Chapter 35 Chapter 35 (Xiao Xiu) Cinema...
There are the most numerous and busiest stalls in front of the cinema.
Cheng Xin went out of her way to buy some ice cubes to add to the wooden barrel containing the corn juice.
The weather is hot, and cold drinks are the best sellers.
Geng Yunye pulled out a wooden footstool from under the tricycle bench and marked the prices on it with chalk: a small cup of corn juice is 30 cents, a large cup is 50 cents; salty popcorn is 30 cents, caramel popcorn is 50 cents.
Cheng Xin's stall was particularly conspicuous among the many snacks and popsicle stalls. After all, everyone was curious about what the caramel flavor tasted like, and the popcorn she sold was different from what they had seen before.
Passersby would stop and watch out of curiosity. The popcorn they had eaten was made from rice or glutinous rice, which was heated in an iron gourd and then popped with a "bang". The popcorn on this stall was made from corn, and it really looked like a flower.
Two little girls stopped in front of the stall arm in arm, "Boss, can I taste the popcorn?"
Cheng Xin specially folded a small square box out of wax paper, poured two flavors of popcorn into it and placed it on the edge of the tricycle.
She introduced with a smile: "You can try these. If they don't taste good, you don't have to pay."
There are many young people in the commune, most of whom are children of factory workers. They ride bicycles past the stalls.
Cheng Lei's eyes were attracted by the plastic sandals on their feet. The red and blue plastic sandals were shiny and beautiful. His toes were curled up in the straw sandals. The straw sandals woven with straw and cloth strips had long been loose. There was a hole on the edge and it was barely fixed with hemp rope. The exposed instep looked dirty.
Cheng Lei pulled his patched pants down, and found that they could not cover his instep, so he quickly retreated to the back of the tricycle, and his toes mixed with mud unconsciously shrank inward. The elementary school student at the popsicle stand next door took out two yuan to buy cream ice cream, and happily shared it with his friends around him. He could only get two yuan in New Year's money during the Spring Festival.
He hung his head, enveloped by an overwhelming sense of inferiority. All the children in the city were richer than their family.
The short-haired girl exclaimed: "Oh my god, it's delicious! Boss, why do you call corn popcorn?"
Cheng Xin winked at her playfully: "Because the raw material is corn, it's okay to call it popcorn."
The short-haired girl thought about it carefully and realized that there was nothing wrong with it. She and her sister each bought a caramel flavored popcorn, and together they bought a large cup of corn juice and asked for two straws.
With the two little girls leading the way, everyone entering the cinema stopped in front of the cart out of curiosity.
It's a free sample anyway, so you don't have to buy it if it doesn't taste good. In the end, everyone who tried the popcorn chose the caramel flavor without exception.
Cheng Xin only made five kilograms of popcorn. When Wang Xiuping came to Haiwan Commune at the agreed time, the caramel popcorn had been sold out.
Two hours later, the young people who walked out of the cinema were still savoring the taste of caramel popcorn. Popcorn made from corn tastes better than rice.
They wanted to buy some more to take home, but they received shocking news.
The short-haired girl was unwilling to give up, "Boss, will you still set up the stall tomorrow?"
Cheng Xin really wanted to make money, but unfortunately there was not much corn at home. Besides, corn was kept as a staple food, and this year's corn had not been harvested yet.
"We won't come tomorrow. We will only sell today and close the stall after we sell out. Let me tell you the truth. Our team's corn fields have been damaged by wild boars. Our corn juice is the tenderest this year. If we can't finish it at home, it will be gone if we sell it. The remaining corn in the field will be kept for our own consumption. If the corn harvest is good this year and there is excess at home, we will continue to sell it."
When people heard that such delicious popcorn was only sold once, the few servings of salty popcorn were snapped up and soon only corn juice was left.
Cheng Xin didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I thought caramel flavor wouldn't sell well. In this hot weather, no one would want to eat something too sweet or greasy."
"No way, this is the first time I've heard of caramel flavor. It's a shame that you don't set up a stall more often with such great cooking skills, boss."
Wang Xiuping just rolled up her sleeves to work. She didn’t expect business to be so good. She thought corn juice was not selling well.
Cheng Lei stood there dumbfounded. His sister’s cooking skills were good, but why did these city people act like they had never eaten good food before?
After the customer left, Cheng Lei immediately began counting the money from selling popcorn.
Wang Xiuping was jealous: "If I had known that popcorn would sell better than corn juice, I would have asked you to help me get some."
Cheng Xin explained: "Aunt, popcorn has to be made with last year's corn. Tender corn won't work."
Wang Xiuping was immediately discouraged: "We don't even have enough corn to eat, and we can't even earn this much money. When will this end? When I went out, I heard that they were going to catch wild boars again today."
Cheng Xin was not optimistic about the team's efforts to catch wild boars. Wang Jiangang and his gang were just idle and looking for shortcuts to make quick money.
After counting the money, Cheng Lei's face was full of disbelief. The popcorn actually cost thirty-seven yuan!
He danced with excitement: "Sister, the popcorn sold for more than 30 yuan!"
Cheng Xin covered his big mouth and said, "Keep your voice down, are you afraid that the thief will miss us?"
Cheng Lei finally calmed down: "How can I make so much money!" He thought he could only make ten yuan at most.
The cost was obviously less than one dollar, and only white sugar, wild honey and salt from the salt shaker at home were used. The bamboo tubes were cut from the mountains, the wooden barrels were from his own home, and the old newspapers used for packaging were bought cheaply wholesale. He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
Cheng Xin shook her head helplessly, "This is the disadvantage of not studying. School starts in September, so I'll enroll you in the sixth grade."
Cheng Lei jumped up on the spot, "What? Let me go to school? I'm already fourteen, I want to go to junior high school!" He murmured helplessly, "Can I really go to school? Sister, you are not fooling me, right? Can I really go to school!"
He was very envious of those who went to school. He didn't even have any friends of his age, as those people were all in junior high school.
Cheng Xin was relieved to see that he was motivated. "We had difficulties at home before, but now we have solved them. As long as you want to study, your parents and I will support you in school."
Cheng Lei was spinning in circles excitedly, happier than if he had made money. The only drawback was that he had to start school from the sixth grade.
He eagerly tugged at his sister's sleeve and said, "Sister, I want to go to junior high school."
Cheng Xin was firm: "How long have you not written? You have been studying and taking the junior high school entrance exam since the sixth grade. Do you want to get a degree just by being at the bottom of the junior high school?"
Cheng Lei looked down at his toes and said, "No, I just feel embarrassed. People will definitely laugh at me."
Wang Xiuping said with a smile: "It's good to study, because studying is the only way to have a career. Vocational school graduates are guaranteed employment, with a monthly salary of fifty or sixty yuan."
Cheng Xin patted his shoulder and said, "What's wrong with you making fun of me? Isn't it embarrassing to get zero in the junior high school entrance exam?"
Cheng Lei covered his ears and retorted loudly: "It's impossible for me to get a zero. I even got 100 points in the first grade!"
Cheng Xin was very pleased to see that he was so motivated to learn.
She collected the money from selling popcorn and said, "After closing the stall, come with me to the recycling station to see if I can find some study materials."
In the past, the school in the brigade was taught by educated youth. Wang Jiangang's ex-wife taught them a few classes. After the educated youth returned to the city, the school in the brigade was dismantled. A few educated youth were still in the brigade next door to prepare for the exam. They shared a school with the brigade next door.
When Cheng Lei thought about returning to school, the inferiority complex he had previously felt instantly disappeared, and his mind was filled with the thought of finally being able to play with his peers.
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