Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 118 Time Flies, Year-End Approaching

Li Hongbing had already spread the word that he had been promoted to junior cook and received a raise. Whether others believed him or had other ideas was none of his concern.

Li Hongbing was too lazy to worry about these things.

Anyway, from then on, Li Hongbing spent his money freely.

If anyone still has nothing better to do than to be suspicious and deliberately cause trouble, Li Hongbing can only slap them with his big hand.

When it's time to take action, take action. Don't be too polite to some people.

if not.

It will only make people think you are weak and easy to bully, and they will take advantage of you.

Just like Jia Zhangshi and the others before.

Look at them now, whether it's Jia Zhangshi, Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice, or the deaf old lady, no matter how lively they were before, they are all incredibly "well-behaved and obedient" now.

Regardless of what they did in private, they stopped causing trouble in front of Li Hongbing.

In this day and age, as long as it doesn't involve organized crime or result in serious injury or maiming, minor disputes between neighbors that escalate into physical altercations are generally not a big deal.

the next day.

After washing up, Li Hongbing practiced Baduanjin (a form of traditional Chinese exercise) in the yard for a while, worked up a sweat, and then went back inside to take a cold shower.

The weather was getting colder, and the water was quite cold, but fortunately, Li Hongbing was in good health and wasn't afraid of catching a cold.

However, when it gets really cold, especially when it snows, it's not good to keep taking cold showers.

Li Hongbing had naturally considered this issue when he renovated the house, so he specially asked a blacksmith to make a bathroom water tank that he designed himself. It can be hung on the wall and filled with hot water of the appropriate temperature so that he can take a comfortable hot shower at home.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, Li Hongbing rode his bicycle out to work at Fengzeyuan.

The interval between the two events was no more than one day.

When Li Hongbing returned to Fengzeyuan, he had gone from an apprentice who scrambled for food to a kitchen chef, and his salary had almost doubled. His mindset had changed somewhat.

With his salary and status rising, Li Hongbing's work and life improved on the surface, giving him more confidence and a sense of hope and motivation for the future.

"Brother Hongbing, Sun Hai left last night."

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Wu Jun, the restaurant's dedicated intelligence agent, immediately ran over to report the news.

"Gone? What do you mean?"

Li Hongbing didn't immediately understand what Wu Jun was trying to say.

Is the person dead, or what?

After yesterday's incident, Li Hongbing and Sun Hai will definitely be irreconcilable enemies from now on.

Originally, the two had a minor conflict, but Sun Hai took the initiative to make peace and back down, so Li Hongbing didn't bother to argue with him.

As a result of this public-private partnership in Fengzeyuan, the person in charge was changed to a government official, and Sun Hai thought he was in power again, so he jumped out to find fault with him again.

Although the other party didn't get anything good, and even lost more than they gained, Li Hongbing wasn't entirely easygoing. Just because he could let things go back then didn't mean it would be so easy this time.

"Having offended you, Sun Hai knew he was doomed, so he ran away as fast as he could, afraid of being held accountable by you!"

Speaking of this, Wu Jun couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. He said to Li Hongbing, "After you left the restaurant yesterday, Sun Hai went to find Manager Luan on his own, and then secretly packed his things and left."

"Is this guy really that cowardly?"

Li Hongbing was stunned.

We hadn't even done anything to him yet, and he'd already raised the white flag and surrendered?

"What else can he do? He completely offended you yesterday, and you lost face. He was even criticized in public by Manager Gu. You definitely can't stay here anymore. What else can you do but leave?"

Wu Jun looked on with schadenfreude.

After hearing Wu Jun's words, Li Hongbing, who hadn't thought much about it before, began to realize what was going on.

Running away is indeed Sun Hai's best option right now.

Yesterday, I deliberately picked a fight, which must have completely offended Li Hongbing.

Even disregarding the fact that Li Hongbing has Guo Youzhong as his mentor, the fact that Li Hongbing is now a junior cook while Guo Youzhong is still an apprentice clearly shows the difference in their abilities.

Even if Li Hongbing can't openly do anything to him under the current circumstances, his situation won't be easy.

The key is.

Yesterday, Gu Jianliang, the general manager, clearly favored and appreciated Li Hongbing, while Sun Hai left a bad impression on him and was asked to reflect on his actions and write a self-criticism.

Both of them registered with Gu Jianliang, but the results were completely different.

And so this happened.

Even if Sun Hai stays and Li Hongbing doesn't make things difficult for him, he probably won't have any future prospects, so he'll have to move elsewhere.

Having worked at Fengzeyuan for so long, he had long since become a "veteran" apprentice, yet no master chef in the kitchen had taken notice of him and wanted to take him on as an apprentice. He was probably hopeless in this life and had basically seen the end of his career.

He can't stay here as an apprentice for the rest of his life, earning a fixed salary of 180,000 yuan.

"It's good that he left; it saves him from being a fly here and annoying people."

Having figured out the cause and effect, Li Hongbing felt no regret about not having had time to "take revenge" for Sun Hai's hasty escape.

He took revenge on the spot.

In fact, Li Hongbing had already retaliated yesterday, making him reap what he sowed.

Otherwise, Sun Hai wouldn't have been unable to stay at Fengzeyuan and would have fled overnight with his luggage.

Instead of dwelling on Sun Hai's matter, Li Hongbing recalled the "clear path" he had pointed out to Wu Jun yesterday and asked, "By the way, did you tell Manager Gu about the matter of borrowing spoons?"

"said."

Mentioning this, Wu Jun said with some excitement, "Manager Gu agreed and even praised and encouraged me, telling me to do a good job."

"Then just listen to Manager Gu, and don't be afraid of hardship or fatigue from now on."

Seeing Wu Jun's seemingly energized state, clearly having been flattered by Gu Jianliang, the newly arrived general manager, Li Hongbing couldn't help but smile.

Having enthusiasm and fighting spirit is a good thing.

These were the very things Wu Jun was lacking before.

If Wu Jun continues to work hard, what he ultimately receives from Gu Jianliang will definitely not be empty promises. Most of his efforts will be rewarded.

This is the unique charm of this era.

Unlike the workers of later generations, who were treated like cattle and horses simply because their bosses made empty promises, these workers were not treated like cattle.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't complain about being tired or overworked anymore."

With Li Hongbing as an "inspirational" goal in front of him, and Gu Jianliang as a "spur" behind him, Wu Jun was also inspired.

No pain No gain!
The two chatted for a few more minutes and checked the time. As usual, Li Hongbing prepared tea for Guo Youzhong before he arrived, without making a fuss over passing the junior cook exam the day before.

He is still him.

"Master Sun."

Not long after, Sun Maoju, the head of the kitchen's food preparation department, arrived, and Li Hongbing took the initiative to approach him.

Starting today, as the head of the kitchen's food preparation department, Sun Maoju will be Li Hongbing's direct supervisor, and today's tasks will still be assigned to him.

Guo Youzhong had obviously given prior notice, and since this was Li Hongbing's first time working on food preparation, Sun Maoju gave him a detailed introduction.

Coordinating food preparation and cutting in the kitchen is actually a rather tedious job.

However, people like Li Hongbing only need to follow Sun Maoju's instructions and do whatever he wants to achieve the desired result.

Some ingredients need to be prepared in advance, while others need to be sent to the kitchen after a customer places an order before the cooking process can begin.

The same ingredient requires different handling depending on the dish or cooking method.

Just like shredded chicken, there are many intricacies involved.

For stewing, you can chop it finer.

Stir-fried dishes should be coarser.

If the shredded chicken used for stir-frying is cut too finely, the lines will be invisible, and it will look messy, like a pile of firewood.

There are corresponding standards and requirements for both thick and thin materials.

Li Hongbing already knew these things, but after Sun Maoju explained them to him, he understood them even more thoroughly.

After having Li Hongbing try handling a few ingredients, and then personally demonstrating and providing guidance, Sun Maoju assigned Li Hongbing the task of cutting and preparing ingredients for the day.

Although Sun Maoju doesn't work at the stove and is only responsible for cutting and preparing food, his skills are quite good, and his knife skills are exceptional. It is said that he has a special trick that can "bring dead fish back to life".

Li Hongbing is currently only a junior cook, and his knife skills are not outstanding among all the food preparation chefs. Therefore, Sun Maoju assigns him relatively simple tasks so that he can practice more and improve his knife skills.

Because of this, Li Hongbing's work is much easier than others, with little pressure.

[Cooking Skill +1]

[Cooking Skill +1]

……

If you've previously learned by observing cooking, you've gained a comprehensive understanding of the steps, processes, and flavors of dishes. But knife skills, as part of culinary artistry, are a matter of hands-on practice.

As the preparation work progressed, Li Hongbing's culinary experience points began to increase continuously.

The next period of time.

Li Hongbing's knife skills improved rapidly and noticeably, earning him praise from Sun Maoju several times.

As the days went by, the weather outside grew colder and colder, and snow began to fall in the blink of an eye. The end of the year was fast approaching.

Li Hongbing's life is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

this day.

Li Hongbing practiced calligraphy at home in his spare time. As his calligraphy experience points increased, the system notification he had been waiting for arrived as scheduled.

[Heaven rewards diligence! Congratulations, host, your calligraphy skill level has increased from lv2 to lv3, reaching a new level! Reward: 5 million cash and ten rubbings of Yan Zhenqing's inscriptions!]

Upon seeing the rewards for upgrading his calligraphy skills, Li Hongbing couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Needless to say, the cash rewards are basically the same for each promotion at the same level.

Regarding the physical rewards that followed, Li Hongbing also discovered a fairly similar pattern: they were all largely related to the skills themselves.

Just like the rewards for upgrading cooking skills, they are mostly food items or cooking tools, such as the fruits, premium rice, and knives mentioned earlier.

As for calligraphy skills, in the past, we rewarded people with the Four Treasures of the Study, and now we have received rubbings of Yan Zhenqing's inscriptions.

Looking at these rubbings of Yan Zhenqing's inscriptions, most of them are well-known to later generations, such as the Duobao Pagoda Stele, the Xiting Stele, the Wang Lin Epitaph, and the Yan Family Temple Stele.

Besides being used for collection and research, these items are currently of great help to Li Hongbing, allowing him to practice and improve his calligraphy skills and gain experience points to directly achieve the "ring" effect.

[Host: Li Hongbing]

【Age: 16】

Strength: 66, Agility: 67, Constitution: 68, Intelligence: 87 (Standard adult value is 60)

skill:
【Clothing Design: lv1 (187/500)】

[Running: lv1 (284/500)]

[Cycling: lv2 (1634/2000)]

[Calligraphy: lv3 (0/10000)]

[Cooking Skill: lv3 (4752/10000)]

【Eight Pieces of Brocade: Level 3 (3518/10000)】

……

Looking at the system panel, Li Hongbing was quite satisfied with the progress he had made over this period.

After tidying up the room, Li Hongbing got up and did a few stretching exercises. As he opened the door, a gust of cold wind swept in from outside.

What came into view was a world decorated with white snow.

Looking at the scene before him, Li Hongbing felt a mix of emotions.

Before I knew it, I had been in this world for almost half a year.

(End of this chapter)