The man first introduced himself: "My surname is Gu, and my family is from Changhe Village. Everyone calls me Gu Da, so you can call me the same." After briefly introducing himself, Gu Da opened his mouth to explain his purpose: "We are here this time. I would like to invite you to be the banquet, my youngest son is getting married at the beginning of next month, Chef Li, please help."
Changhe Village? Where is that? She doesn't know her at all. How did the couple know about her? Li Hehua was puzzled and did not dare to rashly agree, so he asked, "Uncle Gu, how did you know me? I have never been in your village before."
Gu Da's daughter-in-law took a step forward and answered: "We heard about you from the neighbors. My family was going to go to Zhou Laogen to be a dinner party, but the trouble was a little unhappy, and then my neighbors mentioned you to me. , She said that her family has relatives in Lianhua Village. The last time I ate the rice noodles you made, it was very delicious. She said that she dumped Zhou Laogen for several streets, so she asked us to come to you, so we found out about you, I'm here to invite you to sit down."
Li Hehua was stunned. It turned out to be the case. It was estimated that this neighbor ate the meal she made at Old Man Wang's house last time. With that being said, there is no problem in going to the table.
But before agreeing, she still needs to make it clear about the price involved in the meeting. She has to ask the distance first, and collect the money according to the distance. It is not enough to charge the original price for the far place.
So Li Hehua asked, "Uncle Gu, Aunt Gu, how long did it take for your family to be here?"
Gu Da thought for a moment and replied, "It takes about an hour and a half to walk directly from my house to here."
An hour and a half is a bit long for Li Hehua, and it takes most of the day to come and go, and she has to walk over before dawn in the morning to avoid delaying the dinner.
Then you have to charge eight cents for a table.
Li Hehua decided to talk to the couple about the price first, "Uncle Gu and Auntie Gu, there is no problem in helping you make a table, but I have to tell you the price in advance. You can see if you can do it."
"Your home is quite far from here, I'll waste most of my time on the road every time I come and go, so I have to charge eight cents for a table. You can see if you can accept the price, and I'll give it to you if you can. you do."
"What? Eight cents of money..." The two of them were shocked when they heard eight cents of money per table, didn't they say they received five cents of money for one table? They came to her because they found out that not only did she cook delicious food, but the price was also cheap. Why did they get eight cents a table when they got here
Gu Da said hesitantly: "This... I heard that you seemed to be charging five cents per table before? Why do you want us eight cents?" Could it be that Chef Li is just like that Zhou Laogen? Is it a sit-down price
Li Hehua knew that before they came, they must have inquired about the price of the table she had charged before, and it is normal to have this question now, so she explained to them seriously: "I did charge five cents per table before, but it was all close to my house. In the place where I live, I will not be delayed except for the day of the banquet, so I receive five cents per table as usual. But in the far place, I have to spend most of the day just to travel, that is, I can’t do other work for a day. If I charge another five cents, I will lose money, so why don't you do this, do you think this is the truth?"
"This..." The husband and wife knew that what she said was reasonable, but the addition was three cents, eight cents per table, and they couldn't bear it.
Seeing that the two were hesitating, Li Hehua didn't force it, and said with a smile, "Uncle and auntie, let's go back and think about it. If it works, I'll do it for you."
The husband and wife couldn't make up their minds for a while, and wanted to go back and think about it, so they stood up following Li Hehua's words, "Then let's go first, go back to discuss and discuss."
Li Hehua politely sent the two of them out. In his heart, he had no expectations about whether the business would be successful. If it was successful, she would do it.
Seeing people leave, Cao Simei continued to set fire to Li Hehua and said, "Big sister, I'll tell you the truth, the noodles you make are really delicious. In fact, I don't think it's expensive for you to charge eight cents, but it's worth it. , but it's understandable that the people in the village can't accept it all at once. Before you, Zhou Laogen, who worked as a tabletop, used to pay five cents per table. Now, suddenly, three cents have been added to a table, and hesitation is normal. "
Of course Li Hehua knew this and smiled, "Eldest sister, I know, but you have seen it, I can make money selling cakes now, but I'm too far away to make rice noodles, people are tired, and I don't make as much money as I sell cakes. If it’s too much, isn’t it stupid for me to do this? So I decided to charge eight cents for one table in the distance, and if people think it’s expensive, there’s nothing I can do.”
Cao Simei felt that what Li Hehua said was very reasonable. If it was her, she would not be so stupid that she only charged five cents per table, then it would be a loss. "But girl, actually think about it carefully, if you charge eight cents for a table, the host is not at a disadvantage. I won't talk about Zhou Laogen's cooking skills if you are not as good as you. Just talking about the price, although Zhou Laogen is not as good as you are, He only accepts five cents per table, but he has a big temper, and he also asks for extra things. If you don't give it, I won't make it for you. If you add up, this table may not be more than eight cents. Woolen cloth."
Li Hehua raised his eyebrows and declined to comment on Zhou Laogen's actions this week.
Cao Simei continued: "Actually, if you want me to choose, I will choose you, you don't want extra things, you have a good attitude, and the dishes you cook are delicious. It's stupid to choose Zhou Laogen instead of you. "
Li Hehua smiled and said, "Forget it, eldest sister, it's up to others to decide who to choose. If they ask me to serve as a seat, then I will do my best. It doesn't matter if they don't ask me."
Cao Simei nodded in approval.
After saying that, Li Hehua forgot about it and concentrated on making cakes. As a result, she and Cao Simei came back after selling the cakes the next day, and they saw Gu Da and his wife again.
Seeing Li Hehua coming back, the husband and wife greeted with a smile and said, "Chef Li, we thought about it when we went back yesterday, but we still want to invite you to make a table for our house, and the price is the eight cents you said. table."
Mrs. Gu and his wife thought that eight cents per table was too expensive, three cents more expensive than Zhou Laogen's charge. After the whole table was done, there was an extra sixty cents. not enough. So they thought, let's go to Zhou Laogen, even if he has a bad temper and is a little difficult to serve, but the patience will pass.
But as soon as they went back to discuss with several sons at home, none of the sons agreed with their ideas. The eldest son said: "Although Zhou Laogen receives less money, his attitude is really annoying, and who doesn't know that he has to invite him three times before he goes to the table, and don't bring all kinds of things when he goes there. Good things? Those things alone are more than sixty pennies, right?"
The second son quite agreed with this, and also said: "Yes, Dad, Zhou Laogen was too arrogant. If you want me to see it, let's not invite him and rub his arrogance. Our family can't afford the money."
Several children in the family said this, and Gu Da's thoughts gradually changed. He felt that what the children said was very reasonable, and he was really embarrassed to ask him to pull down his old face to ask Zhou Laogen again. In that case, let's go and invite this Chef Li.
So today the husband and wife came to invite Li Hehua to be the banquet again.
Li Hehua didn't say much. Since people came to invite again, she naturally agreed, "That's fine, I'll do it for you at that time. When is the specific day for you to do things? How many tables are there in total? It's a two-day reception. Or one day?"
Gu Dayi replied: "The date is set on the first day of the next month. This time, we will make twenty tables, and we will finish it in one day. We can simply cook and eat the previous day's meal in our own house. The next day is the main meal. Excuse me."
Li Hehua likes this way of making a meal, which means that she can come back as long as she does a meal for a day. If she leaves early and returns late, she only needs to delay for a day.
Li Hehua nodded and said: "Okay, I know, I will rush over early that day, you buy the ingredients, I will look at the ingredients and set the menu, and then I will discuss with you."
Mrs. Gu and his wife nodded in agreement, and then left the He family.
Cao Simei was listening the whole time, and when she saw someone left, she said, "It's been a few days since I was doing things on the first day of the new year, and it's already twenty-five today."
That is to say, there are still five days, but this has no effect on Li Hehua. The only thing that affects her is that the first day of the new year will delay her work of selling cakes. If she doesn't sell it, she will not be able to earn this cake money. .
Originally, she planned to let Cao Simei sell it alone every time she went to make a table, but now her thinking has changed a little, but whether this change can be realized or not needs to be discussed with Cao Simei.
So, after dinner that day, Li Hehua and Cao Simei put forward a new idea in his heart: "Eldest sister, I originally planned to let you go alone every time I went to the banquet, and wait until I come back. I'm going to sell cakes with you. But now I have a new idea, and I want to tell you, see if you and the eldest brother can agree."
When Cao Simei and He Da saw what she said, they all listened attentively.
Li Hehua said: "I was thinking, on the day I go to dinner, can I ask your children to help me sell cakes, and I will pay the children, just like you, it is four yuan a cent. You Can you see?"
In fact, Li Hehua is a little embarrassed to say this, because in her heart, Da Ya and the others are still children. It seems not good to ask children to go out to work and earn money, but this era is different from modern times. Many children in their teens She helped her family earn money. When she was in town, she often saw 12- or 13-year-old children selling things on the street. In this era, the children of poor families were in charge of the house early, and there was no such thing as modern pampering children.
So Li Hehua tentatively said it, if Cao Simei and his wife were distressed about their children, then she didn't say it, and if they thought it was okay, then both sides could make money.
Cao Simei and He Da hadn't made a statement yet, but Da Ya and Xiao San'er nodded their heads first, and Da Ya said first, "Aunt Hehua, I'll go! I'll sell it for you. I used to go to town with my mother to sell eggs. , I will, I promise to sell it to you."
The third child is also very positive, "Aunt Hehua, I will go too, I will shout, and I will settle the account. It is definitely not worse than the mother's."
Li Hehua did not expect the children to agree so actively, and felt very emotional. They are really sensible children. If it were left in modern times, my parents would probably be speechless if they asked to go out to buy a bottle of soy sauce, but they actively went to help, just to make more money for the family.
Li Hehua looked at Cao Simei and He Da and asked for their opinions.
Of course, Simei Cao didn't have any thoughts of pampering and pampering the children as Li Hehua thought. She was too happy for the children to receive this job. Da Ya is fourteen years old, the eldest son Da He is thirteen years old, and the third child is almost ten years old. From the perspective of the countryside, he is already a big child, and he can already help the family with a lot of work. The children have gone to sell eggs, so I am very relieved to the children.
Now Li Hehua has offered to do this job for the children, which means that the family can have an extra income. Where can I ask for such a good thing, so Cao Simei hurriedly said: "Big sister, of course we agree, don't worry, my family's The children will settle accounts and collect money, and there will be no mistakes. You can rest assured that you will give them the business, and they will do a good job for you."
Seeing that Cao Simei and He Da didn't feel distressed at all, Li Hehua secretly thought that he really thought too much, so it was decided that she would not have time to sell cakes in the future, so she would give them to the three children.
The time soon came to the first day of the new year. Li Hehua got up before dawn, washed and ate some breakfast, and then hurried to Changhe Village.
She is not too worried about selling cakes today. Yesterday afternoon, she had already prepared all the cakes to be sold today, and then told the three children of the He family how to sell them. In fact, she took her three children to the market a few days ago and let them see how the cakes are sold. The children are very smart and will be able to use it quickly. Plus Simei Cao is helping, Li Hehua is still Very assured.
Li Hehua walked for more than an hour before he came to Gu everyone. At this time, the sky was already bright and the sun was rising high. Visually, it was about nine o'clock in the morning, and it was time to prepare lunch.
The Gu family greeted Li Hehua politely, then took her to the kitchen, and briefly introduced her to the location of the kitchen and various things, and then introduced her to the ingredients she bought today.
Li Hehua found that the ingredients were no different from the two previous mat noodles. They were chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Probably, farmers used these fixed ingredients for mat noodles.
Therefore, Li Hehua didn't think much, and directly used these ingredients to come up with a table of dishes, and reported the names of the dishes one by one to the Gu family for their opinions.
The Gu family did not expect that Chef Li would discuss the dishes with them, and they were surprised and happy at the same time. In the past, the eldest son and the second son of the family always invited Zhou Laogen to do their weddings. Zhou Laogen did it without saying a word. Everyone was used to it. He served whatever dishes he wanted, and he never objected. This Chef Li was quite different from Zhou Laogen.
Gu Da said happily: "The dishes you mentioned are all very good, and they are very good when they hear it. We have never heard of many dishes, but we believe in you, so you can do it." In fact, they believe in the next door. What the neighbors said, the neighbors said that Chef Li's dishes are very novel, and each of them is delicious. Please ensure that she is right. I have been neighbors for many years, and they will definitely not lie to them, so they believe in Li Hehua and naturally treat the dishes. There is no opinion.
Seeing that the Gu family had no problem with the dishes, Li Hehua immediately put on an apron and began to prepare the meal.