The brick and tile houses of the county town's supply and marketing cooperative gleamed warmly in the early spring sun. Icicles clinging to the eaves melted into tiny beads, dripping down the carved brackets and tapping softly on the bluestone slabs—a prelude to the bustling sale. Lin Wanqiu stood by the shelves, watching the throng of customers, her fingertips unconsciously clenching her clothes—the jade pendant hidden in her sleeve was slightly warm, as if it too were rejoicing at this long-awaited return of lively activity.
"Comrade, can these peach shortbreads really be sold by weight?" An elderly woman in a gray cotton-padded jacket stood on tiptoe, her finger hovering above the shortbread, her eyes full of hesitation. Her cuffs were frayed, and her jacket collar was patched; she was clearly from an ordinary family, reluctant to spend money on snacks easily. Lin Wanqiu quickly stepped forward, smiling as she picked up a piece of peach shortbread and handed it to her: "Auntie, please try this first. Our peach shortbreads are made with genuine refined white flour, the lard is freshly rendered by the village's pig farmers, and the sesame seeds are carefully selected—not a single bad grain. Try it and see if you like it before you buy it; it's no problem."
The old woman carefully took the peach shortbread, her fingertips touching the golden, crispy crust, still feeling its warmth. She gently bit off a small piece; the crust instantly melted on her tongue, the rich sesame aroma mingling with the mellow flavor of lard, the sweetness neither cloying nor bland, perfectly soothing her taste buds on a cold winter day. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly took another big bite, mumbling, "Good! Really good! Even better than what I ate at my relatives' house in the city when I was young! Weigh out two jin for me, and another jin of sesame cake, to save for my little grandson!"
The surrounding customers, already tantalized by the aroma, stopped hesitating when they saw the old lady enjoying her treat. "Give me three jin of peach shortbread!" "I want a jin of mung bean cake and half a jin of jujube paste cake!" "Comrade, how long will these pastries last? I want to buy more to take to my parents in the countryside." Amidst the cacophony of voices, the supply and marketing cooperative staff busily grabbed oil paper and steelyards. The clinking of the weights, the rustling of the oil paper wrapping, and the laughter of the customers mingled together, creating a vibrant symphony of everyday life.
Lin Wanqiu weaved through the crowd, patiently answering every question. When someone asked why the pastries were so sweet, she smiled and pointed to Shen Tingzhou not far away: "My husband knows how to control the heat. When baking, you have to use high heat first, then low heat. Not even a fraction off. The flour and lard are also mixed in the exact proportions. A penny more or less, and the taste will be completely different." Shen Tingzhou was helping to move bamboo baskets. Hearing this, he turned around and glanced at her, a smile hidden in his eyes—he knew that behind these seemingly simple "proportions" and "heat control" were the results of her repeated experiments in her spatial dimension at night. It was the professionalism of a modern food blogger that she had painstakingly crafted this delicious treat in this era of scarcity.
Nian'an, carrying his little schoolbag, stood beside Shen Tingzhou, diligently recording the accounts in his notebook. "Dad, Aunt Zhang bought two jin of peach shortbread and one jin of sesame cake, for a total of 72 cents." "Grandpa Li bought three jin of peach shortbread and one jin of mung bean cake, for a total of 1.08 cents." His childish voice was clear and bright, yet his calculations were spot on, drawing praise from the surrounding customers: "This child is so clever! He can do accounts at such a young age; he'll definitely be successful in the future!" Hearing the praise, Nian'an's face flushed red, but he lowered his head even more earnestly, recording each stroke carefully in his notebook, secretly thinking: I must keep good records to help my mother lighten her burden.
Working until the sun was setting, the pastries on the shelves were finally almost sold out. Director Wang came over with the ledger, his smile barely concealed: "Comrade Wanqiu, Comrade Chen, you've really helped me a lot! The pastries we sold today are more than our supply and marketing cooperative sells in a month! Look at this ledger, we sold 180 jin of peach shortbread, 120 jin of sesame cake, and over 80 jin each of mung bean cake and jujube paste cake. I think we'll sell out the rest before closing time tonight!" As he spoke, he took out a stack of brand-new banknotes and grain coupons from the drawer. "This is today's payment, a total of 165.8 yuan, plus 50 jin of grain coupons. Please check them."
Lin Wanqiu took the banknotes, her fingertips touching the fragrant ink on the paper, a warm feeling spreading through her heart. She remembered when she was first reborn, she didn't have a single penny in her pocket, and her son, Nian'an, was as thin as a bean sprout, unable to even afford a decent sweet potato. Now, she could not only feed and clothe her son, but also help her fellow villagers earn money. These heavy banknotes were not only wealth, but also the foundation she had built to stand firm in this era. She carefully counted them, and after confirming that everything was correct, she handed half of the banknotes to Shen Tingzhou: "Keep these. When we get back, we need to pay the villagers their wages and dividends. The rest of the money will be used to buy ingredients for the next batch of pastries."
Shen Tingzhou took the money, but didn't put it away immediately. Instead, he looked at her and said, "You've worked so hard for so long, you should save some money to buy things for yourself and Nian'an. Nian'an's cotton-padded coat is from last year; she's grown taller this year, so she should get a new one." Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart, but smiled and said, "No rush. Once our pastry business is more stable, we can afford not only a new cotton-padded coat, but even some comic books for Nian'an. Right now, the most important thing is to stabilize the sideline business group so that the villagers can all receive tangible benefits."
Just then, a man wearing a Zhongshan suit and glasses walked over. He held a peach shortbread in his hand and asked respectfully, "Excuse me, which one of you is Comrade Lin Wanqiu?" Lin Wanqiu was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's me. Comrade, do you need something from me?" The man quickly extended his hand and said, "Hello, Comrade Lin. I am Zhou Mingyuan, the director of the county food factory. I happened to taste your pastries today and found them to be very delicious. I would like to discuss a cooperation with you."
Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. The county food factory was a state-owned enterprise; cooperating with them would not only expand their production scale but also allow their pastries to reach more places. Factory Director Zhou continued, "Our food factory has professional equipment and production lines. If Comrade Lin is willing to provide the recipe, we can jointly produce, and we'll split the profits proportionally. This way, you won't have to make them by hand, saving a lot of manpower, and more people can enjoy such wonderful pastries."
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