Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Secretary Nie had his son when he was 35 years old. Now his son is the same age as Li Jiuzhou, 26 years old.

In the army, when I participated in the war against the United States, I served as a company commander at the grassroots level. Goodness, I really walked through the gates of hell several times.

Most importantly, this guy went without telling Secretary Nie.

When they left, they left behind a letter that resembled a suicide note.

Good heavens, Secretary Nie was so angry he almost went to meet the Daoist Ancestor.

Go ahead and go. Secretary Nie is a very conscientious person; of course he will support his son if he wants to go.

But if you leave without saying goodbye to your parents, what if you don't come back and don't even get to see them one last time?

In the end, Secretary Nie gave up entirely, and his son was just there to collect debts.

Fortunately, nothing serious happened in the end. Now he's the acting team leader, and his future is bright!

Secretary Nie believed that his son's future was absolutely bright.

Because he participated in the war in his previous life, and although he sacrificed himself, he was reincarnated on the front lines, and in this life he fought in a battle that was also at the very end.

Then we fought the Anti-American War, and everything was already maxed out, so there was no reason for it to end halfway.

People who are both veterans of war are a minority, but Secretary Nie and his son occupy a prominent position.

The higher-ups can see it, and even if such meritorious families have mediocre political achievements later on, it won't prevent them from being promoted.

Secretary Nie got promoted, didn't he? There are too many meritorious figures now, and many vice-ministerial level leaders too.

However, the number of people in government departments is basically only a few hundred, but if you include the military, the number is much larger.

If Secretary Nie's son continues to stay in the military, he will undoubtedly become a pillar of the armed forces in the future.

Li Jiuzhou has been in a good mood lately, as the expansion of the three large canteens is progressing very well.

His daily tasks remain the same: to inspect the canteen, the farm, and the construction site every morning.

He spends the afternoon in the office processing documents, since he also handles logistical matters.

The work is light and easy, and he's getting more and more used to this kind of life.

It's much easier than swinging a ladle.

But Sha Zhu is different. Although he is now the deputy director of the canteen at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, a cadre at the level of section chief.

But he still has to step in when necessary; there are some occasions where he can't be served without him.

Sha Zhu had no objections. He was originally a cook, and even though he had a government job, he hadn't given up his skills.

To be honest, he really loves this line of work.

Because everything he has now comes from being a cook.

For Sha Zhu, his craftsmanship is something he absolutely cannot lose.

While serving guests, he also taught two apprentices and a junior apprentice.

My junior apprentice You Fulai is making rapid progress. If Sha Zhu were to give him an evaluation, he would say he's good enough to be one of the top students at Fengzeyuan.

The main advantage is that there are many opportunities to get started.

Sha Zhu taught them the way his senior had taught him back then.

Let them do it, and give them pointers from the side. If the dishes are not up to standard, send them back to be made again.

This is basically how the factory's employee meals are now: You Fulai cooks, and Sha Zhu gives instructions from the side.

The other two apprentices were learning from the side.

This hands-on teaching method allows for very rapid progress.

On their day off, the three brothers were sent by Li Jiuzhou to Fengzeyuan to find their advisor.

Whether it's serving tea or chopping vegetables, you can definitely learn something.

The canteen chefs were green with envy at the progress You Fulai and his two companions made in learning to cook.

That's so systematic, and it's incredibly fast! This is the entire lineage!

It's several levels above their Red Star 25-course stew.

I want to learn, but the barrier to entry is exceptionally high.

The ingredients used in those famous dishes are enough to deter more than 99% of people; they're too expensive to afford, so why bother learning them!

Although they were envious, they were also quite satisfied. They learned 25 dishes from Hongxing and looked down on everyone else when they went out.

Each of these dishes is a staple at any ordinary banquet.

The chefs at the steel rolling mill also made a fortune as a result.

The common people of Beiping couldn't afford famous chefs, but they could afford the chefs from the steel rolling mill.

First of all, the price wasn't expensive; Li Jiuzhou set a uniform price for them.

It was also to prevent his subordinates from arbitrarily raising prices and breaking the rules.

Two yuan for a dish, eat and take away, fair and honest, it's that simple!

Generally, hosts with limited means will choose six or eight dishes, or even as many as twelve.

Since the 25 dishes of the Red Star Restaurant became famous throughout Beiping, only one family has managed to put all 25 dishes together on the table.

The others struggled to even put together 12 dishes.

The host, who had gathered 25 dishes for the first time, was also a leader of the steel rolling mill, a director, and You Fulai, Li Jiuzhou's first disciple, personally took charge of the preparations.

Therefore, each chef from the steel rolling mill who went out to take on private jobs had a menu, which Li Jiuzhou specially printed out for them.

Unfortunately, some chefs are too uneducated and can't even write a menu when they meet the chef.

They treated the menu given to them by Li Jiuzhou like a treasure.

The first line of text in the menu:

25 Home-Style Dishes by Hongxing!

Next are the arranged dish names.

The last line has a small print and a stamp.

Drafted by Mr. Yu himself!

Then came the stamping; Li Jiuzhou's name was stamped directly on it!

This was a treasure to the chefs at the steel rolling mill, much like a graduation certificate.

Nowadays, when hosts hire chefs from steel mills to prepare banquets, they won't even bother with you if they don't see this menu, because if you don't have it, it means it's fake.

If you do, give me a smile and a cigarette!

The two-yuan-per-dish order from Li Jiuzhou was a fixed price, which would be slightly higher than the standard price.

The most important thing is to ensure that the chefs' skills are not cheapened; once the rules are set, they won't be disrupted.

The chefs are naturally willing, so what if it's expensive?

There's no shortage of freelance work; some jobs even have long waiting lists.

On weekends, the factory cooks are very busy, and their monthly income increases by at least 30 yuan.

The first people I need to thank for acquiring this skill are Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu.

He would occasionally send them both some gifts.

They don't accept money, but they generally accept cigarettes and alcohol without hesitation.

Social obligations still apply, and it's hard to refuse their kind offer.

Moreover, the two of them accepted it without any qualms.

Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu received far more cigarettes and alcohol than they could possibly consume.

When there's too much, I often share it with the people in the cafeteria to help them use it up.

Sha Zhu's father, He Daqing, can now save money on cigarettes and alcohol.

His son gives him five or six cartons of cigarettes a month, and about the same amount of alcohol, so he doesn't even have the right to spend money at home anymore.

They couldn't spend the money at all, becoming the envy of everyone.

The same goes for Li Tielong. With many apprentices, all of whom are filial and successful, he has almost lost the desire to make money.

I stay at Fengzeyuan because I love this industry, and I can retire anytime, anywhere.

Li Tielong is even more awesome than He Daqing; he smokes Huazi cigarettes, all given to him by Li Jiuzhou.

Li Jiuzhou's men delivered cigarettes they could buy, such as Daqianmen and Mudan brands.

But most of his superiors and colleagues smoked cigarettes, so he couldn't possibly smoke them all and had to share some with others.

The master gets a share, and the father-in-law gets a share.

Sha Zhu would occasionally come over to beg for money, saying he was coughing while smoking something else.

The cafeteria was too crowded, and the delivery of cigarettes and alcohol was usually done in pairs, with each person giving out two cartons of cigarettes and two bottles of alcohol.

There are just too many to list. Li Jiuzhou can just say it directly: he wants to open a tobacco and alcohol specialty store.

Moreover, for those chefs, two packs of cigarettes and two bottles of wine are incredibly cheap.

Daqianmen cigarettes are a very presentable gift; a pack costs 35 cents, and a carton costs only 3.5 yuan. Who the hell can't afford that?

Yi Zhonghai smoked Daqianmen cigarettes regularly, easily consuming two packs a day.