Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 293 I Want to Do It with You

Liu Hongliang's eyes lit up, and he turned to Xiaowei, asking, "What's the reward?"

Xiao Wei looked at Liu Hongliang and asked, "What do you want?"

Liu Hongliang shifted gears, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, I'm thinking of going into business with you guys. But I can see that this job is getting less and less exciting. Who knows what will happen in the future? Look at how many factories that used to look good are now unable to pay their employees."

Xiao Wei said, "Each has its advantages. Having a job is stable, while running a business is unpredictable, and you never know what the future holds. Do you need us to run a business? You can use your connections here, and you shouldn't lack money. Just do whatever you want."

Liu Hongliang shook his head and said, "It's impossible. My dad is an old fogey, and my uncle is stubborn. They always think I'm just a kid who can't do anything. If I were to work with you guys, I don't know about my dad, but I guess I could try to negotiate with my uncle. If I were to try on my own, it would definitely be a no-go. The best outcome would be a broken leg. You don't know what it's like to be born into a tyrant's family."

Xiao Wei laughed heartily, and Liu Hongliang said, "I'm serious. After interacting with you guys for so long, I think you have a lot of ideas and a sharp mind. If you can do it, could you give me a hand? I promise I'll listen to you."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Actually, doing business depends on opportunity and luck. I was just lucky, that's all. If you really want to do something, that's fine too, but don't rush, take it slow. First, focus on doing things well. We have a lot of things to do right now, so let's all look around, think, and learn. It's never a bad thing to know more."

Liu Hongliang nodded and said, "I understand. I bake bread with Sister Shang and the others when I have free time, haha. Even if I don't do this, I can still bake bread at home in the future. At least my wife and kids will be happy, and I can save some money."

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, that's the right way to think. Don't think too far ahead or too high; it's meaningless. In the end, all we do is live our lives. Living well and being harmonious is better than anything else. As for other things, if they come, they come; if they don't, there's no need to force it. Otherwise, it's just too tiring."

Liu Hongliang glanced at Xiaowei and said, "You have everything, yet you're feeding me rice porridge? You make it sound so easy. How can you live a harmonious life if you can't earn money?" Xiaowei shook his head and laughed.

When the car arrived at the yard, Xiaowei got out and opened the gate.

After moving the things into the old building, Xiaowei's mother and a few older women came over to tidy up. They washed the buckets and put them in use immediately. They put the seasonings and other items on the shelves, turned on the six stove burners, and a row of stainless steel buckets were bubbling and steaming.

Liu Hongliang looked around and said to Xiao Wei, "At this rate, this canister of gas probably won't last more than a few days. Shouldn't we think of something?"

Xiao Wei said, "What can we do? Just buy a few more cans, what else can we do? I don't know if they have those big cans from Fengtian here, we'll go look for them sometime, those should last longer."

Liu Hongliang said, "We can just bring back a few empty cans from Fengtian and fill them up here. Anyway, they charge by weight for these things. I'll ask tomorrow if it's possible. If it is, I'll go and get them. Three or four should be enough."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Let me ask. If it's okay, we can bring it back together next time we pick up the materials, so we don't have to make a separate trip."

Xiaowei's mom said, "If we stew six pots and then stir-fry four more, will that be enough for ten dishes?"

Xiao Wei scratched his head and said, "How would I know? Let's try it and see. Should we prepare some more? We can just stir-fry it if we run out."

Xiaowei's mother thought for a moment and said, "That's fine, let me see what else we can do."

Liu Hongliang said, "That's about enough, Auntie. This bucket is enough for twenty people. Just a few stir-fries will do. It'll be nice and warm in the dead of winter."

Sister Shang, who was helping out, nodded and said, "That's enough. Keep an eye on them before they get the food, don't let them take too much, otherwise it will be a waste."

Xiao Wei said to his mother, "We have to keep an eye on the amount of food you give us. Otherwise, you can just give us a small portion. If we're still hungry, we can give us more. We don't have a limit, but we can't waste food."

Xiao Wei's mother wiped her hands, thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Okay, we'll make it for you. Make whatever you want to eat, and come back when you're done."

Xiao Wei said, "This afternoon I asked Lao Xu from the lumberyard to come over and turn that room into a restaurant. From now on, we'll get our food here and sit over there to eat. After we finish eating, we'll wash our lunchboxes and put them on this shelf. That way, there won't be any waste. If you find any waste, just tell me and I'll fine you. If you don't listen, let him eat out on his own. We won't agree to that."

An older woman asked, "How much rice do you want?"

Xiao Wei said, "Measure out the bowls. One bowl for the women, two bowls for the men. Just use the bowls we use for eating." He pointed to the kitchen.

Liu Hongliang said, "One and a half bowls is enough for men. If they're still not satisfied, they can get more. There are also side dishes. I estimate that most people can't finish two bowls."

Xiaowei's mom said, "Alright, alright, you can all go do what you need to do. The person will be here soon, so don't crowd around here. Xiaoqin and Xiaohe, are you done? Put all the pots and pans over here. Xiaowei, this afternoon, just have them nail a platform horizontally here. Don't make it too high, so you can put the vegetable buckets on it and it will be more convenient to serve the vegetables."

Xiao Wei agreed and walked out with Liu Hongliang into the food factory.

Upon entering the room, the sweet aroma of cakes fills the air. Rows of freshly baked cakes, breads, and cookies hang to dry against the wall, ready to be bagged. Two workers are carrying prepared baking trays into the proofing room; those will be baked in the afternoon. The dried breads are stacked on the work surface, while several others deftly pack them and place them into plastic boxes.

Liu Hongliang pointed to the bread and said, "This is it. I can make it myself now. How do you make this at home? Do you need to buy an oven?"

The woman packing the food said without turning her head, "Just steam it in a pot. Make sure it's sealed tightly so the steam doesn't escape. It'll come out the same."

Liu Hongliang turned to Xiaowei and asked, "You can steam this thing?"

Xiao Wei said, "How would I know? I don't know how. If my sister says she can, then she can. She's been doing this for years."

The older woman kept working, saying, "It'll work. I've steamed them at home before, but they come out white, not as pretty as baked ones. The taste is the same. It's all leavened dough, so why can't we steam these for buns? They're all the same thing." She turned around, picked up the packed plastic box, stacked it to the side, and went to get the next box.

The person opposite her nodded and said, "You've steamed them too? Me too. I thought I was the only one who had done it."

The older sister said, "What else can we do but steam it? The kids need to eat it. Is the oven even usable? We'll just make do. It'll taste alright."

The other person said, "I've never steamed it, I roasted it. My husband welded a tin stove and roasted it with wood, which worked quite well, but it's not easy to control the heat."

Liu Hongliang said to Xiaowei, "They're all talented people."

The two of them walked around for a while and came out. The other get out of class had ended, and the new students were walking over here laughing and joking with their lunchboxes in their hands.

(End of this chapter)