Chapter 60 Mushroom Sauce
When Master Qu brought up the recipe given by Zhou Xian, the topic naturally shifted to the plastic greenhouses of Taohua Brigade, allowing them to see the benefits of plastic greenhouses.
I heard that they also grow other vegetables, so everyone only discussed the straw mushrooms that are now available, and we will have to wait and see about the others.
However, Secretary He was still quite satisfied with this meal.
Within two days, he personally led people to Taohua Brigade, led by Zhou Xian, to visit the greenhouse mushrooms.
Zhou Xian even borrowed a camera from Director Ji and took a few photos.
In particular, he took photos of Secretary He picking straw mushrooms himself, and then wrote an article when he returned and submitted it to the county newspaper.
This was originally the reason why Secretary He asked her to accompany him. However, when he heard that she had applied to a county newspaper, he was still a little puzzled, "Xiao Zhou, why did you apply to a county newspaper?"
It's not that he looks down on the county newspaper, but this good news should be spread more widely. Good things should be publicized so that more people will know about it.
"I was thinking that ours is a small-scale business after all. The mushroom greenhouse only covers half an acre of land. There are greenhouses outside that are larger than ours. We are just starting out, so I am thinking of promoting it properly after it becomes stable."
"That's true." They have just succeeded, so they must be humble and not impatient. Even if they apply to a county newspaper, at least their direct superiors will know what they are doing.
Zhou Xian added, "Mushrooms are not banned. Even if we grow them on a large scale in the future, we can only supply our county. If we grow them farther away, they will probably go bad given the current transportation conditions."
"This is fine, it can be made into dried mushrooms."
Secretary He, as the leader of Baihua Commune, knew that when the season came, the members would go up the mountain to pick some wild vegetables and mushrooms, which they would dry and store to eat as vegetables in the winter.
The mushrooms picked from the mountains can be dried, so naturally the ones they grow themselves can also be dried.
Even these mushrooms cannot be dried at any time. If the weather is bad or the handling is improper, they will rot and go bad, and all the people’s efforts will be wasted.
Secretary He's brows furrowed as he thought about it. Although the greenhouse had shown some results, problems also arose.
Turning around, he saw Zhou Xian lowering his head, thinking about something. After a pause, he suddenly smiled and said, "Xiao Zhou, you were the one who proposed this plastic greenhouse, and you also decided what to plant. You have to think about this method too."
He still has high hopes for this young man.
As for his niece, after Xiao Zhou went to the Women's Federation, she was actually influenced and knew that she had to do things properly.
With such a talented person, he wanted to bring him over to work under him.
For example, when he went to Taohua Brigade this time, he originally wanted Xiao Zhou to go with him and write an article about this matter. What surprised him was that Xiao Zhou was quite smart and even borrowed a camera. If this was reported, people would be convinced with pictures and the truth.
I threw the problem to Zhou Xian because I wanted to see how this young man would solve the problem.
"I actually thought about this problem when I first decided on it, but there aren't many mushrooms now, so my method is not useful yet. I'll wait until other vegetables are ready. If it can be promoted in our commune, then it can be used."
"What is it?"
"After all, it hasn't been done yet. I'm afraid it won't be useful even if I tell you about it." Zhou Xian smiled embarrassedly.
"Tell me first, what is the solution? So that I can have a better idea of what is going on."
"Then I will tell you, and you just listen."
The more Zhou Xian acted like this, the more curious Secretary He became, so he simply asked her to sit down and talk slowly.
"It's nothing, actually. I just thought that if there are more mushrooms in the future, we can make them into canned food or mushroom sauce."
Secretary He thought for a moment and nodded, "You know what, this is really a good idea. Who knows, our canned mushrooms and mushroom sauce can still be sold in the provincial capital department store."
Thinking of that scene, Secretary He felt happy. He took a sip of the water and felt it was sweet.
"Secretary He, if we can do it well, department stores across the country can try it. I've also read in the newspaper that maybe we can bring these canned mushrooms to the Suicheng Exchange Conference and sell them to foreign businessmen, thus earning foreign exchange for our country."
Secretary He spat out a mouthful of water.
He could accept the product being put on shelves in department stores across the country and could even imagine that scene.
This time they went to the exchange meeting in Suicheng to sell things to foreign businessmen and earn foreign exchange. Secretary He moved his mouth and looked at Zhou Xian with a complicated look.
Hearing this made him feel very excited, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that Xiao Zhou was too bold, or he was young and ignorant, and had no idea what the Suicheng Exchange Conference meant.
Not to mention the canned mushrooms and mushroom sauce that we have now, there is no trace of them at all.
"Well, Xiao Zhou, you should go back to work first." Secretary He said to Zhou Xian.
"Okay then, I'll go to work first."
When Zhou Xian walked to the door, Secretary He called him again. He looked at him with complicated eyes and his tone was heavier than ever before. "Comrade Xiao Zhou, young people should be down-to-earth. I will pretend that I didn't ask you this today, and you must not mention it to anyone else."
He thought it would be better to put the matter of transferring Xiao Zhou to work here on hold.
"Okay, Secretary He, I'll be leaving first then."
Zhou Xian didn't expect that his plan was too big and scared Secretary He.
But it doesn’t matter. Since the big plan has been drawn, she must fulfill it. Otherwise, she will have no credibility with Secretary He in the future.
Just talk to Secretary He about this. Zhou Xian is not stupid enough to shout about this matter everywhere.
After returning to the Women's Federation, Director Ji did not ask any further questions. The mushrooms in the greenhouse had grown, so Zhou Xian was not assigned any tasks during this period. She was mainly asked to keep an eye on the greenhouse.
After all, this time it is the Women's Federation that is taking the lead, so we naturally have to keep a close eye on it.
"Xiao Zhou, you have to take care of the greenhouse."
If the mushrooms grow too old, they cannot be eaten, so Director Ji did not dare to relax at all and was even more nervous than Zhou Xian.
Secretary Chen also said, "We have to sell these mushrooms. Should we let the members take them to the market to sell?"
She thought the mushrooms tasted really good, and anyone who knew the goods would definitely buy some to try.
You can sell things in the countryside now, but you have to go to designated places and pay stall fees.
Zhou Xian felt that a small amount was okay, but if it was promoted in the future, the quantity would definitely be large. It would definitely not work if he relied on selling them at the market. It would be better to find a buyer now so as to avoid looking for one later.
"How about we go directly to the state-owned restaurant and ask them if they want it? I heard from Master Qu that his cousin is a chef in a state-owned restaurant. The restaurant always needs to purchase ingredients. We can ask Master Qu to contact them and ask." Zhou Xian thought for a moment before speaking.
Director Ji was also thinking that the vegetables grown must be sold, otherwise they would be wasted.
But she was in a dilemma whether to sell it at the market or at a state-owned restaurant. With Master Qu's connections, it shouldn't be a problem to send it to a state-owned restaurant. Besides, she had eaten the straw mushrooms before and they tasted good, so she wasn't afraid that they wouldn't accept them.
"Xiao Zhou, if we send it to a state-owned restaurant, won't the quantity be a little less?"
It’s actually not a big problem to carry a basket to the market to sell.
However, there are quite a lot of people eating in state-owned restaurants, and it would be a problem if the supply could not keep up.
Or, in other words, if more mushrooms are grown later, the state-owned restaurants cannot buy them all.
Director Ji expressed his concerns.
"If we expand the scale, there won't be much of a problem. The members in our team who are responsible for growing straw mushrooms have some experience. If we promote it, we can also go out and teach."
However, it is definitely not enough to just sell straw mushrooms. Zhou Xian thought that since they already have straw mushrooms, they should at least add some variety.
So she brought another basket of mushrooms to the cafeteria, and spent a long time with Master Qu to process the mushrooms and make mushroom sauce.
The aroma wafted into the leadership cadres' offices before lunch, and everyone was wondering what delicious food they were making.
At noon, everyone rushed to the cafeteria.
"Lao Qu, what are you doing? Why does it smell so good?"
Master Qu chuckled and brought out a plate of freshly made mushroom sauce. "Guess what this is?"
No one could tell what it was, so someone just picked up the chopsticks and ate the thing that couldn't be seen clearly with the steamed bun.
“Is this meat sauce?”
"What kind of meat can withstand being processed like this? That's mushroom sauce, made with mushrooms." Master Qu said with a smile.
He also found it quite strange. Secretary Zhou's recipe was simply amazing. Just by adjusting the seasoning, the mushrooms could taste like meat.
Don't just eat it with steamed buns, pour a spoonful of it on rice, mix well and it will be delicious.
You can also use it as a topping for noodles. It tastes delicious no matter how you eat it.
That basket of straw mushrooms was also used to make a lot of sauce. After it cooled down, it had to be put into a clay jar.
Secretary He was eating mushroom sauce, thinking deeply. He had thought that Xiao Zhou was bragging before, but now his will suddenly wavered.
Just based on the taste of mushroom sauce, it seems to be okay.
Of course, to be on the safe side, Secretary He decided to observe the situation for a while longer.
As for those who had eaten the mushroom sauce, they saw that there was more in the kitchen and begged Chef Qu to give them more, saying that they could buy it with money.
"No, no, you can't eat it anymore. This mushroom sauce is useful to all of us comrades in the Women's Federation. I just want you to have a taste of it."
When they heard that it was the comrades from the Women's Federation who ordered them to do it, everyone's eyes fell on those comrades from the Women's Federation.
Director Ji was eating when he attracted a lot of attention.
She waved her hands, "You can't give us any more. The mushroom sauce is a sample that we want to sell. You guys ate it all. How can we sell it? Don't you want the income?"
In fact, you can also find sales by talking to your superiors. But their original intention is to hope that their efforts can be seen by the leaders, so it is naturally not good to bother the leaders before things are done.
There was something Zhou Xian said that Director Ji still agreed with deeply.
They have to work hard quietly and then surprise everyone.
Secretary He originally wanted to take some back with him, but after hearing what Director Ji said, he gave up the idea.
However, he still really wanted to know what to do next, so after dinner, he called Director Ji and Zhou Xian over.
"Expand the scale of the greenhouse?" Secretary He was a little worried. "Can it be done? Now a greenhouse covering half an acre of land can probably yield a lot of mushrooms."
Secretary He felt that the supply to the county town should be enough. After all, straw mushrooms grow very quickly, and it is grown in a plastic greenhouse. If managed well, there will be no problem growing mushrooms all year round.
"That's true, but as you can see, if you make it into sauce, it can be stored for a longer time, and it can also be preserved longer than fresh mushrooms. If you don't like sauce, you can also make canned mushrooms. Although the taste is not as good as fresh mushrooms, it can be stored longer than fresh mushrooms."
Director Ji looked at Zhou Xian with some surprise. She really felt that this little girl seemed to have endless ideas in her head.
Each item actually sounds outrageous, but when you actually do it, you find that it is not as difficult as you imagined.
The most important thing is that he is also moved.
The opportunity for development is right in front of you. If you miss this one, you don’t know when this opportunity will come again.
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