Not long after Zhou Chunlan set up her stall today, many people came over to ask if she had tomatoes to sell.
"Yes, we just picked them yesterday and they are very fresh. How many do you want?" Zhou Chunlan had originally put out a basket, and seeing that many people were buying, she directly brought up the whole basket.
Someone who was enthusiastic and fond of chatting said to her, "Are you the mother of the owner of Douxiangzhai?"
Zhou Chunlan nodded, "Yes, I am. How did you know?"
"I was having breakfast at his place just now. The tomatoes looked fresh and I wanted to buy some. He told me you were setting up a stall here, so I came over to buy some after I finished eating."
"Me too, me too. The boss was very generous. He made a plate of candied tomatoes and let me taste it. It was sour and sweet and really delicious."
Zhou Chunlan smiled and said, "If you like them, buy some and take them home. These are my first batch of tomatoes, and they are delicious." As she spoke, she weighed the tomatoes for the customer and soon sold several kilograms.
Brother Li, who sells steamed buns next door, is doing good business right now, with many people eating their meat and vegetarian buns this morning. He took a bun for the last customer, sat down to rest for a while, and suddenly sighed.
Seeing his worried look, Zhou Chunlan asked, "Brother Li, what's wrong with you? What happened?"
Brother Li didn't want to cause trouble by talking about that family gossip, but after a moment's hesitation, he wanted to find someone to help him out, so he said, "My wife's sister is divorced from her husband, and her parents won't let her go back because they think it's embarrassing. My wife is kind-hearted and took her in. But it's not a good idea for her to live in my house all the time. I'm afraid the neighbors will gossip about her."
Zhou Chunlan also frowned, "Then let your wife accompany her out to relax?"
"What happens after she relaxes? Where she'll go is always a problem." Brother Li was very worried.
"When you reach the mountain, there will always be a way out. Go out and relax first. Maybe you can untie the knot and come to terms with it. Then you can find a job," Zhou Chunlan suggested. "If you have some savings, open a shop or set up a stall or something."
Brother Li thought about it and agreed. The person who tied the bell must untie it. He could only persuade her but could not help her make a decision.
"Thank you, Aunt Lin. I'll talk to my wife later." Brother Li opened the steamer, picked up a meat bun and handed it to Zhou Chunlan.
Zhou Chunlan waved her hands. "Why thank me? We're all neighbors. I won't eat the buns. I'm not hungry."
Brother Li put it back and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for you and eat it at noon."
Zhou Chunlan didn't bother to be polite with him. Now there was another customer buying tomatoes, so she hurried to greet him.
*
The fried tomatoes with eggs were very popular and sold out just after noon. Lin Yan was overjoyed, but he didn't plan to fry them again. He could make the rest tomorrow. He knew that if he made too much, he wouldn't be able to sell it. People would miss it if they couldn't eat it. Lin Yan understood this.
After work today, Lin Yan suggested to Zhao Shiyun that they put up a shelf in the store and put some bean curd sheets on it. When the chili sauce was ready, they could also put it on the shelf. They asked Zhao Shiyun to think of a design and make one.
Zhao Shiyun agreed and planned to go to the mountains to cut some wood or bamboo when he returned.
Although Yu Ge'er said they were having scrambled eggs with tomatoes tonight, Lin Yan still planned to go to North Street later to see if they had any beef. Stewed beef with tomatoes was also delicious; he had eaten it once as a child. However, cattle were used for plowing here and could not be slaughtered for food unless they died accidentally or from old age. Furthermore, they had to report to the government and only slaughtered for food or sold under their supervision. Otherwise, if they were caught secretly slaughtering a cow, they would be arrested and imprisoned.
There were fixed stalls selling beef, designated by the government. If there was beef, they were usually located at the end of North Street. Lin Yan and Zhao Shiyun didn't bother looking any further, heading straight for the end of North Street. They happened to see a customer taking the last piece of beef.
"Oh my!" Lin Yan was very annoyed. He should have come earlier.
Zhao Shiyun comforted him: "It's okay, we'll come back and have a look tomorrow."
Lin Yan curled his lips. It was hard to get beef this time, and he didn't know when he would get it again. He walked forward and asked, "Boss, do you have any more beef?"
The boss waved his hand and said, "No more, all sold out."
Just as Lin Yan was about to leave, a woman rushed over and threw a bag of meat on the chopping board. "Boss, you're taking advantage of my son because he's never eaten beef, right? You sold him such a fat piece of meat!"
The boss opened it and saw that it was a piece of fattier beef brisket. He looked helpless and explained that beef brisket was like that and it couldn't be all lean. He also explained this to the customer when she bought it. But the woman refused to give in and insisted on returning it.
"Maybe my son bought it home and thought it was too expensive, so he's making an excuse," Lin Yan whispered to Zhao Shiyun. The boss didn't want to cause any trouble, so he had to return it. Lin Yan's eyes lit up, thinking his chance had come. He waited until the woman left, then walked over and said, "Boss, can you sell me this piece of beef brisket?" The boss looked Lin Yan up and down, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Okay, but you can't return it after you buy it." Lin Yan quickly paid and took the beef brisket, his face full of smiles.
Zhao Shiyun joked, "You are really obsessed with this beef." Lin Yan smiled and said, "How can we give up so easily when such delicious food is in front of us." The two of them walked back with the beef brisket.
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