Manager Gao had already understood what he wanted to know and was preparing to head home.

Before returning, he instructed Huang Qinqin, "Qinqin, remember to ask the village to pack up more pickled vegetables."

"As we can see from the tasting we did recently, many people in the city really like your pickled vegetables. The quantity specified in the contract is definitely not enough."

"In addition, I received a notice from above that foreign guests will be visiting our department store after the National Day holiday."

"Among them are people from South Korea. I learned beforehand that their country mainly eats pickled vegetables. I think this is a good opportunity to earn foreign exchange for the country!"

"Anyway, this pickled vegetable won't spoil easily, so we'll pack as much as we can before National Day."

"Otherwise, if there really is a large order, it will be too late."

Huang Qinqin carefully remembered what Manager Gao said, and after watching him leave, she returned to the workshop.

Inside the workshop, Fang Chuchu was pestering Village Chief Huang, repeatedly asking, "Village Chief? Can't you really sell me a few jars now?"

“I can buy it at the department store price. I really like eating it. I’ve already finished all the ones Grandma Huang gave me before.”

As Huang Qinqin walked in, she happened to hear Fang Chuchu's last sentence, so she gently called out, "Chuchu, don't make things difficult for the village chief."

"I'll go with you later to see if my grandma has any. If she does, we'll send you some. If not, just wait a few days."

"I estimate that the department store will come to pick up the goods and put them on the shelves for sale in another day or two."

Fang Chuchu still wanted to buy it now, because she felt that since she was already there, it wouldn't matter if she sold it to someone else for a small amount. Besides, she was prepared to buy it at the selling price.

However, as soon as she opened her mouth, she saw Huang Qinqin looking at her with a serious expression, so she had no choice but to shut up.

It wasn't that Village Chief Huang didn't want to sell to Fang Chuchu, but rather that selling to Fang Chuchu, regardless of whether he accepted money or how much he charged her, wouldn't be appropriate.

You say you won't charge money, but this belongs to the whole village.

But if you're going to charge money, how much would be appropriate?

If they really followed Fang Chuchu's suggestion and charged her the department store's selling price, Village Chief Huang was afraid that Fang Chuchu would have a problem with them.

If they sell to the department store at the price the village pays, Village Chief Huang is worried that Fang Chuchu will keep coming to the village to buy things.

So after much thought, the best course of action is not to sell.

After calming Fang Chuchu down, Huang Qinqin said to the village chief and the brigade secretary, "Secretary, village chief, are you free now? I have something to tell you."

"If you're free, let's go outside and talk."

Huang Qinqin was about to leave when she turned back to Fang Chuchu and said, "Chuchu, there are no more problems at the workshop."

"Go inside and find my grandma. Ask her to take you home now and see if there are any pickled vegetables."

"I'll come straight to you once I've finished what I need to do; that way it'll be faster."

Fang Chuchu nodded obediently and then went inside to find Grandma Huang.

When the brigade secretary and village chief Huang saw Huang Qinqin come out, they both asked nervously, "Qinqin, did the manager from the department store say something just now?"

"Will he have a problem with us because of what happened just now? Is he not going to take our pickled vegetables?"

There was nothing they could do; it wasn't that the brigade secretary and village chief were too nervous, but rather that what that auntie had just said did sound rather unpleasant.

It's as if they deliberately made the bottles so small, and then came up with some ulterior motives to make the contents seem more plentiful.

Huang Qinqin guessed what they were worried about and explained with a smile, "That was Manager Gao from the department store. I thought you would recognize him."

"Didn't you meet him when we signed the contract last time? But he didn't say anything, so you don't need to worry."

The brigade secretary and Village Chief Huang were awkwardly positioned, one looking at the sky and the other at the ground.

Well, the reason they didn't recognize Manager Gao is because they were so tense when they signed the contract that they didn't remember his face at all.

Village Chief Huang changed the subject and asked, "So, what do you want to tell us?"

When it came to business, Huang Qinqin's smile faded, and she said seriously, "Manager Gao just told me that there might be a big order in a few days."

"Therefore, the village must ensure a sufficient supply of pickled vegetables. I would like to ask, is what we just saw all the available stock?"

The brigade secretary shook his head: "Some of them are still in the warehouse."

"The pickling jars in the workshop are all borrowed from the villagers' homes. The village doesn't have enough money to buy too many new pickling jars right now."

"Then, after you came back last time and asked Lao Huang to increase the amount of pickling, I went to the commune for help."

"The commune made the decision and each of the other villages in the brigade lent us ten pickling jars, so there are still a lot of goods in the warehouse."

Hearing this, Huang Qinqin felt relieved and reminded them, "Secretary, Village Chief, please pack as much pickled vegetable as possible these next few days."

"If you're running out of packaging bottles, be sure to place your orders with the chemical and printing factories well in advance. Their production also takes time."

"Finally, as soon as a pickling jar becomes empty, remember to immediately continue pickling new ones to avoid having to place additional orders when there is no stock to supply the department store."

After explaining everything, Huang Qinqin was about to go find Fang Chuchu when Village Chief Huang stopped her.

"Um, Qin girl, there's something else we'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Hmm? What's up?"

Village Chief Huang said, "The autumn harvest is just around the corner, and I was thinking that by then the first batch of payments should have been settled."

"I'd like to trouble you to buy some meat or bones for us during the autumn harvest. We'll cook some meat to nourish everyone."

Huang Qinqin thought it was something serious, but it turned out she was asked to help buy meat: "No problem, but you might not be able to buy much meat because you need meat coupons."

"I suggest that the village buy some spare ribs or large pork bones. Although spare ribs are bones, they still have some meat in them."

"Bone marrow can be used to make soup. And bones don't require meat coupons, so they're easier to buy."

When Village Chief Huang heard Huang Qinqin say that ribs and bones were easy to buy, he nodded happily: "Okay, then we'll let you know in advance before the autumn harvest, and then give you the money together."

"Tell us when you can pick it up, and we'll go to the city to get it ourselves."