A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

That evening, while Ren Zhongyuan was driving his jeep, Jiang Xia took two electric pressure cookers back to her teacher's wife's house under the pretext of continuing the experiment.

Old Man Ren's plan to treat Jiang Xia to roast duck fell through. He'd gotten so engrossed in watching the improved version of "Little Cannon" that by the time he remembered and went to buy some, there wasn't even a duck neck left.

The shortage of supplies doesn't care whether you're a high-ranking official or not. Didn't you see even your master's wife squeezing into the crowd to queue up?

"Master's wife! What are you doing here?"

Upon seeing his teacher's wife, Jiang Xia jumped out of the still-unstable jeep, prompting Ren Zhongyuan to follow him and curse.

Upon seeing Jiang Xia approach, his master's wife pulled him into the group and then withdrew herself.

"The department store has just opened a new branch here, and they don't need coupons for milk candy! You can line up here and buy two pounds!"

As she spoke, the master's wife stuffed some money into his hand and sighed, "They sold some frozen pork up ahead, but by the time it's our turn, there will only be half a pound of ribs left."

"Alright, you line up, I'll go back and stew it for you."

As she spoke, the teacher's wife stamped her foot and got into Ren Zhongyuan's car, looking somewhat tired.

"Master's wife, use the pot I brought back!"

After queuing for an hour, lucky Jiang Xia managed to snag one of the candies. Looking at the blue and white striped wrapper, he thought, "This is the taste I remember!"

Time to go home and eat meat!

Uh... I didn't get to eat it.

As soon as the pressure cooker was plugged in, all the fuses in the building blew out.

The only reason we have power lines now is because there's only one main switch. There aren't even individual meters for each household; the whole building shares a single line. The power company at this time is still in its infancy, far from the dominant force it will become in the future.

But you can't blame others; most electrical appliances these days are light bulbs, maybe with a radio at most.

Suddenly, a monstrous flood appears; no one can withstand that.

However, this also aroused the curiosity of the residents in the building. How could this covered iron pot with a square box be so powerful?

These days, people who can afford to live in apartment buildings are all quite knowledgeable. So when something unexpected suddenly appears, who wouldn't be curious?

A handwritten instruction manual from Jiangxia was passed around among the group, and finally everyone unanimously decided: Let's take a look!

While the electrician was repairing the fuse, the group simply let him connect an extension cord, set up a light, and turned off all the switches in the house.

In front of everyone, the master's wife chopped up the ribs on the stone table downstairs and threw them into the pot.

Ginger? No!

Garlic? No!

These days, these seemingly insignificant things are more precious than cabbage. When there are quotas available, they are always reserved for the families of martyrs.

However, 30 minutes later, the aroma of meat wafting out when the pot lid was opened still made people salivate.

"Come on, everyone! Let's all have a taste!"

The master's wife first scooped up a large piece, set it aside, and then warmly greeted everyone.

"Alright, ma'am, we won't stand on ceremony with you. I'll show you how to chew meat with my toothless mouth!"

As he spoke, the old man, who was at least 60 years old, picked up a small piece of lean meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

After chewing twice, he opened his mouth wide in surprise.

"What's wrong, Professor Zhang? Did you burn yourself? This is what they mean by 'haste makes waste'!"

"Someone nearby joked."

Unexpectedly, the old man pointed to his mouth and said, "It's rotten! It's rotten! I chewed it up!"

Another old man, not finding it disgusting at all, actually leaned over to take a look: "Hey, Old Zhang, it's really chewed up!"

"I'll try too!"

Without any hesitation, he took a bite.

"Mmm! Absolutely awful! Absolutely terrible!"

"Come on, let me show you."

As he spoke, the old man picked out a bone-in steak, placed it on a plate, and gently shook it. The tender pieces of meat fell crisply off the bone as he shook it.

It landed on the plate and wobbled a few times!

Hey, now everyone was less reserved and each took a small piece, enjoying the soft and tender texture.

Professor Zhang had just swallowed the meat in his mouth when the pot was empty.

The old man shook his head and sighed as he poured himself a bowl of milky white meat soup: "Is it too much? Not at all!"

The master's wife found it amusing and handed over the portion that had been reserved for Jiang Xia as well.

"Old Zhang, is there anything else? Eat slowly."

"Hey, alright, I'll oblige. This old man hasn't had any meat in ages!"

Just as the old man was sighing, a middle-aged man carrying a vegetable bag squeezed through the crowd, and seeing the bits of meat on the old man's lips, exclaimed in surprise:

"Dad! You've eaten meat!"

The old man glanced at his son. "It's rare! I don't usually eat it because I can't chew it! Hey, why are you so late today?"

"Buy meat! I'm first in line at the newly opened stall up ahead! I also wanted to buy you a can of milk powder, but unfortunately they're sold out by the time I get to the front of the line."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man looked at his master's wife: "Sister, can I use your pot? My father has been hospitalized twice already, and the doctor keeps saying he's malnourished, but he can't chew properly! Now it's all right, he's finally asking for help!"

"Okay! I'll use your pot this time, and you can have the rest of the ribs!"

The master's wife has no objection; after all, pots are made to be used by people!

However, this statement is somewhat unpleasant.

Before his master's wife could speak, the old man swung his cane and knocked the middle-aged man's head full of bumps.

"How dare you talk to your older sister like that? Did you get confused during your negotiations with the foreigners? Is this how you treat your neighbor?"

"Cook it all! Let everyone taste the delicious food made by your eldest sister's 'unicorn'!"

"Hey! Quickly call Old Li down too, his mouth is half broken and he hasn't tasted meat in a long time, hurry up and call him down to have some!"

The middle-aged man rubbed his head, which was covered in bumps: "Dad, that's not right. The eldest sister's child messed up this pot; it should be tasting the meat cooked in it!"

"Commander Li's mouth wasn't split in half, but his lower jaw was pierced through."

"Hey! You're still nitpicking my words!"

Seeing the old man raise his cane again, the middle-aged man scurried away, but still didn't forget to turn back and add, "Dad, you have to be careful with the wording in foreign negotiations! Those blondies are cunning!"

"Sorry, I hit myself!"

As he spoke, a crisp slapping sound rang out from the stairwell.

The teacher's wife chuckled softly, then comforted the old man, "Old Zhang, don't get upset. Those Australians are so arrogant, young Zhang is probably fed up with them!"

The old man snorted angrily, "A bunch of sons of sinners, what right do they have to be arrogant? They're just taking advantage of China's suffering to plunder!"

"They're just trying to steal some of our grain! They're courting death!"

Another elderly man came up carrying a bowl of meat soup:

"They're just asking for trouble. I initially thought they were British, but after they surrendered their flag, I realized I'd never seen them before!"

"I later found out that it was from Australia."

Seeing that the two were chatting happily, another elderly person joined in.

"Hey, you didn't see it in the POW camp. These Australians still dare to serve the people from their colonial power. You can't even drive them away by scolding them!"

"Haha, back in the day..."

The old folks got so into their conversation that they sat around the pressure cooker, each sending someone to bring food from their homes, making it look like a bonfire party.

The night was cold.

But the temperature of the pressure cooker still brought warmth to this small space, especially when the lid was opened and white steam rose up.

The rich aroma of meat enveloped the elderly, as if saying, "If you're tired, take a rest."

It's good to be home, it's good to be back...

It was a heartwarming scene, but it made Jiang Xia break out in a cold sweat.

Thanks to Shijingshan for the reliable steel, and thanks to Liu Haizhong for his reliable craftsmanship.

If anything went wrong, Jiang Xia estimated he would be hanging on the city wall.

Even if they're dried out, nobody will want them!