Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Because of Li Jiuzhou's arrival, the steel rolling mill leaders held several meetings because of him.

I originally thought Li Jiuzhou was just a cook, but he's actually quite talented.

Not only was he good at cooking, but he also had a certain level of cultural refinement and managed the cafeteria very well. So, after a meeting, he was promoted directly to the position of cafeteria director.

Li Jiuzhou, a staff member at the administrative level 21, was overjoyed to hear the news; he had finally been officially employed.

It's true what they say, having connections makes things easier!

Li Jiuzhou knew that his second uncle had definitely contributed the most to this.

In 55, the lowest administrative rank was 24, and the highest was 1, which was the head of state.

Li Jiuzhou is in the 21st grade. If he works hard and advances one more step, he will become a deputy section chief, which is the most important starting point and end point in his career!

Some people start as deputy section chiefs, while others remain deputy section chiefs their entire lives.

Li Jiuzhou would not refuse such an arrangement, because he was already on the same side as his second uncle, Li Huaide.

If my second uncle falls into misfortune, I will inevitably suffer collateral damage as well.

So what profession you have isn't important; what matters is who's above you.

My second uncle can still live a carefree life for many more years, so why should I struggle? It's good to be under a big tree and take things one step at a time.

After the factory leaders set the tone, they conducted a background check on Li Jiuzhou, but it was just a formality.

Li Huaide's eldest nephew is completely innocent and has no bad deeds whatsoever.

They even frequently visit Li Huaide's father-in-law's house; if their background wasn't impeccable, they wouldn't even be allowed in.

One downside of Li Jiuzhou being the canteen director is that he has to do more work than the previous canteen director.

Not only do they have to train the chefs who cook large batches of food, but they also occasionally have to cook the food themselves.

Fortunately, Sha Zhu is skilled enough to handle cooking large pot dishes perfectly.

The steel rolling mill doesn't serve meat every day, otherwise the workers would really be flying.

The menu Li Jiuzhou devised, which ran six days a week, was quite reasonable.

For example, he would prepare the menu before the new week began, and then hand it over to the logistics and purchasing department, who would purchase the ingredients according to the menu.

as follows:

Monday: Boiled live fish, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and fish head tofu soup.

Tuesday: Mapo tofu, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, loofah and egg soup.

Wednesday: Braised pork belly with secret recipe, stir-fried green beans, and tomato and egg soup.

Thursday: Celery stir-fried with dried tofu, dry-fried cauliflower with onions and eggs, clam and tofu soup.

Friday: Shredded pork with garlic sauce, spicy crispy eggplant, loofah and egg soup.

Saturday: Stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, dry-fried cilantro, and egg drop soup.

It's always two dishes and a soup, and there's meat only three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Their staple foods were white flour steamed buns, cornmeal steamed buns, and mixed grain steamed buns.

Forget about rice, there's none.

Of course, there is rice in the logistics warehouse, but it is all for entertaining colleagues or leaders who come to inspect.

After Li Jiuzhou ordered the menu, the workers became even more enthusiastic about going to work.

Because they all know what to eat next, so they don't have to worry. The key is that it tastes good, which is the most important thing.

Some workers simply get their meals and go home to share them with their families. They have an hour or two of rest at noon, so they have plenty of time to make the trip.

This move by Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill naturally attracted the attention of other factories in Beiping, who followed suit.

Of course, following their instructions would be almost useless, because they didn't have a top chef in charge.

At most, it's just letting the workers know what they'll be eating for the next few days.

When the leaders of the steel rolling mill learned about the situation, they couldn't hide their smugness. They wanted to learn from them and even hired a chef to oversee the process.

The meals served to guests are essentially private meals. Nowadays, the ingredients provided by the logistics department are quite simple, consisting mainly of home-cooked chicken, duck, fish, and meat, with occasional beef, mutton, and shrimp.

Of course, offal is the easiest to prepare, so Li Jiuzhou simply braised it to serve as a snack with drinks.

The pig liver is smoked directly, then hung up after preparation. When you want to eat it, simply cut it into small pieces and dip it in sauce.

The leaders all love to drink, so Li Jiuzhou had the purchasing department get over a hundred catties of duck feet and directly pickled them into five large jars.

This dish is a cold appetizer from Yancheng in southern China. It is sour, spicy, and crunchy, and is perfect as a snack or with drinks.

Moreover, it doesn't take long; you can eat it in about a week, and the longer it soaks, the stronger the flavor.

Today, another leader came to inspect the area. Anyway, steel is a heavy industry these days, so it's not surprising that leaders from above come down to inspect it from time to time.

Therefore, it makes sense that my second uncle, Li Huaide, said there were many meals served at his hospitality.

Other leaders in the factory were also well aware that hospitality was a must. It didn't have to be luxurious, but the food had to be delicious so that the leaders would be satisfied.

Li Jiuzhou casually prepared a table of dishes, and he ate whatever the leaders ate, enjoying himself immensely. That's the advantage of being a chef.

Before the main dishes were served, the cold dishes were served first, which consisted of a plate of pickled duck feet and smoked pork liver.

Anyone who wants to drink can just down it in one gulp.

The leaders who came to inspect the steel rolling mill already knew there was a chef there, so their inspections usually took place around 10 a.m.

After the inspection, it was lunchtime, so naturally we decided to try the food at the steel rolling mill.

The leader asked with a smile:

"Is this Chef Li's new dish, duck feet?"

Factory Director Yang said with a forced smile:

"It should be. It was pickled a while ago. Why don't you all try some?"

The leaders praised it highly after tasting it, saying they couldn't stop eating it and their appetites were greatly stimulated.

The sour and spicy flavor can stimulate people's appetite.

As other dishes were served, the guests and hosts naturally enjoyed themselves immensely.

We had to add more duck feet three times during the meal because it wasn't enough.

Since the leaders like pickled duck feet so much, and the factory leaders aren't stupid, they'll definitely give some to them to take home.

So Li Huaide went to the kitchen and found Li Jiuzhou. He first praised him, and then asked:

"Jiuzhou, your pickled duck feet are really good. The leaders love them and want to take some back for a treat. What do you think…"

Li Jiuzhou smiled and pointed to the five large jars in the corner of the kitchen:

"Moo, there's still plenty. Let Zhuzi scoop out as many as you want."

Li Huaide was delighted upon hearing this and quickly called out to Sha Zhu:

"Zhu Zi, get four portions of duck feet for your uncle, three portions of two jin each, and one portion of five jin."

Sha Zhu stepped forward and asked, "Second Uncle, who is the five jin for?"

Li Huaide declared righteously, "It's definitely for my...father-in-law!"

"Take it back to him so he can have a treat... cough cough cough..."

"Oh..." Sha Zhu deliberately dragged out the tone:

"Second Uncle, I just don't believe it!"

Li Huaide was somewhat embarrassed by Sha Zhu's question: "You child, why don't you believe your second uncle? I say it's true, so it is."

"Besides, how many times have I told you, use your job title when you're at work!"

Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly:

"Okay, Second Uncle, I'll go pack the duck feet for you right away."

Li Huaide smiled helplessly. He quite liked Sha Zhu's personality. Although his words were a bit annoying, he was sincere.

After the duck feet were packed, Li Huaide put his portion here first, and then took Sha Zhu to the private room.