“Oh, let me get it out.” Yu Xiuyao hurriedly took out her identification, but it wasn’t her marriage certificate; it was her military family member certificate.

The reason Lin Qingqing presented her marriage certificate instead of a military family member certificate was that the original owner had just gotten married and followed her husband to the military.

After that, Lu Cheng was sent on a mission, and her military family member certificate hadn’t been processed yet.

So, Lin Qingqing currently only had her marriage certificate.

However, her marriage certificate served the same purpose as Yu Xiuyao’s military family member certificate.

Because Lu Cheng was an officer, when they went to get their marriage certificate, ordinary people used their ID cards, while Lu Cheng used his officer’s ID.

The difference was that using an officer’s ID to obtain a marriage certificate meant that the certificate would include a note about Lu Cheng’s identity and his officer ID number.

Additionally, they also had a proof of marital status provided by the military at the time of obtaining the certificate.

Thus, Lin Qingqing’s marriage certificate included Lu Cheng’s information, proving that she was a military spouse and served the same purpose as Yu Xiuyao’s military family member certificate.

Lin Qingqing asked Yu Xiuyao to bring her military family member certificate because, in this era, the military family member certificate was one of the sacred documents that made it easier for them to gain people’s trust.

Sure enough, after the sales clerk saw their documents, she no longer looked at them with suspicion.

The clerk knew that there were military bases in the suburbs of the county and that soldiers often entered and exited the county.

Sometimes, these soldiers would assist the public security, so it was common to see military spouses buying things at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Now that two military spouses wanted to discuss business with the director or president, it had to be genuine.

This was not something a mere sales clerk could decide. “Please wait a moment; I’ll go ask the director.”

In the Director’s Office

“There are two military spouses here to discuss business?” The director was still a bit taken aback.

If it were someone else or an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have felt there was any business worth discussing and might have refused to meet them outright.

What kind of business would a supply and marketing cooperative director have to discuss with others?

However, since the visitors were military spouses, he didn’t dare to refuse directly; if they made a scene, it wouldn’t look good.

Moreover, who knew if the military spouses were here on behalf of the military?

So the director also didn’t want to chase them away: “Bring them in.”

The sales clerk replied, “Okay, I’ll go get them right now.”

Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao were quickly invited into the director’s office. “Ladies, this is our Director Ma,” the sales clerk introduced. “Director, this is Comrade Lin Qingqing and Comrade Yu Xiuyao.”

She had already asked for their names when she brought them in.

Director Ma glanced at Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao.

Seeing that they had brought a child with them—the little one holding Lin Qingqing’s clothes with his small hand—he said, “Ladies, how can I help you?”

“Please, take a seat.” Then he said to the sales clerk, “You can return to your post.”

The sales clerk quickly stepped back.

Director Ma poured a cup of tea for Lin Qingqing, Yu Xiuyou, and Lu Haici, then said, “Comrades, our sales clerk mentioned that you want to discuss business with me. I’m not quite sure what you mean.”

Yu Xiuyou looked at Lin Qingqing, who replied, “Hello, Director Ma. We each have some skills. I have some insights into making marinated dishes, and Sister Yu is very skilled at making salted duck eggs. We were wondering if the supply and marketing station would be interested in discussing this business opportunity with us. The station would provide the materials, and we would provide the techniques.”

“This… Director Ma had never encountered such a proposal before.

Lin Qingqing continued, “Here’s some marinated pork intestines I made, and Sister Yu’s salted duck eggs. Would you like to try them?”

She took out the marinated pork intestines, which had been made the previous day and had intensified in flavor after being stored for a day.

They smelled rich and savory, similar to braised meat, with a feeling of becoming more fragrant over time. “I’m concerned that these marinated dishes might spoil in the heat, so I made them a bit saltier. If eaten on the same day, they can be less salty. When paired with vegetables, this salty flavor really enhances the dish.”

As Lin Qingqing spoke, Yu Xiuyou also took out the salted duck eggs, which she had steamed and cut into quarters.

Director Ma couldn’t help but salivate at the sight of the aromatic marinated dishes and the glistening salted duck eggs.

In this era of scarcity, who wouldn’t crave something delicious?

He grabbed a pair of chopsticks and picked up a piece of the marinated pork intestines.

Upon tasting it, his eyes lit up; the flavor was indeed good.

The intestines were soft yet had a delightful chewiness.

Admittedly, they were a bit salty, but if paired with vegetables or consumed fresh, they would taste even better.

Next, he tried a piece of salted duck egg.

Since it was already cut, he didn’t even need chopsticks.

The salted duck egg was also a bit salty, but it was not meant to be eaten as a snack.

Nonetheless, Director Ma couldn’t stop praising it.

After sampling both dishes, Director Ma became interested in Lin Qingqing’s business proposal. “You mentioned earlier that the station would provide materials and you would provide techniques. Why not sell us the techniques directly?”

He understood that they needed to provide the materials, as they couldn’t procure that much meat and duck eggs.

Lin Qingqing replied, “That won’t work. Just for the marinated dish technique, we could use pork intestines, chicken legs, duck legs, eggs, and duck eggs. All of them can be prepared using this method…”

“If we sell the technique, the supply and marketing cooperative can produce other items. More importantly, if we want to eat marinated dishes at home or if our relatives and friends want to eat them, I won’t be able to make marinated dishes anymore. This is a matter of respect for the buyers. The same goes for salted duck eggs; if we want to eat salted duck eggs in the future, we’ll have to buy them from the supply and marketing cooperative, right?”

“Wait a minute…” Director Ma overlooked something. “You said this is pig intestines? Not meat?” Director Ma didn’t realize that this was pig intestines.

After being marinated, pig intestines lose their original color, and since they were cut into pieces, he had always thought it was meat. “Pig intestines can have this flavor? You should know that pig intestines are quite cheap. After the cooperative slaughters pigs, many people don’t like to eat pig intestines. Some find them unclean, and others just don’t know how to cook them. I didn’t expect marinated pig intestines to taste so good.”

Lin Qingqing was also a bit surprised. “Didn’t you notice?”

Director Ma replied, “I really didn’t notice… But you have a point; once the technique is sold, you indeed cannot make it anymore. If the technique is leaked, that would be problematic. But if we provide the materials, how will the operation work on your end?”

Lin Qingqing explained, “You provide the materials, and after we prepare the dishes, we will deliver them back to the supply and marketing cooperative.”

Director Ma asked, “What about the pricing?”

Lin Qingqing replied, “The materials are yours, so you know the cost price. We’ll make a profit of twenty cents per pound.”

Director Ma immediately said, “Twenty cents is too much. You mentioned not just pig intestines but also chicken legs, duck legs, eggs, and duck eggs can also be made into marinated dishes, right?”

Lin Qingqing confirmed, “Not just that; vegetables can also be marinated. However, I didn’t bring vegetables today, but I can let you taste them next time I come.”

In the future, many marinated dish stalls mix vegetables with their offerings. Perhaps Lin Qingqing might not make too complicated dishes, but she can definitely handle everyday dishes.

After all, as a food streamer for several years, she had made hundreds, if not thousands, of different dishes.

This matter wasn’t something Director Ma could decide alone because he had to report to the president of the cooperative.

However, he thought this was worth trying.

There were several supply and marketing cooperatives in the county, and they competed with each other.

County leaders often talked about finances, emphasizing that the county’s development needed financial support.

Where does that finance come from?

It all comes from state-owned enterprises like theirs; without performance, there would be no financial contributions.

“You both sit tight for a moment; I’ll talk to the president.” Director Ma said.

Lin Qingqing and Yu Xiuyao naturally agreed without hesitation.

When Director Ma left with the marinated pig intestines and salted duck eggs, Yu Xiuyao turned to Lin Qingqing…

“Yu Xiuyou let out a big breath. ‘I was about to suffocate! Thank goodness you were here. But Qingqing, you were too… too bold just now. How could you dare to mention a profit of two dimes per pound? I think even one cent would be great. If we make a penny profit, that’s only five dimes if we pickle fifty pounds at a time. If we do that a few times a month, we can earn a few bucks. Coming from a rural background and being illiterate, I’d be satisfied with making a few bucks a month.'”

Lin Qingqing smiled, “Well, that’s part of negotiating. If we don’t ask for a high price, they might only offer us less. If we set the price higher, they will negotiate down, giving us a larger profit margin.”

Yu Xiuyou nodded, “You’re really clever.”

About half an hour later, Director Ma returned.

“Comrades, sorry to keep you waiting.” Director Ma was smiling, and from his expression, they could tell that today’s discussions were promising.

Lin Qingqing said, “Not at all.”

Yu Xiuyou smiled but didn’t speak, as she wasn’t very articulate.

Once seated, Director Ma continued, “I won’t beat around the bush. The terms you proposed—us providing materials and you providing techniques for selling marinated dishes and salted duck eggs—have been approved by Director Wang. As for the price, we won’t discuss it just yet; there are two conditions on our side.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “Please go ahead.”

Director Ma said, “First, we need to do a trial sale. If it sells well, we can officially sign an agreement. Once we sign, you will only be able to work with us and cannot partner with any other supply and marketing stations.”

Lin Qingqing responded, “That’s not a problem.”

Trial sales were common in later years, especially considering the consumer capacity in this era was incomparable.

“Second, once we start officially selling the marinated dishes and salted duck eggs at the supply station, you must not disclose the costs of these items,” Director Ma added.

Lin Qingqing immediately replied, “That’s only fair.”

Director Ma knew their requests weren’t unreasonable: “Now, let’s discuss the price. Comrade Lin mentioned a profit of two dimes per pound earlier, but that seems a bit high. How about we meet halfway and you take two cents profit per pound instead?”

He had calculated that if the marinated dishes sold well, they could sell twenty pounds a day, allowing them to earn four dimes daily, which would amount to a monthly income similar to what the supply station’s clerks made—only a little over ten bucks a month.

Lin Qingqing smiled wryly, “That’s too harsh. We come here from the army every day…”

“We need to hurry. If we encounter bad weather… How about this: I’ll take a step back and agree to a profit of twelve cents per pound,” Lin Qingqing suggested.

She often went to the market, so she was familiar with haggling.

When she was a food streamer, she would go shopping for groceries almost every other day.

She would drive her car to the market with her grandmother, and they would haggle together.

So, she was quite adept at negotiating prices.

In fact, she preferred supermarkets over markets, but her grandmother enjoyed going to the market.

Director Ma immediately shook his head, saying, “No, no, that won’t work. How about this: we’ll give you a profit of two and a half cents per pound. This is really the highest we can go; we can’t offer more.”