Chapter 96: Knitting a Sweater and Meeting the County Party Secretary

After joking around, Liu Laosan drove the cart, and the group headed to the state-owned restaurant for a meal.

Since they rarely came to town, everyone planned to have a good meal.

After securing the carriage, they entered the restaurant.

At this hour, the restaurant had just started operating, and the first batch of steamed buns was about to come out of the pot.

Ming Dai noticed that there were also pickled cabbage and pork dumplings available, so she decided to order a serving.

They were the first customers, so there was no need to queue. They quickly got the food they wanted.

Liu Dazhu, Liu Qingmin, and Liu Guoqiang all ordered hand-pulled noodles. Each of them had a large bowl, and even though it was plain noodles, paired with a few cloves of garlic, the three of them ate with great satisfaction.

As someone who only had to feed himself and not a whole family, Liu Laosan indulged himself by ordering the same pickled cabbage and pork dumplings as Ming Dai. He got a full plate, along with unlimited dumpling soup.

Zhou Sinian, on the other hand, had a particular fondness for steamed buns. As soon as he opened his mouth, he asked for twenty buns.

The waitress looked up in surprise. Ming Dai quickly stopped him and instead ordered six large meat buns and a bowl of egg noodles for him.

The food was soon served. Looking at the large plate of dumplings in front of her, Ming Dai knew she wouldn’t be able to finish them all.

She gave five to Zhou Sinian, who grinned from ear to ear and, in return, picked five strands of noodles from his bowl and placed them in hers.

Ming Dai said, “You’re quite generous.”

The dumplings were packed with filling! With each bite, the juices almost burst out. The unique sourness of the pickled cabbage balanced out the greasiness of the pork, and the fragrance of the wheat in the dumpling skin made them irresistibly delicious.

Ming Dai decided to check at home to see if her own batch of pickled cabbage was ready—she wanted to make her own dumplings too!

Zhou Sinian quickly finished the five dumplings she gave him. He smacked his lips, glanced at Ming Dai’s bowl again, and silently made a note of the pickled cabbage and pork dumplings before finally focusing on his large bowl of egg noodles.

Noticing Liu Dazhu and the others eating garlic, he grew curious. Ming Dai peeled a clove for him.

Zhou Sinian popped a whole clove of garlic into his mouth and chewed a few times. His face darkened as he swallowed it, and he never mentioned eating garlic again.

After finishing their meal, they led the horse-drawn carriage back to the rear entrance of the county government building.

Liu Dazhu and the other three dozed off while sitting in the carriage, while Ming Dai took out the yarn from her basket and began teaching Zhou Sinian how to knit a sweater.

Zhou Sinian had been spending his days in the space, tormenting the little lambs—shearing them until they were completely bald. Every single one of them was left bare, an unbearable sight to look at.

Ming Dai couldn’t stand it anymore. Taking advantage of this trip to town, she brought out a large amount of yarn.

Of course, the red yarn was for Zhou Sinian, while she chose green for herself, a less eye-catching color.

The knitting needles were ready to use. Although Ming Dai had all kinds of knitting techniques in her mind, it was well known that what the brain understood and what the hands could do were two different things.

She had never knitted a sweater in her past life, so her teaching was clumsy and full of stops and starts.

Zhou Sinian, however, was extremely patient. He started with the simplest knit stitch, and after just a short while, he had already mastered it. His movements became more and more fluid, knitting quickly and neatly.

Amazed by his learning ability, Ming Dai taught him additional stitches—purl stitch, seed stitch, and cable knitting. Even the more complicated lace holes and heart-patterned designs, which she struggled with herself, he picked up with ease.

Watching Zhou Sinian’s nimble fingers working skillfully, Ming Dai felt as if she had stumbled upon a treasure!

She then pulled out a skein of white yarn and asked Zhou Sinian to knit her a heart-patterned sweater to her size.

Zhou Sinian was enjoying himself so much that he nodded in agreement and even declared that he would knit himself a matching red one.

Liu Qingmin, who hadn’t fallen asleep, looked at the two of them with an expression that was difficult to put into words.

In the entire Liujiawan village, not a single woman—be it an elderly lady, a young wife, or an unmarried girl—knew how to knit a sweater, yet this madman did?!

While Zhou Sinian was busy knitting, in the county government cafeteria, the chive and egg dumplings had just come out of the pot.

Mayor Wei Yan, who was being hosted by the county party secretary, had come to the cafeteria for breakfast.

His task in the county this time was a heavy one. Just last night, the leadership team had worked overnight in the office, only managing to catch a brief nap at dawn. After breakfast, they would have to continue their meetings.

Secretary Wang observed Mayor Wei’s smiling face, unable to gauge his true emotions. His heart was unsettled, unsure whether the mayor was satisfied with the past two days’ work.

When the dumplings were served, Secretary Wang initially thought they were pickled cabbage and pork. Taking a bite, he was momentarily stunned as the fresh chive and egg filling released a rich aroma in his mouth.

Wei Yan tasted the dumpling filling and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Secretary Wang, your county still has fresh chives at this time of year?”

Secretary Wang was just as surprised. He chuckled and said, “In previous years, we didn’t. Maybe the procurement station just brought some in this year. You should enjoy it while you can—fresh vegetables are rare. I’ll have them make you two chive-filled pastries for lunch.”

His smile was somewhat simple and honest. He wasn’t the most quick-witted person, but that was precisely why Wei Yan had appointed him to Yudai County.

Wei Yan shook his head lightly. “Secretary Wang, we discussed all night about solving the poverty issues in the communes under Yudai County. Now, an opportunity is right in front of you, and you don’t see it?”

Secretary Wang was stunned for a moment before he suddenly understood. He immediately called for the head chef.

Chef Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked over, looking somewhat nervous.

He hadn’t expected a high-ranking leader to be eating here today—let alone that he would have to meet him!

Secretary Wang asked, “Chef Zhou, where did these fresh chives come from?”

Chef Zhou’s heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, This is bad.

Originally, he had planned to wait until the cafeteria director finished his dumplings before trying to build a connection with him—so they could bypass the procurement station and purchase the vegetables directly. But he hadn’t expected the county party secretary to get to the dumplings first!

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said, “Secretary Wang, one of our cafeteria staff brought them. A relative sent them over for us to try.”

He chickened out, no longer daring to mention selling vegetables.

“Which relative? And how much did they bring?”

Seeing his nervous expression, Secretary Wang softened his tone. “I’m not blaming anyone. I just want to know—does this family have more vegetables?”

Hearing that, Chef Zhou gathered some courage and said, “They brought two pounds of chives, another two pounds of chive sprouts, and twenty pounds of mushrooms.”

That much?!

Mayor Wei and Secretary Wang exchanged a look, their eyes lighting up with hope.

“Where is this relative from? Do you know?”

Chef Zhou was a shrewd man. The moment he realized this might lead to something big, he eagerly explained how Liu Dazhu had approached him earlier. “They haven’t left yet—they’re still at the back entrance.”

Secretary Wang immediately said, “Call them in, quickly!”

Excited, Chef Zhou dashed to the kitchen and brought Aunt Li along to the back entrance.

As they opened the door and looked around, they spotted the horse-drawn carriage in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot.

In just one morning, Zhou Sinian had already knitted a palm-sized section of a sweater. Liu Qingmin and Ming Dai were watching with great interest, while the other three were still dozing off.

“Heidan! Heidan! Hurry over! The secretary wants to see you!”

Hearing this, Liu Qingmin immediately jumped off the carriage, nearly slipping on the snow.

Liu Dazhu was also startled awake. The two of them rushed toward Chef Zhou and Aunt Li.

There was no time for pleasantries. Chef Zhou, panting, grabbed them by the arms and said, “Our county party secretary wants to meet you—come quickly!”

Liu Dazhu was overjoyed and was about to follow when Liu Qingmin stopped him. “Comrade, we still have some vegetables in our cart. Should we bring them along?”

Chef Zhou quickly nodded. “Yes! Bring them all, bring them all!”

The two hurried back to the cart, hastily telling Ming Dai and Liu Guoqiang a few words before following Chef Zhou and Aunt Li through the back entrance.

As they left, Ming Dai continued watching Zhou Sinian knit, while Liu Guoqiang, too excited to sit still, paced around the carriage.

This irritated Liu Laosan to no end, and after losing his patience, he snapped a whip at Liu Guoqiang, driving him away.