Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

The chicken farm matter was settled, and soon it was time for Jidong’s high school entrance exam.

This time, Zhang Xiuhua still had to accompany his father to take the exam. She went to the county town early, handed the ingredients to the chef of the state-owned restaurant, and then wandered around the county town.

She was busy raising chickens in the first half of the year and hadn't been to the county town for a long time. You know what, there have been big changes.

First, there are more small vendors than before. In the past, those small vendors carried baskets to sell food, and when the patrol came, they ran away.

Now? They push carts to sell food. Don't underestimate this action, you know, the price of a cart is not cheap. These people dare to take such a big risk, which proves that the county management is not very strict.

Looking at the food they sell, most of them are steamed buns, steamed bread, dumplings and the sticky rice dumplings that the Northeastern people love the most.

It's not lunch time yet, so not many people are here.

She went to the state-owned shopping mall again. At that time, many things were locally produced. It is worth mentioning that many of the clothes were shipped from the south. They were cheap and the styles were very novel.

She walked around and came out when she didn't find any clothes she liked.

Half an hour was left, so she walked back and passed by a stall. She saw many parents waiting at the school gate. They guessed that their children would soon come out, so they lined up to buy buns.

It was the time of the high school entrance exam, and parents flocked there. Business was quite good, and the steamers of buns were soon stacked half a person's height.

Zhang Xiuhua arrived at the state-owned restaurant, packed the dishes in lunch boxes, and waited at the school gate.

The bell rang and students began to hand in their papers. Thousands of students came out of the classrooms.

Zhang Xiuhua spotted Jidong and they went to the classroom to eat together.

After the exam that day, Zhang Xiuhua told everything she had seen and heard in the county.

The other children just listened to it as a curiosity, but Youcai was the only one who had his own ideas in mind.

He found Zhang Xiuhua and said, "Aunt Zhang, our school is on vacation and I have nothing to do at home. Do you think I can make some food and sell it in the county town?"

Zhang Xiuhua still recognized Youcai's cooking skills. After all, he had learned from Old Man Xu for several years. But "You don't have a cart, how can you sell it?"

"I'll make some delicious food and sell it." The more Youcai thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good idea. "The weather is so hot, how about selling jelly?"

He thought of Ergou, "I wonder what he plans to sell this year. I can form a partnership with him!"

Zhang Xiuhua thought about it and agreed. "You can only sell for a few days during the middle school entrance exam and the college entrance exam. You should stay at home in August to review your lessons. The college entrance exam will be in two years. You can't delay your studies."

Youcai jumped up excitedly when she agreed, "Can you lend me the bike?"

Zhang Xiuhua looked at him in surprise, "You want to ride a bicycle to the county town every day?"

It takes more than an hour to take a bus, let alone ride a bike!

Youcai shook his head, "No! Ergou will definitely rent a house in the county town, and then we can sell it together!"

"What if the bicycle is stolen?" Zhang Xiuhua was a little worried. At that time, every household was poor and petty theft was not uncommon.

Youcai repeatedly assured that he would take good care of the bicycle.

Although he promised, Zhang Xiuhua was worried about his temper, because the child slept very soundly and might not even hear the thunder outside. "If you lose him, how can I go to the commune?"

Youcai pulled her arm, twisted her body into a knot, and said coquettishly, "Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zhang, you are the best! Just promise me!"

Jidong couldn't stand it any longer, "Don't make trouble, auntie. If you want to borrow a bicycle, that's fine. Just promise auntie that if you lose your bicycle, you will buy a new one."

Youcai was about to say that he didn't have that much money. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that if he didn't say this, Aunt Zhang wouldn't agree. He hardened his heart, stamped his feet and gritted his teeth, "Okay! If it's lost, I'll buy another one."

It would be unreasonable for Zhang Xiuhua to refuse now. "Make sure to lock it up."

When Youcai saw that she agreed, he ran excitedly to find Ergou.

Ergou soon came over with Youcai. The two of them boiled jelly in the house and then put it into the module to fix it.

The temperature here varies greatly in summer, with the lowest temperature being 13 degrees and the highest being 33 degrees. So there is no need to worry about it going bad.

Early in the morning, the two children set out before dawn with sweet potato starch, two tin buckets, pots, pans, and seasonings.

Baolin and Jidong got up to make breakfast and found that all the seasonings in the house were gone.

Baolin was so angry that he ran to knock on Zhang Xiuhua's door, "Mom! Brother Youcai is too much. He actually took away all the seasonings. How can we cook?"

Zhang Xiuhua was sleeping in a daze. She got up to open the door. Upon hearing the words, she opened the cupboard and took out a bag of salt and various seasonings.

These were the seasonings she had taken from the space. Fearing that the children would recognize them, she poured them all into a jar.

Baolin took the seasoning to the kitchen. Jidong had already used pickles instead of salt to stir-fry a plate of fried tofu with fermented black beans.

"This combination is absolutely amazing!" Baolin put the seasonings in place, helped to light the fire, and chatted with Jidong casually, "Do you think Brother Youcai can make money?"

"I think so. He gets everything from home. It's a completely no-cost business!" Jidong answered casually.

Baolin slapped his thigh, "Really? He's too cunning! No, when he gets home, I'll make him pay for it."

Jidong shook his head and laughed, "Are you jealous?"

Baolin blushed when his secret was exposed. "I want to go too! My grades are better than Youcai's. I can also sell food."

"Originally you could, but Youcai is working with Ergou, so you can't go with him."

It is not easy to find a place to live in the county town, especially since Baolin is still a little girl. There is no way her aunt would agree to let her rent a house by herself.

Baolin sighed, "If only I were older."

"If you grow up, your aunt won't be worried." Jidong told her not to lose sight of the big picture. "Youcai wants to be a chef in the future, and his college scores won't be high. But you are different. You can definitely get into a better university. Your grades aren't top-notch yet."

If someone else had said this, Baolin would definitely not accept it, but it was Jidong's fault that his grades were so outstanding, he was the best in the school. She used to be on par with him, but now she has been completely left behind by him.

Baolin thought about it and gave up, "Okay then! I will definitely review my lessons well."

After dinner, Jidong went to school and took the school bus to the county town for the exam.

Zhang Xiuhua arrived half an hour later than him. She walked to the commune and then took the bus to the school where Jidong was taking the exam. She saw Youcai setting up a jelly stall in front of the school gate.

It's just past ten in the morning, the weather isn't hot yet, and there isn't much business.

Zhang Xiuhua walked over and glanced at the iron barrel. "Where's Ergou?"

"He went to the First High School to sell food. I prepared the seasoning for him and he can mix it himself." Youcai raised his eyebrows proudly.

Zhang Xiuhua is worried that jelly is not selling well. Although the weather is hot, jelly is not filling, and parents prefer to buy buns, steamed buns and other food for their children. Jelly can only be considered a side dish.

"How much do you plan to sell a bowl for?"

"One cent!" This was the price set by Youcai and Ergou.

The price was not expensive, and Zhang Xiuhua didn't say anything else. When she went to the state-owned restaurant to deliver food, she specifically asked them for a sign, borrowed a pen from someone, wrote the price, and hung it on the front of the bicycle.