Chapter 223 Boiled Melon Seeds
In the following period of time, Li Shengli, who had figured out his next course of action, planned to go to the countryside to collect some sunflower seeds.

This thing is subject to unified purchase and sale. Except for some farmers, tickets are required in other places.

This time, Li Shengli went out farther and collected dozens of kilograms of sunflower seeds in one trip. Li Shengli put all the sunflower seeds he collected in Han Qiuyun's former home in Shuijing Hutong.

In his spare time, Li Shengli cooked melon seeds in Shuijing Hutong, borrowed a winnowing basket from his neighbors and hung them in the yard to dry.

After drying, they are fried again in the pan, and only then are the melon seeds considered ready.

Li Shengli gave some of the prepared melon seeds to each of his neighbors in Shuijing Hutong to prevent them from reporting him for profiteering.

Looking at the melon seeds he had cooked, Li Shengli came to the scrap collection station and spent some money to buy a pile of old newspapers.

Holding the used newspapers he bought, Li Shengli returned to Shuijing Hutong and used the newspapers to separate the roasted melon seeds into bags, one or two ounces per bag, and there were about two hundred bags in total.

Li Shengli took a look at the remaining pieces and wrapped them in waste newspapers, but not tightly. He took these out for others to taste.

After everything was done, Li Shengli installed a basket on the back of his bicycle and looked at the time. It was almost time for the movie he had inquired about at the cinema before.

Wearing a mask, Li Shengli put the packaged melon seeds into the basket behind the car, and then rode his bicycle to the entrance of the cinema.

Li Shengli pushed his bicycle without even lifting it up. If someone reported him, he would just ride away.

Li Shengli put up a sign on the basket of his bicycle, which read: Five-spice sunflower seeds, 1.5 cents a bag.

This place is crowded with people coming and going. It would be troublesome if someone who knew me reported it. Forget about anything else. Xu Damao works as a projectionist here. If he saw it, it would be strange if he didn't report it. He put on a mask to cover his face so that others couldn't recognize him.

"Comrade, how much are your melon seeds?" A couple who looked like a couple came over and asked after talking for a few words not far away.

"1.5 cents a bag. You can try it first. My melon seeds are different from ordinary melon seeds." Li Shengli pointed to the sign he placed in the frame.

"15 cents? It's a bit expensive. What do you mean by the five-spice melon seeds written on it?" The young man was a little curious. "Does it mean the five-spice melon seeds?"

"Yes." Li Shengli nodded.

"Hey, that's interesting!" The young man smiled and became interested.

"You can try it." Li Shengli said as he opened the unwrapped bag of melon seeds and handed it over to the two people to try it.

The young man and the young woman looked at each other, and took a few melon seeds from the ones handed to them by Li Shengli and put them into their mouths.

"This tastes good. I've never tasted anything like this before." The young man stared at his partner with wide eyes. Most melon seeds from other places have no taste. These salty and fragrant five-spice melon seeds immediately attracted the attention of both of them.

"Yes, it tastes really good, so fragrant." The young woman nodded in agreement.

"How much do you need?" Li Shengli was delighted, as this was considered the opening of the business.

"Give me a pack." The young man nodded. One and a half cents for such fragrant melon seeds was not expensive.

"Okay, here you go." Li Shengli took out a bag of melon seeds from the basket and handed them to the two people. "By the way, you two will feel a little thirsty if you eat too many melon seeds. If you want to watch a movie, it's best to take a glass of water or a bottle of soda."

In other words, Lee Seung-ri doesn't have the conditions. If he had a freezer here to sell iced drinks, he would definitely make money.

Li Shengli told the two of them what the consequences of eating the melon seeds would be. "I understand. I feel a little salty when I eat your melon seeds." The young man nodded. He would feel thirsty if he ate too much tasteless melon seeds before, not to mention the five-spice melon seeds.

Since both of them understood, Li Shengli didn't plan to say more, because more and more people came to see the movie, and when they saw the person selling melon seeds, they gathered around.

"Comrade, how do you sell these melon seeds?"

"1.5 cents a bag. You can try it before you buy." Li Shengli heaved a sigh of relief when he saw people gathering around him. It seemed that he could sell it easily.

It didn't take long before all the melon seeds that Li Shengli prepared for others to taste were tasted.

"These melon seeds taste good. Give me two packs."

"Give me one pack too."

"Give me three bags, and I'll take the rest back." Some people thought of taking the melon seeds back and eating them slowly, after all, they didn't require a ticket.

"Okay, take your time, we have everything." Lee Seung-ri was delighted to see this, but his face was blocked by the mask and no one else could see it.

It didn't take long before the more than 200 bags of melon seeds that Li Shengli brought were sold out. Li Shengli almost laughed out loud as he held the heavy bag full of money.

"Oh, strange, why do I feel that the man selling melon seeds looks familiar?" At this time, Xu Damao walked out of the cinema and prepared to check tickets. Xu Damao saw Li Shengli selling melon seeds there and felt that the man looked very familiar.

"Could it be that kid Li Shengli?" Xu Damao thought as he looked at the familiar bicycle.

Lee Seung-ri also saw Xu Damao, but Lee Seung-ri did not panic. He was wearing a mask, so he was not afraid even if Xu Damao reported him.

Li Shengli didn't even look at Xu Damao and rode his bike back to Shuijing Hutong. He first cleaned the room, and then Li Shengli returned to the courtyard with the money from the sale.

Han Qiuyun was preparing dinner at home. When she saw Li Shengli coming back, she hurried to greet him. She was worried about him when she was at home.

"Victory, are you okay? I hope no one noticed."

"It's okay, it will be sold out in no time." Li Shengli wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, then put the bag of money on the table.

"So much money." Han Qiuyun was a little surprised when she saw the bag filled with money on the table.

"More than two hundred packs, a total of thirty yuan." Li Shengli wiped the sweat off his face, then poured himself a glass of water and drank it down.

"Shengli, you must be more careful next time. It will be terrible if you get caught." Han Qiuyun was still a little worried.

"Don't worry, I will change the place next time." Li Shengli understood that what mattered at this moment was that officials would not punish people unless they reported the case. As long as he was careful, there would be no problem.

In the following period of time, Li Shengli had a lot more things to do. He had to go to the countryside from time to time to collect some sunflower seeds, cook and roast melon seeds, and go to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau from time to time to inquire about the restaurant's business license.

Time passed by little by little. Li Shengli often went to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and often took melon seeds out to sell. During this period, he made a lot of money. From collecting melon seeds to cooking melon seeds and finally selling melon seeds, Li Shengli could sell more than 100 kilograms a month and earn nearly 100 yuan each time.

By October, the first restaurant in the city was finally opened, and Li Shengli went to see it specially.

After visiting the first restaurant, Lee Seung-ri went to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to inquire, but the bureau still did not allow the issuance of business licenses for restaurants. Even the first business license for restaurants was handwritten.

(End of this chapter)