Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

"That's easy to handle. Once my house is built, you can cancel the lease on this place."

Move in with me; it'll just be me and Yushui at home then anyway.

"Master, your kung fu is so high, move over there to help me ward off evil spirits in my house," Sha Zhu said in a serious tone.

"Do you think I'm some kind of guardian spirit, someone who can protect your home? Do you even want to embed your master in the wall?"

Moving there is fine, but the commute to work would be completely different.

Besides, your master isn't that old, and I'm hoping to get married soon. How could I possibly go to my apprentice's house for food and drink?

Hearing his master say this, Sha Zhu knew that his master didn't want to go.

"Master, why don't you learn some cooking skills from me?" Sha Zhu said, looking at his master.

"No, I don't have that hobby. There are some basic skills required in your culinary profession, which I can't learn," Chef Li said, shaking his head.

"What kind of basic skills are you talking about? You're just fooling people. It's not like you're the one being taught them, Master."

Learn knife skills to become a chef in a restaurant, or cook for yourself at home; gain some basic culinary knowledge.

"Look, if I do it two or three times, you can basically copy it and get a similar result."

"Master, don't disbelieve me. Look, I didn't even finish junior high school, so I don't need any academic knowledge."

"He's still proficient in martial arts and cooking, isn't he?" Sha Zhu said confidently.

"How about this, Master? Do you know anyone in the editorial department, or someone who is a reporter or interviewer in the news media?"

"Why are you looking for reporters? Do you want to write a report or have them interview you about your cooking skills?" Chef Li asked Sha Zhu with a question in mind.

"Master, this is what I'm thinking. I'll only be staying with you for about two months."

The house is built, but I can't stay here with you forever. If you want to eat something good, you'll have to go to a restaurant, and it might not even be as good as what I make.

Currently, there are very few cookbooks available in libraries.

I would occasionally come across a book, pick it up, and find that the cooking techniques described inside were so profound that I couldn't understand a word of it.

I stumbled upon a copy of Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Shidan" (隨園食單), bought it, and took a look at it.

If you don't have any basic cooking skills, even a chef would only have a vague understanding of what's inside.

Especially the cooking parts; ordinary people can't understand them at all.

"Why don't we invite a reporter over? We can stay at home; I'll cook three or four dishes every day."

I took a color photo of each dish and then described the preparation method and steps in words.

The reporters and chefs who do this kind of interview can enjoy the delicious food I make every day.

I cooked for two consecutive months, which is equivalent to about 200 dishes.

Master, you can choose a few of your favorite dishes from these 200 dishes and learn how to make them.

We could ask the reporters who did the interview to add a cooking segment to the newspaper.

Of course, if they don't use it, the reporter won't lose out either. They get to eat delicious food for two months for free. Where else can you find such a good deal?

What I want to do is use my connections as a journalist to share the pictures and descriptions of these dishes.

I'll compile everything together, edit it into a book, and print a couple hundred copies so I can use it when I take on apprentices in the future.

Now that the book is finished, the chef will have some theoretical knowledge of cooking and can use the methods in the book to make and enjoy their favorite dishes.

"Your idea is good, but there are too many problems. First of all, taking a color photo is not cheap."

You see, ordinary couples don't even want to take a black and white photo of themselves together when they get married at a photo studio.

Goodness, how much would two hundred color photos cost?

Furthermore, if you print two hundred books, who will pay for that? Not to mention the journalists who conduct the interviews...

Even printing factories wouldn't bother with you. The foreman shook his head repeatedly in disapproval.

"Master, this is all negotiable. First, we can add a cooking column to their newspaper."

Whether they adopt it or not is their business. Secondly, once the book is published and printed...

I will allow their media outlets to sell these products, and I will not take a single penny of the proceeds.

I won't write my name in the book; I'll just use a pen name. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't survive to the next chapter.

Anyone in the culinary world with even a basic level of cooking skills would beat me to death.

"Then what are you trying to achieve by making all your culinary skills public? So everyone can learn them freely?" Chef Li asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, Master, do you believe me or not? I'll teach you how to make braised pork right in front of you."

You can't replicate my taste, except for those master chefs, of course.

I'm just too lazy to teach apprentices. When I do take on apprentices, I'll give each of them a book.

Let them learn on their own; I'll just teach them how to cook in a large pot.

Or I could teach one of my senior disciples, and then have that disciple teach the younger ones.

When the opportunity arises later, I'll take on a hundred or two apprentices and train them to become junior and intermediate chefs.

They were sent to various factories in Beijing, and as for the top chefs, that was up to their own fate.

By that time, all the factories will have my apprentices.

"If my apprentice takes on apprentices, then I'll be the grandmaster?" Sha Zhu fantasized.

"Of course, this is just a preliminary idea of ​​mine. The specific implementation will depend on whether there are opportunities and specific operational steps later."

"Zhu Zi, your ideals are quite lofty, but you need to be down-to-earth."

Why would a factory want your apprentice? Are you still dreaming?

Hurry up and tidy up the table, go to sleep, you can dream about anything.

After scolding Sha Zhu, Master Li left the table.

"Why can't I become the patriarch of the culinary world? I refuse to believe it," Sha Zhu muttered to himself.

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Sha Zhu went to Master Wang's house to collect rainwater and delivered it to the school gate.

Liu Guangtian waited for a while at the school gate. When Liu Guangtian saw Sha Zhu at the school gate, he quickly ran to Sha Zhu's side.

"Brother Zhu, when I came back to the compound after school yesterday afternoon, there was some bad news coming from inside."

They're saying your dad ran off with a widow and abandoned you and your brother; the news's even spread beyond our compound."

Sha Zhu listened to Liu Guangtian's words and thought to himself that it must have been Yi Zhonghai who spread the word; even in the hospital, he was still restless.

He hurriedly asked Liu Guangtian, "Is there any situation in the hospital regarding the matter I asked you to help with?"

"Yes, Jia Zhangshi is the only one in our courtyard who scolded you and your brother. She did it in front of everyone in the courtyard, and the things she said were so awful that I could never do it."

"The other neighbors in the courtyard are mostly gossiping about your family," Liu Guangtian said.

"Okay, I got it. Just keep an eye on Yushui at school so he doesn't get bullied."

As he spoke, Sha Zhu took out a dollar from his pocket, thought for a moment, then put it back and took out a fifty-cent coin instead, handing it to Liu Guangtian.

“Take this money and spend it. If your dad beats you again, he won’t let you eat breakfast.”

You secretly buy a steamed bun or a mantou to eat.

Don't starve yourself. If you run out of money, come back to me. I can't give you too much.

If I give you too much money, it would be bad if your parents found out or confiscated it. Anyway, I come to pick up and drop off Yushui every day.

And one more thing. Don't let your other friends know. This money is only for you.

Brother Zhu can still afford it, but if there's one more person, even I, Brother Zhu, will have to eat dirt.

When you finish eating the steamed buns, remember to rinse your mouth clean.

"Don't let the other kids or your parents know, understand?" Sha Zhu instructed.