dtnovels Chapter 284 Annual Gift
Chapter 284 Annual Gift
As the end of the year approaches, Gu Mingyue has another headache, and the reason is naturally gift-giving.
Maintaining relationships requires steady progress, and she doesn't want to be told one day that "when you employ people, you are at the forefront, and when you don't employ people, you are at the back."
Whether in this era or in the future, festival gifts are an indispensable part of the Chinese New Year that requires careful consideration.
Too light, not important enough. Too expensive, a bit exaggerated, really annoying.
Even someone like her who doesn't take things seriously, she is very careful about this.
Regardless of how close the relationship is, at least we have to consider that it will be useful in the future. She is not the kind of person who lives in seclusion and does not care about worldly matters.
We should avoid suspicion when necessary and observe proper etiquette. This is especially important in today's conservative times.
In previous years, Gu Mingyue gave gifts such as homemade sausages, bacon, and jams. When resources were scarce, these gifts were no small amount.
Life is getting better now. If she still does the same old things, she will inevitably be criticized for being perfunctory. So this year Gu Mingyue decided to try something new.
There are not many out-of-season vegetables at this time, and many families store winter vegetables, mostly radishes, cabbages and potatoes.
Cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes and the like cannot be stored, so few people stock them.
In the summer, Gu Mingyue made several barrels of tomato sauce. The method is very simple, just cut the tomatoes into half pieces, add sugar and salt to boil, and then pour some vinegar on it.
She deliberately didn't chop it too finely, thinking that she would add just the right amount to mix with noodles or scrambled eggs.
It doesn't feel very fresh when eaten in season, but if you have a bowl of it during the winter, it will be very tempting.
Liu Caixia was worried that she would not be able to store all the things she made, so Gu Mingyue made the excuse that when she was following Damao, she accidentally discovered a mountain stream that was well ventilated and cool, perfect for storing things.
In fact, she only left a part of it outside to hide it from others, and kept the rest in the space. So it wouldn't be a surprise if she took it out now.
After counting the people who need to send gifts, those who live close to the village are not in a hurry, but those who need to be mailed can come. The Shen family, the Xu family, and Xinsheng Guangsheng must also send some.
People in the town also need to make preparations, including the Bai family, the Zhang family, Lu Xue, and Shen Yiming.
All in all, packing alone is a considerable amount of work.
Gu Mingyue has been working in her dreams recently. It is said that the time before the New Year is the most tiring. It seems that there is more work in the whole year than in this period. It is really busy.
Fortunately, she knew Xiao Yang, so when she delivered the letter, she asked him to take the package away, saving the time of going back and forth. For this reason, Gu Mingyue did not forget to prepare a backup gift for the Yang family.
Finally, the holiday gifts decided upon were four bottles of ketchup, two bottles of pickles, and two bottles of mushroom sauce, plus a specially crocheted blanket that the villagers had hurriedly worked on, measuring 1.8 meters by 2 meters, with two blankets given to each family.
There were exactly ten gifts, a perfect omen. Although it looked like a lot, it was actually not as expensive as the sausages she had made before. The expensive part was the thought, and it was also eye-catching.
After finishing all these, Gu Mingyue gave the soy product workshop another idea: selling spicy noodles.
This thing is ranked among the top three snacks in later generations and is very popular among men, women, young and old.
The method of making is also very easy. First, fry the oil, that is, fry the pepper, aniseed, eight leaves, green onion, ginger, garlic and coriander together.
In the meantime, find a bowl and add coarse and fine chili powder, cumin, sesame, sugar and salt in turn.
Pour the fried oil on it to bring out the aroma, then spread it evenly on the softened bean curd skin.
Whether it tastes good or not, you can tell by looking at the villagers queuing outside. When the oil was being fried in the morning, these people had already smelled the smell and came over to ask about it.
When they heard that it was Secretary Gu who was researching new things again, everyone was scared at first.
With snail noodles in front and candied haws in the back served with chili peppers, they were really a little daunting.
But Gu Mingyue specially sent someone to notify everyone to come and try the food, so they didn't dare not come.
Fortunately, the fragrance that wafted out this time made everyone feel more at ease.
Look, after eating, they all come back and line up again.
Seeing the good feedback, Gu Mingyue suggested, "Brother, let's have a New Year's market in a few days. Let Wu Shengli and his team take this to the market and give out a small piece to everyone they meet for free tasting to spread the word. Then go buy some small glass bottles, put labels on them, and put them in gift boxes. During the New Year, give some to any factory in the village that has placed an order as a New Year's gift."
Accountant Gu said as he ate nearby, "Once you start eating this, you can't stop. As long as a family eats it during Chinese New Year, they will definitely remember the taste throughout the year. It may seem like a loss-making business, but it's actually a sure win. I vote for Mingyue's idea."
After obtaining the consent of other villagers, Gu Mingwei called a meeting of the villagers, and as expected, the proposal was passed unanimously.
Just as the New Year was approaching, Sun Shugao's elder brother Sun Songbai arrived first.
On the way to the village with his men, Shen Zhiqiang repeatedly warned them, "Don't get angry when you get there. Shugao is a grown-up boy, he needs to keep his dignity. Besides, he is in someone else's village, and a strong dragon cannot overpower a local snake. These are not your soldiers, and no one will listen to your orders."
Seeing his friend's stern face, thinking of that thorny Gu Mingyue, he said helplessly, "I have told you so much, did you listen to it?"
Sun Songbai looked at Shen Zhiqiang strangely. "Why are you talking so much now? You keep nagging me. I need other people's approval to take care of my brother. At worst, I can just bring Shugao to the army and let him not be able to leave even if he wants to. I would rather he blame me than live his whole life like a woman."
"Your bad temper hasn't changed at all. Fine, go ahead. I want to see how you take him away. I'm telling you, don't come to me to complain if you suffer a loss or regret. Anyway, I've said everything I should say. If you don't listen, I can't do anything about it. Good words can't persuade that damn ghost."
Sun Songbai was confused. Before Shen Zhiqiang came, his wife told him not to get involved, and he felt sorry for his good brother. Now, hum, he was expecting this stubborn donkey to be defeated. Oh, why was he suddenly a little excited?......
As soon as her husband left the house, Lu Xue called the village to inform them.
When the two men arrived at the village entrance, they were stopped. They waited for a long time. When their feet were almost frozen, they were notified to wait at the village office.
Sun Songbai was already a little angry at this time, and questioned, "A village collective is so arrogant that they even set up guards. Do they think this is some kind of secret place?"
Shen Zhiqiang kindly explained, "Did you see the village stele? There are words specially written by a senior leader on it. What's wrong with them sending people to guard it?"
Sun Songbai had just returned from a mission and had no idea what was going on. He complained, "Why didn't you tell me earlier so I could pay my respects. No, I have to go back and salute. This is so disrespectful."
Shen Zhiqiang quickly grabbed him and said, "You can do it now. It's the same if you go back and check later. You should go to the village office first and don't keep people waiting for too long."
Sun Songbai wondered, "Who else is waiting for me besides Shugao?"
"You only know how to fight and kill. You have taken care of your brother for such a long time. You should have said hello to the village leader when you came here. Don't you know this little etiquette?"
Sun Songbai was a little embarrassed. "I was confused by the height of the tree. Thanks to you for reminding me."
Shen Zhiqiang rolled his eyes at him speechlessly and said unhappily, "Just wait, there will be a time when you will feel aggrieved!"