewer testing steps and takes less time, in the past, most small companies producing humic acid used this method, which is economical and practical.

As for high-tech instruments such as spectrometers and gas chromatographs, they would certainly be very expensive in this era. It is estimated that there are not many of them in the country, not to mention that they require approval, so it is simply unrealistic to buy such things.

Although these professional instruments are not available for purchase, it is estimated that some simple chemical tools can still be purchased, such as alcohol lamps, beakers, etc., which are available in school laboratories and are not very expensive.

Thinking of this, Xu Qiang spent more than an hour making a shopping list for tomorrow.

Xu Qiang took out three hundred yuan, his entire fortune, from his underwear pocket and frowned slightly. Although this amount of money was almost equivalent to a farmer's annual income at that time, he didn't know if it was enough to buy so many things.

The night in the village was exceptionally quiet, with only a few barking dogs. There was no computer or mobile phone network, and Xu Qiang, who was bored and exhausted from a busy day, fell asleep quickly...

The next morning, after the chickens in the backyard crowed twice, Xu Qiang opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

When Xu Qiang simply washed up, put on his clothes and pushed the family's "Big Erba" out the door, Liu Jun and Erhu had been waiting outside for a long time.

There's a big market in town today. If you go late, all the good stuff will be sold out, so you have to leave as early as possible.

Erhu was small in stature and sat on the front beam. After Liu Jun pushed him, he sat down on the clothes rack at the back.

Xu Qiang is one of the few people in the village who has a bicycle. His father spent a lot of effort on this big 180-inch bicycle. At that time, a bicycle cost 7000 yuan and a bicycle ticket. If converted to later times, it would be 70 yuan. In the s, it was equivalent to a working-class family with a salary of more than yuan saving money for four or five months without eating or drinking to buy a bicycle.

Since buying it, Xu Qiang's father treated this bicycle like a treasure. He would take it out and clean it whenever he had time. He was reluctant to ride it to work and kept it at home. Now it has become Xu Qiang's means of transportation.

When leaving the village, dogs barking could be heard in the yards on both sides. Xu Qiang didn't want to disturb too many people, so he put force on his feet and drove quickly onto the dirt road at the entrance of the village.

It takes more than ten miles to walk from the village to Gaoshan Town. The tires were inflated a bit too much, and I felt like my butt was about to fall apart along the way. Occasionally when going uphill, Liu Jun would give a push from behind, so we were moving quite fast.

More than an hour later, the sky began to brighten and the three finally arrived at the county market.

"Waiter, bring three bowls of tea."

Xu Qiang and his two friends parked their car on the side, sat down on a tea stand, and asked for water. Soon, three bowls of tea were served. Xu Qiang and his two friends were already very thirsty, and after drinking the tea, they all showed some satisfaction on their faces.

At this time, there are more and more vendors setting up stalls on the roadside, but no one dares to shout loudly. After all, it is an era of cracking down on speculation. But when you walk past, they will eagerly sell to you.

Just as Xu Qiang and his two companions were drinking tea, a brand new Huanghai bus stopped on the roadside opposite them. A group of well-dressed men and women got off the bus. Their clothes were all made of the most fashionable Dacron and their leather shoes were polished to a shine. Many of the female workers had the popular wavy curls, which was in stark contrast to the locals who were all wearing green military uniforms and Zhongshan suits and had pigtails.

Every Sunday, Shengli Machinery Factory would send cars to take employees to the town or county for shopping. Although the factory was located in the mountains, the treatment and living conditions of the employees there were actually no worse than those of the workers in the factory, and their welfare was even better.

A few female workers passed by the tea stall, and the smell of Shanghai vanishing cream immediately wafted over.

"Why are the women in this machinery factory so white?" After seeing the female workers walking past him, Erhu reluctantly withdrew his gaze and couldn't help but say.

"You've never seen a woman? Eh..."

Liu Jun, who was standing by, was dissatisfied with Erhu's fussing, so he glanced towards the intersection. The next moment, he couldn't help but look dazed for a moment.

It turned out that a girl wearing a plaid long skirt and a pair of white leather sandals had just stepped out of the car. She was tall, with fair and beautiful skin, bright eyes, and long hair tied into a refreshing ponytail, giving people a stunning feeling.

At this time, Xu Qiang's attention was also attracted by this girl. Even though Xu Qiang had seen many beauties in his previous life, this girl still gave him a very eye-catching feeling. Unlike the beauties in later generations who were processed by plastic surgery and cosmetics, this girl could indeed be called a natural beauty.

It was indeed beyond Xu Qiang's expectation to see such a beauty in such a mountain valley.

In fact, what Xu Qiang didn’t know was that Shengli Machinery Factory was originally built with aid from factories in several major cities in China, most of which came from Shanghai Radio Factory No. 3, as well as factories in Northeast China and Guangzhou. Therefore, the regular employees in the factory actually all came from big cities.

Until now, most of the families of the factory employees are still in their original cities. It is even said that the director of Shengli Machinery Factory, his wife is still a teacher in a middle school in Shanghai. The family can only get together during the winter and summer vacations.

In the whole Fuzhou, the workers of Shengli Machinery Factory seem to be superior to others. They are well-dressed and spend money generously, so they are regarded as the "God of Wealth" in the eyes of many local vendors, and they are greeted very attentively.

"Is this a movie star?" At this moment, even Liu Jun couldn't help but sigh.

"If I could marry a wife like this, I could live ten years less, no! Twenty years less!"

Staring at the female worker in the plaid long skirt, Erhu couldn't help but sigh.

"Come on, take a look at yourself. She's a regular employee of a big factory and she's so beautiful. Judging from the way she's dressed, she's not an ordinary girl. How could she be attracted by you?" Liu Jun on the side snorted disdainfully.

Liu Jun had rich social experience and could tell at a glance that this girl was extraordinary. In addition to her clothes, she was wearing an exquisite ladies' plum blossom watch on her wrist. This was definitely not a girl from an ordinary family.

(End of this chapter)