Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

It's urgent! If we don't hurry, the movie theater will be fully booked, and his son will be stuck doing odd jobs in the factory for the rest of his life!

Monday morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

After seeing his younger sister He Yushui off, He Yuzhu strode into the steel rolling mill gate.

Today's leadership meeting is the first shot he fired in a full-scale counterattack.

He first went around to the cafeteria and checked everything. Then, without making a sound, he approached Chef Luo and whispered, "Take it easy on the wok-flipping side. Don't openly target Yi Zhonghai and his group."

But meat and vegetables... should be served in generous portions, and all oil and grease should be wiped away.

Upon hearing this, Master Luo immediately understood and grinned, "Understood, Director."

This is even easier than using a ladle—the meat is already firm, so you can just say "supply shortage," and nobody can find fault with it.

He Yuzhu nodded, turned around and went back to his office. He picked up the plan that had been polished many times and walked steadily toward the conference room.

Upon opening the conference room door, one finds that quite a few people have already taken their seats.

Bai Danyu spotted him immediately, stood up to greet him, and smiled, "Good morning, Director He."

With so much information, looks like you're the star of the show today? Why don't you sit here with me, closer to the front?

"No, no, no!" He Yuzhu waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of smiles. "How could I sit in Section Chief Bai's position? Wouldn't that break the rules? This book looks thick, but it's just a few sentences. You can stand at the back."

"I haven't thanked you for yesterday yet," Bai Danyu said softly. "I brought a bag of pre-Qingming Longjing tea; shall I bring it to you later?"

"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony!" He Yuzhu's eyes lit up, then he changed the subject, "But your daughter loves desserts, right? I'll make some osmanthus pastries and jujube cakes for your daughter to try another day."

"Then thank you very much, Director He." Bai Danyu's smile deepened, her eyes gentle and warm like spring water.

At that moment, He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly coughed twice, found a corner stool, plopped down, and pretended to flip through the documents.

Damn, this Section Chief Bai is incredibly charming!

……

A moment later, the meeting officially began.

He Yuzhu stood up, his voice loud and clear, resounding:

"Distinguished leaders and comrades—this is our complete plan for building a greenhouse for the steel rolling mill."

The investment requires only manpower and management, but from now on, even in the dead of winter, we can enjoy fresh, green vegetables!

As soon as He Yuzhu finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

He casually mentioned that the proposal had already received approval from at least four agricultural professors.

There's no need to argue about the professional aspects.

"Speak freely, everyone," Director Yang said, his voice low but carrying a tone of finality. "This matter needs to be decided today. Wang Shushu and I have to rush to the ministry for a meeting about this."

There's a hidden meaning in his words.

Who can't tell? The higher-ups have already taken a bias.

If they really wanted to suppress it, why would they need to make a trip to the ministry? The factory could have shut it down.

The head of the purchasing department was the first to respond: "I support it! To be honest, buying leafy greens in winter is like being robbed of money, it's extremely difficult! If our factory can produce a stable supply of vegetables, the workers can exchange any surplus for supplies—whatever our sister factories need, we'll negotiate, and the benefits will be maximized!"

Bai Danyu from the personnel department added insult to injury: "Manpower is not a problem either. There are more than a dozen positions available, which can be easily accommodated in the logistics canteen without adding any burden."

The outcome was almost entirely one-sided.

The benefits are obvious: vegetables can be self-sufficient, resources can be exchanged, employees benefit, and leaders have political achievements.

The only potential problem is the boundary issue—a steel rolling mill is a heavy industry unit, how could it engage in agriculture? That just doesn't sound right.

It's hard to say whether the Ministry of Agriculture will be upset.

But that's no longer their concern.

Director Yang said he was going to a meeting at the ministry, which was obviously to "coordinate".

After the meeting, Li Huaide called He Yuzhu into his office and whispered, "Zhuzi, there's a reception duty at noon."

Originally, Director Yang and I were supposed to come in person, but we had to go to the ministry, so we had to leave it to Deputy Director Zhou.

This is a logistics note; you just need to coordinate with his secretary.

"Understood, Director Li." He Yuzhu took the slip of paper, a smirk playing on his lips, and tentatively asked, "You mean... we really can secure this greenhouse project?"

Li Huaide squinted and exhaled a puff of smoke, then slowly shook his head: "The Ministry of Industry certainly has no objection, but the key is the Ministry of Agriculture—crossing industries is like crossing mountains, and they may not be willing."

"The approval is highly likely, but the problem is that once it's approved, they'll take over the sheds, and all our hard work will go unappreciated, with the credit all going to them."

His tone betrayed a sense of frustration.

He Yuzhu frowned: "That's really like the meat rotting outside the pot."

Ideally, it should be located in our factory; if it's under the logistics department, that would be even more secure.

"That's right." Li Huaide stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes flickering slightly.

His heart skipped a beat—that sounded nice.

This shows that He Yuzhu is of one mind with him, unlike Director Zhang, who is a fence-sitter and always scheming for his own future.

But then I thought, if the logistics department really took over this job... then they would have a lot of power.

Resource allocation, external exchanges, welfare distribution—which of these doesn't wield real influence? With the pen in his hand, the entire factory's profits are inextricably linked to him.

He glanced at He Yuzhu without showing any emotion, a slight tremor running through his heart: This kid is not simple.

Luckily, I reminded you earlier.

I need to have a serious talk with my father-in-law when I get home tonight.

As for what happened next? He Yuzhu doesn't need to get involved anymore.

The plan was written in such detail that it was practically a template—any factory with enough scale and available land could copy it and get started.

This kind of thing can be reported to the Ministry of Industry once, it's not his place as a logistics director to give a response.

We just need to wait for the news to be released.

Around noon, Deputy Factory Director Zhou's secretary came to the kitchen and told He Yuzhu to prepare a special meal.

Six dishes and one soup – standard hospitality.

What might be a challenge for others is nothing more than an hour for him.

With precise control of heat, strong seasoning, and meticulous plating, even a simple stir-fried shredded potato dish can exude a sweet and lingering aroma.

This time, the team of engineers sent by the ministry is temporarily stationed at the factory to guide the machinery upgrade.

These people are extremely valuable—the truly top-tier engineers in the entire country can be counted on one hand.

A hundred thousand people may seem like a lot, but after removing the exaggeration, less than half of them are actually capable of carrying heavy loads.

Before, you couldn't even find the door to a steel rolling mill.

After the expansion, they barely managed to set up a technical department with forty positions, and it's still unknown how many of them will be assigned to real engineers.

Therefore, retaining employees has become the top priority.

Deputy Factory Director Zhou is eloquent, but words alone are not enough.

The real killer move is He Yuzhu's culinary skills.

Think about it, if you can taste how delicious cabbage and tofu stew is, who would want to leave?

After the meal was prepared, He Yuzhu didn't rush to leave. He stayed in the kitchen and waited for the front of the kitchen to serve the food.

Once the noise subsided, he beckoned over the waiters and asked in a low voice:

"How did the people react?"

"So, besides Chef Zhang and Chef Luo, who else wants to try cooking?"

As soon as He Yuzhu finished speaking, the kitchen fell silent.

The apprentices and laborers looked at each other, their eyes darting around, all itching to step forward, but none of them dared to—afraid of showing their incompetence, and even more afraid of losing face in front of so many people.

"You lot!" He Yuzhu sneered, slamming his hands on the cutting board. "The opportunity was practically handed to you, and you're still cowering? Fine, you won't sign up, huh? Then I'll call on you—each of you cut a serving of shredded potatoes. The two with the best knife skills will cook a big pot of vegetables tonight! The rest of you? Keep practicing!"

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The pressure is gone, the rules are clear, just get to work!

brush brush --

One after another, kitchen knives were placed on the cutting board, and potatoes were peeled, sliced, and shredded, with both fast and slow movements putting together a whole array of actions.

Some people have hands as steady as a bell, cutting silk as fine as a hair; others tremble like a sieve, cutting out pieces that look like small wooden sticks.

After everyone had handed in their work, He Yuzhu glanced at them and directly called on the next person:

"Li Wenchang, Hou Xi, your knife skills are the best."

Tonight's big pot of vegetables is yours. Starting tomorrow, take on more chopping and preparation work, so don't slack off.

Everyone else—go back and practice more! There will be other opportunities in the future, but whether you can seize them depends on your skills!

"Understood, Director He!" everyone responded in unison.

No one disagreed.

After all, if your knife skills aren't up to par, you'll just make a fool of yourself.

Although Li Wenchang and Hou Xi barely passed the test, they were well aware that this was just the beginning.

Even with the new recipes from He Yuzhu, one still needs to hone their skills day after day in order to truly stand firm in the assessment.

Immediately afterwards, He Yuzhu called Master Zhang and Master Luo aside, his tone becoming somewhat somber:

"Two experienced masters, I'll have to keep a close eye on these young people and mentor them."

The new cafeteria is about to be built, and you two will definitely be the head chefs.

But here's the problem—the factory's workforce has tripled, but the number of cooks hasn't increased much, and the sheer volume of potted food is enough to exhaust everyone.

He paused, his gaze sharp: "Even if Li Wenchang and Hou Xi pass the test, you will only each be given one helper."

With three stoves in one canteen, how can two people work in shifts? Thousands of people eat every day; once mealtimes start, there's barely enough time to catch their breath.

Master Luo frowned, and Master Zhang clicked his tongue – they really hadn't thought about this in detail.

I used to think about keeping some skills to myself and keeping them as a secret, but now I realize that if I really become a master chef in the future, and no one can replace me, then it won't be a blessing, it will be a death sentence!

"Director He, I understand." Master Luo nodded. "I will definitely keep an eye on their training and make sure I don't end up as a lone commander."

"Me too," Master Zhang chimed in. "I only dare to go into battle with help. Otherwise, if I'm swinging a shovel every day, I'll end up in the hospital sooner or later."

The two readily agreed.

Even if each person receives an extra two yuan in "master chef subsidies," without someone lending a hand, that amount is simply not enough to save lives.

"Then I'll leave it to you two." He Yuzhu smiled. "I won't be able to be at the cafeteria every day lately. I'll have to leave after I finish the hygiene inspection. I'll be relying on you two to take charge from here on out."

After saying that, he turned and left, his back view crisp and clean.

……

Since reaching the maximum level in agricultural skills, He Yuzhu returned all the agricultural books to the library and started borrowing medical materials.

Modern medical books are hard to find, especially in this era, but he discovered that the library had many ancient Chinese medicine books—the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, Compendium of Materia Medica... all of them were good things.