Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"Indeed, this is just an example. There are many dishes that require a lot of time and preparation in advance. Let's not talk about the long-distance ones. For example, for roast duck, you need a special stove, marinating, and roasting. The process requires a lot of energy and time. If you don't do it well, the roast duck will not be up to standard..."

"Stop talking, I'll be hungry again if you continue." Wei Wei interrupted Cao Wei.

"Uncle Li, what are you going to do?"

"As usual, it will be done in two or three hours. The hospitality should not be too excessive." Li Huaide was silent for a while and then spoke.

"Okay, let's do it normally. How many people are there?"

"twelve."

"Then I'll increase the number of dishes and make eight dishes and one soup."

"Okay, just watch it."

After deciding on the ingredients with Wei Wei, Cao Wei had no intention of going back to the kitchen. It was only a little after two o'clock, so he could take a walk around. To be honest, he had never been around the factory before. His first thought was to go to Qin Huairu's workshop and take a look.

Speaking of which, the steel rolling mill occupies a fairly large area.

The workshop was not easy to find, but fortunately he had a good talk and found Qin Huairu's workshop in no time.

At this moment, Qin Huairu was staring at the work at hand with a sad face.

An old man watched from the side and sighed.

"Huai Ru..."

"Oh, uncle, I'm sorry, I'll try it now."

"No, you take a rest."

"Master, I..."

"You should take a rest for a while." The old man repeated.

"Then... that's fine."

"Go out for a walk. I'll tell the director. It's not a good idea to keep going like this."

"Okay..." Qin Huairu's voice became much lower.

Walked out of the workshop silently.

Cao Wei was actually just passing by to take a look. He never expected that Qin Huairu would come out dejectedly just when he was passing by.

What a great opportunity!

His eyes lit up.

He followed her quietly and patted her shoulder suddenly.

Qin Huairu was startled. When she turned around, she saw Cao Wei's handsome face, and her expression became resentful: "It's you. Why are you here?"

"I want to walk around and get to know my neighbors in the yard so that I won't get lost when something happens." Cao Wei shrugged.

"Then how did you find this place?"

"Just ask on the way. Ask which workshop the best-looking fitter is in and you'll find one."

Qin Huairu rolled her eyes and said, "You are so smooth-talking. Don't say that outside. People will think you are a hooligan. Don't speak so carelessly."

"I know, I know. Isn't this Sister Huairu? If it were anyone else, they wouldn't deserve what I said. By the way, you looked unhappy just now. What's wrong? Are you unhappy with your work?"

"Ah." Speaking of this, Qin Huairu couldn't help but sigh and touched her face: "Sometimes I wonder if I'm really stupid, maybe I shouldn't have come to the city."

If it were any other time, Qin Huairu would have just brushed it off, but today, for some reason, she really wanted to find someone to talk to.

Ever since I took over my husband's job, nothing has gone smoothly.

She wanted to work hard and get a permanent job soon, so that her family could live a better life. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do it. She couldn't understand why the gap between people was so big. Only she knew that she couldn't sleep well for many nights. She didn't know what to do in the future. If there was no progress and she kept getting a fixed salary of 27.5, how could her family live?

Her confidence gradually weakened and disappeared as time went by.

Looking at the woman in front of him, Cao Wei probably understood why she had given up and accepted Sha Zhu's lunch box in the later period. The salary was locked and there was no progress, what could he do? The money was not enough for the family. If he didn't accept it, his family couldn't afford it. If he accepted it, he didn't have to pay anything, and good things came to his door every day. No one could afford it.

People always make choices at crossroads. As for why she didn't change her workstation.

What position should she be transferred to? She is uneducated and not qualified for a management position. Should she go to the kitchen? Life in the kitchen is even harder. Some people have been cutting for more than ten years. How can a worker be more reliable?

"Why? You can't learn well."

"Well, an old man taught me. I had no idea what to do. I asked him several times and he got tired of it."

"Here." Cao Wei took out a sachet from his pocket and handed it to her.

"what is this?"

"Wear the sachet. It will refresh your mind. But when you become skilled enough, remember to return it to me. This is what I plan to give to my future wife."

"I can't accept it." Qin Huairu waved her hands repeatedly.

"Take it." Cao Wei stuffed it into her arms.

"Actually, if you can't learn it, maybe it's not really your problem."

These words immediately attracted her attention, and she no longer wanted to take the sachet in her arms back. This was what she wanted to solve most at the moment.

"How to say?"

"Your master is a great uncle, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Because you can't learn it." Cao Wei took out a cigarette from his arms and lit it for himself.

"What does this have to do with the old man?"

"Relationship? Of course it is related."

"Don't talk nonsense, Uncle Yi is a good man, and he taught me with all his heart." Qin Huairu frowned and was not very happy. After all, Uncle Yi was Jia Dongxu's master, and now, he was also her master. Besides, Uncle Yi took good care of them on weekdays. She didn't want to hear others say bad things about Uncle Yi.

"I'm not saying that the uncle has any ulterior motives. What I mean is that the uncle is a genius. Do you know how many level 8 workers there are in the country?"

"How many?"

"I do not know either."

Qin Huairu:......

"But I know that in our factory, we can count the number of Grade 8 workers on one hand." Cao Wei ignored the woman who rolled her eyes beside him: "It's not an exaggeration to say that such people are one in a thousand or even one in ten thousand. You know, the world that a genius sees is different from the world that ordinary people see. I am a genius, so I know."

"Are you... just being conceited?"

"No, I'm telling the truth. My chef cooked a dish. I watched him cut it, controlled the heat, and did a lot of other things. I copied it almost exactly in half an hour. But others spent three days trying to figure it out. To me, it's just a simple process of turning on the fire, putting the ingredients in, and then weighing it before serving. But to ordinary people, it's very complicated. Now, do you understand?"