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

It must be said that Liu Rufang's skills are truly excellent.

Having worked in a food processing plant for over twenty years, I've long since internalized the process of preparing various meats.

Chen Wei ate so much that his belly was round.

In the afternoon, Chen Wei was constantly bombarded with questions from Chen Liling. This little girl was curious about everything and thought working in a factory must be a fun thing. She kept asking him all sorts of questions.

Unfortunately, the little girl didn't think of herself as a grown-up at all, and she was completely unguarded around her adopted brother, which made Chen Wei very embarrassed several times.

Fortunately, after chatting with her for a while, Chen Wei was called over by Chen Jianguo to play chess with him.

He breathed a sigh of relief and ran away as if his life depended on it.

Dinner time arrived in the blink of an eye, and Liu Rufang still felt a little sorry for Chen Wei.

"Xiaowei, don't listen to that crazy girl's nonsense. Go play, I'll cook!"

"It's alright, Auntie. I've learned several techniques at the cafeteria, and I'd like you to try them too."

Hearing Chen Wei say this, Liu Rufang laughed so hard her eyes almost disappeared, repeatedly saying that Chen Wei had grown up and become sensible.

He gave a few more instructions before leaving the kitchen.

Chen Wei turned his head and looked around the Chen family's kitchen.

In this tiny space of less than two square meters, a small gas cylinder was crammed in, connected to a simple gas stove.

The two cabinets above the head were probably built by a carpenter, giving it a somewhat modern feel.

There was also a small tripod standing in the corner, which was used to display vegetables and other ingredients.

It's clear that Liu Rufang cherishes this small space. Though small, it has everything she needs, keeping everything neat and tidy, and clean. Even without a range hood, there's not a speck of grease.

When cooking, you need to open the window next to you to let the cooking fumes dissipate in time.

Unfortunately, range hoods hadn't even been manufactured yet, let alone entered every household.

The knife rack was placed on the windowsill, and a small cutting board was placed in a small area connected to the windowsill.

The cutting board is definitely not as big as the kitchen counter in the cafeteria, and the gas stove is definitely not as powerful as the coal-fired stove in the cafeteria.

Chen Wei took a deep breath, memorizing the differences between these tools, knowing he would inevitably need to make adjustments when cooking later.

He looked down and searched through the vegetable basket. Perhaps because he had returned today, the Chen family's vegetable basket contained several different kinds of vegetables.

There was also a piece of tofu on top, not very big, only about a pound.

Chen Wei was overjoyed and quickly turned to rummage through the overhead cabinet. To his surprise, he found both fermented soybean paste and fermented black beans!

Now I have all the ingredients to make Mapo Tofu.

Needless to say, hot and sour shredded vegetables, potatoes, carrots, and kelp are all essential ingredients in every household in Jinshi.

The tricky part is this stir-fried green peppers and pork; it requires real meat to make.

He pursed his lips. At noon, his aunt had already made a big bowl of braised pork. Neither Liu Rufang nor Chen Jianguo wanted to eat it. Almost the entire bowl of braised pork was put into Chen Wei's bowl, and the remaining half ended up in Chen Liling's stomach.

It's clear that even a well-off dual-income family like the Chens can't just eat meat in large quantities.

Having already eaten meat at noon, it might be inappropriate to ask my aunt to go out and buy more meat now.

With that thought in mind, Chen Wei picked up two green peppers from the vegetable basket.

If all else fails, just stir-fry some green peppers and eggs!

Chen Wei was holding two green peppers in his hand when suddenly his eyes caught a glimpse of a red shadow wrapped in old newspaper at the edge of the vegetable basket.

"Why?"

Chen Wei exclaimed in surprise and casually picked up the old newspaper.

Inside was a perfect piece of pork tenderloin, about seven or eight centimeters square. I picked it up and weighed it; it was about six ounces!

This is a timely help!

Chen Wei poked his head out of the kitchen and asked loudly.

"Auntie! Can I use this piece of pork tenderloin from the kitchen?"

"Sure! You can use it! It's just what I bought for you to eat. Is it enough? If not, I'll go out and buy more!"

Liu Rufang always doted on her children and never skimped on their clothing or food.

Upon hearing this, he immediately picked up the purse beside him, making a move to go out and buy another piece of meat.

Chen Wei quickly stopped him, "That's enough! I'll just make some shredded pork with green peppers, to show off my skills to Uncle and Aunt!"

Chen Jianguo, however, poked his head in from outside, looking quite surprised.

"Hey! When did you learn to make shredded pork with green peppers? I've never had this dish before!"

"We'll be able to eat it today." Chen Wei chuckled and closed the small kitchen door.

He picked up the piece of pork belly, took a deep breath, and picked up the cleaver next to him.

Just then, a familiar semi-transparent panel suddenly popped up in front of me.

[Equipment conversion detected. The equipped weapon does not meet the equipment slot requirements. The equipment effect has been reduced by 30%]

?

Chen Wei's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but look down at the ordinary kitchen knife in his hand.

Liu Rufang's hands were rather small, and the kitchen knife in Chen Wei's hand felt light and weightless.

The blade was getting a bit dull, but that didn't stop the system from still working.

Although the equipment effect has been weakened by 30%, this also means that Chen Wei will not necessarily have to stay in the kitchen of the canteen to make amazing dishes in the future!

Chen Wei was overjoyed and immediately reached out to touch the gas stove in front of him.

Sure enough, the familiar notification sound rang in my ears the moment I turned on the gas stove.

[Equipment conversion detected. The equipment stove does not meet the equipment slot requirements. Equipment effect reduced by 40%]

This little gas stove has been weakened by 40%, it seems the gas stove at my uncle's house is not of very good quality.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. In those days, gas stoves were still a high-tech thing. Chen Jianguo was already much better off than those people outside who were struggling to cook in the stairwell with coal stoves.

With no room for criticism, Chen Wei gripped the cleaver tightly and confidently began processing the ingredients.

After processing all the ingredients, Chen Wei felt the familiar touch of the cleaver in his hand, straightened his legs, and relaxed his arm muscles.

He tossed the pork tenderloin onto the cutting board and took a deep breath.

Close your eyes, make the cut!

The moment I held the knife, that familiar, effortless feeling returned.

Although it's not as handy as the old kitchen knife in the cafeteria, my knife skills are just as good.

"Knock knock knock—"

A series of sounds, like a cleaver striking a cutting board, came from the small kitchen. The sounds were unusually continuous and had a strange rhythm.

Liu Rufang was stunned and couldn't help but turn to Chen Jianguo to ask.

"Is that Xiaowei chopping vegetables? That's amazing..."

It's much faster than a housewife who cooks all day!