Yan Jiecheng's Leisurely Life in Siheyuan

Chapter 32 Appreciation
Sha Zhu is really a person who only remembers to eat and not to be beaten. After he started to show off again, Sha Zhu became even more arrogant.

Even in public, he didn't give Director Wang any face at all and scolded him harshly.

In the past, Sha Zhu often argued with Director Wang, but that was in the kitchen and not many people knew about it.

But now they were in the restaurant, with hundreds of workers dining there. Director Wang was completely humiliated.

Director Wang was furious and decided not to give Sha Zhu any more chances and to teach him a lesson, so he found Yan Jiecheng and wanted him to be responsible for hosting the banquet again.

What a joke, how could Yan Jiecheng agree to this? Yes, Director Wang asked him to prepare the banquet, and Yan Jiecheng was indeed very grateful and worked very hard.

But Director Wang later considered his friendship with Sha Zhu and let him go. It seems that he is sentimental and righteous, but is this fair to Yan Jiecheng?

He is not a rag. You can use him when you want to use him and throw him aside when you don’t want to use him.

So Yan Jiecheng rejected Director Wang on the spot, but he was more tactful in his words.

After being rejected by Yan Jiecheng, Director Wang didn't care and found the canteen's chef Shen Bing, hoping that he would be responsible for the banquet.

Shen Bing is an old chef who has been in the kitchen for more than 20 years. He is very experienced and agreed readily.

But what was unexpected was that the dishes cooked by Shen Bing were not recognized by the factory leaders.

It’s not that Shen Bing’s cooking is bad, it’s just not authentic and is much worse than Yan Jiecheng and Sha Zhu’s.

This put Director Wang in a difficult position. No one could replace Sha Zhu, so naturally, he couldn't suppress him. This made Sha Zhu even more arrogant.

On this day, some leaders came to inspect the steel mill. The scale of the inspection was quite large. Secretary Qian, Director Yang Dechang, Li Huaide and other main leaders of the steel mill accompanied them.

After the inspection, the group had lunch in the cafeteria as usual.

Sha Zhu also knew the importance of the matter and planned to show off his skills to let the leaders see his craftsmanship.

Just as Sha Zhu was making careful preparations in the kitchen, Yi Zhonghai hurried into the kitchen and pulled Sha Zhu out.

Sha Zhu said after breaking free from Yi Zhonghai.

"Uncle, if you have something to say, just tell me. I'm busy right now."

Yi Zhonghai didn't care whether Sha Zhu was busy or not, he grabbed Sha Zhu again and said.

"Shazhu, hurry back to the compound with me. Someone from the compound said your sister Qin is about to give birth and needs to be rushed to the hospital."

When Sha Zhu heard that Qin Huairu was about to give birth, he was also anxious, but he also knew that the reception later was very important, so he said hesitantly.

"Uncle, there's a reception at the factory today, and I can't leave."

When Yi Zhonghai saw Sha Zhu refuse, he immediately gave him a righteous lecture.

"Shazhu, what did I teach you every day? To respect the elderly and love the young, to unite with the neighbors, and to not only care about yourself. How did you become so selfish..."

After being taught a lesson by Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu actually felt that he had done something wrong and immediately apologized to Yi Zhonghai.

"Uncle, you are right. We should not be too selfish. I will go back with you immediately."

There were many people in the kitchen at that time, and they were all stunned after hearing Yi Zhonghai's remarks.

Those who don’t know would think that Sister Qin is Sha Zhu’s wife.

However, there was still someone smart enough to quickly inform Director Wang after seeing Sha Zhu leave.

After learning that Sha Zhu had actually quit, Director Wang was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

This is the second time Sha Zhu has quit, and the key is that each time is more serious than the last.

Director Wang was extremely regretful at this time. If he had known earlier, he would not have cherished the old friendship and should have gotten rid of Sha Zhu earlier.

But no matter how much we regret it, the most urgent thing now is to overcome the current difficulties.

For such an important reception today, Yan Jiecheng had to be the only one to handle it. No one else could shoulder this heavy responsibility except him.

Thinking of this, Director Wang trotted to the ninth canteen to find Yan Jiecheng.

Director Wang didn't hold back and told Yan Jiecheng the truth. "Jiecheng, that bastard Shazhu quit again. You have to help me. Today's reception is very important. If I mess it up, Director Li will definitely punish me."

To be honest, Yan Jiecheng really didn't want to go, but he knew in his heart that if he refused Director Wang at this time, Director Wang would definitely make things difficult for him afterwards. It was not worth it just for a momentary anger.

Yan Jiecheng no longer hesitated and said to Director Wang with a pat on his chest.

"Director, I will absolutely obey your orders."

Seeing Yan Jiecheng agree so readily, Director Wang was overjoyed and quickly took Yan Jiecheng to the third canteen.

After the two arrived in the kitchen, Director Wang pointed to a pile of ingredients and said.

"Jie Cheng, please quickly check if there's anything missing so I can prepare it."

Yan Jiecheng looked at the materials and said.

"Director, you need to tell me how many guests you're entertaining this time, what their food preferences are, and has the menu been finalized?"

"We're hosting quite a few people this afternoon, about fifteen in total. You can choose the menu yourself. It'll mainly be Sichuan cuisine, but you can also have a couple of your signature dishes."

"Director, the materials are complete, nothing is missing. Just leave the rest to me. But you have to call Ma Hua and Liu Lan over to help me. I can't handle it alone."

Afterwards, Yan Jiecheng took Ma Hua and Liu Lan with him and started to get busy.

For so many people, Yan Jiecheng plans to prepare eight Sichuan dishes and four dishes from other cuisines.

There are twelve dishes in total, and if the portions are slightly increased, it should be enough.

……

As the last dish of hot and sour soup was taken away by Liu Lan, Yan Jiecheng finally finished his work.

Not long after, Director Wang came to the kitchen with a smile on his face.

"Jie Cheng, come with me, the leaders want to see you."

Following Director Wang into the private room, Director Wang began to introduce the place to the guests.

"Dear leaders, this is today's head chef, Yan Jiecheng."

Yan Jiecheng bowed respectfully and said.

"Hello, leaders."

The old man sitting in the main seat was very surprised to see Yan Jiecheng so young.

Of course, it was not just the old man who was surprised. Secretary Qian from the steel rolling mill, Yang Dechang, and Li Huaide were also very surprised.

You know, in order to entertain the old man at the main seat, the three of them were very attentive and specially arranged for Sha Zhu to be the chef. Why did they suddenly change him?

But they also knew that now was not the time to ask this.

At this time, the old man in the main seat looked at Yan Jiecheng and said gently.

"Comrade Yan, how old is he this year?"

"To reply to the leader, I am twenty-one this year."

"Well, I didn't expect that someone so young could cook such authentic delicacies. It's not easy."

The old man didn't say much. He asked Yan Jiecheng to drink a glass of wine and let him leave.

After Yan Jiecheng left, the old man spoke to Secretary Qian beside him.

"Old Qian, your factory is quite good at training young people. It deserves praise."

……

(End of this chapter)