txolops Chapter 14 Public Opinion Fermentation
Chapter 14 Public Opinion Fermentation
It's 6:30 in the morning.
In a rented room in an urban village.
Lin Chen opened his eyes right on time.
He turned his head and found that Tangtang, who was sleeping in the small bed next to him, had already woken up.
The little girl, wearing faded pajamas, was lying on the edge of the bed, her big eyes fixed on the brand-new light blue princess dress hanging on the wardrobe door.
"Why didn't you call for Daddy when you woke up?"
Lin Chen sat up and asked softly.
Tangtang turned her head and smiled sweetly at Lin Chen: "Daddy worked too hard making fried rice yesterday, Tangtang wants Daddy to sleep a little longer."
"Daddy, this new dress is so pretty!"
Lin Chen's eyes were gentle as he reached out and pinched her cheek: "Since you like it, wear it when you go out today."
"don't want."
Tangtang shook her head without hesitation, her little face very serious. "Today we're going to the market to buy groceries and cook, which will make my new dress dirty."
Tangtang wants to wear her old clothes to help Daddy with chores. She can wear them again when Daddy takes her to a pretty place to play!
Hearing his daughter's sensible words, Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart.
He didn't insist any further, got out of bed and helped Tangtang change into a clean and neat old T-shirt and shorts.
"Bang bang bang—" Just as I finished washing up, there was a rapid knocking on the door.
As soon as the door opened, Wang Hai stood outside, sweating profusely, carrying a huge commercial rice cooker.
"Good morning, Brother Chen!"
Wang Hai opened his loud voice and put the big pot on the ground, "This is what I borrowed from my buddy who used to run a fast food restaurant last night!"
Our small rice cooker from yesterday was definitely not enough.
How much rice are we going to buy today?
Thirty pounds or fifty pounds?
Lin Chen glanced at the large pot with its extremely deep inner liner and shook his head.
"I'm not buying rice today."
Lin Chen pointed to the burlap sack in the corner that had only shrunk slightly, "I bought twenty catties of old rice yesterday, and I've only used three catties. There are seventeen catties left."
Use it today.
Wang Hai slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "That's right!"
Seventeen catties of raw rice can yield more than forty catties of cooked rice!
It can cook at least eighty servings!
My mind was so focused on making money that I completely forgot about this.
So what should we buy at the market today?
"Buy eggs, buy scallions."
Lin Chen said calmly, "More than eighty servings of fried rice will require at least one hundred and seventy local eggs."
Let's go to the market.
Half an hour later, at the East District Farmers Market.
Wang Hai pushed the rusty fresh produce cart ahead, leading the way straight to the poultry section.
"Boss! Six trays of free-range eggs! Pick the smaller ones with firm yolks!"
Wang Hai shouted angrily at the stall owner.
One tray contains thirty eggs, so six trays would contain a total of one hundred and eighty free-range eggs.
After buying the eggs, Lin Chen went to the vegetable section and personally selected three large bundles of scallions with thick white parts and bright green leaves.
At 9:30, the three returned to their rented room, laden with their purchases.
After putting down his things, Wang Hai picked up a bucket full of water and a rag.
"Brother Chen, I'll leave the food preparation to you. I'm going to wash the car!"
We're doing business now, so we have to keep our storefront looking good!
After Wang Hai finished speaking, he turned around and ran downstairs.
Inside the rented room, food preparation officially began.
Lin Chen washed his hands. He divided the seventeen pounds of old rice into two batches and poured them into the inner pot of the borrowed commercial rice cooker.
"Tangtang, stand back a bit, don't get water splashed on you."
Lin Chen gave a word of advice.
Tangtang obediently retreated to the kitchen doorway, moved a small stool to sit down, and looked at Lin Chen with her two little hands supporting her chin.
Lin Chen turned on the tap, filled the container with water, picked up the inner tank with both hands, and gently shook it a few times to let the water flow away the impurities on the surface. Then he quickly poured out the murky rice water.
After rinsing the rice twice, Lin Chen precisely controlled the water level and pressed the cook button.
While the rice was cooking, Lin Chen took the three large bundles of scallions, cut off the roots, and washed them clean.
"Tap tap tap tap tap—"
The sound of chopping vegetables could be heard.
Lin Chen's right wrist was extremely steady. With each rise and fall of the cleaver, the scallions on the cutting board quickly turned into perfectly uniform bright green scallion flowers.
Then, pack them all into clean food storage containers and seal them tightly.
It's 11:30. The large rice cooker beeps.
Lin Chen let the rice continue to simmer in the pot for another ten minutes, then lifted the lid.
A rich and pure aroma of rice instantly filled the entire room.
Lin Chen took out two huge flat bamboo trays, poured all the steaming rice onto the trays, and quickly spread and broke it up with a wooden spatula.
"Snapped!"
Lin Chen turned on two floor fans, turned the fan speed up to the maximum, and blew it vigorously onto the rice on the bamboo tray.
The 17 pounds of raw rice, cooked into more than 40 pounds of cooked rice, has been thoroughly cooled by the fan, becoming dry, firm, and with each grain distinct.
All the ingredients are prepared; we're just waiting to set up our stall this afternoon.
at the same time.
3 PM, Yintai Building.
The atmosphere inside the building today was strangely restless.
In an anonymous 300-person group called "Yintai Fishing Deep Water Zone", messages are scrolling upwards at a visible speed.
【Riding a pig on the highway】: Brothers, have you heard about this?
Are the people in the planning department all possessed by evil spirits?
Yesterday I ate a 100-yuan serving of fried rice at a roadside stall, and today it's being circulated among various departments as a divine delicacy.
[If the moon doesn't sleep, I won't sleep]: Ninety-nine per share?
Not even a piece of meat? This is clearly a rip-off!
[Xiao Li, who wants to retire]: I've heard that even the security captain went to eat there yesterday.
I think it's probably a shill hired by the stall owner to deliberately create this kind of scarcity marketing. Don't fall for it.
……
The planning department's office area is on the 18th floor.
Zhao Qiang sat at his workstation, looking at the sarcastic remarks in the anonymous group on his computer screen, and gave a disdainful sneer.
Instead of refuting him in the group chat, he slid his gaming chair over to Li Na's workstation.
"Sister Na, have you seen the group chat?"
Those people are laughing at us, saying we're shills.
Zhao Qiang said in a low voice.
Li Na was fixing her hair in front of a small mirror when she heard this, but she didn't even look up.
"Let them say what they want."
Li Na put the mirror away. "They'd better not believe any of them, and none of them should go downstairs."
You know the boss's rules from yesterday; if you go late, you won't get a number.
"If they don't go, there's no one to compete with us for it."
"That makes sense!"
Zhao Qiang's eyes lit up, and he swallowed hard. "I wasn't satisfied with just one serving yesterday. I'm going to eat two big boxes today."
Just then, senior manager Liu Wei came out of his private office.
For the first time ever, he wasn't wearing a suit jacket today, just a shirt, and his tie was loosely tied.
Liu Wei walked to the middle of the office area, glanced at the clock on the wall, and coughed softly.
"Put aside any work that isn't urgent for now."
Liu Wei glanced at the core members of the planning department and lowered his voice, "Meet at the elevator at 5:20 sharp."
If anyone is too slow and misses out today, don't blame me for not warning you.
"Received, boss!"
Zhao Qiang and the others immediately understood and responded in hushed tones.
The people in the planning department know perfectly well that only those who have actually tasted that fried rice know what kind of heavenly flavor it is.
Those typing away in the group have no idea of the pure fragrance that can make your soul leave your body.
Time passed by, second by second.
5:10 PM. Lobby on the first floor of the building, security reception desk.
Security captain Zhang was standing behind a marble pillar, anxiously rubbing the seams of his trousers with his hands.
He deliberately switched shifts with his subordinates today, and instead of wearing his eye-catching property management uniform, he put on an extremely ordinary light blue plaid shirt, without even bringing his walkie-talkie.
"Captain, your outfit..."
A young security guard walked over, looking puzzled. "It's not shift change time yet."
Brother Zhang was startled and quickly pretended to cover his stomach.
"Cough... My stomach feels a little uncomfortable."
Brother Zhang frowned, his acting was very clumsy. "I changed my clothes and will go to the pharmacy across the street to buy some stomach medicine later."
"Keep an eye on things outside, don't let anyone park illegally."
"Oh, then you should go quickly."
The young security guard said with concern.
Brother Zhang nodded perfunctorily, but his eyes were fixed on the square outside the building like radar.
Why buy stomach medicine? He's going to cure his cravings!
The thought of how he had fled in a sorry state while hiding in the bushes yesterday made Brother Zhang feel aggrieved.
Today, he's in plainclothes and lying in wait, determined to be the first to arrive at the stall and make up for the time he missed yesterday.
At 5:20, the building's elevators began to move up and down frequently.
Liu Wei, Li Na, Zhao Qiang, and more than a dozen other people from the planning department had arrived at the lobby on the first floor by elevator ten minutes in advance.
Instead of leaving, they stood inside the automatic gate, their eyes fixed on the edge of the square.
"Brother Liu, why aren't you here yet?"
Zhao Qiang rubbed his hands anxiously.
"What's the rush? We arrived at 5:30 yesterday."
Although Liu Wei said that, his Adam's apple kept bobbing.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, many white-collar workers from other departments also came downstairs one after another.
Some of them were chatting anonymously on their phones, while others gathered in twos and threes, occasionally glancing at Liu Wei with a skeptical, almost mocking, look on their faces.
The entire first-floor lobby created an eerie sense of confrontation.
Those who haven't tried it are waiting for a joke; those who have tried it are waiting for the male lead.
5:25 PM.
"Buzzing—"
A faint, old motor hum came from the street corner.
In the hall, Liu Wei and the others' eyes lit up instantly.
Even dressed in casual clothes, Brother Zhang immediately straightened his back.
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, each with its own thoughts.
Wang Hai rode the tricycle, carrying Lin Chen and Tangtang, and smoothly drove towards the square after turning the last bend.