The weather was extremely hot, with the highest temperature during the day reaching five degrees, which is rare in Beijing in winter.
In the past two days, the business at Fuduoduo Food Market has been as hot as the weather, and the turnover has doubled several times.
But the Huimin Market is in dire straits. There are only a handful of customers coming to shop, and the fresh food cannot be sold out every day.
Although Su Yuying was almost furious, there was nothing she could do.
Fuduoduo Food Market will only be open for half a day today and will be on holiday so that employees can go home to cook New Year's Eve dinner. However, it will be open as normal starting tomorrow.
After Lin Mai had breakfast, he got busy. First, he put various braised vegetables on the coal stove.
Then he took off his cotton-padded jacket, wearing only a sweater, and stood in front of the gas stove to fry various fried foods.
Even though she was wearing so little, she was still sweating.
Auntie Tu has been on holiday since New Year's Eve and will not come to work until after the Lantern Festival.
Fang Zhuoran had to go to work on New Year's Eve, so Lin Mai fried things, and Grandpa Fang and his wife helped her.
Doudou plays games with the children in the front yard.
When the aroma of meatballs wafted from the kitchen, Doudou was so greedy that his mouth watered.
She left the children behind, ran to the kitchen, and told Lin Mai that she wanted to eat the meatballs that had just come out of the pot.
Doudou can eat a dozen of these freshly cooked meatballs in one sitting.
Lin Mai filled a large bowl of freshly cooked meatballs and asked Doudou to take them and share them with the children.
All these children are children from the neighborhood.
They came to her house to play, Doudou ate meatballs, and they watched her eat. Lin Mai couldn't do this kind of thing.
Doudou stood in the yard with her friends with a large bowl of meatballs and ate happily.
Ah Huang stared at his little master eagerly, he also wanted to eat the delicious meatballs.
Doudou also gave it two meatballs.
Ah Huang swung his tail happily and ate two meatballs in two bites.
…
Soon it was eleven o'clock at noon. Huimin Food Market, like Fuduoduo Food Market, was only open for half a day today.
It's going to close soon, but there's almost nothing for sale in the market.
Su Yuying looked at the market filled with goods, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
It doesn't matter if other items are not sold, but if fresh food is not sold, it makes people anxious.
The weather is too hot, and some vegetables with high water content are rotten.
The dead fish and meat were also slightly spoiled and could not be kept for sale tomorrow.
The cooked food that has been sold for several days also needs to be disposed of.
Manager Qian hesitated for a while and asked Su Yuying whether he should share the rotten vegetables, unsold cooked food, fish and meat that may have gone bad among the employees.
Although the reform and opening up has been going on for several years, supplies are still very scarce, especially food.
Although it is not like before the reform and opening up, even rotten Chinese cabbage was picked up and eaten.
However, the store will not throw away rotten vegetables, cooked food that is about to go bad, as well as fish and meat that have just gone bad.
Either I eat it myself or I share it with the employees.
The employees didn't mind it either, they just took it back and processed it before eating it.
Manager Qian made this suggestion when he saw that the greenhouse vegetables, cooked food, fish and meat could no longer be sold.
Su Yuying was anxious in her heart. When she heard this, she said angrily: "How to divide it? Keep it and sell it tomorrow!"
Manager Qian hesitated and said: "Those things can't be sold, especially the fish and meat are likely to spoil.
What if something happens to a customer when he buys it back and eats it?"
Su Yuying glared: "The employees can take it back to eat, why can't they sell it?
Even if the fish or meat is a little spoiled, wouldn't it be enough to add a little vinegar when cooking?
As for those leafy vegetables, just pick off the rotten leaves when selling them tomorrow."
When Manager Qian heard what she said, he didn't dare to say any more.
…
Lin Maimai worked quickly and fried all the fried food in one morning.
She added the oil in the pot to a clean large basin to cool down, and started preparing lunch.
Following the tradition of Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang, the lunch meal on New Year’s Eve should be light so that the New Year’s Eve dinner can be enjoyed in the evening.
Lin Mai planned to make a pickled fish dish for lunch, with a few green vegetables and a small plate of Wang Zhihe's fermented bean curd.
Legend has it that even Cixi praised Wang Zhihe's fermented bean curd after eating it. It tasted very fragrant and went very well with rice.
Lin Mai fell in love with this side dish after eating it once.
But Fang Zhuoran and Doudou all avoided it for fear of being caught.
Every time Lin Mai served this side dish, although Fang Zhuoran wouldn't eat it, he wouldn't say anything.
But the little guy Doudou would shout loudly: "Mommy eats shit again!"
Lin Mai was somewhat embarrassed.
It was only after Grandma Fang talked to her several times that the little guy stopped yelling so much.
Just as Lin Mai was preparing lunch, Doudou and Ah Huang leaned half in and said, "Mom, there is an uncle looking for you."
Lin Mai walked out of the kitchen and saw Lin Xiong.
She was surprised and disgusted, and said coldly: "How did you find me?"
Lin Xiong came to find Lin Mai in a hurry, and he hadn't had breakfast since morning.
Because I didn’t have much money on me, I was afraid that after breakfast, I wouldn’t have enough money to drive home.
When he came to the capital this time, his wife did not agree. She said that his parents were murderers and there was nothing they could do for Lin Mai to save him, so she did not even give him travel expenses.
He stole the expenses for coming to the capital at home, and he didn't dare to steal much. He only stole a round trip fare and a few yuan for food.
But he didn't expect that the prices in Beijing were so expensive. He couldn't afford to eat every meal, so he skipped breakfast.
At this moment, he was very hungry, smelling the aroma of fried food and braised vegetables coming from the kitchen, he couldn't help but sniff hard.
He said with salivation: "Sister, I'm so hungry, can you give me something to eat?"
Lin Mai frowned in disgust: "Don't get married randomly.
I have no blood relationship with your Lin family at all. I am not your sister.
Your sisters are Lin Bei and Bai Shuang!"
She looked up and down at Lin Xiong warily, and asked again: "How did you find me?"
Lin Xiong rubbed his hands uncomfortably, swallowed, and said, "I found your biological parents based on what my parents told me about their previous addresses.
It turned out to be in vain.
Fortunately, my neighbors told me your home address in Beijing, otherwise I still wouldn't be able to find you."
Lin Mai said coldly: "Why are you looking for me?"
Lin Xiong was a little embarrassed to say it, but he still said bravely: "I'm not looking for you, it's my parents who asked me to look for you."
Lin Mai smiled disdainfully: "They still have the nerve to ask you to come to me? They are so thick-skinned!"
A trace of anger flashed in Lin Xiong's eyes, but it was fleeting.
He said in a low mood: "My parents were reported by that bitch Lin Bei, and they were identified as the murderers of the cement burial case.
They will most likely impose the death penalty.
They asked me to beg you, hoping that you would find a way to save them, even if you change the sentence to life imprisonment."
Lin Mai sneered: "Are your parents seeking medical treatment in a hurry? They actually begged me for it!
Do you think I will be like the person who saved your parents?
I'll tell you the truth, it was too late for me to see the joke.
As for you, don't let them have hope in me.
Tell me what I said and let them wait for death in peace.
After you die, remember to turn into a ghost and go find Lin Bei to settle the score."
After saying this, she shouted: "Get out!"
Lin Xiong still wanted to refuse to leave, but Lin Mai looked at him sideways: "What? You want me to call the police to arrest you and let you have New Year's Eve dinner at the police station?"
Lin Xiong then ran away hungry.
Lin Mai, whom he used to beat and scold, is now someone he can't afford to offend, and he still has this understanding.
After driving Lin Xiong away, Lin Mai thought of the anger flashing in Lin Xiong's eyes just now.
I thought, why should he be angry with me? Does she owe him?
He immediately went back to his room and called Zhao Liang, asking him to instruct his men not to collect any agricultural products from Lin Xiong's family in the future.
She had always let Zhao Liang buy Lin Xiong's agricultural products regardless of past grudges. Not only was Lin Xiong ungrateful, but he also wanted to show off to her, so she wouldn't help his family.
After making the phone call, Lin Mai went back to the kitchen to continue making lunch.
Just as lunch was ready, Doudou and Ah Huang ran in again, saying that their uncle was back and bringing Aunt Tao and Qiqi with them.