Chapter 86 Dinner at the Qiao Family

Qiao Junxian hurriedly took out a photo album.

Yue Ning took it and looked sideways at him. He sat down beside her with expectant eyes.

Yue Ning opened the photo album and saw the location and date of the photo taken written on the title page. Cameras of that era were unable to record location and date.

Turning over the title page, there are three photos on one page. The top one is the photo of her throwing Ah Da off the hillside that early morning.

At that moment Ah Da struggled. He was very strong and he was trying hard, with his teeth bared. What’s more, he was shooting upwards from the bottom of the hill, which made it even more terrifying.

Yue Ning turned around, looked at Qiao Junxian who was looking for praise, and asked, "Why are you taking this photo?"

Qiao Junxian didn't expect Yue Ning to be unhappy. He said, "You just broke into my camera like that, full of life."

He calls this "vibrant"?

"You know, along the way, people and things were all scenery."

He flipped a few pages back. On this page, on the vast grassland, herdsmen were driving horses, sheep were grazing leisurely, the supply and marketing cooperative went to the countryside to sell goods, and relatives were selecting goods.

"I came here and took a lot of pictures. They turned out very well. There was no sense of impact," Qiao Junxian turned back to the first photo. "I took this photo. I went to the village to observe everyone's expressions. Most of the time I couldn't understand what they were saying. It seemed that everyone was very alive."

The next photo is of her walking on a country road carrying a bucket, and he is standing at the foot of the hill looking up. Her tall and slender back, coupled with the morning light, and this composition, is very charming.

"In this photo, you blend into the scenery." He pointed to another photo of her holding a sheepskin and smiling, "Your smile is very contagious. This moment is really beautiful."

She was carrying a bloody sheepskin, and he called it beauty.

Qiao Junxian continued to flip through the pages. There were pictures of her and Uncle Agen peeling sheepskin, her making fish soup, Aunt Chunmei and the others helping her to the car, and her dog Dahei lying on the ground.

He also took a lot of photos of the scenery in Xiaoyanggou. Yue Ning flipped through them one by one. After leaving Xiaoyanggou, they had dinner at the county guesthouse. She distributed chopsticks. On the train, she stared out the window without blinking.

In this photo taken in the department store, her expression is so exaggerated!

"When you changed your clothes and came out, I saw you at first sight. I always felt that you were a little different, but I couldn't tell what was different. It was at this time that I discovered that you have a great temperament and a strong ability to control the situation." Qiao Junxian recalled the amazement he felt at that first glance.

Yue Ning had an understanding look on his face: "You fell in love with me at that time."

Qiao Junxian laughed out loud: "That should be it! Earlier than I thought."

"It's time for some snacks." Old Mrs. Qiao came over and the maid put down a plate of cakes.

Eight-treasure cake in the shape of a lock of wealth and longevity, white rice cake, and green bean cake in the shape of a plum blossom. Yue Ning put down the photo album and said, "I'm going to wash my hands."

Old Mrs. Qiao pointed to the terrace where flowers and plants were planted and there was a sink.

Yue Ning washed his hands, took the towel handed over by the servant, wiped his hands, sat down, and picked a piece of mung bean cake. The mung bean cake was refrigerated and melted in the mouth, with a milky aroma and a cool mint taste.

"It's delicious. It's perfect for summer." Yue Ning ate one piece and then another.

Qiao Junxian also took some cakes to eat. Old Mrs. Qiao picked up the photo album on the table and said, "He showed it to us once after he printed it out."

The servant brought the old lady a pair of reading glasses. Yue Ning sat over and looked at them with the old lady. While looking, Yue Ning told the old lady about the customs and practices of the Northwest.

"The northwest is short of water, but it will be better in the summer. There is water in the village water cellar. I go to the water cellar to wash clothes and fetch water. One person may use up the water of two or three people. I should be more sensible and fetch spring water from the mountains. Besides, carrying water for such a long time on the mountain road is also a good exercise for my muscles..."

Seeing the photo of Uncle Agen chopping off a sheep's head, Yue Ning sighed: "I wonder if Uncle Agen has caught up with Sister Ge?"

Yue Ning started from when he bought Uncle Agen's wife and let that woman go...

"Ningning! Someone who is so honest and knows when to advance and when to retreat shouldn't be poor all his life."

"Ningning remembers everything! She asked me to send letters and things to them, and also asked me to let them work in the factory when I open one in Pengcheng in the future." said Qiao Junxian.

Old Mrs. Qiao nodded solemnly: "Yes, yes, good people should be rewarded."

Qiao Junshen came over, bent down, and rubbed his head against the old lady's side, looking at the photo album together: "Silly boy, you took out the photo album..."

Qiao Junshen's mouth was stuffed with a piece of rice cake by his younger brother.

Qiao Junshen swallowed the rice cake in two or three bites: "Ningning, the first time he took it out, I said, are you going to the northwest to take pictures of the scenery? Why are you taking pictures of girls? He got angry and hid it and didn't show it to us."

"Brother..." Qiao Junxian couldn't stand his brother anymore.

The old lady finished looking at the album and put it down with a snap: "I was waiting for you to show me the girl's photo. Where is it?"

Speaking of this, Qiao Junshen moved his feet, and when he reached the railing, he saw a car coming up the mountain road. He said, "Grandma, Zhiyuan is here, you should teach him a lesson first!"

"Zhiyuan, I'm going to scold you, and don't even think about running away." The old lady stood up, "I'm telling you..."

When the old lady looked, her eldest grandson had already run away.

Qiao Junshen had already gone downstairs. After Cai Zhiyuan parked the car, he hooked his cousin's shoulder and asked him to look up. The old lady looked down at her eldest grandson and eldest grandson-in-law. She really didn't want to look at these two bad boys.

The little grandson was sensible. She turned around and said to Yue Ning, "Ningning, we're going in. They'll be back soon."

Cai Zhiyuan and Qiao Junshen went upstairs. Cai Zhiyuan came over, hugged the old lady, and kissed her on the face: "Grandma, you look so beautiful today."

"Don't try the same tricks on an old woman that you use on a female star. It won't work." The old lady didn't give him a good look.

"Grandma, I've been called home by my mom and grandma to be scolded. You won't do it again?"

The old lady sighed heavily: "I am old, how can I take care of you?"

Cai Zhiyuan pointed at Qiao Junshen and said, "Qiao Junshen, look how mad you made grandma."

"How could I possibly piss off grandma?"

As the two cousins ​​were blaming each other and joking around, the Qiao family members came back one after another.

Qiao Qiming saw Qiao Junxian holding Yue Ning's hand and looking at his little grandson with a smile.

Ye Yingyi was the last to arrive. She looked a little tired. She said, "I'm sorry to have kept Ningning waiting for so long."

"Third Aunt, it's okay, I'm talking to Grandpa Qiao and Grandma Qiao!"

Qiao Qiming said: "Everyone is here, let's have dinner."

Qiao Junxian pulled out a seat for Yue Ning and Yue Ning sat down.

The dishes of the Qiao family were indeed as Qiao Junxian said, with all kinds of dishes on the table. There were thick sauce duck, steamed fish, salty crab, oyster omelette, stir-fried rice cake with pickled mustard greens, rich Malay scenery and Nanyang bak kut teh.

"Ningning! These are all home-cooked dishes! They definitely won't taste as good as the ones cooked by a chef like you." Old Mrs. Qiao turned the dial, "Ningning, the marinated duck is our Jiangnan flavor, you can try it. Today's fish is pretty good, your Grandpa Qiao, you can't live without fish for a day."

Qiao Qiming said: "Sauced duck is your grandmother Qiao's specialty."

Yue Ning picked up a piece of duck in sauce and took a bite. It was a sweet duck in sauce from Suzhou and Shanghai. She had learned how to make it in her previous life, but this one wasn't particularly sweet! She said, "It's delicious!"

Yue Ning picked up a piece of Malaysian scenery with chopsticks, which was actually stir-fried water spinach with sambal chili sauce. The dried shrimps in the sambal chili sauce had a special flavor. People who ate it for the first time might not be used to it, but Yue Ning loved it very much.

Ye Yingyi was sitting next to Yue Ning. Seeing Yue Ning eating with two chopsticks, she looked at Qiao Jiahe and said, "Look, Ningning likes it too, right? But you don't even want to try."

Qiao Jiahe had no choice but to say to his wife: "If you like it, eat it. I won't stop you from eating it."

Seeing Yue Ning picking up a piece of crab, Qiao Qiming said, "Ningning! Banquet flavors, your aunt grew up with her grandparents, they are from Ningbo like us, and your aunt and uncle have been supporting the war of resistance in China for seven or eight years, you can cook for them with confidence, they are used to Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and even Northwest cuisine. But your uncle once ate a dish of bluefish lung in Shanghai, he often brings it up, saying that Shanghai had become an isolated island at that time, and the people in Shanghai were still extravagant. But this dish is so delicious that he can remember it. Your aunt, what she can't forget is the braised duck at a stall in Chongqing."

"Camphor tea duck?"

"I think she would like the camphor tea duck too." Qiao Qiming smiled slightly, "But it's not camphor tea duck, it's just the braised duck from a small stall, braised in white sauce, with a light taste."

"Don't make things difficult for Ningning. Ying Lan wants to eat the duck just because he's thinking about those days," said Old Mrs. Qiao.

"Yeah! When you get old, you start to miss the old days."

Qiao Qiming is old now, so he couldn't help but talk about the war years.

Yue Ning was so fascinated by what she heard that she memorized every place name. Ye Yingyi also added that their elders in China and Southeast Asia sent them to the United States to study. In the United States, Cai Zhiyuan's parents and his uncle and aunt joined the US military in the war against Japan to support the domestic war of resistance.

Old Mrs. Qiao stopped the chattering old man and said, "Ningning! That's enough. Follow your uncle and aunt's taste. They are the protagonists."

"Yes, yes, you are the chef, you make the decision. The main decision lies with your Uncle Mo and Mama."

"Well, I'll go back and draft the menu. I'll ask everyone to help take a look at it then."

After talking about this matter, Qiao Qiming asked Ye Yingyi: "Yingyi, has it not been resolved yet?"

"It's a headache! Raw material prices have increased, upstream companies are hoarding, and those manufacturers are in serious shortage of materials. In addition, almost all customers are adjusting their prices. I was just talking to an Italian supplier, and they insisted on a 5% price increase, and that includes the goods that have already been ordered. There is a serious shortage of goods."

"The stagflation of the past decade has accumulated internal heat and is hard to eliminate. The price increase of bulk commodities caused by the oil crisis has been transmitted to the prices of daily goods, and department stores have definitely been affected. I have discussed it with your eldest brother-in-law, and we think this is just the beginning and we have to endure it for a few more years." Qiao Qiming said, "Wait for your eldest sister, brother-in-law and your eldest brother to come over, and then we will discuss it."

"I know that. But the supply is in short supply, so I can't help but feel anxious." Ye Yingyi had a headache.

Qiao Jiahe picked up a piece of fish for his wife: "Eat fish to replenish your energy."

"Junxian, your fans should be selling well, right?" Qiao Qiming asked.

"Supply exceeds demand. Fortunately, I bought this fan factory. Otherwise, it would be the same as my mother's. Germany couldn't deliver TVs and refrigerators because of the price increase of raw materials. In the agency business, there are orders but no goods in the past two months. Fortunately, this electric fan factory had a backlog of goods and materials at the time, which led to a broken capital chain. Now the situation has reversed. I took inventory of the inventory. Fortunately, the newer ones are sold in Europe, America and Southeast Asia, and the older models were given to Li Guoqiang in China." Qiao Junxian turned his head to look at Yue Ning, "Do you still remember him?"

"Remember the railway worker you met in Xi'an?"

"Yes, he first brought a batch of radios over, but they were sold out very quickly. I thought such irregular operations were risky. I found someone from the Pengcheng Investment Promotion Office and contacted an import and export company. I asked them to cooperate with me for a long time and gave him all the old models. There were more than 3,000 fans. He came to get them in batches. He sent money to Pengcheng, dressed like a beggar, carrying a patched sack on his back, and handed the sack of money to the import and export company. This money was more than enough to build the Pengcheng factory and even to start operations."

Economic crises are like this, there are opportunities in the midst of danger.

After the meal, Yue Ning heard various analyses and felt like he was attending a financial forum.