Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

When Sha Zhu arrived at the factory gate, he said he would be the chef in the evening to celebrate Section Chief Cui's promotion, and he went out to buy some seasonings. When the security department heard that he was celebrating the promotion of Deputy Section Chief, they did not make things difficult for him. They simply registered Sha Zhu and let him go.

Sha Zhu first went to the nearby pigeon market to find an acquaintance and bought some seasonings to cover up his identity. Then he sneaked into a small alley and came out about ten minutes later.

It turned out that there was a retired old Chinese doctor in this alley who secretly opened a black clinic. People around him would go to him for medicine for any minor illnesses. Sha Zhu lied that he was constipated and begged the old Chinese doctor to buy some croton powder. He planned to secretly put it in Xu Damao's food when he cooked that night to make him look bad.

Sha Zhu whistled proudly and even walked with a stagger, as if he had seen Xu Damao squatting in the toilet and unable to come out, and so he slowly returned to the steel mill.

When Xu Dabao heard Ma Hua say that Sha Zhu went out to buy some special materials and would come back after that, he was relieved. He could finally explain himself tonight. This Sha Zhu really didn't know what was good for him. He refused to accept my toast and drank a forfeit. Let me see how I will deal with him in the future!

Xu Dabao was thinking about how to deal with Sha Zhu in the future when he saw Sha Zhu slowly walking into the cafeteria kitchen.

"Hey, Shazhu, you're back." Liu Lan saw Shazhu at a glance and came over to say.

"Well, I'll be the host for the evening. Director, have you decided on the dishes for dinner?" Sha Zhu said nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, as if he was not the one who had said at the door of the foundry that he would never come.

"You idiot, the dishes haven't been decided yet. Since you're here, you can decide. I caught two fish this afternoon, so I'll cook them tonight. I'll take you to see what other ingredients are in the small warehouse. Ma Hua and Fatty will come too."

More than ten minutes later, the four men returned to the kitchen carrying things, including pork, eggs, fungus, bean sprouts, tofu, potatoes, cabbage, etc. They also caught two live chickens from the chicken coop in the cafeteria.

There was a shortage of vegetables in winter, not to mention during the three difficult years. Even these things were bought from the villagers. The bean sprouts and tofu were made by the canteen staff themselves using beans.

It was getting late, so Sha Zhu told everyone to get ready, boil water, remove feathers, kill chickens, and chop vegetables. Sha Zhu himself used the onions, ginger, garlic, and dried chilies he bought to make his own secret seasoning.

Just as everyone finished their work, the music for the end of get off work started playing. Canteen Director Xu Dabao walked into the kitchen and said, "Okay, everyone else can go back first. Liu Lan will be in charge of serving the dishes, and Ma Hua will help your chef."

The others responded and when they saw that there was nothing for them to do, they packed up and left. Ma Hua came over with a large teacup, "Master, have some tea."

Sha Zhu sat carelessly on his old chair, took the teacup and took a sip, then nodded with satisfaction. "Mahua'er, watch me cook later, and the chef will show you some of his skills."

Ma Hua nodded happily. He finally got the recognition of his master. In the past, Sha Zhu would not let him watch him cook, but now he let him watch because he wanted to teach him something.

"Silly Zhu, the leaders will be here soon, you can't let me down!"

"Hey, don't you know me? I may not be good at other things, but I'm always good at cooking. I've learned the family craft for many years. Just take care of it!"

At this time, there were footsteps and voices coming from the canteen door. Xu Dabao hurriedly ordered: "The leaders are here, you should hurry up and cook the dishes." After that, he hurried out to greet the leaders. This time he had found a position for his nephew in the inspection team, so he had to serve Director Li well.

Since there were quite a lot of people this time, Xu Dabao arranged them in a large private room with two tables, which was convenient for everyone to talk and toast.

Here, Sha Zhu also started cooking, while Ma Hua stared at the chef's movements intently, and from time to time he also took care of the braised fish and chicken stewed with mushrooms in the pot next to him.

Soon three dishes were ready: Mapo Tofu, Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes and Mu Shu Pork. Sha Zhu asked Liu Lan to serve the dishes first. Braised pork and twice-cooked pork would take more time to prepare, and he couldn't keep the leaders waiting.

While cooking, Sha Zhu was thinking about how to let Xu Damao eat croton powder. If he put it in the dish, all the leaders at the table could eat it. If the leaders all got diarrhea, they would definitely investigate it thoroughly. He was still under punishment, and if they found out, he would definitely be fired.

As Sha Zhu was thinking about it, Ma Hua said, "Master, the braised fish and chicken stewed with mushrooms are ready."

"Then just pack it up and send it over. Liu Lan, wait a moment, I'll be ready soon." Sha Zhu said as he served the braised pork and picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it into his mouth to chew.

In the private room, Li Huaide was the first to pick up a piece of spicy and sour potato shreds and put it into his mouth. His brows furrowed. Everyone thought the dish was not tasty and waited for the next step.

"This dish today is not made by the newly hired chef. He can't make it taste this good. This must be made by Sha Zhu. Good job, Old Xu. It seems that you have put in a lot of effort today. You have invited that stupid Sha Zhu back." Li Huaide said. "After the dish is cooked, ask Sha Zhu to come over."

"Okay, Director, look at what you said. Today is a festive day, so I have to let all the leaders eat and drink well. Come, Director, I'll toast you." As he said this, he picked up the wine glass and drank it all, which attracted cheers from the crowd.

Li Huaide also took a sip, and then said: "Drinking is not led by the factory director. Besides, Xiao Cui and Damao are the protagonists today, so everyone should drink with them." For a moment, everyone was arm in arm, clinking glasses and having a good drink. It was very lively.

At this time, Ma Hua had just served the braised fish. After returning, he said to Sha Zhu, "Master, the drinking party in there is already very lively. They are all drinking Maotai. A group of people are trying to get Section Chief Cui and Xu Damao to drink!"

When Sha Zhu heard this, he thought that this was the opportunity, so he put croton seeds into Xu Damao's wine. Xu Damao knew how much he could drink, he was a heavy drinker. He would not be able to detect the addition of something into the wine while he was drunk.

So while cooking, he talked to Ma Hua and Liu Lan, "Xu Damao can't drink much and likes to show off. He likes to do things like 'one big and three small, two and one thing'. After drinking too much, he even blacks out and can't remember anything that happened."

"Master, what does 'one big and three small, everything' mean? Please explain it to us in detail." Ma Hua asked like a curious baby.

"Let me tell you, the big and three small means the leader is the biggest and he is the smallest, so the leader drinks one cup and he drinks three. This means...if you don't believe me, take a closer look when the dishes are served."

The hot pot pork was just out of the pot, so Ma Hua took it and went to the private room. After coming out, he leaned against the door and listened to the noise inside. The atmosphere in the private room was still lively. Xu Damao seemed to have drunk a lot and sat there in a daze.

Ma Hua smiled secretly and returned to the kitchen. "Master, Xu Damao really drank a lot. Director Xu also told me to come over after you finish cooking."

"Got it. This is my last dish. I'll bring it over when I'm done. You and Liu Lan can go first. I'll wait a little longer. If the leaders want to eat after they finish their drinks, I'll prepare two simple dishes for them."

Liu Lan and Ma Hua saw that what Sha Zhu said made sense and there was indeed not much work to do, so they simply packed up and went home.

After the two left, Sha Zhu served the dishes first, and then brought them in. "Leaders, the last dish is here. I will wait in the kitchen for a while. Call me if you need anything."

Xu Dabao looked at the empty wine bottles on the table and said, "Shazhu, you're here at the right time. Go to our warehouse and get a few more bottles of wine." Then he handed the warehouse key to Shazhu.

Sha Zhu shouted in his heart, this is really God helping me, Xu Damao, just wait to make a fool of yourself!