Chapter 30 Return to the Village
Jiang Xinbai was startled by the sudden sound and stood up in panic. She turned around and saw a sturdy lady standing at the serving area, frowning and looking at the two of them with suspicion.
Sun Chaoying rolled her eyes impatiently, "Sister Li, if you don't sell all the food, will we eat it? You'd better go wash the dishes quickly. When Master Chen comes and sees that the kitchen is still a mess, he will get angry again."
It was eight o'clock now, and Master Chen usually came to work at nine o'clock, so she really had to hurry up. But she was not very willing, and muttered: "Usually I would keep a little, why are they selling so clean today? Can't I ask?"
"You can ask, but if they are really sold out, go ask Sister He tomorrow if you don't believe me." Sun Chaoying was not afraid that she would really ask, because Sister He would also say that they were sold out.
When Li Xiangcao wanted to say something, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Xinbai who had just sat back down. She thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Is this the replacement for Chu Xia? Today is your first day at work. How about coming to the kitchen so I can help you get familiar with the environment?"
Jiang Xinbai understood what Li Xiangcao was planning at a glance. She sat steadily on the chair and said, "Don't bother Sister Li. Sister Ying has just introduced me to her. You should go and do your work first."
"Oh, no trouble, I just happen to have time." Li Xiangcao thought that young people were shy and she didn't know for sure if she said a few words they would help her clean the kitchen.
"Sister Li, if you don't hold on tight, Master Chen is really coming." Sun Chaoying raised her chin towards the clock on the wall.
Seeing that Jiang Xinbai was still indifferent, Li Xiangcao could only turn around and go back to the kitchen in anger.
"Well done. You should have refused. If you had agreed just now, Li Xiangcao would have become more and more demanding. Chuxia suffered the same mistake and had to help wash the dishes for several days." Sun Chaoying looked at Jiang Xinbai with appreciation. He was a smart man.
Jiang Xinbai smiled shyly, "I didn't think so much about it. I just felt that Sister Ying had already taken me to familiarize myself with the environment, so there was no need to trouble Sister Li. But why did Sister Li come out of the kitchen? Wasn't there no one there just now?"
"Because there is a small door in the kitchen. Li Xiangcao lives in the alley behind, so people usually go through the back door."
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
On Thursday, Jiang Xinbai's day off, she got up early in the morning.
"Xinbai, have all the certificates been issued? Don't forget anything, otherwise it will be troublesome if you make a wasted trip." Sun Erni asked her daughter-in-law with concern while looking at her daughter-in-law's bag.
Jiang Xinbai nodded, "Mom, don't worry, Jinsheng has checked me several times."
Sun Erni nodded with relief after hearing this. "That's good. Come back today after you get the certificate. I'll get my household registration done in the afternoon, and then I'll go exchange it for the goods book. This way, you can have rations next month."
"Okay, Mom, I know."
Li Huifen was biting the multi-grain steamed bun in her hand and swallowed it with a mouthful of porridge. Then she asked Jiang Xinbai curiously, "Third sister-in-law, does your restaurant sell anything that doesn't require food coupons?"
Jiang Xinbai nodded after hearing this, "Yes, sister-in-law, do you want to buy it? But I can tell you in advance that things that don't require food coupons are really expensive. For example, white flour steamed buns cost only 50 cents each without food coupons."
"Hiss, so expensive?" Li Huifen was so shocked that the multi-grain steamed bun she had just bitten into dropped out of her mouth, and she hurriedly picked it up and stuffed it back into her mouth.
Jiang Xinbai nodded with deep feeling, "That's right. With two taels of food coupons, it's only five cents each. Without food coupons, it's ten times more. The difference is really huge. But tofu pudding doesn't require coupons, it's 15 cents a bowl, and soy milk is 9 cents a bowl. Sometimes you can even try it."
In fact, the reason why staple foods like steamed buns and dumplings were priced so high without food coupons was that the government didn't want to sell them at all. After all, most people were reluctant to spend fifty cents to buy a steamed bun.
Li Huifen nodded as she ate, "It's expensive, it's really expensive."
Su Qiuyan, who was standing by, was a little confused and said hesitantly, "But I heard that soy milk is quite nutritious. Xin Bai, a bowl of soy milk costs nine cents, so that bowl should be quite big, right?"
Jiang Xinbai nodded, "It's quite big, bigger than the bowl we use at home. After all, it's made of soybeans, so it must be very nutritious."
Sun Erni glanced at her second daughter-in-law, her mind turned, but in the end she said nothing.
…
"Mom, you're home. Where's my dad?" Jiang Xinbai pushed open the door and walked in directly with her bag.
Chen Cui'e was sitting in the yard twisting hemp ropes. When she heard her little daughter's voice, she raised her head and asked in surprise, "Why are you back? Are you alone?"
Jiang Xinbai casually pulled a chair and sat next to my mother, whispering, "I found a job in a state-owned restaurant. I'll come back and ask the captain to issue a certificate. I have to get it done before the end of the month so that I can have food supplies next month."
"Really? Oh, this must cost a lot of money, right? Can your little money be enough? Mom has some here, let me give it to you first." Chen Cui'e was happy to hear that her younger daughter had found a job, but she was worried that her younger daughter would not be able to use the money well.
"I don't need yours. I've already collected enough. I borrowed some from my mother-in-law and second sister. I'll pay you back slowly later." In fact, after buying the job, Jiang Xinbai only had ten yuan on her, but her husband was about to get his salary, so she was not panicking at all.
"That's good, that's good. Wait, I'll call your dad to take you to the team to get a certificate." Chen Cui'e shouted to the back of the house: "Xiao Nan, Xiao Nan, go to the field and call your grandfather back. Tell him that you have something to ask him."
Jiang Zhengnan was digging earthworms in the small vegetable garden behind the house. When he heard his grandmother's voice, he ran out, "Grandma, hey, aunt, you're back. Did you bring me anything delicious?" After saying that, he looked at Jiang Xinbai eagerly.
After all, he is only four years old, so it is inevitable that he will be greedy. Jiang Xinbai also likes this little nephew. He took out an oil paper bag from his bag and handed it to his mother with a smile, "This is walnut crisps. Let your grandma keep it and give it to you later."
"Ah, can't we eat it now?" Jiang Zhengnan was a little disappointed, staring at the oil paper bag in Chen Cui'e's hand.
Chen Cui'e reached out and poked her eldest grandson's forehead, "Why don't you go and call your grandfather? You're just thinking about food instead of doing your work."
Jiang Zhengnan, who was poked on the forehead by his grandmother, stuck out his tongue and ran out.
Chen Cui'e rolled her eyes at her little daughter and said, "Why are you so generous? You borrowed money to buy walnut cakes. You don't know how to save money."
"Mom, it's just a bag of walnut cookies, it doesn't cost much. Besides, it won't look good if I come back empty-handed, so I'll just treat it as a way to satisfy the cravings of the kids at home." Although he didn't have much money on him, Jiang Xinbai would never allow himself to go back to his parents' home empty-handed.
"Okay, I've already bought it. You can take this bag to give to the captain later."
Jiang Xinbai chuckled twice and pointed at the shoulder bag, "There's another bag, you can keep that one."
“You,…”
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