Meng Zhao couldn't wait to pick one up and put it in her mouth. At this point, the green plums still had a strong sour taste, but after pickling, the bitterness had been removed, and the sweetness of the pickling seasoning had been added. They were crisp and juicy, with a sweet and sour taste. She couldn't stop eating them one after another.
Meng Zhao also placed a piece on Gu Shi's plate and gave each of the two children a taste.
The two children can't handle sour food very well yet, and they both grimaced as they ate, but they really liked the taste and couldn't resist wanting a second one.
The Gu family also loved the taste; it was sweet and sour, appetizing and refreshing, adding a touch of coolness to the hot summer.
After each person ate three, Meng Zhao put them away. At this point, the pickling time was still too short, and eating too many would make their teeth sensitive. They needed to continue pickling, as the longer the pickling time, the sweeter the flavor would become, and they would taste even better then.
Meng Zhao washed the green plums that Shen Yun had sent over the past few days. The more he washed them, the more satisfied he became. Each plum was round and plump, without any blemishes. It seemed that Shen Yun had carefully selected them before sending them over.
Soak the washed plums in salt water for two hours to remove their astringency, then let them air dry on a rack.
Steam the jars you'll need in a steamer until they're dry. Then, put the dry plums into the jars (one pound of plums to one pound of sugar). Seal the jars tightly and place them in a cool, dark place to marinate until they're ready.
Because some gas is produced during the pickling process, it is necessary to release the gas every day during the initial pickling period.
Two months later, whether you use the pickled plum syrup to make a drink or soak the pickled plums in water, it will be very refreshing and cooling.
Because she heard that her parents liked to drink, after the plum dew was made, Meng Zhao collected some plums from Shen Yun to make plum wine. Once she had enough, she asked Shen Yun to stop.
Shen Yun was quite disappointed by this. She had finally found a way to make money, but now she couldn't do it anymore.
But she was still grateful to Meng Zhao, because there were many idle people in the village who couldn't find work. If Meng Zhao wanted to, she could hire two people to pick plums for her, which would be much faster than her picking them little by little herself. But she still chose to buy them from her, simply because Meng Zhao was kind-hearted and pitied her.
Before Gu could finish making the clothes, the two newly opened boxed lunch shops closed down one after another, leaving only Meng Zhao and another boxed lunch shop on the dock.
Meng Zhao wasn't surprised that the other company was able to hold out while the other two were engaged in a price war, because unlike the other two, they didn't simply copy her format; they also made some modifications of their own.
Unlike Meng Zhao, they didn't cook six dishes a day, but only three. Although there were fewer options, there was one advantage: the food was served very quickly.
Meng Zhao's food is delicious, so naturally many people buy it, and sometimes there are queues. Not everyone is willing to wait so long for a bite of food, especially those who are waiting to work. In order to get their food faster, some people will choose other stalls.
In addition, they will prepare some green vegetables and washed lotus leaves to help customers who are preparing to take the food on the boat or home to wrap it up, and then wrap it with another layer of lotus leaves to prevent it from getting dirty.
Meng Zhao was also surprised to see this. Their family had actually figured out how to eat the Northeastern-style large rice roll. It seems that the wisdom of the ancient people was truly remarkable.
Setting up a stall at a dock meant that encounters were inevitable. Meng Zhao noticed that the couple who ran the stall always lowered their heads whenever they saw her, probably because they felt guilty about imitating her.
Meng Zhao didn't care much. She hated those who engaged in malicious competition that harmed others without benefiting themselves, but she didn't dislike people like her family who didn't blindly imitate but innovated and focused on their own small business.
After all, they were just poor people struggling to make a living. Their existence did not affect Meng Zhao. A couple of days ago, Meng Zhao resumed serving 100 meals a day and continued to serve meals non-stop, selling out early every day.
So when they bumped into each other at their stalls one time, Meng Zhao took the initiative to greet him, "Good afternoon, you're here so early today."
The two men were startled. After exchanging a glance, they quickly replied, "Yes, yes, good afternoon. The dishes were prepared in advance today, so we rushed over to make sure they weren't cold."
“Okay, let’s hurry over and set up our stall.” Meng Zhao said and went to her stall with Gu Shi.
She didn't intend to become close to them; she just felt uncomfortable seeing them act like mice before a cat whenever they saw her. Since she didn't care, there was no need to make them suffer any longer.
Looking at Meng Zhao's back, Zhao Cheng and his wife Cheng Qing were both a little surprised. They didn't expect Meng Zhao to take the initiative to greet them.
Zhao Cheng himself worked as a porter at the dock, but his legs were not very good and he was slightly lame, so he didn't earn much money. He had eaten a boxed lunch at Meng Zhao's house once by chance and found it to be very delicious. After eating it a few more times, he started thinking about setting up a stall.
His wife was his childhood sweetheart. She used to work as a helper in a restaurant, where she learned some skills from the chefs. She was doing a good job, but suddenly she was fired. Later, she found out that as soon as she left, the restaurant manager recruited his relatives.
She didn't have any other skills, only cooking, but most restaurants in the county didn't hire female cooks, so she could only find work washing clothes.
After discussing it, the two decided to imitate Meng Zhao and set up a stall at the dock.
Unexpectedly, just a few days after they set up their stall, two more stalls opened, and the prices kept getting lower and lower. At first, they were almost unable to survive.
But seeing Meng Zhao's calm demeanor, they decided to persevere a little longer. So for those days, they only cooked twenty meals a day to earn a little money. They kept the unsold food for themselves and kept it up all the way.
As it turned out, their perseverance paid off. After the other two families quit, only Meng Zhao and his family remained at the dock, selling boxed lunches.
Thanks to the customers who couldn't get a meal at Meng Zhao's place, business was pretty good, selling dozens of meals every day.
Because the idea was copied from Meng Zhao, the two of them felt sorry for Meng Zhao and would lower their heads and avoid eye contact whenever they saw him.
They never expected Meng Zhao to greet them first, without any hatred whatsoever. Looking at Meng Zhao setting up her stall, the two were filled with guilt and gratitude.
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