Chapter 221 - 146: Silent Tofu
As the two spoke, their eyes were fixed on the drawing in Xia Yao’s hands.
The drawing depicted a kitchen. A man in a Chef’s uniform stood before a large stove, holding a spatula, his back to the viewer.
The kitchen, which should have been predominantly dark, was instead filled with vibrant and varied colors: colorful seasoning jars, bright red chili peppers, the glowing red of the stove’s firebox...
Xia Yao gazed at the drawing, a smile playing on her lips.
"Is this a drawing of Zhou Yan by his little sister? The use of color is so expressive," Deng Hong praised.
"Yeah, such bold, contrasting colors, yet there’s a strange sense of harmony. She has a real talent for color," Zhu Yuyu added, leaning in for a closer look and nodding.
"The composition is interesting, too. A three-year-old’s perspective is different from ours. Her technique is unpolished, but it’s pure spirit." Xia Yao smiled, raising the drawing a little higher so they could both see clearly. She added with a sigh, "These are the colors of innocence and imagination."
"You think Zhou Yan asked his sister to draw it for him?" Deng Hong asked with a grin.
Zhu Yuyu laughed along. "I think it’s possible! A ’work photo’ from the kitchen, hahaha..."
"No, he said Momo drew it herself," Xia Yao said with a smile. "She’s super attached to her brother."
"I don’t know, it sounds a little like a guilty conscience to me."
"Comrade Zhu Yuyu, you can’t bite the hand that feeds you! We should be staunchly supporting Comrade Zhou Yan! I believe him."
"You’re right! Same here!"
Xia Yao rolled her eyes at them and said irritably, "Alright, you two, go brush your teeth. Eating puffed rice candy in the middle of the night, you’ll get cavities!"
"Okay, okay, we won’t disturb you while you write back to Zhou Yan. Remember to thank him for the snacks he sent us." The two left, laughing.
Xia Yao smiled and shook her head. This time, Momo’s drawing was on proper drawing paper. ’Zhou Yan really is a good brother.’
She took out a portfolio, placed the drawing inside, and then set two thick textbooks on top to press it flat.
She took the letter Zhou Yan had written from the envelope and read it again, a constant smile on her face.
"By the way, Yaoyao, have you signed up for next month’s production internship? Yuyu and I are planning to go to the Mountain City Printing Factory. You should come with us! We might even get to be in the same dorm," Deng Hong asked, returning with an enamel basin in her arms.
Zhu Yuyu, hanging her towel on a line behind the door, chimed in, "Yeah, it’s relevant to our major, too. I heard a lot of people signed up, so I’m not even sure we’ll get picked."
Xia Yao looked at them and said, "There are quite a few companies listed for the internship this time. It doesn’t have to be the printing factory. The factory itself isn’t responsible for ad design or book planning; it’s at the downstream end of the whole chain.
"On the other hand, I think the wineries or machinery plants that want to build their brands and advertise might offer more hands-on experience. I’m still considering which one to choose."
Hearing this, the two looked thoughtful. "That... actually makes a lot of sense..."
...
Just as dawn was breaking, Comrade Zhou took Old Zhou to the market to buy groceries.
The price of meat really had dropped!
With meat rationing tickets abolished, the price of meat at the various stalls had dropped by a delightful amount—basically by half.
Zhou Yan and his father were out early enough, but they had already run into several people on their way home with meat they’d just bought.
The premium pork belly that you couldn’t even get by queuing up at the supply and marketing co-op first thing in the morning was now available at the Knife Maker’s stall for the same amount of money.
For consumers, this was a massive win!
Passing by the meat stalls, they saw they were crowded with customers. One person wanted pork hocks, another wanted pork belly. The smile never left the Knife Maker’s face.
’After selling pork for over a decade, this is the first time it’s felt this easy.’
"They can really make money selling meat this time. They used to only be able to sell half a pig, but today they’ll sell a whole one at least," Old Zhou remarked with some emotion. "The Knife Makers have finally become their own masters."
"The price of beef is down by half, so it’ll probably sell out today too," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "But this situation won’t last too long. The co-op’s meat is just hard to queue for, not impossible to buy. Right now, people can get better cuts more easily from the Knife Makers, so short-term impulse buying will boost sales. But for the average family, the monthly meat budget is fixed. Once it’s spent, it’s spent."
Old Zhou nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he added, "But business for the Knife Makers will definitely be better than before. They can steal customers away from the co-op now."
"That’s true," Zhou Yan agreed.
They bought beef from Zhou Village, then went to get pork from Zhang the Third and Xu the Second at the head of the bridge.
"Dad, watch the cart. I’m going to buy some bok choy." Zhou Yan put the cart on its stand, called out to Old Zhou, and headed toward the row of vegetable vendors at the Stone Bridge Head.
The bok choy for the noodles had to be bought fresh daily. He also needed to grab a couple of cabbages and some fresh garlic sprouts for the Twice-Cooked Pork.
Procuring ingredients was just such a tedious and troublesome task. Thankfully, he had Old Zhou to help him out now. Otherwise, he’d have to make two trips, which would be even more time-consuming.
The vegetable vendors were actually farmers from Suji Town. They would pick the dew-covered vegetables from their fields early in the morning, carry them to town in back-baskets, and sell them. With the money they earned, they would then go to the co-op to buy daily necessities.
At the current low prices for vegetables, they could only earn a little for their hard work.
However, with the implementation of the household responsibility system, the farmers’ lives were much better than before. Jiazhou had abundant water resources, making farming relatively easier.
Zhou Yan walked forward at a leisurely pace, his gaze sweeping over the stalls one by one.
[A pile of organic cabbage full of wormholes]
[A cabbage that isn’t ripe enough]