Chapter 67: A Plan Forms

The food safety inspection business had only started last year, so Mu Chenze had never dealt with it before.

But in her previous life, Chu Xuan had.

Her grilled fish snack workshop had always prioritized hygiene and quality ingredients. The fish slices were sterilized at high temperatures, contained salt, and were stored properly—there was absolutely no chance of biological contamination exceeding the standards.

“I have complete confidence in our grilled fish snacks!”

Her tone was so firm that Mu Chenze couldn’t help but believe her, and his worries faded away.

When they arrived in town, the two of them got off the vehicle one after the other.

Once they were in a quiet spot, Chu Xuan spoke again, “Mu Chenze, I overheard you talking to the rickshaw driver from the county about typhoons and reinforcing houses…”

Before she could finish, Mu Chenze explained, “My mom’s been earning money gutting fish at your place, right? She’s worried your two mud-brick houses won’t withstand a typhoon, so she asked me to go to the county and find Master Liu, who specializes in reinforcing houses.”

Chu Xuan hadn’t expected Aunt Qin to be so thoughtful. “I’ll have to thank Aunt Qin properly when I get back. Actually, there’s no need to reinforce the house again—we just had repairs done last month.”

“My mom’s seen your mud-brick house. Even if you’re lucky enough to get through this year’s typhoon, it won’t last another year. For your and Xiao Feng’s safety, you either need to reinforce it again or just tear it down and build a new one. You’re our family’s lucky star now—we can’t let anything happen to you.”

Hearing this, Chu Xuan recalled how, in her previous life, those two mud-brick houses really did collapse the following year.

She had to admire Aunt Qin’s foresight.

“If we tear down the mud-brick house and build a new one now, it’ll delay grilled fish snack production. As for reinforcing it again, there’s really no rush. The foreman personally promised me it would definitely survive this year’s typhoon, though he couldn’t guarantee next year. Let’s leave it at that—don’t go looking for Master Liu. Nothing will happen!”

With things said so clearly, Mu Chenze felt awkward insisting further.

But there was one thing he had to do.

He found Bai Xiaotian and told him to immediately go to Chu Xuan’s house to collect fish heads, skins, and other scraps.

The yard had to be kept as clean and tidy as possible.

Bai Xiaotian really did manage to collect everything before the inspectors arrived.

The fish livers, heads, and skins sold for a total of 21 yuan.

By coincidence, Ji Ping delivered the fish early that afternoon, so all the fish had already been processed, salted, and moved into the kitchen.

Chu Xuan led Widow Niu and the others in sprinkling plant ash around the yard to get rid of odors, then they washed the yard down.

When a male inspector from the testing station arrived, he was greeted by a spotless yard and the delicious aroma of grilled fish snacks.

His first impression was excellent.

Inside the kitchen, seeing everyone wearing hats, masks, and gloves, his impression improved even more.

Before leaving with his samples, he joked with Chu Xuan, “If your grilled fish snacks pass inspection, our station will hand them out as gifts for every holiday!”

Chu Xuan thanked him and warmly offered him a bag of about five jin of grilled fish snacks.

He firmly refused to accept it.

Unable to persuade him, Chu Xuan could only watch him go.

Miao Dacui looked worried. “He didn’t accept the gift—do you think he’ll give us a bad report?”

Gao Meijuan glared at her daughter-in-law. “Watch your mouth! That’s called integrity!”

Chu Xuan didn’t take it to heart. If he didn’t want the gift, so be it. Maybe he’d only dare eat her snacks after seeing the test results.

After dinner, Chu Xuan and Chu Feng brought their gifts for the apprenticeship ceremony and went to Accountant Wen’s house.

At first, Accountant Wen thought the gifts were too generous and refused to accept them all, insisting on returning one of each.

Chu Xuan insisted that good things come in pairs, so Accountant Wen finally accepted.

After the formal ceremony, Chu Feng stayed to learn abacus, while Chu Xuan left first.

Back home, she grabbed two bottles of liquor and a bag of grilled fish snacks and headed to Grandpa Wang’s house.

Only Grandpa Wang and Wang Shasha were home.

Wang Mingchen was out at sea and wouldn’t be back today; Gao Meijuan and Miao Dacui were at Chu Xuan’s house making grilled fish snacks.

After making Chu Xuan a cup of honey water, Wang Shasha tactfully went to her own room, leaving Grandpa Wang and Chu Xuan space to talk.

Grandpa Wang invited Chu Xuan to drink the honey water.

Chu Xuan smiled. “No rush, let’s talk business first. Grandpa Wang, has the village collective ever thought about opening a grilled fish snack factory? If so, I’d like to hand over the recipe and production method to the village. That way, the collective can lead everyone to prosperity…”

Gao Meijuan had mentioned this to Grandpa Wang before, but he thought Chu Xuan wouldn’t bring it up until at least next year. He hadn’t expected it so soon.

“Xuan, that’s your secret to getting rich. Are you sure you want to give it to the collective so soon? Why not wait until you’ve made more money?”

“I’m not giving away the recipe and method for free—I want a share of the profits.”

“Actually, your Grandma Gao already talked to me about this, so I’ve thought it over. Giving you a share is no problem, but the most I can get you is 10% of the net profit. Compared to what you’re earning now, it’s not much.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Once sales scale up, I might earn even more than I do now. Besides grilled fish snacks, we can make other dried seafood too. But if the factory wants to get big, it’ll need strict management, and hygiene, supply, and sales all need to be considered…”

Chu Xuan and Grandpa Wang talked for two hours. Grandpa Wang told her to be patient and wait for news, as the collective would need to hold a meeting to discuss it.

Allocating land, building a factory and warehouse—none of these were small matters.

When Chu Xuan got home, Mu Chenze and his cart were already in the yard.

Still loaded with 300 jin.

As she saw him out, Chu Xuan reminded him, “Tomorrow night, we’ll need to deliver over 1,000 jin of grilled fish snacks. Lin’s truck won’t be big enough…”

“It’ll be enough, because I’m not planning to go out to sea for fresh fish the morning after tomorrow. I’ll just earn the grilled fish snack commission.”

“That means you’ll be earning less.”

“Don’t worry! I won’t lose out. I’m planning to talk to Hou Mingliang tomorrow and see if I can deliver 1,000 jin of grilled fish snacks to him the morning after next as well.”

“Will he agree?”

“With typhoon season coming, he probably will. Otherwise, he’ll run out of stock.”

Chu Xuan couldn’t help but praise him, “You’re amazing!”

Mu Chenze blushed. “Wait until I pull it off and get paid before you praise me!”

He pulled his cart away.

Watching his back, Chu Xuan couldn’t help but recall that in her previous life, even though he’d made so much money, she, as his wife, had never once praised him. All because Feng Chunhua had told her that it was a man’s duty to provide for the family, and as a woman, she should just enjoy it…

This life, staying away from Feng Chunhua, she’d come to understand a lot.

Women can provide for their families too!

She went back to the kitchen to count the grilled fish snacks.

After counting, she did the math—there were still 1,500 jin in stock at home, and if they made another 600 or 700 jin tomorrow, it would be enough for the day after tomorrow’s orders.

Just then, Accountant Wen brought Chu Feng home.

It was already late, so Accountant Wen didn’t come inside.

This scene happened to be witnessed by Chu Zhi as he passed by.

When he got home, he exaggerated the story of Accountant Wen visiting Chu Xuan’s house to Feng Chunhua.

Accountant Wen was in his thirties and had lost his wife a few years back—he was single now.

A plan began to form in Feng Chunhua’s mind…

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