Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Secretary Chen took He Yuzhu and Xu Damao into the small building through the side door, and sent He Yuzhu to the kitchen first. Secretary Chen said, "Master He, please check if there is anything missing. I will come over later and you can tell me."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu responded. After watching Secretary Chen and Xu Damao leave, He Yuzhu walked to the table, took a look at the dishes on the table, and muttered to himself, "It's still the same as before!" Then He Yuzhu put the box at his feet on the table, opened the box, took out a bib and sleeves from it, and after putting them on, He Yuzhu began to clean up the dishes on the table.

Not long after, a middle-aged woman wearing black-framed glasses came in from outside. Seeing He Yuzhu busy at work, she frowned unconsciously: "They say that the older the chef is, the better his skills are. They all say that the chefs in the steel mill are good, how come they are so young?! Xiao Yang is not fooling me and Lao Wang?!"

The middle-aged woman asked, "Young man, where is your master?!"

He Yuzhu was slightly startled, then he looked up at the middle-aged woman and said, "Comrade, I have already graduated. If you want to find my master, you can only go to the train station. My master is now the chef in the canteen at the train station."

The middle-aged woman then asked, "Do you know what to cook today?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "I'll understand after looking at the dishes you prepared and the seasonings you often use in the kitchen." Then He Yuzhu took the picked vegetables to the sink, turned on the faucet and started washing them. The middle-aged woman saw that He Yuzhu ignored her and turned away angrily from the kitchen.

When she reached the kitchen door, the middle-aged woman frowned: "The chef is unreliable, what if the movie projectionist is also unreliable?!" Thinking of this, the middle-aged woman walked towards the projection room at home.

"Hey! Big sister!" As soon as the middle-aged woman entered the projection room, Xu Damao, who was adjusting the projector, immediately took the initiative to greet her. The middle-aged woman smiled and asked, "Can we show the films here?!"

Xu Damao replied: "Of course we can show it. The films you have here are very good internal films."

The middle-aged woman nodded in satisfaction after hearing what Xu Damao said, and then asked, "Is the chef over there from the same factory as you?!"

Xu Damao said, "We are not only from the same factory, but we also live in the same courtyard. Don't be foolish, he is very lucky. His wife gave birth to three children in one pregnancy."

The middle-aged woman asked, "You envy him?!"

Xu Damao was sour grapes because he couldn't eat them. He said, "Who envies him? He is just a big fool. The past few years were difficult, and other people couldn't even have enough food at home. But he was so good! Not only did he support his sister and wife, he also brought his grandparents from the countryside to his home to take care of them. You don't know, his mother died a long time ago, and he has never met his grandparents, but he took the initiative to look for them. Do you think he is stupid or not?!"

"He's not stupid! I think you're stupid!" Just then the big boss came in with his people. Before Xu Damao could speak, the big boss said, "I don't like you. Please leave my house immediately! Right now!"

Xu Damao was embarrassed when he heard the boss' words. He looked at Director Yang, hoping that Director Yang could say a few good words for him. Director Yang said angrily, "Why don't you leave now?!"

Seeing what Director Yang said, Xu Damao didn't dare to say anything more. He took the projection equipment and walked out of the door in disgrace. The middle-aged woman asked, "Old Wang, who will show the movie now that we're gone?!"

The big boss said, "Let's not watch the movie. Let's chat for a while." Then he said to Secretary Chen, "Xiao Chen, notify the kitchen to serve the food in advance."

"Yes!" Secretary Chen responded and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

"Secretary Chen, is there anything wrong?!" He Yuzhu, who was sitting on a chair to rest, saw Secretary Chen coming in from outside and asked with a smile.

Secretary Chen said, "Leader, don't watch the movie. Let's have dinner first."

"I understand!" He Yuzhu responded, picked up the teacup he brought, took a sip of water, walked to the stove and started cooking.

After working for more than an hour, all eight cold dishes were ready, and two hot dishes were also cooked. The senior leader who was chatting in the living room smelled the aroma of the dishes and looked at Secretary Chen standing next to him. Secretary Chen understood and walked out of the living room, came to the kitchen, and asked, "Master He, are the dishes ready?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "The cold dishes are ready, and the hot dishes have already started to be fried. Please take the cold dishes out first and inform the leaders that they can be served."

"Okay!" Secretary Chen responded, carrying a tray to take out the cold dishes, and then took out the two hot dishes that had already been cooked. Then he walked into the living room and said to the leader, "The dishes are already on the table!"

The big boss smiled and agreed, "Since the food is already on the table, let's not just sit here and chat. Let's go to the table and eat while we chat." Then the big boss took the lead, stood up, and walked towards the restaurant.

After the big boss asked the guests to sit down, he glanced at the dishes on the table and said, "Xiao Yang, the one who cooked today is He Yuzhu, right?!"

Director Yang smiled and agreed: "Old leader, you can see this too?!"

The big boss said: "I have eaten He Yuzhu's dishes many times. But why did I hear that He Yuzhu was not here a while ago?!"

Director Yang said, "Old leader, speaking of He Yuzhu, he is also pitiful. His wife works in the public security department. She went on a mission right after giving birth. She was gone for nearly two years. Later, she came back, but she was seriously injured and has been in a coma ever since. He Yuzhu had to take care of his wife and the child, and he also had to work. Our factory took his special situation into consideration and gave him some freedom in time. So he was not in the factory the last time you went there."

At this time, Secretary Chen brought in two more dishes. The big boss said, "Everyone, stop looking! Start eating!"

The boss's wife picked up a piece of chicken and put it in her mouth. She chewed it for a few times and her eyes lit up. The boss smiled and asked, "Isn't his cooking good?!"

The boss's wife said, "I made a subjective mistake. I will apologize to him later."

The senior leader smiled and said, "I guessed that you would make this mistake. Don't look at He Yuzhu's youth, his cooking skills are better than the chef in our department's canteen. We tried to transfer him to the department several times, but he refused. He would rather stay in the steel mill and serve the workers. This comrade is great!"

About half an hour later, Secretary Chen brought the last dessert to the table and said, "Boss, He Yuzhu said that all the dishes for today have been served. Do you want more?!"

The big boss said, "No need! Xiao Chen, you've worked hard today. Go eat soon! You don't have to stay here anymore."

"Yes!" Secretary Chen responded, left the restaurant, walked to the kitchen, and said, "Chef He, the boss said there is no need to add more dishes."

He Yuzhu said, "Secretary Chen, since the leader said there is no need for more dishes, I will go back first. The dishes on the table are specially reserved for you. Take your time to eat! I will leave first!"

Secretary Chen asked hurriedly: "Master He, I'll ask the driver to take you there!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Don't bother! Just send me to the door."

"Okay!" Secretary Chen responded and sent He Yuzhu out of the small building.