Chapter 422 We Must Be Worthy of This Meal
The Dahe Canteen is doing very well.
The officials and constables of Coal Hill ate here. Ten coins could buy them a full meal. If they wanted something better, they could order dishes to be cooked on the spot. The prices were not expensive.
At noon, the place was packed with people. It wasn't until most of the guests had left that Grandma Zhao went inside.
There were still some leftovers on the plates, and since it was lunchtime and no one was too lazy to cook anymore, the Zhao family sat around the table and ate the leftovers.
However, they didn't just eat leftovers. Mrs. Sun bought a few salted duck eggs from Mrs. Zhu's shop next door, steamed them, cut them up, and placed them on the table. Each person could eat half an egg. When you poked it with chopsticks, the oil would ooze out, making it very appetizing.
The canteen here is mainly managed by the Wen family. The Wen family is in charge of the main work, the Sun family assists from the side, and Zhao Youyin is in charge of purchasing and greeting customers. The children also come to help when they have nothing to do.
"Your sister-in-law told me today that she wants to contract out the lunches from the workshop to our canteen." After eating half a meal, Old Mrs. Zhao started to get down to business. "There are a total of 121 workers in the soap workshop and 52 in the glycerin workshop, making a total of 173. Second daughter-in-law, can you handle the meals for so many people?"
“For group meals, we can just stir-fry all the vegetables together in one pot, it’s not much trouble. The main problem is washing, picking, and chopping the vegetables, which takes up a lot of time.” Wen put down her chopsticks. “There are several children in the family. Qiuhua and Donghua are too young, they can wash dishes, Erwang has to study and doesn’t have much time, and Xiahua is doing embroidery and won’t stay in the canteen. If we take over the lunch for my sister-in-law’s family, we’ll probably have to hire someone.”
Sun's eyes lit up: "My eldest brother's son is sixteen years old this year. He is very honest and hardworking. If we need help, I will call him over to help."
Zhao Youcai was not in favor of hiring someone: "Hiring someone would cost money, I can handle the extra work myself."
“Oh dear, I’m due to give birth in a month. After I have my son, someone will have to take over my duties.” Mrs. Sun said logically. “You need to do the shopping and take care of things in the fields. If you hire someone, everyone will have an easier time.”
Grandma Zhao nodded: "We really can't manage it all ourselves, so let's hire someone. Third daughter-in-law, go back this afternoon and bring your nephew over so I can take a look. If he's a good person, we'll keep him. If he's lazy and good-for-nothing, don't blame me for being impolite."
"Mother, what are you saying? My nephew is wonderful." Madam Sun stood up and massaged the old lady's back. "I was thinking of pairing Chunhua with my nephew, but I've been too busy lately and haven't had a chance. This afternoon I'll go back and ask my elder brother and sister-in-law if they've arranged a marriage for my nephew. If they haven't, I'll propose to Chunhua."
Grandma Zhao nodded, agreeing to let this boy be her son-in-law; it seemed he was indeed a good one.
In the afternoon, Ms. Wen prepared the menu and took it to Cheng Wanwan for review.
Since the standard for a meal was five coins, she always calculated according to this price. It wasn't lavish, but it was definitely not meager either.
Five dishes were set up, and they were rotated every five days.
On the first day, we had white rice with pork cracklings and stir-fried greens with pork lard.
The next day, we had wild vegetable and pork dumplings, twenty for each person.
On the third day, the meal consisted of millet rice, stir-fried winter melon and dried bamboo shoots, and an egg for each person.
Day 4...
They have meat almost every meal, and even if there's no meat, they'll have eggs with it, which is quite good.
After reading it, Cheng Wanwan said, "I'm afraid this won't earn many copper coins, will it?"
“My parents said that we’re all from the same village, so one copper coin per person is enough,” Wen said with a smile. “If we calculate it this way, we can earn almost two hundred copper coins a day, which will be quite a lot in a month. That’s more than enough.”
Cheng Wanwan nodded and continued to confirm the details with the Wen family. After the matter was settled, she took the opportunity to go out, ostensibly to tell everyone the good news, but in reality, to get some fresh air.
She's been stuck in the house for so many days, she's practically moldy.
As she walked out, Cao Yingying immediately came to greet her: "Mom, why are you up? Are you hungry? There's some crucian carp soup warming on the stove, I..."
"I just had a bowl of pigeon soup, I can't drink anymore." Cheng Wanwan waved her hand. "I have something very important to do at the workshop, don't follow me."
She quickly strode out the door.
Cao Yingying quickly called over Wei Hongyan: "Go and follow them, so you can have someone to look after you."
Wei Hongyan held the child in her arms and followed behind Cheng Wanwan.
It was right after lunch break, and the workers were coming to work one after another. The villagers ate at home, while the people from other villages would find a place to sit, take out the mixed grain cakes they brought in the morning, soak them in hot water to fill their stomachs, and then lean against the wall to take a nap, ready to start work at any time.
"Come on, everyone, gather around!"
Manager Yan raised his voice and summoned everyone from both workshops to gather on a large flat area.
More than a hundred people, half men and half women, stood on the flat ground. They were divided into groups, with the group leaders at the front. There was no whispering among them, and the atmosphere was very quiet.
"Alright, next the boss will announce something important." Manager Yan gave up his seat.
Cheng Wanwan walked over, her gaze sweeping across the entire room: "Thank you all for your hard work during this time. Because of your efforts, the workshop has developed better and better. To work, you have to put in physical strength, and to put in physical strength, you have to have enough to eat. If word gets out that I, Madam Sui, am mistreating the common people, I will say that I am mistreating the common people."
The workers below repeatedly replied, "No, no, we're all full!"
"Anyone who spreads this rumor is making an enemy of Dahe Village!"
"Don't worry about that, Auntie Dashan. Anyone who dares to talk nonsense, I'll tear their mouth apart!"
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "I know everyone won't talk nonsense, but I hope that everyone is working with a full stomach. So, after discussing it with the old lady, we decided to provide meals for everyone. With this receipt, you can have a free lunch at the Dahe Canteen."
She picked up a stack of small tickets from her hand. These were small pieces of paper that had been cut up temporarily and stamped with a seal. Each person could receive one ticket per day and use it to eat.
The people present were silent for a brief moment, then burst into a huge cheer of surprise.
"Oh My God!"
"Grandma Dashan is so generous!"
"How much will it cost to feed over a hundred of us for lunch?!"
"Grandma Dashan really went to great lengths to let us work without worry!"
"So everyone is not allowed to slack off. Don't rush home as soon as it's time to leave. Finish what you're doing before you go!"
"Yes, yes, we have to make this meal worthwhile!"
"..."
Villagers passing by in the distance were filled with envy at the sight.
I heard that the workshop is making work clothes, two sets per person. Not only are the clothes free, but now they're even offering free meals.
They also wanted to work in the workshop, but Old Mrs. Zhao had a sharp eye. She only wanted the most diligent and hardworking people, while those of them who did normal labor were not favored and could only watch with envy.
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