Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

This dish of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar has been cooked to perfection by He Yuzhu—the heat is as precise as if carved with a knife, and the ratio of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar is as if it were a natural creation. With one bite, the sour, fragrant, crisp, and tender layers are layered and go straight to your head.

Let alone the factory workers who usually make do with what they eat, even a seasoned cook would have to savor the experience for a long time before exclaiming, "Absolutely amazing!"

"You're in good shape today. Okay, take it upstairs, the workers will be here soon."

He Yuzhu put down his chopsticks, a slight smile playing on his lips.

With the system's support, the maxed-out culinary skills are far beyond what can be simply described as "delicious".

Every dish he makes now seems to awaken the warmest memory deep in the diner's mind—the spoonful he secretly ate by the stove when he was a child, the warmth from his mother's palm, the comfort of a bowl of hot soup in the cold winter... all hidden in this homely atmosphere.

But as soon as he finished speaking, no one in the kitchen moved.

A bold apprentice, sticking his neck out, said, "Director He, this whole pot... are we really going to take it out? It's not enough to go around."

"How about we scoop some out ourselves first, and then bring out the rest?"

"That's right!" someone chimed in. "What if it's like yesterday, with people nitpicking Zhang and Luo's dishes? It would be so ugly if it caused a scene."

Master Zhang was wiping the pot when he heard this, he paused, and his face immediately darkened.

Master Luo snorted coldly, glancing over at them: "Who said our skills aren't good enough? Want to practice your 'Eighteen Ways of Tossing the Wok' tonight?"

"Stop, stop!" He Yuzhu waved his hand with a smile, and walked over to pat Master Zhang on the shoulder. "Don't mind them. You two are doing a great job today."

I guarantee that no one will dare to gossip today.

He paused, then changed his tone, adding an air of unquestionable authority: "As for the food, give everyone a small bowl to keep for now, and bring the rest up! Who's going to eat it if it gets cold? Are we going to be eating cold rice dumplings this afternoon?"

After saying that, he turned around, picked up his lunchbox, and walked briskly towards the office.

Inside, a meal consisting of two meat dishes and one vegetable dish had already been prepared, along with two steamed white flour buns as the main course. The meal tickets were also obediently placed at the bottom of the drawer—rules could not be broken.

At noon, the queue outside the cafeteria stretched into a long line, and the aroma wafted out halfway down the street.

Today's food was incredibly delicious, a complete transformation from before.

Although it was still a bit lacking compared to the meal that He Yuzhu personally prepared last night, how could an ordinary person distinguish such a subtle difference?

At most, someone might take a couple of bites and mutter, "Hmm...it doesn't seem as potent as yesterday?"

But someone next to him immediately retorted, "What makes you so picky? This cabbage is so crisp you can hear it crack!"

The key point is that Master Zhang and Master Luo have truly figured it out this time.

He Yuzhu taught them the "foolproof cooking method," which was like memorizing a formula; you could follow just a few steps and you wouldn't go wrong.

Heat the oil to a certain temperature, add a few grams of salt, toss the pan a few times, and it's ready to serve—just follow these steps.

The two already had a solid foundation, and after this intense training, it was as if their meridians had been opened, and their performance soared to an extraordinary level.

If I can master this process, I'll pass the Level 7 cook certificate exam on my first try without a problem.

The factory leaders weren't idle either; they personally went out to serve lunch at noon.

After all, it had only been a little over two years since the public-private partnership began, so they couldn't put on too much airs; the communal meals they were supposed to eat still had to be provided.

As for Li Huaide giving special treatment to his children? We'll have to wait until 1965 to talk about that.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria was exceptionally lively today.

As soon as the food entered the mouth, cheers of praise rose and fell, and many people finished one bowl, wiped their mouths, and rushed back to get a second serving.

Fortunately, the cafeteria learned its lesson and added two extra buckets of rice and three baskets of steamed buns this morning, which barely managed to withstand this wave of "food offensive".

"Hey, the stew is pretty good today!" Li Huaide picked up a piece with his chopsticks, chewed it carefully, "much better than before, but..." He frowned, "This tastes wrong, it shouldn't be Xiao He's cooking."

Just as he was wondering whether he should ask someone to inquire about the situation, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Bai Danyu, the head of the personnel department, standing next to him.

She stood there, chopsticks in hand, her eyes unfocused, her lips slightly parted, as if a bite of food had struck her soul.

"Section Chief Bai?" Li Huaide called out tentatively, "What's wrong?"

Bai Danyu was not yet thirty years old. She raised her daughter alone, and her eyes and brows exuded a mature woman's unique charm. Every gesture she made was full of elegance.

She snapped out of her daze and gently shook her head: "It's nothing... it's just... the food today was just too delicious."

"Is it delicious?" Li Huaide was taken aback.

"Surely not?" He refused to believe it and took another bite. It was indeed fragrant, but that was about it.

Compared to He Yuzhu's divine skill, it's several levels below.

But seeing Bai Danyu's completely captivated expression, he couldn't resist his curiosity.

"Um, Section Chief Bai, if you don't mind... may I try a bite of yours?"

Bai Danyu glanced at him, said nothing, and simply pushed the lunchbox in front of him: "It's just a box of vegetables, Director Li, please feel free to eat as you please."

Li Huaide didn't stand on ceremony and picked up a piece with his chopsticks, putting it into his mouth.

In an instant, the world fell silent.

The flavor was like an explosion from the stomach, burning all the way to the top of the head. It was just the right amount of sour, and the spiciness was subtle. The cabbage was sweet and crisp, the broth was rich and lingered on the lips, and every grain of rice was soaked in the essence.

His eyes widened suddenly, and his hand involuntarily picked up another chopstick.

When I lifted my chopsticks for the third time, I finally stopped abruptly—this was someone else's lunch.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, feigning composure. "This... this must have been made by Director He, right? It seems he didn't make much. My portion... was probably made by another chef."

My mind was in turmoil: I have to find a chance to get Zhu Zi to give me a good beating by myself!

For those who have tasted it, the mastery of culinary skills is an irresistible temptation.

Like cigarettes you can't quit or alcohol you can't give up, once you've tried it, you're hooked.

All afternoon, Li Huaide's mind was filled with the taste of that dish.

If there aren't any reception duties lately, I'll just invite He Yuzhu to his father-in-law's house and let him show off his skills—he'd even pay for the ingredients himself!

Just after noon, Li Huaide was flipping through documents when his pager suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

It was a message from Wang Shushu: Director Liu from the brother factory is going to personally lead a team of technicians to come and exchange ideas and provide support.

This is not a simple matter.

The expansion of the steel rolling mill was a done deal with the Ministry of Industry—recruitment would officially begin a month later.

The original plan was to expand to 2,700 people, but now it's going to increase to over 7,000, more than tripling the original number.

The Third Steel Rolling Mill was on the verge of becoming a renowned industrial behemoth in Beijing.

But such a large operation can't be managed by one person alone.

We need to leverage their resources and give our brother factory a hand.

After several rounds of negotiation, Wang Shushu and Factory Director Yang managed to squeeze five technicians and twenty welders out of the machine repair shop.

The number of people may not seem like much, but for the machine repair shop, it was like tearing out a piece of their heart—those five technicians were all key personnel who carried the heavy load.

The fact that Director Liu personally escorted people to our door this time is probably because he was holding back a lot of anger.

When Wang Shushu called, he specifically instructed Li Huaide: "Treat them well, don't let them feel disappointed."

"When we eat meat, we should at least give them a sip of soup."

Li Huaide laughed after hearing this.

He had a trump card in his heart—He Yuzhu's craftsmanship, a powerful weapon capable of turning hostility into friendship.

Who can curse at the same time while swallowing their saliva and saying, "This dish is not good"?

If there really was such a ruthless person, Li Huaide would have no choice but to take the plate away before the man could even speak: "If you're not going to eat it, I will!"

The thought had barely formed in his mind when the cafeteria manager burst through the door, his voice booming, "Director He, Director Li is looking for you!"

He Yuzhu was sitting in a chair reading an agricultural science book when he heard the call. He immediately closed the book and said, "Okay, I'll go right now."

He got up, dusted off his pants, and walked a few steps to the office building.

He knocked on the door, and a voice inside said "Come in," so he pushed the door open and entered.

"Zhu Zi is here?" Li Huaide greeted him with a smile. "Sit down, sit down."

He was about to rummage through the tea canister to brew some tea.

He Yuzhu couldn't let his superior do it, so he rushed over and said, "Let me do it, let me do it! Are you treating me like an outsider?"

"Hey, why are you being so polite with me?" Li Huaide chuckled. "If you like tea, take some with you. There's some newly arrived Biluochun tea in the cabinet."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. I'll come over for another drink another day."

He Yuzhu was very sweet-talking and casually stuffed a small packet of tea into his pocket.

After exchanging a few casual words and warming up the atmosphere, Li Huaide finally got to the point:

"Zhu Zi, you're going to be busy from now on."

This factory expansion has benefited us all, but it has also offended quite a few people.

The other factory is quite resentful; when the people are delivered, they're bound to give them a hard time.

He paused, then lowered his voice: "So, when these people come, we need to make sure they eat well and speak warmly to them."

Your culinary skills are our diplomatic weapon.

This may sound exaggerated, but it's absolutely true.

Concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks cannot be achieved simply by shouting slogans.

Without the technical support from its sister plants, even the most powerful Third Steel Rolling Mill wouldn't be able to take off in ten years.

Senior technicians are not like leeks, which can be harvested and then grow back.

Those are the kind of elite talents that take years or even more than a decade to hone.

Li Huaide treated He Yuzhu as one of his own, and even dared to leak information about the Ministry of Industry.

"There's one more thing," he suddenly lowered his voice, "the cafeteria also needs to be expanded."

One stove can't feed seven thousand people; at least three more need to be built, and twenty new people will need to be hired for the kitchen.

He stared at He Yuzhu: "If you have any trustworthy relatives or friends, you can bring two in."

"We've reserved a spot for you."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment after those words were spoken.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat.

Job openings? Or permanent positions?

Although it's not as difficult to find a job now as it was in the 1960s, back in 1968, a worker quota could be sold for seven or eight hundred dollars, and there was still no market for it.

The key point is that it is tied to urban household registration, rationing, and job security.

The lifeblood of the entire family rests on this list.

He has only been a deputy director for a short time, yet he has already been allocated two positions, which shows how much Li Huaide values ​​him.

"Thank you, Director Li!" He Yuzhu's smile remained unchanged, but his mind was racing.

Unfortunately, he was all alone, with hardly any relatives or friends.