Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

But this scene made the older woman feel uncomfortable, as if she had been pricked by a needle.

She had been busy at the stove for ages, her sweat dripping into the pot, and all she got was a mere glance from the other person? She rolled her eyes inwardly, but dared not utter a word.

-

On the other side, Yan Bugui was leaning back in his recliner listening to the radio, the old tunes playing softly and indistinctly. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a neat row of books stacked on He Yuzhu's cabinet, and he was immediately stunned: "Oh my, Zhuzi, when did your place become a little library?"

He Yuzhu didn't even look up, and said with a smile, "Since I'm just killing time anyway, I might as well read some books."

"That kid Yushui needs to study hard. How can I, as his older brother, be completely clueless about what he's doing?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui immediately gave a thumbs up: "Great! That hits the nail on the head! It's never too late to learn! You graduated from junior high school, so you have a foundation. As long as you don't mess around, you won't go far!"

His gaze swept across the bookshelf: "Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine," "Agronomy Handbook," and a few comic books tucked in the middle as decoration.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that those comic books are just for show; the ones that are actually worn out from being read so many times are all solid, hard-to-read books.

The radio was still playing, and the neighbors sat around chatting, but He Yuzhu sat in the corner with a book in his hand, reading it carefully page by page.

At first, some people scoffed, thinking, "Isn't this just another act?" But an hour or two passed, and he didn't move an inch, not even lifting his eyelids.

Weird.

A cook who doesn't study how to stir-fry and toss the wok, but instead pors over books? Even Yan Bugui couldn't help but take a second look.

He can read, that's true, but judging from his focused expression, he's clearly not reading lighthearted books like "The Generals of the Yang Family" or "The Story of Yue Fei".

It wasn't until late at night that He Yuzhu closed the book and turned off the radio.

Yan Bugui walked out wearing his coat, shaking his head and muttering, "This pillar... it's really changed."

He used to be so carefree and irresponsible, but after He Daqing left, he seemed like a completely different person.

-

If you're going to get something done, you have to strike while the iron is hot.

Li Huaide acted swiftly. After a trip to Fengzeyuan, the person in charge there immediately made a decision: "We would love to keep Master He with his skills, but since you've asked, we can't refuse."

With the relationship established, the next step was for the steel mill to give its approval.

As long as the factory is willing to accept the personnel file and the position is finalized, the person can be transferred over.

This matter can be difficult or easy—it all depends on whether someone gives it a push.

He Yuzhu's skills had already proven their worth to the factory's senior management.

Not to mention that this time they're doing it under the guise of "improving workers' meals and boosting production morale," which is perfectly legitimate. Who's going to stop them?

On the day the factory leadership team held a meeting, they first gave a report on orders, deadlines, and targets. Only after the agenda was almost finished did Li Huaide slowly take out an application form and hand it to everyone for review.

Factory Director Yang took the document and glanced at it. The moment the name appeared, his brow twitched slightly—He Yuzhu? Wasn't this the person they wanted to poach? But the file said "Level Two Cook," and didn't Yi Zhonghai say he had just been promoted, at most Level Nine? This discrepancy was quite large…

After the book had been circulated around, Li Huaide finally spoke: "Everyone has seen it."

This Comrade He Yuzhu is the head chef who was in charge of entertaining us when we received a big order last time.

It's quite a coincidence, really. His father, He Daqing, was a long-time employee of our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

He paused, then his tone turned serious: "The position of deputy director of the canteen is currently vacant. I would like to propose that Comrade He Yuzhu be transferred to the Third Steel Rolling Mill to take up this position, in charge of kitchen management and chef training."

The goal is singular—to ensure the workers eat better and are more motivated!

After he finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

Li Huaide continued, "Don't let his young age fool you, his skills are top-notch."

They are skilled in all eight major cuisines, and guests from all over the country are satisfied with their meals.

Fengzeyuan speaks highly of him; if it weren't for my personal relationship with him, we wouldn't have been able to invite him at all.

Upon hearing this, the leaders all understood: this was Director Li's man, and someone with real skills.

Wang Shushu was the first to nod: "That's a good suggestion."

Workers need to eat well to be energetic.

What does national development rely on? Steel, and people.

Steel must be refined to be of high quality, and people must be raised to be strong.

Like a fitter's knife, in the hands of a master, it can produce exquisite work, while in the hands of a novice, it can only scrape away waste.

Deputy Factory Director Zhou chimed in, "I agree as well."

Hiring a good chef can both take care of the employees' lives and make the reception more impressive.

This approach balances internal and external considerations, achieving two goals at once.

The winds of change in the conference room had quietly settled.

With two heavyweight factory leaders giving their approval, what could anyone else say? Especially since logistics was Li Huaide's territory, who would dare to utter a word? Naturally, there was silence, and everyone went along with it.

But Director Yang frowned slightly.

He and Li Huaide had never gotten along; things appeared calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.

Although there was no open flame at the moment, he knew very well that Li Huaide had a huge appetite, and a mere logistics director could not satisfy his ambition.

What annoyed him even more was that he had originally planned to bring He Yuzhu into his camp so that he could easily arrange factory entertainment and banquets, but it turned out that the kid had already made contact with Li Huaide.

"I have no objection to bringing in more people," Director Yang said slowly, his tone seemingly calm but actually barbed. "But isn't this 'Deputy Director of the Canteen' position a bit too high? Jumping directly from a regular service worker to a management position is like climbing to the top in one step."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Huaide immediately chimed in, "Not high! Not high at all!"

His voice was crisp and clear, and his eyes were resolute: "Don't forget, He Yuzhu is a genuine Level 2 cook at Fengzeyuan! His skills speak for themselves, it's not just talk."

Moreover, after he arrived, he was able to mentor apprentices and train kitchen staff, which is like planting a seed for our factory.

Giving him the title of deputy director is paving the way for his future!

Wang Shushu nodded slightly after listening: "Huai De's consideration is thorough."

You can't hire a chef of this caliber from anywhere else.

Master He is indeed a talented individual; he shouldn't be ranked according to seniority.

Even Wang Shushu had spoken, so everyone else shut up.

Seeing that the situation was settled, Director Yang knew that continuing to argue would only make him seem petty and arouse suspicion.

He had no choice but to suppress his resentment and said in a deep voice, "Alright, since everyone agrees, it's settled then."

Once the steel rolling mill is finalized, all that's left is to go through the procedures and complete the acceptance formalities.

Someone from Fengzeyuan will notify He Yuzhu; he just needs to wait for the handover to begin.

After the meeting, Director Yang did not rush to leave. Instead, he called Yi Zhonghai over and blocked him at the office door with a gloomy expression.

"Master Yi," his tone turned colder, "you didn't mention last time that He Yuzhu was a level two cook, did you? I asked you to do something, and if you couldn't do it, you should at least have given me some feedback, right? Why haven't you made a single move since?"

Yi Zhonghai shuddered instantly, and sweat almost broke out on his forehead.

"Factory manager, this... I only found out when I got home!" He quickly waved his hand to explain, "You know Sha Zhu's temper. As soon as I mentioned it, he exploded, saying I was delusional and giving me a thorough dressing-down! I was just planning to go and try to persuade him again in the next couple of days..."

In his heart, he had already cursed He Yuzhu and his ancestors for eighteen generations: You short-lived bastard, you made me take the blame!

Factory Director Yang sneered, "No need to persuade him anymore, he'll be coming to work soon."

"Huh?" Yi Zhonghai looked bewildered. "You personally persuaded him? He agreed to be the chef?"

"A cook?" Factory Director Yang scoffed. "They've brought in the deputy director of the canteen! Director Li personally applied to bring him in, and the leadership team unanimously approved it!"

After saying that, he regretted it a little, feeling that he had wasted his breath arguing with a worker.

He waved his hand dismissively, his tone irritated: "Alright, go back to work, that's all."

……

[Proficiency System]

[Host: He Yuzhu]

【技能：厨艺（二级：349562/1600000）、家务（五级：800/800）、俄语（五级：800/800）、英语（五级：800/800）、钓鱼（四级：714/800）、形意拳（五级：800/800）、木工（二级：137/200）、医术（二级：167/200）、农学（二级：112/200）】

System space: 5 cubic meter

He Yuzhu stared at the skill panel in his mind, lost in thought.

He gradually figured it out—the more advanced and complex the skill, the slower the leveling up.

Skills like housework, languages, and martial arts, which have already reached their peak, are stuck at the maximum level.

As for cooking, a skill that requires a high level of expertise, even if you practice every day, the progress bar will climb more steadily than a snail.

In comparison, although carpentry is only at level two, its improvement speed is significantly faster.

After all, compared to cooking, making a stool or repairing a cabinet is a relatively simple task.

Going from level one to level two is relatively easy, but the real challenge is going from level four to level five, which is like climbing mountains and crossing valleys.

"Put your medical skills aside for now," he silently decided. "Clicking on it now is a waste of time; I'd better focus on improving my cooking skills first."

Now he reads books in the yard without hiding it.

Since Yan Bugui caught him engrossed in a book last time, he's stopped pretending.

He didn't like studying before, and he dropped out of junior high school partly because he couldn't understand what the teacher was saying.

But it's different now.

First, there is a legitimate reason—to supervise the rainwater's learning; second, since one is idle anyway, learning something is better than squatting by the wall basking in the sun.

Besides, he also had a little secret wish: to marry a cultured woman in this lifetime.

This was a wish he couldn't fulfill in his previous life.

Yan Bugui laughed after hearing this: "Oh, Sha Zhu's finally figured it out? Want me to introduce you to a tutor?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "No rush, I'm not old enough yet. Even if we date, we can't get married. We'll have to wait two years."

But as soon as these words got out, the courtyard was in an uproar.

That glib-tongued "Silly Zhu" who always grabs food from his bowl has actually started studying books?

Many people exclaimed that the sun had risen in the west.

But what they didn't know was that the real storm was yet to come.

He Yuzhu's invitation to Yan Fugui for the meal was worthwhile; Yan Fugui spoke up for him in front of several key figures in the factory.

Although some people were still whispering behind his back, saying that Sha Zhu was only pretending to read, how long could he keep it up? He'd be exposed sooner or later.