Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

After He Yuzhu finished frying the chili oil, its bright red aroma filled the canteen. The two cooks didn't stand on ceremony and each scooped a small spoonful to add to the large pot of vegetables to be stir-fried.

The large pot of stew immediately developed a thin layer of red oil on top, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Especially when a big pot of vegetables is filled with chili oil, the slight spiciness is instantly reduced.

He Yuzhu didn't care. He let them use as much as they wanted, and he would just cook another pot later. As long as the ingredients weren't his, he would cook as much as they wanted, since it all belonged to the public anyway.

At that time, everyone was emphasizing that the factory belonged to the people and the workers were the masters of the factory.

At 11 o'clock, everyone put all the cooked food on the counter. With a little time left before leaving get off work, everyone took out their meal tickets and handed them to the lady collecting them.

In the morning, everyone gets a free meal, and there's no problem. But lunchtime is different. Not only are there steamed buns, but there's also meat and vegetables. If we offer free meals at this time, no one will be happy if it's discovered.

Following the crowd, He Yuzhu also filled a lunchbox with food, ate it with steamed buns, and sat on a small stool to eat.

The taste was pretty good, especially after adding chili oil, which enhanced the flavor of the cabbage.

However, He Yuzhu could still tell that the chili peppers were lacking—not spicy enough, and not fragrant enough. This slight difference made a big difference to him. But looking at the other people eating in the cafeteria, he knew they didn't even notice the difference.

Just then, Director Zhang from the cafeteria walked in and saw everyone eating.

"Oh, everyone's eating," Director Zhang said with a smile.

Upon seeing this, He Yuzhu quickly stood up: "Hello, Director Zhang, what brings you here?"

"I just came to check on things. How are you doing, Xiao He? Are you getting used to it here?" Director Zhang saw He Yuzhu stand up and patted his shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm doing very well here, so please don't worry, Director Zhang."

"That's good. You'll get used to it. I submitted that grading report for you today, but the notification from above hasn't come down yet. However, the leaders are coming to your canteen today and want to eat the canteen's communal dishes. Which pot are you cooking today?" Director Zhang gestured to He Yuzhu, indicating which pot of dishes he was responsible for cooking.

Upon hearing that the leader wanted to eat the dish he had cooked, He Yuzhu immediately picked up a large spoon and scooped a spoonful into the radish stew with meat he had cooked.

He even tried to dig into the meatiest parts, but the meat was only a thin layer, so no matter how much he dug, he couldn't get much.

Director Zhang didn't say much when he saw it; he just smiled and took the meal ticket, handing it to He Yuzhu.

"Xiao He, just wait for my news." After saying that, Director Zhang left the cafeteria.

Upon hearing this, the people in the canteen all congratulated He Yuzhu.

"Congratulations, Chef He! We'll have a Level 6 chef in our cafeteria from now on."

"Master He, could you serve banquets in the future?"

……

"Thank you all for your kind words, but I'm still far from being a Level 6 chef. However, if you need any banquets in the future, please feel free to contact me."

He Yuzhu listened to the compliments from everyone just now, after all, nothing was certain yet, so it shouldn't be taken seriously. However, he clearly heard one of them ask him to prepare the banquet.

He quickly agreed, as this was a legitimate source of income and he couldn't miss it.

He Yuzhu had just finished speaking when the workday bell rang.

The people in the cafeteria stopped crowding around He Yuzhu and immediately went to their own seats.

Some were serving food, some were carrying plates, and some were collecting tickets—it was a flurry of activity.

As for He Yuzhu, he and the other two cooks sat nearby, watching them work. This could be considered a small privilege.

"Pillars! Pillars!"

Hearing someone call his name, He Yuzhu looked at another window and saw Yi Zhonghai standing behind two other people.

"Uncle, you've arrived!" He Yuzhu greeted him with a smile.

Yi Zhonghai laughed and said, "Yes, Zhu Zi. Didn't I hear you work at the third canteen? I came over to try your cooking. Which of these dishes did you cook?"

"This radish stew with meat is what I cooked," He Yuzhu said, pointing to the meat dish.

At this point, it was Yi Zhonghai's turn to join the queue. "Sure, Zhu Zi, you can cook meat dishes on your first day of work? Okay then." He said to the lady serving the food, "Then I'll give you one meat dish and three steamed buns."

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai knew Master He, the woman smiled and said, "Alright, Master Yi, why don't you try Master He's cooking? Master He's skills are absolutely superb."

This older woman didn't care whether he had actually eaten any of He Yuzhu's properly cooked dishes; she just wanted to flatter him first.

In social interactions, a few flattering words can bring her some benefit if good things happen in the future.

Soon after Yi Zhonghai finished getting his food, Liu Haizhong and some neighbors from the courtyard also arrived at the third canteen.

If Yi Zhonghai is the closest to the third canteen, then Liu Haizhong is a bit far from it.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong and his neighbors came over, really out of respect for He Yuzhu, so He Yuzhu offered them cigarettes.

"Hey Shazhu, hurry up and get me some food, I'm starving."

He Yuzhu, who was chatting with them, suddenly heard this sentence.

His expression changed instantly, and he looked in the direction of the voice to find that it was Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu was also unlucky; he failed to meet the targets he was supposed to complete this morning and has been busy ever since.

Moreover, he also wanted to flatter his master, so when his master went to eat at the third canteen, he also came to this side and happened to see He Yuzhu, so he quickly called out to him.

However, this shout made many people in the cafeteria look at He Yuzhu, and He Yuzhu's expression changed instantly.

Damn it, all the neighbors, Uncle Yi, and Liu Haizhong called him Zhuzi. But with that shout, everyone suddenly knew his nickname was Silly Zhu.

"Oh, Jia Dongxu, you're here. Come, come, let me get you some vegetables." After saying that, He Yuzhu walked over to the woman serving vegetables.

That older woman was shrewd; she could tell they were probably having some kind of conflict, so she handed the spoon in her hand to He Yuzhu.

"Shazhu, just give me a vegetarian dish. Plus two steamed buns." Jia Dongxu was still smiling at the window, completely oblivious to the situation.

"No problem, but why doesn't Jia Dongxu order some meat dishes?" He Yuzhu said, but his hands didn't stop moving.

A spoonful of soup is added towards the stem of the vegetable; each spoonful is scooped up and looks very full.

At this point, even the cabbage stalks are valuable and won't be thrown away; they'll be added to the dish. So, while He Yuzhu's spoonful might look substantial, it might not actually be that good.

It didn't taste good, and there wasn't much to eat.