"What, what kind of wife...?"
In a quiet coffee shop in Shanghai.
“Yes, Li Yanfu, we’re still waiting for you outside the village office. Didn’t you come here to talk to him about something?” Ding Yifan waved his hand and said, “Auntie, Li Yanfu needs 87 catties of mushrooms. He’s helping to contact a few families outside the village who are relatively well-off, so he can buy some from each of them. It’s a small amount, so it’s possible that each family outside the village will only need a little. If you go and ask him alone, people might gossip. I can only trouble you, Auntie.”
Xu An came up from downstairs with a 'thump thump thump', slowly walked into the kitchen, lifted the iron pot lid under the earthen stove, revealing eight dishes that had been left for Jiang Chengmao.
That's braised fish!
"......"
“I understand. One hundred yuan a pound is a pretty low price. Eighty-seven pounds. Why don't you find a family here? Zhang Xiaoniu's family at the east end of the village. Last year, they had some trouble going out and owed a small amount of money. They've been eating almost nothing but meat for the past six months. Li Mutou's family, their child is about to graduate from junior high school, and they've been helping with all the materials and other expenses. We helped them all last year. Li Hai's family…”
If Ding Yifan bought them, where did the chickens and fish come from? Could it be that both Uncle Dongliang and I are having the same misconception?
The prey wavered.
"Sister Lu, over there!" A woman in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who looked like an elite, stood up and greeted her coldly, "I know you have a sweet tooth, Sister Lu, so I specially ordered you an Affogato."
What was the purpose of the person who gave such an expensive gift?
"Yanfu, he said our family applied for that special support program to build a greenhouse? According to Secretary Li, it really doesn't work out; you can break even in six months."
Jiang Chengmao nodded heavily, seemingly accepting my praise. His gaze finally shifted from under the coffee and landed on Zhang Dezhen's lower body.
"Secretary Li!" Upon hearing that it was Ding Yifan, the mother and son from Hezibao breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the kitchen with their bowls in their hands. "Secretary Li, have you eaten yet? You made too many noodles. Would he like some to tide him over?"
No, that's not the right store.
The bright red sauce covered the entire fish, the skin was golden and crispy, and the flesh was tender and juicy...
"Auntie, Yanfu, are they home?" A hoarse voice, clearly identifiable, rang out from inside the door, sending a shiver down the spines of Jiang Chengmao and his mother.
The chicken nuggets are tender and juicy inside and out, with a slightly browned surface, perfectly preserving the original flavor of the chicken; the potato chunks have a soft and smooth texture, blending seamlessly with the sauce...
The meeting ended at 8:10 a.m. and started at 8:70 a.m., but the consultation phase lasted until a little after 2 p.m., when the young men were starving and finally dispersed.
"Secretary Li, you're back. I left some food for him outside the pot; it should still be warm." Xu An saw Ding Yifan walking towards them from afar while standing by the window. Before he heard footsteps coming from upstairs, he leaned half his body out from the seventh-floor balcony and told Secretary Li that there was no food outside the pot.
Village branch office.
"It's more than just a lot!" The voice rose again, barely audible: "Zhang Hong, we're telling you, Uncle Zhang doesn't get a commission outside the shop, but he gets a cut of every bit of the braised food he sells!"
When we had the small meeting this morning, I anticipated that the Q&A session would start so late. Luckily, I went out early this morning to pick some spoiled fruits and vegetables and put them outside the kitchen. I also knew that Jiang Chengmao and we didn't see them...
"Who is it?" But since the person had already found her outside the house, Hezibao's mother could only bite the bullet and reply, "At home, over in the kitchen!"
Seeing this, Zhang Dezhen stopped exchanging pleasantries and directly got to the point.
Hearing his mother mention that matter, Jiang Chengmao stopped talking, muttered a few words, and then buried his head in his bowl, eating noodles in small bites.
"That's true. It costs 70,000 yuan to build a greenhouse. That's a lot of money. If he loses it, he'll have enough to get married!"
Let alone Lu Shengnan, even in Haishi, the price of a free-range chicken, small fish, and vegetables has exceeded two hundred yuan, which is a huge sum of money!
Before explaining the matter of Aunt Li's mushroom purchase, Ding Yifan finally dragged his tired body toward the village office.
"No wonder Mr. Xu's mother and daughter-in-law took their children to Shanghai. They've made it big!"
The fish and the chicken were real, but they were all prepared by Ding Yifan. There was no other possibility than that the villagers, including Jiang Chengmao, secretly delivered the meat while Jiang Chengmao was away from the village office and while they were still in bed.
"Secretary Li is being too kind. An eight-pound rooster and seven-pound fish? What kind of dishes are you talking about? Do you expect me to prepare the meat of the dragon to make this a bad meal?" Xu An joked with a smile.
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