"It can really be tried," Cheng You said.
With her saying that, Zhou Yunru's confidence soared.
Perhaps it could really work.
After all, someone had already been the first to take the plunge, and she wanted to try too.
"Cheng You, what do you think we should sell?"
"How about barbecue?"
Zhou Yunru was startled. She had never heard of it before.
"What barbecue?"
Cheng You remembered she hadn't tried her grilled lamb leg last time and probably didn't know what it tasted like.
"Come over tomorrow, and I'll grill some for you to taste. If it works out, we can set up a stall together. I'll take twenty percent, and you take eighty."
Zhou Yunru immediately started calculating.
"That won't do. You're teaching us the method, so it should be fifty-fifty."
Cheng You smiled and shook her head. "I'll only teach you the method and won't handle anything else. Going from here to the commune every day and returning by dusk is not easy work. I only want twenty percent profit. If there's a loss, we'll split it equally."
Zhou Yunru hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Cheng You. You're so good to us, I don't know how to repay you."
Cheng You pushed her away with a smile. "Don't be like that. I'm doing it for my godson's sake."
She planned to open a pharmacy in the commune later and hire Zhou Yunru as the resident doctor.
Only by being a community of interest could they go further.
The next day, Cheng You prepared barbecue at home again.
This time, she couldn't get lamb, so she thinly sliced pork belly, skewered it, and grilled it until it was charred and sizzling with grease.
She sprinkled it with various spices, making it spicy and flavorful, and salty and satisfying.
Zhao Jianguo couldn't resist and ate five skewers of pork belly.
"Delicious! This tastes really good!"
They ate meat at home usually, but he always felt that the meat was wasted.
Cheng You smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, try the chives next."
The chives were homegrown. If you picked some, they would grow back in a few days.
"It's flavorful! Cheng You, are you really going to teach me? You'd definitely make money if you sold it yourself!"
Zhao Jianguo felt like he was getting a great deal.
Cheng You smiled. "Brother, come and try it first to get a feel for it."
Barbecue mainly involved mastering the heat and ingredients. It wasn't that difficult.
The spices were even personally mixed by Cheng You. You just had to brush them on, which wasn't difficult.
Zhao Jianguo usually cooked at home, so he wasn't unfamiliar with these things.
He took note of all the points Cheng You told him and quickly got the hang of it.
"If possible, lamb would be great too. Those lamb intestines and kidneys can all be used."
Zhou Yunru quickly said, "No, that won't do. Lamb is inherently gamey, let alone the offal."
Cheng You smiled. "If you can find a way to get them, I'll teach you how to handle them."
She had eaten this kind of barbecue when she was a child.
When Jiang Qing was still alive, their family's conditions were good. They didn't eat meat every meal, but they never lacked for food.
Later, Jiang Qing had a friend who was stationed on the border for a long time and returned home to visit his old friend.
It was then that Jiang Qing made Cheng You her first barbecue.
Things her mother made in memory always tasted exceptionally delicious.
Zhao Jianguo eagerly said, "Can I start selling tomorrow then?"
Zhou Yunru shot him a look. He was too impatient.
"No need to rush. We need to prepare first. We need to find someone to make a grill, right? It's best to make a trailer too, so we can ride bicycles to save some time on the road."
Cheng You hadn't even thought of these things Zhou Yunru had considered.
Collaborating with Zhou Yunru indeed saved a lot of trouble.
Cheng You suggested, "We don't need to sell too much at first. Let's decide on a few items and add more later."
Vegetables like chives and eggplant would definitely be included. She couldn't think of many more at the moment, and she would let Zhou Yunru figure out the rest.
For meat, they would only sell pork belly for now. If sales were good, they would add lamb skewers later.
Just the preliminary preparations took a full week.
The old Zhao family only found out later that Zhao Jianguo was planning to sell goods in the commune and wouldn't be working in the fields anymore.
Wang Hongxia immediately objected.
"If you don't work in the fields, how will you eat and drink? Yes, your wife can earn money, but how will that look to others? You'll be living off your wife!"
This would only make Zhou Yunru more arrogant.
Zhao Jianguo remained silent, as he had already made up his mind.
"Zhao Jianguo, you are not allowed to go, do you hear me? That is illegal and against the law. Our family cannot do that! If people from the commune find out, how will your brother continue to work in the supply and marketing cooperative!"
Zhao Jianguo got up and moved aside, avoiding her onslaught.
"You just worry about Zhao Yunlin. You don't need to worry about my affairs!"
His words were like adding fuel to the fire, and Wang Hongxia was so angry her whole body tensed.
It wasn't that she didn't want to worry about Zhao Yunlin; she had been planning a house for him.
She had originally set her sights on Zhao Lifang's house in the commune, but when she inquired yesterday, she found out that Zhao Lifang had directly sold the house!
In a couple more days, she would be returning to the village to build a house.
Wang Hongxia was so angry she almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
What a fool to sell her commune house to build a house in the countryside!
"Fine! You two have grown wings, and I, your old mother, can't control you!"
Zhao Jianguo was adamant, and even Cheng Tianhua couldn't help but try to persuade him, but he didn't succeed.
Everyone was waiting to see him lose money, but Cheng Tao found it a bit strange.
Selling barbecue...
How did Zhao Jianguo get this idea?
If done well, it might really make money.
"Big brother, I support you in selling. How about I partner with you?"
As a result, Cheng Tao became the only one in the family who supported Zhao Jianguo.
Zhao Jianguo waved his hand, refusing. "No need, I don't need your support."
Cheng Tao's face stiffened. "Big brother, you'll need a lot of money to start a business, right? I happen to have some here."
"No need."
She wanted to continue persuading him, but Zhao Yunlin called her back. "Cheng Tao, what are you doing? Come back!"
Only then did she reluctantly enter the house.
"What are you doing? Don't you know Mom is unhappy? And you're still rushing to support him."
"So what if I support him? If your big brother can really do it well, this will definitely make money, maybe even more than you!"
If Cheng Tao were to say how to make money, it would be to ride the wave of reform and opening up.
After being suppressed for so long, private businesses would emerge like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Zhao Yunlin clearly didn't believe her. "Not to mention the bad reputation he'll get for doing this, is it better than being a formal worker at my supply and marketing cooperative? Are you crazy!"
"I'm crazy?" Cheng Tao paced back and forth in the room, suppressing a hysterical outburst. "You only earn twenty yuan a month, and you give ten yuan to Mom. What do we have left? My daughter can't even afford milk powder!"
"Keep your voice down!"
If Wang Hongxia heard them, it would cause another scene.
"Yunlin, let's wait and see. If your big brother does well, maybe we should start a business."
Zhao Yunlin pushed her away, a look of disgust on his face, thinking Cheng Tao was truly crazy.