In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

The next morning, while Chen Wei was preparing lunch for the factory's employees, Chen Jianguo arrived at the kitchen with a cheerful expression.

He burst in and yelled, "Chen Wei, did you give the factory manager some kind of magic potion? Look! Your hiring application has been approved, and the factory manager specifically told me to personally oversee it!"

Chen Wei was overjoyed and quickly took the document to read it.

Sure enough, the word "rejected" on the document had been changed to a bright red "approved".

"Uncle, did the factory manager say how many we're allowed to hire?"

Since Zhao Hongfei has agreed to hire people, the more the better.

Chen Jianguo beamed and held up three fingers: "Three! That's enough for you!"

They're actually planning to hire three new people all at once!

Chen Wei was also delighted, as with three more new employees, the canteen kitchen now had six staff members.

Not counting himself, there are five other people who can provide him with proficiency points. One trip to Li Yannian's house and he got three new employees in return—this deal is incredibly profitable!

"That's wonderful! Please take care of the recruitment process!"

"You brat, why are you being so polite with me!"

Chen Jianguo patted Chen Wei on the shoulder, his heart filled with joy.

This was a slap in the face for Ma Qianjin. He had been so confident that the kitchen would never hire anyone, and at this critical juncture, he had been arranging for the production department to work overtime non-stop.

Chen Jianguo had been holding back his anger for a long time. Now that the canteen was crowded, and with the factory director Zhao Hongfei's personal approval, he wanted to see what kind of nonsense Ma Qianjin would say this time.

-

Chen Jianguo was quick to recruit people; three days later, three new people arrived in the kitchen.

Early in the morning, Chen Jianguo brought the new employee over to show Chen Wei. He said that the onboarding procedures had already been completed, and the person had been handed over to Chen Wei.

Chen Wei looked the three newcomers up and down.

The big, burly guy is called Liu Dazhu. He was recruited from the countryside. They said he had experience in organizing weddings and funerals in the village and was in charge of cutting the meat. He was quite skilled.

The second one was thin and small, with bright eyes, and his name was Wang Xiaoming. It was said that he used to wash dishes in a small restaurant, and he was quick and efficient, knowing everything about the kitchen.

The third person was rather taciturn, with a slightly dark complexion. He was quite tall and not fat. He had retired from the army and said he had worked as a cook.

Chen Wei's gaze fell on the last young man. This man was about the same age as Chen Wei, in his prime, and shouldn't have retired from the army so soon.

"I heard your name is Zhang Tieniu?"

"Yes."

This person speaks in a deep, muffled voice, and seems quite honest and simple.

Chen Wei nodded, thinking that among the three, Zhang Tieniu was the most skilled and should be given special attention for training.

After all, he had cooked in the mess hall, so regardless of his skills, he was definitely much better than the other two at cooking large batches of food.

I just don't understand why someone so young would choose to change careers.

After all, in this day and age, everyone takes pride in enlisting in the army.

Especially since Zhang Tieniu was a cook, and generally speaking, cooks don't retire early before they reach the required age.

However, since the people had already been recruited, Chen Wei didn't care too much. He assigned tasks to the three of them, letting them learn how to chop and slice food from Wu Xiaochun, and then hurried to the front to busy himself with making lunch for everyone.

Just as Chen Wei put the food into the pot, he heard a noisy commotion coming from the stove behind him.

Wu Xiaochun's voice was deafeningly loud: "What do you mean you shouldn't start from the chopping board? Didn't you hear what Chef Chen just said? Which newcomer doesn't have to do chopping?"

What happened?

Chen Wei frowned and turned to look, only to see Zhang Tieniu, who had just looked honest and simple, now looking at Wu Xiaochun with a slightly dark face and an arrogant expression.

"I can't control what others do, but I'm not one of those greenhorns. You can ask around; when I was serving in the army, everyone said my cooking was delicious. Do you really think I'm an apprentice? Here I have to start from the chopping block!"

Zhang Tieniu was already tall, and now standing next to Wu Xiaochun, he looked even more imposing, with his head down and a cold smile on his lips, a far cry from his previous honest and simple demeanor.

"Hey! You little brat, you want to cause trouble?" Wu Xiaochun hadn't been humiliated in a long time. Now that several apprentices were watching their senior get roasted, he felt utterly humiliated and immediately slammed his fist on the table.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out if they weren't stopped, Lin Jun quickly rushed over.

"Xiaochun, stop fighting!"

Lin Jun's words may not carry weight; it seems this newcomer is not convinced!

Chen Wei snorted coldly, stopped Lin Jun, and walked over first.

Upon seeing Chen Wei approach, Zhang Tieniu's arrogance finally vanished for a moment.

Before coming, Zhang Tieniu knew that the fair-skinned young man in front of him was the head of the cafeteria. As a newcomer, he naturally had no intention of causing trouble.

Chen Wei walked up to the two of them, turned to look at Zhang Tieniu, and then stood directly in front of Wu Xiaochun.

He frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"This kid won't listen to me! I told him to cut the chopsticks, but he won't!" Wu Xiaochun suddenly seemed to have found a backer, and even raised his voice twice as loud.

Chen Wei raised an eyebrow, recalling what Zhang Tieniu had just said.

"It seems Comrade Zhang has brought his skills with him. Is my small place a waste of his talents?" Chen Wei asked calmly, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

But anyone could see that Chen Wei was angry.

In the cafeteria, Chen Wei always has a nice guy look on his face.

I never argue with anyone.

Zhang Tieniu's expression changed, realizing that he had gone a bit too far.

"Chef Chen, that's not what I meant. It's just..."

"Just what? It's an honor for Brother Chen to ask you to chop vegetables. Do you know who Brother Chen is? He's the number one in the cooking competition..."

"Xiaochun, shut up!" Before Wu Xiaochun could finish speaking, Lin Jun quickly and sternly stopped him.

Zhang Tieniu's previously calmed agitation was instantly amplified by Wu Xiaochun's nonsensical remarks, and his voice lost its previous humility.

"Chef Chen, of course I should follow the leader's orders now that I'm in the factory. But before I came, Section Chief Chen also told me that I have skills, unlike other apprentices. I'm here to help in the kitchen, not to chop food for some Tom, Dick, or Harry!"

Zhang Tieniu stuck out his neck, his face full of resentment.

Chen Wei glanced at him indifferently, thinking to himself, "This kid is probably hard to control."

"In that case, why don't you try cooking it yourself?"

Those who claim to be capable must be defeated with their own strength, otherwise they will not be convinced.