After chatting with Wu Huaiqing, Yu Yao rode her bicycle back to the family compound.
Before even reaching the family compound, I saw seven or eight military wives standing at the entrance of their own yard, with baskets or buckets beside them, chatting and eating sunflower seeds. Among them were Song Yufeng and Su Meihua, who had just moved in next door.
When Song Yufeng saw Yu Yao, she put away her melon seeds and said, "Yu Yao is back."
Everyone turned around and saw Yu Yao, and they all went up to help her with her things. "Yu Yao, we've been waiting for you to come back!"
Yu Yao was surrounded by admirers. On her bicycle, there was a crab net bag that Wu Huaiqing had given her, dried goods that Qin Sheng had bought, and even the dress that Wu Wanying had made for her. Someone was carrying it for her.
What's wrong with everyone?
Everyone looked at Song Yufeng.
After Song Yufeng met Yu Yao, she became much more outgoing and less afraid of interacting with people.
In addition, Yu Yao is now a celebrity in the family compound. Because of her good relationship with Yu Yao, her status and popularity in the family compound have also risen, and she has become a representative.
Song Yufeng said, "It's like this, the braised duck you made a few days ago smelled so good that these aunties and sisters-in-law followed suit and made their own braised dishes the next day. But no matter how they made them, the sea ducks had a very strong fishy smell, and the taste was far inferior to yours. The aunties and sisters-in-law came today to ask you how you made them."
Actually, Yu Yao had mentioned it to Song Yufeng before, but she had been busy for two days and had almost forgotten it.
"Oh, I see. It's nothing. The way to remove the fishy smell from sea ducks is actually very simple. Aunties, let me tell you how I do it."
“Yu Yao, please speak. We’re all listening attentively.”
The military wives stared wide-eyed, just like students listening attentively in class, and even called Yu Yao "Teacher".
Yu Yao explained her method to everyone in detail, especially how to remove the fishy smell.
The military wives were surprised that such a simple process as removing fishy smells involved so many intricacies, and they were deeply grateful to Yu Yao for sharing her knowledge without reservation.
Before leaving, he gave Yu Yao the things he had brought to express his gratitude.
Yu Yao harvested a lot of things, including freshly picked vegetables from her own plot of land, wild fruits picked from the mountain, and shellfish dug up from the sea.
Another military wife gave me jackfruit she picked from her own yard. The surface was covered with dense, uneven bumps, and it felt rough to the touch. The jackfruit, weighing dozens of kilograms, was ripe and emitted a rich aroma.
This was the first time Yu Yao had ever seen jackfruit since coming to the island.
It's late October now, and the jackfruit season on the islands is almost over. Yu Yao was pleasantly surprised to see jackfruit.
These jackfruits are so big and ripe, we can't finish them all in a short time, so Yu Yao thought we might as well make them into canned fruit so they can be preserved for a longer time.
She had only ever made canned jackfruit before, and the factory didn't have canned jackfruit. She had to figure everything out herself, making it delicious and preserving it for as long as possible without adding any preservatives.
Although the industry was just starting out at that time, canned fruit could have a shelf life of fifteen months at room temperature.
The biggest challenge is preparing the sugar syrup; it has to be just right—too sweet or too bland won't work.
Yu Yao took out her notes from the syrup workshop and combined them with the methods she used to make canned pineapple and canned yellow peaches in her previous life. Every afternoon, she would go and study suitable syrup recipes.
After many failures, I finally succeeded in making three jars of jackfruit preserves just before they went bad.
At lunchtime in the workshop, Yu Yao took out a can of food and shared it with everyone, asking Aunt Liu and the others for their opinions.
As soon as the canned jackfruit is opened, a rich and sweet aroma wafts out. This aroma is different from that of canned pineapple or mango; it is more intense and makes your mouth water just by smelling it.
Aunt Liu used a clean spoon to scoop a piece of jackfruit into a bowl, and then scooped a spoonful of syrup.
The syrup was tinged with pale yellow from soaking the yellow jackfruit, creating a distinct contrast between the light and dark yellow of the jackfruit and the syrup itself.
Yu Yao used sugar produced from sugarcane grown on the island. It was simmered over low heat, and the sugar water and jackfruit flavors blended together perfectly. The fruit flesh was soft, delicate, and slightly elastic, making for a very unique and delicious taste.
After finishing one piece, Aunt Liu also drank the syrup. "I think it's good. The processing of the fruit and the cooking of the syrup are just right. It would be even more perfect if it were a little sweeter."
"I think so too. I ate the canned mangoes and pineapples from the factory. This canned jackfruit is very refreshing and tastes good."
Some people think it tastes good as it is and there's nothing to improve, while others think it's a little too bland and would be better if it were a bit sweeter.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yao drank the sugar water again and found that it was indeed a bit bland compared to the canned goods produced in the factory.
She prepared the sweet soup according to her own taste. In her previous life, she was particular about controlling sugar and calories. People in the 1970s had fewer opportunities to eat sugar and preferred sweeter drinks.
While eating her canned food, Aunt Liu suddenly thought of the factory's recent competition. "Xiao Yu," she said, "I think you can sign up for the factory's canned food development competition. You can get a reward of ten yuan for every canned food that passes the test. In addition, the top three canned food developers will also receive an extra ten jin of lard and ten jin of pork."
Upon hearing this, the others chimed in, "I think Aunt Liu's suggestion is great. Xiao Yu, you cook so well, and your canned goods are pretty good too. You should definitely sign up."
The reward for just one can of food was almost equivalent to half a month's salary for her, not to mention the additional rewards of lard and pork.
Yu Yao was very interested and hurriedly asked Aunt Liu for details.
It turns out that the competition started in September, before she even entered the factory. Any employee of the food factory could develop their own canned food products.
The developed canned goods are first evaluated by the factory leaders. Those with high scores will be mass-produced in batches of several hundred cans and distributed to department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives. Later, the factory will select the most popular ones as new products.
The competition ends in November, so there are only a few days left.
“However,” Aunt Liu paused, her brow furrowing slightly, “there are too many people developing canned goods. To improve efficiency, the factory needs recommendations for those developing canned goods. Originally, our workshop could just ask Foreman Wang, but since you offended her, she definitely won’t recommend you.”
"Can only people from our workshop be recommended? Can it be someone else?" Yu Yao asked.
Aunt Liu: "Sure, any leader at the factory level above foreman is fine. If Director Li isn't away on business, you can ask him for a recommendation."
"Unfortunately, we don't know anyone else we can recommend. Fang Qiaoqiao, the one who reads the thermometer, should know her. I think she even spoke up for you. If all else fails, you can ask her if she can help."
"Don't worry, I have a way."
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