Chapter 28 Bribing the Chef with Brown Sugar
The next morning, all the Lin family members got up early and prepared to go to work or school.
Since Lin Sanqi didn't have to go to work for the time being, the job of picking up and dropping off the children was handed over to him.
Lin Sanqi held his eldest nephew's hand with his left hand and his eldest niece's hand with his right hand, and walked towards the kindergarten together.
The kindergarten is on Dafosi East Street, not far away. Just go east from the alley and cross the back street of the Art Museum. It is only a 10-minute walk away.
There is a state-owned Red Star Hotel at the entrance of Daqudeng Hutong. It also provides breakfast in the morning, with a variety of dishes such as steamed buns, sesame cakes, sugar-coated cakes, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and even fried liver.
Although the quantity is small, the types are absolutely complete to ensure that they serve the people.
Unfortunately, not many citizens bought the stuff, because the buns and fried dough sticks were sold at a price that depended on the grain, and the price was based on food stamps and money.
One pancake costs 1 liang of grain coupons, or 3 cents;
A bowl of vegetarian noodle soup costs 2 liang of grain coupons, or 8 cents;
A meat bun costs 1 liang of grain coupons, or 5 cents;
A steamed bun costs 1 liang of food coupons, 2 cents.
But is one pancake and one bun enough for you?
A grown man eating 10 buns in one sitting, no big deal, right? Even 20 buns would be no problem, but that would cost him a pound of food coupons, and 50 cents would be gone.
The monthly ration for each person is only 21 or 23 kilograms of food coupons, which is not enough for breakfast for half a month. How can we not make ends meet for lunch and dinner?
At the breakfast stall of the Red Star Hotel, the hotel chef, wearing a white work suit and a white hat, rolled a noodle and then gently placed it in the oil pan.
With a sizzling sound, the dough sticks rolled in the frying pan, gradually getting bigger and thicker...
Next to the breakfast stall, Lin Sanqi, Lin Jiageng and Lin Zhenzhen stood there stupidly, their mouths almost drooling.
Food these days is not made with technology or hard work. When the fried dough sticks are fried, the aroma can drift all the way to Jingshan Park.
Not only did the two children cry out of envy, even the adult Lin Sanqi cried out of envy.
Lin Jiageng drooled and asked:
"Uncle, don't you think that bun is delicious? It might be filled with meat. The soup is dripping down when you take a bite."
Lin Zhenzhen was dissatisfied: "No, that sesame pancake is the best. It's so crispy and fragrant. Mm~~ It's really delicious."
Lin Sanqi murmured, "I think this fried dough stick is good, and it should be paired with a bowl of soy milk. The soy milk should be salty. Oh my god, I can't think about it, I can't think about it."
As the three uncles and nephews talked, they all sighed.
Why? I don’t have any food coupons in my pocket.
Although Lin Sanqi had money in his pocket, he had no food coupons. In those days, food coupons were more important than cash, and every household was strictly guarding them.
Without food coupons, you can't buy any breakfast.
Lin Jiageng and Lin Zhenzhen blinked their big eyes and looked at their new uncle pitifully. Lin Sanqi was speechless.
"Okay, I'm going all out today. You guys wait here and don't leave. I'll go and see if I can open a back door."
"Wow, uncle is the best~~~"
Southerners are cunning. If there is an opportunity, they will seize it. If there is no opportunity, they will create one to seize it. They are not bound by rules.
Lin Sanqi took advantage of the fact that there was no one around and came to the breakfast stall. Looking at the dazzling array of snacks, he took a deep breath.
"Master, what's the price?"
The middle-aged breakfast chef said indifferently, without even looking up, "The prices are posted on the back, check for yourself."
Lin Sanqi took a look and then chuckled:
"Master, what is your name?"
A chef who seemed to be in charge looked up and saw Lin Sanqi's delicate and intellectual appearance, so he became a little polite.
"No need to bother, my last name is Zhao, comrade, what can I do for you?"
Lin Sanqi lowered his voice:
"Master Zhao, this is what's going on. Look over there, my nephew and niece want to have breakfast, but we don't have any food coupons. I was wondering if you could open a backdoor and I'd pay a higher price."
Chef Zhao laughed:
"You've got to be kidding. This is a state-owned restaurant, and everything has to follow the rules. I can't help you if you don't have food coupons."
Lin Sanqi was a little disappointed.
In fact, what Lin Sanqi didn’t know was that if he bought at a high price, the chef couldn’t pocket the extra money. Stealing money was a serious crime and the chef would be fired if caught.
There is no benefit for the chefs, so even if Lin Sanqi increases the price several times, they will not be tempted.
Lin Sanqi glanced at his eager nephews and nieces in the distance, and a plan came to his mind:
"Master, how about this? I have a pound of brown sugar here. Can you exchange it for some breakfast?"
After saying that, Lin Sanqi opened the PLA backpack slung across his body, revealing a bag of red powdered sugar inside.
The North does not produce sugar, so all the sugar it needs must be imported from the South or Cuba.
But sugar is an important strategic resource, and the country needs to export it in exchange for precious foreign exchange. In addition, the serious natural disasters in the south in recent years have made sugar even more scarce than grain in the country.
Brown sugar is rarely found on the market, but it is considered a "high-end tonic".
So when Chef Zhao saw a pound of brown sugar, his eyes widened and his heart beat faster. He thought: Whose prodigal son is this, to exchange such precious brown sugar for breakfast?
Lin Sanqi was also thinking at this time: A pound of brown sugar sells for 6 yuan in the supermarket, it is not a valuable thing.
Both sides cursed each other in their hearts: Idiot!
Chef Zhao whispered to confirm, "Young man, do you really want to change breakfast?"
Lin Sanqi nodded firmly: "Yes, but Master, you also know how valuable brown sugar is. How many snacks can this be exchanged for?"
Chef Zhao knew that exchanging sugar for breakfast was not a big deal, and he had to let others share the benefits so that it could be kept secret.
So he turned around and pulled the other three staff members behind him. The four of them whispered to each other for a long time, glancing at Lin Sanqi from time to time.
In less than 5 minutes, the other party came up with a result.
Chef Zhao said with a smile, "How about this, young man? You can take 10 buns, 10 sesame cakes, and 10 fried dough sticks?"
Lin Sanqi calculated in his mind that this was two and a half kilograms of food coupons, plus 1 yuan and 20 cents, which was enough and could not be finished by three people.
Chef Zhao made a lot of money, and Lin Sanqi also did not lose money.
But southerners love to bargain when doing business. Lin Sanqi glanced at him and whispered, "Steamed buns, I want meat filling."
"make a deal."
Seeing their uncle really coming with a paper bag full of breakfast, Lin Jiageng and Lin Zhenzhen clapped their hands excitedly.
Lin Sanqi looked around and shouted, "Let's go, retreat quickly."
In the corner of the park, the uncle and nephew were eating so many meat buns, sesame cakes and fried dough sticks with gusto. The two little ones ate until their stomachs turned over.
I ate my fill and still had half of it left.
Lin Sanqi stuffed two pancakes into each of his nephew and niece's schoolbags, and then sent them to kindergarten with the two little ones happily cheering.
(End of this chapter)
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