Seeing the grand preparations to get things done, Chen Lan thought that since her mother-in-law had mobilized everyone in the valley to help move things.
She might as well take this opportunity to buy all the quilting, sewing worktables, specialized sewing scissors, chalk, wooden rulers, tape measures, sergers, power strips, and all other tools needed for the sewing workshop through the system.
Since there were so many people now and everyone was present, it was best to get it all done at once and have everyone help move it. This way, they wouldn't have to buy and move things again later.
With this thought, Chen Lan stopped moving things out with Cui Qiao and the others. She turned around and went upstairs again, to the room next to the one where the fabric was stored.
Using her mind, she opened the system and ordered fifty quilts, each weighing eight catties, two meters wide, and two meters three long, made of Xinjiang long-staple cotton.
Because she was a repeat customer and making another purchase, the shop also gifted her five pairs of pillows and five pairs of pillowcases.
She then ordered two sewing worktables, each two meters wide, six meters long, and seventy-four centimeters high, along with twelve chairs for the sewing staff from a manufacturer specializing in sewing workshop assembly lines.
From a shop specializing in sewing supplies, she ordered two pairs of specialized sewing scissors, fifteen boxes of chalk, one specialized serger, six multi-function power strips, two wooden rulers, two tape measures, and so on.
Then she realized that she had no place to put these items, so she ordered ten extra-large storage bins from the system to store the finished clothes.
She thought about the fifty quilts she had just bought and realized it was too late to start preparing shelves for them.
Even if she were to cut down trees on the mountain right now to make shelves to display the quilts, it wouldn't work because wood that hasn't been dried properly would warp.
It seemed that this year, the fifty quilts would have to be placed on the floor in the room. Fortunately, she still had a few new synthetic carpets in the system's warehouse that hadn't been used yet. They were purchased earlier when husking corn.
Now, spreading them on the floor to place the quilts would be perfect!
When all the items were taken out, the room was instantly filled again.
After completing all the preparations, Chen Lan carried a few carpets downstairs.
She put down the carpets, greeted her mother-in-law, put on a warm padded jacket, changed into shoes for going out, and then continued carrying the carpets outside towards the third house, where Xiao Shan and Lin Mao lived.
Upon arriving at Xiao Shan's house, it was bustling with activity, lively and noisy. Everyone was running up and down the stairs, moving things, working with great enthusiasm.
Chen Lan put down the carpets and found her mother-in-law on the second floor directing everyone on where to put things. She told her mother-in-law about her father-in-law buying two rooms full of items.
She also specifically mentioned the fifty quilts, each weighing eight catties, two meters wide, and two meters three long.
She then pointed to the carpets and said, "Mother-in-law, it's too late to build shelves now. We'll have to find a room, spread carpets on the floor, and place the fifty large quilts on the carpets."
Her mother-in-law thought for a moment and said, "That's the only way!"
Her mother-in-law continued, "Xiao Lan, I'm having Xiao Shan and Lin Mao's families move upstairs. The first floor will be temporarily used as the sewing workshop.
Three rooms have been cleared. One room will be for fabric, cotton, and other clothing materials.
Another room will be for finished clothes.
The largest room will be the workshop. Now it seems we also need a room to store the fifty quilts.
Xiao Lan, do you think this arrangement is okay?"
Chen Lan saw her mother-in-law looking for praise and chuckled, "Mother-in-law, everyone knows you are famously capable! You've already made all the arrangements.
And you're asking me? Are you trying to test me? Please don't test me, I don't understand these things. Let's hurry and organize everyone to move things!"
Her mother-in-law smiled and said, "Yes! Yes! Since the rain has stopped, let them make more trips and quickly bring all the things over."
With that, she turned and went downstairs to arrange for people to move things from their home.
After a whole day of concerted effort by everyone, the sewing workshop for the sewing cooperative was finally tidied up and ready for official use the next day.
Her mother-in-law and Chen Lan both let out a long sigh of relief. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other and walked home hand in hand.
After several days of rain, upon waking up this morning, they saw that the sky had finally cleared. The long-awaited sun slowly rose from the east. Time had unknowingly slipped into October.
Chen Lan thought, "October in my previous life was peak tourist season. With the National Day holiday in October, various travel agencies would launch their tour guides early to attract tourists."
She wondered if it was because the air was not polluted and the ecological environment had not been damaged?
Or was it because it had just rained for a few days?
She was currently in the Changbai Mountains in the 1950s. The weather in October was getting colder day by day. Although the weather was clear today, there was still a biting chill in the air.
The Changbai Mountains had unknowingly entered early winter.
Taking advantage of the clear weather, Xiang Dong and Er Hu, along with the male laborers from the valley, went to build greenhouses.
They decided to work overtime to meet the deadline, as time was of the essence. They wanted to complete the greenhouse construction as quickly as possible to plant the first batch of vegetables before the heavy snow in Changbai Mountains, so they could have fresh vegetables for the New Year.
Chen Lan thought that she couldn't help much with the men building greenhouses, so she decided to make something delicious to reward them.
She thought about it. It was already winter. Although it was a sunny day, cold winds still blew intermittently, making people feel a bit chilly. What could she give them that was both nutritious and delicious?
After much thought, she concluded that hot pot was the most suitable for winter. The cold weather meant they didn't have to worry about food getting cold quickly, and everyone could make do with cold meals.
With hot pot, everyone could gather around and eat together merrily. It was not only warm but also a chance to chat and converse intimately.
Moreover, preparing the ingredients for hot pot was very convenient and hassle-free.
Chen Lan opened the system with her mind and purchased fresh, chilled beef and lamb, as well as fish balls, meat balls, and other hot pot ingredients from a shop specializing in hot pot ingredients.
She also bought a bag of Sichuan's famous spicy hot pot base from the system.
Her knife skills were naturally not comparable to those of restaurant chefs. She just sliced the fresh beef and lamb casually, and since everyone was familiar with each other, they wouldn't care about the quality of her knife work.
She went to the back door and took three large cabbages, about ten radishes, over twenty potatoes, green onions, ginger, garlic, and other ingredients from the cellar.
After washing all the ingredients clean, she sliced them thinly.
She heated oil in a pot, added the hot pot base and stir-fried it until fragrant. Then she added green onions, ginger, and garlic, continuing to stir-fry until fragrant. Finally, she added hot water, and the hot pot base was ready.
When the time came, they could just dip their favorite ingredients into the bubbling hot pot, and it would be incredibly fragrant and delicious.