Volume 1: Reborn in the 1980s, selling lunch boxes with my mother Chapter 88 The Awkward Old Man
The two aunts would come to the store to help when they had time, but since they had decided to take over the kimchi business, they could no longer let Hu Qiongfang help them sell it.
Isn't that bullying?
Oh, the things were sold by my sister-in-law for them, and they kept the money? That doesn't make sense!
The two sisters-in-law discussed it and decided that instead of taking turns every day, they would just take turns setting up the stall at the sister-in-law's place for a week. While selling kimchi, they could also help the sister-in-law at the same time.
Come to think of it, who would have thought that a stall on the side of the road selling boxed lunches without even a storefront would have such good business?
The price of the lunch boxes sold by the sister-in-law is fixed, two yuan for meat and one yuan for vegetarian. Every day, she also sells braised pork chops, bean curd sheets, eggs and the like together. Although she has never seen the account book, Chen Xiaohong estimated that the sister-in-law can sell three to four hundred lunch boxes, plus two large pots of braised dishes, just for lunch.
After deducting the costs, I can earn at least over 100 yuan just from the lunch box .
It is profitable, but it is also really hard work.
Although they sell lunch boxes, the mother and daughter often have to get up before dawn because the new house has not been built yet, so they still live in the village. After getting up in the morning, they have to take care of the two pigs, chickens, ducks and geese at home, and pick vegetables from the vegetable garden.
The vegetables in their own garden were not enough, so they had to go to other people's homes to buy some. If they bought vegetables directly in town, the mother and daughter could sleep in, but the price of vegetables in town was almost two or three times that in the village, and Hu Qiongfang was reluctant to spend this money.
I can only work hard and collect vegetables door to door.
After harvesting the vegetables, the mother and daughter had to catch the earliest bus to the new house.
First, unload the vegetables to be used that day, pick and wash them clean. Assuming that the morning market will soon be over, go buy fresh pork, bean curd sheets, dried tofu, etc. that will be used today.
For the whole morning, the mother and daughter were busy.
Hu Qiongfang was responsible for cutting and washing vegetables, cooking rice and steaming buns.
Jiang Tian is responsible for cooking the meat and vegetables to be sold at noon, and then stir-frying the vegetarian dishes when it is almost time for dinner.
In the meantime, you also need to take some time to prepare the braised pork ribs and stewed vegetables, put them in a large aluminum pot, cover it with a lid, and place it on a coal stove to simmer slowly.
Only in this way can the stewed pork chops and braised dishes be tasty.
Next comes the busiest time of the day, lunch.
Now there are more and more customers coming to "Sister Fang's Boxed Lunch" to eat, plus there are more than a dozen construction workers at home waiting to eat, so the mother and daughter are often busy from ten o'clock in the morning until almost one o'clock.
After all the lunch boxes are sold, I still have to wash the pots and dishes.
I can take a short break in the afternoon, but starting at three o'clock I'll be busy making steamed buns and porridge for dinner.
The two sisters-in-law thought about it and decided that when it was their turn to sell kimchi in the future, they would go earlier in the morning so that they could help wash the vegetables and so on.
On Sunday, my uncle's eldest cousin Hu Changming and cousin Hu Changmei came over to help. My two aunts also came to the store early to help, and the store suddenly had more staff.
Hu Qiongfang was a quick learner. In less than a week, she had almost mastered the dishes that her daughter was good at. Taking advantage of the weekend when there were people helping out in the store, Hu Qiongfang took out a pig's trotter and a big bluefish that she had bought early in the morning, and brought a jar of pickled vegetables made by Jiang Tian from the store, and taught her daughter how to make them.
"You haven't been to Hejiaao for a while. Ask your two aunts to come and help today. Why don't you go back and visit your grandparents?"
Needless to say, the "grandparents" Hu Qiongfang mentioned are of course He Xiangjun's parents.
Hu Qiongfang was of course reluctant to let her daughter be adopted out.
But she is a person who keeps her promises. Since she has agreed to let her daughter be Mr. He's granddaughter, she will not stop her daughter from getting close to him.
Jiang Tian was quite surprised.
"Mom, how did you know I was going to visit my grandparents today?"
Hu Qiongfang poked her with a finger in annoyance.
"You ran to your Aunt Wang's shop early this morning and asked her to leave you ten fried dough sticks and ten fried flower rolls. We have plenty of food at home. If you don't go to see Grandpa and Grandma He, who are you going to give the food to ?"
Jiang Tian chuckled.
When her family made money, her mother generously bought her a brand new Hiace bicycle. From now on, Jiang Tian can be considered a "car owner" of this era.
With the pig's trotters and herring hung on the handlebars and pickles and fried dough sticks and steamed buns placed in a bamboo basket at the back, Jiang Tian drove at full speed and arrived at the He family in time for lunch.
Mr. He was having a quarrel with his wife at home.
When Grandma He heard that Hu Qiongfang was selling boxed lunches at a stall on the provincial road, and that the mother and daughter often got up before dawn to help, she felt sorry for her granddaughter and wanted to go over to help. She had been doing housework all her life, and although she might not be able to do other things, she was no problem washing and cutting vegetables, and washing dishes.
Of course, Mr. He was reluctant to see his granddaughter suffer, but he was too proud to care about his reputation and wanted to wait for Jiang Tian to come to them for help.
Who would rush to help others?
The couple was having an argument when they heard their granddaughter's clear voice outside the door.
"Grandma! I'm back!"
This tone! It's as if this girl has always lived in this house.
Although Mr. He had a stern face, he was already beaming with joy in his heart.
Grandma He couldn't wait to go out to greet them.
Seeing Jiang Tian carrying lots of bags and stuff on her bicycle, she couldn't help but nag:
"It's not easy for your mother to earn money, why buy these things? We are two old people, and we can't chew these meats and vegetables. Take them back and eat them by yourselves!"
Jiang Tian didn't listen. He put down his things and rolled up his sleeves.
"Grandpa, grandma, please sit down. I'll go and stew some pig's trotters for you. I'm not bragging, but the cart drivers from other provinces all praise my cooking skills."
As he said this, he picked up the things and went into the kitchen.
Grandma He had no choice but to follow.
Grandpa He muttered a few words, and his legs reacted faster than his brain, and he followed involuntarily.
His granddaughter cooks while he lights the fire, no problem.
After entering the kitchen, Jiang Tian just put down her things when Grandma He wrung out a wet towel and asked her to wipe the sweat and dust off her face.
What a sin! Now the roads in the countryside are all dirt roads. When it rains, you get covered in mud, and when it is sunny, your face is covered in dust. Jiang Tian came back on a bicycle, and his face and hair were covered in dust.
So in those period dramas of later generations, men and women would invariably wear white shirts, ride bicycles, and ride romantically on the dirt roads in the countryside... Most of the screenwriters who could write such scenes were not from this era.
Anyone who had lived in the countryside in the 1980s would not be able to write such an exaggerated plot.
When you set out, your shirt may be white, but after riding along a dirt road, the snow-white shirt will be covered with a layer of dust.
If you are unlucky enough to have your hair greased up, well~ that would be another scene of social failure.
