【024】90s cook 24

"What is Merit Value?"

"Put bluntly, it's just being a good person and doing good deeds!"

Tangyuan listened and gave a bitter smile, "I'm even struggling to keep myself alive, let alone help others,"

"That's why I say, this goal is somewhat difficult for you. In your life, besides fulfilling the original host's wishes, it's about unleashing an infinite heart of merit within the limited span of life. This is not a brief process but a long one. Just do what you're capable of without putting too much pressure on yourself."

Finally, Tangyuan understood Liang Tian's meaning, "In other words, if I only fulfill the original host's wishes in my lifetime and don't accumulate much merit, it means I have no chance to exchange for the Golden Finger?"

Liang Tian's affirmative voice came through, "Exactly, that's the idea. The bigger the appetite, the bigger the meal you need to manage. You can't gulp down a big fat man in one bite. Just do your best!"

That night, Tangyuan thought of many plans for the future, but no matter what the plan, earning money was a prerequisite.

Without money, you can't make a move!

With the experience of the first day, over the next three to five days, she had completely mastered the amount of food needed; no matter how many people, the food was always prepared just right.

Sometimes the food prepared for the day would exceed the standard, but other times there would be a profit. Gong Mingxia wasn't greedy, and from the initial opportunity to make 900 yuan per month on the side, she finally reduced it to five hundred yuan. Together with her salary, she earned at least 1,500 yuan each month in 1997.

Of course, sometimes she would earn more than this because food prices are not constant, so at the very least she could make 1,500 yuan, with the fluctuations not varying greatly, staying within a range of two or three hundred yuan.

Since her daughter lived with her on the construction site, she paid the site 60 yuan a month (two yuan a day, half what the workers paid) for living expenses, which Deng Guoqiang did not refuse because it was the rule. If her daughter set this precedent, then it would be difficult to say no to other children who might come to the site in the future.

Her daughter didn't eat as much as a worker, so no one had any complaints about the two yuan a day for living expenses.

Mother and daughter didn't go out much, didn't buy snacks, and only occasionally bought some clothes, which didn't cost a lot. In three months at the construction site, they saved five thousand yuan, which was probably the most the original host had ever saved over the years.

Including some previous savings, the total reached six thousand three hundred yuan, which seemed like a lot, but it probably wouldn't be enough to cover a year's tuition.

Out of gratitude to Wang Hao and Deng Guoqiang, each month she would buy them a box of tea or a pack of cigarettes as a gesture of respect.

The gifts weren't expensive, but her intention was appreciated, and both men felt that their efforts were worthwhile.

Gong Mingxia did indeed work hard, rising early and retiring late, and the meals were always varied—wontons, dumplings, pancakes, deep-fried dough, braised chicken legs, Braised Fish pieces, casserole stewed fish head, and so on. Whatever she could think of or improvise, she would experiment and serve to everyone.

Ever since she arrived, the food quality had noticeably improved, with many of the workers saying that they ate better here than at other construction sites.

This was a kind of indirect praise and recognition. Although it was tiring, at least the mother and daughter now had a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and she felt content.

Of course, sometimes when a fellow worker fell ill, she would volunteer to write prescriptions for them, provided the illness was related to the respiratory tract, as she had once been a doctor in respiratory medicine. After all, the prescription should match the expertise, right?

At first, no one believed her, but then they found that the medicine she prescribed was quite effective, especially since they saved on a series of hospital examination fees and registration fees. Word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and soon, anyone with respiratory discomfort would think of her.

Gong Mingxia, with her ability, gradually became an indispensable figure among the workers.