Everything was almost ready. Li Mu found a few bricks in the yard, built a simple small stove, and moved all the charcoal in the firewood pot into the built earthen stove.
After completing some preliminary preparations, Li Mu found a large pot in the kitchen, put some vegetables in it, put the fish fried by Zhou Qiang on it, and poured the prepared hot pot base on it.
The aroma filled the air, and the people who were chatting enthusiastically were all attracted by the fragrance in the yard and became hungry. They all walked into the yard and looked at the big pot in the yard with curiosity.
"Xiao Mu, what are you doing? Uncle Wang, I don't understand what you mean."
Uncle Wang smoked the pipe in his hand and looked at Li Mu with some confusion.
Li Mu smiled and said nothing. He just asked everyone to sit around the fire and wait for him to bring the bowls and chopsticks.
"Eat it, try the food in the pot and see how it tastes."
Li Mu gestured to everyone to pick up their chopsticks, full of anticipation.
Everyone looked at Grandma Zhou. People in rural areas attach great importance to elders. If Grandma Zhou didn't pick up her chopsticks, the others wouldn't either.
Grandma Zhou picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it into her mouth. The fish skin was golden and crispy on the surface, but the fish meat inside was unusually tender. Paired with the hot pot base made by Li Mu, the fish meat was more flavorful and spicy, which was very appetizing.
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"It's delicious. Xiaomu, how did your cooking skills improve so quickly?"
Grandma Zhou praised with a smile.
When everyone heard what Grandma Zhou said, they hurriedly picked up their chopsticks, picked up the fish in front of them, put it into their bowls, and began to eat it in small bites.
Li Mu silently picked up a large piece of fish and put it into the bowl. He carefully picked out the fish bones before putting the fish into his wife's bowl.
Seeing the fish meat being put into the bowl, Lin Wan raised her eyes to look at Li Mu, then lowered her head and ate it in small bites.
"Xiao Mu, this taste is really special. How did you learn to make it? Very good." Uncle Wang praised while eating, and did not forget to instruct Aunt Liu to go into the house to get the wine that Li Mu and others brought last time, so that they can have a good drink together.
Li Mu smiled and said, "When I was watching TV in the video room before, I saw the hot pot people were eating on TV, and I wondered if I could use this hot pot base to make other dishes."
"How do you feel after eating it? I plan to make the fish from our pond into grilled fish and sell it later."
After hearing Li Mu's plan, Zhou Qiang still had some concerns, so he said hesitantly, "Can it be sold? What price do you plan to set?"
“This is just the plan for now, and I may develop some more flavors.”
Li Mu thought about it and answered seriously.
This time, one purpose was to let everyone try the taste, and the other was to discuss with Zhou Qiang about setting up the stall and Tulong's affairs. When everything was almost done, the two of them would discuss how to develop Qingshui Village's poverty alleviation plan.
After living in the town for so long, I find the whole atmosphere quite different from that of the simple villagers in Qingshui Village. The people in the town seem to be very nice, but they care more about interests. If there is any situation in someone's family, they would like to spread it thousands of miles away.
Compared to the town, Li Mu actually wants to go back to Qingshui Village. The people here are simple and honest. If there is any problem at home, every household will help, except for a few very special families, everyone else is friendly.
But for Ruoruo's education, Li Mu could only think about it.
"Xiao Mu, Xiao Mu, drink some wine. Why are you in a daze?" Uncle Wang raised his glass and shouted to Li Mu who was standing aside in a daze.
Lin Wan saw Li Mu still in a daze and nudged Li Mu's arm with her elbow.
Li Mu came back to his senses, raised his glass in a daze, clinked it with Uncle Wang's, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Li Mu, drink slowly, don't get drunk." Lin Wan shouted worriedly.
Hearing his wife say this, Li Mu hurriedly took a few bites of food to suppress his appetite.
"Uncle Wang, Qiangzi and I are planning to sell this grilled fish at a stall. The village has grown some vegetables. If we set up a stall, we may need to collect some fresh vegetables as side dishes. I may need to trouble you to arrange it."
As Li Mu spoke, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Uncle Wang.
"Okay, okay, you guys should just focus on taking care of the fish pond first, and then do other things. Although you are good at grilling fish, you still have to be down-to-earth when doing things, understand?"
Uncle Wang looked at Li Mu and shook his head. He felt at ease only when Li Mu took firm steps.
Li Mu knew Uncle Wang's concerns, but only by having one more sales channel could the fish pond business slowly grow. He was responsible for one sales channel, and the state-owned restaurant was responsible for one sales channel.
"Uncle, I know what you mean, but if we only rely on the fish pond now, Qiangzi and I may not make much money. I want to improve the economy of our village. I will set up a stall. If the business is good, the supply of vegetables needed later will be greater. At that time, I can also harvest the vegetables grown by some of the villagers, and they don't have to work hard to catch the car to buy vegetables early in the morning. What do you think?"
Li Mu drank the white wine in small sips and spoke slowly.
When Uncle Wang heard what Li Mu said, he knew that Li Mu also wanted to help the village. The village was too far away from the nearby county town. In this remote place, everyone could only rely on growing crops and selling vegetables.
If there were other sales channels, everyone could improve their financial situation a little bit and they wouldn't have to get up early in the morning to catch the bus to buy groceries.
"Xiao Mu, it's a good thing that you think this way, but uncle still hopes that you can take care of your own affairs first, and then think about helping the villagers."
Uncle Wang sighed and tried to persuade him.
Li Mu nodded and didn't say anything more. It was enough that Uncle Wang understood what he meant.
After they had a few drinks and chatted for a long time, the elders pulled Lin Wan into the house to continue chatting. While Li Mu and Zhou Qiang were cooking in the kitchen, Aunt Liu had already cleaned up a room for Lin Wan and Grandma Zhou, and Li Mu just had to sleep in the same room with Zhou Qiang.
Li Mu pulled Zhou Qiang towards the pond. The two brothers didn't speak along the way.
"Qiangzi, when I came here today, I met two brothers who drive sports cars from the next village. They are nice people. I will buy some things for my stall when I get back. You can take care of the pond in the back. When my stall has business, you can send me vegetables and fish every day in the village and ask me to bring them up to me."
"I will take Lin Wan and grandma back tomorrow. I am worried about grandma living alone. From now on, grandma will live with me and I will take care of her."
Hearing what Li Mu said, Zhou Qiang's eyes were filled with gratitude.
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