Zhang Qiaoyue quit her job to stay home and accompany her child's studies, which has increased the family's financial burden. Yesterday, she mentioned starting a boxed lunch business, which he disagreed with, for the same reasons as his father. However, both his wife and father said they would give it a try.
He also thought, "Let's give it a try!"
If the business loses money, he can simply work more overtime and earn it back.
Unexpectedly, Qiaoyue brought him this good news today.
"Not bad, not bad, Little Chan is a smart girl!"
Chi Guozhi took the cigarette that had been hanging behind his ear, which he had been reluctant to smoke, put it in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and took a satisfying puff.
"Oh my god, Dad—I'm not trying to be mean, but Xiao Chan is a different person now that she's in high school. She's got a lot of ideas now. Yesterday I asked her to come to the station to help me move some things, and she drove a whole tricycle there. This girl bought such a big item behind my back!"
“Having a tricycle is good, it will make things much more convenient for you. If you run out of vegetables, just give me a call and I’ll have Zhiqiang bring you a load over.”
Zhiqiang is the bus driver on the road from the town to Xingcheng City.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Last time, we only let them pick us up because there weren't many people on the bus!"
"No problem, just give him some travel expenses, and I'll give you a ride every two days from now on!"
"Okay, Dad, this is what you and Mom worked so hard to grow, I'll pay you the market price!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? We usually feed the pigs the leftovers, so why would we need to pay you? I'll talk to Zhiqiang about how much he should pay a month, and you can give him some money for gas every month from now on."
"Okay, Dad, I'll do whatever you say!"
But Zhang Qiaoyue secretly decided that she should still pay for the rice and vegetables that were due.
She and Minghe work away from home all year round, and their child is raised by his grandparents.
They usually only give us a little money for living expenses and tuition.
As for the elderly couple's retirement savings, they currently have none at all.
The elderly couple are now taking care of their child at home while also keeping up with their farm work.
At the same time, the elderly couple also cultivated more than ten acres of land, and raised pigs, chickens, and ducks...
Each year, relying on the produce from the land and these livestock, they can earn ten to twenty thousand yuan.
But this was all hard-earned money by the elderly couple.
Now that she's running a boxed lunch business, she'll definitely help the elderly couple if she can. It's not just a responsibility, but also an obligation.
Zhang Qiaoyue sincerely thanks the elderly couple for helping to take care of the child over the years.
Although Grandpa Chi firmly refused the money, Zhang Qiaoyue decided that next time she went home, she would directly hand the money to Grandpa Chi.
In the afternoon, the school bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.
This time, Zhang Qiaoyue was already an experienced seller of boxed lunches.
She first had everyone line up, then collected money and gave them a meal.
By the time Chi Chan left the school gate, Zhang Qiaoyue had almost sold out and was preparing to pack up.
Chi Chan handed the three boxed lunches that Zhang Qiaoyue had left for her to Zhuo Zhiyuan, who was walking home from school with her.
"Look—you're all out of school, aren't you going home for dinner?"
"We're tired of eating the same few dishes over and over again at home. Auntie's cooking is so much better!"
After greeting Zhang Qiaoyue, Zhuo Zhiyuan accepted the boxed lunch and praised Zhang Qiaoyue's cooking skills to the skies.
Zhang Qiaoyue smiled broadly.
After saying goodbye to Zhuo Zhiyuan and the others, Zhang Qiaoyue drove Chi Chan and the empty insulated box back to the rented room.
On the way, he was settling accounts with Chi Chan: "This afternoon I made 29 stir-fried pork with chili, I saved 3 for you, so there are 26 left. I also made 22 minced pork and eggplant rice and 16 servings of braised chicken leg rice. They're all sold out!"
"That's 672 yuan in total!"
Chi Chan immediately calculated today's sales figures.
"Yes, yes, that's the number. But we've used up all the chili peppers, eggplants, and greens we brought from home today. I even bought some more chili peppers this afternoon to make sure we had enough!"
Chi Chan nodded. They brought a lot of food from home, but they used a lot of it.
"My gas stove at home is too small. When I have time, I'll go to the secondhand market and see if there are any high-powered gas stoves that restaurants have discarded. That way, the food can be cooked faster!"
With the tricycle, I arrived home in no time.
"Xiao Chan, wash your hands and get ready for dinner!"
After Zhang Qiaoyue entered the house, she immediately ladled out a large bowl of pork rib soup that had been kept warm in the rice cooker.
Then, he took out a braised chicken leg that he had specially reserved for Chi Chan, and several braised eggs that had been soaking in the braising liquid all afternoon, and put them on a plate.
Finally, Zhang Qiaoyue also plated up the leftover dishes after packing the boxed lunches and put them on the table.
When Chi Chan returned after washing her hands, Zhang Qiaoyue had already prepared the meal for her.
"Oh my, my mom is so good to me. It's so different here, I'm living the life of a god every day!"
Chi Chan sat down at the dining table and happily savored the braised eggs that Zhang Qiaoyue had peeled for her.
"You're always so talkative, even eating can't shut you up!"
Zhang Qiaoyue was in a good mood, so she only glanced at Chi Chan and let it go.
Chi Chan placed the large chicken leg into Zhang Qiaoyue's bowl.
"Mom worked hard today, here, have a big chicken leg!"
Zhang Qiaoyue shook her head: "I saved this especially for you, why are you giving it to me?"
"Oh, it's just one chicken leg. You can have it, why save any for me? I already had one for lunch today. You should try one too, and see how you cook it!"
"How could I not know my own skills!"
Zhang Qiaoyue said this, but the fine lines at the corners of her eyes showed as she smiled.
Chi Chan may be sarcastic, but she really feels sorry for her mother.
Selling boxed meals may seem simple, but buying vegetables, washing vegetables, cutting vegetables, cooking vegetables, and packing them into boxes are all meticulous tasks.
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