Chapter 129: Roasted Melon Seeds
"After frying, you have to let it cool before eating, otherwise it won't be crispy!" Jiang Tangtang saw that the heat in the pot was almost right, so he scooped up the melon seeds and poured them into a winnowing basket to cool.
The temperature was low in winter, and the melon seeds would soon become cold if left lying around. Several children grabbed a handful and started eating without hesitation.
This time, everyone couldn't stop.
In fact, what Jiang Tangtang fried was the most common fried five-spice melon seeds in modern times. The reason why it attracted everyone so much, Jiang Tangtang suspected, was related to the spiritual energy in the space.
Anyway, it’s for family members to eat, and eating more is good for the body, so Jiang Tangtang fried another pot.
But this time it was fried caramel flavor.
Compared with the five-spice flavor, the caramel flavor is obviously more popular with the children.
After the caramel-flavored melon seeds were fried, several children abandoned the five-spice melon seeds and started eating the caramel-flavored melon seeds.
Even on the donkey cart, the children never stopped talking.
Su thought both flavors were good, but she was an adult after all, unlike children with poor self-control. She stopped eating after a while and talked to Jiang Tangtang, "Tangtang, where did you buy these melon seeds? They taste really good. Maybe we can sell them in the shop after the New Year?"
Jiang Tangtang smiled and said, "That's a good idea, Mom. Let's start making arrangements when the restaurant opens on the eighth day of the first lunar month."
In that era, there were no five-spice and caramel-flavored melon seeds for sale, so such novel flavors would definitely do good business in the shop.
However, she did not plan to sell the melon seeds in the space, and the melon seeds purchased from outside would definitely not taste as good as the ones they ate at home.
Su smiled and said, "It wasn't my idea. You're the smart one to come up with this method of frying melon seeds."
As they were talking, the donkey cart soon arrived at the village.
As soon as we arrived at the village, villagers surrounded us.
Before the Chinese New Year, some villagers went to the county town to sell mountain products and purchase New Year's goods to take home for the New Year. They saw Su and others busy at the door of the cake shop. After asking around, they found out that it was the shop opened by the Lu family in the county town.
Seeing the booming business, the villagers were surprised and envious at the same time. When they told the village, the news that the Lu family's shop in the city was doing very well spread throughout the village.
Seeing the Lu family return, everyone surrounded them and asked, "Wife of the Lu family, your shop is doing so well, you must have made a lot of money, right?"
"Do you need any help in your shop? If so, what do you think of my youngest son? He's smart and hardworking, so feel free to hire him and pay him whatever you want."
"Aunt Zhang, everyone knows that your son Tietou is lazy and greedy. Your son went to work in someone else's shop, and instead of doing any work, he ate the food sold there."
As Ge Shuanniang spoke, she pushed Ge Hongxia forward and affectionately took Su's hand and said, "Sister Su, look at my daughter. She is well-known for her virtue in this rural area. If you ask her to work, I guarantee you will not lose out!"
Ge Hongxia shyly glanced at Lu Shili who was holding the donkey's leash.
She couldn't help but blame her mother in her heart. Why didn't she arrange the marriage for Lu Shili when his leg was injured and everyone misunderstood him as a cripple?
However, if she could work in a pastry shop and spend time with him day and night, there would still be a chance.
As for Lu Shiyan, whom she had previously admired, she had already followed him to join the army, and she no longer had any thoughts about him.
If she went to the barracks to serve as a soldier, she might lose her limbs or even her life at any time. She didn't want to be a widow! Lu Shili was the better choice. He was doing business in the city. If she married him, she would be the young lady.
Seeing Ge Hongxia looking at her son with such shyness and embarrassment, Su Shi knew exactly what they were planning.
She mentally spat at the two men for being shameless, and stiffly pulled her hand out of Ge Shuanniang's grasp, saying indifferently, "Auntie, I'm truly sorry. My shop doesn't lack manpower. Besides, my shop is owned by my wife, and she has the final say on these matters. I'm just an idler, so please don't embarrass me with this kind of thing."
Ge Shuanniang wanted to get close to Su and call her sister, but Su didn't buy it at all and even called her "old aunt", which made Ge Shuanniang very angry.
She didn't believe what Su said even more.
Jiang Tangtang is just a junior, how could she be allowed to be the head of the family? This must be Su's excuse.
Ge Hongxia shared her mother's thoughts, believing it was Su's excuse. She glanced timidly at Lu Shili and decided to try to please Su.
But there were also some knowledgeable people at the scene who actually went to Jiang Tangtang to ask about the recruitment.
Apart from the Xia family, with whom he had to maintain a good relationship, Jiang Tangtang did not want to recruit workers in the village.
However, she didn't want to offend anyone, so she used the same old method again and talked to the villagers about shopping.
This time, in addition to taro and winter melon, Jiang Tangtang suggested that they plant some seeds he gave them and buy them at a high price.
Jiang Tangtang mainly wants people to grow sugarcane.
Her pastry shop now uses a huge amount of sugar.
If you can have your own raw materials and make your own sugar, it will not only reduce the cost of the shop, but also develop a new industry and increase your income.
However, people reacted strongly to Jiang Tangtang being asked to plant crops they were unfamiliar with. Many people distrusted him, saying, "You can talk nicely now, but if you don't harvest the crops once they've grown, won't all our efforts be in vain?"
"That's right! Not only will the whole family starve, but if we can't pay the taxes, our lives will be in jeopardy!"
"If you don't want us to work in your shop, then forget it. But why are you trying to trick us?"
"Of course I won't let your efforts go to waste. If you are willing to take the seeds, I will sign a contract with you."
Jiang Tangtang added, "My shop already has enough staff, so we don't need too many people. And the things I asked you to grow, I would have to buy from outside at a high price. It's really for the sake of our fellow villagers that I'm thinking of doing this for everyone. Otherwise, I could grow them myself."
Of course, most people are skeptical about Jiang Tangtang's statement.
Land cultivation is a major matter, affecting the harvest for the coming year and the family's food supply. Even if Jiang Tangtang said they would sign a contract, people still didn't dare to be completely reassured.
Some people also talked about the Xia family and the Lu family planting wild berries together, saying that Xia Zhirong spent most of the winter in the wild berry fields and didn't seem to be busy with anything. This shows how much water Jiang's words are.
Little did they know that the strawberries, which were not favored by the villagers, have already reached the harvest time.
Although there was no greenhouse, straw was used to keep the strawberries warm, and Jiang Tangtang watered them with spiritual spring water from time to time, so the quality of the strawberries was no worse than those grown in modern greenhouses.
Xia Zhirong had been watching over the place every day for the past few days, fearing that something might go wrong. As soon as Jiang Tangtang came back, he discussed the strawberry sales with her.
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