Chapter 56: Morning Meeting Hot and Sour Radish
The next morning, Zhang Wenxin arrived at the Yu family courtyard very early, looking very nervous.
The three of them discussed it yesterday, and she proposed the sideline business plan at the morning meeting.
In the kitchen, Zhou Yuesheng was cooking porridge and Yu Zhile was chopping pickles.
"Le Le, am I really okay?" Zhang Wenxin stood at the door, taking deep breaths to adjust herself.
She felt her heart beating wildly and her hands and feet began to go numb.
Yu Zhile put down the kitchen knife, walked up to her, and said seriously: "Zhang Wenxin, you can do it."
"You suddenly become so serious and solemn, just like my grandfather. It's even more frightening." Zhang Wenxin smiled, "Shouldn't you give me a big hug?"
Yu Zhile patted her shoulder and said, "You have to get used to it in advance. We are going to open a non-staple food processing factory in Haiyu Village."
Zhang Wenxin hummed, and the person in front of her suddenly put his arms around her shoulders.
"Come on, Zhang Wenxin is the best." Yu Zhile whispered in her ear.
Zhang Wenxin suddenly felt her heart was filled with joy, and said with a confident smile, "Yes, I can do it."
Breakfast was ready, and Chen Zhao and Ge Tai walked in side by side.
"Hey, don't let me look down on you." Chen Zhao handed Zhang Wenxin a pen.
Zhang Wenxin snorted: "Don't ever think of seeing me make a fool of myself in your life."
Ge Tai, who was standing aside and watching the interaction between the two, smiled and put his clenched fist into his pocket.
"Sister Xin, this is for you." Yu Chi took out a beautiful stone.
Zhang Wenxin bent down and kissed him on the forehead, saying softly, "Thank you, Xiaobao."
After breakfast, the group set out for the warehouse where the farm tools were stored.
"Labor is the most glorious!" The team leader led everyone in shouting slogans at the top of their lungs.
The slogans echoed throughout the small open space in front of the warehouse, and everyone was in high spirits.
Seeing Yu Zhile and others approaching, the old branch secretary walked to the center, raised his hand and made a downward gesture, and everyone became quiet.
Zhang Wenxin walked up to him under everyone's gaze and cleared his throat: "No one has asked for leave today. While everyone is here, I would like to propose a new development plan and listen to everyone's opinions."
As soon as these words came out, everyone started whispering.
Zhang Wenxin received Yu Zhile's encouraging look and continued, "Yu Zhile, Ge Tai and I are going to submit an application to the commune for a sideline group and set up a stall to sell food at the market."
“No, we don’t do side jobs!”
"That's right! You've seen ghosts, so you're not afraid of the dark? We just paid off the money we owed for our side business at the beginning of the year, and we don't want to buy fertilizer on credit from the commune."
"Oppose! No sideline group!"
Her words were like a drop of oil falling into a pot of hot water, and the crowd exploded instantly.
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. We have made a very detailed plan this time, and with Lele's cooking skills as a guarantee, the feasibility is very high." Zhang Wenxin shouted to control the situation.
Some people listened to her and calmed down to think.
They all recalled the food stalls at the market that were packed with customers, but the dishes did not seem as delicious as those cooked by Yu Zhile.
Some people began to discuss the feasibility of this side job plan with people around them, while others were just dancing around in despair.
"No, I'm against it. Our whole family is against it." The old bald man who had tried to blackmail Yu Zhile jumped out and shouted, "Setting up a sideline group is harming everyone. They want everyone to starve."
The small group of people who failed to extort money and instead compensated Zhile's workers also supported his statement, with Aunt Huang and her husband shouting the loudest.
They have always been resentful of Yu Zhile for sending Zhang Yaozong to the police station, causing their beloved son to spend fifteen days in jail. When he came out, his chin was pointed.
The village cadres, who had not heard any news before, were also whispering to each other at this time.
Seeing that the situation had stabilized, the old branch secretary stepped forward again and said, "We will hold a voting meeting in the threshing ground tonight. Everyone must be present to vote. The decision is in everyone's hands, and the minority must obey the majority."
Everyone did not want to delay farm work, so they agreed to the old branch secretary's proposal.
The scorer opened the warehouse and everyone lined up to get the farm tools.
While waiting in line, many people were discussing this matter with their relatives and friends.
"I think this sideline group will definitely work." Zhang Dajin stood in the middle of the team and expressed his opinion loudly.
His childhood friend was close by, and his ears were buzzing from the noise. He rolled his eyes at him and said, "You think everything your sister does is up to you."
"Gouzi, that's not what I mean. I am standing on the side of justice, not my relatives," Zhang Dajin retorted.
My childhood friend said unhappily, "Then tell me what makes sense of this."
Zhang Dajin felt many eyes on him and straightened his back unconsciously: "Yu Zhile's cooking is better than that of the chefs in state-owned restaurants. How could her food not sell?"
"Just brag, she really is better than others. Why doesn't she become a chef?" Aunt Huang sneered.
"Hey, you're right, Yu Zhile is going to teach the chef how to cook at a state-owned restaurant." Zhang Dajin couldn't hold back his smile when he saw her fall into the trap. "Although she's just a temporary worker, her benefits are based on the standard for regular workers."
His words sparked heated discussions again, with everyone asking whether this was true or not.
"Of course it's true. The chef personally invited her. If you don't believe me, go to the town and ask." Zhang Dajin replied.
He was well-known in the village for being a simple and honest man. When everyone heard about this, their resistance to the sideline business plan was reduced a little.
"Le Le, this trick of yours is really useful." Zhang Wenxin said in Yu Zhile's ear.
Yu Zhile smiled but said nothing. She had thought of many ways to guide the wind direction, and this was just one of them.
Those who received the farm tools walked towards the fields. There were fewer and fewer people in the open space, and Yu Zhile and his group left.
Chen Zhao went to work as usual, Ge Tai went to do his own thing, Yu Zhile and Zhang Wenxin went to the vegetable garden to pull up some white radishes and pick some beans.
Yu Chi sat in Yu Yue's arms, and Zhou Yuesheng pushed the wheelchair.
The wheels made a rustling sound as they rolled over the pebbles.
Yu Yue broke the silence: "What's the situation over there?"
"We're still investigating. No feedback yet." Zhou Yuesheng said briefly.
Yu Yue asked: "Then, when will he come back?"
"uncertain."
After that, the atmosphere fell into silence again.
Returning to the courtyard, Zhou Yuesheng caught a glimpse of the secret signal left by Ning Tan at the door.
Following the instructions of the secret code, he found a piece of paper with scribbled handwriting under a stone in the backyard.
[The man is injured. See you tonight at 8 o'clock. We will visit Huaxi Village the next night.]
Zhou Yuesheng put the note away and returned to the front yard.
"Is there any situation?" Yu Yue asked immediately.
Zhou Yuesheng told him that Wu Sheng was injured and asked Yu Yue to cover for him tonight.
"Yes." Yu Yue agreed.
At that time, Yu Zhile's voice came into the yard, and the two of them tacitly avoided looking at each other.
"The pickled young beans are crisper and have a better taste." She was telling Zhang Wenxin the small details of pickling sour beans.
Zhang Wenxin asked, "How about pickled radish? Are there any tips?"
"Yes, wash the radish and soak it directly without peeling it. It will be more crispy." Yu Zhile answered as he pushed the door open.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Zhou Yuesheng went into the kitchen to boil water.
Yu Zhile asked Zhang Wenxin to wash the beans. The beans must not contain raw water and should be placed on a winnowing basket to dry.
Pickled radish is a side dish for the sour soup rice noodles at noon, so you have to hurry and make it.
Yu Zhile washed the radish, cut it into dices with the skin on, and sprinkled a spoonful of white sugar evenly on it.
After the water is marinated out, rinse and drain, add chili peppers, a large amount of vinegar, appropriate amount of sugar and salt, stir well, and add cold boiled water to cover the diced radish.
"The water is boiling." Zhou Yuesheng reminded.
Yu Zhile touched his arm, turned around to prepare the sauce for the pickled beans, and then put it on the stove to cool.
"Let's sort out the cost list again so it will be more convincing tonight." She and Zhang Wenxin sat opposite each other on the long table.
Zhang Wenxin joked, "Your cooking skills are extremely persuasive, everything else is just a small matter."
"You're so talkative." Yu Zhile rolled his eyes.
Zhang Wenxin giggled and helped her sort out the list.
"In the first week, we'll sell seafood soup rice noodles in the morning, and pickled pepper rice noodles and spicy rice noodles in the afternoon." Yu Zhile began to organize the menu.
The clay pot, stove and chopsticks cost a total of five yuan, and there are ready-made tables and chairs in the village.
The cost of large ribs and lean meat is about two dollars per week, and the base for stir-frying pickled peppers and the seasonings used in the process is about three dollars.
You can grow your own bean sprouts as a side dish, and you can make rice noodle soup with old rice from the village, but you have to buy rice noodles and bean curd skin.
"Rice noodles, large quantity, need to bargain." Yu Zhile muttered as he wrote.
Soon, a more detailed list of costs was drawn up.
"If we can sell 50 bowls of noodles at one bazaar, we will start to make money." Zhang Wenxin quickly went through the list.
Yu Zhile responded, "Yes, but since this is our first time setting up a stall, we should be conservative and not prepare too many ingredients to avoid waste."
"It will definitely be sold out." Zhang Wenxin is very confident in her cooking skills.
At the same time, a secret battle was going on in the field.
On one side are the supporters, led by Chen Zhao and the three Zhang brothers; on the other side are the opposition, led by the bald old man and Aunt Huang.
The two opposing sides did their best to lobby supporters for their side.
There was also a small group of people who were indifferent, and the most obvious among them were the three sisters Zhang Zhaodi.
The three sisters worked hard on the farm, paying no attention to the undercurrents around them.
"Zhang Haimei." Ge Tai called her from the edge of the field.
Zhang Zhaodi didn't react at all and just swung the hoe vigorously. Instead, Lai Di and Song Di looked up at him timidly.
Ge Tai called out the names of the three sisters one by one: "Zhang Haimei, Zhang Hailan, and Zhang Haizhu."
Zhang Zhaodi stopped and stared at him indifferently.
This is the name Grandma Zhang gave them. Apart from her friends, only the old branch secretary knew it.
"After the sideline group was established, you were the first group to be selected." Ge Tai stated his purpose and made the division of labor clear, "You and I will be responsible for delivery, while Hailan and Hailan will clean the tables and wash the clay pots."
"We?" Zhang Zhaodi was surprised.
The work of the sideline group is much easier than farm work. No matter which village it is, the sideline group is a place that everyone is scrambling to get into.
Ge Tai confirmed again: "Well, you work diligently and carefully, so you are our first choice."
After saying this, he left the field and went to supervise those who were slacking off.
Zhang Zhaodi and her two sisters stood there in a daze for a while, then hugged their heads and cried quietly.
At this moment, no one wants the side business group to be successfully established more than them.
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