Chapter 41: Fried Oyster Mushrooms in High Demand

“Comrades, may I ask if the mushrooms in this basket are called oyster mushrooms?”

Xia Changhai quickly stood up and greeted him, “Comrade, hello. These are oyster mushrooms.”

The person in charge’s eyes lit up. “Comrade, may I ask where you are planning to send these oyster mushrooms?”

Xia Changhai said, “We are planning to send these oyster mushrooms to the supply and marketing cooperative. This is our village’s sideline business.”

The person in charge hurriedly said, “Comrade, I am the person in charge of the back kitchen. My name is Wang Jun. May I ask your name, comrade?”

Xia Changhai replied, “I am the accountant of Baizitu Village. My name is Xia Changhai.”

“Brother Xia, would you mind if we go to the office to chat?”

Xia Changhai didn’t refuse. “Let’s go chat then.”

The three of them didn’t go with Xia Changhai. As the village accountant, Xia Changhai wouldn’t let his people suffer a loss when he had the initiative in his hands.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Xia Changhai came out. The state-owned restaurant bought 100 jin of samples this time and signed a purchase contract. The purchase price for the oyster mushrooms grown in Baizitu Village before next March would be 45 cents per jin. This price was already considered very good. Xia Changhai came out happily. Wang Jun called two people from the back kitchen to help carry the 100 jin of oyster mushrooms inside.

After leaving the state-owned restaurant, they went to the supply and marketing cooperative. This time, Xia Changhai directly took the state-owned restaurant’s contract and a sample of oyster mushrooms to find the manager.

They signed the contract in less than 20 minutes and came out. The price was the same as the state-owned restaurant’s.

While Xia Changhai was inside, the others divided the work. They bought 5 jin of pork belly and 2 jin of lard. Xia Ning’an went to grab 5 jin of cotton.

After Xia Changhai came out, they had also bought the meat. They went to the place where they sold bicycles to see if they had any. But they were told that they were out of stock.

Xia Ninghao was like a wilted eggplant.

Xia Ning’an could only comfort him, saying that they would buy a bicycle in the provincial capital when they went to sell ganoderma lucidum in a few days.

Thinking about the ganoderma lucidum at home, it would be ready to harvest in 5 or 6 days. He would be energized then.

They arrived at the small courtyard Xia Ning’an rented. They unloaded the things in the courtyard and carefully looked around. It was indeed dilapidated, but it was also desolate, so it was perfect for making meat sauce. The smell of the meat sauce wouldn’t drift out, as it would be blown away by the northwest wind.

Without further ado, they got to work.

Xia Ning’an saw that she couldn’t help much, so she went to find Tong Dawei. She could come over and familiarize herself with the place. They would build the kitchen today, and they could start making meat sauce tomorrow.

When she arrived at Tong Dawei’s house, Kong Zhizhang was also there. So, the two of them came over to help.

Xia Ning’an took them to the small courtyard. With two more people helping, they worked faster. Xia Ning’an drove the ox cart out for a spin and pulled back the materials needed for making meat sauce, two large pots, some kitchen utensils, and 500 empty bottles for storing meat sauce.

She went out for another spin and pulled back a large cart of firewood.

At noon, Xia Ning’an went to the state-owned restaurant to pack lunch for everyone. Sure enough, she saw that the menu had added a dish called “Fried Oyster Mushrooms with Meat.” She ordered this dish and her favorite “Sour Cabbage Stew with Bones.” When the dishes were ready, she packed most of them into lunch boxes. The rest, she leisurely ate in the dining hall. People passing by saw a dish they had never eaten before. It looked delicious, so they all ordered it to try something new. As a result, the dish became a hit at noon. It tasted like meat, and the texture was smooth. It was unanimously praised.

After finishing her meal, Xia Ning’an packed 5 jin of rice, a portion of braised pork, a portion of pot-braised pork, a portion of potato slices, and 10 steamed buns to take back.

When Xia Ning’an came out with her packages, almost everyone who entered the state-owned restaurant ordered the Fried Oyster Mushrooms with Meat. This dish became an instant hit.

After lunch, they didn’t rest. They continued working for another two hours and finished building the kitchen. They put the pots on the stove and categorized the kitchen utensils.

Xia Ninghao saw that there were a lot of bottles and jars, so he used the remaining wood to build a shelf to store things.

Xia Ning’an left three days’ worth of meat to make meat sauce. She would come back in three days to collect the finished product and deliver the ingredients.

Through their interaction that day, Kong Zhizhang discovered that Xia Ninghao had exceptional hands-on skills, as well as a remarkable memory and comprehension. He felt a desire to nurture his talent and guided him with some of his knowledge in physics. He found that Xia Ninghao could think independently and had a high level of comprehension in mechanics. He asked Xia Ninghao if he was willing to learn mechanics and physics with him.

Xia Ninghao had also recently felt that his brain was particularly sharp. He didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity to learn, so he agreed to Kong Zhizhang.

Kong Zhizhang was very happy. He went back and got a book on basic physics for Xia Ninghao and brought it over for him to read first. He would come here once a week, and if Xia Ninghao didn’t understand anything, he would explain it to him.

This trip, Xia Ninghao gained a teacher, and Xia Ning’an gained a partner. Xia Changhai was very happy.

“Dad, it’s still early. We rarely rent an ox cart. Why don’t we buy the glass back too?”

Most of the houses in the village had paper windows. Those who could use plastic sheeting were considered well-off. Let alone glass windows. The reason was that glass windows were not only expensive but also difficult to buy.

Xia Ning’an thought that since they had built a brick house, they should definitely install glass windows. Otherwise, in winter, their old house with those windows wouldn’t be able to withstand the cold wind.

Glass windows were expensive, but they were bright and windproof, and they felt much safer.

She asked the carpenter, but he didn’t have any connections to get glass.

Today, when they came to the county, Xia Ning’an still wanted to try her luck at the hardware store.

“An’an, I’ll go find my comrade. He should have connections.” Lu Zecheng suddenly said.

Xia Ning’an was surprised. “Zecheng Ge, you have a lot of comrades!”

Lu Zecheng’s face flushed a little. “Not many. Just two or three who I’m close to.”

“Then let’s go early. Otherwise, we’ll be late getting home.”

Lu Zecheng asked them to wait there while he went to find his comrade. After about forty minutes, he came back.

He gave Xia Ning’an a slip of paper. They went to the hardware store and bought enough glass. They also bought a few mirrors. They put everything on the ox cart and took it directly back to the carpenter. The doors and windows were already made. They could cut the glass and install it when they got back.

The doors and windows of the new house were custom-made by the carpenter in the village.

They also ordered the furniture they needed at the same time.

When the Xia family pulled a cart of glass back, it spread throughout the village. Many people were envious. It became a hot topic in the village because even if many people were building houses, they couldn’t afford glass windows. Only the Xia family was so extravagant.