Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 398: A good cook cannot cook without rice, use your brain to find a good solution

As long as the craftsmen can eat better, they will work faster and the construction period can be shortened as much as possible, and it would be best if the project is completed before the snow falls in the cold winter.

Unexpectedly, the county magistrate recognized Shen Yu's cooking skills and good fortune, and regardless of whether Shen Yu could cook a big pot meal, he specifically asked her to do it.

Lu Zheng is a hands-off boss in the county government on weekdays.

All the matters, big and small, in the county government were decided by Lu Lang and his legal advisors, and he just had to nod and go through the motions.

It was a rare occasion that he took it seriously today, and the two of them didn't want to refute him and dampen his enthusiasm.

So that if anything happens next time, the county magistrate won’t even bother to ask.

Lu Lang thought for a moment and replied, "Although Miss Shen is a good cook, I have never heard her say that she has ever cooked a big pot meal."

"Repairing the canal is not like repairing roads. It's hard work, and gentlemen have big appetites. It's not easy to cook a meal."

"I wonder if Miss Shen's restaurant can handle the three meals a day on the construction site."

"It's better to call her over and ask her before deciding."

The county magistrate agreed and called Qi Xi to pick up Shen Yu.

As a result, he could not sit still after waiting for a while. Thinking about his precious goldfish, it was time to feed them, so he got up and left.

Just say a few words before leaving and tell him the result of Shen Yu's reply.

Shen Yu was relatively calm after hearing this. After thinking for a while, he calmly asked, "I wonder how many men are there who are called to repair the canal this time?"

"Do they prepare it at the restaurant and send it over? Or do they set up a stove and cook it at the construction site?"

"How much can each person spend on a meal? What is the standard?"

Master Qian flipped through the notebook in his hand and answered one by one: "There are a total of sixty men in this conscription."

"We can do it anywhere, but now that the weather is cold, it would be best to build a stove on the construction site to cook, so that the gentlemen can have warmer meals."

"The food expenses are fifty silver coins per person per day. It would be best if there were hot soup or hot porridge for every meal."

When Shen Yu heard about the number of people, he didn't think much of it.

But when he heard that each person only had fifty silver coins, he gasped and felt a little embarrassed.

In the autumn, Lu Lang asked Qi Xi to come to her and asked her to help prepare two meals for forty cents.

Although Shen Yu reduced the amount of ingredients, he only used 15 cents to make fried shredded pancakes with oil, eggs and vegetables, which could fill a strong man's stomach.

But the weather was not so cold at that time, so all we had to do was to prepare food that could feed the conscripted people.

Now that the weather is cold, it sounds like it costs ten more cents than before, and the food expenses have risen to fifty cents.

But two meals became three meals, and fried pancakes had to be turned into hot soup and hot porridge.

Not to mention that vegetable prices in winter are much higher than in autumn, just if you do the math, it takes a lot more charcoal to make a meal.

Fifty cents is really enough to provide three meals a day for a person who does heavy manual labor.

If the cook who contracts the food does not deduct anything, not only will he not make any money after the work is done, he may even end up losing money.

Lu Lang calculated the cost of repairs every day and had long been aware that the food expenses were too little.

Unfortunately, the funds allocated from above were deducted at various levels, and only this much was left at the Anping County level.

While ensuring that the materials used to repair the canal are sufficient and effective, other expenses must be reduced.

He saw Shen Yu frowning slightly, looking embarrassed and not saying anything, and he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

It is clearly a problem on the government's side, but throwing the difficulty onto a girl and forcing her to take charge is really not very fair.

He didn't want Shen Yu to be embarrassed with him, so he hesitated for a moment and said to Shen Yu: "Miss Shen, if you feel it is really difficult, I will refuse it on your behalf."

“The food expenses are indeed less.”

"A good cook cannot cook without rice. I think my father will not blame you if I explain it clearly."

Shen Yu didn't think about making any profit from it.

But thinking that the canal repair project would take a long time, if he took this job, not only would he and the people in the restaurant have to work hard for nothing, but there would also be the risk of losing money.

Shen Yu asked himself, his realm is not yet high enough to reach that level.

But when he thought about the last time Qixi mentioned building the road, the conscripted laborers had to eat crude meals mixed with sand and rice husks, and they still couldn't get full, he felt a little bit reluctant.

She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Mr. Lu, if we change a cook to cook, will the people who have been conscripted be able to eat enough?"

Lu Lang's sore spot was touched. He, who was usually eloquent, could only stammer out the word "I" and then he couldn't go on.

Seeing this, Shen Yu realized that Lu Lang just didn't want to embarrass himself and didn't have a better idea, so he stopped asking him.

For a moment, the three people in the study room were silent, and fell into an unsolvable silence because of the shortage of silver and money.

Shen Yu calmed down and began to search for a good solution for five thousand years. He silently calculated and overturned, overturned and rebuilt. After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a solution.

She smiled, silently gave herself a thumbs-up in her heart, sorted out her thoughts, and then raised her head.

Shen Yu spoke calmly, looking at Lu Lang and Master Qian who were still frowning, and said calmly: "It's really difficult to have three meals with fifty cents and want to be full and warm."

"I have a few requests. If you can do it, I will take on the catering job for the canal repair."

She has a slender figure and a pretty face. No matter how you look at her, she looks like a weak young girl who needs to be protected by others.

But what the young girl said at this time seemed quite responsible.

Lu Lang and Master Qian couldn't help but look at each other, waiting for what Shen Yu would say next.

Shen Yu sorted out his thoughts and said, "Since the conscripted men have to come from home every day."

"Can you bring your own firewood when you come?"

"I heard from the firewood seller that at this time of year, there is too much firewood in the countryside to burn."

"Harvested crop stalks, dry branches and weeds on the hills and roadsides are everywhere."

"You gentlemen are recruits. You are probably in your prime and have plenty of strength."

"When they come, they should bring a sickle for chopping wood. They can chop some wood along the way and bring it back. The more the better. This shouldn't be considered difficult or tiring."

The two did not expect Shen Yu to make such a request, and did not understand Shen Yu's intention for a moment.

Master Qian had been handling finances for many years and thought that Shen Yu wanted the servants to chop firewood along the way in order to save on charcoal costs.

He stroked his beard, smiled gently and asked, "Miss Shen, I think you should ask the servants to bring some firewood so that we can use it to cook and save some charcoal expenses."

"Use the money saved to buy food?"

Without waiting for Shen Yu to answer, Master Qian shook his head disapprovingly: "The young lady is busy in the restaurant every day, so she probably hasn't been to the canal very often."