Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The next day, Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu went to the steel rolling mill to report for duty and met Li Huaide and the newly appointed director of the steel rolling mill, Yang, and other leaders.

They were very welcoming to Li Jiuzhou and his companion entering the kitchen.

In terms of salary and benefits, they were directly set to the highest level. Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu would receive the same salary at the steel rolling mill as they did at Fengzeyuan.

I won't rate it, because there's no rating to give.

The highest wage in the kitchen of the steel rolling mill is only 48.5, and that's for an experienced chef.

Would you dare to pay Li Jiuzhou this salary?

If the leaders of the steel rolling mill dared to give out money like that, they would be cursed to death.

Therefore, the two brothers will not be treated poorly in any way. If it weren't for the fact that they already have houses, they would even be given a house each.

The steel rolling mill currently has just over 3000 employees, and it has two canteens.

Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu went directly to the first canteen, which used to be where Lou Bancheng's private kitchen was located, so they were quite familiar with it.

However, Li Jiuzhou made a request: the kitchen was dirty and messy, and the layout was not good, so it needed to be renovated.

Li Huaide readily agreed to this and immediately arranged for people to be at Li Jiuzhou's command.

Li Jiuzhou had a shower room set up, both for his own convenience and for the kitchen staff.

Li Jiuzhou successfully became the head of the first canteen, or rather... the class monitor!

The kitchen of the entire No. 1 canteen has a total of 21 staff members, responsible for the meals of more than 1,000 people.

The five chefs who specialize in cooking large pot dishes are all middle-aged men, each with broad shoulders and thick waists.

They were very familiar with Li Jiuzhou and his fellow disciple; they had become friends over the years.

Chefs like Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu, who have apprenticeships, are figures they can only look up to but never reach.

I've eaten Li Jiuzhou's cooking before, and I was absolutely impressed. It's impossible for him to try and intimidate me.

They warmly welcomed Li Jiuzhou upon his arrival.

Li Jiuzhou wouldn't try to intimidate them; they were all acquaintances, and as long as they cooperated well, there was no need to damage their relationship.

A few days later, the kitchen renovation was completed, and Li Jiuzhou had his own special stove for cooking.

On the first day of work, Li Jiuzhou gathered all the kitchen staff of the first canteen together.

"Gentlemen, I won't waste any more time on small talk. The kitchen is a restricted area of ​​the steel rolling mill, and no one may enter without permission."

"You haven't forgotten the poisoning incident from a few years ago, have you?"

"My uncle-master He Daqing was expelled directly."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly. They certainly hadn't forgotten; so many people had been poisoned, thankfully no one had died.

"I'll put up a sign at the entrance. If relatives or friends come looking for us, they can only be received at the back door. They're not allowed to come in. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" everyone shouted in unison.

Li Jiuzhou nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"As you all know, Zhu Zi and I come from Fengzeyuan, and we have a systematic culinary tradition."

"I can promise you that you can watch me and Zhu Zi cook when you have time. As for how much you can learn, that's up to you."

"Wow..." The chefs were all excited when Li Jiuzhou said this.

They all rely on their skills to make a living, and the difference between having someone to teach you and not having someone to teach you is enormous.

Now that top chefs are providing on-site guidance, there's so much room for improvement.

At this point, one of the chefs who was cooking the large pot of dishes asked:

"Master Li, if I may ask, do you take on apprentices?"

As soon as he said this, the eyes of the young apprentices lit up, and they looked at Li Jiuzhou expectantly, waiting for his response.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou smiled slightly:

"The tradition must not be broken. My master taught me, so naturally I must pass on my culinary skills."

"Boom!" Everyone was excited.

Li Jiuzhou clapped his hands to signal everyone to be quiet:

"Of course, you chefs are out of luck; you're getting old, and some of your habits are hard to break."

"Of course, we can help each other improve. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or Zhu Zi."

"As for the apprentices, it depends on their performance."

Li Jiuzhou's words gave the apprentices a boost of confidence, and they vowed to perform well in front of him.

Li Jiuzhou glanced at his watch; it was already 9 o'clock, time to start getting ready to work.

Today is Li Jiuzhou's first day at work, so he definitely needs to rest well. Da Guocai has Sha Zhu, otherwise why would we call him here?

Today, a batch of fish arrived from the logistics department; they were all grass carp weighing over three pounds each.

Li Jiuzhou knew without a doubt that the steel rolling mill would be serving fish for lunch today.

I walked up to a man surnamed Wu and asked:

"Old Wu, how do you usually cook fish?"

Old Wu chuckled and said, "What else can we do? Just make a stew, it'll smell delicious!"

You can tell from his words that Lao Wu is from Northeast China and can cook anything!

Li Jiuzhou beckoned Sha Zhu over: "Zhu Zi, kill a fish to set an example."

"The fish meat is removed and cooked using the method of boiling live fish in water. The fish head is used to make soup with some tofu."

"Everyone, today Chef He is treating you to Sichuan cuisine. Watch closely!"

Sha Zhu also stepped forward, grabbed a fish from the bucket, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Watch and learn carefully!"

Without another word, Sha Zhu swiftly struck a grass carp weighing over three pounds with the back of his knife, knocking it unconscious.

Then, with a series of fluid movements, he scaled the fish, gutted it, and sliced ​​it, leaving the group of people dazzled and exclaiming in amazement.

In less than two minutes, Sha Zhu had already prepared the fish.

When it comes to killing fish, Sha Zhu is undoubtedly number one at Fengzeyuan.

Because my senior brother earned the title of "Mr. Fish," who knows how many fish he killed during his apprenticeship? Now he can do it without blinking an eye; he's ruthless!

Sha Zhu twirled the knife, then stuck it into the cutting board and laughed:

"Just keep killing, everyone, let's get started, I'll give you pointers from the sidelines."

So everyone started cleaning the fish.

Of course, not everyone participates; some are also responsible for the "white dish," which is the preparation of staple foods, such as steamed buns.

Li Jiuzhou went to the warehouse to get the spices for cooking fish. Making Sichuan cuisine without spice and numbing flavor is like making nothing at all.

When boiling live fish, you shouldn't just eat the fish; you should also eat some vegetables to make a proper balance of meat and vegetables.

Sha Zhu was instructing people on how to kill the fish, so he helped with these small tasks.

Before long, Sha Zhu started showing off his skills, and a group of people gathered around to watch him operate.

As the name suggests, "big pot stew" uses a very large pot, at least half the size of the pots used in ordinary households.

The shovels looked like pig manure scoops.

As Sha Zhu was operating, Li Jiuzhou said:

"Zhu Zi, make sure the salt water is strong enough. Workers sweat a lot while working, and more salt water will give them more energy."

"Okay, I'll do as you say," Sha Zhu replied before continuing his work.

The fish must be marinated first to remove the fishy smell; removing the fishy smell is the most crucial step in cooking fish.

Fish that has a fishy smell is absolutely disgusting.

The key to Sichuan cuisine is to remove as much of the fishy smell as possible, so that the food is fragrant, smooth, and tender.

Of course, grass carp has its limitations, but it also depends on where it's being processed. Steel mills are lucky to have grass carp; what more could they ask for?

One pot of fish was definitely not enough, so Sha Zhu and two other chefs worked together to cook it, following his steps.

After it's done, pour it onto a flat plate, sprinkle with Sichuan peppercorns and scallions, then heat it up and pour it over the top. Instantly, the entire kitchen will be filled with a wonderful aroma.

Li Jiuzhou gave the instructions:

"Come on, everyone, grab your chopsticks and try Chef He's cooking."

Everyone was already impatient and started eating the fish with their chopsticks.

After finishing the meal, everyone had the same thought: This is still communal cooking?

How come this tastes like Fengzeyuan (a famous Chinese restaurant chain)?

Everyone wanted to start eating, but Li Jiuzhou stopped them:

"Just have a taste, we'll save the portion in the kitchen for later. We'll eat it after the workers finish it."

After setting aside a portion for the kitchen staff, the kitchen workers at the First Canteen all looked expectantly towards the canteen's main entrance.

They wanted to see how the workers would react, and today they were sure to surprise them.