"Brother Chen."
Just as he was frowning with worry, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind.
This voice sounded like...
Chen Guanghai turned around abruptly and saw Su Xiaoxiao following Chen Lingling into the room. He imdiately stood up from his seat.
"Comrade Su? What are you doing here?"
Su Xiaoxiao touched her nose and spoke honestly: "Brother Chen, I specifically ca to find you to discuss seafood procurent. The sea cucumbers we ordered from you last ti were of good quality, and everyone at ho liked them. I’m planning to order more, and I also want to procure so fresh seafood."
"This ti I’m representing our departnt store to make the purchase, and the quantity might be quite large."
"What?"
Chen Guanghai’s eyes nearly bulged out. He was worried about the market for the village’s seafood, and an order ca delivered to his doorstep. Comrade Su was truly a benefactor to Chenhe Village.
"Sister, to be honest, I’m worried about this. If this works out, you’ll be a great benefactor to our Chenhe Village."
But then he suddenly thought of a problem. The distance from their place to Binhe City was not short. Last ti they took the train for several hours; transporting seafood would likely spoil halfway.
Perhaps this girl didn’t understand, which is why she would say sothing like this.
He tried to explain: "Comrade Su, we have as much dry sea cucumber and dried fish as you want. But with fresh seafood, even if we give it to you, you can’t take it with you. It will take several hours by train to get back, and it might spoil halfway."
Su Xiaoxiao then realized that ice factories were not very common these days, and cold chain transportation was quite underdeveloped.
But the seafood she was procuring was for her own consumption and to sell in the ga mall, so she wasn’t worried about that.
She promptly reassured: "Brother Chen, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m not taking the train back; a friend is picking up, so it shouldn’t be a big problem with this weather."
Chen Guanghai nodded and sighed: "It’s a pity we don’t have an ice factory here. If we’d had ice, even a longer distance wouldn’t be an issue."
As the village head of Chenhe Village, Chen Guanghai had been striving to find ways to lead the villagers to prosperity. The first idea that ca to his mind was to connect with an ice factory and transport seafood further for sale.
Last ti he noticed, when selling sea cucumbers in Binhe City, that there were basically no fresh sea products in the inland area, only so freshwater fish and shrimp.
If they could bring their seafood there, it would definitely sell well.
Su Xiaoxiao suggested: "Brother Chen, have you ever thought of setting up a small ice factory in the village? For those doing seafood business, making ice themselves would significantly reduce transportation costs."
Chen Guanghai understood this principle, but setting up an ice factory wasn’t easy.
Leaving aside whether they could get approval from above, even acquiring a refrigeration unit would be challenging.
This type of equipnt wasn’t sothing you could buy with just money; it required connections.
Thinking about this, he shook his head: "Comrade Su, it’s not that we don’t want to, but we simply don’t have the capability. Getting a refrigeration unit is not sothing ordinary people can achieve."
"I know soone in that field, Brother Chen. If you’re interested in setting up an ice factory, I can inquire for you,"
Su Xiaoxiao considered, making Chen Guanghai even more excited: "That would be great, Comrade Su. I wouldn’t know how to thank you. From now on, consider as your brother. If there’s anything I can help you with, just let know."
The two were so engrossed in conversation that they completely ignored everyone else.
Chen Lingling cleared her throat and spoke: "Uncle, I specifically brought my sister here, and she hasn’t had a bite to eat yet. How about we eat first?"
Wang Xiujuan quickly chid in: "Yes, yes, let’s eat first. We can discuss things after eating."
Chen Lingling went over and linked arms with Su Xiaoxiao: "Co on, sister, let’s eat first. We can talk more after eating."
Chen Guanghai originally intended to invite Su Xiaoxiao to sit down and eat. When he heard Chen Lingling call her sister, the corner of his mouth involuntarily twitched.
The generation relations were indeed a bit complicated.
Wang Xiujuan glanced at the food on the table, feeling a bit embarrassed: "You all eat first; I’ll go to the kitchen and stir-fry a couple more dishes."
They didn’t know an esteed guest was coming, so today’s dinner was very simple.
Each person had a bowl of wild vegetable soup; the main course was cornal stead buns, accompanied by a small dish of pickles and a jar of shrimp paste.
Such food seed too frugal to serve to guests.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t mind; before, her family ate even less than what others had here.
"Big sister, no need to trouble yourself, this is fine."
Suddenly visiting, she felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to let the hosts go to extra trouble for her, so she quickly stopped her.
Thinking for a mont, she took out a can of Laoganma from her bag and a small package of braised beef, placing them on the table.
She felt bad coming empty-handed, eating their food without giving sothing in return.
The braised beef was sothing Liu Cuilan stuffed into her bag when she left. Because of the sauce, she feared it might stain her clothes, so she placed it directly into her small portable warehouse, thus escaping the thief’s hands.
"Oh, no, you ca all this way, it’s not right to let you spend money,"
Wang Xiujuan hadn’t expected her to bring anything, and it made her feel even more embarrassed.
The three half-grown children at the table couldn’t take their eyes off the small package of braised beef, practically drooling onto the table. They had never tasted braised beef before.
The most they usually ate was fish, and during festive occasions, they might have dumplings filled with pork and cabbage.
The youngest child imdiately reached out to grab the braised beef, and before his hand even touched the edge of the oiled paper package, Wang Xiujuan slapped it away: "What are you doing? So greedy! Have you never eaten at in your life?"
This was too humiliating; for the guest to bring sothing, and the child was reaching for it right away, it was unbecoming.
The little boy instantly burst into tears: "Boohoo, I really have never eaten beef."
With the child crying, Wang Xiujuan’s expression grew more awkward as she reached to pull him aside: "What nonsense are you talking, didn’t we just have at the other day?"
"That was only the leftover small fish that others didn’t want, boohoohoo, I want to eat braised beef."
Su Xiaoxiao noticed Wang Xiujuan’s embarrassnt and hadn’t realized this family was even more challenged than she thought.
She pushed the braised beef toward the three children: "Go ahead, eat it; sister invites you."
The three kids looked at Wang Xiujuan, then at Chen Guanghai, hesitant to make a move.
Chen Guanghai hurriedly declined: "Sister, this isn’t right; they can eat what’s already prepared."
"Brother Chen, please don’t be polite with . I ca in a hurry and brought nothing else; this is just a little taste for the kids,"
She said as she took out a handful of beef jerky and placed it on the table: "These are beef snacks; if you don’t mind, everyone can try so."
The family beca more bashful, and as they were about to decline, there was a sudden urgent knock on the door from outside.
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