Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

Paying New Year's visits is more tiring than doing manual labor.

Nothing else to do today.

The Qian family doesn't have any relatives to visit.

Hou Yufen's family home is far away, in another county hundreds of miles away, and she hasn't been back for several years.

The family stayed inside; it was cold outside, but warm inside, with the kang (heated brick bed) kept cozy.

Qian Lu and his sister-in-law sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and continued playing cards.

Qian Lu lost several rounds yesterday and was determined to win them back today.

My sister-in-law, who was heavily pregnant, had a very good luck and won several rounds in a row, smiling from ear to ear.

Hou Yufen was sewing shoe soles nearby, occasionally glancing up and muttering a few words to herself.

Qian Cheng leaned against the headboard, playing cards while pondering things.

He still owes his master 100 yuan.

This money must be repaid.

Although his master said he didn't need to pay it back, Qian Cheng knew in his heart that he had to.

They only gave me the money because of my daughter and because I was involved in my teacher's wife's affair.

But it's their business whether they pay or not; it's still your own business.

Qian Cheng spent ten years in Shanghai in his previous life and understood one thing best: if you don't pay back your debts, you'll find it hard to get by.

How can we repay it?

One hundred dollars is not a small amount.

He works as a carpenter, selling each chair for two cents, and he needs to make five hundred chairs.

Even if you do ten a day, it will still take fifty days.

This is too slow.

We need to think of another way.

Qian Cheng leaned against the headboard, his mind racing.

Doing business?

No.

These days, speculation and profiteering are no joke.

If they get arrested, they could really be sentenced.

A few years ago, there was an old man named Liu in the village who secretly did some small business. He was caught and locked up for three months. When he came out, he had lost a lot of weight, and his land had been abandoned.

But we can't just do nothing.

Qian Cheng thought about it over and over, and suddenly remembered something.

In his previous life, he had read some materials that said that before the reform and opening up, there were actually free markets in rural areas, but they were strictly regulated.

Later, the policy was relaxed a bit, allowing farmers to sell their own agricultural and sideline products, which was called "self-produced and self-sold".

As long as you don't speculate, hoard, or resell, you'll be fine.

What should we sell?

Qian Cheng pondered, his eyes landing on a bag of soybeans in the corner.

It was harvested in the autumn before the Lunar New Year, weighing about twenty jin. Hou Yufen originally planned to keep it to make tofu, but she hadn't had time to.

Bean sprouts.

These two words popped into Qian Cheng's mind.

Yes, bean sprouts.

It's the dead of winter now, and nothing grows in the ground.

The cabbages and radishes that every household stocked up on for the Lunar New Year are almost gone by now.

Hou Yufen was just saying a couple of days ago that there wasn't much cabbage left and they had to eat it sparingly.

If there were fresh bean sprouts available at this time, they would definitely sell well.

Bean sprouts grow very quickly.

It can be eaten in three or four days.

It's tender and can be stir-fried, stewed, or eaten as a cold dish.

After indulging in too much greasy food during the Lunar New Year, a plate of refreshing bean sprouts is just right.

Moreover, sprouting beans doesn't take up much space; you can do it at home without leaving the house.

Qian Cheng thought about it more and more and it seemed feasible.

He sat up and asked Hou Yufen, "Mom, what use are those soybeans we have now?"

Hou Yufen was taken aback: "Soybeans? They're not very useful. I was planning to make tofu, but I haven't had the time. What's wrong?"

"I want to sprout some bean sprouts and sell them."

Hou Yufen stopped needlework: "Selling bean sprouts?"

"Hmm." Qian Cheng nodded. "It's the dead of winter now, there aren't many vegetables, but bean sprouts grow quickly and can be eaten in three or four days. If we take them to the market, we should be able to make some money."

Hou Yufen hesitated for a moment: "Will this work? What if someone gets caught?"

Qian Cheng said, "It's okay, we're producing and selling our own soybeans. We grow and sell them ourselves, so it's not illegal."

Hou Yufen didn't understand these things, but after hearing what her son said, she didn't ask any more questions.

Qian Lu, who was overhearing this, interjected, "How do you sprout bean sprouts? Do you know how?"

Qian Cheng smiled and said, "Yes, I've seen it before."

Of course, he wouldn't say that he learned it in his past life.

Back then in Shanghai, the rented apartment was small, so cooking for myself saved money. I learned to sprout beans, and after a few tries, I was quite successful.

Qian Lu said, "Then let's give it a try. Anyway, the soybeans are just sitting around doing nothing."

The elder sister-in-law also said, "If we can sell it for money, that would be great."

Qian Cheng nodded and began to make plans.

To sprout beans, you need to prepare some things first.

The soybeans are readily available, about twenty pounds, enough to last for a while.

We have a jar at home too.

Several earthenware jars were piled up in the corner of the outer room, which were used to pickle sauerkraut in the past.

Once the sauerkraut was finished, the jar was empty.

Qian Cheng went to take a look. There were three openings in total, all about the same size, and each could hold more than 100 kilograms of water, which was just right.

He picked up a mouthful, rinsed it with water, and then scalded it with boiling water to disinfect it.

Then I moved it inside and placed it against the wall.

Hou Yufen watched him carry the vat into the house and asked, "Inside? Not outside?"

"It's too cold outside, the bean sprouts will freeze to death, so we have to put them by the kang (heated brick bed) to keep them warm."

Hou Yufen nodded and didn't say anything more.

Qian Cheng went to the outer room, found an old piece of gauze, washed it clean, and then found a thin wire, which he cut into several pieces.

You need to drill a hole in the bottom of the jar, otherwise the water will accumulate and the beans will rot.

He took an awl and drilled a small hole in the bottom of the tank, just big enough for water to leak out.

Then place the gauze at the bottom of the jar and spread it out.

Hou Yufen, watching from the side, asked, "What are you doing?"

Qian Cheng patiently explained, "Drain the water. Bean sprouts need to be watered every day, and the water needs to drain out, otherwise they'll rot."

Hou Yufen didn't understand these things, but she was happy to see her son busy.

This child is becoming more and more capable.

After finishing his work, Qian Cheng started picking beans.

You have to choose good soybeans; you can't accept shriveled, rotten, or worm-eaten ones.

He sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), picking out the kernels one by one.

Twenty pounds of beans, and after spending half a day picking them out, I managed to pick out more than three pounds of the best ones.

Soak the selected beans in warm water.

The water was neither too hot nor too cold, just the right temperature.

Soak the beans in the water, and they slowly absorb the water, puffing up one by one.

"Is that all?" Qian Lu leaned over to take a look.

"This is just the beginning. Soak it overnight, then transfer it to the tub tomorrow."

Qian Cheng placed the basin of soaking beans by the kang (a heated brick bed), covered it with a lid, and wrapped it with an old cotton-padded coat to keep it warm.

After finishing all that, it was getting dark.

Hou Yufen prepared the meal, and the family sat down to eat.

Cabbage stew with glass noodles, and a few dumplings, all piping hot.

After finishing his meal, Qian Cheng went to check on the bowl of beans again.

The beans had been soaked for four or five hours and had swelled up considerably; some had even cracked open, revealing tender yellow sprouts inside.

Looking at the beans, he felt confident.

The next day was the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Qian Cheng got up early to check on the pot of beans he had soaked yesterday.

The beans soaked overnight were all plump and round, some of them already sprouting tiny white buds, like millet grains.

He took the soaked beans out, drained them, and then put them into the vat.

It's not spread thickly, just a thin layer, just enough to cover the bottom of the tank.

Spread the beans out, cover with a damp gauze, and then put on a lid.

The lid is not airtight; it has a gap for ventilation.

Finally, the vat was moved to the side of the kang (a heated brick bed).

The kang (heated brick bed) is heated, and the room temperature is high, controlled at around 22 to 25 degrees Celsius. It's just the right temperature for people to feel slightly warm, which is perfect for bean sprouts to grow.