In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

Chen Wei stared at the book "Selected Cantonese Dishes" in his hand, his brows furrowed into a knot.

The book was filled with a dazzling array of recipes, but none of them were ones he could afford.

Steamed grouper requires fresh sea fish, slow-cooked soup requires dried scallops, Sichuan peppercorns, and cordyceps flowers, and poached chicken requires top-quality three-yellow chicken. Every dish looks like it could win a championship, but every dish leaves him short of money.

Although Jinshi is a coastal city, the only seafood it actually produces is ribbonfish. Apart from ribbonfish and mantis shrimp, which are sold in specific seasons, the people of Jinshi have never even seen other seafood.

Not to mention grouper.

And those ingredients commonly used by the people of Guangzhou, if Chenwei were in Guangzhou, he could buy some ready-made materials from farmers, such as this Sanhuang chicken, and he could just spend more money to bargain down the price.

But in Jinshi, this is something that even a city leader might not be able to afford, let alone a small steel mill worker like him.

Feeling his pockets, Chen Wei only had the little bit of salary he had saved up from before, plus the salary he had just received this month.

It only costs 32 yuan in total.

He still owes Wang Defa 38.6 yuan for the cutting board he bought, which means he is currently in a negative net worth.

Chen Wei rubbed his forehead in frustration, then closed the book and muttered to himself.

"This isn't cooking, it's burning money! Can't the competition organizers provide the ingredients?"

No, you really can't!

The competition rules were already written in the newspaper. In addition to actively registering, participants also had to bring their own ingredients and cooking utensils.

He wasn't worried about the stale smell of the kitchen utensils, but the ingredients were a real challenge for him.

Without ingredients, you can't analyze recipes; without recipes, what kind of competition is that!

The cicadas chirped noisily outside the window, while the electric fan hummed loudly in the kitchen.

The old-fashioned oscillating electric fan had a strong airflow; in the blink of an eye, it blew the book in Chen Wei's hands to turn a page, revealing a simple line drawing on the page.

The ugly sketch immediately drew Chen Wei's attention, and he tilted his head and frowned as he looked at it.

I suddenly noticed the recipe name marked on the drawing—Steamed Pork with Dried Plum Vegetables.

"hiss--"

Chen Wei was instantly tempted. He couldn't afford to make scallop and poached chicken, but surely he could make steamed pork?

Steamed pork with preserved mustard greens, if I remember correctly, this dish doesn't have very high requirements for ingredients; all you need is pork belly with skin and Huizhou preserved mustard greens.

and many more……

Huizhou salted plum vegetables...

Huizhou...

Chen Wei's previously held breath suddenly deflated, and he couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

It's said to be Huizhou salted plum vegetables, so it must only be available in Huizhou. Where can I buy it in Jinshi?

Huizhou specialties, and there's still a week until the competition. Does he really intend to make a trip to Huizhou just to buy a bag of salted plum vegetables? He doesn't even have nationally valid food coupons!

Frustrated and scratching his head, Chen Wei tossed the book aside and headed out of the kitchen toward the dormitory area.

Before he even left the kitchen, he nearly bumped into someone who was rushing into it.

Chen Wei was startled and instinctively jumped to the side to avoid the person. When he looked up, he saw Wu Xiaochun rushing in, covered in sweat and carrying a bulging cloth bag.

"Where have you been?" Chen Wei asked, frowning.

"Hehe!" Wu Xiaochun chuckled sheepishly, hiding the bag under the cutting board, and said mysteriously, "I went home to see my mother!"

Seeing the boy's mysterious expression, Chen Wei couldn't help but point to the cloth bag and ask, "What's this?"

"Hehe! It's nothing special! Brother Chen, do you want to try some? Although it's cheap, it's actually quite delicious if you clean it properly! You can stir-fry it with pork or steam it, it's really fragrant!"

Wu Xiaochun didn't intend to hide anything. He untied the knot in the cloth bag, revealing a dark brown patch inside.

Chen Wei frowned: "What's this?"

"This is called salted preserved mustard greens! It's a family recipe from my mother's family. My mother was originally from Huizhou, Brother Chen. Do you know Huizhou? It's really far from here! I've never actually been there, I've only heard my mother say that it rains a lot in the summer and the weather is very hot and humid..."

Chen Wei didn't hear any of Wu Xiaochun's rambling afterward; he only heard the name he had almost overlooked.

Salted preserved mustard greens!

This is dried plum vegetables!

It's also because he was too ignorant in his previous life that he never saw the true form of dried plum!

Seeing the bag full of dry, dark brown vegetable leaves piled up in the cloth bag, Chen Wei could hardly contain his joy and slapped Wu Xiaochun on the shoulder.

"Brother! This thing of yours is requisitioned!"

"Huh?" Wu Xiaochun was still rambling on and on, and didn't react for a moment. He subconsciously nodded.

The moment he nodded, Chen Wei pounced like a tiger and snatched the cloth bag away unopened.

"No! Leave some for me! This much can make so many dishes, you can't eat this directly!" Wu Xiaochun quickly chased after him.

Chen Wei didn't care about any of that; he picked up the dried plum vegetables and ran.

While the supply and marketing cooperative is still open, I'll buy 5 jin of pork and try it out tonight!

Hahahaha! This is truly a stroke of luck!

-

As evening approached, the weather became even more muggy.

The sun hadn't set yet, and it would be a while before the night air felt cool.

This was the time when factories were closing up, and the streets were bustling with pedestrians.

A long queue had formed in front of the supply and marketing cooperative. Chen Wei and Wu Xiaochun were in the queue, waiting anxiously.

It was finally their turn, and Chen Wei quickly went up to ask.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have any pork? I'd like 5 jin (2.5 catties)!"

As soon as he said that, people around him immediately looked over.

Are you kidding me? This is a whole 5 pounds of pork!

These days, the average wage is only 30 yuan. Buying five catties of pork would cost about 4 yuan. Putting aside the monetary value, the amount of meat coupons required is quite substantial.

A regular employee only gets 2 liang (100 grams) of pork a month. How long would it take to save up meat coupons to buy 5 jin (2.5 catties) at a time?

Chen Wei was anxious and, ignoring the strange looks around him, threw out 5 jin of meat coupons.

He found this item in the original owner's luggage, wrapped in a small blue cloth handkerchief. It was obvious at a glance that his aunt, Liu Rufang, had secretly slipped it into his bag.

This is just what I need to use in an emergency.

The sales clerk at the counter was also slightly taken aback, and asked uncertainly, "Sir? Are you sure you want 5 jin?"

"Yes! We are factory buyers, please hurry!"

Upon hearing that it was a factory purchase, the salesperson across the street immediately became very enthusiastic.

Without saying a word, I cut the pork for them.

The two men grabbed the pork, paid the money, and ran off. Judging by their manner, anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were there to rob someone.