When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The Chaff-and-Bran Wife of the 1950s (28)

From that day forward, Zhu Yun was fully armed against the sun whenever she went out, determined not to let its rays cause her the slightest harm. Even when cooking, all anyone could see was her pair of bright, foxy eyes.

Everyone knew her wedding to Mr. Chu was fast approaching, and they would occasionally tease her, saying she was taking this ”hiding away until the wedding” thing seriously.

For a whole month, they hadn’t once seen what Zhu Yun really looked like; she was becoming an abstract concept in their minds.

Wang Xianbing, gritting his teeth, scraped together another eighteen hundred yuan and brought it to her. The look he gave her was like a volley of daggers.

Zhu Yun was in no mood to trade barbs with him, her mind solely focused on her savings.

In the past two months, she had spent a little over a hundred yuan in total, and that was from spending freely and buying whatever caught her eye. At the same time, her salary and bonuses for those two months amounted to about one hundred and ninety yuan. This meant that not only had she not dipped into her savings, she had actually added several dozen yuan to her account.

Wang Xianbing had given her money on two separate occasions, totaling forty-one hundred yuan.

On top of the passbook with one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine yuan, Mrs. Chu had also given her five hundred yuan as an allowance for new clothes.

In other words, she now had sixty-six hundred yuan—enough to buy seven or eight brick-and-tile farmhouse courtyards like the one she lived in!

Thinking about the three-year famine that was set to begin next year, Zhu Yun decided she had to dig an ice cellar in the courtyard. She could use it to store grain, meat, and vegetables, and even water.

After all, the famine was predicted to start with a severe drought. She had no idea how deep the well in her courtyard was, or how long it would hold out.

She decided she had to stockpile all sorts of food come the autumn harvest this year!

But that meant she had to start digging the ice cellar now, and it was no small task.

Taking advantage of her position as chef, Zhu Yun had the procurement department pick up two sets of tools for her, including shovels, pickaxes, hammers, and chisels.

She worked during the day. Then, when night fell and darkness settled in, Zhu Yun would start digging silently not far from the well.

She had observed that the water level in the well was about ten meters below ground, and the water itself was sweet and refreshing.

Since the original owner of the house had dug the well in this spot, they must have surveyed the area thoroughly, so she shouldn’t have any major problems digging an ice cellar nearby. The entrance would be located right under the eaves, and later she could build a hollow stone table over it. It would be both waterproof and the perfect camouflage!

Thanks to her attribute of immense strength, Zhu Yun made gratifying progress every night, her hands protected by gloves.

Beyond the village lay endless mountains of rock, which naturally extended deep underground.

By exploiting the cracks between the rocks, she managed to excavate three interconnected chambers totaling six square meters in just one month!

Zhu Yun then gathered more stones from the mountains, dried some wood and straw, and used them to reinforce the chambers and provide some simple insulation.

She traded with some of the villagers for cement and bricks, then personally built a wall about seventy centimeters high around the cellar’s entrance. On top, she placed a heavy bluestone slab to serve as a tabletop.

Perfect!

Zhu Yun looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, suddenly feeling like a field mouse—digging a burrow, then hoarding food...

One day in the cafeteria, Director Wang hurried over excitedly. ”Xiao Zhu, the refrigerator is on its way! It should be here by tomorrow morning. Perfect timing, too. These last few days have been brutally hot, and the factory floor is like a giant steamer, leaving everyone drenched in sweat.”

”I need you to come up with some cold drinks to help everyone cool down. It’ll make them more comfortable and boost their work efficiency.”

A large factory like this one never had a shortage of orders. It had its own research and development department, collaborations with major universities, and an established brand and reputation. However, its efficiency still paled in comparison to the factories of later eras.

A single day’s worth of work could be dragged out over three to five days, generating a lot of waste and keeping production costs high. The factory had run quite well when it was first established, but as time went on, all sorts of problems began to surface.

The leaders were all tearing their hair out. Upper management wanted to see performance, but the workers on the floor were slow. At this point, the leaders were ready to treat the workers like kings if it would get things done.

So when management heard that the cafeteria could provide cold drinks, they had an idea.

They only had one refrigerator, but the factory had a lot of workers. Why not use it as an incentive to encourage workers to be more productive?

Director Wang lowered his voice and explained to Zhu Yun, ”What management is thinking is, could you create several different kinds of treats? That way, workers who complete different amounts of work can enjoy different perks.”

”Even though these cold drinks don’t cost much, we’ll be serving them once in the morning and once in the afternoon. There’s going to be a big difference in morale between those who get them and those who don’t.”

”This isn’t about a popsicle or a drink that costs a few cents, is it? It’s about a team’s honor! It’s that feeling of losing a hundred yuan when you see someone else get something you didn’t!”

”So, Chef Zhu, this is a heavy responsibility. I need you to draw up a good menu.”

Zhu Yun nodded, her eyes curving into a smile. ’Even though I don’t have memories from my other mission worlds,’ she thought, ’as someone from the future, I still have some common knowledge to draw on.’

’To complete missions successfully, everyone had to be an all-rounder, and the Company even provided training courses from time to time. A few dessert recipes? For someone who already possessed the ’Excellent Culinary Arts’ attribute, how hard could it be?’

She pulled a pen and paper right out of her bag and, right in front of Director Wang, began to scribble away.

Tier One: A very simple, basic popsicle—just frozen rock-sugar water. Tier Two: A premium version of the classic popsicle, crisp and refreshing to the bite, requiring glutinous rice flour, milk, and rock sugar. Tier Three: Popsicles with added fruit. Tier Four: Cream-based ice pops. Tier Five: Ice cream, sundaes, chocolate-covered, filled centers, and so on.

”The first type costs almost nothing—just a bit of sugar—but it’s still cooling and refreshing. The second type will probably be very popular. The rest are things that children and the women would love. We could issue vouchers and let the workers redeem them.”

”Once the refrigerator gets here, I’ll make some for you all to try. We can also make mung bean soup on a regular basis. Just add a little sugar and chill it in the fridge—that’s the ultimate thirst-quencher for cooling down. We can even add that to the list of perks for all workers.”

”With a refrigerator, our cafeteria can start serving desserts...”

Director Wang nodded enthusiastically as he listened. ”Do it, do it all!” he said. ”Chef Zhu, anything you can think of, we’ll put it on the menu. As long as the workers like it, we’ll make plenty of it.”

”If one refrigerator isn’t enough, we’ll order more. We’ll make cold drinks in the summer and use them to freeze other food in the other three seasons.”

After discussing for a little while longer, Director Wang took the list and went to report to his superiors.

Zhu Yun, meanwhile, continued to write and sketch, fleshing out her ideas. With the refrigerator arriving tomorrow, she drew up another list and asked the procurement staff to gather all the necessary ingredients.

Early the next morning, Zhu Yun directed Xu Xiaohui and Sister-in-law Qian in making scallion pancakes. They were at their best fresh off the griddle—fragrant, crispy, soft, and chewy. Paired with a rich chicken and oatmeal congee and a few plates of cool, crisp pickles, it was pure bliss!

”I’m back,” Chu Shenyu announced. He had returned early that morning, and after a shower, a change of clothes, and a shave, he had tidied himself up and come straight to the cafeteria with a food container in hand, a faint hint of steam still clinging to him.