Because he had many friends around him, Zhao Honghui did not discuss the factory construction with Xie Yuyao. He only mentioned it briefly on his way home from work, so that she could be mentally prepared.
After they parted, Xie Yuyao began to ponder: Zhao Honghui didn't seem hostile. Was he hiding his true intentions too well, or had he already let his guard down? Their last contact was last night. Thinking back to what she had done then, was it all a lucky accident?
Back at the educated youth compound, Xie Yuyao smelled a strong, pungent chili pepper odor.
Jiang Yan, standing by the stove, covered her nose with one hand and waved a spatula with the other. Before long, a plate of stir-fried celery with chili peppers was ready.
She poured in several more spoonfuls of water, and without washing the pot, started cooking vegetable soup again.
After the meal was served, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment as they saw the celery covered with chili peppers and the soup with black specks floating on it.
"Let's eat! It won't taste good when it's cold." Jiang Yan greeted them warmly, picked up her chopsticks first, took a few bites of celery, and nodded in praise, "That's right, it tastes best when it's cooked like this."
Li Weidong also picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, took a bite and choked. Chen Kai, who was next to him, quickly poured him a glass of water.
He drank it all down like a cow drinking water, but his throat still felt like it was on fire.
"Jiang Yan, if you like spicy food, make a dipping sauce for us. You should also consider the tastes of the other educated youth."
Jiang Yan looked completely innocent and said lightly, "Brother Li, chili peppers are more fragrant when stir-fried with vegetables. Everyone will get used to it after eating it a few times."
If Xie Yuyao still couldn't see her malicious intent, she would be a fool.
"From now on, I'm breaking up the partnership." Xie Yuyao looked around coldly, her gaze landing on Yang Shumei. "Shumei, do you want to come with me?"
"Of course!" Yang Shumei replied without hesitation. She looked at Jiang Yan and said, "Without us, let's see if you'll still cause trouble."
Jiang Yan ignored him and continued eating without looking at him.
Xie Yuyao pulled Yang Shumei down from the table, "I still have some noodles. Would you like to make soup noodles or fried noodles?"
"Anything is fine with me, which one would you like to eat?"
"Let's have noodle soup then, it's simpler." Xie Yuyao thought about the meeting she had to attend later and decided to make it quick.
Soon, a bowl of vegetable noodles was ready.
Seeing Jiang Yan's face as black as charcoal, Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei exchanged a glance and smiled.
Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan, how could you possibly try to make things difficult for us with the food? I really don't know whether to call you stupid or just plain dumb.
At the dinner table, the others looked at the vegetable noodles that the two had cooked a few days ago, and then at the inedible chili peppers. They all criticized Jiang Yan and threatened that if she cooked it so spicy again, they would not eat with them.
Having incurred the wrath of the crowd, Jiang Yan was outnumbered and had no choice but to apologize against her will, while still holding a grudge against Xie Yuyao and the other woman.
By the time the vegetable noodles were cooked, everyone else had already finished eating and left the table. Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei ate while discussing what they needed to buy.
"There are two stoves in the main room, so we can use the other one without any conflict when cooking."
"Yes, my coal stove can be used too, but I don't have enough coal briquettes. I'll go buy some more in a couple of days." Xie Yuyao wanted to use the coal stove to share some of the burden. Stove firewood is needed, and she could collect firewood while cutting grass, but how to transport it back was a problem.
Since carrying water once when she first arrived, she has become acutely aware of the limits of her shoulders.
“Then I’ll write home and ask my parents to send some industrial coupons and coal coupons so we can buy a small wok and a soup pot.”
"Yeah, we'll pool our money then."
......
After Xie Yuyao finished cleaning up, Li Weidong, who was sitting on the west porch, stood up and said, "Yuyao, the brigade leader asked me to invite you to a meeting."
"OK."
"What is it about?" Yang Shumei asked, a little puzzled. Wasn't the dried fruit deal already finalized this morning?
Xie Yuyao smiled and said, "We'll talk about it later. You should go and rest first."
Yang Shumei didn't ask any more questions. They agreed to go to the brigade's sales point to buy seasonings together after work in the evening, and then went back to her room for a midday rest.
*
After leaving the educated youth compound, Li Weidong asked, "Do you already know what we're going to discuss?"
"Yes, Zhao Honghui said so."
"When did he tell you?" Li Weidong paused, a warning bell ringing in his mind.
"At noon, what?"
"It's nothing," Li Weidong smiled and continued walking. "Do you know any other ways to make candied fruit?"
"I know a little. If we really want to build a dried fruit factory, what kind of work would you like to do?" In Xie Yuyao's opinion, Li Weidong's abilities in all aspects are quite good, and he is quite suitable to be the factory manager.
"I haven't thought about those things yet. But if there's anything you want, whether it's money, a job, or even the factory manager's position, you can ask the team leader and the others."
Li Weidong felt that the dried fruit factory couldn't have started without Xie Yuyao, and the brigade leader had taken good care of her. It wouldn't be difficult for her to become the factory manager.
"No way! You know I'm not interested in this." Xie Yuyao denied it repeatedly. She was joking; being a factory manager wasn't a job for just anyone, and she was trying to avoid it as much as possible.
"Then how about using this to get a more meaningful job, like becoming a teacher?"
"Let's forget about it. There's a place for every teacher, and the town isn't short of teachers." Xie Yuyao felt that her current job of cutting grass was fine, as it gave her plenty of free time to study.
"If you have any ideas later, you can tell me, and I'll try to get them." Li Weidong knew her personality and didn't try to persuade her to take advantage of the situation.
"By the way, since you and Yang Shumei are already cooking separately, I'll take care of the chopping wood and carrying water."
If it weren't for the fact that he was the leader of the educated youth team, and that teaming up with Xie Yuyao and the other two would affect the team's unity, he would have liked to join them so he could legitimately take on the heavy work.
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