Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

Section Chief Yu didn't expect Zeng Wangcai to be so generous. He smiled and said, "Just show some appreciation, don't go too far."

The personnel department people then took action, picking up a can of fish from the lunch box in the middle of the table with chopsticks. They were quite restrained and really just did it as a token of their appreciation.

"Hey, Zeng Wangcai, how do you make this salted fish? Why is it so delicious?"

"It's much better than what my mom cooks."

"It's greasy, bright red, and really fragrant, unlike the salted fish we have at home, which has no other taste except salty."

This person is not good at talking, and people from the personnel department all praised Zeng Wangcai's canned fish for being delicious.

This is canned fish, a product of 21st century cooking technology, how could it not taste good?

Zeng Wangcai explained with a smile: "This is what my mother made. The red color is due to the chili oil. In fact, cooking is not difficult. As long as you are willing to use oil, the food can't be that bad. Everything else in our steel mill cafeteria is good, but there is not a drop of oil in the food..."

At this point, he almost said "holding a steamed bun in his hand".

It's so appropriate. People who haven't experienced this era will only treat the lyrics as a joke, but in fact it is a portrayal of real life now.

"You've hit the nail on the head." Section Chief Yu just said it in a polite tone, and continued Zeng Wangcai's words, "Our cafeteria used to be OK, and the dishes tasted good. But now it's difficult, so let's be more particular."

"I heard that the canteen is not like that..." a girl muttered in a low voice, but she stopped talking halfway when she saw Section Chief Yu waiting for her.

Zeng Wangcai guessed that the small canteen the girl was talking about was probably the place where Sha Zhu always stayed when he saw him on TV. It was specially used for making small stir-fries and entertaining guests.

This kind of thing is very normal and happens in every unit.

But if you say it's fair, that's definitely impossible, so it's okay under normal circumstances, but in difficult times like this, it's inevitable that someone will keep an eye on the canteen and watch what you eat.

Zeng Wangcai naturally would not comment. This phenomenon has not been solved for decades. Other people spend one dollar on work meals for the whole family, and they eat them healthier and more abundantly than those sold outside.

At this time, a black car drove to the back of the cafeteria. Li Huaide and another middle-aged man got out of the car and went to the cafeteria talking and laughing.

This middle-aged man is Li Huaide’s guest, or actually half-owner of the steel mill, Lou Zhenhua, the current shareholder of the steel mill.

At present, the Lou family is still very prosperous. Lou Zhenhua's hair is not white. He is not tall and has a small square face. I don't know why Li Huaide hired him.

The two of them went to a small room in the cafeteria with a much better environment and sat down. Li Huaide said to his secretary, "Go tell Director Song that the guests have arrived and that the dishes can be served."

Secretary Yan went to Director Song's office, but didn't find anyone there. He turned around and went to the kitchen, where he saw Director Song staring at Sha Zhu cooking.

Director Song was worried that Sha Zhu wasn't paying attention, so he was watching here in person.

"Director Song, are the dishes ready? The guests have arrived." Secretary Yan said before the guests arrived, "Hurry up, the factory director and the others are hungry, it's already this late."

"Okay, okay, it'll be ready soon. There's also a meat dish." Director Song said quickly.

Secretary Yan walked over to look at the dishes and rolled his eyes: "Director Song, the dishes today are quite vegetarian. If they are served like this, you will definitely be disappointed."

"Secretary Yan, aren't you frying meat dishes? Please explain this to Director Li." Director Song was sweating on his forehead and took out a cigarette to toast Secretary Yan.

They both knew Director Li's preferences and temper. When it came to food, Director Li was absolutely strict. Plus, today was a business reception, so there were reasonable reasons. If the food wasn't good, he would definitely get angry, and he might even hold a grudge against him. You made the director lose face, so who else would he punish if not you?

Therefore, Secretary Yan never accepted Director Song’s cigarettes because he was afraid.

"Hey, Master He, isn't there still some meat over there? Use the lean meat to make the fish-flavored pork shreds that Director Li likes, and use the fat and lean meat to make the twice-cooked pork that Director Li likes." Secretary Yan had sharp eyes and saw that there was still a piece of meat on the chopping board.

Sha Zhu ignored Secretary Yan and said as he cooked, "We can't do it. There's less than two pounds of meat in total. If we cook it all, what will we do for Director Yang's reception tomorrow? Who knows when this week's quota will be released? If Hu Guangyong can buy some meat, we won't have to panic like this."

"Just take care of today first, and we'll deal with tomorrow's issues tomorrow." Secretary Yan said anxiously.

It's not that he is not afraid of the factory director Yang Weiguo, but he knows how powerful he is. Yang Weiguo never bothers about such things.

However, he ignored Sha Zhu's temper. Once Sha Zhu made up his mind, no one could change his mind. No matter what Secretary Yan said, Sha Zhu would not do it and pushed the problem to Director Song.

Director Song felt miserable. He compared Yang Weiguo and Li Huaide in his heart and sighed, "Go ahead and do it. I'll explain to Director Yang."

"Okay, your words are enough." Sha Zhu slammed the pot a few times and the food was out of the pot.

The dishes began to be served. Director Song nervously carried two plates of food himself and followed Secretary Yan to the small room.

Li Huaide nodded with satisfaction when he saw the dishes being served: "Sha Zhu's dishes are good, with good color, aroma and taste."

Sha Zhu is not stupid enough to make a fuss about the cooking skills. He makes a living by this skill, so even if it is just a potato or an eggplant, as long as there is enough oil and water, it won't be too bad.

After a while, the third and fourth dishes arrived, one with beans and one with green vegetables.

Wow, four dishes were served, all vegetarian. Li Huaide was so embarrassed that he immediately said hello to Lou Zhenhua and came out.

"Secretary Yan, what's going on? Why is the dish like this?" Li Huaide didn't want to say this in front of Lou Zhenhua. It was embarrassing.

Secretary Yan did not dare to hide it and told the situation immediately.

Li Huaide disagreed, but he knew that it would be useless to deal with Director Song now as there was no food. So he suppressed his anger and went back, feeling embarrassed to entertain him, and explained to Lou Zhenhua that he would do it another day.

Although Lou Zhenhua is still in a good position now, he is not as good as before. Moreover, he knows that his identity is sensitive, so he has no objection and leaves quickly.

Li Huaide sent Lou Zhenhua away, but he did not leave. He continued to sit in the small room and asked Secretary Yan to call Director Song.

Director Song knew this would happen and was very nervous when he came in.

"Director Song, what's going on with the canteen's procurement? Can't you even guarantee food and drink for the workers?" Li Huaide was talking about the workers, not himself. "Recently, I've heard from workers that the canteen's food has declined too much. How are you doing as the canteen director?"

Director Song naturally did not dare to retort, and tentatively explained: "Director Li, everyone is having a hard time now. The vegetables we were given were too few, and there was no oil in the vegetables, so the workers did not agree. Don't worry, no one dares to make trouble about this matter."

"If there is trouble, it will be too late." Director Song answered irrelevantly, and Li Huaide was naturally dissatisfied. "If the planned items are not enough, then go for unplanned purchases. What do purchasers do?"

After a tantrum, Li Huaide looked at the dishes being served at the back. He no longer had any appetite, but he still ate whatever he had.

Not long after he finished eating, Li Huaide saw Sha Zhu coming in with his back hunched.

"Shazhu, the food you cooked today is great." Li Huaide said calmly when he saw Shazhu.

In fact, Li Huaide does have some merits. His greatest merit is his magnanimity. He himself once said that as long as people can be used by me, nothing else matters.

Therefore, Li Huaide allowed Sha Zhu to return to the canteen from the workshop after being beaten by Sha Zhu, and supported him and prevented Xu Damao from bullying him.

"There is no food, so I just cook it randomly." Sha Zhu said with a smile, "I want to report a situation to you..."

Li Huaide listened to Sha Zhu's whispers and couldn't hold back his face until the end: "Are you telling the truth? That Hu Guangyong can't buy anything, so why not give up his position and give it to someone more talented? Can Zeng Wangcai really get a lot of fish?"

"It's fine if it's just fish, they can also hunt wild boars and pheasants. Their family has been eating either meat or fish every day these days. Look, Zeng Wangcai even brought fish to the cafeteria today..."

Li Huaide felt mixed emotions. The workers all ate better than him.

"Is he still in the cafeteria? Go call him over, I want to talk to him..."