"Yes, yes, I can do it." Chen Qingwen nodded repeatedly. "It won't even take until tomorrow. My family can make eighty kilograms a day. Ten kilograms can be easily made this afternoon, put in the freezer for an hour, and it can be delivered to Secretary Song before evening."
"If you do well, you can make the rest of the milk candies. If you don't, Boss Chen will continue to earn three to five hundred yuan from you every month." Song Tianyao was a little surprised by Chen Qingwen. He didn't expect that this candy shop owner would have a refrigeration cabinet. Refrigerators were not very common at the time, and only factories would purchase such power-consuming equipment as refrigeration cabinets.
Song Tianyao had lunch with Chen Qingwen at a teahouse. After lunch, he took Chen Qingwen to the warehouse of Likang Trading Company at the Central Pier. He took out a one-kilogram bag of Santonin deworming medicine produced by the Britain Gaili Subsidiary Company and gave it to Chen Qingwen. He then followed Chen Qingwen to his candy shop in Sai Ying Pun and watched as Chen Qingwen ground the large pills into powder in the processing room behind the shop. He carefully weighed the powder and then instructed his wife to start boiling coarse sugar according to the proportion of the powder, adding the Santonin deworming medicine and creamer powder. He also had his son make flower tower models on the cold sugar board according to Song Tianyao's instructions. His daughter-in-law then poured the well-mixed milk candy onto the cold sugar board one by one. Finally, Chen Qingwen personally pushed the entire cold sugar board into a buzzing, wardrobe-sized refrigerated cabinet. The entire production process was done in batches, with the four members of the Chen Family each performing their duties efficiently. It certainly looked like an old candy shop.
As the sun began to set, Chen Qingwen and his son carried a large candy box filled with a small mountain of Flower Pagoda Candies, numbering two or three thousand in total. They placed the box on the table in front of Song Tianyao, wiping the sweat from Song Tianyao faces, and asked, "Secretary Song, is this what you requested?"
Song Tianyao picked up one and examined it. Its shape was indeed similar to the Flower Pagoda Candy he had eaten as a child in his previous life—about the size of a thumbnail, pale yellow in color. He brought it to his nose and smelled it; it had no aroma. However, he now had some doubts. These two or three thousand Pagoda Candies in front of him—judging by the quantity, must weigh more than ten kilograms, right?
However, he quickly realized that Chen Qingwen's ratio was one kilogram of medicinal powder to ten kilograms of Thailand coarse sugar, but this batch of Flower Pagoda Candy also contained the same proportion of creamer powder in addition to coarse sugar.
"Three for each of you, to try them?" Song Tianyao said to Chen Qingwen and his son.
As he spoke, he put one in his mouth and chewed it. He couldn't taste the bitterness that the Santonin deworming medicine should have; it only tasted sweet.
Chen Qingwen picked up three candies, put them in his mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them. Then he smacked his lips and tasted the candies he had made, but he didn't seem to notice any unusual flavor.
"Pack all of these up for me, then find a rickshaw." Song Tianyao took out three hundred Hong Kong dollars from his wallet and handed it to Chen Qingwen: "Thank you for your help, Boss Chen. I've been busy all afternoon. If this candy turns out well, I'll come back to you."
Chen Qingwen's son turned around and went outside to help flag down a car, while Chen Qingwen's wife and daughter-in-law found a nylon bag used for storing creamer powder and put the Pagoda Candies into the bag.
After filling the bag with the freshly baked Pagoda Candy, Song Tianyao went straight back to Tai Wo Street. He struggled to climb the nylon bag, which weighed at least fifty pounds, to the second floor. After his younger sister, Song Wenwen, helped him open the door, Song Tianyao entered the room and found his parents sitting on the stools in the living room with grim expressions.
"What happened to those two?" Song Tianyao straightened up, took a breath, and asked his younger sister, Song Wenwen, beside him.
Song Wenwen shrank back and whispered in Song Tianyao's ear, "You had Mom buy some Western medicine, and you made them each take one pill. Just now, the two of them expelled more than a dozen worms, and some of them were still moving."
Song Chunliang's Dad, sat there like a statue, completely unresponsive to Song Tianyao's return. He nervously touched his stomach with both hands. His mother, Zhao Meizhen, was a little better than Song Chunliang, but she was also pale-faced, staring at Song Tianyao, while her hands, like Song Chunliang's, were placed on her lower abdomen.
"Remember not to drink unboiled water next time, and don't buy cheap water from the street again." Song Tianyao squatted down in front of Zhao Meizhen, whose face was still a little pale, and waved his hand in front of her eyes. "If it's expelled, it means there's nothing in your stomach, right? Take another one tomorrow, and I guarantee you won't be so scary anymore."
Zhao Meizhen said weakly to Song Tianyao, "Do you even need to tell me? From now on, I'll eat one every day. Damn it! Just thinking about those worms makes the pores on my back open and let the cold air escape!"
"No need. Take one more pill tomorrow, and then only once every three or six months. Taking too much of this medicine is bad for your health." Song Tianyao pointed to the bag of Pagoda Candies inside the door. "These candies are also for deworming. Take them to the neighbors in the other buildings later. Give each person only three pills, no more. It's best to watch them take them."
"You've struck it rich! Treating the neighbors to candy?" Zhao Meizhen rubbed her stomach as she stood up, walked over to the bag of Pagoda Candies, and looked at it. "They look a bit strange, like milk candy. Wouldn't it be better to keep them for ourselves to enjoy during holidays?"
"The candy used to kill worms isn't ordinary milk candy. I don't even know how effective it is. I'd appreciate it if the neighbors could help me try it," Song Tianyao said.
"Aren't medicine candies candies? I'll help you test them. It's good that so many candies are being given away to the neighbors for free." Zhao Meizhen grabbed a few candies from the candy, gave two to her daughter, and popped one into her own mouth.
Helpless, Song Tianyao opened the door and called upstairs, "Scribe Hui, come down quickly!"
Within minutes, Scribe Hui, came running down from the third floor. "Secretary Song, you called me? I've brought Sister Yun back; go upstairs to see her..."
"I've seen your mother. You're always a few steps behind others in thinking. See this bag of candy? Take three pieces and eat them." Song Tianyao pointed to the bag of Pagoda Candies and said to his Scribe Hui.
The Scribe Hui, picked up three and popped them into his mouth, chewing them vigorously. After swallowing, he said, "Delicious, sweet."
"No more! Only three pills allowed. Too many will cause poisoning and stomach aches. Distribute this bag of candy to the neighbors on this street, three pills to each person. Don't give more than that. Also tell them not to give too many to children. It's for deworming. Go now, and remember to save three for your boss."