1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 58 Go Get Reinforcements!

The arrest of Wang Mazi and his gang of hooligans caused no stir in the textile factory.

In this era when village-to-village feuds were so frequent that cannons were used to exchange fire, the people were full of martial spirit and had seen a lot in life.

Even if Aunt Zhao were to wield a kitchen knife, she could still make Wang Mazi scream in pain with a single blow; this was nothing special.

However, Wang Mazi's matter involved Huang Fusheng, the head chef of the canteen, which immediately aroused the gossip spirit of the textile factory workers.

The news coming from the security department is that Huang Fusheng instructed Wang Mazi and others to sabotage Zhou Erwa's restaurant by throwing sesame oil into the dishes to ruin the restaurant's reputation.

After the incident was exposed, Huang Fusheng was taken to the security department for questioning for an afternoon and has been suspended from his job. He is now at home awaiting the factory's decision.

When the news spread, the workers were overjoyed.

Ever since Huang Fusheng replaced Xiao Lei as the head chef of the factory canteen, the food in the canteen has become worse and worse every day.

Now that Huang Fusheng has been suspended, will the food in the factory canteen become tastier?
Everyone is already looking forward to Chef Xiao's return as head chef, and to him cooking delicious big-pot dishes for everyone again.

"Will Chef Xiao be able to come back? I heard he's working as a butcher in the kitchen now."

"Huang Fusheng has been removed from his position, but I doubt Chef Xiao will be able to return as head chef! When he was removed from the head chef position, the factory issued a notice stating that he was suspected of multiple violations, but there were no procedural issues."

"I heard that Master Xiao was the scapegoat for all those things, framed by villains."

"Just call out names directly. As long as Wang Defa is in power, it will be difficult for Chef Xiao to come back. If he arrests Huang Fusheng, he can just promote another Wang Fusheng. Whether the food is good or not doesn't matter, as long as he obeys."

"This thing is like a rock in a latrine—hard, smelly, and disgusting!"

The workers gathered together for breakfast, drinking porridge, eating steamed buns, and chatting about the latest gossip.

The stern and unpleasant Director Wang was sitting in his office, chain-smoking, the smoky atmosphere unable to hide his sullen face.

Huang Fusheng's arrest caught him off guard, and he was so panicked that he wanted to run away.

Fortunately, Wang Mazi and his group didn't escalate the situation at Zhou Erwa's restaurant, preventing any injuries or serious property damage.

However, as the instigator, Huang Fusheng certainly cannot remain uninvolved and will inevitably be punished; he will no longer be the head chef.

"Damn it, those brainless scoundrels turned what should have been a simple matter into this mess, putting me under a lot of pressure now!" Wang Defa cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth in anger.

“Huang Fusheng’s skills are so bad, he could be a kitchen helper back home. My cousin’s cooking skills have improved a lot in the last two years. He can make twice-cooked pork and stir-fried pig liver very well. He could be the head chef.” Sun Meili handed over a water glass and smiled as she went behind Wang Defa to massage his shoulders.

“Sun Qiao?” Wang Defa frowned in thought.

“That’s right. Sun Qiao said he’s going to take the Level 3 chef exam this year and he’s sure he’ll pass.” Sun Meili said with a smile, “Sun Qiao is a good listener. If he’s the head chef, we can still get our kickbacks from the ingredient purchasing department. If Xiao Lei comes back, he’ll cause a huge uproar. That bastard is so stubborn and won’t listen to reason.”

“I definitely can’t let Xiao Lei come back as head chef. If he comes back, I, as the canteen director, will have no authority in the kitchen.” Wang Defa nodded. “Okay, at today’s meeting, I will push Sun Qiao up and let him temporarily take over as head chef.”

“Okay.” Wang Meili leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I’ve also thought of a way to deal with Zhou Yan. Isn’t his business booming? Let’s increase his rent. Fifteen yuan a month is too cheap for him.”

"Add a lot?" Wang Defa turned to look at her. "If it's just ten or five yuan, it won't make any difference to him."

“Then raise it to 100 yuan a month, and make up the difference if it’s less this month.” Sun Meili curled her lips and sneered, “He dares to steal our canteen’s business, which is a loss of state-owned assets. How can a private business owner earn so much money?”

"One hundred yuan?" Wang Defa frowned. "And just including his family, isn't that too much?"

"If he thinks he can refuse to pay, then we're just trying to get rid of him."

……

"What? One hundred yuan a month? Director Sun, you must be confused!" Wang Wei looked at Sun Meili sitting behind the desk with a ridiculous expression. "The rent for shops under the textile factory is usually around ten yuan. Zhou Yan's shop is close to the factory gate, so we charge an extra five yuan, making it fifteen yuan a month, which is already a high rent."

Sun Meili's smile froze, her eyes widened instantly, and she slammed her hand on the table as she stood up, shouting angrily, "Wang Wei! What kind of attitude is this! I'm your boss, the director of the finance department in charge of the cafeteria, how dare you scold me?"

“I won’t scold you, I should praise you.” Wang Wei curled her lip and sneered, “So what if you’re a leader? Workers have the right to object to and raise their opinions on unreasonable demands and orders from their leaders at work.”

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Sun Meili trembled with anger, pointing at Wang Wei and saying, "You disobey orders, insult your superiors, are disorganized and undisciplined. I'm transferring you to guard the warehouse and move goods!" "Don't flatter me!" Wang Wei scoffed, "Who do you think you are, to think you can just transfer me to guard the warehouse? The textile factory isn't your private property!"

"I think you're just jealous of Zhou Erwa's successful restaurant business and want to suppress and retaliate against Zhou Yan."

"You call yourself a leader? You have a little power, so you want to destroy people! Is that how you show off? Your behavior is disgusting!"

After saying that, Wang Wei turned around and left the office without looking back.

"You come back here right now!" Sun Meili angrily smashed the enamel cup next to her, splashing tea everywhere.

In the outer office, the accountants glanced at each other, exchanging knowing looks.

The middle-aged woman closest to the director's office rushed into the office, picked up the enamel cup from the floor, wiped it clean, and placed it back on the table with a fawning smile. "Director, please don't be angry. These young girls are so arrogant and dare to talk back to you."

Sun Meili looked at her, her anger subsided a bit, and said, "Wu Lili, then I'll leave this matter to you. Go and collect the 100 yuan rent from Zhou Erwa's restaurant, and inform him that the rent will be 100 yuan every month starting next month. If he doesn't pay, then let the security department handle it."

“You did a great job. The year-end award for outstanding individuals is yours. Originally, it was Wang Wei who got it this year, but now we think you are more worthy of being cultivated.”

"Don't worry, Director, I will definitely handle things well." Wu Lili nodded repeatedly, accepted the order, and turned to leave.

……

"What?! A hundred yuan?! Why don't you just rob someone?!"

At the entrance of Zhou Erwa Restaurant, Zhao Tieying frowned as she looked at Wu Lili who had come to visit.

I had just finished my morning's work and had barely finished a bowl of noodles when a man claiming to be an accountant from the textile factory's finance department came to collect rent, and he immediately asked for one hundred.

"Don't talk nonsense! This is a notice from the factory. You need to pay the money as soon as possible!" Wu Lili said arrogantly, hands on her hips. "If you don't pay the rent, I'll call the security department to kick you out! Let me tell you, this store is state-owned property. You individual business owners are taking away the factory canteen's business, causing a loss of state-owned assets. You would have been arrested and imprisoned a couple of years ago!"

"What a big shot you are, trying to drag me to jail! I'll tear your mouth apart today!" Zhao Tieying rolled up her sleeves, ready to make her move.

"Mom, don't do it yet." Zhou Yan came out of the shop, called her back, and looked at Wu Lili, saying, "Comrade, who sent you to collect this money? Is there a notice stamped by the factory? Why are you suddenly raising the rent? Is it going to be raised for all the shops under the textile factory, or just for ours?"

"I... I'm definitely here on behalf of the factory to collect this money from you. I'm just letting you know I don't have it right now, I'll bring it to you next time. Your restaurant business is so good because of the good location, it's normal for the rent to increase. Do you think you can earn all the money? If you can't afford the rent, then move out, stop nagging." Wu Lili looked at Zhou Yan with a lack of confidence.

"What do you mean the shop is good! It's Zhou Yan's cooking that's good! You're like a carrot with two eyes stuck in it, do you even consider yourself a human being? How can you spout such nonsense!" If Zhou Yan hadn't been in front of her, Zhao Tieying would have rushed over and slapped her.

Wu Lili was so frightened that she took two steps back. This woman didn't look like a good person!
"Are you going to pay or not? If not, I'm going to call the security department!" Wu Lili said to Zhou Yan, her voice stern but her heart pounding.

“You don’t even have the documents you stamped, so I definitely don’t have to pay this money. Maybe you’re some kind of swindler?” Zhou Yan shook his head. “Since I rented this shop, the person who has been collecting the rent has always been the accountant, Wang Wei. I have no idea where you came from.”

"Wang Wei? Ha, Wang Wei is going to be transferred to guard the warehouse and move goods because she didn't want to collect your rent and talked back to the director. From now on, I'll be in charge of collecting rent." Wu Lili said smugly, "I'll go get the stamped notice for you now. You'd better have the money ready."

Wu Lili turned and walked into the factory.

“That girl is quite generous, but how come the rent has suddenly increased to one hundred? Should we pay it?” Zhao Tieying frowned and looked at Zhou Yan with some melancholy.

She knew that fighting with that woman wouldn't solve anything, and might even cause trouble for Zhou Yan.

“Exactly, there’s no reason for suddenly raising the rent like this!” Zhou Jie, who had been watching from the sidelines, also said.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big problem. If it’s the factory’s decision and everyone’s rent goes up to one hundred, then we’ll pay it. It’s just a day’s profit anyway.” Zhou Yan smiled and reassured them. “But if it’s just us who’s raising the rent, and it’s specifically targeting us, then we definitely can’t pay it, not a single penny. If we open that door, people will think we’re easy to bully, and there will be more of these kinds of things in the future.”

Zhou Yan turned around and went back into the shop, took out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from the cabinet and put it in his pocket.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Tieying asked as she watched Zhou Yan leave.

"Go get reinforcements."

Zhou Yan didn't look back and went into the security office next door.

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(End of this chapter)