Just as everyone was discussing fervently, Yuan Chun squeezed in front of the team leader, excitedly saying, "Team leader, I want to go to the county to do business. I’m the only woman in my family supporting us, and relying on these work points alone can’t feed four children, so I want to do business to earn some money to support my family."

"Team leader, I want to sell marinated foods, braised eggs, braised chicken, braised meat, all are fine. I’m quite good at cooking, and I believe as long as I can make it, there’ll be buyers, so I want to buy eggs and chickens from our village. The price will follow the market rate, I won’t take advantage of the villagers."

Before the team leader could reply, Grandma Li slapped her thigh and said excitedly, "Oh my, Yuan Chun, I never thought the first person wanting to go out and do business would be you. You’ve got it, even stronger than some of the men here. Look at our village, none of these men dare to venture into the county."

"Daqiang’s mother, I just happened to have saved up thirty eggs, I’ll bring them to you in a bit."

"I have twenty-five as well. I was planning to take them to the market before the new year, but since Yuan Chun is collecting, I’ll sell them to her."

Soon, more than a dozen women said they wanted to sell eggs. Yuan Chun smiled and replied, "Then please bring them to my house. Eggs are five cents each, and chickens are two yuan each, regardless of size."

At this time, pork was only one yuan per jin, and a local chicken weighed just about three jins. After removing feathers and innards, it was just over two jins. Yuan Chun offering two yuan was relatively high.

Suddenly, several women said they had a few roosters at home they wanted to sell.

When Yuan Chun got home, a few impatient women were already waiting for her at the courtyard gate, each holding a basket or a chicken.

Yuan Chun counted and settled with each of them. The women, having received their money, left with smiles, saying, "Yuan Chun, once I save up more eggs, I’ll bring them to you again."

Yuan Chun saved them the time of going to the market to sell, and the women were very grateful to her.

Since Yuan Chun decided to do business, she worked quickly. The next day, she borrowed the team leader’s bicycle, went to the county, and spent eight hundred yuan to buy a house with two front shops, a large courtyard, and four blue brick and tile houses at the back.

What Yuan Chun liked most was that there was a well in the yard, so in the future, she wouldn’t have to go far to the public well to get water for her marinated foods.

After buying the house and getting the keys, Yuan Chun secretly placed a set of slightly used furniture, along with some pots, bowls, and pans in the empty house.

The next day, Yuan Chun borrowed the team’s bullock cart, and took her four children, several large bags of luggage, the collected eggs, and dozens of chickens raised at home to the county.

She also secretly transported a batch of firewood to the house in the county.

Thus, Yuan Chun enthusiastically opened a braised food shop and a fast-food restaurant in the county, using both of her family’s shops.

Her fast-food restaurant offered only eight dishes per meal: six hot dishes and two cold dishes, with both meat and vegetables. The staple foods were mixed rice, sorghum rice, and millet porridge.

The braised food shop sold braised eggs, braised chicken, braised pig head meat, and various braised pig offal.

Not far from her restaurant was a middle school. When students finished class, they would curiously check out the new shop, making Yuan Chun’s fast-food restaurant business very bustling.

The customers were mostly students.

Some teachers also came to eat.

After work, teachers would come to Yuan Chun’s braised meat shop, buying some braised meat to take home and enjoy with drinks.