Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" Li Huaide, who was drinking tea, heard the knock on the door and shouted, "Come in!"

Li Huaian pushed open the door and walked into the office, saying, "Director, I asked He Yuzhu. He couldn't get any meat. But he promised to use dried tofu and meat as a side dish for the workers at noon."

Li Huaide had long guessed that Li Huaian would definitely return empty-handed this time. Others did not know He Yuzhu, but Li Huaide knew him very well. He Yuzhu usually looked like a good guy, smiling at everyone he saw. But if you really wanted him to do something, he would not help you even if he was the factory director unless you had a good relationship with him. No one else could do the meat-getting, so he had to do it himself.

With a plan in mind, Li Huaide said, "I know about this. You go back first! Tell He Yuzhu that the dried tofu for lunch must be ready!"

"Got it!" After saying that, Li Huaian left Li Huaide's office.

After Li Huaian left, Li Huaide lit a cigarette, and while smoking, he was thinking about how to completely pull He Yuzhu to his boat. Although the country has been paying off debts and encountering disasters in the past two years, everyone's life has been maintained at the lowest level. But who can guarantee that such days will continue. After a few years, the living standards will be restored and the supply of materials will be improved. The importance of having a good chef in the factory will be highlighted. Before the disaster, He Yuzhu's cooking skills helped him a lot. It also brought a lot of additional benefits to the factory.

As time went by, the noon bell rang. The workers took their lunch and walked out of the workshop one after another. When they walked to the canteen, a strong fragrance drifted into everyone's nose.

"It smells so good! It smells like meat."

"Are you crazy about meat? The purchasing department hasn't purchased any meat in a long time."

"Don't you want to eat meat?!"

“Isn’t it true that the factory is eating meat today?!”

When the workers were talking about meat, they immediately became excited. They could not help but quicken their pace. As the saying goes, if you are not active in eating, you have a problem with your mind. Soon, long queues formed in front of the food windows of the three canteens.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" Secretary Zhao knocked on the door of Director Yang's office with Director Yang's lunch box in his hand.

Director Yang heard the knock on the door and shouted, "Come in!"

Secretary Zhao pushed the door open and walked into the office. He put the lunch box on the desk and said, "Director, I've got your lunch. I've put it here."

"Leave it there!" Director Yang replied and continued to work on his task.

"Then I'll go out first. Remember to eat." Secretary Zhao left Director Yang's office. About a quarter of an hour later, Director Yang finished his work, opened the lunch box, and saw the dishes inside. His brows immediately frowned, and he muttered, "Isn't there no meat?! Where did the meat come from today?!" After a little hesitation, Director Yang picked up the phone on the desk and said to the other end of the phone, "Secretary Zhao, come to my office."

After a while, Secretary Zhao pushed the door open and walked into the office, asking, "Director, what do you want to talk to me about?!"

Director Yang asked, "Isn't there no meat in the factory?! The slaughterhouse hasn't supplied us with meat for a long time. What happened to the meat at noon today?!"

Secretary Zhao understood what was going on immediately and said with a smile, "Director, Master He's vegetarian dishes are also excellent. The meat for lunch today was made with the dried tofu that he dried in the kitchen some time ago."

"I almost forgot this kid has this skill." Director Yang muttered, and couldn't help laughing, saying, "You go and get busy!"

"Yes!" Secretary Zhao smiled and left the factory director's office. Factory Director Yang picked up a piece of "braised pork" with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He chewed it twice, nodded unconsciously, and muttered to himself: "Not bad, it really has that meaty taste. If it is real meat, it would be even better."

At 1 pm, lunch in the cafeteria was over. He Yuzhu found a place to rest for a while. Unexpectedly, Li Huaide appeared in front of him. He Yuzhu saw Li Huaide and asked with a smile: "Director, you are looking for me?!"

Li Huaide said: "You are a great man in our factory. Brother, I am in big trouble and I have no choice but to come to you."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, then said, "Director, I'm just a small cook, how can I be considered a great man?!"

"You are good at everything, but you like to hide things." After a slight pause, Li Huaide looked around and saw that there was no one else. He said straight to the point: "I won't beat around the bush with you. I will give you two job quotas. You help me get two thousand kilograms of meat."

He Yuzhu said, "Director, what's going on now? Meat is not easy to get."

Li Huaide sighed and said, "It's because it's hard to do, so I came to you."

He Yuzhu pondered for two or three minutes and said, "Director, you have given me face, so I have to cover it. So, this afternoon, after get off work, I will try to find some connections. I will give you an answer tomorrow."

"Okay! I'll wait for your good news in the office tomorrow." After saying that, Li Huaide turned and left.

Watching Li Huaide's back gradually going away, He Yuzhu began to think in his heart: "This one-time deal can be done, but it can't be so straightforward. As for the two job quotas, who should be given them?!" Suddenly He Yuzhu thought of Lu Taidong. But Lu Taidong still has a few years to go, so why not ask his wife to help change his date of birth? !

Since he had already made up his mind, He Yuzhu didn't think much about it and started to rest according to his usual habit. At about 2:30 in the afternoon, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle and left the steel mill.

"Grandpa! Playing chess!" As soon as He Yuzhu entered the alley, he saw Lu Shunyi and old man Guan from the next yard playing chess under a tree.

Lu Shunyi looked up at He Yuzhu and said, "You're back so early?! Did everything go smoothly today?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "It went smoothly. Originally, the job was to look after the warehouse. But they gave me face and changed it to a welder. I found him a master. I didn't care about the rest. I guess he has returned to the village with his third uncle to handle other procedures."

Just as He Yuzhu expected, Lv Guoliang and Cui Tianming returned to the village. At the entrance of the village, Lv Guoliang and Cui Tianming separated. Cui Tianming returned home and saw his mother busy in the yard. He smiled and asked, "Mom, where is my dad?!"

Wang Huilan replied: "Your father is waiting for you in the house!" Then she asked: "Is everything done?!"

Cui Tianming replied, "It's done!" After that, Cui Tianming looked around and said, "Mom, today I am grateful to He Yuzhu from my uncle's family. Without his guidance, it would not be so smooth even if I got this job today. And because of his face, people replaced the warehouse job with a welder. That's a skilled worker! The salary is high. In addition, he helped me find a good master. No wonder Dongzi said in the past that he owed a lot of favors. I didn't understand it before, but now I know it. Mom, when I make money, I will definitely honor you and dad. I'll go to find dad first."

Wang Huilan looked at her youngest son's back, sighed softly, and muttered: "Among the old man's brothers and sisters, only Juanzi still remembers him as a brother!"