Chapter 31

Jiang Yuanfeng corrected his third brother, “I’m treating Big Brother and Zhizhi, you’re not included!”

Jiang Yuanyang: “???????”

No matter what, he immediately turned into a bootlicker, “Your humble servant will follow you.”

Jiang Yuanshan silently looked away and finally concluded, “Are you not ashamed?”

Jiang Yuanyang felt very good about himself.

Rarely, Jiang Zhizhi joined her brother and second brother’s side, agreeing with her brother’s statement.

Hahaha, Third Brother, you little bootlicker!

The four siblings laughed and joked, happily arriving at the state-owned restaurant.

The state-owned restaurant had a strong sense of the times.

Above the red door was a red sign that read “State-owned Restaurant” in red characters.

Above the sign was a red five-pointed star.

On the left was a red couplet that read “Self-reliance,” and on the right was a red couplet that read “Hard Work.”

Looking around, there were six red flags flying on the roof, waving in the wind.

Jiang Zhizhi walked into the state-owned restaurant and saw the blackboard with the day’s menu at a glance.

【Braised Pork 43 cents, Vinegar Cabbage 10 cents, Garlic Stir-fried Pig Liver 30 cents, Half a Pound of Mutton 50 cents, Braised Spare Ribs 30 cents, Wontons 50 cents, Pork and Cabbage Dumplings 50 cents, Rice 10 cents.】

【Pork and Sauerkraut Noodles 18 cents, Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms 18 cents, Stir-fried Potato Shreds 5 cents…】

The second thing she saw was: the restaurant’s slogan was: “No beating or scolding customers.”

Existence is reasonable, right?

In the 1970s, eating out was a very luxurious thing. You couldn’t even get a meal without grain coupons.

State-owned restaurants collected grain coupons based on the weight of the food. For example, if you bought two fried dough sticks, they would collect two taels of coupons and another five cents.

But at this state-owned restaurant in this small county, you didn’t need meat coupons!

Jiang Zhizhi saw someone ordering rice at the window. The rice was given generously.

Another thing was that state-owned restaurants had a time limit. If you came too early, there was no food. If you came too late, there was no food.

Even if you had money, the chef wouldn’t even look at you. They had to leave work on time.

There weren’t many people today. Jiang Zhizhi patted her black canvas bag and said with a smile, “Order! We have enough grain coupons!”

Of course, she had even more money!

The four siblings chose a large square table on the right. They were just enough for one table, so they didn’t have to share with anyone else.

Jiang Zhizhi smiled and waited for her brothers to order. But her brothers only wanted to order the cheapest steamed buns, which were only five cents each.

They were genuinely trying to save money for her.

Jiang Zhizhi burst into laughter. Although she loved to tease her brothers, they had gone out of their way to help her collect herbs. Carrying so many heavy herbs was so tiring!

Besides, they had provided enthusiastic emotional value the whole time. They supported her in everything. In Jiang Zhizhi’s heart, they were good brothers.

Jiang Zhizhi directly stood up and walked to the window to order. Her little tail, Jiang Yuanyang, scurried over.

“Zhizhi, don’t order so much. If Mom finds out, Third Brother’s life might be in danger!”

Big Brother and Second Brother were worried that they wouldn’t be able to persuade their sister, so they sent him over.

It was true that he was the most favored by Jiang Zhizhi among the four siblings!

There was no way around it. He was just too popular.

Jiang Yuanyang started to get cocky, his eyes shining.

Jiang Zhizhi was too familiar with her third brother’s look. She simply turned her head and ignored him, letting him secretly enjoy himself.

Understanding her brothers’ intentions, Jiang Zhizhi didn’t order that many dishes. Enough for four people to eat was fine.

She ordered braised pork, half a pound of mutton, and four portions of pork and cabbage dumplings.

The waitress at the state-owned restaurant saw Jiang Zhizhi and her smile was as bright as it could be. “That’s two yuan and ninety-three cents.”

It was true that seeing a beautiful and polite woman while working made the waitress’s mood better.

Jiang Zhizhi readily paid. The waitress told her to come back and get the food when it was ready.

Jiang Zhizhi and Jiang Yuanyang walked back and sat down, looking around with great interest.

The waitress saw that the dishes were ready and called out to the customers:

“Whose fried tofu is it?”

“It’s ours!”

“Whose twice-cooked pork is it?”

“Over here!”

“Come and get your food!”

Five minutes later.

The waitress called out to Jiang Zhizhi.

“Braised pork, dumplings, mutton, all ready. You can come and get your food.”

Jiang Zhizhi didn’t have to go. Jiang Yuanfeng and Jiang Yuanyang quickly stood up and went to the window to get the food.

Jiang Yuanyang turned and asked, “Sister, do you want some scallions?”

“Yes!”

Jiang Zhizhi was drooling.

They hadn’t even started eating yet, but the aroma of the dumplings was already hitting their noses, making them hungry.

Jiang Yuanyang placed the first bowl of dumplings in front of Jiang Zhizhi and said with a happy smile, “Let’s eat, eat, eat. We have high awareness, following sister means meat.”

Jiang Yuanfeng chuckled, “The third brother has high awareness. We three brothers have indeed benefited from our sister.”

Jiang Yuanshan nodded vigorously.

It seemed that this meal at the state-owned restaurant was rare. Jiang Zhizhi was a protective person. At the most critical moment, it was her uncle’s family who helped them. According to Jiang Zhizhi’s father and mother, they would feel at ease knowing that her uncle’s family was taking care of their little daughter.

Then, her uncle’s family was all very good. With family ties, Jiang Zhizhi had accepted the old Jiang family and classified them as her own.

Jiang Zhizhi looked smugly, “Don’t say so much when it comes to food, just eat.”

“Hahaha, listen to our sister.”

The fragrant dishes were laid out on the table. They were all starving.

The plump dumplings looked very inviting. The skin was thin and the filling was large, made with real ingredients.

If you want it to be delicious, you have to put your heart into it.

Jiang Zhizhi couldn’t wait to pick up a large dumpling, gently blew on it, and took a bite.

Wow, she was surprised!

The dumplings were really delicious. The meat was very fresh and flavorful. The taste was neither too salty nor too bland, just right. Every bite hit Jiang Zhizhi’s taste buds perfectly.

If Jiang Zhizhi were to make the meat filling, she was confident that she could make it better and more fragrant than the state-owned restaurant.

But Jiang Zhizhi felt that the difference lay in the ingredients.

In the future, many things were a combination of technology and trickery. You didn’t know whether the things you ate contained all kinds of technology.

Take the pork in the 1970s compared to the pork in the future.

The taste of farm-raised pigs and feed pigs was really different.

Farm-raised pigs were fed bran and pig feed. The pigs raised were almost all lean meat, with very little fat.

It took a year to raise a pig. This kind of meat was the best.

But feed pigs were raised in a short time, and they ate feed. Some pigs ate too much feed, and the pork had a fishy smell.

Even if you added a lot of ginger slices and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, the pork still had a fishy smell.

The pork and cabbage dumplings they were eating now were made with real ingredients. Each bite was full of meat, delicious and satisfying.

Jiang Yuanshan, Jiang Yuanfeng, and Jiang Yuanyang were also immersed in the joy of eating meat.

The four of them were most in sync when it came to eating.

After all, if you’re not enthusiastic about eating, there’s something wrong with your thinking.

Jiang Yuanyang smiled and added, “You can lose your face, but you can’t not eat!”

The other three agreed. Our awareness is high!

Jiang Zhizhi picked up another piece of braised pork. It was true that braised pork was a staple dish wherever you went. The taste was different depending on the place.

After they finished eating, the four siblings sat for a while, patting their round bellies, feeling very satisfied.

After resting, the four siblings took their oxcart and went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Jiang Yuanshan: “I won’t go in. I’ll watch the stuff outside.”

He volunteered to watch the ox and the pork and eggs they bought outside. He was afraid that someone would steal them.