That night, Pan Xiaolian went out and visited every household.
Li Qingfeng had no idea what she was doing, he only knew that he had an uneventful, yet difficult, night.
As Li Qingfeng anxiously waited, Pan Xiaolian finally returned by noon the next day.
As soon as she entered, Pan Xiaolian went straight to the water glass on the table and drank three large gulps.
Seeing her hurried manner, Li Qingfeng couldn't help but say with some concern, "Aunt Pan, slow down, don't choke!"
Looking at him, she seemed very concerned.
However, this did not dampen Pan Xiaolian's excitement. She said joyfully, "Qingfeng, it's settled. About fifteen or sixteen people from the village will come to help!"
"So many? Aunt Pan, how did you do it?"
Upon hearing Pan Xiaolian's words, Li Qingfeng's face showed a look of shock. He looked at Pan Xiaolian opposite him and couldn't help but exclaim,
Knowing that fifteen or sixteen young and strong laborers were almost all the young labor force in the village.
From her tone, it seemed Aunt Pan had managed to recruit everyone in the village, leaving almost no one behind.
Extremely curious, Li Qingfeng sat down and looked at Pan Xiaolian opposite him with a look of curiosity.
Seeing Li Qingfeng's curiosity, Pan Xiaolian slowly explained.
"Actually, it's very simple. Our Mopan Gou Village has no factories, let alone any wealthy families!"
"The only wealthy and influential person is the village head, Shan Feiyang. So, villagers can only borrow money from him, but the harm is also great. His usury is unbearable for the villagers..."
"But what does this have to do with us renting out labor?"
Listening to Pan Xiaolian's explanation, Li Qingfeng hadn't fully grasped the intricacies and asked doubtfully.
"You are still too young!"
"You must understand that this is not a short-term business; it's long-term. If we can cooperate continuously, then they won't have to travel so far."
Seeing his confused look, Pan Xiaolian smiled and explained.
"But will these villagers believe us?"
"Do they think we'll definitely be able to pay them? If we can't pay them, what will they do?"
At this point, Li Qingfeng was the one who was actually worried.
Seeing Li Qingfeng looking somewhat flustered by concern, Pan Xiaolian smiled calmly. It seemed Qingfeng still needed to learn more.
While practicing medicine and saving lives is important, managing relationships is equally crucial!
"Neither can be lacking; balanced development is the right path."
With this thought, Pan Xiaolian took out a blank piece of paper and drew a table on it.
She filled in a few words and pushed it towards Li Qingfeng.
"Qingfeng, this is the approximate cost we need to spend. Take a look first, and then we can start working tomorrow!"
"This, isn't this just a menu?"
Li Qingfeng thought Aunt Pan was giving him something precious, but it turned out to be a small menu with only three dishes!
"Chopped Chili Carp, Spicy Tofu, and Smashed Cucumber!"
Just three simple dishes, and after that, Pan Xiaolian listed the ingredients needed.
The most prominent were the three main ingredients: river carp, firm tofu, and fresh cucumbers, followed by seasonings, side dishes, and so on...
Good heavens, Pan Xiaolian had put everything needed for the canteen onto the menu.
"Aunt Pan, you are... planning to cook these three dishes for them tomorrow?"
Seeing the menu in his hand, Li Qingfeng vaguely understood Pan Xiaolian's intention.
Upon hearing that Li Qingfeng finally understood her thoughts, Pan Xiaolian nodded excitedly.
"Actually, there was a very important factor that allowed me to call them all over!"
Pan Xiaolian said this with a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had mentioned that condition.
"Aunt Pan, what exactly did you say?"
The more she said this, the more curious Li Qingfeng became, and he quickly asked.
"I didn't really say much. I just told them what you said, that they could have meat for lunch every day!"
"Ah! It's that simple?"
"What else do you think? It's that simple!"
Upon hearing Li Qingfeng's surprised question, Pan Xiaolian directly replied, nodding at him.
"Thanks to your suggestion back then. I initially thought that the high cost of lunch would affect our profits, but now it seems that lunch will be our winning balance."
Pan Xiaolian said with certainty.
Then she pointed to the Chopped Chili Carp on the menu and said, "Since it's the first day, I want to start with a good omen, 'May there be abundance every year!' So, we'll have carp!"
"Then, we'll rotate through other types of meat one by one each day. This way, the villagers won't get tired of it, and our ingredient costs will be more balanced."
At this point, Pan Xiaolian had completely transformed into a capable manager, planning everything so meticulously that she was likely no less competent than the stewards of large families.
Seeing the serious Aunt Pan in front of him, Li Qingfeng thought about it and handed over all his ideas to her.
When Aunt Pan heard that the village head Shan Feiyang's idea to rent 30 mu of barren mountain was a result of Li Qingfeng and the town mayor Zong Shuyun's efforts, she couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Serves him right!" she said angrily.
"This guy deserves it. His money was originally extorted from his fellow villagers, and making him spit it out is also a way to eliminate a scourge for the people!"
Pan Xiaolian's words were very fair, and even Li Qingfeng next to her agreed wholeheartedly.
Of course, since the money was now in his pocket, he had already accepted it.
"Aunt Pan, what should we do next?"
Li Qingfeng looked at Pan Xiaolian and asked directly.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing his question, Pan Xiaolian suddenly remembered something very important and patted his shoulder.
"Qingfeng, you need to hurry to town and order these ingredients. We'll need them for lunch tomorrow. You finalize everything today so we can start cooking tomorrow!"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingfeng rolled his eyes. Good heavens, he was still the one doing the manual labor.
However, he obediently went to the village to find a tractor and drove himself to town.