Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Since the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the supply of materials has begun to decrease. The steel rolling mill is a large factory with 10,000 people. The workers' daily food and drink are not a small amount. In the past month, the supply of materials has decreased by 30% from the original basis. In the past, it could be barely made up by purchasing unplanned materials, but now the situation is that there are too many people and too little porridge. We have to find a way from the Material Bureau. The current leader of the Material Bureau has just transferred from the army. He and Director Yang were in the same army and they were in the same class. There is still some affection between them. So Director Yang came forward to set up this bureau. I hope my old comrades can help.

As soon as He Yuzhu arrived at the small warehouse, he saw Secretary Zhao approaching from a distance. He Yuzhu smiled and greeted him: "Secretary Zhao! Where are you going?!"

"Master He!" Secretary Zhao called out, and said, "The factory director asked me to get a bottle of good wine."

He Yuzhu said, "I have some wine, so you don't have to bother." Then he asked, "Do you know where the leader of the Materials Bureau is from?!"

Secretary Zhao smiled and replied, "Master He, you've asked the right person. The leader of the Materials Bureau who came today is a comrade-in-arms of our factory director. He is from the Northeast." Secretary Zhao looked around carefully and said, "Master He, I'm a little greedy for your cooking."

He Yuzhu said, "As usual, before the rice comes out of the pot, send the lunch box to me. You can get it yourself later!"

"Thank you, Master He! I'll be leaving first!" Secretary Zhao said hello with a smile and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" He Yuzhu stopped Secretary Zhao and said, "Tell the factory director to have Shaodaozi for lunch today."

"Hey!" Secretary Zhao was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted, responded with a smile, and left quickly.

"Since we are from the Northeast, let's cook Northeastern cuisine. Twelve dishes for eight people should be enough." He Yuzhu thought about it and went into the small warehouse.

Just after eleven o'clock in the afternoon, Li Huaian appeared in the kitchen of the third canteen. Seeing He Yuzhu busy at work, he immediately walked to He Yuzhu's side, handed him a cigarette, and asked: "Zhuzi, is the food ready?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "There are still four dishes. The other dishes have been served. Let the leaders eat first and the rest will come slowly."

"Okay!" Li Huaian responded and was about to leave. He Yuzhu pulled Li Huaian back, took a five-jin jar of wine from the table behind and stuffed it into Li Huaian's mouth, saying, "Take this wine in!"

Li Huaian looked at the wine jar in his arms, slightly stunned, and asked: "Zhu Zi, what kind of wine is in this?!"

He Yuzhu said: "Just take it in! I guarantee the leaders will like it!"

"Okay! I'll listen to you!" After saying that, Li Huaian walked towards the small restaurant holding the jar of wine.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" After the leaders entered the small restaurant, Li Huaian walked to the door of the small restaurant and knocked on the door. Director Yang shouted, "Come in!"

Li Huaian walked into the small restaurant holding a wine jar and said, "Director, this is the wine that Master He prepared for you!" After that, Li Huaian put the wine jar on the table. The tall leader sitting next to Director Yang smelled the faint smell of wine from the wine jar, and his eyes suddenly lit up and said, "Old Yang, you are thoughtful!"

Director Yang smiled as he picked up the wine jar, opened the lid, and said, "We are from the same class. Don't I know you?! Today's table is all Northeastern dishes. How can we eat Northeastern dishes without Northeastern wine?! If this jar of Shaodaoli was given to someone else, I would not take it out!" After that, Director Yang glanced at the wine glasses on the table and said, "Secretary Zhao, take away the wine glasses! Replace them with bowls!"

"Old Yang! You are this!" The tall leader gave Director Yang a thumbs up.

Li Huaide, who was sitting next to him, hated his cousin at this moment: "He Yuzhu gave him such a good opportunity. He didn't even know how to use it?! I really shouldn't have helped him earlier!"

At first, the leaders had a drink to bond with each other. When the last few dishes were served and the door of the small restaurant was closed, Director Yang stopped hiding and began to complain, telling about the difficulties in the factory. As the saying goes, one should be grateful to someone who has eaten one's food, and they are also comrades-in-arms. The tall leader finally decided to increase the supply of materials to the steel mill by 20%. However, this matter cannot be disclosed to the public. If this news leaks out from the steel mill, the extra 20% of materials will be gone. In addition, the tall leader was impressed by He Yuzhu's cooking skills. After some bargaining, Director Yang finally agreed to let He Yuzhu cook for him three times. It was considered to make up for him.

After lunch, when the tall leader left, He Yuzhu, who was sitting on a chair to rest, was called into the small restaurant by Secretary Zhao. Seeing the factory leader slumped in the chair, He Yuzhu asked, "Director, what do you want to talk to me about?!"

Director Yang looked at Li Huaide. Li Huaide cursed inwardly: "Old fox!" Then he smiled and said: "Zhu Zi, the leader of the Material Bureau ate the dishes you cooked and thought you were good at cooking. He wants to ask you to cook for him a few times."

Before Li Huaide could finish his words, He Yuzhu said, "As long as I am not transferred from the steel mill, the factory leaders have the final say on other matters. I need to let you know in advance."

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, Li Huaide showed a satisfied smile on his face. He looked at Director Yang and said, "Director, Comrade He Yuzhu has such a high level of ideological awareness. Can the probation period be ended early?!"

Director Yang looked at He Yuzhu for a few seconds in a thoughtful manner, then nodded and said, "You take care of this!"

Since Director Yang had set the tone, other things would be easy. After seeing off the factory leaders, He Yuzhu pulled up a chair and sat in the small restaurant in a daze.

Sister Huang walked into the small restaurant with her lunch box, and said as she cleaned up: "If I pay for the person who was persuaded to go back to buy a workstation, do you think this is feasible?!"

After Sister Huang reminded him, He Yuzhu reacted instantly and said, "What's wrong with this?! In this way, you can find someone who is on good terms with you and has this need. You can discuss how many workstations you want, and I will help you find out. It's better than running around like a headless fly." He Yuzhu doesn't have to worry about his eldest uncle. As for his third uncle, he has to take care of his grandparents and can't come out. There are four boys in his third uncle's family, and the eldest and the second are already old enough. Arranging jobs for them can also reduce the burden on the family. Besides, a good man needs three helpers. It's not convenient for him to do other things without his own people in the factory. After making up his mind, He Yuzhu planned to find time to ask Secretary Zhao about this matter.

After work, He Yuzhu, as usual, left the factory, walked around outside, went to a deserted place, took out some food, and then rode his bicycle back to the courtyard. As soon as He Yuzhu arrived near the courtyard, he saw several gossipy old ladies gathered together to talk about something. When he got closer, He Yuzhu learned from their conversation that Qin Huairu was pregnant.

He Yuzhu muttered to himself, "She's really fertile." Then he said nothing else, pretending he hadn't heard it, and continued walking towards the courtyard.

"Zhu Zi!" He Yuzhu just arrived at the gate of the courtyard and was blocked by Yan Bugui. He Yuzhu asked, "Third Uncle, what's the matter?!"

Yan Bugui stared at the cloth bag in He Yuzhu's basket and said, "Zhuzi, what good stuff did you get this time?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "What good things can there be?! There is nothing but a few potatoes."

Yan Bugui smiled and replied, "Potatoes are good stuff! They are good for everyone." Then he asked, "Zhu Zi, can you spare a few for me, your uncle?"

He Yuzhu replied: "If we give it to you equally, what will we eat?!" After that, He Yuzhu pushed Yan Bugui away and pushed his bicycle towards the central courtyard.