Siheyuan: Cooking journey

In the past, Qin Huairu always kept her head down, with a bit of bitterness and sorrow on her face, making her look sympathetic.

Whether it was genuine or fake, she was like that every day.

And now, although he still lowered his head and looked submissive, he seemed a little bitter and sad.

But in He Yuzhu's opinion, there seemed to be a hint of coldness.

"Qin Huairu, have you found the stick?"

As soon as she came, Lou Xiao'e walked up to her curiously and asked with concern.

Qin Huairu smiled gently and shook her head: "No, don't worry, he will come back on his own after a few meals."

"..."

He Yuzhu felt mixed emotions. Is this his biological mother?

Can you still laugh?

What's different about Qin Huairu?

He Yuzhu didn't take it too seriously. He just remembered that she was an ungrateful person.

The work in the canteen is the same every morning, which is to make steamed buns. The first batch of steamed buns is steamed, and then everyone eats breakfast.

The same routine is still used today.

At the table, Ma Hua saw Qin Huairu eating a steamed bun and asked curiously:

"Sister Qin, are you not going to eat cornmeal instead?"

"I won't change it."

There was no special expression on Qin Huairu's face, she was quite calm.

"That's a pity." Ma Hua said with some regret.

Liu Lan couldn't help but glared at him and said unhappily:

"Why, Ma Hua, are you greedy? Sister Qin is exchanging steamed buns for cornmeal with you, which is not cost-effective in the first place. What's wrong with not exchanging?"

"..."

Ma Hua was quite tactful. He just focused on eating and didn't respond.

When it comes to choking people, he himself admitted that ten people tied together could not compare to Liu Lan.

It was obviously a matter of benefit to both parties, but when Liu Lan said it, it became a loss for Qin Huiru.

The table was quiet for a while.

Qin Huairu quietly finished eating a steamed bun. When she picked up the second one, she suddenly thought of the two little ones at home. She was stunned for a moment and silently took out a steamed bun from her bag.

Ma Hua's eyes lit up and he asked:

"Sister Qin, do you want to change to cornmeal?"

"No change."

Qin Huairu shook her head calmly.

Liu Lan sneered and said, "Ma Hua, how about I trade with you? It doesn't have to be much. I'll give you a fist as big as a steamed bun in exchange for you shutting up..."

"What are they talking about?"

Lou Xiao'e was quite curious when she heard the noise.

"Cornmeal for steamed buns."

He Yuzhu glanced over there and explained:

"A steamed bun is about 2 taels each, and you can buy one with a 5-cent meal ticket, so four steamed buns cost 20 cents.

"Corn flour costs 10 cents per pound, and four steamed buns are equivalent to two pounds of corn flour.

"But this exchange is obviously not cost-effective. The flour sold at the grain store is 1.8 yuan per pound, and one pound of flour can make five steamed buns.

"In fact, four steamed buns are exchanged for 1.6 jin of corn flour, and the factory also pays a little."

This was an idea that Qin Huairu came up with. In the past two months, whenever the canteen steamed buns, she would use this method to exchange for cornmeal. The person she exchanged it with was Ma Hua, who had a light burden. If it was Liu Lan, she would not exchange it no matter how much she was offered.

He Yuzhu knew that this was because he saw Ma Hua taking steamed buns home and was afraid that he was taking buns from the canteen, so he asked him.

"How troublesome this is."

Lou Xiao'e was a little confused: "Why not just sell it and buy it later?"

"I forgot to tell you about the food ration book. Every household has a food ration book, and the food is rationed every month."

He Yuzhu smiled and said: "Food can be exchanged for money, but having money does not necessarily mean you can buy food."

"That, that..."

Lou Xiao'e still didn't understand. "Since I have the grain book, why can't I just buy flour and make steamed buns? Why do I have to change it to cornmeal?"

“That’s because the ration is limited.”

He Yuzhu patiently explained: "The restrictions are different every month. Sometimes it's 30% to 70%, sometimes it's 40% to 60%. For example, if you have a ration of 100 kilograms, you may only be able to buy 30 to 40 kilograms of flour. When the flour is gone, you can only eat cornmeal. If you only buy cornmeal, you can buy 100 kilograms.

“That sounds complicated.”

Lou Xiao'e wrinkled her nose and asked curiously, "Who loses and who wins in this exchange?"

“No one loses, and no one wins. Everyone gets what they need.”

He Yuzhu shook his head.

Qin Huairu arranged it, so she would definitely not suffer any loss. Replacing the steamed buns with cornmeal was equivalent to providing food for one more person. Although the taste was a little worse, it could fill her stomach.

Ma Hua got four steamed buns at a price cheaper than that in the cafeteria, so it was not a loss for him as everyone gained something.

"I still have a question."

Lou Xiao'e blinked, wrinkled her nose, and said angrily:

“Cornmeal cost 10 cents a pound, flour 18 cents;

“Vegetables and stuff are definitely cheaper;

"Your monthly salary is 74, and mine is 18, so the total is 92, and I'll give it all to you.

“We eat breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria, and we don’t have to worry about our son. We only eat dinner together;

“Without telling you how much rations were saved, I will ask you how 92 yuan was spent on thirty dinners a month;

“The average meal cost three yuan, and I didn’t even get 30 kilograms of cornmeal or 15 kilograms of flour;

"Chicken, duck, fish and meat are even rarer. How did you spend three dollars per meal? Tell me clearly."

"..."

He Yuzhu glanced at her calmly and said slowly: "The first-level cooking staff fee is three yuan, and the meals are free."

"Humph, you dare to lie to me."

Lou Xiao'e waved her fist and threatened viciously: "Go home after get off work and see how I deal with you."

Looking at her innocent appearance,

He Yuzhu responded with a smile, wishing he could get off work right away.

"Humph……"

Lou Xiao'e blushed slightly, rolled her eyes at him, and lowered her head to continue eating.

When I think about dealing with him, I'm actually not sure.

the other side,

I've almost finished breakfast.

Liu Lan secretly glanced at He Yuzhu, looking a little hesitant, and walked over to ask:

"Captain He, are we still short of staff in the cafeteria?"

"what happened?"

He Yuzhu looked at her doubtfully. "That's it."

Liu Lan sighed: "I met a sister in the workshop before.

"When she got married, her husband became disabled, and her in-laws were particularly cruel. They always bullied her and treated her like a maid.

“She works part-time and has to hand over half of her salary, but even that is not enough, as she still has to pay rent, food and various expenses every month;

"She didn't have enough to eat or drink, and she was working in our hot rolling workshop, which was the hardest and hottest part. She was exhausted every day.

"I ran into her this morning. She complained to me and asked if I could help her transfer to the cafeteria to work, so that she could at least have an easier time:

"I don't have that much ability. I was thinking, if our cafeteria is short of people in the future, can we consider transferring her here first."

Others in the kitchen also noticed what was happening.

Qin Huairu was in deep thought. This experience made her think of herself inexplicably.

"Stupid man."

Lou Xiao'e pursed her nose, gently pushed He Yuzhu's arm, and said sympathetically:

"If our cafeteria is short of people, please help if you can. It's not a big deal. Her husband became paralyzed right after they got married. She is so pitiful, and she has such horrible in-laws."

It’s not impossible to hire one more person.

Work can be easier, and my wife has also spoken.