The chili sauce factory was in full swing, and Shao Lihua was able to start working there as she had hoped.
Looking at everything new, her mind was filled with thoughts of learning how to create hype so she could go it alone.
She quickly realized something was wrong.
There's so much work to do.
Peanuts need to be fried, fermented black beans need to be steamed, chili peppers need to be fried to make chili oil first, then all the ingredients need to be crushed one by one, and ginger and garlic need to be chopped...
After cleaning, all kinds of bottles and jars need to be dried until there is not a drop of water left.
She was just a handyman.
Seeing that Shao Lihua seemed lost in thought and absent-minded, Wang Qiushui reminded her, "Never mind what he's doing, just do your job well."
She was an honest and simple woman, dark-skinned and thin, with a kind and gentle demeanor.
Shao Lihua's eyes darted around as she asked if she knew how Lu Siqiao prepared the ingredients.
"I saw Qiaowa just put all the ingredients in the pot and stir-fry them. I guess it's a matter of the order in which the ingredients are added and how much salt is added. I can also make chili sauce, but I can't make it taste like this at home," Wang Qiushui recalled and analyzed.
Shao Lihua knew what was going on. When Lu Siqiao came to the sauce factory after class, she left the door half-closed, stood alone on the huge wok platform, and stirred with a large spatula. A fragrant and spicy aroma wafted over.
Shao Lihua took a deep sniff; that was the smell.
She couldn't see clearly from a distance, but when Lu Siqiao started frying another pot of sauce, she quickly brought a glass of water and went in: "Qiaowa, come on, have some water first."
She glanced at the pan and saw salt being fried in it, and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, does the salt in the chili sauce need to be fried again?"
Lu Siqiao said calmly, "Yes, salt that has been fried will be more fragrant." Seeing that she was standing still, she asked her if there was anything else.
Shao Lihua said with a smile, "Qiaowa, your aunt sees that you're working hard, so why don't I make you some sauce?"
"It's not hard work. My godfather said that it's only right to keep the formula in your own hands," Lu Siqiao said expressionlessly.
Shao Lihua gritted her teeth and had no choice but to leave.
She simply stood at the doorway, observing everything from afar.
Seeing Lu Siqiao looking over, she quickly explained, "I'm standing here. If you need anything, just ask me."
Lu Siqiao cooked the sauce until 10 p.m. before leaving. Third Master Lu was watching over the factory. Once the sauce cooled in the pot, it could be bottled the next day.
Shao Lihua kept dozing off, but before leaving, she didn't forget to scoop up a spoonful of chili sauce to taste.
She fell in love with the flavor when the spicy taste exploded in her mouth.
I've never had such delicious chili sauce before, it's amazing!
She vowed to learn how to make all of this chili sauce and surpass Lu Siqiao.
When she got home, she couldn't wait to tell Lu Mingzhi about it.
Lu Mingzhi knew that his eldest daughter's family could make a lot of money by opening a sauce factory, so of course he supported her in learning the craft. He even taught her to steal some ingredients every day and practice making sauce at home, and to ask for sponsorship when she was ready to master it.
Shao Lihua was incredibly excited. From then on, whenever Wang Qiushui wasn't looking, she would either steal or take the materials and secretly hide them in a bag to bring home.
She felt that the chili sauce she made tasted almost as good as Si Ming's chili sauce, so she planned to take more today and make the sauce to share with her family. At that moment, Lu Siqiao brought back some dried fish, saying that she wanted to help with the spicy fish sauce.
This time, she didn't avoid suspicion and cooked the sauce in front of Shao Lihua and Wang Qiushui in one go.
Shao Lihua tasted the most delicious spicy fish sauce of her life. She glanced at the dozens of dried fish next to her and deliberately hid two dried fish in her cloth bag while Lu Siqiao and the others went out to bottle them.
After finishing all this, she changed her usual routine and left work early.
After returning home, the door was locked. Shao Lihua mixed the chili sauce she had secretly made a few days ago with dried fish and started stir-frying it.
When the children came back for lunch, they ate white rice mixed with spicy fish sauce, and Lu Zhenxing and his sister almost bit their tongues off.
"Mom, this fish is so delicious!" Lu Zhenxing asked for some dried fish again, but Shao Lihua slapped it away with her chopsticks and said with a laugh, "Leave some for your dad to take to the construction site."
“I see there’s still some in the pot,” Lu Zhenxing said, dissatisfied.
Shao Lihua couldn't very well say that the sauce was to be given to her maternal grandmother's family.
She promised her son that she would cook him another pot of dried fish sauce next time, as much as he wanted, before he would stop.
In the afternoon, Shao Lihua filled five bottles with dried fish sauce. She kept one for Lu Mingzhi to take to the construction site, and packed the rest to send to the Shao family in Shitou Village.
Her mother, Grandma Jiang, took one bite and immediately praised her daughter for being so successful, saying that this dried fish sauce was the most delicious sauce she had ever eaten in her life.
The Shao family members all asked if Shao Lihua still had any, and how she did it, etc.
Shao Lihua boasted, "I learned all of this. It tastes exactly the same as their Siming chili sauce. You guys don't know, do you? They sell a bottle of this sauce for five yuan, and their dried fish sauce is seven yuan! They sell it all in Beijing and make a killing!"
Hearing that a bottle of ordinary chili sauce could sell for five yuan, the Shao family members drooled with envy.
“Lihua, you could do this one-off deal yourself, why bother working for the eldest son’s family?” Old Mrs. Jiang said unwillingly.
Shao Lihua said proudly, "Everything is ready now, except for the final push. If I could get sponsorship, I would have gone solo long ago. Knowing that I only earn twelve yuan by working myself to the bone on the construction site, it's much easier for me to just make a couple of bottles of chili sauce."
Hearing her words, her younger brother Shao Zhifeng hurriedly said, "Sister, I know a big boss who owns a restaurant. If he likes the food, he might be willing to invest in building a factory so you can be your own boss."
Shao Lihua said excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's quickly send the remaining four bottles of chili sauce over for him to try."
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