Chapter 96 Toffee
Xingxing works in the convenience store.
Song Sui stayed in the store every day. Xing Xing tried to drive him away several times, but she couldn't get him away no matter what, so she just gave up.
Xingxing's partner Wang Erjiang is a hardworking and sincere young man, honest and introverted. Seeing Song Sui coming to the store every day and doing nothing but smiling at Xing Xing...
After Wang Erjiang observed Song Sui for a whole day, the next day, he found an opportunity to quietly pull Song Sui aside.
"Song Sui, let me tell you something."
Song Sui, "Impossible, I like Bai Xingxing, I will never let her go no matter what! Even if you are with Xingxing every day, you will never have any chance!"
——Why does Xingxing never say that she has a down-to-earth and hardworking male colleague?
Song Sui felt very relieved.
Wang Erjiang: …
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's like this, can you take over my shift for a few days? I want to go back home early. My daily salary is one dollar and twenty cents, I'll give you one dollar, okay?"
Song Sui's eyes suddenly sparkled, "Where is your hometown?"
"Bai County," Wang Erjiang said, "is not far from Song City. It only takes one day to get there by long-distance bus. I originally planned to wait until the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, when the store was closed, before going back, but..."
At this point, Wang Erjiang blushed a little, "I got a letter from home asking me to go back early to see you."
Song Sui immediately agreed, "Brother, that's no problem! I don't want your money, I'll give you one dollar a day..."
Wang Erjiang was stunned.
——Who is your brother? Just now I was guarding against him as if he were a love rival!
However, can you earn an extra dollar a day by not going to work?
This Song Sui is probably not a stupid person with a lot of money!
Wang Erjiang said quickly: "Brother, this is not right! If you help me take over the shift, I will give you my wages. This is only natural!"
Song Sui waved her hand nonchalantly, leaving it up to Wang Erjiang to pay her or not.
Even if I don’t give...
Hehehehe, he can finally accompany Xingxing behind the counter openly instead of sitting outside staring at Xingxing like a idiot!
Song Sui wanted so much that she couldn’t wait to laugh out loud!
On the same day, Wang Erjiang went to talk to his leader. Since Song Sui was only there to replace Wang Erjiang for three or four days, the leader had no objection, so Wang Erjiang took Song Sui to familiarize themselves with the work.
Xingxing is a salesperson, and Wang Erjiang is in charge of the warehouse, replenishment and sanitation.
But it is already the end of the year, and according to usual practice, the convenience store has to be closed. So every household would desperately stock up on supplies, and the convenience store's business was extremely good. Sometimes Wang Erjiang would even have to go to the counter to help.
It only took Song Sui about an hour to familiarize herself with Wang Erjiang's scope of work. But it took half a day to count the inventory with Wang Erjiang.
Fortunately, the store was not very large and the variety of items was not too many. Although it took some time, I managed to get a basic inventory.
As soon as Wang Erjiang finished handing over to Song Sui, he immediately rushed back to his brother and sister-in-law's house, packed a bag and left in a hurry...
Song Sui stayed in the convenience store and worked properly.
Xingxing is not the only salesperson in the store. There are a total of four positions, each working in two shifts. Song Sui is hardworking, smart, and quick to react. He is also determined to do a good job as a short-term job in order to get close to Xingxing... He is very enthusiastic towards every employee.
Soon, everyone liked him.
Only Xingxing was angry.
——Obviously, she is the group’s favorite!
Song Sui: Now you are also... I spoil you.
When the Chinese New Year comes, the best-selling items in the convenience store are various candies.
After all, other things like rice, flour, and oil had to be bought at the grain store, and cloth, clothes, and shoes had to be bought at the supply and marketing cooperative... The small items in the canteen could be exchanged for various tickets, but cash was also accepted...
Of course, it is the most convenient for the residents of the compound.
Especially now that the Chinese New Year is approaching, every household has to prepare candies, but once a batch is bought, they are eaten up by the children before they can be stored until the Chinese New Year, so we have to buy more.
All kinds of candies and pastries are the best-selling ones.
Xing Xing and several colleagues checked the inventory of various candies and felt that the stocks might not last until the 29th day of the lunar year, so they immediately reported to their female leader.
The female leader went to the warehouse to check and then directed people to purchase goods.
But the news we got from the supplementary food company was -
No more stock.
When we got home for dinner, Xingxing mentioned it at the table.
Taotao heard this but didn't say anything.
After having dinner at her parents' house, she took a walk in the yard... She and Song Zhi went to the store where Xingxing worked and bought some biscuits and candies to take home.
Taotao changed into her home clothes, found the milk powder, white sugar, peanuts, red dates, dried sweet potatoes, raisins, walnuts, etc. at home, took out the biscuits and candies she had just bought, put on an apron, and busied herself humming a little tune.
Song Zhi waited for her in the living room for a while.
——Usually at this time of year, Song Sui is not at home. He will go to look after Xing Xing and will not come back until it is time to go to bed at night. Taotao and Song Zhi would sit on the sofa in the living room, hugging the fire box and covering themselves with a small quilt, and study together.
Song Zhi waited for a long time but no one showed up. He came to the kitchen, glanced at her, and asked, "Make some snacks?"
Taotao smiled and said, "Didn't Xingxing say that the candies in the store are almost sold out? I'll try to make some milk peanut candies and milk red date candies to see if I can succeed."
Song Zhi frowned, "It takes time."
——He didn’t think that making money was bad, but he preferred her to teach Cheng Zhujun and Wang Xuepeng ways to make money, so that they could get out of poverty and Taotao could also become rich.
He hoped that she could focus on studying.
Tao Tao said with a smile: "I'll try it first. If it works, I'll teach Lian Chunmei to do it. She's quite pitiful, mainly because her child is too young and sick!"
So that's how it is.
Song Zhi was relieved.
While Taotao was preparing, he went to the living room to get a charcoal basin, added two pieces of charcoal, and cracked the kitchen window a little to let in some air...
Taotao continued to do the preparations with a smile on her face, and directed Song Zhi to help her crack a dozen walnuts.
Next, Taotao crushed the biscuits into crumbs; pitted the red dates and chopped them; soaked the dried sweet potatoes in hot water and chopped them into small pieces; chopped the raisins into small pieces, fried the walnut kernels and peanut kernels with salt, crushed them with the back of a knife, and put them all in small bowls.
The preparations have been made.
Taotao took out a pen and paper to record the amounts of various ingredients, and then started making milk candy!
The process of making candy is nothing more than using a clean small pot, putting the basic ingredients in it: lard, white sugar, milk powder, milk candy, and biscuit crumbs. Wait until the lard melts the white sugar and milk candy and turns into syrup, then add crushed red dates, crushed raisins, crushed sweet potato, crushed walnut kernels, crushed peanut kernels, etc.
Finally, pour into a soup bowl and let cool.
Making candy is something you can't rush.
When you are in a hurry, you get confused.
When Taotao slowly made five flavors of milk candy, but the recipes of each of the five combinations were different, some had more milk powder, some had more white sugar, some had more biscuit crumbs, and some had more lard...
By the time she finished her work, it was already half past ten in the evening.
Song Sui happened to open the door and came in. As soon as she entered the yard, she took a deep breath and asked loudly, "Wow, it smells so good! Sister-in-law, what did you do? Why are you so sweet!"
Taotao quickly grabbed him to try the candies, "Song Sui, come to the kitchen and help me try out these candies to see if they taste good."
Song Sui entered the kitchen.
I saw that all the soup bowls and large bowls at home were filled with sweet sugar cubes, and they were all soaked in pots and basins to cool...
Taotao found a piece of clean white gauze, poured the cooled and solidified sugar in the soup bowl onto the white gauze, wrapped the white gauze, and used the back of a knife to knock the large lump of solidified sugar into pieces. Then she opened the white gauze and picked out three small pieces of candy. She ate one herself and let Song Zhi and Song Sui eat one each.
This is a piece of raisin candy.
The rich milk flavor and biscuit crumbs make the candy not taste hard, but very crisp. Just a light bite will break it into pieces. The extreme sweetness and the slight sourness of raisins...
Taotao thought it was delicious!
Song Zhi frowned, "It's too sweet, so sickening."
Taotao didn't want to listen to his advice.
——Song Zhi only eats three meals a day. Outside of the three meals, he doesn’t eat any snacks. He will eat a little fruit, but he especially doesn’t like sweets. His opinion can be completely ignored.
Song Sui praised: "Sister-in-law, you are really good... I can eat ten kilograms of such delicious raisin milk candy by myself!"
Taotao asked him, "Is it too sweet? Is it too hard? Are the raisins cut into this size? Or are they cut a little too finely..."
Taotao and Song Sui tried all kinds of candies and collected their opinions.
The next morning, Taotao and Song Zhi took the candy to their parents' house and asked the whole family to try it and asked for their opinions...
Finally, she packed up each of the candies that the family had voted for with the highest ratings, got on her bike and headed to the train station.
Lian Chunmei is still at the train station.
But she no longer sets up a stall, holds up cardboard, or complains about her grievances.
She carried little Niuniu on her back and kept asking the travelers pouring out of the train station, "Sister-in-law, do you need help carrying your luggage? I have a shoulder pole and a basket, and I'll carry any luggage for you... I'll charge you five cents... Hey, don't go, three cents! I'll help you carry it for three cents..."
Taotao parked her bike and ran over to call her, "Lian Chunmei!"
Lian Chunmei turned around and saw Bai Taotao.
She had only met Bai Taotao once before.
It was not until two days ago when Wang Huimin, Wang Huixin and Zhang Sifeng were arrested that the police called her over, firstly to let her know about Wang Huimin's situation, and secondly to also find her to know about Wang Huimin's situation...
Lian Chunmei then realized that Zhang Chun and Bai Taotao's family had already done a lot for her when she was completely unaware!
——Bai Nansheng mistakenly thought that Zhang Chun and Wang Huimin were colluding to sell Lian Chunmei and Xiao Niuniu, so he beat Zhang Chun up... Fortunately, Zhang Chun was kind-hearted and forgave Bai Nansheng.
——The buns Taotao gave her when they first met
——Plus the ten yuan that Xingxing and Song Sui handed her that time…
Lian Chunmei is very grateful to Zhang Chun and the Bai family.
Seeing Taotao at this moment, she quickly stepped out of the crowd and asked with a smile: "Taotao, you are here? Are you here to pick someone up?"
Tao Tao said with a smile: "No, come on, sit next to me."
So Lian Chunmei carried Xiao Niuniu on her back and followed Taotao to a green tree nearby, and they sat on the flower bed.
Lian Chunmei put down the little girl from her back.
The little girl held onto the tree and walked carefully on the circular flower base, playing around in circles.
Taotao chatted with Lian Chunmei for a while, then asked her, "What are your plans?"
Lian Chunmei said: "Today is the twenty-fourth day of the lunar year, and the Chinese New Year will come in a few days. I want to make more money during these few days, and then take little Niuniu back to my hometown..."
As they were talking, someone called them from a distance -
"Bai Taotao! Lian Chunmei! Little girl!"
Bai Taotao and Lian Chunmei turned their heads together and saw that the person coming was Zhang Chun.
Zhang Chun ran over with a grunt, "Hey, I found a bargain! Look... this fried sweet potato cake, it's free! I kept looking at the fried food seller, and when there were only three cakes left on his stall, I rushed over and said I'd buy one for two cents, but he said he'd give me three for five cents, but I refused! Hehehe, in the end I told him I'd buy two for three cents, and let him give me the remaining one, I won't eat it, I'll give it to little girl!"
Then he urged Lian Chunmei, "Hey Lian Chunmei, hurry up... say hello to the sweet potato cake seller first. He's still looking at me! He said that if I lied to him, he would never sell sweet potato cakes to me again!"
Bai Taotao was amused and confused by Zhang Chun's materialism and shrewdness.
Lian Chunmei scolded, "Do I want you to beg for food for me? You are such a disgusting person!"
Having said that, she quickly stood up and bowed to the fifty-year-old man who was selling fried sweet potato cakes in the distance.
The old man then pushed the wheelbarrow away with a smile.
Zhang Chun carefully blew cool a piece of fried sweet potato cake and handed it to Xiao Niuniu.
Little Niuniu looked at the bright red, fragrant and crispy fried sweet potato cakes and licked her lips greedily, but she was unwilling to reach out to take them and even secretly glanced at Lian Chunmei.
Lian Chunmei sighed, "Little girl, you should thank Uncle Zhang."
Little girl said weakly: "Thank you, Uncle Zhang!"
"You're welcome!" Zhang Chun couldn't help but soften his voice.
The girl took the sweet potato cake and started eating it with relish.
Zhang Chun still had two sweet potato cakes, so he politely asked Bai Taotao and Lian Chunmei if they wanted some.
Both of them shook their heads.
Zhang Chun started eating by himself.
Tao Tao continued to ask Lian Chunmei, "If you go back to your hometown, how will you treat Xiao Niuniu's illness? By the way, what is Xiao Niuniu's illness?"
Lian Chunmei sighed: "She has this problem since her mother's womb. She was born with amblyopia. Her eyes are not good. She is afraid of light and cannot shed tears. Her eyes hurt when she cries. I have taken her to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor said that it is best to intervene and correct it before the age of three. There is still hope of regaining sight... If it is delayed for too long, it may be..."
Bai Taotao was stunned.
Zhang Chun also felt that the sweet potato cakes were no longer fragrant, so he asked, "How old is Xiao Niuniu this year?"
Lian Chunmei's tears fell from her eyes without any warning, "She will be three years old in the spring..."
Zhang Chun was anxious, "We can't wait any longer! How much will it cost to treat this disease?"
Lian Chunmei said: "The doctor said that the conservative estimate is that it will cost about 200 yuan... and this is a staged treatment, at least five stages are required."
Zhang Chun exclaimed, "One thousand yuan?!"
Lian Chunmei sobbed, "So the Wang family is unwilling to pay the money. They would rather watch my daughter slowly go blind..."
Zhang Chun was so anxious that he was spinning around, "Oh my God, where can I earn a thousand yuan?"
Taotao saw Xiaoniuniu finished eating the fried sweet potatoes and started licking the oil off her fingers.
She took out the small bag she brought with her, untied it, took out the lunch box filled with candies, opened the lid, and let Xiao Niuniu pick up the candies to eat. "Xiao Niuniu, try the milk candies made by Auntie. Each piece of candy tastes different!"
When the little girl smelled the sweet and fragrant milk, her lifeless eyes instantly widened and were filled with desire.
The little girl blinked her beautiful eyes and looked at her mother again, her eyes full of questions:
Mom, can I have some candy?
Lian Chunmei looked at her daughter's lively eyes, her heart aching, and she said softly, "You want to eat Auntie Taotao's candy, how do you say it?"
"Thank you Aunt Taotao!" little Niuniu said in a baby voice.
Looking at such a cute and weak child, Taotao felt a sudden pain in her heart, "You're welcome."
Little Niuniu picked up a piece of candy, put it in her mouth and licked it. Her eyes lit up and she said sweetly, "It's delicious!"
Taotao also smiled and said to Lian Chunmei: "Sister Chunmei, you can try it too. I came to you today just for this candy..."
Since Taotao said so, Lian Chunmei picked up a piece of candy, ate it, and praised: "Wow, this candy is delicious! It's fragrant and sweet. I have never eaten this kind of candy..." Then she looked at the appearance of the candy and asked, "Did you make it yourself?"
Taotao brought the lunch box to Zhang Chun.
Zhang Chun took a piece of candy and ate it without hesitation. "This is really delicious!"
Taotao smiled.
——No one in the world can resist the sweetness of sugar.
Except Song Zhi.
Taotao also picked up a piece of candy with a smile, put it in her mouth and said, "It's like this, my sister Xingxing works in the canteen in the municipal party committee compound. The New Year is coming soon, and candy is the easiest to sell. But the candy in their canteen is going to be sold out tonight, and they can't get any more!"
"Today is the twenty-fourth day of the lunar year, and their store is open until the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year... In other words, they have five days to sell candy... Sister Chunmei, would you like to consider making candy bars to sell?"
Lian Chunmei said without thinking: "Consider it!"
Zhang Chun also said at the same time: "Consider it! Why not? The people in the municipal party committee are all rich, and they are willing to spend money to buy things for their children, especially during the New Year! Bai Taotao, count me in on this matter, okay? I will do the hard work... and all the money I earn will belong to Lian Chunmei!"
"How can that be possible!" Lian Chunmei said hurriedly, "You have put in the work, you deserve to be rewarded... Oh, what am I thinking! I, I don't even have the capital to start a business!"
Bai Taotao smiled and said, "I have the capital! How about this, the three of us become partners? I will provide all the capital and I will be responsible for the sales. The two of you will be responsible for making the candies and packaging them. The money earned will be divided equally among the three of us. How do you think?"
Lian Chunmei, "How can that be? What right do I have to share it equally with you two? Taotao, just give me your share of the salary..."
Zhang Chun said, "Just divide it into three parts! My share will go to Lian Chunmei!" Suddenly remembering that Lian Chunmei was also a woman with a strong sense of self-esteem, he quickly changed his words, "No, I won't give my money to Lian Chunmei. I'll use it to treat Xiao Niuniu's illness! If I can't save up 200 yuan, I'll keep it with Lian Chunmei first. When I save up enough, I'll take Xiao Niuniu to see a doctor..."
Lian Chunmei was anxious, "No, no, no! This won't do. I, I can't take advantage of you!"
Tao Tao took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Chun, "These are the recipes for the candies, you have to keep them."
Zhang Chun took it and examined it carefully.
Tao Tao continued, "To make this candy, you need a clean iron pot, a coal stove that can make fire, a clean mold box, preferably a large square tin plate, and then you have to buy oil paper and hemp rope, spend time cutting the oil paper into small pieces, and cut the hemp rope into short pieces, to wrap the candy..."
"Wait!" Zhang Chun asked, "You mean, these candies have to be wrapped piece by piece? Isn't it the kind where you just weigh as much as someone wants?"
Taotao smiled and said, "Right! Didn't you also say that people living in the municipal party committee compound have money? So what if I sell this candy a little more expensive than the White Rabbit milk candy? Do you think this candy doesn't taste as good as the White Rabbit milk candy?"
Zhang Chun immediately said: "Then I think this must be better than White Rabbit!"
Tao Tao continued, "I also want you to work hard on the oil paper for wrapping the candies... Let's go buy some flower paper and cut out small characters for peace, reunion, health, etc. If it's too complicated and takes too much time, you can cut them into small flowers of different shapes. The main purpose is to bring good luck and to distinguish the types of candies..."
Zhang Chun immediately asked, "Have you calculated the cost price? And the selling price? How much can you make from this pound of candy?"
Tao Tao said, "That depends on you. The recipe has the amount of sugar cubes and the ratio of the various ingredients. You should know everything else now... You need to run some errands and buy everything, then I can set the price."
As she spoke, Taotao took out three hundred yuan and handed it to Zhang Chun.
Zhang Chun stared at the thick stack of Great Unity with his eyes wide open.
"You, you..." Zhang Chun said to Bai Taotao excitedly, "Aren't you afraid that I will run away with the money? It's obvious, it's obvious that I... am a bad guy! A second-rate scoundrel!"
Taotao smiled.
She couldn't help but think of the time when her second brother beat up Zhang Chun, and how Wang Huixin paid Zhang Chun to follow her; Wang Huimin also came to Zhang Chun to ask about the kidnapper...
Isn’t it all because Zhang Chun has an ugly face?
But, can one stamp a person’s life based solely on his appearance?
Tao Tao said seriously: "If you really ran away with my money, I will report you to the police and make you a wanted criminal, a real bad guy! But Zhang Chun, I believe you are a good person!"
Zhang Chun was extremely excited. "Oh my God... This is the first time someone trusts me so much! Oh, this is three hundred dollars! It's enough to treat little girl's illness once!"
Taotao glanced at Lian Chunmei and said to Zhang Chun, "No, this is my money. I worked very hard to save it... Sister Chunmei wants to treat Xiao Niuniu, so she should use the money she earned honestly!"
"So Sister Chunmei, let's do business together!" Taotao said.
Lian Chunmei looked at the three hundred yuan in Zhang Chun's hand, her eyes full of desire, "I, I..."
"Stop me me me!"
Zhang Chun said, "This is Taotao's kindness! Besides, for the sake of the child, you should not be stubborn! And...look at Taotao, she is thin and delicate, of course she can't do hard work and stay up late like us! So, she put up the capital and she earns money lying down, we don't have the capital, so we earn money by running! Can you run fast?"
Lian Chunmei nodded stupidly.
"Then it's settled!" Zhang Chun said happily, "Well, I live alone, and I have a coal stove, coal briquettes, and an iron pot at home... Let's go to my house first, and then I'll go shopping. You two can make some preparations first?"
Taotao readily agreed.
At that moment, Taotao and Lian Chunmei went to Zhang Chun's house together.
Zhang Chun’s house is actually just a shed on the street.
It looks messy and dirty from the outside, but the house is exceptionally clean and tidy.
It was a little small, about thirteen or fourteen square meters, with a single bed, an old table, a chair, two suitcases for clothes under the bed, and a washbasin rack in the corner with two washbasins, a spittoon, a bucket, and a large ceramic jar filled with water. That was all.
Zhang Chun asked Tao Tao, "Can I borrow your bicycle?"
Taotao threw the key to him and said, "Go to my house tomorrow and bring Song Zhi's bicycle over."
——Song Zhi’s bicycle is a 28-ton load-bearing type, which can carry more and heavier things. Her bicycle is a women's one, very light and easy to ride but it can't carry much.
Zhang Chun responded, and then said to Tao Tao and Lian Chunmei: "You two can order whatever you want here, it's okay, anyway, this is all I have, and it's not worth much!"
Having said this he hurried away.
Little Niuniu climbed onto the bed on her own initiative and said to Lian Chunmei, "Mommy goes to sleep, Little Niuniu goes to sleep."
Lian Chunmei felt a little uncomfortable.
——She has been wandering around the train station for three months, sleeping on the streets. People nearby knew about her and Xiao Niuniu's life story, and they all felt sorry for her. The police and urban management pretended not to see her when they saw her... They even often gave her some steamed buns to eat. Sometimes when it rained, the waiters in the ticket hall of the train station would call her into the hall to hide...
She appreciates the kindness of the world, but it is also true that she and her children have suffered a lot in the past few months.
It has been a long time since Xiao Niuniu had a good meal, a bath, or a proper sleep in bed.
But--
Lian Chunmei said softly, "Little girl, you can't get on the bed. That's uncle's bed... We haven't had a good bath for a long time, and our clothes are dirty. We can't dirty someone else's bed."
Tao Tao said, "Sister Chunmei, I'm going to go out for a while."
There is a black market next to the train station.
Taotao used the cash to exchange some tickets with a scalper, went to the supply and marketing cooperative next door and bought an enamel washbasin, towel, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a wooden comb, and even two sets of women's underwear and two sets of autumn clothes for small children, and then returned to Zhang Chun's house.
Tao Tao said to Lian Chunmei, "Sister Chunmei, there is still time. I am here too. I will help you watch. You and Xiao Niuniu can take a shower and wash your hair here! When Zhang Chun comes back with some shopping, you can make candies cleanly. Otherwise, you will be dirty all over, and I am afraid that the things you make will be unhygienic."
After saying that, Taotao moved a chair and went to guard the door.
Lian Chunmei subconsciously wanted to decline...
Hearing Taotao say this, she blushed and had to agree.
There was a coal stove burning coal balls at the door of Zhang Chun's house, and a pot of hot water on top of it. In addition, the water tank in the house was also full... Lian Chunmei immediately took the hot water and used the new set of daily necessities bought by Taotao to take a bath and wash her daughter's hair.
Little Niuniu was making a fuss about wanting to go to bed, so Chunmei had no choice but to let her daughter go to sleep.
Zhang Chun finally came back carrying a lot of bags.
Lian Chunmei was so embarrassed that she blushed and said to Zhang Chun, "Uncle Zhang, I'm so sorry, little Niuniu... fell asleep in your bed."
Zhang Chun said nonchalantly, "Let her sleep! If she sleeps, we don't have to worry about her! Hey, Taotao, come and check, are these things okay?"
Taotao ran over to take a look.
——Zhang Chun is really a thoughtful person. The things he brought back were not in large quantities, but the varieties were very complete, even large square tin plates!
As soon as Taotao saw the shape of the large tin plate, she knew that Zhang Chun must have borrowed it from that school or a large collective canteen.
Zhang Chun was quite proactive. "Taotao, shall we try making one now?"
Taotao nodded.
She personally demonstrated to Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei how to fry peanuts over low heat, how to crush them, how to use the lowest heat on the coal stove to melt lard, and then add sugar and milk powder, what the ratio was, and when to mix the crushed biscuits and peanuts into the sugar, and then pour it into the mold...
Taotao has always had a lot of ideas, but her practical ability is not very good.
But Lian Chunmei can do much more.
After Taotao demonstrated it once, Lian Chunmei knew how to do it.
She stumbled over a pot of raisin candy…
The craft gradually became more sophisticated.
At this time, Taotao and Zhang Chun were trying to use a kitchen knife to cut the first pot of cooled toffee, then tap it and cut it into small pieces. During this process, they must be weighed constantly to ensure that every twenty-five candies weigh exactly one pound.
Next, I was busy cutting kraft paper, hemp rope and red paper...
Lian Chunmei came over to help again.
However, after much discussion, the three of them felt that cutting red paper was too tiring. Finally, they came up with a compromise: when using the cut oil paper to wrap the candy, they designed five different ways of wrapping it, and finally rolled it up with a small strip of red paper and tied a knot on the red paper with a hemp rope.
The first batch of toffee is finally successfully launched!
Zhang Chun reported the cost price of this and that to Taotao. Taotao calculated that the cost of every ten kilograms of packaged candy was about three yuan and fifty cents.
Taotao thought about it and decided on the selling price. "The fruit candies in the supply and marketing cooperative are one cent each, and White Rabbit ones are three cents for two, so our milk candies will retail for four cents each! A full pound of milk candies is about twenty-five, so we sell them in a whole pack, one dollar and ten cents a pack!"
Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei widened their eyes in shock.
——The cost is 35 cents, and the selling price is 1.1 cents?
Tao Tao continued, "We have five flavors of candy in total, right? Then the pure flavor ones are 1.10 yuan a pack, and the mixed five flavors are 1 yuan a pack!"
Lian Chunmei asked, "Then everyone should buy the one dollar pack, right?"
Taotao smiled and said, "We have to give people room to choose!"
——There will always be people who particularly dislike this or that thing, and there are also people who choose what they like because they don’t care about that dime.
Tao Tao then explained, "Besides, the profit is not just shared by the three of us. We also have to give a share to the canteen!"
Lian Chunmei and Zhang Chun both breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Chun: "That's good, otherwise I would think I'm a capitalist!"
Lian Chunmei: "I don't think this is very tiring. I would feel anxious if I made too much money..."
Taotao smiled and thought that these two were indeed a sincere couple.
At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly called out "Taotao".
Taotao recognized it as Song Zhi's voice.
I looked at my watch again - it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon!
Zhang Chun ran over and opened the door, "Song Zhi? Come in! Oops, did I delay Taotao's lunch? Sorry... We are discussing starting a candy business together."
Song Zhi said "hmm" and went into the house.
He's been here once already. Originally I only knew that Taotao came to look for Lian Chunmei, but there was no one at the train station. He thought about it, asked people along the way and found Zhang Chun's house. Before he knocked on the door, he smelled a strong milky aroma, and then heard Taotao, Lian Chunmei, and Zhang Chun's voices through the door. The three of them were chattering...
Song Zhi thought: It's already twelve o'clock, and since they are making candies, they definitely don't have pots and coal stoves to cook.
So he rode his bicycle back to the compound, said hello to his family, took his empty lunch box to the Municipal Party Committee canteen to get a few meals, and then had them delivered.
Song Zhi didn't say much. He put down the four meals and asked Tao Tao, "When will you finish your work?"
Taotao thought for a moment and said, "I'll go back around three o'clock... Do you want to eat with us here, or go back and eat?"
Song Zhi said: "I'll go back and eat. My parents left some food for me."
Taotao asked him to carry the ten kilograms of milk candy that had been made first. "Here are ten kilograms of milk candy. You can take five kilograms to Xingxing, keep the other five kilograms at home, give two kilograms to mom, and two kilograms to sister-in-law. Let them take them to the workplace and give them to others to eat... and the remaining one kilogram is for Xiaodouzi to eat."
Then he told Song Zhi: what flavor the candies in each package taste like and how the prices are determined.
Song Zhi agreed and went home with the candy.
Taotao shared the food brought by Song Zhi with Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei.
The food in the Municipal Party Committee canteen has always been known for being economical and affordable, but the taste is a matter of personal preference.
Taotao didn't like to eat much, so she put the rice and dishes that suited her appetite on the lid of her lunch box early, and asked Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei to share the food in her lunch box if it was not enough.
On this side, she ate in a bad mood and sighed because the rice grains were too dry and hard and the vegetables were overcooked and turned yellow; on the other side, Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei were eating rice like crazy. Oh my god, there are meat dishes! There is so much white rice too…it turns out that eating all-you-can-eat white rice is such a happy feeling!
Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei finished their meals and, after asking Taotao, they shared the portion that she could not finish.
Little Niuniu might not have slept in a bed for a long time. After taking a hot bath, changing into clean clothes, and covering herself with a soft quilt, the little girl slept soundly with rosy cheeks... Even when Chunmei went over to call her to get up and eat, she refused.
Lian Chunmei had no choice but to let her do what she wanted.
After Taotao and the other two finished lunch, they made another pot of toffee.
But this time, Taotao did not participate in the whole process. She just stared at her watch to time and calculate how much Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei could make in a day... because this was related to how much raw materials needed to be purchased.
According to Tao Tao, "If you buy too much raw material and can't sell it, it will be troublesome. If you buy too little, you won't make any money... You have to get it just right, not too much, not too little."
Zhang Chun and Lian Chunmei cooperated more and more skillfully and made two more pots in the afternoon.
At this time, Xingxing's anxious voice sounded outside Zhang Chun's house -
"Fourth sister! Fourth sister, something bad has happened! Those candies..."
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