Chapter 14 Limited-Time Mission 2/3
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The next day, learning from yesterday's experience, the amount of Fuding meat slices and braised dishes increased by 10 jin. The night before, She Ning helped to braise all the dishes, and She Hongmei got up even earlier so that she could mince all the meat into mince.
Under the pitch-black night sky, in the silent village, only a small candlelight shone in the She family's kitchen.
As dawn broke, She Hongmei finally prepared the minced meat. She Ning and She Ni also got up early, one helping to cook breakfast and the other helping to start the fire, each busy with their own tasks.
As the rooster crowed, the gate of the She family's courtyard creaked open, and a tricycle was pushed out.
30 jin of lean meat can make 60 jin of Fuding meat slices, and the cleaned braised food is about 27 jin. With the braising liquid and other ingredients, the total amount of food to be brought to the stall is at least 100 jin.
Yesterday at noon, Guan Xiuli left in a hurry, and came back to reply to the message in the evening. Her sister was very interested in the cooperation that She Hongmei mentioned, especially after eating the braised pig's trotters that Guan Xiuli brought. She immediately decided to cooperate.
In her words, it would be strange if such delicious braised food didn't sell well; she was even worried that her farm's supply wouldn't meet the demand.
When Guan Xiuli left, her sister insisted on giving her two cleaned chickens and more than ten kilograms of chicken and duck feet. Guan Xiuli kept one for herself, and gave the other chicken and the more than ten kilograms of chicken and duck feet to She Hongmei. According to her sister, this was a return gift for the pig's trotter that was not charged that day, and she was not allowed to refuse it.
Faced with her uncompromising attitude, She Hongmei accepted it with a wry smile.
However, after braising these dozen or so kilograms of chicken and duck feet, she didn't sell them. Instead, she divided them into three portions: two large and one small. She took two large portions to Guan Xiuli, one for her family to try, and one for her to take to her sister.
At the same time, she asked Guan Xiuli to help her sister put in a good word, saying that she would go over to discuss the cooperation with her sister the next afternoon. Guan Xiuli readily agreed, as she was happy to be of help to her friend and sister.
Pushing a tricycle out is easier than carrying two loads on your back, but then you can't travel by water.
She Ni volunteered to go to school by herself every morning. After two days of school, her latent social skills had already made her friends with her classmates. Early on, some of her friends from the same village would be waiting for her at the door with their little schoolbags to go to school together.
She Ning didn't need to see She Ni off. After the old lady She finished breakfast, she helped She Hongmei push the tricycle to town.
Guan Xiuli brought the tricycle over last night with her things, saying that her family doesn't need it right now, so she let them use it for now, and she would let them know in advance if they needed it and then take it back.
This time, She Hongmei refused to agree no matter what. Just like bicycles, tricycles are also valuable items, and no family would just let others use them casually. She knew that Guan Xiuli was concerned about her and worried that she was too tired, but Guan Xiuli's family didn't only have her. She Hongmei was also worried that it would be difficult for her. The two argued for a long time, and finally, they had no choice but to compromise. She Hongmei rented the tricycle at a price one cent lower than the market price.
When she arrived at the market entrance, She Ning could see a large crowd gathered around the stalls from afar.
"Hey, the boss is here!" someone with sharp eyes spotted them and shouted.
The crowd gathered around the stall looked towards the market entrance, and sure enough, the owner arrived, pushing a tricycle.
"Hurry up, line up!" A clever friend urged his companion to hurry up and join the line, but when he turned around, he saw that an even smarter friend had already quietly moved to the front of the line.
"What a shrewd fellow." He silently muttered to himself, quickly moving to the back of the line.
Fearing that everyone was getting impatient, She Hongmei quickly pushed the cart forward, unloaded all the braised food and Fuding sliced meat, filled the large pot with water, lit the firewood on the stove, and neatly arranged the ingredients in covered lunch boxes on the stall, looking clean and hygienic.
The Fuding sliced meat would take a while to arrive, so those at the front of the line ordered some braised meat first. As soon as the lid on the braised meat was opened, the rich aroma unique to braised meat wafted out.
Everyone's eyes practically lit up as they looked at the stall.
"Wow, it smells so good! It's even better than the braised meat at Judinglou Restaurant! My colleague wasn't lying to me!"
"Hehe, I bought some yesterday, but I didn't buy enough. When I wanted to buy more, they were all sold out. I took the day off today and came early to buy some." The first customer in line said proudly, holding three lunch boxes.
"I'd also like to try Fuding sliced meat today. I was late yesterday and only bought braised meat," said the woman in the second line, carrying a lunchbox and dressed in neat gray overalls.
I heard that Fuding pork slices are soft, chewy, and delicious, and you can even add vinegar and chili! Oh my god, it's the perfect breakfast for her, who loves spicy food.
Listening to those who had bought back their products, those who hadn't bought anything before stared at the stall with even more fervent eyes.
"The Fuding pork slices are ready. Would you like some chili and vinegar?" She Hongmei lifted the lid, and white steam, accompanied by a fragrant aroma, rose up, revealing the glistening pork slices floating to the surface.
"Yes, yes, yes, please add more chili and vinegar." The customer, who loves spicy food, responded happily.
She Hongmei skillfully scooped two spoonfuls of millet chili rings and vinegar into each of her lunchboxes. "Is that enough? If not, Auntie will add more for you."
"That's enough, thank you, Auntie."
"Is it a braised pig's trotter? Should I cut it or not?"
...
The last time she was surrounded by so many people was when they caught human traffickers. She Ning didn't react much when so many people were staring at her. She Hongmei was a little nervous at first, but she was adaptable and had a rather sociable personality. She quickly adapted to everyone's enthusiasm and even started chatting with customers while working.
Last night, She Ning made a simple mask for She Hongmei out of cloth so that she wouldn't have to worry about saliva splashing onto the food when answering guests' questions.
This measure has improved the overall experience for everyone.
After working for more than three hours, there wasn't much left on the stall, and the weather was starting to get hot.
Wiping away her sweat, She Hongmei looked down and took out six crumpled 50-cent bills from her crossbody bag and gave them to She Ning. "Ning, I remember that the monthly exam at Xiahe Middle School is on the 28th this Wednesday. Don't come with me these next two days. Stay home and study. We've sold almost all the goods for today. Take this money and go shopping. See if there's anything you like. If you like it, buy it. I can manage here by myself."
Before leaving Xiahe Middle School, She Hongmei asked Director Xia for a schedule of exams for the third year of junior high school. She marked the dates of the monthly exams, midterms, and finals of each semester on the old almanac, and she would flip through it every day before leaving the house in case she forgot.
This market sells a wide variety of things, from all over the country: hair ties, hair clips, bracelets, scarves, hats, and all sorts of pretty items. Her daughter has been here many times but never browsed the market. Now that she's making money, she insists on having what everyone else has.
She Hongmei used to love dressing She Ning and She Ni up clean and pretty, and she wanted to give them all the best things.
Even when the She family ran into trouble and faced a shortage of funds and labor, She Hongmei never let them work in the fields, truly fulfilling her promise to pamper and raise them.
She Ning took the money from her without refusing her concern. When She Hongmei saw her taking the money to the market, her smile widened.
In the market, She Ning wandered around casually. She didn't really want to buy anything. Remembering that She Ni had said she wanted a hair flower with sequins, She Ning walked back to the jewelry stall she had passed earlier. Colorful hair flowers were displayed on the cloth, and next to them were some butterfly hair clips with fluttering wings. She picked out a red sequined hair flower, and after thinking for a moment, she also picked up a butterfly hair clip.
"She Ning?" She had just paid for the jewelry and put it in her pocket when a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind her. Before She Ning could turn around, the person had already stepped forward.
"Why are you here all alone?" the newcomer asked softly, standing in front of her.
"Sister Chen." Seeing Chen Shengnan dressed in casual clothes, She Ning greeted her politely and pointed to the stall not far away, "There's no one there, my mom has a stall over there."
Chen Shengnan looked in the direction she pointed and sure enough, she saw She Hongmei greeting customers at the stall with the sign that read "Fuding Sliced Meat and Braised Food".
As if sensing something, She Hongmei looked back and saw the female police officer who had arrested human traffickers in the village standing next to She Ning. Her heart skipped a beat, fearing something might happen. She asked the owner of the stall next to her to watch the stall, put down her soup spoon, and headed towards She Ning.
"Officer Chen, what a coincidence." Pulling She Ning aside quietly, She Hongmei asked with a smile, "Are you off today?"
She Hongmei's actions weren't exactly subtle, which amused Chen Shengnan. "Yes, I'm taking a break today."
"It's such a coincidence that I ran into you here, saving me the trouble of going down to your village to look for you today," she continued.
She Hongmei, sensing the unspoken meaning, immediately understood what she meant. She pulled the person to a less crowded spot before speaking, "Has the institute's reward been announced?"
Chen Shengnan nodded: "The arrest of this human trafficker has made a major breakthrough in the trafficking cases in the nearby provinces. The reward process that the station applied for for She Ning went very quickly and was approved yesterday. I also received the task to go to your village today to inform you."
"Who would have thought I'd run into you all while out for a stroll?" she said with a smile.
“It’s all fate,” She Hongmei replied cheerfully.
She Ning nodded in agreement. "Isn't it fate?" she thought, referring to the spirited policewoman.
She Hongmei felt that there was no time like the present, so she decided to collect the money today. She quickly packed up her stall, pushed her tricycle, and led She Ning to the town's police station with Chen Shengnan.
"Detective Chen, aren't you off today? Why are you back at work?" Old Li, the security guard at the police station gate, greeted him.
Chen Shengnan said with a smile, "I have to come back and work overtime. Uncle Li, could you please open the door for me?"
"Okay, sure."
The iron gate was opened, and She Ning and the others followed Chen Shengnan inside.
The reward was 80 yuan, a red kettle, and a large enamel mug with a distinctly vintage style. The deputy director was not at the station today, but the director was. She hadn't believed her colleagues when they told her that catching the escaped human trafficker was a minor hero, but now that she saw She Ning, she knew he was indeed a minor hero.
She insisted on praising She Ning for a long time, her words so sincere that She Ning blushed.
When she got home, She Ning was still dizzy.
"Beep, timed task completed: 366 servings of Fuding sliced meat / 500 servings"
Today, we sold 210 servings of 30 jin (15 kg) Fuding sliced meat and 27 jin (13.5 kg) of braised food. The Fuding sliced meat was 6 mao (0.6 yuan) a bowl, and the braised food was 0.7 yuan per jin on average. After deducting costs, we made 98.9 yuan today.
A note from the author:
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