A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

After giving Yan Bugui a good scolding, Xu Ping'an felt much better.

However, the next day, when Xu Pingan went to their school and saw Yan Bugui again, things got a little awkward.

Xu Pingan's purpose in coming to Hongxing Primary School today is very simple.

Xu Nianlian has officially applied to skip a grade.

The sisters' homeroom teacher's surname was Lü, and her name was Lü Xin.

She was a female teacher in her mid-thirties.

When they saw Xu Pingan coming over, they were very polite and enthusiastic.

"Hello, Teacher Lü! I am Xu Fang and Xu Lian's older brother, my name is Xu Ping'an."

"Dear parents, both of these children are very outstanding in our class!"

"Xu Fang is well-behaved and sensible, taking care of her younger sister, while Xu Lian is the top student in the entire grade."

Regardless of the era, teachers always prefer students with good grades.

When Teacher Lü communicated with Xu Ping'an, eight out of ten sentences were praising Xu Lian.

Of course, she wasn't that ungrateful, and she would also praise Xu Fang along the way.

But honestly, if a student has poor grades and is also quiet, it might be a disaster for them.

Often, the teacher won't even see you.

"We called her parents in today mainly to discuss Xu Lian's issue regarding skipping a grade. She wants to skip to third grade..."

"That means after school starts, he'll be taking classes with the third-year students he'll be starting with..."

"But the school definitely needs to ask the parents for their opinions!"

Xu Pingan immediately expressed his opinion.

"I have no objection! This should definitely be decided based on his own learning progress!"

"Okay, if the parents have no objections, please sign this form. I'll arrange for Xu Fang to take the second-grade final exams this time!"

……

In the second-grade teachers' office, Xu Pingan and Yan Bugui looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This is Ms. Yan, the second-grade homeroom teacher. She'll be teaching third grade in the fall... Xu Lian is transferring to their class!"

Xu Pingan: ...

He sighed inwardly. Xu Lian hadn't even told him about skipping a grade earlier, which was such a big deal.

If he had said that earlier, he wouldn't have argued with Yan Bugui yesterday...

Of course, Xu Ping'an didn't want to offend him, mainly because he was afraid of trouble...

After all, he could easily fool Old Yan!

That's the downside of being too fond of taking advantage of small things; you can treat a cigarette like a carrot dangling in front of a mule.

But since he'd already offended him, Xu Ping'an didn't care.

Since I have leverage over him, he probably wouldn't dare to really target my younger sister.

It's important to understand that a bullet in a gun only has maximum deterrent effect when it hasn't been fired...

Looking at Yan Bugui's lewd smile, Xu Pingan wanted to punch him.

When they left the school, Xu Fang and Xu Lian silently followed Xu Ping'an back home, one on each side.

The oppressive atmosphere gave Xu Pingan a bit of a headache.

They are clearly sisters, so why is there such a big difference in their grades?

The key point is that Xu Fang is significantly older than Xu Lian!

However, Xu Fang must have been very upset, so Xu Ping'an didn't say anything more!

……

Xu Pingan had just made himself a cup of tea at the cafeteria and hadn't even sat down when he saw Wang Jianxing rushing over in a flurry.

"Ping An, there are 12 people eating lunch. What dishes should I prepare?"

"12 people? Who are they?"

"The coal mining unit... that Director Yuan, said he came to the city to purchase supplies and stopped by to take a look."

Xu Pingan immediately understood: What are you looking at? You're just here to freeload a meal!

As one of the entities most closely associated with the steel rolling mill, China Coal Group is responsible for supplying the mill with fuel.

Even if these people come to the steel mill for a meal, whether they are factory workers or relatives and friends, you still have to treat them with utmost courtesy.

If you encounter someone who is not particular, you have to find a way to arrange a car to take them around Beijing!

However, Director Yuan is a reasonable person and has never gone that far...

Xu Pingan didn't have any complaints about these things.

It's mainly because I've seen too much of that in my past life; people in this era are still relatively reserved.

At least you treated them warmly, and they expressed their gratitude politely.

Many people I met in my past life took it all for granted...

"By the way, Ping An, can you make a menu for me?"

"I don't even know what ingredients are available..."

"Besides beef and mutton, we also have chicken, duck, and fish!"

That's the downside of collective allocation; you can't buy whatever you want to eat...

However, I heard that the factory will have surplus materials this year... By the second half of the year, the factory will have money to spend as it sees fit, so things should be much better regarding food and drink!

Having lived in this era for a long time, I've come to realize that unplanned supplies were something that was created entirely out of necessity...

At this point, Wang Jianxing paused, his eyes scanning Xu Ping'an up and down.

"I heard you often send fish to Old Zhou at the Fifth Hospital. Don't you ever think about your own factory doing this?"

"Boss, I'm innocent! What do you mean I should deliver fish to him? He bought them himself!"

"Do you think our steel mill can't afford it?"

Xu Pingan quickly took out a cigarette, gave it to him, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's not that I can't afford it, it's just that... is it necessary over there?"

Wang Jianxing took a drag of his cigarette and sighed.

"Oh, you're amazing, you're great, we're all bad guys! I even went to all that trouble to get you a spot in the factory-run literacy class..."

"Boss! You've misunderstood! What good could those fish be? I have a way to get a batch of quails, about 100 of them. Do you think our factory needs them?"

"Remove the '吗' character! We desperately need it! When can you get it over here?"

"How about... three days later?"

"Okay! It's settled then!"

"What about my spot?"

"It has to be yours! We've already given you your name!"

Five minutes later, Wang Jianxing looked at the list that Xu Pingan had written and was speechless.

"You really need to go to night school and take some lessons. Your handwriting is terrible, and there are so many typos!"

"Boss, I learned all of this on my own. It's pretty good that I can write it like this."

Xu Pingan was in a difficult position, okay? He practiced his handwriting at home over and over again in order to make it look better.

When I was a child, I thought it was difficult to write well. Now, I feel it's even more difficult to write badly!

"You have Shandong and Huaiyang cuisine on your menu? I thought chefs usually specialized in one cuisine?"

"That's because they have proper apprenticeships. Does our factory have such rules?"

"No, not at all... I was just worried you wouldn't know how!"

Although Wang Jianxing can't cook, he has been the supervisor of the cafeteria for almost a year, so he has a good grasp of the basics.

Although he hadn't said everything, Xu Pingan already understood what he meant.

"Cooking is actually the same as working in a steel mill. Take those master fitters, for example; they all know a thing or two about things like electrical work and lathe operation! You can apply what you learn to other things, and once you understand one thing, you can understand everything!"

"Not bad, you can even use idioms now... It's clear you've really been studying hard."

After glancing at the menu again, Wang Jianxing decided to give up and just leave it at that. After all, he couldn't cook, so he wouldn't give any unsolicited advice.

"Xiao Cui, Xiao Liang, you two come with me to get the ingredients!"

"Okay, Director Wang!"

The main reason for listing this menu is that Xu Pingan wants to continuously enhance his status and importance.

After all, no matter where or in what era, only those with ability can stand out.

Even if you don't get promoted, you should at least live a carefree and unrestrained life.

Just like in the original drama, why was Sha Zhu able to get away unscathed after hitting Li Huaide?

Isn't it because his cooking skills are top-notch?

Although having talent is like being pregnant, it will naturally show over time.

But if you say it sooner, you can do less work and eat more good food, right?

Factory Director Yang and Director Li were both accompanying the group for lunch today.