[Grandma Xiang's words alone have made the village chief's entire year's work a waste!]
[Xi Mei was so frightened that she made a meme-worthy expression. Anyone unaware of the situation would think she was terrified by Granny Xiang's comment about shallow waters drowning outsiders.]
In fact, Xi Mei was terrified by Granny Xiang's outrageous words!
Before Jiang Hexi could recover, Cui Atai pointed at Granny Xiang's forehead with her palm-leaf fan and jokingly scolded her:
"Ah Xiang, you're being naughty again, always trying to scare people with these words."
The middle-aged man who had gained weight asked:
Has anyone actually drowned in the shallow water?
"Look at what you're saying. Which river hasn't had people drown?"
Cui Atai was always amiable, but upon hearing these words, she felt offended. She gently fanned herself with her palm-leaf fan and said rudely:
“The shallow water is crystal clear, and many people from other places like to drive here to play in the water. Seven or eight years ago, someone drowned there, but the village has been stricter since then, and such incidents have never happened again.”
Grandma Xiang pulled out a small stool and moved closer to the three people.
Seeing that she was about to speak again, Jiang Hexi hurriedly spoke up:
"Later, they dug a large water pit around the stone arch bridge, just to prevent this kind of thing from happening again."
"What puddle?"
"Didn't you see it when we entered the village? It's that big puddle next to the sand and gravel pile."
The three men exchanged glances, and finally the middle-aged, overweight man spoke:
"We took a side path into the village."
Jiang Hexi thought to herself that these people were too cunning, but luckily the children's team discovered them in time.
"The village chief was worried about the children swimming in the shallow water, so he had this deep pit dug to bring in fresh water from the shallow water. He also divided the area into a shallow area and a deep area, so that it would be convenient for the women in the neighborhood to wash vegetables, and also so that the adults passing by could keep an eye on the children."
The three people were clearly interested in the deep pit and immediately suggested:
Where is that deep pit?
"I'll take you there to have a look."
Jiang Hexi was eager to take them away, lest Granny Xiang reveal some more shocking information.
As Cui Atai watched the group walk away, she turned back and muttered a few words to Granny Xiang:
"Ah Xiang, why can't you control your mouth? You always talk about these old, trivial things."
"I won't tell you," Granny Xiang said with a forced smile. "Next time someone comes, I'll tell them about the strange things that happened in the stone house."
Jiang Hexi led the three to visit the deep water pit, and then tried her best to lead them to the stone house halfway up the mountain, following the murals of Zhou Gongqi.
She then directed them to farmland and ponds, letting them follow her planned route to see the most beautiful rural scenery of Canglang Village.
When she returned to the open-air square, everyone was busy making mooncakes.
Being a mooncake taster is a happy job for one day, okay for two days, but for a week it's unbearable.
Jiang Hexi deliberately wandered around outside for half a day, thinking that since she was coming back so late, someone would have already tasted the freshly baked mooncakes for her.
When she arrived at the steel-framed shed, she found thousands of mooncakes piled on the shelves, all waiting for her to taste them.
"Why weren't any mooncakes packed up?"
"They said they can only pack it after you've tried it."
Chef Fang brought over eighteen numbered mooncakes and placed them in front of her. "Eat these batches of mooncakes and quickly score them so I can urge the packaging team to come and get to work."
"Why didn't you invite Chu Yang and Wanwan to come and try the food while I was away?"
"I looked for it."
Chef Fang bluntly told her, "They refused to taste the mooncakes, clearly stating that this was the quality inspector's job and they couldn't help."
Jiang Hexi frowned slightly as she looked at the mooncakes on the plate, unable to eat them no matter what.
Li Youtian rushed over from the pond and entered the steel-framed shed. As soon as he saw Jiang Hexi, he asked:
"Xi-mei, what do you want from me?"
"Uncle Youtian, put on this cleanroom suit first, then put on your mask, shoe covers and gloves, and come in with me."
Jiang Hexi handed him a complete set of workshop clothes, and after he changed, she led him inside.
"Uncle, we shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders. I'm going to hand over this taste tester job to you. From now on, when I'm not around, the mooncakes from Canglang Village will depend on you to strictly control the quality."
Li Youtian asked a very practical question: "How much does this job cost per day?"
"Two hundred a day."
"I'll do it."
Jiang Hexi liked talking to straightforward people like this. She handed a form to Li Youtian and explained the contents one by one:
"There are six clay ovens in total, and each oven bakes one hundred mooncakes at a time. Ovens with the same batch of fillings and crusts are grouped together by number. There are eighteen mooncakes in this table. I have made a preliminary score based on their shape, color, texture and taste."
She walked to the shelf piled with mooncakes and checked them one by one, according to their numbers:
"The No. 1 mooncake sample scored 95 points, which is very good. We just need to check if the shape is regular and whether the dough is burnt."
Jiang Hexi picked out two golden-brown mooncakes, marked them with a "qualified" tag, and continued on her way.
"The No. 2 mooncake has a smoky smell, which is probably caused by the charcoal getting damp."
She picked up a mooncake, broke it in half, gave one half to Li Youtian, and kept the other half for herself.
The two of them took a bite of the mooncake and tasted an indescribable smoky flavor.
Li Youtian spoke frankly, "That's how clay ovens are; if the charcoal gets damp, it'll smoke easily when it's burning."
Jiang Hexi tried another mooncake, and it tasted the same. She picked up the mooncake from the shelf and turned to put it on the table next to her.
Li Youtian said regretfully, "Xi-mei, are we going to throw away all of these hundreds of mooncakes?"
"I won't throw it away."
As Jiang Hexi moved the mooncakes, she said to him, "Later, when the older women finish work and go home, if they want, let them take some mooncakes with them. The rest that no one wants can be used to feed the pigs."
Li Youtian helped move the mooncakes, his heart filled with reluctance.
Jiang Hexi saw through his thoughts:
“Uncle, if we sell these 100 mooncakes, we’ll only make a few hundred yuan, but we’ll lose more than 20 high-quality customers. These customers could be repeat customers or bring in more new customers. In the long run, we’ll lose even more.”
Li Youtian understood what she meant: "You have to give up something to gain something."
Jiang Hexi returned to the stone house and had just sat down to take a sip of tea when she saw the village chief leading three cadres, carrying chickens, ducks, rice, oil, and gift packages into the yard.
She carried a cup of tea outside and went out, hearing Yan Jie standing outside ask:
"Village chief, why are you being so polite?"
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so we've brought you gifts. Every household in the village will receive one, so of course you won't be left out."
The village chief stretched out his hand, and Chu Yang immediately took the oil, rice, and gift package, leaving the remaining two chickens and two ducks on the ground.
Yan Jie looked at the two ducks with their feet tied on the ground and asked with concern, "Are these two ducks male or female?"
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