Zhou Tai is a grain merchant and likes hiking in his spare time. On this day, when he passed by the entrance of a remote mountain village, he saw a house at the head of the village whose warehouse was filled with unthreshed corn. He wanted to know about the food market in the village, so he knocked on the door of the house.
The person who opened the door was an old lady in her seventies. When she heard that Zhou Tai was asking about food, she told Zhou Tai that because she was old, her son had the final say in everything at home and outside the house, so she only had to look after the door. Wangyuan. The old lady also told Zhou Tai that there was plenty of food in the village. If you want to buy food, you can go to the house in the village where the beams are raised. Her son's name is Zhu Erneng, and he and other young and strong laborers in the village are helping there.
Zhou Tai followed the old lady’s instructions and found the family with a roof beam in the village. Seeing that everyone was busy nervously, and knowing that asking about things at this time was like making trouble, he put down his travel bag and stepped forward to help.
Zhou Tai, who grew up in rural areas, was very familiar with the work of constructing walls and building houses in rural areas. While working, he asked people around him, and soon found Zhu Erneng, who truthfully told him his story. Purpose. Zhu Erneng was particularly enthusiastic. After finishing the roof beams, he didn't even eat at this family's house. He pulled Zhou Tai into his home and asked his mother to cook some dishes while he wanted to have a few drinks with Zhou Tai.
The old lady agreed, took out the hot leftovers from the big iron pot, and started cooking again. Zhou Tai hurriedly stopped the old man and said that he could just eat some leftovers, but the old lady insisted on doing it. Seeing that he couldn't persuade the old man, Zhou Tai washed his hands and helped him get back to work.
The vegetables were cooked quickly. During the meal, Zhu Erneng told Zhou Tai that their village has a lot of land, fertile soil, and is rich in high-quality corn and rice. However, because of the remote location and the road is too narrow, large transport vehicles cannot drive in. , so the grain merchants who came to their village to collect grain kept their prices very low, and the villagers had enough of this suffering. If Zhou Tai can give a reasonable purchase price, he is willing to help organize grain sellers to use their own tricycles and four-wheelers to transport the grain to the roadside for weighing and loading.
Seeing Zhu Er can be so enthusiastic and righteous, Zhou Tai felt that he had really met a good person. After finishing the meal, Zhou Tai asked Zhu Erneng to lead him to check the quality of corn from house to house in the village. He immediately decided that he wanted all the corn in this village.
Before Zhou Tai left, he met Zhu Erneng’s old mother at the entrance of the village and asked Zhou Tai if he was optimistic about the food in the village. Zhou Tai said he had seen it all and was very satisfied. Seeing that there was no one around, the old lady whispered to Zhou Tai: "When you were cooking at noon today, as soon as you reached out to help me, I saw that you are an honest child! Remember what my aunt said, how thoughtful you are when harvesting grain, in the mountains There are people who are dishonest!" Zhou Tai nodded and said, "Don't worry, ma'am, thank you for reminding me!"
Zhou Tai unexpectedly gained a big acquisition point, and after the first satisfactory cooperation, the two parties established a stable relationship. The supply and marketing relationship lasts for several years. When he came here to collect grain, Zhu Erneng would always take Zhou Tai to his home for dinner, and the relationship became more and more familiar with him.
On this day, Zhu Erneng was cleaning the corn kernels scattered under the granary in the yard, and the horn of a car came from the gate. He looked up and saw that it was Zhou Tai's car, so he hurried over to say hello and said, "Boss Zhou really did it on his own! I just finished taking off the corn kernels with my front foot, and you're here before I can clean it up neatly. You must be able to pinch and calculate!"
Zhou Tai lowered the car window and said to Zhu Erneng: "You guessed it wrong. I came here today to visit the grain farmers I have cooperated with in the past few years. , my grain business is going smoothly, and I cannot do without your support. In order to thank everyone, I have booked dozens of tables at the county hotel and invited everyone to have a meal tomorrow!”
Zhu Erneng was happy to hear that there was a banquet. No matter what, I agreed with all my heart. I got up early the next morning, put on the good clothes I was reluctant to wear when I went out, and together with the invited people from the village, got on the bus hired by Zhou Tai to pick them up and entered the county town.
Zhu Erneng rarely goes out. He has lived to be in his forties, but this is the first time he has gone back to such a big restaurant to eat. For a while, he can no longer use his eyes! The hall alone can not only hold dozens of wine tables, but also has a small stage for performances. When all the invited farmers arrived, Zhou Tai walked onto the stage and gave a speech, thanking everyone for their support over the years, and then let everyone watch the song and dance performance.
It was almost noon, the song and dance performance was over, and the banquet was about to begin. Zhou Tai walked onto the stage again, named Zhu Erneng and several other people, and said that these families had treated him to a small meal when he was collecting grain. Today, He specially arranged a small stove for these people and invited them to dine in a private room.
Being invited by Zhou Tai’s name to eat in a private room means that he holds an extraordinary position in Zhou Tai’s heart. This is a matter of honor! Zhu Erneng stood up flattered, feeling that everyone was staring at him with envy, and was so excited that he couldn't even walk.
After Zhu Erneng and others sat down in the private room, Zhou Tai told them that eating in the private room was different from that in the lobby. There would be full-time waiters standing by to provide services at any time. If you have anything to do, just give them instructions. After saying that, he went out to greet others.
Since Zhou Tai is regarded as a distinguished guest, why are you so polite? After the food and wine were served, Zhu Erneng and others opened their cheeks and started eating and drinking.
When the wine was almost drunk, the waiter served the hotel's specialty staple food - cornmeal pancakes .
People nowadays are tired of eating fine rice and white noodles, and whole grains have become a fashionable staple food. It is not surprising to everyone. Zhu Erneng was the first to pick up the big pancakes, wanting to taste the difference between the pancakes made by the county hotel and those made by farmers. Unexpectedly, as soon as he took a bite, he spit it out with a "poof" sound, and asked the waitress behind him with a grimace: "How do you make this big pancake? Not to mention the teeth, why is there still a smell of mold?"
People at the same table thought that Zhu Erneng had drunk too much, so they picked up the pancakes one after another. When they tasted it, it was just as Zhu Erneng said. They were so angry that they asked the waiter to ask what was going on.
After the waiter went out, he soon brought several bowls of rice on square plates and explained to Zhu Erneng and others that their boss had said that if they didn’t like the big pancakes, they should eat rice instead.
Although Zhu Erneng and others were very angry, they thought that after all, they were distinguished guests who were looked down upon by Boss Zhou, so they had to be a little restrained, so they all picked up their rice bowls, but who would have thought that after just a few bites, there was another... There was something black in the rice!
At first, Zhu Erneng thought it was rice mixed with black beans and other miscellaneous grains. But when he took a closer look, he was not disgusted to death - it turned out to be rat droppings! At this time, the people at the table were completely irritated. They slapped the table and asked the waiter to find the boss and give them an explanation.
At this time, Zhou Tai walked in and explained to Zhu Erneng and others that the hotel cannot be blamed for this, because the big pancakes on the table were ground from the corn purchased from their company; the rice The rice is also processed using their japonica rice .
Speaking of this, Zhou Tai was obviously a little excited, and said in a more serious tone: "How many times have I told you that the grain I purchase is to be processed and sold to people for consumption, but you are just asking me to eat it. Guo Xiaozao never took my words seriously. Every year, he mixed the bottoms of stacks and warehouses with pebbles and mouse droppings into the grain he sold to me... I discovered it this time. As always, I was so angry with you that I couldn't help it, so I took today's opportunity to let you guys eat the special "Xiao Zao"!"
Zhu Erneng and others will soon start growing grains. The news spread among the households. These few people were so ashamed that they poured all the bottoms of barns and stacks that had been collected to be mixed with grains into the manure pits to let them soak. Zhu Erneng's mother smiled happily after seeing what her son did.
It turns out that the reason why Zhu Erneng enthusiastically took Zhou Tai home and asked his mother to cook on a small stove to entertain Zhou Tai was so that Zhou Tai would give the green light when receiving and inspecting grains and would be embarrassed to reject his inferior grains. In his eyes, Zhou Tai is a big businessman with a big family and a big business, just like him.Mrs. Zhu repeatedly tried to persuade her son not to do this, and she felt sorry for the honest Zhou Tai. Zhu Erneng, who was obsessed with profit, not only refused to listen to her mother's advice, but also told her to mind her own business. The old lady was so angry that she asked Zhou Tai to find a way to cure his unscrupulous son. This is how he invited " to eat Xiaozao"...
At the end of the grain harvest season, Zhou Tai received clean "safe grain" " Knowing that Zhu Erneng and others were determined to change their ways, he invited these people to his home, asked his wife to cook a table of delicious dishes, and entertained them well. During the dinner, Zhou Tai told them that his wife was very simple and had simple meals for three meals a day. This time, he borrowed everyone's help and really got Xiao Zao back!
After Zhu Erneng and others heard this, they couldn't help but have mixed feelings...
