"Second Mom, let's cook dinner ourselves tonight. We'll take the pork bones, make sweet and sour ribs and braised big bones."
After traveling for so long, Su Xiaotian wanted to eat home-cooked meals.
Coincidentally, there were ribs and big bones today, so Su Xiaotian craved sweet and sour ribs.
"Okay, if our Xiaotian wants to eat ribs, we'll make ribs. I see your second dad bought quite a bit of food. Let's stir-fry a vegetable dish and steam a pot of rice, and that'll be enough."
Northwestern rice was a scarce commodity. In everyone's minds, eating white flour wasn't a big deal, but eating white rice was truly good.
"The big bones and ribs can be braised and sold tomorrow, why are we eating them ourselves?" Li Zhuzi asked in shock.
They weren't cheap, and it felt painful to eat them all themselves!
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Fourth Uncle, what do people earn money for? Isn't it to live a good life? If you earn money but are unwilling to spend it on yourself, what's the point of earning money?"
Li Zhuzi fell silent.
Was earning money to live a good life? Shouldn't it be to save money for children's education and marriage?
How did it become about living a better life for oneself?
"Zhuzi, don't listen to Xiaotian; she just talks like that."
Qi Liangying smiled, but her hands were busy skillfully butchering the pork, separating the bones from the meat.
Since Su Xiaotian wanted sweet and sour ribs, Qi Liangying deliberately left a bit more meat on the ribs to avoid ending up with just bones.
As for the big bones, only a little meat was left. Su Xiaotian helped with the cooking, while the three men started washing the meat, eggs, and so on. Everyone actively found something to do.
By six o'clock, Qi Liangying and Su Xiaotian had finished preparing dinner.
The meat and eggs to be braised that evening were also cleaned.
Li Zhuzi patted his back and said, "I never expected this job to look simple but be so difficult to do. Your fourth aunt must be exhausted alone!"
Li Zhuzi truly loved his wife. When he felt tired himself, he immediately thought about whether his wife was working hard.
"Fourth Uncle, find a reliable person for your fourth aunt and pay them thirty to forty yuan a month. It's best to find someone honest and steady."
Hiring someone was the right thing to do. Although opening a shop could be managed by one person, the process of braising made it truly tiring for one person.
Su Xiaotian had said it casually, but Li Zhuzi directly refused.
"No, no, what if the recipe is leaked?"
The recipe was very important and absolutely could not have any problems, especially after seeing the popularity of the shop's opening today, Li Zhuzi became even more convinced of this.
He was even thinking of not doing any other business and just sticking to the shop like his second brother.
"It's fine, the recipe won't be leaked so easily. Later, I'll grind the provided ingredients into powder. This will not only help to release the flavor more easily but also prevent the recipe from being leaked."
Su Xiaotian immediately thought of a solution, but in reality, she knew that even if the recipe was leaked, it wouldn't matter, as the key medicinal ingredients in her recipe came from the system mall.
However, Su Xiaotian had no intention of saying these things.
"That's good. When our shop expands, we can hire people too!" Qi Liangying also became happy. "I was also worried about what would happen if someone saw the seasoning packets and copied them!"
Su Ciliang was a little surprised by his mother's reaction.
He had always thought his mother was narrow-minded. He thought this time, his mother might choose to make her own recipe to save the twenty percent profit for Xiaotian.
But he didn't expect his mother to be so insightful.
Su Ciliang had always believed that Xiaotian had a bright future and that following Xiaotian would surely lead to a promising future.
He was really worried that his mother would suddenly become foolish and offend Xiaotian.
Now, he was finally relieved.
"Mom, didn't you ever think of looking at what's inside those seasoning packets?" Su Ciliang asked in a low voice.
Qi Liangying glared at her son and said, "You brat, do you think your mother is that kind of person?"
Su Ciliang, with strong survival instincts, said, "Of course not, Mom is a person of principle. A gentleman loves wealth and obtains it righteously!"
He showered her with compliments, and Qi Liangying was very pleased.
It was good that her son thought of her this way. Although she was a bit petty, she would never take what wasn't hers!
Everyone sat around the counter and ate, enjoying the meal.
"Today is a good day for the opening. Let this meal be our celebration!" Qi Liangying smiled happily.
After dinner, they braised the meat and boiled the eggs, peeling each one. The sky had completely darkened.
Qi Liangying and her husband still stayed at the shop that night, while the other three went to the guesthouse.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, the business at Yikouxiang Braised Delicacies was even better than the previous day.
The meat that Su Lao Er and Li Zhuzi brought back yesterday was a full hundred jin, and even after removing the bones, it was close to a hundred jin. By noon, it had all been sold.
Even the braised eggs and braised dishes sold faster today, with some customers being repeat customers from yesterday.
A few others had tasted an egg and decided to take some home.
In the afternoon, when there was no one around, Qi Liangying started counting the money in the cardboard boxes.
They were so busy that they just put the money into the cardboard boxes behind the counter.
As she counted the money meticulously, Qi Liangying's smile grew brighter and brighter.
Yesterday's earnings were already substantial, but today's earnings far exceeded yesterday's.
"Your Dad, if we can earn like this every day, we'll be able to buy our own house soon."
Su Xiaotian, who was browsing a book nearby, happened to hear Qi Liangying say this and was surprised.
Her second mother was truly a planner, thinking about buying a house at this time.
One must realize that although houses could be bought and sold in this era, many people were waiting for public housing allocation, and few would proactively think about buying a house.
Su Xiaotian had completely overlooked that those waiting for housing allocation were people with jobs, and those without jobs had no way to own a house except by buying one themselves.
"Second Mom is right. When we have money, buying a house in the provincial capital will help us establish ourselves."
"Why buy a house? We're not homeless." Su Lao Er said casually.
The large courtyard in the production brigade was spacious enough for their two families to live in.
Moreover, there was an unoccupied courtyard in the county town.
Why buy another house in the county town? Wasn't that a waste of money?
Upon hearing Su Lao Er's words, Qi Liangying's smile faded slightly, clearly showing her displeasure.
"Second Dad, you should listen to Second Mom about this. You can't let Second Mom live behind the shop forever, can you? Besides, this shop is rented."
Su Xiaotian's suggestion made Su Lao Er suddenly understand.
If their business continued to thrive, it was unlikely they would return to live in the brigade.
In that case, it was indeed necessary to buy a house in the provincial capital.