When they came over, the team leader had already arrived, and there was a circle of people standing around, chattering about something.
Mrs. Wang, who was cracking melon seeds, smiled and asked them when she saw them, "Yun Zhiqing, I saw you and Han Zheng go to the county town earlier. You came back with a lot of bags. What good things did you buy?"
"I didn't buy anything. It was just some luggage sent from my hometown. Lin Shan and I were both on a temporary basis in the countryside, and we were only given two days to prepare. We hadn't packed much of our luggage yet. We only brought some clothes for this season and some daily necessities. The rest had to be sent over time."
Yun Huaying didn't want them to know about going to the black market, and she also understood the principle of not showing off one's wealth. She usually had an expressionless face, and there was no other expression when she lied. She answered without blushing or beating her heart.
The two insiders also tacitly agreed not to expose the truth. Lin Shan even chimed in: "The things my parents mailed to me should be arriving soon. I hope they arrive before the rain. It would be bad if my winter clothes and bedding got wet."
Mrs. Wang and the others didn't think much about it. When the three of them came, they really had very little luggage, so they just thought that their family had really sent something to them.
The villagers hadn't all arrived yet. Yun Huaying saw that the team had a lot of soybeans, so she took the initiative to talk to Zhao Xuelin. "Captain, I heard everyone say that soybeans are an important source of income for the team. How much do they sell for per pound?"
The captain got a headache talking about this and sighed with a stern air: "Oh, forget it, the price of soybeans is getting lower every year. The year before last, it sold for 18 cents, last year it sold for 16 cents, and this year I heard it's only 13 cents at most."
"One cent and three cents? Why is it so low?" Lin Shan was a little surprised.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Lin Shan curled her lips and told them, "My mother works in the logistics department of a state-owned factory. I often hear her talking about prices at home. The price of soybeans in Jing County is much higher than here. This year, the factory's lowest unified purchase price is only 20 cents."
"If we can sell it for 20 cents here, everyone will buy some meat to celebrate." The captain sighed again.
"Captain, how much is a pound of fresh white tofu in Yang County?" Yun Huaying asked again.
"Seven and a half."
"How many pounds of tofu can be made from one pound of soybeans?"
"About four pounds."
Yun Huaying raised her eyebrows slightly. "In other words, if one pound of soybeans is made into tofu, the gross profit is 30 cents."
Zhao Xuelin nodded, guessing what she was going to say. "Tofu seems to have a good profit margin. Almost every household in our team can make tofu, but there's no market for it. After all our hard work, we only earn enough to buy firewood."
"Do you only make white tofu?" Yun Huaying asked again.
"Besides white tofu, what other kinds of tofu are there?" the captain asked directly.
Yun Huaying's face showed some expression now, and she looked at him with a somewhat exaggerated look: "There are many kinds of tofu, don't you know?"
"I know there is fried tofu. I have it in my hometown. It's tofu fried in a big pot. It tastes good and sells very well, but it consumes a lot of oil. A pound of fried tofu costs more than 20 cents." Yin Mei, who was standing not far away, took over the conversation.
Lin Shan nodded in agreement: "Fried tofu is delicious. I think it tastes better than white tofu. We also have bean curd sheets and bean shoots made from soybeans in Jing County, which are also delicious."
Yun Huaying doesn't know how to make tofu, but she's quite familiar with all kinds of tofu. She counted on her fingers and introduced them to them: "The fried tofu that Yin Zhiqing mentioned is one kind, and the bean curd sheets and bean shoots that Lin Shan mentioned are actually soy products taken out during the tofu-making process. Bean curd sheets and bean shoots are both dried goods, easy to preserve, and can be stored for a long time. As long as they are well sealed, they can be kept for a long time without spoiling. They're also very simple to cook. You can just soak them in water and make them into salads or stir-fries."
"In addition, white tofu can be made into various kinds of dried tofu, such as sauce-flavored dried tofu, smoked dried tofu, and braised dried tofu. These dried tofu can be made into various shapes and thicknesses, and can be made into a variety of flavors with a variety of seasonings. They can be mixed with vegetables or stir-fried, steamed, or served spicy or numbing."
"Also, you can make fermented bean curd, which can be sealed in glass bottles like canned food. It won't go bad for a year or two."
When she mentioned fermented bean curd, one of the male educated youth nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, fermented bean curd. In my hometown, it's called nanru. It's super delicious and goes well with rice. It's made with white tofu and chili powder, with a little salt and rice wine. It's easy to make, and every household in our area knows how to make it."
Zhao Xuelin's eyes sparkled at this moment, and he quickly asked, "Li Jian, what's the price of fermented bean curd in your hometown?"
"Every household in our area makes it, and we basically make it ourselves. We rarely buy it. It's rarely sold in my hometown, but it's available in the state-owned supermarkets in our city. They use small ceramic jars, and each jar weighs about two kilograms. Two years ago, it was 50 cents a jar, and the price has probably increased a little now."
Zhao Xuelin had an idea in mind, and asked Yun Huaying and others who had suggested it, "How much are the dried tofu and bean curd skin and bean shoots?"
"Tofu skin and bean shoots are cheap, one cent per pound. There is no dried tofu sold in Jing County. I have eaten dried tofu from other places. My mother's classmate mailed it to us many years ago. Ten years ago, it cost two cents per pound." Yun Huaying told another little lie.
"Ten years ago, it was 20 cents per pound, so now it must be at least 25 to 30 cents," said Accountant Li next to him.
Yun Huaying nodded: "It should be about the same."
"Yun Huaying, can you make dried tofu?" Accountant Li asked a key question.
Yun Huaying: "...No!"
Zhao Xuelin had a bunch of ideas in his head, but her "no" washed them away. He rolled his eyes at her and said, "I thought you could."
"I know acupuncture." Yun Huaying looked at him dimly.
Zhao Xuelin was frightened by her eyes and instinctively took a step back. He also pulled his wife Lin Xiaolan in front of him and spoke a little weaker: "Xiaolan, you have to protect me."
"puff!"
Lin Shan burst out laughing, and the others also knew the captain's character, so they all laughed.
Lin Xiaolan patted him in amusement and spoke in a cheerful and loud voice, "Yun Zhiqing, you educated youth from the city are educated, knowledgeable, and well-informed. We country folks work hard in the fields every day. Many of us can only count the number of times we've been to the county town on one hand, and most of us have never seen the world. Xuelin is determined to change the current situation of the Dongjiang Brigade and lead the team to overcome their difficulties and become prosperous, but his ability and education are limited. I would like to ask you, the educated youth with broad knowledge, for help."
She claimed to be uneducated, but in fact she spoke in an organized and polite manner. Yun Huaying raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Zhao Xuelin: "Captain, you have good taste."
"That's right." Zhao Xuelin boasted, holding Lin Xiaolan's shoulders and boasting about the past: "My wife is a celebrity in the area. In order to marry her, I fought 18 fights in a row and took away all those who were interested in her..."
"Shut up." Lin Xiaolan directly blocked his mouth.
Yuan Cuimei rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Stop bragging. Let's get down to business or get some work done."
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