Seeing that Su Xiaotian had indeed picked so many vegetables from the vegetable patch, Wang Xianghua didn't say anything.
After all, with so many people, preparing a few more dishes made it look more formal.
Although her cooking skills were not as good as her mother-in-law's or her third sister-in-law's, overall, they were quite decent.
She could certainly prepare a simple home-style meal.
Moreover, Wang Saozi, who helped cook at the farm, also earned a good income from cooking.
"Auntie, the vegetables in the farm's garden are growing so well."
"Of course, I take care of them every day. This vegetable patch is enough to supply vegetables for everyone at the farm daily." Wang Xianghua was very proud of this.
In the beginning, the farm didn't grow vegetables, and it was inconvenient to even get some.
Going to the city to buy them was a long journey, and buying from the village was also inconvenient.
Finally, Wang Xianghua decided to open up this vegetable patch, and then, there was no shortage of vegetables throughout the year.
In summer and autumn, the surplus vegetables were dried. In late autumn, some were pickled, and some were stored for winter, which was enough for the whole year.
In addition, when the farm slaughtered animals, the offal that the food factory didn't need was partly sold, and partly used to improve the workers' lives.
Overall, the workers' diet was quite good, much better than that in some large state-owned factories in the city.
This was also why, despite the work at the farm being dirty and tiring in recent years, it could still retain people.
"Xiaotian, how do you plan to eat the chives? Stir-fried chives with eggs?" Wang Xianghua asked.
"Auntie, can we have chive pockets? We haven't had them for a while." Su Xiaotian ordered without any pretense.
"Alright, then you and Yan'an can pick the chives first, and I'll make chive pockets for you later." Wang Xianghua said to Su Xiaotian with a bright smile.
Seeing how doting Wang Xianghua was on Su Xiaotian, Wang Saozi smiled and said, "Anyone who didn't know would think you are mother and daughter."
"Wang Saozi, you don't know, this child Xiaotian is like my own daughter. My sons can't compare to her." Wang Xianghua said happily.
Wang Saozi actually didn't quite believe it. In the village, whose family wasn't in a mess?
Among sisters-in-law, there were very few who genuinely got along well.
Let alone doting on a niece as if she were one's own child.
Su Xiaotian didn't miss the fleeting disbelief on Wang Saozi's face.
But whether she believed it or not didn't matter. One lived their own life.
What others thought was not the most important thing.
Wang Xianghua had a straightforward personality and didn't pay attention to Wang Saozi's expression.
She just busied herself with work.
"Xiaotian, these tomatoes are good, they're ripe, sour and sweet, have some."
Wang Xianghua picked a plump, round tomato, washed it clean, and gave it to Su Xiaotian.
Su Xiaotian happily took it and thanked Wang Xianghua.
"Yan'an, let's each have half."
It was a very large tomato, and Su Xiaotian suspected that if she ate it all by herself, she wouldn't need dinner. Therefore, she broke it in half and shared it with Dong Yan'an.
Wang Saozi truly didn't believe that Su Xiaotian and Wang Xianghua's relationship was genuinely good, but seeing such natural actions, she was still a little surprised.
"Auntie, have you considered finding someone to help you supervise? Sister-in-law is waiting for you to help look after the child."
Su Xiaotian, while eating the tomato, remembered this issue.
Wang Xianghua hesitated.
She also missed her grandson, but the farm was such a big undertaking, and she was reluctant to leave.
"I've been thinking recently about discussing with Linlin to have Little Bao come over to stay."
This way, neither would be delayed. However, she didn't know if her daughter-in-law would be willing to let Little Bao come with her.
"Forget it, let's talk about it after some time. I'll go back then and discuss it with your elder brother and sister-in-law!"
This was the good thing about Wang Xianghua.
No matter what happened, she was carefree and would move on without dwelling on it for too long.
With everyone working together, a sumptuous dinner was quickly prepared.
Although the guests were invited to taste the freshly made Spicy Braised Pig Trotters, Wang Xianghua didn't just prepare that one dish.
Besides the Spicy Braised Pig Trotters, she also made a pot of fragrant Braised Pork Ribs.
The staple food was chive pockets, and considering that some people might not be used to chive pockets, she also made some pumpkin pockets.
There were seven or eight kinds of vegetable dishes.
Now, not only was there meat and vegetables, but the color combination was also very pleasing to the eye.
Even Su Xiaotian couldn't help but praise that Auntie also had a talent for being a great chef.
At this moment, Director Lei, along with two deputy directors and several key personnel from the factory, arrived.
"Director Lei, please come in and sit." Su Xiaotian greeted with a smile, "You're in for a treat today. I guarantee it'll be tastier than the food in the factory canteen."
Director Lei had initially thought the smell from this place would be quite unpleasant. Unexpectedly, this courtyard was some distance from the farm and was located upwind, so there wasn't much smell.
The setup was also that of a simple farmhouse courtyard.
This made Director Lei and the others, who were born in the countryside, feel like they were back home.
"It's just ordinary farmhouse food, Director Lei, please don't mind!" Wang Xianghua glared at Su Xiaotian and said apologetically.
"Director Lei, the current flavors in our factory are mostly traditional. What do you think, if there were spicy and numbing spicy flavors, would it be easier to expand the market?"
When they got inside, Su Xiaotian didn't hold back and directly asked the question in her heart.
Director Lei had considered it, but their market was mainly in Beijing.
Beijing people's tastes leaned towards soy sauce flavor, fermented flavor, and saltiness. Flavors like numbing spicy and spicy were Sichuan flavors, and Beijing people might not accept them.
Therefore, the matter had been put on hold.
Recently, he heard that the young boss's classmate was developing spicy seasonings. He had only heard about it and didn't know the specifics.
Now it seemed that perhaps the young lady had already developed it to a certain extent, which was why the young boss was hosting this dinner.
When Director Lei saw a plate of Spicy Braised Pig Trotters on the table, he immediately knew his guess was correct.
After everyone was seated, Su Xiaotian began to invite everyone to eat.
The first dish to be grandly introduced was the Spicy Braised Pig Trotters.
Dong Yan'an said the flavor was a bit lacking, but Su Xiaotian felt it was almost there.
"Director Lei, please try the flavor of these Spicy Braised Pig Trotters."
Su Xiaotian smiled and beckoned Director Lei.
Director Lei, with a hint of suspicion, picked up a piece of Spicy Braised Pig Trotter and put it in his mouth.
Since Director Lei had started, the others naturally didn't hesitate either.
Soon, everyone had a piece of Spicy Braised Pig Trotter in their hands.
"Young boss, the flavor of these Spicy Braised Pig Trotters is quite good. Why does it feel better than the flavor of the卤肉 (lu rou - braised meat) produced by our factory?"
A young man's eyes lit up with joy after tasting one bite.
It could be seen that he was someone who liked spicy food in the past.