There were seventeen chickens, and after eating one, there were still 16. Lin Guoqing wanted to sell a few, but was stopped by Chen Chunhua.
"Let's keep them for a few more months and let them lay a few more eggs. Then we can sell them in the winter. Maybe we can get a few more cents."
She suddenly remembered that the college entrance examination would be resumed in the second half of this year. In the winter, wouldn't the candidates' families who had the means buy some eggs and chicken to take home for nourishment?
She still remembered that someone later mentioned that eggs on the black market were sold at a very high price that winter, and old hens were even more unsalable.
Recently, there is no shortage of eggs at home. We can have five or six extra eggs every day. After saving them for a week, we can pick them out and sell them, and earn two or three dollars.
The Mao Zedong banknotes in the drawer were piling up at a speed visible to the naked eye. Every once in a while, Chen Chunhua would ask Liang Shengdi to take out Mao Zedong banknotes worth about 10 yuan and find a place to exchange them for a whole banknote of the Great Unity Banknote.
Ever since Liang Shengdi had that bowl of chicken soup, she seemed to have completely remembered that this was her home. She worked very hard and basically stayed out all day long instead of at home.
One day in mid-August, Liang Shengdi followed Chen Chunhua's instructions and exchanged the money for a pound of pork. It was time for the meat-eating day again.
However, today Liang Shengdi did not rush to order food, but instead leaned over to Chen Chunhua's ear and whispered for a long time.
Lin Guoqing curiously walked to the kitchen door and peeked in, then heard Chen Chunhua say in surprise, "Really?"
Liang Shengdi nodded vigorously at her daughter-in-law, "Of course it's true! He said it's legal!"
"What? What's legal? Tell me about it!" Lin Guoqing stepped into the kitchen, feeling anxious and worried. What were the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talking about that made them talk so secretly?
Chen Chunhua looked at him with sparkling eyes, and even her low voice couldn't hide her excitement, "Mom just said that our mushrooms can be sold to the food station in the provincial capital!"
Lin Guoqing's eyes widened. "What? Is this true? Doesn't it count? Doesn't it count as that?"
"Not really!" Liang Shengdi explained.
She'd been out more often in the past few months, and she wasn't as socially anxious about money as she had been at the beginning. Every now and then, she'd take Lin Shu to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy meat. She'd become familiar with the butchers and the members of the butcher stall, and when everyone was free, they'd chat for hours about family matters.
Everyone knows that Liang Shengdi has a son and a daughter. She now lives with her son and daughter-in-law. She also has four grandchildren. There are many mouths to feed at home, and the work points earned by two adults in the fields are not enough to feed them, so she often goes up the mountains and down the rivers to find some wild game to bring back.
Liang Shengdi just said today that there was not much rain this summer, so there were not many mushrooms in the mountains. Fortunately, she grew some at home, which can satisfy her craving.
The chef was quite surprised, "Your family also grows mushrooms?"
Liang Shengdi was actually quite nervous at the time, and felt that she had spoken too quickly, so she quickly explained that she just raised them for her own consumption, not much.
The chef didn't say much at the time. It was only after she had walked more than a hundred meters with the meat that she heard someone calling her from behind.
"Aunt Liang! Wait a minute!" The master chef caught up with her breathlessly. When he got to her, he asked, "Aunt Liang, what kinds of mushrooms do you grow? Are they fast to grow?"
Liang Shengdi suddenly became a little nervous, and stammered for a long time without saying anything. The chef probably understood what she was thinking and said,
"Don't worry, it's normal to grow some of this kind of agricultural product at home for your own consumption! I just wanted to ask if you could grow more. Well, I have a relative who works at a food station in the provincial capital.
They not only sell meat but also vegetables. People from state-owned restaurants often come to purchase ingredients. You just said that there has not been much rain this year and there are not many mushrooms on the mountain, so they are out of stock of mushrooms.
It just so happens that recently there's a group of Hong Kong businessmen in the provincial capital, supposedly here to investigate something... something... I don't understand. Anyway, they're staying for a while, and they have a food menu there, especially mushrooms, and they order them at every meal.
People in state-owned restaurants often go to the food station to ask for ingredients, but they really can't provide so much. They don't just run a business in one restaurant, and the restaurant doesn't only serve a group of customers.
Look, he's already found his way to our mountain. He just came over to my place the day before yesterday and we talked. He's so worried."
The master chef looked at Liang Shengdi and Lin Shugan, who was standing beside her and listening to their conversation, and smiled kindly.
"When you mentioned growing some at home, it just occurred to me that if you could plant more, you could sell it to the food station in the provincial capital and get some money back. That would be just enough to buy some more meat for Xiaoshu, right?"
Lin Shugan smiled, revealing his small white teeth, "Yes!"
The chef smiled even more happily when he saw how cute the child was.
Liang Shengdi thought of the three shelves in the mushroom house that were filled with mushroom bags. Chen Chunhua made a lot of extra bags at once last time and installed new wooden shelves. The temperature was high in summer, and they watered the mushrooms diligently, so mushrooms started to grow recently.
They would pick a little every day to sell, but this kind of secret retail would definitely not sell out that quickly. The chef's words really made her excited.
"This... is grown at home, can it be sold?" She was still a little hesitant.
"Of course! You guys are keeping these mushrooms for yourselves, right? They're not for your entire team, are they?"
"No, no," Liang Shengdi quickly waved her hand. "My son and daughter-in-law go to work on time every day. I just tinker with these mushrooms when I'm free at home. I don't earn any work points for them. This is ours."
The chef spread his hands. "That's all! If farmers want to sell the agricultural products they keep for themselves, they're not allowed to sell them on the market. They must sell them to state-approved purchasing stores. My cousin runs a state-owned food station, so they can buy them. It's all legal!"
Liang Shengdi was instantly delighted. "That's fine! I'll go back and discuss it with my son and daughter-in-law, and then, no, I'll tell you tomorrow. Then, can you help me contact your cousin?"
When Lin Guoqing heard this, he pounded his fist into his palm and said, "That's a good thing! We can save a lot of energy!"
"We can sell a lot at once at the food station, but the price probably won't be as high as retail. But we can raise more, make small profits but sell more, which will definitely make money faster than retail."
Chen Chunhua kept evaluating, then turned to look at Liang Shengdi,
"Mom, go to the supply and marketing station tomorrow morning and ask the master for the address. You don't need to ask him to help you find out the purchase price of mushrooms there. It's better for us to go there and discuss it ourselves. If we can make it, Guoqing and I will take a day off tomorrow afternoon to go to the provincial capital. If not, we can do it the day after tomorrow."
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