Yang Xuan knew Xu Da Mao must be messing with the camera in the big leader's living room. He just didn't know if he would still badmouth He Yu Zhu.
The big leader's wife complained about He Yu Zhu like in the drama, saying he was a simpleton and worried that he couldn't cook.
Xu Da Mao habitually belittled He Yu Zhu: "How can he cook? He's just the chef of our canteen. He can manage to make big pot dishes. But when it comes to small pot dishes, it's just barely passable."
Then he mentioned He Yu Zhu's nickname.
The big leader heard it and immediately changed his expression. Without saying a word, he walked out with a livid face.
Then he told his wife to get rid of Xu Da Mao and that they wouldn't watch the movie.
Yang Xuan estimated that Xu Da Mao had been kicked out, and he called out to He Yu Zhu: "Sha Zhu, it's time to prepare the dishes."
"No rush. It takes at least two and a half hours to watch a movie. It's not too late to wait a bit longer." He Yu Zhu said calmly.
"It will be too late if we wait any longer. What if the leaders decide not to watch the movie?" Yang Xuan started cutting up the ingredients.
He Yu Zhu also followed suit: "I tell you, there's no need to rush. We can start preparing in half an hour. Just as the movie ends, the leaders can eat hot dishes freshly out of the pan."
Just as they were talking, Secretary Chen came over.
"Why haven't you two started cooking yet?"
"Didn't the leaders say to watch the movie first? If I cook now, the leaders would have to eat cold dishes? We two are really quick at cooking." He Yu Zhu said.
Secretary Chen hurriedly said: "They're not watching the movie anymore, let's eat first. You two start cooking immediately."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" He Yu Zhu said helplessly.
He was a bit annoyed. He had just been picked on by the big leader's wife, and now the leader changed his mind. He felt that the big leader was a bit hard to please. And because of Yang Xuan's incident, he felt that these big leaders didn't keep their word.
Yang Xuan smiled: "Sha Zhu, don't be fussy, let's cook at the same time. This way we can be faster."
He Yu Zhu nodded: "Alright. Anyway, your cooking skills are better than mine now."
The big leader was a foodie, especially when it came to Sichuan cuisine. He was also very familiar with the intricacies of Sichuan cuisine. As soon as he saw the first dish He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan brought out, he guessed what each subsequent dish would be. Because in Sichuan cuisine, the combination of dishes and the order of serving are all very particular.
The big leader's wife had always been skeptical of He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan's cooking skills. After all, they were both relatively young, and both looked unreliable. Plus, after what Xu Da Mao said earlier, she felt that He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan couldn't make authentic Sichuan dishes.
But after tasting the dishes these two had made, she realized that she was wrong. The taste was not much different from the skills of those authentic Sichuan masters.
"How is it? I told you, you can't make a decision too early about whether someone can cook or not. You have to taste it to know." The big leader took the opportunity to criticize his wife.
After the dishes were served, He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan were about to grab a bite in the kitchen, but Secretary Chen came over and called them out.
The big leader's wife was also very straightforward and apologized to He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan.
"I made a mistake of empiricism, thinking that you two young people wouldn't be able to cook very well. I didn't expect your Sichuan cuisine to be so good." The big leader's wife raised her glass to He Yu Zhu and Yang Xuan.
He Yu Zhu, however, said nothing. He either nodded or shook his head.
The big leader was a bit puzzled and asked, "Aren't you a mute?"
"I'm not a mute." He Yu Zhu finally couldn't help but speak.
"Then why don't you talk?" The big leader asked again.
He Yu Zhu said solemnly: "Before leaving, the factory manager instructed me to only cook and not talk. Is that right, Factory Manager?"
Factory Manager Yang quickly said: "The leader is asking you a question, you must answer."
"You said it, I'm just saying it. If I'm wrong, don't blame me." He Yu Zhu was actually just pretending to be dumb.
Yang Xuan didn't say anything, just watched He Yu Zhu perform.
This kind of personality of He Yu Zhu's actually made the big leader admire him very much.
"That young comrade, is he your apprentice?" The big leader had already forgotten Yang Xuan.
He Yu Zhu quickly shook his head: "No, no, how dare I be his master? His cooking skills are better than mine. This Dongpo pork knuckle is his doing, I can't make it that good."
He Yu Zhu pointed out all the dishes made by Yang Xuan.
The big leader nodded: "I felt something a bit different about these dishes. I was puzzled earlier, so it really wasn't made by the same person. The taste is really excellent. How old are you? How are your cooking skills so good?"
He Yu Zhu said, "He said I can't envy his talent."
The big leader laughed: "Indeed, some people do have talent. What's your name?"
Yang Xuan said, "Yang Xuan."
"Last time I went to the轧钢厂, you and Master He cooked the dishes together. You're good at making Hunan cuisine?" The big leader suddenly remembered.
Yang Xuan nodded: "I know a bit of all cuisines."
"He's an all-rounder." He Yu Zhu was a little envious of Yang Xuan's talent.
The big leader suddenly turned to Factory Manager Yang and said: "I remember this child was a fitter apprentice in your factory? I think you promised to grant him a special work grade. How about it? What level did you assign him?"
Factory Manager Yang was a bit embarrassed: "There have been a lot of things happening in the factory recently. I've been busy with technical transformation. I plan to deal with Yang Xuan's work grade after the factory assigns work grades to everyone."
The big leader didn't say anything: "I won't interfere with your factory's arrangements."
The big leader was clearly dissatisfied that Factory Manager Yang didn't take his and the big leader from Hunan's words seriously.
Factory Manager Yang quickly said: "I'll take care of this as soon as I get back."
He hadn't expected the big leader to have such a good memory, remembering the matter of an ordinary worker after so long.
He Yu Zhu gave Yang Xuan a wink.
Yang Xuan didn't make a fuss, his expression didn't change.
Coming out of the big leader's house, Factory Manager Yang said to Yang Xuan: "I'll take care of your work grade as soon as I get back. It's just that there was too much resistance in the factory before. It's not that I didn't want to do it for you."
Yang Xuan said: "I'll obey the factory's arrangements. After all, I'm still young and have little work experience."
Back in the courtyard, He Yu Zhu said to Yang Xuan: "When we were coming back, the big leader's wife told me that we would be needed to help out in the future. The big leader's family originally had their own chef, but he wasn't very good at Sichuan cuisine, and his skills were quite ordinary. He can't compare to us two. She also gave me some industrial coupons. We'll split them in half."
Industrial coupons are indeed rare for ordinary workers, but for high-ranking officials like the big leader, they're very common. They have more coupons than they can use.