Chapter 245 Maruko is too confident!

There were math students, English students, and even a physics lever problem, fluid mechanics equations... Lin Xiuqin was utterly astonished by this pig-raising study room.

Lin Xiuqin couldn't understand many of the questions, but these people were gathered in a study room, communicating and learning from each other.

What kind of people will this attract?!

Lin Xiuqin's former sense of superiority vanished. She had previously thought that the first college entrance examination in 1977, after its resumption, would be easy, and that she could get into Tsinghua or Peking University by simply reviewing the textbooks and memorizing some math formulas.

These people are already using advanced knowledge to solve practical problems. The foresight and purposefulness of their learning are terrifying!

Our country is vast and rich in resources. No matter what era we are in, talents grow wildly like leeks, whether in a gentle breeze, a warm wind, a cold wind, or a hurricane. No matter what the wind blows from the north or south, they grow wildly like leeks.

If Qin Xiang continued raising the Gu worms like this, Lin Xiuqin realized that her little bit of "prophetic" advantage was utterly useless against these Gu kings. Provincial champion? Probably wouldn't even make it into the top twenty in the factory.

After observing the learning process in the pig farm, Lin Xiuqin felt utterly disheartened, while Zhao Qiaoqiao was overjoyed and even invited Lin Xiuqin to have dinner together at the textile factory canteen.

Zhao Qiaoqiao was excited and proud: "Our factory canteen is praised by many companies. Lin Xiuqin, you're in for a treat today!"

Lin Xiuqin nodded, still shocked by the quality of the canteen despite her thorough preparation. "Your factory canteen has so many meat and vegetables?"

"Of course! We have a pig farming training room. Pig farming is a top priority for our factory's sideline business! Didn't you see those people just now? They're all pig farming experts!"

"The pigs raised in our factory are fat and strong! And they are all high-quality breeds! The sows are giving birth to piglets well, so our factory's pork supply is increasing. We can even give the surplus to factory employees at internal prices without coupons."

Zhao Qiaoqiao: "Our factory director attaches great importance to pig farming."

As the two were talking, Zhao Qiaoqiao generously ordered several meat dishes and treated Lin Xiuqin to a big meal. Lin Xiuqin felt a mix of emotions, while Qin Xiangxiang came out of the cafeteria kitchen.

Lin Xiuqin: "???"

Qin Xiangxiang spent several days researching hot pot and finally achieved her goal of serving "hot pot dishes" in the factory canteen. In the past, hot pot and wontons were sold at mobile stalls carried on shoulder poles by the older generation.

The wonton vendors carried their wares on shoulder poles along the street. If someone needed wontons, they would put down their poles and cook the wontons on the stove, finally sprinkling on scallions and other seasonings.

The same principle applies to selling hot pot. Customers bring their own stoves and pots, and those who want to buy hot pot choose their own ingredients and put them into the nine-compartment grid. One nine-compartment grid can cook for nine customers at the same time.

A similar method can be used in factories, with several large cooking pots where workers can choose their own fresh ingredients and cook them in the hot pot—similar to the later Mala Tang (spicy hot pot).

Qin Xiangxiang really liked this method! In the past, when she bought meat, she was most worried about having to buy at least a pound or more, otherwise she would be looked down upon and have to share meat with others. Even now, ordinary workers usually share meat with several families.

Now it would be great to turn it into a hot pot! You can pick out a little bit of meat and add some cheap vegetables! A balanced meal of meat and vegetables! Finally, you can put some cooked thin noodles in the bowl!

Eating a bowl of hot pot like this in winter is absolutely wonderful!

The factory's winter canteen needs to be set up quickly.

Qin Xiangxiang supervised the canteen chef to improve the hot pot soup base. In the past few days, they have figured out a good soup base by simmering dried kelp and shrimp heads, using local small yellow peppers from the island, and adding dried scallops to enhance the flavor.

This hot pot broth perfectly suits the island atmosphere; "the soup is delicious!"

The canteen chef said, "When people on the island make seafood noodles, they always use a mixed seafood dish. They use whatever seafood they have to make the soup. For example, abalone is tasteless on its own, but when you add it to the soup, it adds flavor."

"We can also make a seafood stew soup base."

Qin Xiangxiang: "Explore slowly and strive for perfection!"

The chefs secretly shed tears and bit their handkerchiefs; their factory director was too strict with the canteen! If they continued working at Feiyan Textile Factory, they would be more than qualified to become chefs in state-run restaurants in the future!

Besides hot pot broth, Qin Xiangxiang also improved some seafood balls. The first type is mackerel bursting juice balls, which are made with fresh mackerel paste and filled with cold broth using a syringe. They are bursting with juice and delicious, comparable to the "pissing beef balls". The inspiration for them comes from the "pissing beef balls".

The second type is seaweed and shrimp rolls. Shrimp paste is mixed with chopped seaweed, rolled into sausage shape, steamed, sliced, and then boiled.

The third type is crab roe tofu balls, which are made by mixing soybean pulp with crab roe and minced crab meat, resulting in a tender and delicious taste.

...

"Today the factory is offering a hot pot perk: 'Try it for five cents,' buy a meatball and a spoonful of soup for five cents."

"Five cents? This soup is good! Five cents for a seafood ball and a bowl of soup, then I'll add a dish!"

"Five cents, smells so good!"

"Will these hot pot meatballs be available more often in the future? They cost five cents, one meatball and one spoonful of soup. You can use the soup to soak rice. If you want to save money, just buy a serving of rice, add the seafood meatball soup, and mix in your own pickles. That's a simple meal that's both economical and delicious."

"Wow, three kinds of meatballs! These meatballs are delicious, and they're bursting with juice! They're so hot and so fresh!"

"Being a worker in our factory is such a wonderful thing!"

Zhao Hongmei and her group had just come out of the study room and were hungry. When they arrived at the canteen, they learned that a new hot pot meatball had been introduced. It cost five cents, with one meatball and a spoonful of soup.

She ordered one of each type of meatball, along with vegetables and rice. Sitting in a corner of the cafeteria, she took a sip of the hot seafood broth, the umami flavor filling her mouth and tongue. She ate a seafood meatball, the chewy minced meat making it more and more delicious.

On a cold winter's day, a bowl of warm seafood meatball soup warms both the body and the soul.

After the college entrance examination was reinstated, those who were admitted to university missed the time they spent working in a textile factory the most.

"That braised pork, that meatball soup, that cream cake..."

"The fish balls are so juicy! And the soup, I don't know what it's made of, it's so fragrant and a little spicy, wow, it warms you up in winter!"

“Our factory provides this as a late-night snack. It costs five cents, one meatball and one spoonful of soup. It’s worth it to have a bowl of meatball soup after finishing work at midnight.”

...

The newly launched winter hot pot has become a sensation in the entire cafeteria. You can try it for just five cents. It's a steal! A five-cent snack with a bowl of steaming hot soup—who can resist?

Zhao Qiaoqiao had originally ordered a lot of meat dishes to treat Lin Xiuqin to a big meal, but now she couldn't help but run to queue up to buy meatball soup.

Lin Xiuqin: "..."

Her stomach was rumbling with hunger, and ignoring Zhao Qiaoqiao, she continued to sit and eat. However, the aroma of hot pot soup wafting from the window kept wafting into her nose, making her lose her appetite.

On a cold winter day, the smell of hot soup is incredibly appealing.

Lin Xiuqin: "Is Qin Xiangxiang running a factory or a hotel/restaurant? This smells so good."

"Do the people in their factory eat this every day? Five cents a serving..."

Lin Xiuqin's mouth was watering. The food at the Red Star Textile Factory was... well, let's not even talk about it. And eating out at state-run restaurants cost money. She could only cook with kerosene, which wasn't very tasty either.

Where did the cook at Feiyan Textile Factory come from?

"Factory manager, these meatballs are delicious. Can you supply them every day from now on?"

"Factory manager, our canteen chefs are amazing!"

"This was the factory manager's idea, he came up with it!"

...

Looking at the grand scene before her, Qin Xiangxiang felt extremely proud. Although it was a workers' canteen, she had the same enjoyment as running a restaurant.

In her dream, she shouldn't have opened a textile factory at all; she should have opened a restaurant, a tavern, a food processing plant, or even a snack factory...

Even Qin Xiangxiang herself didn't realize that she was now brimming with factory management experience.

"From now on, with this hot pot broth, please don't provide dishwater anymore..."

Qin Xiangxiang had always disliked the family-inherited dishwater in the canteen. This dishwater was exactly what it sounded like. Every state-owned factory had this free dish: after cooking a big dish like braised pork, they would not wash the pot, but just add water to boil it. After washing and scrubbing the pot, they would add some salt and chopped green onions, and that would make a pot of free soup!

This soup is free, and it has some oily bits of meat floating on top.

This is a factory benefit.

But Qin still found it disgusting...it was unbearable!

Now factories are researching all kinds of soups, bone broth, meatball soup... meatball soup for five cents a bowl, stop torturing yourselves by drinking dishwater.

Hopefully, with her reforms, dishwashing water will gradually be removed from the cafeteria's food supply, and everyone should be able to eat properly every day.

"Lin Xiuqin, what are you doing here?" Qin Xiangxiang appeared in front of Lin Xiuqin, carrying a steaming hot pot dish. "Oh, I almost forgot, you're here to see the pigsty, right?"

Lin Xiuqin replied numbly, "I've already seen it."

Qin Xiangxiang: "I'll let you in on some news. I heard from Mr. Shen, who worked at our factory, that the college entrance examination might be reinstated in the future, probably within the next few years. If you want to go to university in the future, you should hurry up and start working hard."

Lin Xiuqin: "..."

She couldn't understand Qin Xiangxiang's thought process. She knew that the college entrance examination was going to be reinstated, and she even publicized it widely. Did she think there weren't enough exam papers?

Is Qin Xiangxiang not going to take the college entrance exam? She's way too confident!