Chapter 515 – Trying It Out
“I want to give it a try!”
Third Sister’s eyes were determined. She had been under a lot of pressure recently, and the money at home had been used by her husband to start a company and buy a car. It would take a while before she could make a profit.
She worked hard to earn a living, and her in-laws couldn’t help. With two children growing up, there were considerable expenses involved…
If she didn’t explore new opportunities, the future would likely be very difficult.
So, she wanted to see. If it was as simple as Lu Xia said, she would do it!
Lu Xia nodded as she listened, seeing that Third Sister was genuinely interested, and then she shared her thoughts…
“Skewers?”
“Yes!”
After hearing Lu Xia’s words, Third Sister fell silent. After a while, she continued, “What is skewers? Is it lamb skewers? But grilling those requires skill, right?
There is a lamb skewer restaurant on the main street. It’s said to have good business, but the owner is from Xinjiang, and they have a source for buying lamb. If I were to do this, aside from other things, it would be difficult to find good meat.”
Lu Xia couldn’t help but admire how far Third Sister had thought ahead in such a short time. It was evident that she had a good business sense.
So she smiled and explained, “Third Sister, you misunderstood. This is not lamb skewers. Although it requires meat, it’s not much, and it’s quite simple to make.”
After explaining the method of making skewers briefly, Third Sister became interested and couldn’t wait to start.
Lu Xia didn’t waste any time either. She got up and went with her to buy the ingredients, planning to try it in the evening.
The method of making skewers was straightforward. The difficulty lay in the fact that it was hard to find semi-finished ingredients in this era. Items like fish balls, imitation crab sticks, frozen tofu, and the like were not available; they had to be made from scratch.
For the first attempt, Lu Xia kept it simple. She bought vegetables, meat, tofu, and the like, then skewered them and started boiling the broth.
Lu Xia was quite skilled in this.
Back at the orphanage, when they couldn’t afford to take the children out for hotpot, the orphanage director would cook the hotpot broth for them. It wasn’t difficult; they just didn’t have fancy ingredients like butter, but there were alternatives.
Lu Xia had already bought all kinds of materials beforehand, so everything was quite complete. Third Sister didn’t understand some items like fragrant leaves and asked specifically.
Lu Xia didn’t hide anything and explained the functions and effects of each item clearly. After the broth was cooked, she tasted it and found it quite good. Then, all the skewers were placed in the pot.
They had bought quite a variety of ingredients, so they all had a meal together in the evening.
Surprisingly, everyone enjoyed it. The skewers were devoured in no time.
Jiang Junmo tasted one and said, “This is actually similar to hotpot, just that one is cooked in the pot and eaten with chopsticks, while the other is eaten on skewers.”
Recently, two hotpot restaurants had opened in the capital, and they were quite authentic. Lu Xia had been there and liked it, so occasionally, Jiang Junmo would take her there.
Lu Xia nodded at him. “You’re right, it’s quite similar. Just that selling it this way is more convenient. After all, a hotpot meal is not cheap, and many people hesitate. But selling skewers individually is much cheaper. Those who want to eat can buy and satisfy their cravings. It’s inexpensive when you calculate by skewers, and the broth can last a day, saving a lot of money.”
Jiang Junmo agreed, nodding. “That makes sense.”
Third Sister listened intently. “It does sound very convenient the way you put it!”
“Yeah,” Lu Xia nodded. “And you don’t even need to open a shop for this. You can just set up a stall by the roadside, though it’s quite labor-intensive.”
Third Sister fell into thought upon hearing this, looking very interested. She continued to ask, “You mentioned other dishes that can be made today. Can you tell me more about them?”
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Chapter 516 – Internship
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Lu Xia nodded and explained the types she knew and roughly how to make them, but she didn’t know the specifics.
Third Sister carefully noted everything down and thanked her sincerely.
Then, she mentioned that she would discuss it with her husband at home before deciding whether to proceed.
Lu Xia nodded and didn’t say much more. She had provided all the help she could, and the final decision would be up to Third Sister.
At this moment, Grandpa Jiang chimed in, “Xiao Xia gave you an idea. No matter what you decide later, you can’t blame Xiao Xia whether you do it well or not!”
Third Sister nodded, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I understand. I’m so grateful for the great idea she gave me; there’s no way I would blame her.”
Grandpa Jiang nodded, not saying much more, just emphasizing it. After all, even if siblings had a good relationship, issues could arise when it came to interests. He was just clarifying things in advance.
Lu Xia glanced at Grandpa Jiang gratefully, knowing it was for her own good.
After Third Sister left, Lu Xia returned to her room. She had been studying and taking exams during this period, and as soon as she came back, Third Sister came over and they spent the whole afternoon together, making her a bit tired.
Seeing her, Jiang Junmo came over and offered to give her a massage.
Lu Xia was being massaged so comfortably that she almost fell asleep. If she hadn’t remembered being exposed to the smell while cooking the broth, she might have just drifted off like that.
After reluctantly getting up and taking a shower, she saw Jiang Junmo lying on the bed with the light on, waiting for her.
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet? You also have to intern at the design institute tomorrow, right?”
Jiang Junmo had done well in his professional courses, and coupled with the design they had done in their group before, he had been selected for the internship at the design institute.
“Waiting for you.”
Hearing him say that, Lu Xia felt a softness in her heart. She went over and hugged him, nuzzling him for a while before saying, “Go to bed early. Let’s wake up early tomorrow. Don’t be late for your first day at work.”
“Alright!”
The next day, they both woke up early and went to their respective internship units.
This time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were only Lu Xia and Chu Liangchen.
To be honest, Lu Xia’s first impression upon arriving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was that it was busy.
People were constantly coming and going, and everyone walked faster than the average person.
It made Lu Xia quite nervous.
After waiting with Chu Liangchen for a while, someone finally came to take them.
It was a female staff member in her thirties surnamed Wang. Manager Wang led them to the information room.
“Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always very busy, and time is precious. Everything we do emphasizes timeliness and accuracy. Especially the latter because the tasks we handle may involve other countries, and any mistakes could tarnish the country’s image. So, pay particular attention to this aspect. You’ve just arrived, and this area is quite busy right now. Start by helping out here. Sometimes, we might receive a sudden task and need the relevant information quickly. We must ensure we find it as soon as possible.”
Lu Xia and Chu Liangchen nodded solemnly.
Then, they were each assigned a workstation.
“Sit here. Familiarize yourselves with the layout of various materials. You should be able to find what you need quickly when necessary.”
“Okay, thank you, Manager Wang.”
After that, the two newbies began their first day of internship.
To be honest, the information room was quite large, covering a wide range of materials from various countries. However, due to its vastness, it was time-consuming to search for specific information.
On the first day, there was only one urgent task. Lu Xia hadn’t even fully understood the specifics of the task when the other staff members had already found the necessary information, then proceeded with a simple organization and review, and finally, after confirming its accuracy, handed it out.
One could say that not a single step could be missed.
However, the two newcomers who had just arrived didn’t really help much on their first day.
