After getting the promise, Cheng Yaoyao stretched his hand out from under the quilt and placed it in Xie Zhao's big hand. He said happily: "Then let's take Xiao Fei back and invite Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin to come as well. The strawberries in the yard are ripe, let's have a strawberry banquet."
There are only eighteen strawberries in the yard. Xie Zhao swallowed his words. Even if there were only eight, if the spoiled kid wanted to hold a strawberry banquet, he would definitely hold it.
Cheng Yaoyao got a goodnight kiss, held Xie Zhao's hand, and fell asleep sweetly.
Lin'an is a densely populated ancient city, with old courtyard houses and newly built Suzhou-style red brick buildings in the 1960s. Every morning, residents line up outside the vegetable market and butcher shops to form long queues, each holding a basket with bags and bowls in it, and craning their necks to wait.
Experienced housewives would have several children at home go to the market together, one at the meat shop, the other at the tofu shop, and the other at the rice shop to try their luck. The supply at the vegetable market was seriously insufficient. Those who went early could buy some meat or vegetables, but those who went late could only buy withered old vegetables and a few crooked and cracked tomatoes.
Under such circumstances, the black market becomes the place most frequented by people. The despised speculators are like worker ants, transporting all kinds of fresh ingredients rarely seen in the market to the dining tables of every household.
It's not just ordinary people who participate in black market transactions. Buyers in various units have their own ways, especially canteen buyers. In this day and age, it's not considered amazing if you can get fabrics or soap. It's a real skill to get a lot of fresh ingredients every day! As for the source of the goods? No one asks. Everyone eats quietly. Who wants to make trouble for their own rice bowl?
The canteen buyers of all the big units are under a lot of pressure these days. After a winter of eating pickled cabbage and stewed potato slices, the canteen's complaint book is almost full. No matter how good the chef's cooking skills are, he can't stand eating them every day! The buyers are also getting anxious. There are no green vegetables in winter, and the first crop of vegetables in spring has not grown yet. A good cook cannot cook without rice, right?
At this time, they heard that the small canteen of the cultural center had bought some green vegetables. The other buyers immediately heard the news and tried to get some to taste. The tomatoes and cucumbers were sour, sweet and juicy, and the taste was just as good as before! They almost put the buyer of the cultural center on the tiger bench, and he finally revealed that they were greenhouse vegetables from Tianshui Village.
The buyers contacted the people in Tianshui Village. They thought that the small village would be overjoyed to hear the name of their unit, but the young man who was in charge of contacting them rejected them outright: there were not enough vegetables and the supply could not meet the demand.
When the buyers heard this, they all went to him to raise the price behind his back. They almost raised the price three times, but the buyer still said: You want too much, we can't supply you.
Isn't this just a joke? Before the buyers could get angry, they presented a string of data. The central idea was that each unit was limited to purchasing 300 kilograms per week, with a deposit paid in advance and on a first-come, first-served basis.
The buyers were well-informed and were also fooled by this advanced sales concept, and rushed to pay. Those who couldn't buy the vegetables didn't get angry, because the young man politely registered their units and names, and said that they would have priority in ordering when the next batch of vegetables came out.
Everyone is happy now, and the buyers have also kept Tianshui Village in mind. Even if the vegetables are already on the market, they still want to order vegetables from Tianshui Village. If they have a good relationship with Tianshui Village, why worry about not being able to order greenhouse vegetables next year? What's more, the water quality in Tianshui Village is good, and the vegetables taste good.
In Tianshui Village, Lin Dafu stood in the vegetable field, with his hands on his waist, and shouted: "Everyone, work harder! Make sure to pick the good tomatoes, and don't put the crooked and cracked ones in the basket, otherwise it will bring shame to our Tianshui Village...what?"
Lin Dafu asked the young man beside him inquiringly.
The young man was very tall, his white vest was soaked with sweat, revealing his muscular abdomen, and his legs were long and strong. He lifted a basket of tomatoes onto Lin Gui's shoulders with one hand, helped him hold it up, and then said, "Word of mouth."
Lin Dafu waved his right hand and said, "Oh, yes, word of mouth! Let's work hard! If we can do it two more times, our village won't have to suffer from famine this year!"
After pumping the air, Lin Dafu called Xie Zhao to walk to the edge of the field together and said, "Thanks to you, we made a lot of money from these vegetables! Those buyers are begging us to buy them! If I had to negotiate on my own, I would have lost a lot."
Xie Zhao shook his head and opened the military green kettle to drink water. The tea was light and sweet, specially boiled in the well overnight. After drinking it, he felt relaxed all over, and the slight fatigue was swept away. Seeing that the car was full, Xie Zhao kicked his long legs and got on the car.
Lin Dafu hurriedly said, "You already carried it several times yesterday, let Jiajun do it for you."
Xie Zhao shook his head: "The steel plant has just started cooperation, I have to go and watch. I will rest after these two trips."
Lin Dafu smiled as if he was visiting someone: "Okay, okay, you want to take a few days off, right? Don't worry, when you're done with your work, I'll give Cheng Zhiqing a day off as well, so she won't have to work anymore!"
The tractor started, Xie Zhaojian held the steering wheel with his strong arms, and raised his eyes with an imperceptible expectation: "Let's go."
The roar was heard, and the people working in the fields could not help but look up. In the morning light, the tractor drove away with a load of vegetables and the expectations of the people of Tianshui Village.
At this time, the canteens of several large units in Lin'an City have all started to serve stir-fried vegetables and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. The chef regained his former confidence and raised his voice: "Don't crowd, don't crowd, each person can only get one portion!"
When the lunch break whistle blew, the girls in the workshop dropped their work, picked up their lunch boxes and ran away. Xie Fei finished the work in her hands carefully, looked up and saw that she was the only one left in the workshop.
Xie Fei's roommates worked the night shift last night, so she was the only one who came to the cafeteria to eat today. When she walked slowly into the cafeteria, she was frightened by the moving crowd.
When she heard the chattering of the girls in front of her, she realized that the canteen of the textile factory also hung up signs for "Stir-fried Cucumber" and "Tomato Scrambled Eggs". The girls threw away their reserve and rushed to the food window: "I want two!" "I want three too! I'll get one for our dormitory!"
The lady in the cafeteria slammed the dish with a spatula: "Don't crowd, each person can only get one portion! Tell the rest of you in the dormitory to line up by yourselves!"
Seeing the fierce look of the aunt, she tiptoed away from the team. She was not as timid as before, but she was still afraid of the crowded scene and the fierce aunt.
Xie Fei looked around and suddenly saw that there were only two or three people queuing at the window at the end, so she went up to queue. The person in front of her was almost as tall as her brother, and his broad shoulders blocked the sign at the window. Xie Fei couldn't see what dish he was buying, so she could only stare at his back in a daze. Anyway, she had meat coupons and money in her pocket, so she wouldn't be unable to afford it.
"Hello, driver. Marinated spareribs, stir-fried vegetables, and a serving of tomato and egg soup." He spoke in pure Mandarin with a slight rise at the end of his voice, as if he was smiling.
When Xie Fei heard the sound, she turned around and was about to leave. She accidentally dropped her lunch box on the ground, and the sound of the bell jingled. It was not loud in the noisy cafeteria, but Xie Fei's face turned red, and she felt that everyone was looking at her.
She quickly picked up her lunch box and hid aside, silently praying that the man didn't notice her.
Lu Qingtang bought the food and walked away with the lunch box. He was a technician who came with the Shanghai leadership group and had a natural smile. Since he came to the factory, the leaders were on high alert, fearing that the girls in their factory would be seduced away by this boy with peach blossom eyes.
Xie Fei waited until he left before taking a breath and running to the window to get food. But the window was a small canteen for cadres and patients, so Xie Fei blushed and walked away again. After a while, she only bought a steamed bun and a small portion of tomato scrambled eggs. When she looked for a seat, she was dumbfounded again.
Wherever there are many women, there are small groups. The girls sit together with their good friends. Although they don't bully Xie Fei, Xie Fei knows that they don't like her. Sister Yaoyao said that they are jealous of her beauty, but Xie Fei doesn't have Sister Yaoyao's courage and confidence, so she has to avoid them.
Xie Fei stood there pitifully, looking left and right. Suddenly, she saw Lu Qingtang sitting alone at a small table. He put all the food on his side, leaving the seat in front of him empty.
How annoying! He occupies a whole table by himself. Xie Fei was thinking this when Lu Qingtang looked over.
She...she just said something bad to him in her heart! Xie Mei turned her head away like a frightened little rabbit and ran to the soup bowl to pretend to make soup. She hesitated for a long time, turned her head secretly, and saw that Lu Qingtang had left without knowing when.
Xie Fei hurried over and sat down, secretly happy in her heart, she was really lucky. She ate the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but she didn't think it was so special, because the small tomatoes at home had been ripe for a long time. She commented in her heart: the tomato sauce was not fried evenly enough, and the eggs were overcooked. Oh, she missed the food cooked by Sister Yaoyao.
But it doesn't matter, she can go home in a few days when she has a holiday. Sister Yaoyao said that the strawberries at home are ripe.
Xie Fei finished her meal quickly and took her lunch box to wash. The sink was on the side of the cafeteria, and no one was there. She put her lunch box under the faucet to wash it, and then she heard a voice: "We caught you~"
The last syllable rose, revealing a smile. Xie Fei shuddered, and saw Lu Qingtang leaning not far from the side. Lu Qingtang also had a pair of peach blossom eyes, which were different from Sister Yaoyao's proud and bright eyes. A man with peach blossom eyes always looked a little feminine, but the smile on his face resolved it, making people feel gentle and amiable.
But Xie Fei was afraid of him.
Lu Qingtang walked over and casually blocked Xie Fei's escape route.
Xie Fei looked around in panic with his deer eyes. Lu Qingtang chuckled, "I'm not trying to bully you. Comrade Xie Fei, why are you crying?"
Xie Fei raised her head tremblingly, trying to imitate Cheng Yaoyao's glaring at her brother: "I... I'm not afraid of you."
"I see." Lu Qingtang just smiled at her and put the lunch box into her hand. "Wash it for me."
"I...I..." Xie Fei wanted to ask why you asked me to wash your own lunch box, but every time she said something, Lu Qingtang would take the opportunity to say a lot of things. She opened the lunch box while holding back her tears.
The lunch box was clean and contained an exquisite crystal hairpin.
Xie Fei's deer eyes widened slightly and she looked up at Lu Qingtang.
The better Lu Qingtang treated her, the more Xie Fei remembered what Sister Yaoyao had said to her: A man who doesn't respect your will is not a good person, a man who speaks sweet words to you is not a good person, and a man who keeps giving you small gifts as soon as you get to know him is not a good person either.
Lu Qingtang's eyes revealed a smile of confidence, and he said softly: "This hairpin is very beautiful. As soon as I saw it, I thought of you. You are not allowed to reject me."
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