"Oh, take it... I'll take it out." Yu Xiuyao hurriedly took out her certificate. What she took out was not a marriage certificate, but a military dependent certificate.
The reason why Lin Qingqing took out the marriage certificate instead of the military certificate was because the original owner followed the army right after getting married, and then Lu Cheng went on a mission, and her military certificate had not yet been processed, so Lin Qingqing only had the marriage certificate. However, she brought the marriage certificate and Yu Xiuyao's military certificate for the same purpose. Because Lu Cheng is an officer, when getting a marriage certificate, ordinary people use their ID cards, while Lu Cheng uses his officer certificate. The difference is that if you use an officer certificate to get a marriage certificate, the marriage certificate will have a note of Lu Cheng's identity and his officer certificate number. At the same time, when they went to get the certificate, they also had a certificate of marital status given by the army.
Therefore, the information of Lu Cheng on Lin Qingqing's marriage certificate can prove that she is a military wife, which has the same function as Yu Xiuyao's military dependent certificate.
The reason why Lin Qingqing asked Yu Xiuyao to bring her military family certificate was because in this era, the military family certificate was one of the sacred documents, which could make it easier for them to gain people's trust.
Sure enough, after seeing their IDs, the salesperson no longer looked at them with the same suspicious eyes as before. The salesperson knew that there were troops in the suburbs of the county town, and soldiers could often be seen coming and going in the county town. Sometimes the soldiers here would assist the public security, so the wives of soldiers could often be seen buying things in the supply and marketing cooperative. Now two wives of soldiers wanted to discuss business with the director or the president, which must be true. As a salesperson, she could not make the decision on such matters. "Please wait a moment, I will go and ask the director."
Director's Office
"Two military wives came to discuss business with me?" The director was still a little confused. If it were someone else today, or an ordinary citizen, the director would not think there was any business to discuss, and would most likely refuse without even meeting them. As the director of a supply and marketing cooperative, what kind of business would he want to discuss with others? But the other party was a military wife. If he refused directly, it would be bad if the other party made a scene. Moreover, who knew whether the military wives came to discuss business at the instruction of the army? So the director did not dare to chase them away directly: "Bring them in."
Salesperson: "Hey, I'll take them right away."
Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao were soon invited to the director's office: "You two, this is our Director Ma." The salesperson introduced, "Director, this is Comrade Lin Qingqing, and this is Comrade Yu Xiuyao." When she brought them in just now, she had already asked their names.
Director Ma looked at Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao and saw that they came to discuss business with their children. The child followed Lin Qingqing and held her clothes with his little hands. "Hello, comrades. Please take a seat." Then he said to the salesperson, "You can go back to your post."
"Oh." The salesperson immediately left.
Director Ma poured a cup of tea for Lin Qingqing, Yu Xiuyao and Lu Haici, and then said, "Comrades, our salesperson said you want to discuss business with me. I wonder what business you are discussing? I don't quite understand what you mean."
Yu Xiuyao looked at Lin Qingqing, and Lin Qingqing said, "Hello, Director Ma. It's like this. We both have some skills. I have some experience in making stewed food, and Sister Yu is very good at making salted duck eggs. So we were thinking, is the supply and marketing station interested in discussing this business with us? The supply and marketing station provides the materials, and we provide the technology."
“This…” This was the first time Director Ma encountered such a thing.
Lin Qingqing said, "This is the braised food I made, and the salted duck eggs made by Sister Yu. Would you like to try it first?" She took out the braised large intestine. The braised food was made yesterday and left for a day. Now that it was taken out, the taste of the braised food was stronger, just like the braised meat, which had a feeling of getting more fragrant as it was left. "I was worried that the braised food would go bad in hot weather, so I made it a little salty. If you eat it on the same day, the taste can be lighter. If it's this salty, it tastes great if you have vegetables at home and stir-fry it with the vegetables."
Following Lin Qingqing's words, Yu Xiuyao also took out the salted duck eggs. Her salted duck eggs were steamed according to Lin Qingqing's words and cut into four halves.
Director Ma's mouth couldn't help but water as he looked at the fragrant braised food and the greasy salted duck eggs. In this era of material scarcity, who wouldn't be tempted by something delicious
Director Ma took a pair of chopsticks from the side, picked up a piece of stewed food and tasted it, and his eyes lit up immediately. The taste was indeed good. The stewed food was very soft, but also had a chewy texture. Of course, the taste was indeed salty. But if it was fried with vegetables, or if the taste was lighter when eaten on the same day, it would be more delicious.
Then, Director Ma ate another salted duck egg. Because the salted duck egg was already cut, he didn't even need chopsticks. Salted duck eggs are also a bit salty, after all, they are not eaten as snacks. But even so, Director Ma ate it with great praise.
After trying both, Director Ma became interested in the business Lin Qingqing had proposed. "You just said that we provide materials and you provide technology, so why don't you just sell the technology to us?" He understood that the other party wanted them to provide materials, after all, they couldn't get so much meat and duck eggs.
Lin Qingqing said, "That won't work. Take the technology of stewing food for example. Pig intestines, chicken legs, duck legs, eggs, and duck eggs can all be stewed according to this technology. If I sell the technology, the supply and marketing cooperative can stew other things. More importantly, when our family wants to eat stewed food, and our relatives and friends want to eat stewed food, I can't make stewed food anymore. This is to respect the buyers. The same is true for salted duck eggs. If we want to eat salted duck eggs in the future, don't we have to come to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy them?"
"Wait..." Director Ma overlooked one thing, "You said this is pig intestine? Not meat?" Director Ma didn't even know that this was pig intestine. After the pig intestine was braised, the color was not the original color, and he thought it was meat because it was cut into pieces. "Can pig intestine taste like this?" You know, the cost of pig intestine is very low. After their supply and marketing cooperative killed the pig, many people didn't like to eat pig intestine. One reason was that they thought pig intestine was not clean, and the other was that they didn't know how to cook it. But he didn't expect that braised pig intestine was so delicious.
Lin Qingqing was also a little surprised: "Didn't you see that?"
Director Ma said: "I really didn't see it... But what you said makes sense. Once this technology is sold, you can't do it again. It would be bad if the technology is leaked. But we provide the materials and you provide the technology, how does it work?"
Lin Qingqing said: "Give us the materials, and we will send them to the supply and marketing cooperative after we have finished them."
Director Ma: "What about the price?"
Lin Qingqing said: "The materials are yours, so you know the cost price. We make 2 cents per kilogram."
Director Ma immediately said, "Two cents is too much. You're not just talking about pig intestines, you can also make braised chicken legs, duck legs, chicken eggs, and duck eggs, right?"
Lin Qingqing said, "Not only this, but also vegetables. But I didn't bring any vegetables today, I can let you try some vegetables next time I come." In the future, many braised food restaurants sell mixed vegetables. Maybe Lin Qingqing can't cook too sophisticated dishes, but she can cook everyday dishes. After all, she has been a food anchor for several years, and she has cooked hundreds of dishes, if not thousands.
This matter was not something that Director Ma could decide, because he had the president of the commune above him. However, he thought it was worth a try. There were several supply and marketing cooperatives in the county, and there was competition among them. County leaders often mentioned finances. The development of the county needed finances, but where did the finances come from? They were all paid by these state-owned units, but where would the finances come from without performance
"You guys sit down for a while, I'm going to talk to the president." Director Ma said.
Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao naturally had no objection.
When Director Ma left with the braised pig intestines and salted duck eggs, Yu Xiuyao took a deep breath and said, "I was really suffocated. It's a good thing you were here. But Qingqing, you were too... too bold. You dared to ask for a profit of 20 cents per catty. I think one cent is good enough." One cent per catty, if you pickle 50 catties at a time, that's 50 cents. If you pickle several times a month, you can make several yuan. Yu Xiuyao felt that she was from a rural area and could not read a single word. She was very satisfied if she could earn a few yuan every month.
Lin smiled gently: "That's right, it's bargaining. If we don't ask for a higher price, they will definitely offer a lower price after they bargain. If we ask for a higher price and they bargain, our profit margin will be greater."
Yu Xiuyao also said: "You are smart."
About half an hour later, Director Ma came back.
"Comrades, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Director Ma smiled. As soon as you saw his smile, you knew there was a way to deal with what we were going to discuss today.
Lin Qingqing: "No, no."
Yu Xiuyao smiled. She couldn’t speak, so she simply stopped talking.
After Director Ma sat down, he continued, "Comrades, I won't beat around the bush. You just mentioned that we provide the materials and you provide the technology to sell stewed food and salted duck eggs in the supply and marketing cooperative. Our President Wang has agreed. Let's not talk about the price for now. In other aspects, we have two conditions."
Lin Qingqing: "Please go ahead."
Director Ma: "First, we have to try selling it first. If it sells well, we can sign a formal agreement with you. If you sign the agreement, you can only cooperate with us and cannot cooperate with other supply and marketing cooperatives."
Lin Qingqing said: "There is no problem with this." Trial sales are always like this in later generations, not to mention this era where the spending power cannot be compared with that of later generations.
"Second, if we officially sell braised food and salted duck eggs in the supply and marketing cooperative, you are not allowed to disclose the cost of braised food and salted duck eggs." Director Ma added.
Lin Qingqing said without hesitation: "This is what I should do."
Director Ma also knew that their demands were not excessive: "Let's talk about the price. Comrade Lin just said that you can get a 20-cent profit per catty. This is a bit too much. Why don't we take a step back and you can get a 2-cent profit." Director Ma and the president have calculated that if the braised food sells well and 20 catties can be sold a day, this comrade can earn 40 cents. If he sells for a month, it is equivalent to a month's salary for their supply and marketing cooperative salesperson, who only makes a dozen yuan a month.
Lin Qingqing smiled bitterly and said, "You are too cruel. We have to travel here from the army every day. If the weather is bad... How about this, I will take a step back and make a profit of 0.12 cents per catty." Lin Qingqing is also a person who often goes to the vegetable market, so she often bargains.
When she was a food anchor, she had to go grocery shopping almost every two days. She drove with her grandmother and they would bargain together, so she was not too skilled at bargaining in the market. In fact, she preferred going to the supermarket to the market, but elderly people like her grandmother liked going to the market.
Director Ma immediately shook his head: "No, no, how about this, we will give you a profit of two and a half cents per kilogram. This is really the highest, it can't be higher."
Lin Qingqing said, "You don't know this. If it's braised chicken legs, duck legs, or chicken and duck eggs, I'll take the profit of two and a half cents per catty, after all, I'm serving the people, but pig intestines are really not okay. You also know what pig intestines taste like, and they are difficult to wash. I can't wash too many pig intestines every day, so I have to ask the wives of the soldiers in the family compound to help. If I ask them to wash together, I must pay them. So, this seems to be a business between me and the supply and marketing cooperative, but in fact it also counts the wives of the soldiers in other family compounds. So you only give two and a half cents per catty. If I call three people, I personally don't even have one cent per catty. Besides, making braised food is very wasteful of firewood. To put it bluntly, two and a half cents may not be enough for me to buy firewood. Or, can you provide firewood and cleaned pig intestines?"
Lin Qingqing was telling the truth. She really planned to ask everyone to wash together. "Also, you can buy a bucket of pig intestines at the market for 20 cents. A bucket weighs at least 10 kilograms. So pig intestines are free of cost for you. They are just ingredients. But in fact, the nutrition of pig intestines is no worse than eggs and pork. It's just that those people don't know how to eat them. When the time comes, braised pig intestines can be sold for 40 or 50 cents per kilogram, which will definitely be fine."
"This..." When Director Ma and the president discussed the price, they thought that the cost of pig intestines could be ignored, so they didn't think of setting the price too high. But now after listening to Lin Qingqing's words, he felt that it made sense. The selling price of something is not based on its cost. If it is a cost price, then eggs are raised by ordinary people, so there is no cost price, so the selling price is based on its nutrition. Raw pork costs 80 cents per pound, if it is braised, it will definitely cost more than one dollar, so if it is braised pig intestines, it is indeed no problem to sell it for a few cents per pound.
Moreover, he did not consider the problem of firewood and manpower.
"But your profit of 0.12 cents is too high. Let me put it this way, washing pig intestines is troublesome, but washing duck eggs is not troublesome, so the profit of 0.25 cents per pound for salted duck eggs is the highest. Do you have any objection to this?" Director Ma asked.
Lin Qingqing looked at Yu Xiuyao.
Yu Xiuyao initially thought that she would be very happy if she could earn one cent of profit per kilogram. Now that it has been raised to two and a half cents, of course she would give it her all. She said in a trembling voice, "I have no problem."
After hearing Yu Xiuyao say that there was no problem, Director Ma looked at Lin Qingqing again and said, "Then we won't decide on the profit per kilogram of pig intestines for now. We'll decide after the pig intestines are sold. What do you think?"
Lin Qingqing said: "Of course there is no problem, but how do you plan to price the pig intestines?"
Director Ma said, "You just said that it's OK to sell a pound of braised pig intestines for 40 or 50 cents, so let's set the price at 40 cents." In fact, Director Ma was a little scared about setting the price at 40 cents, worried that the price was too high. But he had eaten braised pig intestines before, and he knew that if the price was set low, it would definitely sell.
Lin Qingqing said, "Okay. But I have a suggestion. Since this is the first time that braised pig intestines are sold in the supply and marketing cooperative, you can organize an event. For example, if this food is on the market for the first time, buy one catty and get one ounce for free. Buy half a catty and get half an ounce for free. As for less than half a catty, forget it. But this event can only be held for one day. If you buy more than that, it will no longer be fresh."
Buy one catty and get one ounce free, buy half a catty and get half an ounce free. This is the first time Director Ma has heard of this kind of activity. No, to be exact, this is the first time he has heard of this kind of activity of giving away things, but thinking about it carefully, it does make sense. To put it bluntly, who doesn't want something for free? In fact, it is the mentality of taking advantage. Even Director Ma himself, after trying it, he thought the braised pig intestines were delicious. If he came across it, if he bought one catty and got one ounce free, he might buy two catties. Anyway, if he couldn't finish it, he could save it for the next day.
After thinking it through, Director Ma said, "Then let's try it according to Comrade Lin's suggestion. By the way, are you going back to the army later?"
Lin Qingqing said: "Yes, do you have any materials for us to take back and make?"
What Director Ma wanted to say was: "If you bring it back, when will you bring it back?"
Yu Xiuyao said: "Salted duck eggs need a month."
Lin Qingqing: "I can bring the braised food back the next day."
Director Ma: "Can I bring it to the supply and marketing cooperative before it opens the next day?"
Lin Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "Can you deliver the materials to the army every day, and I will come to the army to pick them up every morning? Because I will start working in the army cafeteria tomorrow. If possible, I can make a profit."
"No need to give concessions, no need to give concessions." Yu Xiuyao said, "I come to pick up the goods every day, and I come to deliver the goods every morning."
Lin Qingqing thought for a while and said, "That's fine." When the time comes, she will give the profit from the concession to Yu Xiu Yao. Instead of giving the profit to the supply and marketing cooperative, it is better to let Yu Xiu Yao make money.
Director Ma saw that they had already discussed it, so there was no problem. "We killed two pigs today, and there are more than 20 kilograms of pig intestines. Why don't you take them first? Tell me the ingredients you need, and I'll prepare them."
Pigs in that era were not fat, especially after the three-year food shortage period, so a pig weighing less than 200 pounds would only have 10 pounds of pig intestines, and two pigs would have more than 20 pounds.
"We slaughter two pigs here every day, and we will only have this amount of pig intestines every day. But if they sell well, I can buy pig intestines from other places." Director Ma said boldly.
Lin Qingqing said: "That's fine, in fact, pig heads can also be used to make braised food."
Director Ma said, "Okay, this time you take two pig heads and more than 20 kilograms of pig intestines back. What about the other materials?"
Lin Qingqing said: "I will write down the approximate materials. I need to purchase the other materials myself, so it is inconvenient to disclose them. But I will give you a quote when the time comes. Of course, if you are not assured, then I can't do anything about it."
Director Ma said, "Of course, I will trust you when it comes to the quotation." He also understood that if all the materials were revealed, they would be able to figure it out. As for Comrade Lin's quotation, they would decide on the price at that time.
Lin Qingqing didn't say much, and told Director Ma the ingredients: "Oil, salt, soy sauce, sugar." In fact, braised food doesn't require oil, but requires the key seasoning bean paste, but Lin Qingqing didn't mention bean paste, but oil. She planned to buy bean paste herself, and as for the money, she would naturally use the oil to offset it. The oil was used by their family, and the bean paste would be paid by their family. In this way, from the outside, there was only oil, but no bean paste.
After hearing this, Director Ma went out to get the materials readily, because he saw that the materials Lin Qingqing wanted were not large in quantity.
Director Ma went out for a while and came back soon. Then he took Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao to the place behind the supply and marketing cooperative where pork was processed.
Because it is a place where pork is processed, there is a smell of meat.
The pork salesman was a man in his thirties. When he saw Director Ma coming, he hurried over to greet him: "Director, you are here."
Director Ma nodded: "This is Lv Guosheng, who is in charge of the pork stall in our supply and marketing cooperative. These two are military wives, Comrade Lin Qingqing and Comrade Yu Xiuyao. Do you still have the pig intestines and pig heads?"
Lu Guosheng: "There is still half a pig's head and the pig's large intestines are all there, but no one is buying them today." These scraps from the pig are often disposed of without a ticket.
Director Ma: "Pack up the pig intestines and pig heads and give them to the two comrades later." Director Ma did not elaborate because he did not know how the business would be in the future. If the business was good, the two military wives would have a lot of contact with Lv Guosheng in the future, and it would be in time to tell Lv Guosheng in detail then.
Although Lu Guosheng was puzzled, he did not ask and packed the things quickly.
Yu Xiuyao said, "Put it on my bicycle. Qingqing, you want to carry Haici, but you can't put this thing on a bicycle."
Lin Qingqing thought about it and said: "Then let's put it on my sister-in-law's bicycle."
The pig intestines were placed in a wooden barrel, and the pig heads were put in a sack and placed on the back seat of the bicycle. The duck eggs that Yu Xiuyao needed were added, and then balanced. It was quite convenient.
After packing these things, Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao were about to leave. As for the cinnamon and other condiments needed for the stewed food, Lin Qingqing had them at home, so she didn't go to the market to buy them for the time being.
Before leaving, Lin Qingqing left the remaining braised pig intestines in the lunch box to Director Ma, and Yu Xiuyao also left the two salted duck eggs she brought to Director Ma.
"No, no, you guys take this back." Director Ma declined.
Lin Qingqing said: "This is not for you, but for your family to taste. We also ask your family to give us some suggestions. If there is anything that is not to your taste, we can also make some changes. So I will trouble you with this important task, Director."
When Director Ma heard this, he no longer refused, mainly because the young female comrade’s words were so nice.
Even Yu Xiuyao felt that Lin Qingqing's words were beautiful.
It was already half past eleven when we left the supply and marketing cooperative, and it was already twelve o'clock when we arrived at the family quarters.
Before their bicycles reached the gate of the family compound, Lin Qingqing saw Lu Cheng, who had just come from the army.
"Lu Cheng..." Lin shouted softly.
Lu Cheng was not alone at this moment, but with several comrades. As Lin Qingqing called out, everyone stopped. Someone joked, "Deputy Regiment Lu, your wife saw you from a distance, and her eyes slipped away."
"Hahaha... Newlyweds are all like this. We're experienced people, so we understand."
"Speaking of Vice Colonel Lu's wife, I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Lu Chengcai didn't listen to their gossip, he just stood there waiting.