The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 41 Heading to the State-Owned Hotel
In the neighborhood committee, Zhang Hongbo was so anxious after hearing the news that he felt like a monkey had crawled into his pants. He was running around in circles: "What trouble has Qian Jin gotten into?"

"Did the District Office of Voting order Chief Huang to take him away?"

"I knew this guy was restless. He keeps talking about supporting agriculture, as if he has become Secretary Jiao of Lankao."

"Can he be sentenced? It would be best if he were sentenced to ten or eight years, so he doesn't cause trouble for the neighborhood all the time..."

Just when he was full of hope, someone came in and announced:
"Captain Qian is back, and he's brought a team with him!"

Zhang Hongbo took two steps at a time and went to the door to take a look.

Saw the money coming in.

I saw a burly man carrying a red flag with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

I saw a group of men walking with the gait of dragons and tigers. The mud spots on their trouser legs became the golden scales of the new era, making a clanging sound when they walked.

Mi Gang, the fifth team leader, looked at the red flag and said, "Red Star Liu Family Production Combat Team!"

He quickly called out, "Director Zhang, we're in trouble."

"At the last meeting, you asked our commando team to put on a program for the National Day celebrations, but Captain Qian objected and said he wanted to call farmers from the production team to attend the meeting."

"I thought he was just talking nonsense, but people actually moved the people's commune here!"

Zhang Hongbo's expression was as if he had been hit by a thousand-year-old killer while constipated, and sweat appeared on his forehead:
"He's so rebellious! I'm in the office, let's see what he dares to do!"

After saying that, he went into the office.

The people outside heard a "click".

It's locked.

Qian Jin asked the team to rest in front of the neighborhood committee.

He wanted to invite Zhang Hongbo to join him at noon.

But the other party closed the door and refused to see him.

So he went to Mi Gang first: "Captain Mi, tell the other three captains that I'll treat you to lunch at the State-Owned No. 2 Restaurant."

Mi Gang became excited when he heard this and ran to inform others.

The State-owned No. 2 Hotel is a century-old restaurant brand in Haibin City.

Its predecessor was called Liujulou, which was established in the late Qing Dynasty. In the 1950s, it actively participated in the public-private partnership and was transformed into today's state-owned Second Hotel.

This restaurant is very famous and the dishes are very expensive. Even city dwellers from working-class families only go there when they are entertaining distinguished guests.

And the Liu family is Qian Jin’s distinguished guests!
He chose the State-Owned No. 2 Restaurant to entertain his guests not only because of its reputation, but also mainly because it specializes in savory dishes.

Things like crispy chicken, braised pork, braised beef and stewed pork elbow, etc., are the most tempting to ordinary people today.

When Xu Weidong learned that Zhang Hongbo was not giving him face, he went to find his buddy Cheng Hua to accompany him.

Qian Jin went home to get some wine and asked Liu Youniu's wife Li Xiaomei to go to the restaurant.

In fact, he could prepare a table at home with more dishes than those in state-owned restaurants, but it would easily arouse people's suspicion:
Where did a team leader of a labor assault team get so many scarce supplies such as luncheon meat, canned meat, sausages, etc.?

Another thing is that no matter how sumptuous the dishes are when you treat your guests yourself, it is far less prestigious than eating at a state-owned restaurant.

This could be sensed from the emotions of the crowd as they set out on the road to the hotel.

When Liu Wangcai and the others learned that they were going to a restaurant for dinner, they were all in high spirits, and the fatigue from the journey disappeared without a trace:

"Can we really go out to eat? I've never been to a restaurant in my life..."

"Agui from Yangjiaodu was delivering fish to the city for the production team. He ate a bowl of dumplings at a dumpling restaurant in the city and bragged about it for half a year. If we go to the State-owned Second Restaurant, we'll have to brag about it for a year..."

"For a lifetime! How many people in our commune can afford to go to the State-Owned Second Restaurant? You don't know, this restaurant used to be called Liujulou. In the old days, if a landlord came here to eat a meal, he would have to suffer for two months..."

When they arrived at the door of the State-owned Second Hotel, the discussion came to an abrupt end.

The members' attention was drawn to this building that existed only in farmers' rumors.

The entrance of the restaurant is spacious, with a window facing the street. Many people are queuing up, some carrying baskets and some holding large enamel pots.

Zhang Aijun asked in confusion, "Do we all have to go inside to eat? Life in the city is so good."

Xu Weidong said, "No, city dwellers don't even eat out twice a year."

"They were buying steamed buns. A meat bun was 20 cents."

"How much?" Liu Youguang asked in a loud and exaggerated voice, "Just two cents for that little meat bun? You can buy a pound of fine grains!"

This price made the members feel in awe of the State-owned Second Hotel.

They hesitated to enter.

Qian went in, opened the door and gestured for people to line up and enter.

The men were crowded at the door, panting, and their Liberation shoes were rubbing against the ground, causing the brown-red carpet with "Welcome" written on it to fall into pieces.

Liu Wangcai was also scared at this moment. He took off his shoes and sat on the marble steps at the door and knocked hard:

"Don't bring our country mud onto other people's terrazzo."

Qian Jin laughed dumbly: "Don't be so reserved, we are customers!"

In his opinion, the State-Owned Second Hotel was nothing but a bit clean, and the decoration was very old-fashioned:

Its walls are covered with stills from current movies such as "Red Lantern", "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", and "The Young Man from the Yellow River", and slogans such as "Strictly Guard Against Bourgeois Hedonism" are hung on the walls.

But that’s not the case in the eyes of the members.

The old captain walked in first and subconsciously pulled at the folds of the blue cloth.

Liu Youyu stared at the three-blade ceiling fan, his neck nearly broken. "Look, look, this fan is huge! It's even bigger than our millstone!" A waiter in a white apron and a sanitary cap came over, glanced at the patched trouser legs of the group, and immediately waved his hand in disdain.
"Hey, are you here to eat? Don't go to the wrong place."

This attitude made Qian Jin very unhappy.

He directly countered: "Aren't you coming to a restaurant to eat but to take a shit?"

"We don't come here even if we need to poop. Pooping here may not be as comfortable as in public places!"

The waiter raised his brows and was about to get angry.

But when she looked closely at Qian Jin's temperament and the confidence he displayed after entering the restaurant, and then looked at the security guard who followed Qian Jin respectfully, she became suspicious again.

Could it be that a leader from somewhere is treating the people to a meal?

She swallowed her anger and said, "Then you peasants, please go inside and don't block the door."

Qian Jin was also dissatisfied with this attitude.

But other waiters interpreted the words with their actions:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting you all, what I mean is that everyone who comes to eat here is garbage!
Someone wearing a white Dacron shirt and trousers came to order food:

“Braised pork…”

"No."

"Braise an elbow."

“It can’t burn.”

This has made the people who ordered the dishes popular:
"What do you mean? I saw that these two dishes were already served at other tables, but why are they not available when it's our turn? Why can't we make them?"

The waiter said, "We came early, so we have it. You came late, so we don't have it."

"Don't glare at me. To be honest, these two dishes must be prepared by the master chef. Our master chef is not cooking right now..."

"Leaving get off work so early?" The man in the white shirt was angry. "Call your leader over here!"

The middle-aged man wearing glasses next to him persuaded him, "Chief Lin, forget it, forget it, just eat some dumplings. The dumplings here can't be made by a master chef, right?"

Section Chief Lin said angrily, "Director Li, don't worry about it. You came all the way here to guide our Supply and Marketing Cooperative. How could I let you just eat dumplings?"

Qian Jin, who came over to ask for the menu, had an idea when he heard this, and stood quietly by to see if there was a chance to meet Section Chief Lin.

It’s okay to just get to know him.

He is looking for someone who has connections with the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

The waiter, not afraid of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, said, "It's useless even if our leader comes. He can't stew meat, roast pork elbows, or even make dumplings!"

Section Chief Lin slammed the counter in anger.

Finally, things got out of hand, and a fat middle-aged man wearing a chef's hat came out and asked, "What are you doing?"

The waiter immediately felt wronged: "Team Leader..."

The team leader is the head chef or chef of this era.

She told the story, adding a lot of lies.

Section Chief Lin was a civilized man, and he was so angry that his fingers were shaking as he pointed at her.

Qian Jin saw this and took the opportunity to step forward. He sneered and said, "This female comrade is not a waitress, but a chef in the hotel, right?"

The waiter was stunned: "No, I'm not a chef, I'm a waiter."

"Then you are quite good at adding fuel to the fire." Qian Jin said sarcastically.

The team leader is fat and kind-hearted, and has a good temper.

He said cheerfully, "Comrades, please stop arguing. I understand what happened. This incident is indeed not the fault of this waiter."

"I'm not off work, but I'm only making 20 dishes every day for lunch. I can't make more than that. Why? Because I have a task assigned by my superiors!"

He pulled a diary from his apron pocket and showed it:

"People now have high expectations for food, and there are too few restaurants in the city. The government plans to open more restaurants."

"But there are too few chefs and too few dishes. The higher authorities issued a red-headed document requiring team leaders of several restaurants to compile recipes to train chefs."

"This is a political task, very urgent. I can only squeeze out working time to write recipes and create new dishes."

Section Chief Lin said indignantly:
"There are so many customers waiting to eat. Can't you wait until after get off work to write the menu and research new dishes? You have to prioritize your work. During working hours..."

"That's not right, comrade. Work should be done during working hours. I have to take care of my family after get off work." The team leader interrupted him seriously.

Section Chief Lin wanted to refute.

The team leader waved his hand and said, "How about you report this to our superiors and ask them to stop us from doing this work?"

"As long as I don't have to make recipes or research new dishes, I'll cook for you right away and make whatever you order!"

Section Chief Lin was at a loss now.

Qian Jin said thoughtfully, "Are you serious?"

Everyone around him looked at him in surprise.

Could it be that this young man is hiding his true potential and is actually a big shot who can influence the decision-making of the leaders of the Commercial Bureau?

The team leader said, "Seriously, I'm uneducated and don't want to do these writing and drawing things. I just like chopping vegetables, stirring the wok, and adding oil and vinegar to the pot!"

Qian Jin nodded: "Then you should prepare the dishes."

(End of this chapter)