Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Chapter...
Chapter 55
It was already 8:30 when I got home. Lu Yuanqing had already prepared everything and was just waiting for Yao Anhui to come back so they could start cooking.
Today, Lu Yuanqing prepared noodles. The dough had been prepared early, and the noodles were ramen. The steamed buns were also ready in the pot, and the other side dishes were chopped and prepared for use.
As soon as he got home, Lu Yuanqing started boiling water to cook noodles. It's just that the noodles tend to clump together when cooked, otherwise Lu Yuanqing would have cooked them directly.
However, Lu Yuanqing had other ideas in mind. He thought he could cook Jiangxi rice noodles tomorrow, preferably the kind of pickled rice noodles that Yao Anhui had made before. They wouldn't clump together after cooking and would actually absorb more flavor.
"Why are you steaming buns again?" Yao Anhui really couldn't understand why Lu Yuanqing loved eating steamed buns, just like he couldn't understand why Yao Anhui loved eating rice so much? She couldn't do without it at every meal.
"It's just a habit, I'm used to it," Lu Yuanqing replied while skillfully making noodles.
“Our eating habits are really different. Do you think there’s ever a day when we can eat in sync?” Yao Anhui was genuinely curious.
However, she also knew that if such a day really came, one of them would definitely compromise. She just didn't know whether Lu Yuanqing would change Yao Anhui or Yao Anhui would change Lu Yuanqing.
After thinking for a moment, Yao Anhui said, "I think we're fine as we are now, neither of us has to compromise for the other."
Lu Yuanqing also thought this was fine. As it was, Yao Anhui could cook her favorite dishes, and Lu Yuanqing could steam some buns himself, perfectly solving the problem. Lu Yuanqing wouldn't force others to eat the same thing just because he liked steamed buns.
Besides, even if one of them had to compromise, he didn't think he couldn't be the one to compromise. He couldn't bear to let Yao An Hui eat something that didn't taste good (Yao An Hui doesn't like it = it doesn't taste good).
"Would you like some fried eggs? Fry two." Lu Yuanqing asked.
"Eat." Yao Anhui said without the slightest hesitation.
The two chatted and laughed as they quickly cooked the noodles and served them together.
Yao Anhui had seen Lu Yuanqing knead dough before; the dough was particularly obedient in his hands, and he could knead a dough ball in no time.
Yao Anhui had kneaded dough before, but her kneading skills were really bad. No matter how she kneaded the dough, it wouldn't turn out well. The noodles she made were not tasty, and the steamed buns she made were so hard they could kill a dog.
Because she couldn't cook it well herself, she stopped making noodles. In addition, Yao Anhui had been eating porridge for several days in the morning, which led Lu Yuanqing to think that she liked to drink porridge. So most of the time, he cooked porridge for Yao Anhui, making porridge in different ways.
Today, Lu Yuanqing woke up late, which was unusual for him, so there wasn't enough time to make porridge. That's why we decided to cook noodles instead.
Yao Anhui was also surprised that the differences between people could be so great. This was the first time she had ever thought noodles tasted so good.
This wasn't Yao Anhui's first time eating noodles, but it was the first time she found them so delicious.
The Great Qi Dynasty does not exist in the history of this world; it may exist in another time and space. Therefore, Yao Anhui has never eaten noodles in the Great Qi Dynasty.
After arriving here, Yao Anhui tried hand-pulled noodles and dried noodles. They were alright. If you had good cooking skills like Hua Fangling, the taste would be quite good.
This was my first time eating ramen. I had no idea how Lu Yuanqing managed to turn a dough ball into noodles just by stretching it a few times in his hands.
But she didn't know that even though Lu Yuanqing's cooking skills were only average, and this was just a simple bowl of noodles with oil, salt, soy sauce, and two fried eggs, it tasted surprisingly good.
The best way to describe the taste of noodles is to say they are especially chewy and springy... that's what makes them so delicious.
The noodles in the somewhat bland broth were completely devoured by Yao Anhui, and she wanted to eat them a second time as soon as she put down the bowl.
"Delicious?" Lu Yuanqing had been watching Yao Anhui's every move. Seeing that Yao Anhui had eaten all the noodles he had made, Lu Yuanqing was overjoyed. He was thinking about making more noodles for Yao Anhui in the future, but he kept a very composed expression on his face.
"Delicious, Brother Qing, I never knew your noodles could be so good. I've never had such chewy noodles before..." Enjoying the meal, Yao Anhui didn't hold back her flattery, and one compliment after another made Lu Yuanqing very happy.
"If you like it, I'll make more for you. I'll have someone bring back some more flour later," Lu Yuanqing said softly.
“Okay.” Yao Anhui smiled broadly. To be honest, she seemed to understand Zhao Zhishan’s thoughts. If you don’t have any requirements for food, then there’s not much point in living.
"Brother Qing, don't buy cornmeal and other coarse grains for home next time. It's not like I'm eating refined rice and grains while you're eating steamed buns made from mixed flour and wheat flour." Yao Anhui naturally felt sorry for her man. Of course, she didn't understand at the moment and thought she was just feeling bad.
What Yao Anhui didn't know was that when a woman is happy and cares for a man, she's not far from falling in love.
“That might not work.” Lu Yuanqing refused without thinking. Seeing that Yao Anhui disagreed, he quickly added, “Each person will receive 45 jin of grain per month, which is one-third each of flour, coarse grains, and rice. It’s not like you can just ask for fine grains whenever you want.”
At this moment, Yao Anhui also realized that the food was being supplied by ration coupons. Yao Anhui hadn't noticed before, but now she realized that the coarse grains in the house were what Lu Yuanqing ate, while Yao Anhui had always eaten refined grains.
"Brother Qing, do you think I should go find a job?" Yao Anhui suddenly changed the subject to work again.
“It’s not easy. There aren’t many factories here, and jobs like teachers and cultural troupes are all full. Many military wives are waiting in line for work, so it might not be easy for a while.” Lu Yuanqing didn’t object to Yao Anhui working, but he didn’t want her to do the kind of hard physical labor that farms do, so he didn’t mention the fact that the military also had farms and breeding farms.
Neither of them expected that as soon as they started talking about work, jobs would come knocking on their door.
Lu Yuanqing had just finished eating and was washing the dishes when several middle-aged men and women dressed in Zhongshan suits came to his door.
"Excuse me, is this the home of Comrade Yao Anhui?" As soon as Yao Anhui opened the door, she saw a man in his forties or fifties with a serious face, but who was trying hard to force a smile.
"Yes, who are you?" Yao Anhui hesitated for a moment, then opened the courtyard gate and let them in: "I am Yao Anhui, please come in and talk." "They've come to the military region, they can't be bad people, can they?"
"Huihui, who's here?" Lu Yuanqing immediately returned the bowl to the kitchen cabinet.
"Commander Lu, these people are from the Q Province Daily Chemical Products Factory. They want to talk to you and your wife about something." The young soldier who brought the men explained a few words, handed them over to Lu Yuanqing, and then left.
"Hello, you must be Lu Yuanqing, the regimental commander. We are from the Q Province Daily Chemical Products Factory. My name is Nie Yingshao, the factory secretary. This is our factory director, Ding Chuan, and the production workshop director is Cao Dongling." The younger of the three introduced himself.
"Q Province Daily Chemical Products Factory? What do you want with me?" Yao Anhui was completely confused and couldn't understand why these people were looking for her.
"It's like this..." Factory manager Ding Chuan quickly explained that the person had indeed come specifically to see Yao Anhui because of the perfumes that she had Lu Yuanqing submit.
Yao Anhui didn't think too much about it at the time. She just thought that Hua Fangling had mentioned that perfumes were very popular abroad and that it could earn foreign exchange for the country.
These perfumes didn't initially receive much attention, given the country's weakness and poverty, especially since Lu Yuanqing had handed over the railway lines to the military, making them even more easily overlooked.
Later, Yao Anhui submitted a colorless and odorless mosquito repellent with an exceptionally effective effect to the military. It was then that the strong mosquito-repelling effect attracted attention, and the perfume was eventually delivered to a daily chemical products factory in Q province. Subsequently, it successfully signed a large order at the Canton Fair, earning a great deal of foreign exchange.
Yao Anhui knew about earning foreign exchange, since she had already received a bonus. She just couldn't understand why the people from the daily chemical products factory were coming to her door now.
After Ding Chuan explained, Yao Anhui finally understood that the other party had come to her door today seeking help. Many of the fragrances sold at the Canton Fair were internationally renowned and highly praised.
The current problem is that they have encountered several customers who want to customize perfumes, but the fragrances they want are not in the formulas provided by Yao Anhui, and the workers at the daily chemical products factory have tried many times without success.
That's why we're in this situation now, with people from the daily chemical products factory coming to us for help.
Factory manager Ding Chuan was very sincere. He not only put aside his pride to make the request in person, but also had a very kind and friendly attitude. Moreover, he did not use moral blackmail from a superior position, but instead asked Yao Anhui to become a perfume researcher for daily chemical products.
The job pays quite well, up to 200 yuan. There's no strict requirement for Yao Anhui to go to the factory; she can work from home.
There is no set workload for Yao Anhui; she only needs to produce one perfume every three to five months.
Yao Anhui was quite satisfied with this, as her salary of two hundred yuan was higher than Lu Yuanqing's.
She can also work from home, and Yao Anhui can still sleep until she naturally wakes up, and she also has something to do to pass the time.
So Yao Anhui readily agreed and spent three days helping to replicate the scent that the customer had specifically requested, which the daily chemical products factory couldn't get rid of no matter how they made it.
Who could refuse this job? Yao Anhui, who has no personal property and no sense of security after coming here, couldn't refuse it.
Yao Anhui wasn't the type to force herself to endure hardship. Lu Yuanqing supported her, and as someone from ancient times, she felt it was only natural.
However, she couldn't resist the temptation of private property.
Yes, in Yao Anhui's mind, this salary belonged to her alone. Lu Yuanqing's salary was used for living expenses, and Yao Anhui's salary was her salary, just like a woman's dowry in ancient times, which was the wife's personal property.
Yao Anhui, who came from a feudal dynasty, never felt that Lu Yuanqing's things belonged to her. Her thinking had not changed. After living in feudal society for decades, her mindset would not change so easily.
Because women in the ancient Qi Dynasty did not have a high social status, even though the laws of Qi Dynasty explicitly protected the interests of the principal wife, there were still cases of husbands selling their wives. The wife could not control all of her husband's property; the only thing she could hold onto was her dowry.
Therefore, even though Yao Anhui knew that many men in the world would hand over their family's money to their wives to manage, and that Lu Yuanqing was not an isolated case, she was still moved when he handed over all his finances to her after arriving here.
However, Yao Anhui still felt insecure. It wasn't that Lu Yuanqing didn't give her a sense of security, but rather that the money in Yao Anhui's hands wasn't her own, which made her feel insecure.
Doesn't that sound complicated?
In summary, there is only one reason: Yao Anhui has no job and no income, which makes her feel insecure. No matter how good Lu Yuanqing is to her, it is not as reassuring as having a job.
Even before this, Yao Anhui had earned money with her own hands. Her previous business selling slimming creams was booming. Even though she had controlled the amount she "sold," she still made a lot of money, much more than two hundred.
The problem is that this was 1970, an era when doing business was forbidden, an era when trading things was considered speculation. So even though she had money, Yao Anhui still felt insecure because she couldn't spend it openly.
If one day she can no longer rely on others, without Lu Yuanqing, Hua Fangling, Guan Kangde and others, how will she survive?
Because she couldn't make a living through speculation, Yao Anhui felt insecure.
But with this job, things are different. Even without relying on anyone, Yao Anhui can take good care of herself and even pamper herself.
Furthermore, even a fool would snatch a job that allows you to work from home, has no specific requirements, and pays well.
Therefore, Yao Anhui accepted the job with great satisfaction and spent three days resolving the perfume order issue for the daily chemical products factory.
Then I set aside an hour each day to do perfume research.
Yao Anhui wasn't worried about not being able to finish her work. Not only had her memory improved significantly since she came here, and she could remember a large number of different prescriptions, but her Word Magic was also there. You can tell me whether it was useful or not.
However, no matter how much is said now, and no matter how wonderful the future may be, Yao Anhui's first challenge today is that she can't kill the chickens at home and needs to find someone to help her.
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