Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 45 Master Enters the Workplace

Even after the first month of the lunar calendar, the weather was still cold. He Yuzhu rode his tricycle to the post office, pulling his fur hat down. He had nothing to do today, so he decided to go and check out his mentor's new workplace.

The post office was located in the east of the city, with a two-story building in the backyard that served as the staff canteen. The large windows were sparkling clean, and the stove was tiled with white ceramic tiles.

This canteen was newly built by the post and telecommunications bureau at great expense. When state-owned enterprises want to provide employee welfare, eating is the most important thing. Having a good cook makes the employees more motivated.

When the bureau leaders heard that Chef Luo from Fengzeyuan wanted to join their unit, they went to invite him twice before finally managing to recruit him. His position is now the canteen manager, with all the benefits being better than what he gets at Fengzeyuan.

Chef Luo also stated that he would train several apprentices as soon as possible to train chefs at the various stations. He wouldn't follow the old ways of the industry, where chefs for large-scale cooking are trained quickly first, and then keep promising talents around to teach them gradually.

He Yuzhu parked his motorcycle and went upstairs to the second floor. Before he even entered, he heard Master Luo's loud voice: "Slice the meat thinly! Marinate it until it's firm! Marinate it until the meat absorbs the water, then it will be tender when stir-fried!"

He pushed open the door and entered, the room filled with the smell of cooking oil mixed with the aroma of fermented bean paste. Master Luo, wearing a white apron, stood in front of the stove, holding a wok in his hand, the twice-cooked pork in the pot turning and tumbling, the slices of meat curling into lamp-shaped nests.

Three people, all in their early thirties, were gathered around the stove. They were wearing white coats from the post office canteen and appeared to be trainees preparing large-pot dishes.

He Yuzhu leaned against the doorframe and watched for a while. The person tending the fire hadn't controlled it properly, and Master Luo slapped him on the back of the head—not hard, but enough to make the man shrink back. "High heat! Twice-cooked pork needs to be stir-fried over high heat! You're simmering it over low heat, that's stewing!"

All three cooks laughed, and the one who was being patted chuckled too. Master Luo put the spatula down in the wok and took off his apron. "You guys practice on your own. The one cutting the meat, if you don't finish, you don't eat."

After saying that, he walked to the side, picked up the large tea mug, and took a few sips.

He Yuzhu called out "Master".

"You must have a lot of free time working as a purchasing agent. You look quite young with your clean-shaven face." Master Luo looked him up and down.

He Yuzhu took out a cigarette and handed it to his master, lighting it with a match. "Of course, I chose this job after careful consideration. I even got scolded by you when I went to pay New Year's visits on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Now you see the benefits of this job, don't you?"

Master Luo took a puff of his cigarette. "I just feel bad for your skills. Working as a purchasing agent, all that skill going to waste, don't you think that's a shame?"

He Yuzhu lit a cigarette as well. "Master, why don't I just find a few apprentices to pass on the skills? Being a purchasing agent is flexible, and I can even think of new dishes in my spare time, so my skills won't go to waste."

Master Luo nodded, took a couple of puffs of his cigarette, and scrutinized him for a while.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Zhu Zi, you're nineteen this year, right? Have you thought about finding a partner?"

He Yuzhu smiled. "Master, you're still worrying about this?"

"If I don't worry, who will?" Master Luo slammed his teacup on the table, raising his voice. "Your father is heartless; he ran away and never came back. As his master, I have to keep an eye on you."

He Yuzhu felt a surge of warmth in his heart and took two deep drags on his cigarette.

In his past life, nobody cared about him. Those beasts in the neighborhood even used all sorts of methods to sabotage his blind dates. He was still a bachelor at thirty, and couldn't sleep at night facing the empty house.

It feels so good to have a master who cares about him in this life.

"Master, I have a goal. It's just that I'm still young, so I'll have to wait a few years."

Master Luo raised an eyebrow. "Whose daughter is she?"

He Yuzhu didn't hide it from him. "Lou Bancheng's daughter is named Lou Xiao'e, and she's fourteen this year."

Master Luo was stunned for a while, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "You little rascal, you even dare to covet Lou Bancheng's daughter."

He Yuzhu chuckled but didn't reply.

Master Luo withdrew his hand and added, "If it really works, I'll cook you the best meal ever."

He Yuzhu looked at his master, and the old man's wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to be smiling.

The master and apprentice chatted for a while longer. Master Luo said that the cook at the post office had a more relaxed job than at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, with Sundays off, a permanent position, and a stable salary.

After arriving at the bureau, he requested to find three apprentices to learn from him, teaching them step by step. The bureau leaders were selecting candidates, and Zhu Zi was no longer the youngest apprentice.

He Yuzhu said the cooperative was doing well, and Lao Li went to work in the kitchen washing and chopping, having found a widow from the countryside for him. Yushui was also very well-behaved and had good grades.

Master Luo nodded. "Support your sister's education well, don't let her end up like your father."

At noon, He Yuzhu cooked several four-dish meals, including Cantonese, Hunan, and Zhejiang cuisines, and the master and apprentice had a few drinks.

After a few drinks, Master Luo lit a bottle of Daqianmen liquor that his apprentice had offered him, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and exhaled a long puff of smoke.

"This is so comfortable! I'm smoking, drinking, and eating dishes prepared by all the master chefs in the department. No chef in all of Beijing is as lucky as me. Haha..."

Master Luo seemed to remember something else. "Those words you just said, do you want me to help you find them, or do you want to keep them yourself?"

He Yuzhu took a drag of his cigarette. "I've got my eye on someone, but she's still young. I'll wait a couple of years. How old am I, anyway?"

"Okay, it's good that you have a plan. But don't spread everything around. First, assess their character. As long as they're not too stupid, it's fine. Everyone says we're hard-working, and anyone who's diligent can learn. There aren't many people who are truly talented. Once you've assessed them, teach them well, treat them like your own son."

He Yuzhu nodded. "I know. Just like you, Master, I remember everything."

"That's right. That's how we at Qinhang are; we can't ruin our own reputation."

He Yuzhu raised his wine glass and clinked it with his master's.

Before leaving, He Yuzhu left his master two notebooks, one a recipe book for Huaiyang cuisine and the other a recipe book for Hunan cuisine. The covers were made of cardboard, and the inside was densely covered with writing.

"Master, please practice according to this recipe. I've adjusted it to suit the stove and heat of the large canteen. Junior brother, you can also teach me. Please help me spread this knowledge; I can't teach it all by myself. You'll be a master of multi-disciplinary cuisine in the future, and you can brag to your old friends about how much you have to offer."

Master Luo took the notebook, flipped through it, and glanced at it; his hands were trembling slightly.

He gently placed the notebook on the table.

"Good lad, your master won't stand on ceremony with you. I want to learn Hunan cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine. Others would beg for it, but I'm getting lucky."

He Yuzhu smiled.

Master Luo picked up his wine glass. "Let me tell you, it's a good thing for a disciple to surpass his master. But I'm not bad either; you were taught by me, Baldy Luo."

He Yuzhu nodded. "That's right, I will always be your apprentice."

After leaving the cafeteria, Master Luo escorted me downstairs and stood at the cafeteria entrance.

He Yuzhu mounted his motorcycle, glanced back, and saw his master still standing there. His white apron was ruffled by the wind, and he still held the two notebooks in his hand.

He twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle sputtered out of the post office compound.

The wind was strong, and it made my eyes sting.

It was only two in the afternoon when He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard. He poured himself a cup of hot tea and walked to the wall. A calendar hung on the wall; it was already March. The supply and marketing cooperative was to be established in July.

In November 1954, the subdistrict office was established. In her previous life, Wang Xia was the director of the subdistrict office, specializing in covering things up. Otherwise, the old deaf man and Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have been able to control the entire courtyard.

This life is different. Wang Xia was disciplined and demoted, and is still working as an ordinary clerk in the Military Control Commission. Even if the old deaf man has connections in the district, the position of director of the subdistrict office is not going to her.

He Yuzhu put down his teacup and lit a cigarette. The smoke slowly dissipated in the lamplight.

When July came, the people in the courtyard learned that the cooperative had become a supply and marketing cooperative, and it's unclear what their reactions were.