Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Jinjiang Solo
"Next year, this area will be planted with original rice. Boss Zhang is welcome to come and inspect it then."
The village chief pointed to a large paddy field and said to Zhang Mengzhi.
"Okay, I'll come and see you then. By the way, you can raise fish in the rice fields, and I'll buy all the fish you raise."
Zhang Mengzhi gave them another suggestion: fish fed with rice flowers tastes better than ordinary fish.
"Won't the fish eat the rice seedlings?"
This was the first time the village chief had heard of this, because they had never seen anyone raise fish in rice fields before. Occasionally there were a few fish in the fields, but not many, so no one thought much of it.
"No, after you plant the rice seedlings and let them grow for a while, you can release the fish fry. Not only will they not eat the rice, they will also eat the weeds and pests in the fields, and the fish feces they produce can fertilize the fields!"
Zhang Mengxiao thought about the knowledge he had learned in this area in his previous life, but because it had been so long, he didn't remember much. He only knew that the fish raised in rice fields were delicious and even good for rice.
He has also seen people raising crabs in rice fields, but they need to plant rice with strong stems and strong collapse resistance, otherwise the crabs will break the rice seedlings. In addition, crabs like to climb rice plants. Sometimes there are many crabs climbing on one plant, which will collapse ordinary rice plants. At the same time, the ridges of the fields need to be treated before raising crabs, otherwise the crabs will escape and they will not be able to return even if they started.
So compared to raising crabs, raising fish is easier.
"Okay, okay, we'll try it next year."
The village chief was very excited when he heard that he could increase his income! With the rice and the money from selling fish, they could have a good year next year.
In addition to the rice agreement signed with farmers in the plain area, a rice fish contract was also added. However, he noted that only fish raised in rice fields are rice fish, and fake ones cannot be passed off as real ones. Once discovered, the contract will be invalidated, and the party at fault will be held accountable.
Zhang Mengzhi knows that some people use fake rice fish to impersonate real rice fish in order to make money. They can't tell the difference, but it's a different story for chefs.
Rice flower fish is more fragrant than other fish, and any chef who has eaten both kinds of fish can tell the difference. Unfortunately, Zhang Mengzhi had eaten rice flower fish in his previous life. In order to pursue the freshness of the ingredients, he even went to the farmer's house who raised rice flower fish.
After returning, he looked up information about raising fish in rice fields out of curiosity, otherwise he wouldn't even know this little knowledge.
"Hmm? Village chief, there are lotus roots in the pond in your village?"
When Zhang Mengzhi passed by a pond, he found some dried lotus leaves in it.
"Yes, this is the public pond in our village. There are some lotus roots in it. It is very beautiful in the summer. Not only is it green, but there are also lotus flowers to admire."
The village chief nodded. Their village has no shortage of water all year round, and they carefully maintain these muddy ponds. In addition to growing lotus roots, they also raise fish in them. At the end of the year, they give a few fish to each household in the village, so that at least there will be two more dishes on the table.
"That's great. I'll dig some lotus roots out and have someone come to pick them up. The price is the same as what we buy at the market. You won't be at a disadvantage."
Zhang Mengzhi ordered another batch of lotus roots for his restaurant. Lotus roots can be eaten in many ways, so the consumption in the restaurant is quite large.
Without middlemen, and with the products being sold at the same price as usual at restaurants, farmers can make more money.
"Okay, okay, I'll arrange for someone to dig it out right away, and Boss Zhang can have someone come to pull it out the day after tomorrow."
The village chief was grinning from ear to ear. In just half a day, the income of their village was enough to equal a year's income.
"Boss Zhang, these are the bacon and fish smoked by our village. Thank you for your support. Please accept these fish and meat. They are a token of our appreciation."
The village chief was carrying a basket filled with cured fish and cured meat.
"You are too polite, village chief. These things are too precious. I will not accept them."
He looked at the bacon and fish and saw that they were both in good condition. It seemed that the best was given to him. But just like what Zhang Mengzhi said, these things were very precious to farmers and he couldn't accept them.
"No, Boss Zhang, you have to accept it. You have helped our village so much. If you don't accept it, you will look down on us country folk."
Not only did the village chief insist that Zhang Mengzhi accept it, he also said some very harsh words.
He didn't want to be accused of looking down on country people, so Zhang Mengzhi had no choice but to accept it.
"How could that be! If I despise such a good thing, what kind of person would I be?"
Zhang Mengzhi said with a smile, but he finally accepted them. When he got home, he hung the bacon and fish on the beams, planning to eat them during the Chinese New Year.
"Mengzhi is back!" Wang Changjiang heard the voice next door and came over to see what was going on.
"Cousin, where are my mother and aunt?"
Zhang Mengyu has returned to school. The final exam is in a few days, so she has to go back to recover, leaving Wang Changjiang alone at home.
Wang Changjiang may have suffered a blow in the United States and is a little afraid of seeing people. He usually doesn't like to go out, and he is especially unwilling to go to crowded places.
So after Zhang's mother and cousin Zhang went out, he would paint in the yard next door.
“Is this a painting drawn by my cousin?”
Zhang Mengzhi came to the next yard and saw the easel in the yard, on which the painting was half finished.
"Yeah, that's what I'm good at."
Wang Changjiang was washing his brushes. He was painting an oil painting. Although it was only half done, it was clear that he was painting the Zhang family courtyard.
"That's great. Can you give it to me when you finish drawing it, cousin?"
Zhang Mengzhi fell in love with it at first sight. Wang Changjiang's painting of the Zhang family courtyard is full of human life, especially the lingering smoke on the kitchen roof, telling the audience that the family is cooking. There is obviously no one in the painting, but the painting tells everyone that there are people in the yard.
"Okay, I'll give it to my cousin once I finish painting and have it framed."
Wang Changjiang nodded vigorously. He was so happy that his cousin liked his paintings, so how could he not agree!
"Okay, let me know when the painting is done, and I'll take you to a place that specializes in framing it. I have acquaintances there who won't mess around."
Zhang Mengzhi also had good intentions. She was worried that her cousin didn't understand the ways of the world and would end up being cheated.
"good."
Wang Changjiang naturally would not refuse. After all, he didn't really know much about Guocheng.
"Mengzhi, Changjiang, what are you talking about?"
Mother Zhang and Aunt Zhang came back carrying large and small bags.
"Mom, aunt, where did you go? You bought so many things, ask someone to take you back next time!"
Zhang Mengzhi and Wang Changjiang hurried over to take the things from them.
"These are all for the New Year. These bags are new clothes. Changjiang, go try them on. Mengzhi, we didn't buy your clothes. You always wear custom-made clothes. Besides, you can't wear these common clothes when you are doing business."
Mother Zhang didn't know how her son developed this habit. She didn't notice it before when the family was poor, but she discovered after the Zhang family became rich that her son was very particular about food and clothing!
Sometimes she even suspected that she had given birth to a rich boy, because he would not wear clothes of poor quality outside.
"Okay. Cousin, go ahead and try it!"
Zhang Mengzhi took the bag and pushed his cousin into the house.
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll try it now."
Wang Changjiang also lived in Zhang's house for a while and had some understanding of the Zhang family.
His cousin is very tasteful and particular about dressing. His clothes are all classic styles. Even if they are not popular fashions nowadays, he looks very good when he wears them when walking outside.
The clothes that are popular in China now are all based on the styles of the West or Hong Kong, and they are not as good-looking as the clothes that Zhang Mengzhi asked someone to make. The reason why classic styles become classic styles is that they will not be out of style even after decades!
This is what Zhang Mengzhi is wearing, and it’s made of good material. If she wears it out in ten or twenty years, everyone will praise it for being beautiful.
"Cousin, how is it?"
Wang Changjiang came out wearing new clothes. The silver woolen coat was a little slim-fitting and did not look bulky at all on him.
"My mother has good taste. This dress suits you very well."
Black fabric was not chosen because although black makes people look mature, it would also make Wang Changjiang look old.
The silver one is very good. Wang Changjiang is not very old, and he has a bit of melancholy in his temperament. His facial features are also handsome. So I wonder how many girls and young girls will look at him when he goes out wearing this!
"I like it, too."
Wang Changjiang stroked his coat and said softly.
He hadn't worn such nice clothes since he came out. His father had thrown away all the clothes he had in the villa of the beautiful king, saying that he had no son as shameful as him.
And his grandparents also took back the things they had given him.
Wang Changjiang didn't expect his family to be so ruthless after he came out. No one helped him except his mother. Even his biological brother suppressed him in secret, not to mention taking care of him in secret.
Wang Changjiang was very confused for a while. He didn't know what outrageous thing he had done to make his family accept the fact that the person they didn't like was of the same sex.
But the only thing he was sure of was that they were no longer his family after he came out.
"I see there are several sets, go try another one."
Seeing that his cousin was lost in his memories again, Zhang Mengzhi immediately changed the subject.
"good."
Wang Changjiang went in again with clothes.
Zhang Mengzhi frowned after he entered. It seemed that his cousin had not yet recovered from the previous blow. It was better to let his mother and aunt take him with them when they went out!
He can't stay at home all the time, because the more he stays at home, the worse his mood will be. This is different from the otakus and otakus of later generations. One is a voluntary otaku who doesn't want to go out if he doesn't go to work, and they stay at home happily.
But my cousin is different. After suffering a blow, he became a stay-at-home who is unwilling to go out and face the crowd.
The former have many ways to relieve their mood by staying at home, but the latter will only become more and more autistic, and eventually they won't even want to see people.
Just do it when you think of it, Zhang Mengzhi told Zhang's mother and others about it without hesitation.
"Mom, aunt, remember to take your cousin with you when you go out next time. Don't let him stay at home all the time. It's not good for his health."
"Okay, we'll call him later."
Mother Zhang always listened to her son. She knew there must be a reason why her son asked her to do this, so she didn't ask any further questions.
Seeing that her sister-in-law had no objection, Aunt Zhang also had no objection.
So when Wang Changjiang came out and heard the news, he almost broke down. But looking at his aunt's expectant face, Wang Changjiang couldn't say no.
"good."
With this nod, you are selling yourself out.
"That's great, we'll have someone to help carry things from now on."
Mother Zhang, who was planning to use her nephew as a human bag-hanging machine, shouted out with joy.
“…”
Wang Changjiang regretted it but it was too late to regret.
"That's right, we'll go again tomorrow. We've only bought half of it today. You can't just buy random New Year's goods. You have to compare prices from three different stores."
Aunt Zhang was also very happy about Wang Changjiang's joining the team because he was a man and was naturally stronger than women.
Today they had to give up on several things because they didn’t have the hands to hold them, but that won’t happen tomorrow.
"You'll get used to it."
There was a hint of gloating in Zhang Mengzhi's tone.
"Cousin, if you're not the one going, of course you can say that."
Wang Changjiang said dejectedly.
"Mom, aunt, let me help you sort it out."
In order to cover up his guilt in the face of his cousin's accusation, Zhang Mengzhi went over to help his mother and aunt sort out the New Year's goods. The food was placed in the kitchen and the freezer, and the hanging items were placed in the cabinets in the main room, waiting to be taken out and used before the New Year.
Things like Spring Festival couplets have to wait until New Year’s Eve to be hung up.
"There are a few bags of clothes here that belong to my dad and Xiaoyu, right?"
Zhang Mengzhi looked at the dark blue and black materials in the bag and knew at first glance that they were worn by middle-aged or elderly men.
"Yes, put them in the room for me and try them on after your dad gets off work. As for Xiaoyu's, I bought her a size larger because I was afraid it might be too small. I don't know if she can wear it."
Mother Zhang bought clothes for everyone in the family except her son.
There are not only cotton-padded clothes, but also woolen clothes. Winter styles are less than summer styles. Zhang's mother was afraid of buying ugly ones, so she followed her son's example and bought some classic styles so that they would not become outdated before being worn at home.
Aunt Zhang had two sets of cotton coats. Hers was a New Year gift from her sister-in-law, Mom Zhang, to her younger sister-in-law, while Uncle Yang's was bought by Aunt Zhang for her husband.
My husband's clothes were very old, so I bought him two new sets of winter clothes.
As for summer clothes, Aunt Zhang had already bought them for her husband. The only thing missing was two sets of winter clothes, which she bought today.
"Mengzhi. Sister-in-law spent so many years today, you won't blame her, right?"
Holding her new clothes, Aunt Zhang was afraid that her sister-in-law would be scolded by her family, because in her family, her children would take turns to accuse her of wasting money.
When I bought it, I just wanted to have fun, and didn't think about the money at all. And Zhang's mother had money, so she bought it without bargaining.
After returning, Aunt Zhang began to regret and worried that her sister-in-law would be disliked by her family.
"No, I gave my mother money just to make her happy when she spends it!"
Zhang Mengzhi said to his aunt in a soothing tone. He knew why his aunt asked him this, and it was precisely because he knew it clearly that he felt even more sympathetic towards her.
"That's good. That's good."
Aunt Zhang was relieved and brought home a few new sets of clothes that night and asked her husband to try them on.
"Xiao Zhang, these clothes are very expensive, right?"
Uncle Yang was not happy at all wearing his new clothes because he was worried about money.
"It's expensive. Just one piece of this can buy several sets of clothes. Except for your clothes, which I bought for you, all my clothes were bought by my sister-in-law."
Aunt Zhang has now come to terms with it. She and her husband have suffered for half of their lives, so now it's time to enjoy themselves. As for the dissatisfaction of her children, as a mother, does she really have to take them into consideration?
There is no such thing in the world, so when faced with complaints from her children, Aunt Zhang pretended not to hear them.
"That'll cost more than a hundred!"
Two sets of cotton clothes are not cheap.
"It's okay. You can wear these two sets of clothes for a long time. I will buy you new clothes when they are worn out."
Aunt Zhang made big promises to her husband.
"Don't worry about the money. My salary is higher than yours now! My nephew said that we won't starve in the future with him around."
Aunt Zhang interrupted her husband's next words. She didn't want to hear any more talk about saving money. She had heard it all her life, but she was never as happy as she is now.
She now eats well, drinks well, and has fun. Not only can she often go shopping with her sister-in-law, but the housework is also shared equally between them. Her life is much easier than before.
It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, but easy to go from frugality to extravagance. So when she let go, she found that her life was no longer suffocating and her life became much better.
She originally disagreed with her nephew's constant complaints about not having children and grandchildren to enjoy his life, but now it sounded to Aunt Zhang that his words made some sense.
Not every child is like Zhang Mengzhi, who not only does not stop his parents from spending money lavishly, but also tries to give them pocket money. Most children are ordinary people, earning ordinary wages. Apart from being able to barely support their family, they will never spend money lavishly in their lives.
Aunt Zhang used to live like this. If she were asked to go back to her old days, she wouldn’t be able to get used to it!
She couldn't enjoy the blessing of children in her life, but she enjoyed the blessing of nephew!
"Mengzhi is a good kid."
Uncle Yang pushed up his glasses and said.
Does he not like new clothes and delicious food? It's just because he was the only one supporting the family before, and the family burden forced him to be more calculating, and finally he turned himself into a stingy person.
"Do I need to tell you that?"
Aunt Zhang said with pride.
"Cousin, the couplet is crooked, please move it a little more to the left."
Zhang Mengyu returned home after the exam and even took the quilt covers and sheets from the dormitory back to wash.
On New Year's Eve, the Zhang family became busy, but Zhang Mengzhi couldn't take care of the family because Taibai Building and the fast food restaurant were still open.
Many people went to Zhang’s Restaurant to order reunion dinners, and Zhang Mengzhi also went to help.
Fast food restaurants are low-end and mid-range, while Taibailou is positioned as a high-end restaurant. Fast food restaurants don't need me, but Taibailou is in dire need of chefs.
As the name suggests, a reunion dinner is a meal that the family eats together. Therefore, everyone will try to prepare as much food as possible on this day and pack up the leftovers to take away.
Because Zhang always advocates saving, he would ask the guests how many people they are eating before they order. Then he would recommend a few suitable dishes. Except for the stubborn guests, most of the guests accepted the suggestions of Zhang's waiters.
Zhang always packs up the food, and is even happy for guests to take the leftovers away.
A month ago, a customer ordered Buddha Jumps Over the Wall because he and his family came from a coastal city and they couldn't go back for the Chinese New Year this year, so they missed the taste of their hometown food.
However, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall needs to be prepared early, so Zhang Mengzhi has been making it since yesterday. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is not only complicated to prepare, but also has a lot of ingredients. Not only does it contain several kinds of meat, but most of the ingredients are seafood.
They are inland cities, and there is no fresh seafood, so they can only use dried goods instead. Even if it is not so authentic, with Zhang Mengzhi's cooking skills, the taste of this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is also very attractive.
Until the lid of the jar was opened, the overbearing fragrance rushed out. If they were not in the big private room, they would have been surrounded by people in the hall downstairs.
"It smells so good! Mom, try this."
The boss, who came to the inland from the coast to do business, directly served his mother a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which was mostly seafood, because his mother liked to eat seafood.
“It’s delicious, better than what I ate at home.”
The boss's mother only ate one shrimp and said this with certainty.
"Mom, I admit that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall made by Boss Zhang is delicious. After all, it smells delicious. But he doesn't have some ingredients and only uses dried goods. No matter how you look at it, it can't be as delicious as the one we make back home, right?"
The boss started to be stubborn before he even had the meal, refusing to admit that the top-notch delicacy from his hometown was not as good as that made by chefs from other places.
Naturally, his words also caused his mother to roll her eyes.
"What do you know? Most of the chefs in our hometown use the freshest ingredients, but in terms of cooking skills, they may be inferior to Boss Zhang. You can tell just by drinking the soup. If you don't believe me, try it yourself."
Seeing that her son still didn't believe it, the boss's mother told him to try it himself and decide for himself.
"Okay, I don't believe it."
The boss immediately picked up his chopsticks and spoon and started eating. After eating a small bowl, he put down his chopsticks.
"How about it?"
The boss's mother asked.
"It's delicious. It's definitely better than what we had back home. The ingredients are not as good, but Boss Zhang is really good at cooking."
If the ingredients were fresher, he believed that this dish would really attract Buddha.
It's a pity that this is an inland city and we can't eat the freshest seafood. Even the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is made with dried food. I wonder how delicious it would be if it were made with fresh ingredients!
"By the way, Mom, please try this lychee meat dish. I just told the boss that I wanted to eat food from my hometown, but I didn't expect that he would actually make it."
This time the boss was convinced.
"You said it was not enough. I had already eaten it when you were eating Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
The boss's mother took another piece, still wanting to appreciate her son's kindness.
"Hey, today we only have these two dishes. Even though the quantity is a little less, the money hasn't been reduced at all!"
The boss sighed, and the bulk of the food was on this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
For this dish, Boss Zhang collected the ingredients a month in advance, and he had to reimburse the expenses, which was agreed upon long ago.
After all, Taibailou is a Sichuan restaurant. If he wants to eat coastal dishes, especially a difficult dish like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, he will have to pay for it himself.
Boss Zhang is running a business, he is not a sucker, he can't let others pay for him!
"Boss Lin, how was your meal?"
Zhang Mengzhi came in when they had almost finished eating, holding a pot of hawthorn tea in her hand.
"Hey, how did Boss Zhang know that I wanted to drink hawthorn tea?"
The boss smelled the hawthorn in the pot and asked immediately.
"You and Auntie ate so much seafood. If you don't drink some hawthorn tea, you'll suffer from indigestion later."
Zhang Mengzhi filled their cups with hawthorn tea, then sat aside and watched them drink.
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