Chapter 171 Braised Eel with Sand Scallions [First Update]
Mr. Wen was taken aback, but upon further reflection, it seemed there was no reason to refuse.
Only Wen Fan, leaning against the back of the seat, asked, "Mom, do we have enough money?"
The red light ended, and Wen's mother started the car: "That should be enough."
Since buying a house and renovating a shop at the beginning of the year, the family's savings have decreased, but the shop's business has never been slow. Over the past few months, Wen's mother has saved up a sum of money again.
This amount of money is neither a lot nor a small amount. I don't know where to invest it; I can only leave it in the bank to earn interest.
Wen's mother said, "I was thinking that since we have this spare money, we should go and see what kind of business it is, and if it's suitable, we can take it over. Whether it's supplying our own goods or subcontracting it out, at least it will be an income."
Wen Fan was very supportive; it was a habit she carried over from her past life that made her feel that if you had money, you should buy a house and land.
Now that the house is bought, it's also a good idea to acquire some property.
Although the pond has a lease term, Wen Fan is confident that with a lease of several decades and the ability to raise some fish and shrimp every year, he can recoup the cost of the pond.
"I support it!"
Mr. Wen scratched his head, looked at his wife and daughter, and said, "Then I'll support it too."
Wen's mother smiled: "Let's take a look first."
...
Originally, Feng Huijuan only intended to tell Wen's mother, since once the pond was sold, the crayfish inside would need to find a market. She roughly estimated that finding a new supplier was not as convenient as this.
Unexpectedly, after I made the call, Wen's mother actually came over.
Feng Huijuan took the Wen family to see the pond, which was larger than Wen's mother had imagined.
"Such a big pond, just for raising crayfish?"
Feng Huijuan: "Who can argue with that? But as you can see, my fourth uncle has two sons... He can't rely on his children, so the old man just makes do."
Speaking of her deceased fourth uncle, Feng Huijuan couldn't help but sigh.
The man had only been buried for a few days when his family started arranging to sell the pond. Everyone in the village said that the two sons were outrageous.
Thinking of the expressions on those two people's faces, Wen's mother said, "I haven't even asked yet, but I noticed they were looking at us strangely."
Feng Huijuan sneered: "They're just feeling guilty. A while ago they said they didn't want their shrimp anymore, but these two blocked me several times. Now they know they regret it and say they'll keep the original price."
The fourth uncle's two sons originally intended to try and persuade Feng Huijuan, but unexpectedly, Feng Huijuan didn't fall for it, nor did Wenji.
After a period of time without any visits, the two became frightened and went to the city to check on Wenji again, only to find that Wenji's business was actually even better!
Wen's mother smiled. Recently, the braised crucian carp with minced meat and zongzi in the store have been very popular. Even the zhuangmo sold alongside them has attracted many customers. With the new dishes on the menu, who cares if the crayfish are gone?
Their plan failed, and they had no choice but to ask Feng Huijuan to mediate.
Feng Huijuan said only one thing: if the two of them were to continue managing the pond, they would not cooperate in the future.
Feng Huijuan originally thought that once her fourth uncle was discharged from the hospital, she might be able to pick up the business again.
But just a few days later, I heard the news of my fourth uncle's death.
Feng Huijuan complained to Wen's mother: "Anyway, I will not deal with these two people anymore. Their character is too bad."
Wen Fan squatted by the pond and looked inside. The crayfish, which had been baring their claws, now had red shells and were getting bigger and bigger.
Wen's mother did some mental calculations, then said to Feng Huijuan, "Putting everything else aside, I do have an idea... This pond still has a fourteen-year lease, right?"
Feng Huijuan nodded.
"I want to book the whole place."
Feng Huijuan almost dropped her phone.
But what her mother said next made her heart pound even harder.
"Of course, I'm going to let someone else manage this pond, since I'm not one of your people. If you have any ideas, I have two options. One is that I'll take over the management and we'll sign an annual contract, and we'll settle accounts for the pond's output. The other option is that I'll give you a share of the profits."
Feng Huijuan: "Sister Yingzhi..."
Wen's mother patted her hand: "I trust your character. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have taken over this pond no matter how good it was. Go back and think it over carefully, and also ask them what price they're planning to sell it for... I'll find a lawyer later, and we'll keep things separate."
Upon hearing this from Wen's mother, Feng Huijuan nodded emphatically: "I understand... Thank you, Sister Yingzhi."
After seeing the Wen family off, Feng Huijuan rushed home to discuss it with her husband. This was such a wonderful thing that it had fallen from the sky!
The husband, Lou Da, was also very happy. After careful consideration, the two of them realized that this was the right thing for their family to do!
"If we can take over the pond, don't worry, I'll do a good job."
There's also a persimmon grove at home, and with a persimmon grove and a pond, life can't be bad at all!
Feng Huijuan thought further ahead; she pondered Wen's mother's ideas and discussed with her husband about going through profit sharing.
“If we take on the contract, it will be purely a business transaction, and we’ll inevitably get bogged down in the details later. So why not just split the profits? You can work hard, and we can work with them for the long term.”
Once the couple agreed, Feng Huijuan went to inquire about the price.
"You should also ask a few relatives. These two can't be allowed to ask for an exorbitant amount again."
...
To Wen's mother's surprise, in just over a week, Feng Huijuan had arranged everything perfectly, and the price was even tens of thousands of yuan lower than Wen's mother had expected.
That village was, after all, Feng Huijuan's hometown. After going back and talking to her, Feng Huijuan managed to get the contract fee reduced a little.
The lawyer that Wen's mother hired was also an acquaintance, Zou Yu, who had previously eaten medicinal cuisine at Wen's restaurant.
Wen's mother found Zou Yu's business card and the other party agreed as soon as the call was connected.
Wen's mother asked about the service fee.
Zou Yu refused, only asking that Wen's mother give her a private kitchen number.
Wen's mother naturally agreed.
Zou Yu acted swiftly, not only drafting contracts but also using his connections to find someone knowledgeable in aquaculture to inspect the pond for any problems and determine which fish were suitable for raising.
Lou Da and Feng Huijuan followed behind each other, listening to a wealth of breeding experience.
The contract was completed in a very short time, and just as Wen Fan was about to take his final exams, the Wen family owned their own fish farm.
Crayfish are back on the market, and braised green wheat rice is back in business.
Because of the sudden shortage of crayfish, Wen's mother became more cautious and stored a large batch of green wheat in a cold storage, all for the upcoming summer vacation.
Yao Qingqin's rolled cold noodles sold better and better, and the business in the store gradually began to polarize.
The number of customers gradually decreased at noon, and even the mealtime became less crowded.
But at night, there's nowhere to put your feet in the shops.
The sweltering heat made people reluctant to go out at midday.
Wen Fan buried herself in her studies, and her ranking has improved significantly since last year, now consistently placing her in the top ten of her class.
In the words of the homeroom teacher, "Undergraduate studies are a sure thing; the only question is whether we can get into a top-tier university."
Han Lulu's grades fluctuated wildly; sometimes she could break into the top ten, but other times it was unpredictable.
She secretly played on her phone in the drawer, then excitedly shared it with Wen Fan.
"I heard that our city has invited a variety show to film here, right here in Carp Village!"
Wen Fan turned the page: "Oh."
She has little interest in variety shows.
Seeing that she wasn't interested, Han Lulu turned around and started chatting with the person behind her.
Gradually, several other people joined in.
A group of people exclaimed in surprise.
"You mean XX is coming too? Ahhhhh, I love her so much!"
"When exactly will the filming take place? I want to go see it!"
"Don't even think about it. There will definitely be a lot of people crowding around. I heard that Carp Village will be temporarily closed off for filming the show."
"Tsk tsk, our city has really gone all out this year."
"Isn't it because the investment in Carp Village is huge? My dad's workplace is somewhat related to this project, and they say it's a key project for our city this year."
"...Got it! They say the filming will be in mid-July! Then we'll have a vacation!"
"...I want to see XX!"
Wen Fan was multitasking when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow out of the corner of her eye. She nudged Han Lulu, but Han Lulu was still chatting enthusiastically and didn't notice her at all.
Wen Fan: ...He can't be saved.
Sure enough, the homeroom teacher suddenly appeared in the back row and took Han Lulu's phone away with a single reach.
Han Lulu: !!!
Class teacher: "Come to my office after school."
He then pointed at the others and said, "What time is it? Why aren't you studying?"
After the homeroom teacher left.
Wen Fan: "I poked you, but you didn't see it."
Han Lulu: ……
After being scolded by her homeroom teacher and feeling listless for a few days, Han Lulu finally finished her final exams.
After the exams, the homeroom teacher announced that the senior students would have a one-month summer break.
"...School starts in mid-August. I hope everyone studies hard and keeps up with the pace during this holiday."
Han Lulu muttered under her breath, "It's only been a month."
The student in front of him chimed in, "Be grateful. This is still the kind of extra classes the school doesn't dare to openly offer. Before, when they weren't so strict, they even gave students holidays. They were so eager to let the juniors have a day off once they graduated from senior year."
Regardless, having a holiday is still something to be happy about.
Wen Fan put away his summer homework and returned to the store to find several employees looking at their phones.
"Oh my god, they really came! Someone said they saw them at the airport!"
"XX is so handsome!"
"Hey, little boss, is Carp Village fun?"
Wen Fan thought for a moment: "It's fun."
Although there was a hiccup during my visit to Carp Village, the village's furnishings were still quite novel.
"Wow, shall we go play during our break?"
Seeing that the employees were discussing it, Wen Fan went into the kitchen.
Since Feng Huijuan secured a deal for crucian carp and duck eggs, the shop has been regularly stocking up on fresh fish and shrimp. The eels they ordered last time also received very positive feedback, so Wen Fan has been frequently stocking up on eels lately.
Having eaten eel noodles several times, Wen Fan finally decided to try something different today and made a braised eel with sand onions.
Fresh shallots are cut into sections, and the eel is deboned, leaving only the meat. After stir-frying, they are added to the claypot rice.
This method of making sand onion and eel casserole combines the flavor of claypot rice with the freshness of eel.
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Author's Note: The second update will be a little later.
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