Siheyuan: Revenge of the Stupid Pillar

Li Huaide's eyes lit up when he heard this. This guy had a very keen political sense and he immediately realized that if this "Remember the Bitterness and Think of the Sweetness" activity was successful, he would not only receive praise from his superiors, but it would also cause imitations across the country, which would leave a strong mark on his resume.

Li Huaide was delighted and said, "Zhu Zi, your suggestion is brilliant. I will now appoint you to be fully responsible for this event. I will fully support you in terms of manpower, material resources, and financial resources."

"When the time comes, I will invite the higher-ups to visit our steel mill. If the event is successful, I will ask for credit for you."

He Yuzhu pretended to be excited and said, "Thank you, Brother Li!"

Li Huaide suddenly said seriously: "Zhu Zi, don't be in a hurry to thank me. You must make this event a success for me. If you mess it up, not only you, but also I will suffer the consequences."

He Yuzhu said firmly: "Brother Li, don't worry, I will never embarrass you."

Li Huaide nodded with satisfaction, and then changed the subject:

"Zhu Zi, what are the dishes in the 'Bitterness and Sweetness Rice' you mentioned?"

He Yuzhu said calmly: "You can use cornmeal and oats to steam and make steamed cornbread, or you can use vegetable leaves, taro flowers, pumpkin flowers, radish leaves or wild vegetables to cook rice bran..."

Hearing this, Li Huaide frowned and said, "Zhu Zi, the food made with these ingredients should be very unpalatable, right?"

He Yuzhu said confidently: "Brother Li, are you still not confident in my cooking skills?"

“If someone else uses these ingredients to make something, it may be hard to swallow. But if I use the same ingredients to make something, I can’t say it’s very delicious, but it’s definitely edible.”

"Brother Li, if you're worried, I can make it tomorrow and let you try it. If you're satisfied, we'll promote it throughout the factory."

Li Huaide raised his eyebrows and said, "It's only morning now, no need to wait until tomorrow. I'll have someone prepare the ingredients for you now, and you can cook it right away. After I taste it, if I think it tastes okay, I'll promote it to the whole factory tomorrow."

He Yuzhu immediately complimented him: "Brother Li, you are really resolute and decisive. You are so courageous."

Li Huaide smiled and said, "Okay, stop flattering me and get down to business!"

"Brother Li, don't worry. As long as the ingredients are in place, I will make it for you right away."

"Zhu Zi, if you need those ingredients, write them to me now and I will ask the comrades in the purchasing department to go and buy them immediately. We will try to get all the ingredients back before lunch."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything more. He picked up the paper and pen and started writing without saying a word.

A moment later, He Yuzhu handed the written ingredients to Li Huaide.

Li Huaide took the list, glanced at it briefly, then turned and left He Yuzhu's office.

As soon as Li Huaide left, He Yuzhu rushed to the third cafeteria.

Ma Hua, Liu Lan and others were delighted to see He Yuzhu coming.

"Master, why are you here?"

He Yuzhu said coldly: "Can't I come?"

Ma Hua laughed awkwardly: "Master, you know that's not what we meant!"

He Yuzhu shouted, "What do you mean? You didn't tell me about such an important matter as the shortage of food in the cafeteria. Do you still take me, your master, seriously?"

Ma Hua hurriedly apologized: "Master, I'm sorry, I thought you knew about this?"

He Yuzhu said angrily, "I know nothing. Deputy Director Li just found me and I just found out about this. I got a good scolding."

"This this…"

He Yuzhu said impatiently: "Okay, I'm not here to ask for punishment today."

"After lunch, you must clean the kitchen as soon as possible. I will then come to make the 'Bitterness and Sweetness Rice'."

Liu Lan blurted out: "Zhu Zi, what is 'Remembering the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness'?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu repeated to Liu Lan and others what he had said to Li Huaide.

Upon hearing this, Liu Lan praised: "Zhu Zi, you have a really good brain. You can come up with such a brilliant idea."

"But, Zhuzi, are the meals you mentioned really edible?"

He Yuzhu glared and said, "Is it so inedible? When the Red Army crossed the grasslands, they had to save even the grass roots and tree barks. You should be happy to have these to eat!"

"Okay, I've told you what's going on. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

In a blink of an eye, it was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the comrades from the purchasing department bought the ingredients that He Yuzhu needed.

He Yuzhu went straight to the third canteen, called Ma Hua and others to help him, and started to make the "Bitterness and Sweetness Rice".

Because he was making them for Li Huaide to inspect, he only made steamed corn bread and steamed buns, and in small quantities.

Seeing that the steamed buns and steamed bread in the steamer were almost cooked, He Yuzhu said to Qin Shou:

"Qin Shou, go call Director Li and tell him that the 'Remembering the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness' rice is ready."

"Okay!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Shou turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

A moment later, Li Huaide hurried to the third cafeteria.

"Hello, director!"

"Hello!"

After Li Huaide greeted him, he couldn't wait to ask:

"Zhu Zi, is the 'Remembering the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness' meal ready?"

He Yuzhu smiled and nodded, then casually opened the lid of the steamer, and immediately a fragrance wafted out.

Li Huaide couldn't wait to pick up a steamed bun and started eating it. He felt that the taste was quite good, not much worse than the white flour steamed bun.

After eating a steamed bun, Li Huaide picked up a steamed corn bread and started eating it. He felt that the steamed corn bread was not hard and tasted a little delicious.

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Director, how does it taste?"

Li Huaide said with a big smile on his face: "Okay...Okay, Zhuzi, you have helped the factory a lot this time."

"I will report this matter, and you just wait to be praised!"

He Yuzhu said modestly: "I don't care about praise or anything like that, as long as I can feed my fellow workers, that's enough."

Li Huaide praised him generously: "Zhu Zi, your ideological awareness has improved again."

"But merits are merits and faults are faults. Merits should be rewarded and faults should be punished. No one can take away the credit that belongs to you."

"However, now is not the time to reward you. Your main task now is to teach all the cooks in the factory how to make this 'bitter and sweet rice' so that you can promote it throughout the factory tomorrow."

He Yuzhu hesitated and said, "Director, shouldn't you discuss this with Director Yang and the secretary?"

Li Huaide said arrogantly: "No need to discuss it with them. I am the deputy director in charge of the logistics of the entire factory. I can decide this matter alone."

He Yuzhu nodded hurriedly and said, "Director, I will do whatever you arrange."

"However, the purchasing department didn't buy much food. We'll be promoting it throughout the factory tomorrow, so we don't have enough food. Should we postpone it for another day?"

Li Huaide said firmly: "No need, I will arrange for the people in the purchasing department to go out to purchase. Your task is to immediately gather all the cooks in the factory to learn how to make this "bitter and sweet rice"."

"it is good!"

Li Huaide was so urgent that He Yuzhu had no choice but to agree.