Chapter 229 Spiced Melon Seeds
Yang Jinsheng hesitated. "I see there are already several shops selling melon seeds and peanuts in front of the cinema, as well as roasted sweet potatoes. You won't make much money if you add them in, right? The cost of melon seeds is not much, but I don't think it's very good. Xiaobai, we still have a lot of savings at home, so you can just go to work and don't have to work so hard."
"Yes, we have a lot of savings at home, but the more we spend, the less money we have. And you don't know, our state-owned restaurant business is not doing well. With fewer people eating out, our income is naturally less, and the higher-ups are not very willing to give us money. We only got half of our salary last month. I heard from the manager that if things continue like this, we might have to close the restaurant."
Jiang Xinbai has worked in a state-owned restaurant for more than ten years, earning a salary of 25 yuan a month. Although she sometimes feels that the money is not enough, it is still an income. But now that this has happened, she is afraid! This job is no longer safe.
"That shouldn't be the case, right? I haven't heard any news." Yang Jinsheng knew that many factories had problems with sales to varying degrees, and wage arrears were common, but they would only be delayed for ten days at most and would be paid in the end. Disbanding the factory was out of the question.
Jiang Xinbai looked at her husband helplessly, "It's okay for a big factory like yours, but our restaurant is small to begin with, and now there are many private food sellers who don't even need tickets. Where would you choose to eat if it were you?"
"Well, this is indeed the case!"
"So, you have to prepare yourself in advance. I have thought it through clearly. In the situation of our restaurant, if I really quit, I will definitely be unemployed. Don't even think about any compensation. I can just pat my butt and leave!"
Yang Jinsheng was helpless, knowing that his wife was right. "Okay, do whatever you want to do. You keep all the money in the house, so I'll just help you."
"Yeah, but it's okay, I can do it on my own, you can go to Shenzhen with Third Brother without any worries!"
They acted right away. It was now early October, the season when sunflowers were ripe. The next day, Jiang Xinbai asked someone to collect ten kilograms of freshly harvested sunflower seeds from the countryside, and planned to sell them in front of the cinema in two days.
Yang Jinsheng looked at the bag of raw melon seeds, grabbed a handful, cracked them with his teeth, and chewed them. "Hmm, it's just like eating raw peanuts. How do you want to cook this? Just fry it like this?"
Jiang Xinbai hesitated a little. "I bought a few melon seeds at the entrance of the cinema. They are all original flavor. Do you think I should try something different?"
"Hey, you haven't made any money yet, but you're spending it first." Yang Jinsheng joked with a smile.
"Seriously, I think if my products are the same as theirs, why would anyone come to buy from me? Don't you think so?" Jiang Xinbai thought to himself, since he was going to do it, he had to do it differently from others and make sure it tasted better than theirs.
Yang Jinsheng thought about it and suggested: "Why don't you learn from the supply and marketing cooperatives and sell those spiced and creamy ones? I see some young people like to buy these flavors." According to Yang Jinsheng, they are just melon seeds, why spend a few cents more? It's just because you have more money.
"The five-spice ones are okay, but forget about the butter ones, because they need to be added with milk powder, which I can't afford. I've calculated it, you see, I buy raw melon seeds for 20 cents a pound, and here they are 2 yuan. The five-spice ones are sold at 1 yuan a pound at the supply and marketing cooperative, and there is a limit on the quantity, so I'll sell them for 80 cents a pound, what do you think?"
In this way, I can earn 6 yuan for every 10 kilograms, which is not bad.
"Well, let me think about it. I think you can't just sell spiced ones. You should also sell some plain ones. Some people just want cheap ones. Look, the plain melon seeds in the supply and marketing cooperative are 80 cents, so you can sell them for 60 cents. This way, the sellers will have a choice. By the way, what are the prices of those stores outside the cinema?"
"Well, I've asked, it's 80 cents a pound, and there are quite a lot of people buying it."
Yang Jinsheng's eyes rolled and he had an idea. "Xiaobai, let me get some newspapers later and fold them into a funnel shape to hold the melon seeds. But we can sell them one by one. Let me think about it. The five-spice flavored ones will cost 20 cents each, which is 2 taels. The original flavored ones will cost 15 cents each, which is also 2 taels."
When Jiang Xinbai heard this, his eyes lit up. "Okay, sure. Bring a small cup with you and weigh the amount you want in a cup at home. Then just fill it up when the time comes."
"But if you calculate it this way, the five-spice flavor is one dollar per pound, and the original flavor is 75 cents per pound, which is a few cents more expensive than I thought before."
"What's the big deal? Anyway, you're selling it cheaper than others. If someone is willing to buy it by the pound, you can give them a discount! But can you make spiced melon seeds?"
"Really? I saw my mom do it before, so I'll give it a try."
Jiang Xinbai was also unsure. In the past, during the Chinese New Year, her mother would specially fry the leftover raw melon seeds for them to eat. They were spiced, and she felt that they were even more delicious than those from the supply and marketing cooperative.
"Okay, you try it first."
"Well, I'll try it today. Jinsheng, help me wash two kilograms of melon seeds while I prepare the ingredients."
Jiang Xinbai is now full of energy. Fortunately, she asked her mother in advance about the dosage of various ingredients and tried making a small amount first.
"Here, the melon seeds are washed. What should we do now?" Yang Jinsheng put the washed melon seeds in a bamboo basket and brought it in. There was still water dripping from the bottom!
"Pour it into the pot. Let me think about it. Star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and yes, a little bit of sugar. Finally, add water and cook for ten minutes." After Jiang Xinbai had prepared everything, he asked Yang Jinsheng to light the fire.
"Just cook it for a few seconds and it will be done?" Yang Jinsheng was a little skeptical. Wouldn't the flavor get into the melon seeds this way?
"Of course not. After it's cooked, it needs to be soaked for four or five hours to let it absorb the flavor, then it needs to be fished out and dried, and finally fried until it's fragrant. It's very troublesome!"
Yang Jinsheng glanced at the watch on his wrist and said, "It's ten o'clock now. We can fry it in the evening. We'll know whether it tastes good or not then."
"Well, just wait, it will definitely work." Although Jiang Xinbai was unsure, he looked very confident.
By the evening, Jiang Xinbai couldn't wait to take out the melon seeds and spread them out in the backyard to dry, ready to fry them after dinner.
"Mom, is dinner ready? I'm starving." The two Yang brothers came running in sweating profusely. When they got to the kitchen, they suddenly sniffed carefully, "Mom, what smells so good?"
"Yes, it's the smell of spices. Mom, are you stewing meat?" Yang Jiadong also went to the stove and smelled it like his brother.
Jiang Xinbai looked at the two brothers with disdain, "Where have you been? You're sweating all over and it stinks. Why don't you go wash up?"
Yang Jiabao couldn't find the source of spices in the kitchen, so he poked his head to the side and saw melon seeds spread out on a bamboo dustpan to dry. His eyes lit up and he quickly grabbed a handful, "Mom, why are you hiding something delicious? Hey, why are they wet? Mom, did you drop the melon seeds in the water?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
