During this time, under Luo Ge's hands-on guidance, Gu Jinchen's cooking skills have greatly improved.
Although he lacked natural culinary talent, he made up for it with his strong execution ability.
Following Luo Ge's teachings precisely, strictly controlling the measurements and cooking times, he could manage it.
Now he could cook meals on his own, though still far from Luo Ge's level, but on par with ordinary home cooking.
It must be said that the men in this household understood Luo Ge, the only woman, quite well. Gu Jinchen had just warmed up the porridge when Luo Ge woke up.
"Where are Older Baby and Second Baby? Did they rest? Did they eat?"
Seeing that Gu Jinchen's first question was about the two little ones.
Ah, the young ones care about the older ones, the older ones care about the younger ones, leaving him the poor, pitiful one with no one to care for or love.
Thinking this, Gu Jinchen smiled wryly, "Don't worry, I didn't let them go hungry. I just warmed up the porridge, and the water is ready."
"You eat first, then freshen up and rest."
Hearing this, Luo Ge was reassured and obediently ate a little before leaving the rest to him.
When she fell asleep again, she nestled in his embrace, completely dependent, with Gu Jinchen wearing a satisfied smile.
.....The next day, because the small workshop was opening, Luo Ge and the others got up very early.
"Luo Ge."
Unexpectedly, Wang Sister-In-Law and Ma Feng Auntie were already waiting at the workshop entrance early.
One by one, they hurriedly greeted Luo Ge upon seeing her approach.
Technically, Luo Ge was now their matriarch, and they should use respectful terms for the matriarch.
But Luo Ge said they were all fellow villagers and friends, so there was no need for such formalities, and thus they addressed her as usual.
"You all came so early."
They had previously agreed to come around 8 o'clock, but it was only just after 7 and they were already all present.
"Hehe, we couldn't wait to start working, so we all got up a bit earlier," Wang Sister-In-Law said with a smile, her eyes full of anticipation.
Ever since they signed the work contracts with Luo Ge, they had been eagerly awaiting the start of work.
This job was different from helping with the dried fruit before - this was a long-term job.
You have to know that nowadays in the village, there were hardly any people who could find long-term work.
They had struck great fortune to get this job, how could they not be happy, excited, and eagerly anticipating it?
Hearing this, Luo Ge turned to look at Gu Jinchen with amusement before taking the lead to open the workshop.
"Luo Ge, if there's anything you need us to do, just let us know."
The group curiously looked around at the place where they would be working from now on.
Not finding anything they could immediately get to work on, they promptly asked.
Seeing their impatient eagerness to start working right away, Luo Ge felt both exasperated and amused.
"Don't rush, it's not time to start work yet. We agreed on a certain time, so naturally we'll start at that time. If I let you all start working early, wouldn't that be going back on my word?"
"You all get familiar with the environment first. Don't worry, there will be plenty for you to do here."
At the moment, there really wasn't much for them to do. What needed to be arranged was basically all arranged.
The two large pots for boiling the broth were already set up, and the duck and chicken eggs were placed beside them.
The shelves and drying racks were also all tidied up, ready to start work right away.
But she could never do the kind of thing that exploits workers, having agreed on a start time, so that's when they would start, not earlier, nor later.
Having worked as a laborer before, she hated not getting overtime pay and being forced to work overtime more than anything.
So she told them this too.
"Alright then." Hearing Luo Ge's words, they each took a look around the workshop to familiarize themselves with the environment.
Meanwhile, Luo Ge and the others went to prepare firecrackers.
Opening a workshop wasn't as formal as opening a shop; setting off a string of firecrackers would suffice.
"Bang! Pop! Crackle..."As the appointed time arrived, Gu Jinchen set off the firecrackers.
"Okay, our workshop is now officially open. Let me assign your respective tasks."
After the firecracker sounds faded completely, Luo Ge cleared her throat and spoke.
"Yes."
"Alright." Wang Sister-In-Law and the others had been waiting for Luo Ge to say this.
"Wang Sister-In-Law, Elder Sister Xiu Niang, Sister Ya, you go wash these eggs first."
"Aunt Zhang, Ma Feng Auntie, I'll teach you how to boil the broth."
"Okay."
Since everyone was new, Luo Ge and the others had to guide them at first.
Later, once they were familiar with the tasks, the experienced workers could guide the new ones, and Luo Ge wouldn't need to be so hands-on.
The ingredient packs for the salted duck egg broth had already been portioned out and wrapped in cloth pouches, so when needed, they could just put the pouches in the water to boil.
Washing the eggs had to be done at the river, while other tasks like drying could be done in the production area.
"That's it, and then it's done. In about half a month, we can start selling."
They had prepared a portion of washed eggs in advance to start work, since the drying process takes time.
Taking the prepared duck eggs, Luo Ge started by boiling the broth, all the way to finally sealing the salted duck eggs in jars.
The process was actually quite simple - boil the broth, let it dry, then jar it up.
"The main thing is to control the boiling time and temperature for the broth. Then let it dry, jar it up - that's to prevent the jars from cracking from sudden heat, and to keep the eggs from being overcooked."
"Got it, we understand."
The process truly wasn't difficult, completely learnable by observation.
With that, Aunt Zhang and Ma Feng Auntie each followed Luo Ge's demonstration and made a jar, officially graduating as apprentices.
"Let me teach you how to make tea leaf eggs next."
"Okay."
The method for tea leaf eggs wasn't difficult either, just remember the steps.
So everyone grasped it quickly, graduating as apprentices in one go as well.
After teaching Aunt Zhang and Ma Feng Auntie, Luo Ge didn't need to worry about the rest.
The experienced workers could guide the new ones directly.
Watching Wang Sister-In-Law and the others busily working in the small workshop, Luo Ge felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Seeing Li Qiao discreetly gesturing for her attention from afar, Gu Jinchen nonchalantly reached out and tapped Luo Ge's nose.
"What would you like for lunch? Shall I make it for you? It's been a while since I've made soup, would you like some?"
"Yes, please."
"Alright, then I'll go catch a couple of wild chickens."He had been waiting for her to say that, it had been so long since he used his hunting bow.
Seeing his hand gesturing secretly behind his back to Li Qiao, Luo Ge nodded with a smile.
"Then come back soon."
"Yes, dear wife."
