Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

You still have to give face to your leader.

You also have to give face to your own curiosity.

"Good! Good!" Wei Wei took a glance and immediately gave a thumbs up to praise.

In fact, if you want to exaggerate, to an outsider, it's just so-so. The shredded potatoes are neatly arranged, and the size of each one is indistinguishable, at least with the naked eye. Just looking at these shredded potatoes, you can't tell what's so great about them. But if you compare them with the ones that have been cut next to them, it's different.

"What's the point of cutting it like this?" Master Li muttered.

This time, Li Huaide heard it, but he didn't say anything. He just told Cao Wei: "Okay, let's get started."

"have to."

Cao Wei was also a pragmatist.

To make spicy and sour potato shreds, you need to stir-fry them over high heat.

First, the shredded potatoes were blanched, then seasonings were added and stir-fried until fragrant, and finally, the shredded potatoes were put in. As a flame rose into the air, it caused cheers in the kitchen.

Cao Wei was so calm when he picked up the iron pan. The potato shreds were wielded by him like an arm, and the stir-frying in the air was like playing a beautiful piece of music. Even people who don't understand it find it pleasing to the eye. Any activity, when done to the extreme, is art.

Wei Wei swore that it wasn't because he liked to flatter. These shredded potatoes were really different from what he had eaten before.

It was just there, bright and beautiful. When Li Huaide invited everyone to eat, he took a bite and for some reason, he felt that there was a bowl of rice or a big white steamed bun missing. That bite opened his taste buds, and his stomach, which had just finished breakfast, was inexplicably craving for more food.

"It goes really well with rice..." Wei Wei couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

The best compliment to a plate of shredded potatoes is to eat it with rice.

Experts look at the doorway, while laymen look at the excitement. A plate of ordinary potato shreds that only took a few minutes to come out of the pot completely made Master Li autistic. Anyone with a good taste can taste the difference. If he were to rate this potato shreds, he would rate it 100 points, because it was the best potato shreds he had ever eaten. The most depressing thing is that he himself could only rate it 65 points at most.

After all, a chef’s skills speak for themselves.

Li Huaide only took a bite, his eyes narrowed slightly, his smile widened a little, and he looked at Wei Wei: "Is it okay?"

"No problem. If there are still problems with the craftsmanship, we'll have to find a fairy." Wei Wei's face turned into a rag with laughter. There was competition between the canteens. One, two, three, four, five, five canteens. Whoever received more tickets would stand up straighter, and the procurement budget would be able to increase the things they bought. The five canteens were said to be distributed in the five directions of the steel rolling mill.

But if the taste is a little better, we can still attract other people, it’s just a matter of walking a few more steps.

"Can this thing be used?" Li Huaide did not answer Wei Wei's question, but pointed to the big pot in the steel rolling mill.

Cao Wei was happy: "Don't worry, Uncle Li, this big pot is just right."

Some people may not have seen how big the pots in the canteens of this era were. Let's put it this way, the diameter was two meters and the depth was almost one meter. It was no problem to throw a child into such a pot. One pot was enough for at least a hundred people. There were three large pots in total. Chef Li and Chef Zhang were both big and strong. If they were not strong enough, they would not be able to operate such a large pot.

This is also what Li Huaide is worried about. A small pot can be used well, but a big pot may not be the same.

You know, the spatula of this thing is only a few sizes smaller than the iron spatula.

Li Huaide glanced at him and said, "Okay, come out with me. I'll take you to get your clothes."

"Leader, I'll just take him with me."

"No, I have something else to tell him."

After Li Huaide and Cao Wei left, the whole cafeteria started chattering again.

"Wow, is this someone with connections coming?" someone exclaimed.

"Come on, it's about connections." Wei Wei rolled his eyes.

"What do you know, Director Wei?"

"How can a person with connections cook such delicious dishes? Most likely, Director Li recruited him from somewhere else. You guys should be more honest. With his cooking skills, he will never starve anywhere. Besides, he has a master. Just look at the cooking he did today, he even used the seasonings. It would be a good thing if you could learn a few tricks from him."

Most chefs these days bought their own seasonings and ingredients. There was no well-developed internet like in later generations where all recipes were clearly marked. Most ordinary chefs, like those in steel mills, only had a little strength to move the wok and cook the dishes. As for the taste, it was really just so-so.

After hearing what Wei Wei said, many chefs and apprentices became eager to try.

Hey, for chefs who have a master, that's a good thing. For them, some common sense things may be secrets that they are not even aware of. Thinking of this, many people's minds became active.

"Hey, Chief Wei, the group that followed Master Sun before should follow the new master, right?" A smart young man asked with a roll of his eyes, the smile on his lips unable to be suppressed.

There are three stoves and three side dish groups. Among these three side dish groups, the retired Master Sun is responsible for the overall management.

"That's not right, Master Cao is obviously here to replace Master Sun. Even if Master Sun was the boss here before, now that Master Cao is here, shouldn't he be the one making the arrangements?"

"That's right, why do we still do it the same way as before?"

Master Li and Master Zhang's faces turned dark as they watched their own cutters rebel.

Good guys, as soon as you get a benefit, you immediately assemble it for others. Are you still human?

But they had no choice. Formal chefs can take apprentices. For a chef like Sha Zhu, others are willing to be his apprentices and work like slaves. But they were not like that. They were both latecomers. They got to where they are today, relying on the little tricks others taught them. At best, they could cook a big pot of food. They could not take apprentices, and no one would be willing to worship them as masters.

Master Sun has such great prestige because he also had a master before him.

It's just that this old man is very stingy and refuses to teach anything. Even if he teaches, he only teaches half and keeps the other half, making it a bit of a mess.

Finally a new and generous owner came, and everyone wanted to take him over.

The treatment of cooks and cutters is as different as heaven and earth.

"Alright, alright, stop yelling. Master Cao will be back soon. I'll discuss this with him. Today, we'll do as we did before and we'll talk about how to handle it later."