Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

What He Yuzhu didn't expect was that just a few days later, when He Yuzhu was resting at home on the weekend, Cai Quanwu came to his house again. Not only Cai Quanwu came, but also Cai Quanwu's wife Su Xiulian, brother-in-law Su Shaoan, and Cai Quanwu's two children Cai Jianguo and Cai Xiaolei.

He Yuzhu looked at Cai Quanwu's family and couldn't help but smile and asked curiously, "Uncle, what are you doing here? Why are you and your whole family here?"

Cai Quanwu blushed at what He Yuzhu said, and opened his mouth but said nothing. Seeing that Cai Quanwu was too embarrassed to speak, Su Xiulian said directly: "Isn't it because I have something to ask you? That's why the whole family is here."

He Yuzhu glanced at his uncle Cai Quanwu, and then at Su Shaoan, who was blushing behind Su Xiulian. Thinking of Su Xiulian taking the initiative to speak, he immediately understood, and then said with a smile: "Aunt, if I guess correctly, you should be here today for your brother Shaoan's matter, right? But before we talk about the matter, everyone find a seat and sit down, and then we will talk slowly."

After everyone sat down, He Yuzhu asked, "Aunt, my uncle is too proud to speak, so you should speak. After all, we are not outsiders, so it doesn't matter who speaks."

Su Xiulian glanced at Cai Quanwu and said directly, "Zhuzi, you are not an outsider. Since you have guessed it, I will tell you directly. Didn't my brother Shaoan graduate from junior high school? He didn't get into high school, and now he has nothing to do at home. I would like to ask you to help find him a job."

"Aunt, didn't I hear you say before that he likes cooking? What does he think about it now?" He Yuzhu said to Su Shaoan.

"Shaoan, Zhuzi is asking you a question. Tell Zhuzi what you think." Su Xiulian said to Su Shaoan.

"I...I still want to cook." Su Shaoan finished speaking hesitantly.

After listening to Su Shaoan's words, He Yuzhu touched his chin and began to think. Su Xiulian and Su Shaoan looked at He Yuzhu nervously.

After a while, He Yuzhu said, "Shaoan, have you thought about it? Cooking is very hard work. It's not as easy as you think. But in the current social situation, most people can only barely get enough to eat. Even if you learn cooking skills, it will be difficult to have much room to develop in a short period of time. Have you considered this?"

"Zhu Zi, is it that serious? Don't your master and senior brothers all work at Fengze Garden?" Su Xiu Lian asked in disbelief.

"Aunt, you need food coupons to eat now. How many people can afford to eat in a restaurant with food coupons? Since the food coupons began to appear, the business of Fengze Garden has not been as good as before." He Yuzhu said with a sigh, "In fact, even in the past, restaurants were not affordable for ordinary people. Those who could afford to go to restaurants were either rich or noble. The salary of an ordinary worker for a month's work is only 5 or 3 yuan, and the living expenses of an ordinary person are only yuan a month. A roast duck at Bianyifang costs more than yuan. How many people do you think are willing to spend more than half a month's living expenses on a meal?"

"Take the pub where your brother-in-law works, for example. Why do so many people go to pubs to drink instead of restaurants? It's because pubs are cheaper. A pot of wine and a plate of peanuts cost only a few cents."

"Shaoan, I'm not trying to scare you by saying this, but I want you to think carefully about whether you still want to learn to cook. After you become a master of cooking, you can make delicious food, but in the next few decades, learning to cook is destined to have less room for development than learning other skills." He Yuzhu said earnestly. "Of course, it's no problem to support the family."

After hearing what He Yuzhu said, Su Xiulian hurriedly said, "Yes, Shaoan, think about it carefully. This is a major event in your life. Zhuzi is an experienced person, so it's right to listen to him."

After thinking for a moment, Su Shaoan said with a tangled look: "Sister, I want to learn how to cook, but after hearing what Zhuzi said, I don't know what to do."

"Zhu Zi, Shaoan is young and immature. Your uncle and I don't know how to cook. You have broad knowledge, so you can give us some advice." Su Xiu Lian looked at He Yu Zhu.

"Aunt, this is a major event in Shaoan's life. I can't make the decision for him, but I can help him analyze it. As for Shaoan's idea of ​​learning to cook, it would have been easier before last year. He could have been allowed to work in the canteen of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, and I would have taught him personally. But now I don't work in the canteen and have no time to teach him. Besides, the canteen now serves big pot dishes, and you just need to follow a fixed process. You may only be able to cook one big pot dish in your entire life. Shaoan, do you want to cook big pot dishes for the rest of your life?" He Yuzhu asked Su Shaoan.

Su Shaoan shook his head and replied, "I don't want to cook big pot dishes all my life. I want to be a real chef."

"Okay, so you don't want to cook big pot dishes, you want to be a proper chef, right? Then you have to find a regular chef to apprentice to, which takes several years of hard work. But now all the restaurants and hotels have become state-owned restaurants through public-private partnerships. If you want to be an apprentice, you must first pass the restaurant's recruitment and become a restaurant worker, otherwise no master will be willing to teach you. My master and senior brothers in Fengze Garden do not have the right to recruit workers, so if you want to enter Fengze Garden, you need to wait until Fengze Garden publicly recruits workers, otherwise there is no way to get in. Shaoan, are you willing to wait? Wait until Fengze Garden recruits before trying to get in."

Su Shaoan then shook his head and said, "I'm already this old, I have to earn money to support myself. I can't always trouble my sister and brother-in-law. I don't want to wait at home anymore."

"Shaoan, you are still young, I should take care of you." Su Xiulian said hurriedly when she heard Su Shaoan say this, "Besides, your brother-in-law doesn't care, at all, don't you think?"

"Yes, Shaoan, if you really want to be a chef, then wait until Fengzeyuan starts recruiting, and then we'll go and give it a try." Cai Quanwu said sincerely.

"Sister, brother-in-law, please stop trying to persuade me. You have supported me for so many years, and I am grateful to you. But I have grown up now, and I have to learn to support myself." Su Shaoan said with a firm face.

"Shaoan, if you like cooking, you don't necessarily have to be a chef. You can learn to cook by doing other jobs. My personal suggestion is to go to a factory to learn a skill and become a skilled worker. You can practice cooking at home after get off work. If you like something, you don't have to turn your hobby into a job." He Yuzhu looked at Su Shaoan and said.

"Is it really possible? Zhuzi." Su Xiu Lian asked excitedly after hearing this.

Su Shaoan also looked at He Yuzhu with expectation.

"Why not? There are actually two types of cooking: one is home cooking, and the other is restaurant cooking. Restaurant cooking is all about color, aroma, and taste. To achieve color, aroma, and taste, the chef's knife skills and heat control are often required. Home cooking is about simplicity and convenience, but that doesn't mean that home cooking can't be as delicious as restaurant cooking. You can also practice knife skills and heat control when cooking home cooking."

He Yuzhu took a sip of tea and continued, "For example, if you want to practice knife skills, you certainly don't have as many ingredients at home as in a restaurant, but when you cut vegetables at home, you can practice slowly and carefully. After a while, you can also practice beautiful knife skills. After talking about knife skills, let's talk about the cooking time. The so-called cooking time is actually the chef judging the maturity of the ingredients based on their color. This requires long-term practice over time."

"Chefs need to carefully observe the maturity of ingredients during cooking, and stir-fry to ensure that the ingredients are heated evenly and mature to the same degree. Otherwise, some dishes will be cooked while others will be raw. Of course, to ensure the consistency of the taste of the dishes, the size, thickness and coarseness of the cuts must be uniform. Otherwise, even the best chefs will not be able to make meals with the same taste. In order to stir-fry the ingredients quickly, most chefs will use the technique of flipping the wok to quickly stir-fry the ingredients. To practice flipping the wok, you can prepare an iron wok and fill it with sand to practice."

"Moreover, Shaoan, you have an advantage that others don't have." Having said this, He Yuzhu deliberately kept the audience in suspense and paused.

"What advantages?" Su Shaoan asked hurriedly.

"That's the tavern where your brother-in-law works. They make a lot of pickles every year. When making the pickles, you can help cut the vegetables to practice your knife skills. You know, ordinary people don't have the opportunity to practice with so many ingredients." He Yuzhu said with a smile.

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, Su Shaoan lowered his head and began to think in his mind.

"Shaoan, listen to what Zhuzi said. Why don't we stop being cooks and go to work in a factory. When we get off work, we can go home and practice cooking. As long as you want to cook, you can cook dinner for our family in the future." Su Xiulian advised.

After a while, Su Shaoan thought it through and looked up at Su Xiulian and said, "Sister, brother-in-law, I've made up my mind. I'll go to the factory and work as a worker. I'll cook at home when I want to."

"Okay, as long as you think it through, I will support you no matter what you do. When the time comes, I will teach you our ancestral skills of grinding tofu and making hairy tofu." Su Xiu Lian said with a smile.

Cai Quanwu sat aside and agreed, looking at Su Shaoan happily.

"Then Zhuzi, since Shaoan wants to work in a factory, I want him to work in the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill where you work. Do you have any connections to get Shaoan in?" Su Xiulian looked at He Yuzhu and asked.

"When our factory was jointly operated last year, we recruited a large number of workers at once. Judging from the current situation, we will not recruit any more workers in the short term. But if you want to join our factory, there are ways." He Yuzhu replied.

"What method?" Su Xiulian asked hurriedly.

"The method is very simple. Factory positions can be inherited now, but some workers' children have jobs. So when some workers retire, their positions will become vacant, so some people will sell them privately. Then you can help Shaoan buy a quota from these people." He Yuzhu answered truthfully.

"How much does it cost to buy a job?" Su Xiu Lian asked.

"It depends on the nature of the work. The price of different types of work is different. The lowest is 300 yuan, and the highest is about 800 yuan. The specific price depends on the actual situation."

After hearing the price mentioned by He Yuzhu, Su Xiulian looked at Cai Quanwu standing aside. Whether it was 300 yuan or 800 yuan, it required the final decision of Cai Quanwu, the boss.

Cai Quanwu asked directly: "Since Shaoan wants to work in a steel mill, then buy the most expensive one. After all, this is a lifelong thing. Zhuzi, do you know anyone who does this?"

"I have a good relationship with an officer in the personnel department of our factory. I will go and ask him about it when I go to work tomorrow. He works in the personnel department and he should be more familiar with the situation in this area. After I ask him, as long as he is willing to help, you can go to him with the money. When Shaoan really joins our steel mill, I will help him find the best master."

"Thank you for your help, Zhuzi." Cai Quanwu said with gratitude, "Zhuzi, we came here to talk to you about Shaoan's job. Now that we have agreed, we should leave."

"Since you are here, why don't you stay at my house and have lunch before leaving, uncle."

"No, the tavern has to open at noon, I have to go back quickly."

"Okay then, I won't keep you here. I'll send you out."