The comeback begins in a courtyard house

"Brother! Have you ever thought about changing careers? With your cooking skills, if you switched to being a chef, you could definitely be rated as a top-level chef. Although the highest chef level in our steel rolling mill is level six, I can apply for other subsidies for you. When it comes to logistics, your word is your bond."

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Li Huaide was quite pleased with himself. Holding a wine glass in one hand and grabbing Wei Yifeng's arm with the other, he said something sincere.

Li Huaide's words were absolutely true. He really had the final say in logistics, especially since Wei Yifeng was an excellent cook. If he were to manage the kitchen, it would be a great honor for the logistics director when he invited leaders or colleagues from other units to dinner. Without comparison, the current kitchen chef's food was acceptable, but compared to Wei Yifeng's, it was simply inedible. No wonder his brother-in-law insisted that his father-in-law find him and have him cook a meal at their home.

At this time, Sha Zhu had only been at the steel rolling mill for a few years, and his cooking skills had not yet been appreciated by the leaders. He had no say in the matter of the private kitchens.

After hearing Li Huaide's suggestion, Wei Yifeng was not tempted at all. At best, being a cook here would only get him the position of canteen supervisor or canteen director, and that would be with the appreciation of the logistics leaders. Without the leaders' support, he would end up like Sha Zhu, who worked in the canteen for so many years and ended up with nothing.

"Brother Li, please don't ruin me. My master said I have a great talent for fitter work, the most talented person he has ever seen. As long as I am willing to calm down and study hard, I can become an eighth-level fitter in a few years, or even develop to a higher level. Now you want me to become a cook, isn't that burying my talent? I'm not saying that being a cook is bad, it's all about contributing to the country's development. I just simply like fitter work."

Wei Yifeng directly rejected Li Huaide's suggestion, but then he thought that he would have to deal with Li Huaide frequently for the next ten or twenty years. In addition, as long as he could get in touch with this person, Sha Zhu's position in the cafeteria would be in danger. In the original drama, wasn't he arrogant and domineering in the kitchen because of his cooking skills? He didn't care about the cafeteria director or even Li Huaide. It was only because Li Huaide had no choice but to tolerate him again and again.

Thinking of this, Wei Yifeng added another sentence before Li Huaide could speak.

"Brother Li! Don't worry, let me finish. Although I can't work in the cafeteria, given our relationship, if you need me to cook a meal for you, it's no big deal."

"Yes, brother, what you said reminded me. You really can't work in the cafeteria. After all, with your talent in fitter work, it would be a loss to the country to let you work in the cafeteria. But you have to keep your word. If I need you to entertain or host a banquet, you can't refuse. Don't worry, I definitely won't let you work for nothing."

Wei Yifeng's words suddenly enlightened Li Huaide. If Wei Yifeng were transferred to work in the canteen, wouldn't that mean that Director Yang could also have him prepare meals for the company's guests? In that case, Li Huaide would lose his inherent advantage.

Since we're going to cut off Sha Zhu's reliance on others, let's cut it off completely. No matter how good his cooking skills are, he'll only be able to work as a head chef. If he thinks he can support Jia Dongxu's family with a small kitchen, he can forget about it.

"Brother Li! There's something else I'm not sure if I should say. Logistics is your responsibility, so it would seem like I'm meddling if I said this, but I feel bad for not saying it, Brother Li, because of your trust in me."

A troubled look flashed across Wei Yifeng's face. He picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in one gulp.

"Brother, you're being too formal with our relationship. Just say what you want to say. If any of your relatives or friends want to work in our logistics department, even if there aren't many openings, I can still help you find one."

Seeing the troubled look on Wei Yifeng's face, Li Huaide thought he wanted to arrange for someone to work at the steel rolling mill, so he waved his hand and said something very arrogant.

Although job openings are not as sought after as they were in the 1960s and 70s, jobs in steel rolling mills are still extremely competitive. The fact that Li Huaide was able to offer two openings can be seen as a sign of his trust in and investment in Wei Yifeng.

"Brother Li, you know my situation. I'm an only child and don't have many relatives or friends. But this matter is actually related to work. Recently, I've seen the public-private partnership movement going on like a hot topic, and many small restaurants have been included in the scope of the public-private partnership. My idea is this: Brother Li, why don't you take this opportunity to find a small restaurant owner and have him work as a cook in the canteen? To be frank, the food cooked by our canteen cook is really just so-so."

Li Huaide, who had been listening intently to Wei Yifeng, shook his head with a wry smile after hearing Wei Yifeng's suggestion.

"Brother, you may not know this, but we've already done this before. The best chefs are all in the big restaurants, not in our steel mill. As for the chefs who run their own restaurants, those with even a little skill won't work in a factory like the steel mill. They can easily earn more than the meager wages at the steel mill."

A helpless, bitter smile flashed across Li Huaide's face as he picked up the wine bottle and poured Wei Yifeng a glass of wine.

"Brother Li! Things are different now. After the public-private partnership, although those people still have the title of private sector manager, their lives are definitely not as good as before. Just look at our Chairman Lou, isn't he like that? So if you invite them now, I think they will be very happy. Brother Li, the last time I went to that small restaurant, the owner's cooking skills were very good. If you are interested, you can ask your brother-in-law to introduce you. His skills are definitely much better than the current chef."

Wei Yifeng was not discouraged and explained his thoughts in detail. After he finished speaking, Li Huaide's eyes immediately lit up. He had been so focused on vying for power with Director Yang that he had overlooked these issues. According to Wei Yifeng's analysis, finding a good chef now would have a very high success rate.

"Brother! I won't bother with unnecessary formalities. From now on, you're my brother. As long as I, Li Huaide, am at the steel mill, I won't let you suffer any injustice. I'll go find my brother-in-law later and ask him to introduce me to that Boss Han. Brother, this drink is for you!"

Li Huaide was in a much better mood than before, and he picked up his wine glass one after another, filling the small room with his happy laughter.

Anyway, the idea has already been given to him. I believe that with Li Huaide's resourcefulness, finding a good chef to block Sha Zhu's path to promotion will definitely not be a problem. Even if Chef Han doesn't come, there are still Chef Liu and Chef Zhang. Given the current situation, someone will definitely agree to Li Huaide's request. Sha Zhu, you don't need to thank me. This is what I should do.

Sha Zhu, who was standing at the canteen window getting his food, had no idea that while he was eating, the identity of the person he would later be proud of as a "specially trained chef" had already fallen to someone else. He just didn't know if Qin Huairu would still try to sabotage Sha Zhu's blind date after the special chef's leftovers were gone.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Wei Yifeng got up and left the small restaurant. After he left, Li Huaide, who was already tipsy, suddenly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"This kid is really talented. We must do everything we can to bring him to our side. We absolutely cannot let him side with Director Yang."

Li Huaide muttered something to himself, then stood up and quickly walked outside. He wanted to tell his father-in-law that he had already contacted Wei Yifeng, and also wanted to see how the chef Wei Yifeng recommended, Chef He Han, was doing.