Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 421: The Competition

"If Xiuxiu wins, you must stop making things difficult for her, stop badmouthing her, and apologize to her face-to-face."

"Sure, no problem."

A group of people eagerly spoke up.

"Alright, a promise is a promise. Village chief, could you bear witness for everyone?"

Uncle Hu, who had been trying hard to minimize his presence, was suddenly called upon and stood up awkwardly. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He really didn’t want to get involved in the matters of these women.

The main issue was that those demanding the competition were well-known tough women in the village, reasoning with them was impossible.

"Village chief, you heard what everyone said just now, could you please help gather a few respected villagers to act as judges for the competition?"

The village chief was pushed into a corner and had no choice but to agree.

Being the village chief, he had to deal with any trivial matter in the village.

The venue and ingredients were ready, and by the time the village chief brought over some elderly people, both parties were prepared.

Chen Aiju glanced provocatively at Wang Xiuxiu, confident in her own culinary skills, convinced she wouldn’t lose to the young girl.

Hu San and Chen Hai went to the village to borrow several long benches, carefully helping the elderly judges to sit down.

The judges were in place, and the competition officially began.

Wang Xiuxiu glanced at Su Xiaoxiao, and after receiving an encouraging look, she took a deep breath and walked up to the stove.

Opposite, Chen Aiju also stood at her stove.

She had done physical labor for years, and her family conditions were comparatively better in the village, making her appear more imposing next to Wang Xiuxiu.

Su Xiaoxiao saw that everyone was ready and went to stand between them, acting as a temporary host.

"Okay, are you both ready? If you are, you can start."

Both responded simultaneously and adeptly began making chili sauce.

The steps were mostly similar, but the key was the feel and the control of heat.

Sometimes, even the same ingredients and seasoning could taste vastly different due to differences in heat control.

It’s like how a dish cooked by a chef always tastes better than ours.

The steps to make chili sauce weren’t complicated; both finished almost simultaneously, with Chen Aiju being slightly faster.

She glanced at Wang Xiuxiu with a smug expression.

Snorting, she carried her chili sauce to the judges’ table.

The elderly judges simultaneously extended their chopsticks, smacking their lips, carefully tasting, and nodded after a while.

Chen Aiju’s face instantly showed more confidence, as if victory was within her grasp.

At this moment, Wang Xiuxiu nervously brought her chili sauce to the judges’ table and placed it down.

They picked up their chopsticks again to taste each one, but remained silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Chen Aiju felt certain she would win and smugly said, "Dear uncles and aunties, speak freely; this is a competition, no need to worry about some people’s feelings."

When she referred to "some people", she looked pointedly at Wang Xiuxiu, and it was clear who she meant.

Uncle Hu set down his chopsticks first, glanced at both, cleared his throat, and spoke: "I choose..."

Chen Aiju straightened her back, eagerly looking at the village chief.

The next moment, she heard the village chief and the group at the judges’ table speak in unison: "We choose Wang Xiuxiu."

"What?"

Chen Aiju’s expression almost cracked: "How is this possible? Have you been bribed by these outsiders? How could I not surpass Wang Xiuxiu, that jinx?"

Uncle Hu didn’t coddle her, directly pushing the two plates of chili sauce in front of her: "Taste them yourself."

Chen Aiju defiantly picked up her chopsticks to taste, and her expression changed immediately.

How could it be? The steps were exactly the same, yet why did Wang Xiuxiu’s chili sauce taste so much better?

Her face flushed alternately with green and red, finally lowering her head and gritting her teeth: "I lost."

After speaking, she turned to leave.

Just as she lifted her foot, Su Xiaoxiao’s voice came from behind.

"Comrade Chen, did you forget something? You haven’t apologized to Xiuxiu yet."

Chen Aiju’s face turned pale: "You brat, don’t push it."

Su Xiaoxiao wouldn’t take this lightly: "The village chief is still here as a witness, are you trying to go back on your word?"

Uncle Hu spoke timely: "What you’ve done today was excessive; we all live in the same village, so apologize to Comrade Wang Xiuxiu, then we can consider this matter settled."

Chen Aiju and the others heard the village chief speak and reluctantly apologized to Wang Xiuxiu.

...

In the evening, Su Xiaoxiao explained the subsequent matters to Wang Xiuxiu, Hu San, and Chen Hai, and began preparing for the trip to Binhai City the next day.

She planned to deliver goods early at the meat packing plant and retrieve her beef and beef jerky, which she had been craving for a long time.

After a busy day, she slept particularly well that night.

Since she arrived in this era, her sleep quality was excellent.

She used to struggle to sleep before midnight, but now she fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

Indeed, being away from phones and the internet improved her sleep quality a lot.

The next morning, she didn’t take Hu San and Chen Hai along and went to the meat packing plant by herself.

The elderly guard at the plant’s entrance was already familiar with her and greeted her warmly as she arrived.

"Comrade, are you here to see Deputy Director Zhou? He’s in the innermost office on the second floor of the middle building."

"Uncle, I have some other business first; I’ll go see the deputy director later."

Su Xiaoxiao said, slipping a handful of White Rabbit candies into the old man’s hand: "Take these home for the kids, no need to be polite."

Look at that, no wonder she’s from a big city, giving away a handful of White Rabbit candies.

The old man instantly beamed with joy: "Alright, go get busy first, come by directly later."

"Okay, I’ll be back in two minutes."

Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile, turning to walk into the wasteland beside the plant.

Seeing there was no one around, she opened the game mall and clicked to pick up goods.

With a ding, the message alert sounded, and the previously empty wasteland instantly appeared stacked high with pesticides and fertilizers.

Su Xiaoxiao nodded in satisfaction, just about to find Deputy Director Zhou when she was startled by a familiar male voice behind her.

"Manager Su, is this the pesticide and fertilizer you brought?"

The voice came too suddenly, giving her a fright.

She turned around to see Zhou Changshan, having quietly come up behind her, smiling as he looked at her.

Why does he have no sound when he appears? Doesn’t he know how scary that is?

As she thought about this, Zhou Changshan spoke again: "Comrade Su, where’s the delivery guy? Has he already left?"

Su Xiaoxiao grew nervous; there was no delivery guy, these small items unlike large ones didn’t come with door-to-door service.

She was just about to find a way to explain when Zhou Changshan spoke again.