Mr. Ye, the owner of You Ran Ju, arrived at Shen Shi (3-5 PM) with a servant carrying several boxes of pastries from Zhi Chun Zhai. As he entered, Mr. Ye glanced around and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Congratulations, congratulations, Mr. Meng. It was my fault for only visiting now. I apologize; I've been busy with other businesses these past few days and haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your grand opening."
"Mr. Ye, you're too kind. Please have a seat," Meng Zhelan said, leading him to his seat. "Thank you so much, Mr. Ye. It's our greatest blessing that you've taken time out of your busy schedule to come."
"Mr. Meng, you flatter me. I am not very talented and am just trying to make a living," Mr. Ye said, sitting down with his protruding belly. "Mr. Meng, although you are young, you are very capable. Just this tea is enough to make people linger. I wonder where you bought it from?"
"These are just some ordinary health teas. My daughter is not very talented; they are a recipe passed down from my family. I hope the neighbors will appreciate them," Meng Zhelan said with a smile on her face, but in her heart she was already cursing his family.
"That's such a pity. It seems I'll have to come more often to enjoy the food," said Boss Ye with a disappointed look on his face. "I heard that someone came to cause trouble a couple of days ago. I don't know why, but someone spread rumors that I was the one who sent them, and that reached Chairman Wang. Chairman Wang scolded me a lot, but I'm innocent. It must be those people who framed me and tried to sow discord between us. Boss Meng, don't worry, I will definitely catch that villain."
"In that case, thank you very much, Boss Ye." There was a moment of silence between them. "I'll head back now. I'm sorry to have disturbed Boss Meng's business." "It's alright, please take care." Meng Zhelan waved her hand as if to see the guest out, but her feet were still on the ground. She muttered to herself, "Pah, get lost."
Regardless of whether he heard her or not, she told the waiter to quickly take away the cup he had drunk from and throw it away, saying it was bad luck. Li Xi arrived at the store after Boss Ye left and saw Meng Zhelan with a face as ugly as if she had swallowed a fly. "What's wrong? Who angered our Lan'er?"
"Only the owner of You Ran Ju can be so disgusting, coming here to spout a bunch of high-sounding words and bringing a few bags of pastries as an apology? He's clearly not convinced by Chairman Wang," Meng Zhelan sneered.
"It's alright. Let that clown jump around. To destroy him, you must first make him go mad," Li Xi grinned. "Next year, he won't be able to jump around anymore, and he'll come back kneeling and licking your boots."
"Xi'er, you're right. Do you have a way to deal with these scoundrels? Has Chairman Wang really agreed to cooperate with us?" "There's a 90% chance. Anyone would accept this deal, but Chairman Wang is the most suitable."
Li Xi was tending to her precious chili peppers. When the weather was nice, she would move them out of the yard to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, and when the temperature dropped sharply at night, she would move them back inside. She had made about ten large boxes and moved the chili peppers there. Recently, they had been growing well, and the bright red chili peppers made her face turn red.
How to plant, where to plant, and where to build the chili sauce factory all need careful consideration. Relying on Chairman Wang, this cash cow, is the fastest way to make money. If she relies on herself, achieving upward social mobility will be a difficult task. She's not afraid of being betrayed by Chairman Wang because she's also learned to make empty promises. She learned this trick from her boss in her previous life, but the promises she makes are actually edible.
Li Xi picked up her pen and began writing the project proposal. She opened a dictionary (similar to a modern Chinese dictionary) and started writing, flipping through the pages as she went. But it was too slow. Li Xi decided to write in simplified Chinese characters instead. She could have Lan'er translate it later, and then Lan'er could write a traditional Chinese version of the proposal. She had to admit that writing traditional Chinese characters with a brush was indeed powerful and elegant. In her previous life, she had also studied calligraphy, and although she mostly wrote simplified characters, she was still quite adept at using a brush.
There are many varieties of chili peppers, and their growth cycles may vary slightly. However, most varieties have a growth cycle of between 60 and 90 days. The germination period takes 10 to 15 days, the seedling stage takes 30 to 50 days, and the flowering and fruiting stages take a total of 20 to 25 days.
If you were to ask Li Xi how she knows the growth patterns of chili peppers, she would have to thank the agricultural channel. Many people enjoy watching variety shows, but she prefers watching the agricultural channel. It features talented people who grow fruits and vegetables, and raise chickens, ducks, and fish—things that are edible.
Next spring will be the best time for large-scale planting, and now we need to harvest a large quantity of chili seeds. This step will require Chairman Wang's financial resources.
As Li Xi finished writing the plan, she also jotted down some methods for making chili sauce. A bad pen is better than a good memory; she wrote down her inspirations to refine them later. In her past life, eating too much chili often caused her to break out in pimples, so a sip of herbal tea would be perfect. She needed to find Lan'er to prepare some herbal tea…
She had written over twenty pages of prose. Now, dusk had blended with the night, and the sky was gradually turning a deep, inky blue, like a tranquil ink painting. Only after putting down her pen did Li Xi realize her stomach was rumbling, and she got up contentedly to find something to eat.
When they arrived at the kitchen, they saw Ling'er and the others working non-stop. "Sister Ling'er, it seems we need to hire two more people to help in the kitchen. Look at you, you've gotten so thin from all the spinning around." "Xiao Xi, you always tease me. Where's dinner in that pot?" Ling'er said to Li Xi, holding a large ladle in her hand.
When they entered the shop, it was almost full. Qin Xiaolin was sitting alone; Shen Xu was not there. The two usually came together. "Young Master Qin," Li Xi greeted, bowing. "Young Master Li, please sit down. Brother Shen has something to attend to today, so I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd stop by," Qin Xiaolin said casually.
Li Xi sat down as a matter of course. "Has Young Master Qin ordered yet? The braised duck with vermicelli is especially delicious today; that duck was raised by an old farmer for over a year."
"The waiter just said the same thing to me. Young Master Li, from now on I will still call you Brother Li, and you can call me Brother Qin. We have met several times, so it's too polite to call me 'Young Master' all the time," Qin Xiaolin said with a smile.
It wasn't because that conspicuous bag wasn't there, and she was too embarrassed to call him brother. In the end, they weren't really familiar with each other, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward. "Brother Qin is absolutely right. I'll go check if it's ready for you, and I'll also get some side dishes. These side dishes are made by Ling'er for her own family. They're exceptionally delicious, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Li Xi left in a hurry, as if she was afraid of losing some priceless treasure and rushed to grab it. In fact, she was so embarrassed that she was digging her toes into the ground. She really had nothing to talk about. She was socially awkward around men, and she could only chat for a few words if the other person found a topic to talk about with her.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Xi held up a plate of pickled cowpeas and saw Qin Xiaolin leaning slightly forward, his profile as smooth as jade, his long eyelashes drooping, slowly eating duck vermicelli.
"Come, Brother Qin, have a taste. It's a perfect match with this duck vermicelli," Li Xi placed a small dish in front of him. "Hmm, it's sour and crunchy, with a slight spiciness—truly delicious," Qin Xiaolin commented earnestly. "Could you buy some for me to take home? My grandmother hasn't had a good appetite lately, and these pickled cowpeas are perfect with rice."
“No problem, I’ll give you a small jar,” Li Xi said sincerely.
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