With everyone's salary only slightly over a thousand, He Wenlin and her younger brother He Wenjun still need to study, so they simply can't afford to pay back the money.
He Wenlin had no choice but to drop out of school.
"Linlin, let's go to the city to play today," He Qian said, interrupting He Wenlin's thoughts.
"I'm not going. I want to start a business."
He Qian was startled: "Doing business? What kind of business? Are you going to set up a street stall?"
"Would you like to work with me in the fast food business?"
He Qian is actually related to He Wenlin by some degree; her grandmother and He Wenlin's grandmother were cousins who married into the same village, and now their parents work in the same factory, so the two families have a very good relationship.
He Wenlin was her classmate, and they came here together. If she were to start a fast food business, she couldn't leave her behind.
"Will they be able to sell?"
“There are so many migrant workers here, many of whom are from Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces. They all prefer strong flavors. There are also quite a few people from Anhui province. Their tastes are not as strong as ours, but they are not used to the food here either. I think there is great potential here.”
There are no fast food restaurants or noodle shops nearby. If you want to eat stir-fries or fast food, you have to walk five miles to Chengnan Avenue.
The working hours in the factory are very long. There is usually an hour for lunch, and if you have to work overtime in the evening, you only have half an hour for dinner. There is no time to prepare food, let alone travel ten miles to eat.
Mr. and Mrs. He usually bring their rice to the factory in stainless steel lunchboxes to steam. At noon, they take their meals back to their dormitory, fry an egg, or make a seaweed and egg soup to eat. After eating and resting for a while, they go back to work. In the afternoon, when time is short, they sometimes eat instant noodles.
Seeing that He Qian didn't speak, He Wenlin said, "It's okay if you're not interested, but I'd like to give it a try."
He Wenlin didn't necessarily want to work with her; she only told her about it because they were good friends.
Partnerships are too easy to damage relationships.
He Qian really didn't want to do it. In this hot weather, how hot would it be to sell fast food?
"If you need help washing vegetables or something, I can help, but as for selling fast food and running a business, I'd rather not."
"Okay then, lend me your pot later, and I'll treat you to an ice cream."
He Wenlin still had 120 yuan in her hand. Twenty yuan was her secret stash of money, and 100 yuan was the money her mother gave her to buy groceries last night.
This was her initial capital.
He Wenlin and He Qian rode their bicycles to the farmers' market.
Their place is only a six or seven-minute drive from here, very close.
He Wenlin bought seven catties of green vegetables, two trays of eggs, seven and a half catties of eggplant, five catties of chili peppers, and one and a half catties each of ginger, garlic, and meat.
He Wenlin bargained with the shop owner in fluent Shaoxing dialect, saying that her family ran a fast food business and that she could do long-term business with her. In the end, the shop owner gave her a discount, and she spent a total of forty yuan on these items.
He Qian also had to cook lunch, so she was given a pound each of green vegetables, eggplant, and peppers, and she gave He Wenlin two yuan.
That's equivalent to He Wenlin spending thirty-eight yuan on groceries.
"Linlin, how come you can speak Shaocheng dialect?"
"I learned it."
Fortunately, this wasn't He Wenlin's first time in Shaocheng, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to keep up the lie.
In her past life, after graduating from junior high school, her father incurred a huge debt, and her family was unable to support two children in school. So she dropped out of school and came to Shaoxing to work. In less than a year, she learned the local dialect.
"You're really amazing! You learned it so quickly. Are you really going to make and sell boxed lunches with all this groceries?"
He Qian's eyes widened when she saw He Wenlin buy so many groceries.
"Of course, take these dishes back with me. I'll go buy some seasonings and disposable supplies. I'll also need to borrow your cooking utensils for lunch."
"Oh well."
He Qian took the things from her hands. He Wenlin bought soy sauce, vinegar, salt and other seasonings, as well as three packs of small plastic bags and three hundred sets of disposable bowls and chopsticks for customers to pack. She also bought a basin and a bucket for washing vegetables. The total cost was forty-six yuan.
It was already nine o'clock when I got back to the dormitory.
"Wenjun, go wash the vegetables and ginger. I'll give you a dollar to buy an ice pop when you're done."
My younger brother, He Wenjun, is seven years old this year. He is in the second grade in Shaocheng with his parents. His parents are very strict with money, so he hardly gets any pocket money.
As soon as they heard there was a dollar, they ran off to wash it.
"Wash it clean, or you won't get paid."
He Wenlin felt no guilt whatsoever for employing child laborers.
Don't worry, sis.
He Wenlin cut the eggplant and soaked it in water in a bucket. Then she started cooking rice, using both a rice cooker and a pressure cooker. But that wasn't enough, so He Wenlin also asked He Qian to cook a pot of rice for her using her own rice cooker.
He Wenlin even borrowed her family's wok, and together they fried fifty-four eggs.
"Wenjun, the food is ready. Put it into a disposable lunchbox."
"Sis, are you going to sell boxed lunches?"
"Yes, I'll cook the food, you pack it up, and I'll give you two yuan after it's done. Don't tell Mom and Dad."
"Well, I only have three yuan, okay!"
Three yuan a day can buy six popsicles!
So awesome!
My brother is working even harder!
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