Courtyard Houses: Starting as a Purchasing Agent

Liu Aiguo's culinary skills are as vast as the ocean; even a small fraction of them would be enough for Ma Hua and Liu Lan to enjoy for a lifetime.

He doesn't make his fortune from this stuff.

So there's nothing to hide about the cooking skills and secret recipes.

This one act alone moved MCA and Liu Lan to tears of gratitude.

People are so irritating.

Previously, when He Yuzhu cooked, he would cover the food with his hands, and when weighing ingredients, he would make Liu Lan and Ma Hua stay far away.

Liu Aiguo, despite having such excellent skills, simply taught them to others.

This……

Make a decision.

"Deputy Director Liu... thank you..." Ma Hua looked at Liu Aiguo with a serious and sincere expression, not knowing what to say. He even saluted Liu Aiguo and said, "From now on, if there is anything in our kitchen, just say the word, and I, Ma Hua, will do my best without hesitation!"

That's a very apt statement, isn't it?

Liu Aiguo smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay... Don't worry, as long as you're willing to learn, I'll teach you how to cook, and I guarantee the dishes you make will be even better than He Yuzhu's!"

"If you learn my skills, even after you leave the steel mill, it will be enough for you to benefit for the rest of your lives!"

The two were so grateful they almost knelt down before Liu Aiguo.

Liu Aiguo did this because he was determined to give up.

Ma Hua is a good young man. In the original story, he was very loyal. When He Yuzhu later asked him for money, he withdrew all the money from his bank card and gave it to He Yuzhu without saying a word.

From another perspective, at the very least, this person is someone you can associate with.

Once Ma Hua has learned the skills, he will be able to work independently in the kitchen, which will reduce Liu Aiguo's workload and weaken He Yuzhu's influence.

why not?

"Liu Lan, go get some mixed flour and some Chinese cabbage. Wash the cabbage and chop it up. I'll teach you how to fry meatballs later... Put some meatballs in the dishes tomorrow, I guarantee the staff will want more!"

"okay!"

Ma Hua and Liu Lan hurriedly did it.

I just learned a secret recipe this morning, and now I have another amazing skill this afternoon?

The two were pleasantly surprised.

After leaving, Ma Hua said to Liu Lan, "Sister Liu... I think Deputy Director Liu is much better than my master... He's even willing to teach us his amazing skills..."

"Mmmmmmm..."

Liu Lan said, "From now on, you must work hard and not let Deputy Director Liu down!"

"Okay, don't worry!"

……

Work this afternoon!

In the kitchen, a large bowl of batter was slowly being mixed, and Liu Aiguo watched from the side, directing Liu Lan to add water and cabbage.

After the cabbage was added, the batter gradually became thicker.

With a slight twist of the hand, it becomes a round ball.

"MCA... here's the recipe, make me the seasoning noodles!"

All the spices were ground into powder and then sprinkled into this bowl.

And uniform.

The next step is to burn oil.

Once the oil was hot, Liu Lan started pulling the meatballs. She would pull them out of the bowl with her hands, and they would naturally form round meatballs, which she would then put into the hot oil.

sizzle sizzle...

The hot oil in the dark iron pot was bubbling and rolling, and the meatballs were also bubbling.

After about half a minute, the meatballs were fully cooked and were scooped out with a strainer and placed in a large bamboo basket next to them.

It was steaming hot and had a wonderful aroma.

"This smells so good..." Liu Lan exclaimed in surprise, "Deputy Director Liu, may I try some?"

"can!"

"You can all try it!"

Everyone reached out to eat the meatballs, marveling at their discovery.

"It's so delicious...much better than the fried meatballs I used to make!"

"Deputy Director Liu, why is it that even though it's all the same ingredients, yours tastes so much better?"

"It tastes a bit like meatballs!"

"Absolutely amazing!"

"In the previous dynasty, this would have been unthinkable. If you set up a street stall selling this stuff, you could have made a fortune!"

Everyone praised it.

Liu Aiguo smiled and said, "Stop talking nonsense and get to work... Fry them all before you leave work, we still need to sell them tonight!"

Employees generally no longer eat in the canteen.

So it's impossible to cook in the afternoon, but someone will come over to buy steamed buns!

So every afternoon, the cafeteria steams a lot of buns and puts them out for sale at the window.

Besides steamed buns, Liu Aiguo decided to buy some meatballs today as well.

This thing is easy to make and inexpensive, but it's definitely very lucrative.

Whether eaten directly, stir-fried, or used to make meatball soup at home, it's delicious.

The key is that it can still be put in.

It's okay if we can't finish it today; it won't spoil even after a week.

In the kitchen, several large bamboo baskets of meatballs were quickly fried.

With more than an hour left before the end of the workday, Liu Aiguo called a meeting.

It's right inside the big office.

Suddenly, about twenty people gathered around.

Liu Aiguo took out his Daqianmen cigarettes and strolled around for a bit, then sat down and said calmly, "Today... I've pretty much gotten a feel for the work in our kitchen. I've called everyone over for a meeting because there's something I'd like to say."

"Old Zhao, you..."

"Don't worry about me!" Old Zhao was very much prepared to be a tool. He waved his hand and said, "Liu Aiguo is in charge of things in the kitchen!"

“Okay!” Liu Aiguo readily agreed: “Before I came here, the leaders told me that the rules and atmosphere in our kitchen are not good… I invited everyone here today to set some rules for everyone, hoping that everyone will supervise each other and abide by them together!”

"The first rule... is that you must not embezzle state-owned resources... whether large or small!" Liu Aiguo's gaze swept over the crowd as he said, "These resources include banknotes, steamed buns, eggs, and so on..."

"These are all factory supplies, all national supplies. I don't need to elaborate on the crime of privately appropriating and taking them out of the factory, do I?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Every new leader says the same thing.

At this moment, Liu Lan stepped forward and asked, "Deputy Director Liu, are the leftover dishes from the banquet considered state-owned goods?"

"No!" Liu Aiguo stated definitively: "This stuff, we either eat it or we throw it away. It's impossible for us to keep it for the leaders, so it doesn't count as state-owned property..."

He Yuzhu, standing nearby, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ok!

Otherwise, if I bring food every day from now on, there will be no explanation.

But the next moment, Liu Aiguo said, "Old Zhao, He Yuzhu and I, the three of us are either long-time employees or long-time leaders. To put it bluntly, we are all your superiors, aren't we?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Everyone nodded quickly.

He Yuzhu immediately felt a sense of pride: Tsk tsk... Liu Aiguo's words are pleasing to the ear... I, He Yuzhu, am of course the leader.

Although it's not a dry cloth, I'm a chef.

You kitchen wretches, which one of you dares to disobey me?

Liu Aiguo added, “To demonstrate the leader’s spirit of humility, I’ve decided that the three of us—Zhao, He Yuzhu, and I—won’t participate in dividing the leftovers from the kitchen… You can divide the leftovers, in turn. Ma Hua will arrange the order for me later, so we can take turns bringing the dishes home…”

It's very simple to take turns.

This time I'll take it away, next time you'll take it away. Who takes more and who takes less depends entirely on luck.

He Yuzhu's expression immediately changed.

You should know that all these dishes used to be for He Yuzhu alone.

How are they divided now?

They broke up, fine, but what's going on with not having mine?