The winter in Shanghai is particularly cold and damp, and the streets are foggy. When Cheng Yaoyao arrived at the place he had agreed to meet with Sister Meng, he saw Sister Meng standing there with her head wrapped in a headscarf, looking around.
Cheng Yaoyao patted her from behind and asked, "Where is the underground party contact?"
Sister Meng jumped up three feet high, covered her chest and shouted: "Oh my God, you scared me to death! Come on, follow me."
Sister Meng took Cheng Yaoyao with her, and the two of them walked around the alley for a while, and came to an inconspicuous door. This small courtyard with its own entrance was just like the one in Suzhou, but it was a different world inside. In the front was a bright main room that could accommodate two tables, and in the back was a spacious kitchen that was fully equipped with all kinds of seasonings, pots and stoves.
A smart woman and two little girls were unpacking crab meat. When they saw Sister Meng come in, they said, "Everything is ready. This is..."
The woman looked Cheng Yaoyao up and down. Such a pretty and western-style young girl didn't look like the "chef" that Sister Meng mentioned. Sister Meng smiled and introduced Cheng Yaoyao, "This is Mrs. Yang. We are borrowing her kitchen. Mrs. Yang, this is Yaoyao."
On the way, Sister Meng had told Cheng Yaoyao that Sister Yang was a good cook and had connections, so those rich and powerful gourmets often came to her place to eat. Because of these powerful customers, Sister Yang was relatively safe.
Cheng Yaoyao thought, isn't this a private restaurant? This is a good way to make money.
Since both parties had revealed the truth, Cheng Yaoyao was not shy. He put on an apron, washed his hands, and started to make butter. Mrs. Yang's kitchen had all the ingredients, and the lard was freshly made, clear and fragrant. There were two large basins full of crab roe, and the crab shells in the yard were piled up like a small mountain.
The Spring Festival is just a few days away, and the butter must be sold before the festival. Cheng Yaoyao makes the butter, and Mrs. Yang and her two daughters help. The three of them are busy from morning till night. The butter is bottled and packaged, and vendors immediately come to transport it. It is a completely formal industrial chain.
After making the butter, Cheng Yaoyao also helped to mix the brine for the drunken crabs, while the production process was completed by Yang Sao and her daughter. Even so, Cheng Yaoyao was so tired that he couldn't even lift his arms.
When the last batch of drunken crabs were also divided up by the vendors, several people ate the rice with hot water and a plate of pickled mud snails. Cheng Yaoyao was not picky at all at this time, and ate the bowl of hot rice cleanly, and then he felt that his strength had returned.
Sister Meng took out a bag full of money, smiled from ear to ear, and reported the whole account to Cheng Yaoyao and Mrs. Yang. Cheng Yaoyao couldn't laugh at all, except for the first two days after arriving in Tianshui Village, she had never done such tiring work before.
After the account was settled, Sister Meng divided the money into three piles. Cheng Yaoyao invested 30% of the money as a technical investment. Holding the two thick stacks of money in his hands, Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but be surprised: "So much?"
Sister Meng smiled and said, "Didn't you listen to my calculations just now? The New Year is coming soon, so I raised the price again. A bottle of butter is 20 yuan, and drunken crab is 8 yuan. If we sell it for a few more days, we can at least make this much money before the New Year!"
Sister Meng extended a slap, and Cheng Yaoyao's eyes lit up. If I earn another 5,000 yuan, it will be enough for 10,000 yuan! Cheng Yaoyao, who originally wanted to back out, suddenly regained his strength.
After leaving Yang's house, Cheng Yaoyao and Sister Meng went to the bank and deposited the money into their own passbook. Sister Meng had the same idea as people of this era: "It's so good to keep the money on yourself. You can count it from time to time and feel happy."
Cheng Yaoyao said, "It's not safe to keep money at home. What if it's stolen? What if your house gets burned down? There's interest if you put it in a bank."
Sister Meng hurriedly said, "Pooh, pooh, pooh! Bad things don't work, only good things do!" Even so, Sister Meng began to have doubts in her heart, so she opened a passbook and deposited the money into it.
The result came out and I was still muttering along the way: "I spent so much money and only got a small bill. Is it reliable?"
Cheng Yaoyao rubbed her ears. Regardless of whether the bank was reliable or not, she could never show off her wealth in the Cheng family. When she returned home yesterday, she felt that something in her bedroom had been moved. Fortunately, she had her wallet with her, otherwise her family's wealth would have been emptied.
Cheng Yaoyao had been going out early and coming back late for a few days, and Cheng Zheng thought she was out with Shen Yan, and he didn't think it was wrong. Anyway, the original owner was also away from home all day, just running around behind Shen Yan. Wei Shuying and Cheng Nonuo, mother and daughter, didn't know what they were busy with, and they didn't come to trouble Cheng Yaoyao.
At 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, a table of guests came to Yang's yard. Yang was busy making butter, but this table of guests was famous in Shanghai and she had to accept them. Yang had no choice but to wash her hands and cook. Cheng Yaoyao and Meng Jie came out of the yard early and prepared to go home.
Just as she reached the entrance of the alley, Mrs. Yang's little daughter chased after her: "Sister Yaoyao, Sister Yaoyao, a customer brought a batch of seafood, and my mother wants you to help identify it!"
Cheng Yaoyao said to Sister Meng: "You go first, I'll go take a look."
Sister Meng was in a hurry to pick up the child, so she said, "Hey, you should come back early too."
Cheng Yaoyao followed Mrs. Yang's daughter back to the kitchen. Mrs. Yang was worrying about a basket of things: "Yaoyao, look, these are what the guests brought. They said they were fresh seafood and asked me to cook them."
Cheng Yaoyao took a look and saw a basket of fresh seafood. The giant lobsters waving their claws, the swimming crabs, the sea urchins with their spines still moving, the giant shrimps jumping, and the scallops were all extremely fresh.
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "You know shrimps and crabs. This thorn ball is a sea urchin, and that one is a scallop. Did the customer tell me how to cook it?"
Mrs. Yang said, "They said they would do a good job of entertaining distinguished guests."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Seafood is fresh. You can steam it all and add some dipping sauce to it."
Mrs. Yang said in embarrassment: "But I cook Hangzhou cuisine, how can I make this? Yaoyao, since you know it, you must be able to make it, can you help me?"
Cheng Yaoyao had no choice but to say, "Okay."
Cheng Yaoyao prepared the fastest blanched prawns, paired it with his own special dipping sauce, and asked Mrs. Yang's daughter to serve it out first to entertain the guests.
Cheng Yaoyao dispatched his troops: "Mrs. Yang, go soak the vermicelli and chop some garlic."
Mrs. Yang felt more confident and quickly started working in the kitchen.
Cheng Yaoyao threw the lobster on the chopping board and knocked it unconscious, inserted chopsticks into the tail of the lobster to urinate, and then scrubbed the lobster clean. She cut the lobster into small pieces, reassembled them into the shape of a lobster, and made a steamed lobster.
The swimming crabs were chopped into several pieces, stir-fried with scallions, ginger and garlic, and the aroma made people salivate. Cheng Yaoyao hadn't eaten swimming crabs for a long time. Swimming crabs are caught by the sea, and they will go bad a few hours after being caught. They are extremely difficult to transport, and it is unknown where these guests got the fresh swimming crabs.
Cheng Yaoyao glanced through the crack of the door. There were five or six guests at a table. Judging from their attire, they were of high status and in their thirties or forties. The one at the main seat was blocked by the door curtain and could not be seen clearly.
Mrs. Yang's little daughter came in after lifting the curtain, and said excitedly, "The customer said the lobster was cooked well and the dipping sauce was even better. She also asked if mother had changed the chef."
Mrs. Yang was also very happy. It seemed that the guest this time was of a distinguished status. After hearing the last sentence, Mrs. Yang looked at Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao immediately said, "Don't mention me."
Mrs. Yang also knew that Cheng Yaoyao's appearance would easily cause trouble, especially in a place like hers. So she said to Cheng Yaoyao, "You hide, I'll go out and tell them."
Mrs. Yang went out. Cheng Yaoyao heard the guests praise the dipping sauce and knew what they liked, so he made steamed scallops with garlic and fried rice with sea urchin.
Mrs. Yang smiled and lifted the curtain and came back, telling Cheng Yaoyao about the guests' compliments: "We can't afford to offend these guests. They specially brought these seafood to entertain the distinguished guests today. If it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't be able to cook these dishes."
Cheng Yaoyao washed his hands with soap and said with a smile, "It's not difficult, they are just some common seafood."
Mrs. Yang sighed and said, "I see that you are so young, but your cooking skills are so good. If you can open a restaurant, your business will definitely be much better than mine. Hey, look at what I am saying. How can a girl like you do this? As for me, I have no choice but to do this. I might be arrested one day."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Don't worry, the situation will get better."
Mrs. Yang smiled and said, "Let's not talk about this. I have delayed you for so long. You should hurry home before it gets dark. Be careful."
Cheng Yaoyao knew that Mrs. Yang didn't believe him. After all, in this social environment, only state-owned restaurants were allowed to exist, and private restaurants were not allowed to be seen in the light. Mrs. Yang was always worried, fearing that she would be caught by the inspection team one day.
In fact, the first private restaurant in China would be reported in the newspapers as early as 1979. In the previous ten years, people had been fed up with the monotonous taste and poor service attitude of state-owned restaurants. By then, these private restaurants would spring up all over the country.
Cheng Yaoyao put on his coat, said goodbye to Mrs. Yang, and left alone.
Cheng Yaoyao put on his coat, said goodbye to Mrs. Yang, and left alone.
It was already late, the sky was filled with sunset glow, and many people who were leaving get off work rode by on their bicycles, leaving behind a string of ringing cars. Cheng Yaoyao called a car and went directly to the International Hotel.
When the car stopped at the door of the hotel, he ran into Shen Yan who got out of the car. Shen Yan walked over quickly and offered his hand to help Cheng Yaoyao get out of the car: "Yaoyao."
Cheng Yaoyao got out of the car, holding a paper bag in his hand.
Shen Yan asked in confusion: "You're just wearing this?"
Cheng Yaoyao looked down at himself and asked, "Is there anything wrong with me wearing this?"
She didn't dress up, she was wearing a plain turtleneck, a plaid long skirt, and a black long coat. She still had a cool and beautiful face and a graceful figure.
Shen Yan looked at her carefully and said with a smile: "Yaoyao looks good in any outfit."
His tone was light and cheesy. Cheng Yaoyao glanced at him with disdain, and finally remembered that today was Shen Yan's mother's birthday. She ordered Shen Yan: "Help me block it!"
The two walked to the side, Shen Yan turned sideways to block the sight of others, Cheng Yaoyao took out lipstick from her handbag, applied it in front of the mirror, and pinned a small gold-plated brooch on her collar. The person in the mirror, with her snow-white skin and red lips, immediately came to life.
Since Cheng Yaoyao came back from the mountains, this was the first time Shen Yan had looked at Cheng Yaoyao from such a close distance. He was so happy that he couldn't bear to look away. His eyes slowly moved down from Cheng Yaoyao's smooth forehead, charming eyes, and straight nose to her slightly parted lips, and his Adam's apple moved up and down awkwardly.
At the wall of the International Hotel, the tall young man looked down at the slender and graceful girl in front of him. They looked so well matched.
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