Chapter 22: 021: Got an Idea l
Translator: 549690339
“No need, no need.” Ni Chenggui repeatedly declined, “I have already eaten.”
“Have some more, these noodles are a speciality from our hometown, you can’t find them out there.” Saying that, Ni Cuihua gave Ni Chenggui a bowl of noodles.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Ni Chenggui didn’t play coy, directly sitting down to eat the noodles.
Truth be told, these noodles were very delicious, certainly more than ten times better than those outside.
“Yangyang’s mom, your cooking skills are amazing. If you were to open a noodle restaurant, I’m sure it would do very well.” Ni Chenggui lavished her with praise.
Speaking without a care, but the listener catching the hints, Ni Yang had some thoughts. In her past life, she was in the catering business. If they had the money to open a noodb restaurant with her mother as the little boss, that could also be a good option.
Midway through the meal, Ni Cuihua spoke again. “Chenggui, I was throwing away trash this afternoon and saw an open space outside the courtyard. Is it yours?”
“It’s mine.” Ni Chenggui nodded, “Just that it hasn’t been cultivated for many years, now it’s all barren.”
A glimmer of joy flashed in Ni Cuihua’s eyes. “Chenggui, do you think I could grow some vegetables on that piece of land?”
“Of course, the land is just lying bare anyway. You can grow whatever you want on it. Besides that land, I have some farms in the village, you can use them too if you want.” Ni Chenggui was not stingy. Ever since she got a job in the city, no one had cultivated the fields at home.
“Chenggui, you’re a really good person.” Ni Cuihua said with a big smile on her face.
If they hadn’t ran into Ni Chenggui on the train, it would not have been possible for the three of them to settle down in Beijing so easily.
Ni Cuihua couldn’t stay idle. The next day, when Ni Yang followed Ni Chenggui to the village town hall, she shouldered a hoe and started to reclaim the land in front of the courtyard, checking on her daughter every half an hour to see if she had woken up.
Ni Yang had brought gifts with her to the town hall. Chinese people value reciprocity and the three points of laughter rule, so being a bit sweet-tongued and knowing how to use sugar-coated bullets never fails.
How she managed to walk so successfully in her past life was because she knew how to handle people.
Indeed, under Ni Yang’s various savvy methods, the village chief was successfully won over. He graciously issued her a certificate, took her around the town hall, and announced that from now on, she would be a member of Jinghua Village.
And so, Ni Yang managed to successfully settle roots in Jinghua Village.
As Ni Chenggui watched Ni Yang walking beside her, her eyes filled with surprise. She didn’t expect Ni Yang not only to be beautiful, but also smart and skillful in handling affairs at such a young age, suggesting she would be a real disturber of peace when she got older.
No wonder Ni Cuihua listens to this daughter all the time.
“Mrs. Wang, long time no see, where have you been?” An approaching villager wearing a straw hat curiously asked, as his eyes fell on Ni Yang. “Who’s this beautiful girl? I’ve never seen her before. Is she a relative of yours?”
Ni Chenggui laughed, “I went to visit Chunhua’s family. This is my distant relative, Yangyang. She’s currently living in our house with her mom and little sister. Yangyang, this is Aunty Wang.”
The first sentence was for Aunty Wang and the second one was for Ni Yang.
“Hello, Aunty Wang.” Ni Yang greeted sweetly.
Ni Yang was not only pretty, she also had a very sweet voice. Who wouldn’t like such a well-behaved manner?
After Aunty Wang’s announcement, everyone knew that Ni Chenggui’s family had gained a beautiful little girl. Many people came over to visit, hence, everyone in the village slowly got acquainted with them.
After Ni Cuihua cleaned up the wasteland, she needed some vegetable seeds for sowing.
The task of buying seeds naturally fell on Ni Yang. She took a trolley bus and went to the city.
Actually, she could buy these vegetable seeds in the village, but Ni Yang had other things to do in the city. She wanted to see what could bring in money the fastest.
She currently had seven hundred yuan on her, which was entirely inadequate for larger business projects. She could only start small and work her way up.
Ni Yang’s first stop was the Agricultural Market. Just like the vegetable markets of later times, the place was bustling with people negotiating prices. After procuring vegetable seeds, Ni Yang went up to a meat stall, planning to cut two kilograms of pork to bring home.
“Boss, how much is the pork per kilogram?”
The butcher was a middle-aged man of about 200 pounds, sporting a full beard. At her question, he lazily looked up at Ni Yang and replied, “Two yuan and eight cents per kilogram.”
“Two yuan and eight cents?” Ni Yang was somewhat shocked. “Why is it so expensive?”
In later times, two yuan and eight cents could only afford a lollipop. However, this was the 1980s. In the countryside, pork only cost eight cents per kilogram! Two yuan and eight cents could buy a whole chicken!
Even in Beijing, it seemed impossible for the price of meat to have increased almost threefold.
“Think it’s expensive?” The middle-aged man wore a look of disdain. “If it’s too costly, go buy fish!” He could tell at one glance that she was from the countryside and didn’t even expect her to actually purchase any meat.
Ni Yang didn’t mind the butcher’s attitude. She raised her eyebrows slightly and queried, “Fish? Are fish cheaper than meat?”
Maybe because Ni Yang was quite attractive, the butcher pointed towards a fish stand not far away, “There, a fish there costs three cents. It’s certainly cheaper.”
Ni Yang turned her eyes and, indeed, saw a fish stall in an inconspicuous corner. The stall was relatively small and none of the passerby stopped to look.
Apparently, fish was not favored here. It made sense. In 1980s China, whether one could get enough to eat was an issue. Who would bother thinking about buying fish? Preparing fish would waste a good deal of oil; if not cooked right, it could emit a strong fishy smell – totally disgusting. It would be better to eat vegetables instead.
Unlike pork, you could just stir-fry it in a pan and it would naturally produce oil. Apart from satisfying one’s cravings, it could also provide some necessary fats for the body.
The 1980s didn’t offer as many ways to prepare fish as the future would.
Dishes like stone pot fish, sour fish, boiling fish, water-boiled fish, grilled fish, squirrel fish, etc., were all ways of cooking fish in later times.
Sour fish, in particular, became a trend in the early 1990s.
Approaching the fish stall, Ni Yang had a plan. She smiled and said, “Boss, give me three bighead carp and three squid.”
Seeing a potential transaction, the stall owner promptly stood up and cheerfully asked, “Young miss, do you want them gutted?”
Ni Yang nodded, “Yes, please. And if you could split the fish in half, that would be great.”
“Alright.” The boss efficiently prepared the fish with swift hand movements.
The total cost for six fish was one yuan and two cents. The bighead carp cost three cents each, while the squid were simply one cent each.
After buying the fish, Ni Yang purchased some anise and pickled vegetables. To facilitate her travels and future business plans, she resolved to invest more than two hundred yuan to buy a Phoenix brand bicycle.
Having a bike made commuting back to the village much more convenient. The thought of owning a vehicle thrilled her, and she hummed a merry tune all the way home.
Upon reaching the village, a group of children chased after her bicycle, keenly interested in it.
In this era, owning a bicycle was quite a rare thing, even more sought after than owning a car in later times.
Consequently, rumors started circulating in the village. What professions were Ni Cuihua and her daughter in? How did they have so much money? They could even afford a bicycle! Furthermore, there wasn’t a man around them. And both mother and daughter were quite good-looking. Could they possibly be…
The villagers thus became more wary of Ni Cuihua and her daughter, fearing that their own men might be seduced by them..