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

It has to be said that Zhang Tieniu is a very honest and straightforward guy.

Since he became convinced of Chen Wei's culinary skills, he worked extra hard, never slacking off when chopping and cutting, making him much more useful than Wu Xiaochun.

[Apprentice (Zhang Tieniu): Proficiency conversion rate 78%]

Chen Wei looked at the numbers on the panel with satisfaction and nodded repeatedly.

It seems we made the right choice in hiring this apprentice; look at the conversion rate, it's almost on par with Lin Jun's.

Looking at Wu Xiaochun, after working for so long, his conversion rate is only 60%, which is even lower than that of a newcomer.

Chen Wei muttered to himself for a while, then turned his head and saw Zhang Tieniu slumped over the chopping board, occasionally wiping away the sweat dripping down his face with the towel draped around his neck.

Wu Xiaochun, on the other hand, kept looking around while chopping vegetables, as if nothing interested him more than the cleaver in his hand.

It seems it's time to change this kid's job. Letting him wander around in the kitchen all the time might cause him some trouble someday.

Thinking this, Chen Wei lowered his head again, picked up the large double-handled wok, and began to stir-fry the vegetables.

-

Time flies when you're working, and before you know it, it's afternoon.

Around 2 or 3 pm, the kitchen staff can take a two-hour break. When it's time to prepare dinner, they come back to work around 4 pm to continue preparing dinner.

Especially these past two days, with the autumn heatwave returning and the weather unbearably hot and humid, Chen Wei, naturally considerate of them, told everyone to go back to their dormitories to rest.

Unexpectedly, after everyone had left, Zhang Tieniu remained in the same spot, his feet firmly planted on the ground, not moving an inch, silently continuing to chop vegetables on the cutting board.

"Knock knock knock knock—"

The sound of knives striking the cutting board in the kitchen seemed to have never disappeared since Zhang Tieniu started chopping.

"Zhang Tieniu, it's time to go home and rest. You have to come back at 4 pm!" Chen Wei reminded him.

Chen Wei saw that Zhang Tieniu didn't even look up, and kept saying while chopping vegetables.

"Chef Chen, you can go back first! I'll prepare the ingredients for this afternoon. Comrade Yang just told me that we can cut any of the vegetables we grow in the small garden behind the house."

Chen Wei raised an eyebrow, not expecting Zhang Tieniu to be so diligent.

"Alright, lock the kitchen door when you leave, so no one can come in! The vegetables in the garden are what we harvested ourselves, they're meant for you to practice chopping, so feel free to use them."

Chen Wei didn't stop him, gave him a few casual instructions, and left with his things.

As soon as they stepped out of the cafeteria, they saw Wu Xiaochun and the two brothers, Wu Danian and Wu Ernian, sitting together under a big tree in the distance, smoking pipes and pointing at the cafeteria with unfriendly expressions.

When Wu Xiaochun saw Chen Wei come out, he was stunned. The three of them immediately stopped whispering and looked at Chen Wei with guilty expressions.

Then Wu Xiaochun awkwardly began to greet them.

"Brother Chen, want to go back and rest? Want some popsicles? I'll buy you some!"

This is clearly just making conversation out of nothing. People always seem busy when they're in an awkward situation, and Wu Xiaochun is no exception.

Chen Wei frowned and waved his hand casually.

"I'm not eating. What are you guys doing standing here in the middle of the day instead of going home to rest?"

Logically speaking, the Wu brothers, Danian and Ernian, should be working online at this time, so why are they here smoking?

Upon hearing Chen Wei's question, the two Wu brothers immediately looked embarrassed and didn't dare to say anything more. They quickly scratched their heads, said goodbye to Wu Xiaochun, and hurried back to the workshop.

Only Wu Xiaochun and Chen Wei remained.

After everyone had left, Chen Wei walked over with a serious expression.

"Is he gossiping about someone behind their back again?"

Upon hearing his question, Wu Xiaochun initially wanted to retort, but after thinking about it, he nodded and said with a wronged expression.

"Brother Chen! I just can't accept this! That Zhang Tieniu, he only worked in the mess hall for a few years. We're all cooks, so why is he so arrogant! He comes in here trying to steal the spotlight, and he doesn't even want to do chopping. If you ask me, why don't we just give him your position, Brother Chen?"

If the first few sentences showed Wu Xiaochun's dislike for Zhang Tieniu, then the last two sentences had a somewhat provocative tone.

Indeed, Wu Xiaochun had just had a conflict with Zhang Tieniu, so it's understandable that he was a little angry.

But that last sentence made Chen Wei's heart sink to the bottom.

After calming down for a while, Chen Wei looked at Wu Xiaochun with a calm gaze.

"You think Zhang Tieniu is a bad guy? Should I have my uncle fire him?"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his face constantly observing Wu Xiaochun's reaction.

Wu Xiaochun didn't immediately understand the meaning behind those words, and simply nodded happily.

"Great! Brother Chen, if you ask me, this kind of person should be fired! What do you mean he submitted? There was nothing wrong with him in the first place! He..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

When he looked up again, he saw Chen Wei staring at him with a deep look in his eyes, his expression full of disappointment.

Wu Xiaochun suddenly stopped talking, somewhat stunned.

He then recalled what he had just said and realized the hidden meaning in Chen Wei's words.

"Brother Chen...I..."

He stammered for a moment, unsure of what to say.

The two faced each other in silence, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Chen Wei pondered for a long time. He still remembered that when he first entered the factory, Wu Xiaochun always protected him, and he had received Wu Xiaochun's help along the way.

But Wu Xiaochun... really isn't a good subordinate...

"never mind!"

After thinking it over and over, Chen Wei sighed and said.

"When I have some free time, I'll talk to my uncle and see if I can get you a different job!"

"Brother Chen?!"

Wu Xiaochun was stunned, never expecting that his mere gossip behind people's backs would lead to such a serious reassignment!

"No, I was wrong, Brother Chen! I won't say anything more, okay? If you don't like listening to me, I'll just keep praising Zhang Tieniu from now on, is that enough? I've worked in the cafeteria for at least a year, and you brought in a new person, and you just transferred me out of the blue, what do you mean by that!"

Seeing that Wu Xiaochun still didn't understand what he meant, Chen Wei felt somewhat helpless, but in the end he didn't explain.

He just sighed and said, "It's just a job transfer, it won't reduce your salary. You're like this now... never mind... I know you can't handle hardship, I'll have my uncle find you an easier job."

After saying this, Chen Wei left.

Actually, he originally wanted to give Wu Xiaochun a heads-up, telling him that the kitchen was not suitable for him, but he didn't say it out loud in the end. He just thought to himself that he had to get Chen Jianguo to help Wu Xiaochun find a good job.

But Chen Wei didn't see the increasingly intense anger burning in Wu Xiaochun's eyes. After Chen Wei turned and left, Wu Xiaochun kept staring at his back.