Each person even had a thermos, which, when opened, contained a bowl of fragrant mushroom and chicken soup!
"This smoked fish tastes exactly the same as the one my grandma makes!"
Holding their full lunchboxes, the medical staff, exhausted from a long day, couldn't help but shed tears.
They also knew that because the incident happened so suddenly, the entire city of W was almost completely unprepared. The people themselves were struggling to get enough to eat, yet they still brought out their best food to treat them...
"Once this super flu is over, I definitely want to come to W City for a trip! I want to try their real local specialties!" a nurse said, her eyes red with tears.
"It's no fun for you to come alone. Let's form a group. I also want to try the local specialties."
...
Jiang Xiaoman herself did not expect that while the other side had been fighting the super flu for half a month, their group had also been doing logistical support for half a month.
Now, not to mention Langshan Village and a few nearby villages, every village in the entire township that can be reached by road has been "swept" by the bandit Shan Yan with his car!
Of course, money was paid for clearing the mountain rocks. It just so happened that there were plenty of surplus fruits and vegetables in everyone's gardens at this time of year. Selling them to them would relieve the urgent needs of the people across the street, and the locals could also earn some money.
In addition to readily available fruits and vegetables, considering that most of the staff dormitories in the industrial area are not suitable for cooking, Jiang Xiaoman, with the consent of her clients, recruited a large number of grandmothers, aunts, and sisters-in-law from the entire township who knew how to make pancakes.
Instead of purchasing rice and flour in bulk, he directly bought pre-made flatbreads from these people.
Langshan is a mountainous area, and while farmers may not have much else, they have plenty of cornmeal.
In some places, the soil and water are suitable, the terrain is flat, and many people grow wheat. Wheat flour and corn flour can be used to make pancakes.
Jiang Xiaoman set a rule that the collection point would be open at noon and evening every day, so that the pancakes that each household had made in the morning and afternoon could be brought to the collection point to sell.
The dough cakes I received had cooled down along the way, so they were vacuum-packed. This way, the packaged dough cakes won't spoil even if stored in the refrigerator for a month.
It's also easy to eat; just take it out and microwave or oven it for a quick dip.
If you can cook at home, that would be even better. After thawing, you can fry them in oil in a frying pan or steam them. If you don't have enough rice at home, store more vacuum-packed flatbreads so that at least you won't starve.
The people of Langshan are really good at dealing with people. Jiang Xiaoman set the purchase price for them at 1 yuan each, but they wanted to make the 1-yuan pancakes bigger than an adult's head!
This is such a big piece of bread; it would probably be enough to last a whole day for someone with a small appetite.
Jiang Xiaoman and Shan Yan had discussed it and decided that they didn't plan to make money from this event. After deducting the purchase cost, packaging cost, and postage for the trucks and fishing boats, they would sell a bag of 10 cornbreads to the other side for 15 yuan.
So much so that when the community secretary saw the price list, he rubbed his eyes hard, wondering if his eyes had been ruined from staying up all night on duty.
Such a big cornbread, normally if they bought it at the supermarket, a pack of three would cost ten yuan, and it wouldn't even be this thick.
Jiang Xiaoman and her group sold ten for only 15 yuan, and they didn't even charge for shipping...
In an instant, as if remembering something, the community secretary felt a lump in his throat and almost burst into tears.
Actually, she had been to Langshan. It was during her first year of work, when her company organized a trip to the old revolutionary base area of Langshan for patriotic education. At that time, the organizers took them along the legendary "grain transport route," a narrow and secluded jungle path that preserved an extremely precious spark of hope for the Chinese people... which led to the later desperate counterattack!
It is said that at that time, in order to protect this grain transport route, countless civilians in Langshan sacrificed their lives. There were nearly a hundred nameless heroes who fell off cliffs while transporting grain and whose bodies were never recovered.
Decades have passed, and perhaps many of the people of Langshan in this generation no longer remember this grain transport route, but their chivalrous spirit of serving the country and the people seems to be engraved in their bones.
After obtaining Jiang Xiaoman's consent, the community secretary forwarded the procurement quotation to his WeChat Moments and various community volunteer groups.
During this extraordinary period, these groups include community staff, as well as managers and volunteers from various companies in the industrial park.
Upon seeing the bidder, the group fell silent.
They owe the people of Langshan an enormous debt of gratitude!
"I think these cornbreads taste really good, and the vegetables are even better than what you buy at the market. After this period is over, let's include Jiang Xiaoman and her team in our company cafeteria's procurement list, shall we?"
"By the way, tell the canteen contractor that as long as the price quoted by Langshan is reasonable, try not to haggle."
"They also have Langshan specialty tea cakes and local honey in their shop? Here's what you'd like to do: tell the office that this year when we distribute Mid-Autumn Festival benefits, we should prioritize purchasing local specialties from Langshan."
"Students don't have school buses to get to school? Go ask how much a school bus costs now, let's donate two first, and they have to be good quality ones!"
...
As expected of W City's famous wealthy industrial park, the way the company's bigwigs expressed their gratitude was simple and straightforward!
The villagers lent them a helping hand at a critical moment, how could they let the villagers suffer losses?
What could be a more direct and faster way to express gratitude than spending money on fellow villagers?
So, while a small group of locals in Langshan were still cursing and trying to report Jiang Xiaoman and his associates to higher authorities for profiteering from the national crisis by reselling supplies, a steady stream of social donations poured into Langshan Town like a geyser!
“What did I tell you? Those people still have the nerve to report Xiaoman? Those short-sighted bastards! Do they even know how much benefit Xiaoman has brought to our town?” Sun Zheyuan, a poverty alleviation cadre, straightened his back as he spoke of his good friend Jiang Xiaoman.
After all, even if they beg and plead with everyone in their town every year, they might not be able to get on the good side of those big shots in the W City Industrial Park.
Jiang Xiaoman, on the other hand, brought several wealthy people to them in one go. They even specifically named them, saying that in order to thank Jiang Xiaoman and his fellow villagers for their strong support, they decided to skip the city and directly donate to their town!
Of course, although the majority of the money ultimately went to Langshan Village, things like school buses, school environment renovations, and donations of computers and air-conditioned school buses were benefits that all the villagers in the township could enjoy!
Jiang Xiaoman, well done!!!
Chapter 179
After self-isolating on the ship for a full month, Jiang Yu and Qing Shan's legs were weak when they disembarked.
However, neither of them needs to walk on their own anymore.
The moment they disembarked, everyone rushed forward and lifted these two heroes up!
Camellia and Mountain Flower also arrived. The three sisters held hands, their excited little faces flushed.
Just a few days ago, during Chinese class, Camellia's homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher specifically praised their "Little Fish Dad" in class, saying that she had a heroic father. They also asked Camellia to write an essay about her experience of supporting W City with river fish during this period, which she would submit to the local education newspaper.
The Chinese people possess an inherent spirit of courage and heroism. When a crisis strikes, every ordinary person has the potential to become a hero who can turn the tide!
In just half a month, Jiang Xiaoman, Shan Yan, Jiang Yu and the others worked day and night, almost emptying the entire Langshan Town's coffers, to ensure the supply of pork, eggs, fruits and vegetables for tens of thousands of migrant workers in the W City Industrial Park!
The enthusiastic locals even emptied their own kimchi jars so that their compatriots trapped in their dormitories on the other side of the strait could have a few tangy and appetizing kimchi pieces sandwiched in their dry flatbread during such an extremely difficult time.
When the public opinion first started to ferment, Jiang Xiaoman was very worried that some online trolls would say that they were taking advantage of the situation to make money through group buying.
As it turned out, his hunch was right. There were indeed a few keyboard warriors who said that Jiang Xiaoman and his team were making money under the guise of aid.
After all, this "Rural Xiaoman Brother" is a big influencer with millions of followers. Surely he can afford to donate a few million to charity?
You say you make so much money from live-streaming e-commerce every year, can't you just donate some of it directly to W City?
Although the vegetable packs you sell online are indeed quite cheap, even cheaper than when they buy vegetables at the supermarket themselves.
With such high sales volume, they must have made a lot of money, right?
However, before Jiang Xiaoman and the others could react, their friends on the other side sprayed it back at them.
"None of your business! I'm from the W City Industrial Park, and we're willing to pay for Brother Xiaoman's vegetable packages!"
"Since you're so eager to donate money and goods, we can't stop you. We'll tag the official account of the Industrial Park Management Committee for you. Friendly reminder: the donation account is in the pinned video."
"Pfft~ Don't try to fool these idiots upstairs. The management committee has more money than it can spend, and they haven't opened any donation channels at all! What we need most right now are supplies. Since you think it's unfair to have to pay for the supplies that Brother Xiaoman and the others sent, please send two boatloads of fresh vegetables yourself first, thank you."
When the trolls saw that they were being attacked, their unusually excited thought processes immediately kicked in. They thought, "Even negative publicity is still publicity! They're going to become famous!"
They quickly got into a heated argument with netizens from W City in the comments section.
Not long after, the authorities also got involved.
The industrial park management committee was ruthless and taciturn; they simply posted a list of supplies donated to the park by Jiang Xiaoman's team.
10,000 jin of fresh potatoes; 6,000 jin of fresh corn on the cob; 5,000 vacuum-packed handmade glutinous rice cakes...
The trolls: "..."
I'm so angry! Why would someone do a good deed and then remain silent?
Isn't this deliberately setting them up?
Netizens were almost dying of laughter when they saw the official response.
Jiang Xiaoman's comment section was filled with sarcasm and ridicule. The trolls slunk away and deleted their comments, fearing they would receive a lawyer's letter from Jiang Xiaoman, and even deleted their accounts.
The shady way they fled overnight was incredibly satisfying for netizens and Jiang Xiaoman's fans.
Jiang Xiaoman was unaware of all this. He was on the phone, and reporters from the provincial TV station and the provincial newspaper wanted to interview him, as did Jiang Yu and Qing Shan, who had just been carried off the boat.
After all, following the intervention of the Industrial Park Management Committee to refute the rumors, W City's official media also reported on the deep friendship of Jiang Xiaoman's team in risking infection to transport supplies to the other side.
The story of Jiang Yu and Qing Shan staying on the boat for a month to avoid bringing the virus ashore has thrilled the local media!
It's unacceptable that they learned about such big news from media outlets in neighboring cities!
Just as local media rushed to the scene, Jiang Xiaoman received another call from the management committee on the other side of the river.
It turned out that after the decisive victory in the fight against the super flu, W City decided to hold a large-scale commendation meeting. Jiang Xiaoman's team also received an award, and the management committee invited Jiang Xiaoman, Jiang Yu, and Qing Shan to attend this grand commendation meeting as team representatives.
"Xiaoman, you absolutely have to come! Our management committee members can't wait to thank your team in person. We really owe you a lot this time!"
The words of the management committee leaders were absolutely true.
After all, the industrial park managed by their management committee has tens of thousands of migrant workers and a large number of enterprise managers inside once the gates are closed. If these people don't have enough to eat and start a riot, it could lead to a major incident!
The most critical issue is that the management committee had previously neglected supporting services, and there were only a few large supermarkets in the entire industrial park.
The crucial point is that supermarkets themselves do not store large quantities of perishable fruits and vegetables; they are highly dependent on wholesale markets for supplies.
The consequence of all this is that once the industrial park is closed, the entire park faces a shortage of food supplies...
At that time, the whole city was scrambling for vegetables. People living near the wholesale market seized the opportunity and were able to get enough to eat and wear. People in other parts of the city were also able to get some vegetables nearby.
Only their industrial park, because of its remote location and the fact that many workers were at work at the time, was locked down when the news came. Forget about going to the city to buy vegetables, they couldn't even leave the factory!
Having learned from this experience, the management committee decided to make a painful decision and squeeze out a piece of land to build their own agricultural wholesale market!
The industrial park invited Jiang Xiaoman's team here this time because it wanted to give back by reserving a stall for Langshan local specialties in the new agricultural wholesale market.
At this juncture, they plan to give Jiang Xiaoman and her team ten years of free use. After the ten-year lease expires, if they still want to use it, the management committee will do its best to get them the most favorable rental price.
Just as local netizens said, their management committee is so poor that all they have left is money. Besides spending money, they really can't think of any other better way to repay the deep affection of the people of Langshan!
With free stalls, Langshan's local specialties can be sold at a lower price than other similar products on the market, allowing for small profits but quick turnover. This will enable Jiang Xiaoman and his team to make some money, and also provide a stable channel for the people of Langshan to sell their local specialties.
Jiang Xiaoman never expected that they would be given a stall in the agricultural wholesale market by the management committee just because they came to attend an awards ceremony!
The management committee also waived their stall rent for ten years!
He had heard from people in the community that the reason they were caught off guard this time, despite being extremely wealthy, was because they had been so busy developing the economy that they had neglected the construction and supporting infrastructure for people's livelihood.