Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the kitchen of the third canteen, which had been busy for several hours, finally became idle.

He Yuzhu, who went to the fifth canteen to serve as supervisor, also hurried back.

Just as we sat down on the chair and were about to take a break, the fat man's voice reached everyone's ears again.

"Everyone, please work harder and clean up your workstation as soon as possible... Everyone is responsible for cleaning their workstation. Please hurry up. I heard that the factory leaders will come to our canteen No. 3 for inspection soon."

"Of course, even if no one comes to our third canteen to inspect, keeping the workstations clean is a requirement that we in the kitchen must meet."

"If we can't even guarantee the hygiene and safety of our own workstations, we can't guarantee the safety of the meals we prepare for the workers."

He Yuzhu was very tired.

In the morning, I was cutting vegetables and cooking in a big pot.

Although I didn’t help serve food at noon, it seemed like I could have a good rest, but it was actually not as easy as I thought.

As a kitchen supervisor, he has to patrol all the windows in the kitchen and assist the canteen supervisor in resolving various complaints from workers.

It lasted for two whole hours, without even time to sit down and rest.

Now I have to clean the stove.

Once I finish all my work, it will probably not be long before I get off work.

…………

The gate of the steel rolling mill.

When He Yuzhu saw Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, he dragged his tired body towards them and started complaining.

"Godfather..."

"You must help me this time..."

"Wang Dong is such a ruthless guy. He actually transferred me to the third cafeteria as a chef..."

"The monitor of the third cafeteria is Fatty, who used to be my apprentice. I have always looked down on him."

"Now that I'm the monitor of the third canteen, no matter what I do, they target me..."

"They even didn't spare me, a level nine chef, from cutting vegetables..."

"I haven't cut vegetables in the steel mill kitchen for several years, and this fat guy actually asked me to cut half a basin of shredded potatoes."

"I was also asked to cook an extra big pot of food at noon."

"Tidying up the stove, cooking the big pot of food... No one in the kitchen of the third canteen helped me..."

"It's at least twice as tiring as when I was a chef in a cafeteria."

"You have a good relationship with Director Yang. Can you ask Director Yang to help me get transferred back to the first canteen..."

"If it doesn't work, we can transfer to another cafeteria..."

"Anyway, I can't stay in Fatty's hands any longer!"

Yi Zhonghai now gets a headache whenever he sees He Yuzhu.

After learning the night before that He Yuzhu was removed from the shortlist for kitchen team leader because of the election voting, he didn't understand the specific circumstances. This idiot He Yuzhu didn't even bother to help himself and watched him go and cause trouble for Wang Dong without doing anything.

In the end, not only did he lose face again in front of all the residents in the compound, but he also lost a full three hundred dollars.

After listening to He Yuzhu's complaints, Yi Zhonghai, who had learned a lesson from his mistakes, did not get angry immediately. Instead, he frowned and asked back, "Are the things you just mentioned targeted at you, a level nine chef, or are the chefs in the entire third canteen doing the same thing?"

"If this is targeting you alone, I can help you find Director Yang and transfer you out of the Third Canteen on the grounds that you were targeted in the kitchen."

"If other chefs also do what you did in the Third Canteen, then Godfather can do nothing about it." "You were not elected in this election. You got zero votes in two consecutive elections. Director Yang is very dissatisfied with you."

"If you rashly ask Director Yang for help without a proper reason, not only will you fail to solve the problem, but you will further offend Director Yang and cause his dissatisfaction."

An expression of hesitation immediately flashed across He Yuzhu's face.

Although he didn't say anything in response, based on Yi Zhonghai's understanding of He Yuzhu, he knew that his question must have touched the heart of He Yuzhu.

The serious expression on his face was instantly replaced by disappointment.

He sighed and replied, "Pillar..."

"Didn't Godfather say that you..."

"In the past, you were the only Level 8 chef in the entire steel mill kitchen. The steel mill kitchen also depended on you. You didn't need to do many things in the kitchen yourself, so you felt that the work in the kitchen was very easy."

"These days are different."

"The steel mill kitchen now not only has Wang Dong, a level 7 chef, but also two level 8 chefs and several level 9 chefs."

"Even you were demoted to a level nine chef because of your mistakes."

"You are no longer the unique eighth-level chef. You can no longer let the kitchen helpers do everything like before. That's why you feel so tired."

"To be honest, you just had too good a time in the kitchen before."

"If I want to change all this and make my work easier again, the best way is to upgrade my work grade to level eight and become the kitchen supervisor of the steel mill."

"As for now..."

"If you want to avoid being punished, the best way is to do what others do. Don't complain or be picky. Just do your job well..."

He Yuzhu was dumbfounded.

In the past, whenever he spoke out about the injustice done to him by the kitchen staff, Yi Zhonghai would be the first to stand up and seek justice for him.

Just like the night before last.

Although Yi Zhonghai suffered a great loss in the process of helping him, He Yuzhu was very grateful in his heart. He felt that his godfather stood on his side, supported him and cared about him from the bottom of his heart.

As a result, Yi Zhonghai not only did not stand on his side and help him, but instead scolded him and even scolded him in front of Qin Huairu, not giving him any face at all.

Could it be that Yi Zhonghai is completely disappointed in himself, sees no hope in himself, and doesn't want to support himself anymore in the future?

This desperate thought immediately flashed through He Yuzhu's mind.

The more I thought about it, the deeper my frown became.

You know, at this moment he has already lost the He family's ancestral home.

I owe Yi Zhonghai a total of one or two thousand yuan. If Yi Zhonghai does not intend to acknowledge me as his godson and asks me for the debt, I will not be able to pay it off even if I sell myself. How will I survive in the yard then? What will happen to my sister He Yushui?

Yi Zhonghai saw the flash of despair on He Yuzhu's face, and realized that what he had just said was too harsh, so he immediately explained: "Zhu Zi..."

"It's not that Godfather doesn't want to help you, it's just that during this period of time it's not appropriate for us to have a conflict with Wang Dong, nor is it appropriate for us to go to Director Yang."

"Let's just bear with it for now."

"When you pass the eighth-level chef exam, Director Yang will definitely come to us without us having to do anything."

"Although we lost the election for the kitchen team leader this time, I can see that Director Yang has no one else to use in the kitchen."

"As long as you can show him hope and show him the ability to be the kitchen supervisor again, Director Yang will definitely rely on you again." (End of this chapter)