“Qiqi, your Uncle Zhang caught a big carp today. Come over to Auntie’s house for dinner this afternoon.”
After what happened today, Aunt Zhang liked Lin Qiqi even more.
Just thinking about how the girl had fainted from hunger in the alley that morning made her heart ache.
Lin Qiqi didn’t force Jiang Yunling to make a decision right away. Aunt Zhang had helped her so much today, so she should properly thank her.
But right now, she had nothing. The only thing she could show was the cooking skill she had honed in her previous life as a content creator.
The carp was wild, quite large, and full of energy.
Lin Qiqi gently pushed Aunt Zhang out of the kitchen. “Auntie, you rest. Let me show you my cooking today.”
Although she had seen the girl in the kitchen before, it had only been to cook porridge or noodles.
She could cook fish?
Aunt Zhang looked at Lin Qiqi suspiciously. “Can you really do it?”
Handling a fish wasn’t easy—what if she ruined it?
Lin Qiqi smiled. “If you’re worried, you can supervise from the side.”
Watching her skillfully kill the fish, scrape the scales, and remove the fishy line, Aunt Zhang’s eyes widened in surprise. She had learned something new again today.
Lin Qiqi worked quickly and turned one fish into two dishes.
The fish bones and head were cooked with tofu into a rich, milky white soup.
The fish pieces were paired with green peppers and made into a traditional braised fish dish.
When the two main dishes were served, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang were practically entranced by the aroma.
It looked even better than what chefs made at state-run restaurants.
Lin Qiqi prepared a bowl of fish soup soaked rice for Jiang Yunling, then returned to the table, where Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang had already started eating.
Uncle Zhang looked fierce, but he was actually honest and kind, constantly placing food into Lin Qiqi’s bowl.
“Qiqi, eat more,” he said sincerely. “Your cooking is amazing—much better than your aunt’s.”
Aunt Zhang carefully picked out fish bones. “I agree! Not just better than me—I’d say no one in this alley can match Qiqi’s cooking.”
“This fish didn’t die in vain today.”
Lin Qiqi swallowed a bite of braised fish. In truth, it was only average—there weren’t enough seasonings in the kitchen, so it relied entirely on the freshness of the ingredients.
If she had all the proper ingredients, she could make it even better.
But judging from Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang’s reactions, they didn’t seem to be exaggerating.
She cautiously asked, “Uncle, Auntie… do you think I could open a restaurant?”
“With your skills, that’s definitely not a problem,” Uncle Zhang said, looking at the last two pieces of fish on the plate, hesitating whether to take them. “But opening a restaurant isn’t that easy.”
He swallowed and eventually put down his chopsticks.
Forget it—one piece for his wife, one for Qiqi.
“If people want good food, they’ll go to state-run restaurants.”
“Private eateries? One day they’re allowed, the next they’re not. And they can’t accept grain coupons. Policies change all the time—who would want to deal with that?”
“Look at our factory—we’re about to convert into a stainless steel plant, no longer making aluminum. There are still lots of aluminum lunch boxes left, and they’re hard to sell. The leaders are worried sick.”
Aluminum lunch boxes.
Lin Qiqi immediately thought of the time before she transmigrated, when a retro trend had taken over online. Many food accounts focused on boxed meals.
The star of those videos was this kind of old-fashioned aluminum lunch box.
If opening a restaurant was difficult, could she set up a stall selling boxed meals instead?
Aluminum lunch boxes were lightweight and easy to stack. With a large foam box, they could keep food warm for an entire afternoon—a very good option.
She put down her chopsticks. “Uncle, how much are those lunch boxes in your factory?”
“With coupons, they’re 3.5 yuan each. Without coupons, 5 yuan. The leaders said if you buy more than ten at once, you can get the coupon price.”
These days, almost everything required coupons. Some resellers could provide items without coupons, but the prices were usually double.
For high-demand goods like bicycles or televisions, the prices were even higher.
“That sounds pretty affordable. Why can’t they sell them?” Lin Qiqi asked, puzzled.
Aunt Zhang placed the last piece of fish into her bowl. “Well, these lunch boxes are plain and ugly, and almost every household already has one.”
“Young people nowadays prefer enamel ones—with handles, easier to carry. They’re colorful, have patterns, and look nicer.”
“But I heard the meals sold on trains are packed in these, and they’re in high demand. Haixia said you can’t even buy them with money.”
The more Lin Qiqi listened, the more she felt this idea could work.
If the factory really distributed housing next year, Jiang Yunling’s monthly 50 yuan wouldn’t be enough.
She also needed to return to school, take the college entrance exam, get Jiang Yunling a prosthetic limb, and buy a wheelchair.
Adding it all up, everything required money. She had to act quickly.
The city Lin Qiqi lived in, Jiangcheng, was by a great river.
With the winds of reform sweeping everywhere, Jiangcheng might not be as advanced as the special economic zones, but it was still among the leading cities.
Recently, construction was booming all over the city—new civic centers, government office complexes, and a large trade market were all being built.
Every day, aside from taking care of Jiang Yunling and helping Aunt Zhang cook meals, Lin Qiqi spent the rest of her time outside.
She visited every construction site.
Besides local workers, there were many engineers from the capital.
To save money, workers ate the communal meals on-site, but the engineers weren’t willing to.
They had more money and were far from home, so they always wanted better food.
But they couldn’t eat at state-run restaurants every day—mainly because they didn’t have enough coupons.
Lin Qiqi felt this group could become her customers.
On the small wooden table lay a stack of draft papers. She recorded the situation of each construction site one by one.
Finally, she wrote down the most crucial thing: capital.
She circled the two words and sighed.
Where would the money come from?
Previously, Lin Zhengxian had run off with Jiang Yunling’s compensation money. The neighbors in the residential compound had scraped together some funds—3 yuan here, 5 yuan there—for Jiang Yunling.
But in these times, no one had much money. It would probably be impossible to borrow more.
Maybe she could try getting a loan from the bank.
Although her family had no assets for collateral, she could create a very professional business plan.
There was no other path left—she might as well give it a try.
Just as Lin Qiqi had written one line, she heard Aunt Zhang calling from outside.
“Qiqi, someone’s here for you.”
The visitors were a young couple, about her age.
A man and a woman, arriving arm in arm.
The man looked refined; the woman appeared shy.
Lin Qiqi narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment.
Wasn’t the man Meng Ziping, the original owner’s childhood sweetheart and already acknowledged fiancé?
And the woman should be Hao Yajie, the original owner’s best friend at school—her closest confidante.
Why were these two showing up like this?
Before Lin Qiqi could figure out how to ask, Hao Yajie made the first move.
She pulled her arm out of Meng Ziping’s and, ignoring his instinctive attempt to pull away, directly grabbed his hand.
Lowering her head with a shy smile, she looked at Lin Qiqi.
“Qiqi, Ziping and I came to visit Auntie—and to tell you something. We’re engaged.”