novelraw Chapter 228 - 224: Meeting
Chapter 228 - 224: Meeting
Seeing the eggs in the basin, Lin Lan smiled. "Auntie, we’re all grown-ups. We don’t really care for eggs. Give them to the three kids."
Lin Guoliang also said with a smile, "Exactly. Why would we be eating eggs!"
Wu Shufang shook her head with a smile. "They have their own food, don’t worry about them." With that, she turned and went to the kitchen to get some pickles.
Lin Lan followed her into the kitchen, carrying the eggs. She saw the three children gathered around a bowl of roasted soybeans soaked in pickle brine and half a bowl of stir-fried fermented black beans with garlic scapes, eating with great relish alongside their corn cakes and congee.
When they saw Lin Lan approach, they all stopped their chopsticks and called out, "Auntie."
"Good kids!" Lin Lan smiled and put the eggs on the table. "How about Auntie trades you these for some of your sour beans?"
These "sour beans" were made by roasting soybeans, sprinkling them with chopped scallions, and then ladling half a bowl of brine from a pickle jar over them. The result was a sour, spicy, and savory dish that was quite appetizing.
The children turned to look at Wu Shufang. "Grandma, Auntie says she doesn’t like eggs, she likes sour beans."
"Grandma knows. I still have some sour beans over here." Wu Shufang smiled and brought out another half-bowl of them. "I didn’t realize you liked sour beans too, so I didn’t bring them over for you."
Lin Lan chuckled. "I haven’t had them in ages. Seeing them today brought back the craving."
Back in the main hall, Zhou Dashan and his son returned, carrying a pheasant and two wild rabbits. They told Lin Lan that the brigade leader said they should have breakfast first. Then, when the brigade called a meeting, she could go and speak to everyone in person about purchasing dried goods and beans.
After breakfast, the whistle for the brigade meeting sounded. The three of them—Lin Lan, Lin Guoliang, and Li Xiangyang—followed Zhou Dashan and his son up the slope toward the brigade house.
Along the way, they ran into other brigade members heading to the meeting, all of whom greeted the group warmly.
After a walk of ten-odd minutes, they arrived at the brigade house. Lin Lan thought that the Shishanling brigade house was a far cry from the one in Lexing; it was just three small buildings made of stacked stones.
"Welcome, welcome!" A beaming Zhou Xiangui shook hands with Li Xiangyang and Lin Guoliang, then greeted Lin Lan with a smile before leading them into the meeting room.
The meeting room was about forty square meters. Just inside the door were a few small, square tables. In the center of the room, charcoal burned in a floor brazier, with a soot-blackened teapot hanging over it. Rows of long benches were placed along the walls.
Zhou Xiangui warmly invited Lin Lan’s group to sit. Other brigade members trickled into the meeting room, one by one, crossing their arms and curiously watching Lin Lan, Li Xiangyang, and the others, who were seated at the head of the room.
Some of the members Zhou Dashan had already spoken to walked over to him and his son to ask for more details in hushed tones.
One member asked as soon as he entered the room, "Brigade Leader, what did you call us all out for on such a cold day?"
Zhou Xiangui placed his long-stemmed pipe on the table and cleared his throat with a couple of dry coughs. "I’ve called you here for good news. This morning, Dashan came to see me. He said his niece is here and wants to buy some local mountain products. The price is five percent higher than what we get for hauling it out of the mountains to the supply and marketing co-op, and the quality standard is the same. Also..."
The members below began whispering among themselves. Some worried Lin Lan was trying to scam them.
One person said it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t buy them. Pumpkins were easy to grow and had a high yield. They could just plant a few more in the spring. If they could sell them for money, great. If not, they could keep them for themselves, and what they couldn’t finish, they’d cook for the pigs.
"Listen to you! Feeding pumpkins to pigs? Wasting food like that, aren’t you afraid heaven will strike you with lightning?" The crowd burst into laughter.
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou pursed her lips. "It’s probably a scam. Just think about it, where would you find a deal this good? Who pays money for old pumpkins?"
A woman beside her laughed. "What’s there to be afraid of? Zhou Dashan’s house is just a stone’s throw away. He wouldn’t dare go back on something said at a brigade meeting!"
An old woman with a full head of gray hair stood up and looked at Zhou Xiangui. "Ah Gu, is what you’re saying really true?"
Zhou Xiangui pointed at Lin Lan. "The boss is right here. I’ll let Boss Lin explain it to everyone herself."
Lin Lan smiled. "Sir, you can just call me Little Lin."
Zhou Xiangui nodded, then stood up and raised a hand to quiet the members. "Alright, everyone, quiet down and listen to what Little Lin has to say."
The crowd fell silent and turned to look at Lin Lan.
Lin Lan stood up and addressed them. "I heard some of you are worried that I’m here to cheat you. Let me assure you, I’ve been consistently buying goods over in the Shilian brigade—rapeseed oil, large white beans..."
"I buy dried mushrooms, sweet potato starch, potato starch, dried starch powders and noodles, and even taro starch noodles. That’s exactly why we’ve come this time, to purchase goods. If any of you don’t believe me, you can bring your items to Zhou Shitou’s house after the meeting is over. It’s cash on delivery; I won’t short you by a single cent."
Hearing this, everyone was tempted. They decided to go back and get their things to give it a try as soon as the meeting was over.
An older man who was friendly with Zhou Dashan stood up and said to Lin Lan, "I’ve got a dozen or so winter squash at home, over twenty jin of large and small white beans, some sweet potato, potato, and taro starch, plus black wood ear fungus and dried mushrooms."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "I don’t have much in the way of Sichuan peppercorns, green peppercorns, or tsaoko cardamom, so I won’t bother bringing those over. We’ll wait until we harvest them next year and send them to Dashan’s place then."
The man next to him added, "That’s right, you came too late. We’ve already turned in our Sichuan peppercorns, green peppercorns, and tsaoko cardamom to the supply and marketing co-op. We’ll send them to Dashan’s place for you next year. But I wanted to ask, do you have any specific requirements?"
A few days earlier, they had heard Zhou Dashan mention that his niece sold pastries in East Market and had bought a large amount of white beans and rapeseed oil in Shilian...
"I do have requirements!" Lin Lan said, her tone firm. "The beans and dried goods you bring must be of the same quality you’d deliver to the supply and marketing co-op. Otherwise, I won’t accept them."
Zhou Xiangui stood up and addressed the crowd. "Little Lin is here to help us. Her purchasing price is higher than the co-op’s, and we don’t even have to leave the village to sell."
"She’s also made it clear: her only requirement is that the goods are the same quality as what we sell to the co-op. If you’re willing, bring your things to Dashan’s house and sell to them. If you’re not, then take them to the co-op yourself!"
The old woman nodded. "We haul our goods out to sell just to buy a little salt, needles, and thread. If Shi Tou’s family is buying, we’ll sell to them. But it’s a pain to make the trip out to the co-op empty-handed just to buy things!"
’A thought flashed through Lin Lan’s mind. ’When Zhou Shitou and the others make deliveries, they could find someone on the black market to buy salt, needles, and thread in bulk to bring back and sell to the villagers.’
"Ma’am," Lin Lan said to the old woman, "if it’s inconvenient for you, you could have my cousin bring those things back for you!"
Zhou Shitou stood up. "Aunt Chen, if you trust me, I can bring them back for you."
The old woman smiled and nodded. "Good, it would be wonderful if you could bring them back for me."
Seeing that everyone understood, Zhou Xiangui stood up and announced, "This was what the meeting was for. If you have things to sell, go home and take them to Dashan’s place. Meeting adjourned!" As he spoke, he picked up his pipe and said to Zhou Dashan, "You’d better hurry back. I’m going home to get my dried mushrooms to bring over, too."