Having the opportunity to work in the bureau's cafeteria is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Mancheng who comes from a small county in the northwest, this opportunity is no less than a carp leaping over the dragon's gate.
The next day, I got up early in the city. I hid in the bathroom and tidied up for a long time before I came out. My beard, which was not heavy to begin with, was clean shaven. I still wore the same old military trousers, but my upper body was changed into a clean one. The crisp white shirt makes him look more energetic.
Seeing Mancheng hurriedly preparing to go out, Yao Yuan quickly stopped him, took out a pair of leather shoes worn by his father from the back room, handed them over, and motioned for him to put them on.
Mancheng glanced at Yao Yuan gratefully, and without saying a word, he took off his old pair of rubber shoes that smelled bad and replaced them with Yao Dahai's pair of shiny three-joint shoes.
Yao Yuan looked up and down: "Well, that's right. There is a saying in Lao Pingcheng, which is 'Having no shoes on the soles of your feet means you're half poor'. People in the agency pay attention to appearance when looking at people, so don't be careless about your shoes."
Mancheng thanked him again and again, stepped on his clattering leather shoes, and went downstairs.
Yao Xiaohua'er's blessing came from behind: "Come on! Potato!"
The three of them chatted until late last night. When they heard that Mancheng was also a chef, Yao Yuan suddenly became interested and began to inquire about the details of his work in the army.
There is no way, cook soldiers, this is a profession that has been deified in later generations. It is said that the cook soldiers of our army can cook with a frying spoon and fight with a steel gun. Their military skills are particularly outstanding, and their personal abilities are not inferior to those of those who Special Forces.
In a competition, there was a legend that two cooks passed by the command center of the blue side of the exercise while delivering meals and made a meal of the commander.
If this is the case, then the cook soldier is an incredible profession, and he must be regarded as the number one martial artist in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, after finally getting some information from Mancheng's mouth, I found that that was not the case at all.
First of all, Mancheng's troops are only responsible for guarding key national defense projects. They are not frontline combat troops at all. What's even more outrageous is that as a cook at the base, Mancheng's main job is to raise pigs. In addition to raising pigs, Besides pigs, the most common tasks in the kitchen are washing vegetables, chopping vegetables, and steaming steamed buns.
This soldier is a bit boring.
The so-called cooking soldiers have more opportunities to cook for pigs than for people. After three years of hard work as a soldier, they have learned nothing except raising pigs and steaming steamed buns.
It was more than a month before retiring that I was transferred back to the kitchen. Only then did I have the opportunity to stand in front of the stove and learn to cook seriously for a few days.
The experience of being a soldier in Mancheng made Yao Xiaohua sound pitiful, while Yao Yuan felt that his prospects for coming to Pingcheng to apply for a job this time might not be so optimistic.
A dignified cafeteria of a foreign language publishing bureau must have minimum requirements for chefs to join. Based on Mancheng's experience, even those who apply to be hired as helpers may not be qualified.
But this situation cannot be told directly to Mancheng. When Mancheng introduced the life in the small county where his family lived, it was simply too hard. It is located in the most inland area of the country, but the climate is still dry and rainless, so the locals are... Even daily drinking water was difficult. The opportunity to leave his miserable home and work in a big city was self-evident to Mancheng. He really couldn't dampen his enthusiasm at this time.
And Mancheng's honest and down-to-earth personality is also very popular. It can be seen that even Yao Xiaohuaer sincerely hopes that Mancheng's application this time will have a good result.
After closing the door, the brother and sister went back to their respective rooms and were busy with their own things.
…
Before noon, I heard someone knocking at the door.
Yao Xiaohua'er ran over and rushed to open the door. The person who looked at the door was Xie Laozhao'er. Her pigtails fell down again. She said hello perfunctorily and went back to her own room.
"Yuan'er! Something big happened to our family this time. My grandma is seriously ill and is in the hospital. She needs money for surgery. My mother is planning to sell the house again!" As soon as Xie Laozhaoer entered the door, he didn't even wait to sit down, but he started talking. The ground fell outward.
Yao Yuan was startled: "What's going on? Didn't you tell auntie? Your bungalow will be demolished soon. It would be a huge loss to sell it now. Does auntie not believe it?"
"No, it's because my grandma was found to have a tumor in her stomach. She needs to have an operation as soon as possible. The operation fee will cost at least 70,000 yuan, and the family really can't raise it." Xie Laozhao'er was a little downcast.
It had been agreed that this small courtyard would not be sold even if it was not demolished, and would be left to him, the eldest son of the family. Unexpectedly, something like this happened again, and the house he was about to get was about to be lost. . But there was no other way. The money for medical treatment and life-saving had to be scraped together, even if it was through selling iron. That was my own grandmother.
Yao Yuan smacked his lips, digesting the information in Xie Laozhao'er's words: "Then have you asked your family? How much is left to get enough?"
"The doctor said that the hospitalization fee, surgery fee, and medicine fee are estimated to be at least 70,000 yuan. Now the family can only save 40,000 yuan if they save money, and there is still at least 30,000 yuan left!"
"When will this money be used? It won't be right away?" Yao Yuan asked thoughtfully.
Xie Laozhao'er's eyes flashed and he looked at Yao Yuan: "It's not that urgent. I guess it can be delayed for about a month. Now that the hospital bills have been paid, it will take time to arrange the surgery."
Yao Yuan nodded, and Xie Laozhao'er looked at Yao Yuan with more eager eyes: "That's what I think. Once that house is sold, it will never be there again. If we work hard during this period, we can turn it into a house." If I increase my cooking sales, I can make up a little bit. If I can make up a little bit here, I can go home and discuss it with my mother. Even if I ask them to borrow some more from somewhere, I won’t have to sell the house, right?"
Yao Yuan then nodded. Xie Laozhao'er's idea was very right. Treating illnesses and saving lives should not be delayed. Selling the house to raise money was the last step and should not be left until it was absolutely necessary. Fortunately, we still have some time. Since we are short of money, go to the streets to earn money. This is the real deal.
"But have you ever thought about it, even if we work hard and increase sales to 200 bowls a day, the profit will only be around 20,000 yuan after a month, and it's still not enough?" Yao Yuan stared at Xie Laozhao'er's face. Eyes asked.
"Twenty thousand yuan is a lot! If we can make a profit of 20,000 yuan, can I get a share of 7,000 yuan? Even if it is less than 7,000 yuan, even if it is enough for 5,000 yuan! As a son and a student, I can If I can scrape together 5,000 yuan, I dare to talk to my mother and ask them to think of another way, so I can't sell the house!" Xie Laozhaoer said confidently.
Then he added: "Of course, if you can't raise enough in the end, this shabby yard will be sold. At worst, I can buy it back when I make money. Anyway, I can't delay my grandma's medical treatment."
Yao Yuan clapped his hands: "Okay, as long as you say this, it will be fine as long as you don't feel tired! I don't have anything to use the money for. I will make money later. You can use it for emergencies first. Hong Yu's I guess the situation is similar. As long as we sell well during this period, I can make up the difference of 30,000 yuan for you!"
After getting the right words from Yao Yuan, Xie Laozhao'er's face immediately turned from gloomy to clear, and he rubbed his hands excitedly: "Don't be afraid if you are tired, I am responsible for staying up late every night, and I will cook two hundred bowls of stewed stew. Don’t close the stall!”
Yao Yuan also felt very pleased: "You said that selling braised pork was just a joke, but now it can help the family so much, I didn't expect it!"
Xie Laozhao'er nodded in agreement: "But, Yuan'er, why don't you come home with me and tell your family first that you saved up for selling braised pork? I'm afraid of telling them alone." They don’t believe it. Don’t look back. We are still working hard here. The house has been sold over there, so our hard work will be in vain.”
What Xie Laozhao'er said makes sense. With such a big thing going on in the family and such a large amount of money, no parent would make a decision based on just a word from their child, unless it was about the current operation of the braised pork stall. The situation and expected future income must be explained clearly and clearly.
Yao Yuan stood up: "Okay, when you go to the grocery store later to buy groceries, you call your mother out, and we will talk to her together. But first, tell us what we will eat for lunch. Xiaohua'er and I can now Still hungry.”
Before Xie Laozhao could answer, there was another knock on the door.
The little flower ran to the door and opened it. At the door, a young man wearing three-jointed leather shoes and a white shirt stood there dejectedly.
Xiao Hua'er stared at Mancheng with wide eyes: "What's wrong? Is your application not going well?"
Mancheng shook his head and said nothing.
Yao Yuan hurriedly greeted him: "What's wrong with Mancheng? What's the situation? Come in first and let's talk!"
"It was all going well at first. People heard that I came from the army and they welcomed me, but then a leader came and insisted that I try cooking two dishes." Mancheng spoke in a low voice. Just suffered a blow.
Yao Yuan asked: "Are you still trying the food? You didn't say you were applying for a job as a helper?"
"I told you, my introducer also helped to speak, but the leader refused to do it. He must be a cook for three years, and he must be very capable. He insisted on letting me show my skills." Mancheng looked at him with a look on his face. I felt even more uncomfortable.
Ha, showing off your hands? Let Mancheng show them how to raise pigs?
Xiao Hua'er raised her head and asked anxiously: "Then have you cooked for them?"
"The boss asked me to stir-fry some shredded potatoes and some kind of pork belly for them. I know how to shred potatoes, but I don't know what pork belly is. How can I fry it for them?" At this point, Mancheng Yuan's face turned into a few faces. His organs were almost all pressed together, and he was about to cry.
"Hey, what's pork belly? That's called sweet and sour pork! It's the most popular Cantonese dish outside now." Yao Yuan explained involuntarily.
Xiao Hua'er became even more anxious: "What about the end? What do you say in the end?"
People all over the city were crying: "Their leader asked me if I would like to go to the bureau's production base to raise pigs!"
