Chapter 72: Template

He Yuzhu's seriousness still surprised everyone; the cafeteria job was now highly coveted, so they all sat upright, planning to hear what he had to say.

This meeting, He Yuzhu wasn't there to catch petty thieves; such matters could be handled privately. This time he wanted to introduce some modern management rules so that cafeteria supplies wouldn't disappear for no reason.

In short, it's about a ledger system and having a place for everything, and everything in its place.

"The cafeteria management needs to be changed." He Yuzhu stared at everyone and said, "When I'm not here, listen to Ma Hua; when Ma Hua isn't here, listen to Master Luo."

In the warehouse, all the vegetables were rearranged; each type had its name written on the wall, and all the seasonings were likewise placed in paper boxes with their names written on them.

What vegetables were taken and what seasonings used had to be recorded in a notebook; inventory was to be taken every week to see if anyone was stealing from inside.

Everyone was also quite shocked; this measure really could effectively prevent people from randomly taking things.

"Director He, what... I can't read, what should I do?"

This isn't surprising; in the past, being a cook wasn't a prestigious profession, and many were poor families' children sent to apprentice in the back kitchen.

Although the factory later had literacy classes, some older workers weren't very serious when attending.

"From now on, handling items will be assigned to a dedicated person; we'll pick two from among us young workers." He Yuzhu thought for a moment, "If there really isn't anyone, we'll hire a temporary worker."

Those cafeteria workers also knew this would cause them some loss, but now the cafeteria job had many people watching, so they could only agree.

He Yuzhu also knew this; the cafeteria now wasn't like those later third-rate factories where a monthly salary of over three thousand meant you had to come up with something new every day.

It wasn't just about wiping the tables spotless; there were exams, forms to fill out, and sudden leadership inspections—after a hard week's work, they'd leave after only five minutes.

The cafeteria job was indeed a popular position.

Moreover, after this major adjustment, He Yuzhu wouldn't need to make big changes; these measures would work fine for over a decade.

"Alright, this afternoon everyone will get moving: those who can write will handle the paper boxes, the strong will re-stack the vegetables, and the others will do a big clean‑up in the cafeteria. Except for the existing seasonings and a bit kept for emergency meals, everything else goes into the storeroom."

He Yuzhu didn't need to personally handle everything; he walked around with a cup of tea, and anyone unclear could ask him.

After one afternoon of tidying, the storeroom now looked completely new.

He Yuzhu went in to look; the cabbages were stacked neatly, the potatoes were arranged in clear rows, and small items were placed in paper boxes.

Ma Hua also fetched a scale from logistics.

From now on, following He Yuzhu's instructions, everything must be weighed before it can be taken out.

From the first meal's hiccups to the second meal's gradual improvement, the cafeteria's adaptability exceeded He Yuzhu's expectations; people at this time still accepted new things quickly.

They still hadn't figured out how the seaweed went missing, but today the factory director's guest was coming, so He Yuzhu temporarily set that aside and began preparing the needed dishes.

From the dish "Clouds Supporting the Moon" one could see the guest was quite simple, so He Yuzhu arranged only six dishes and two soups, but the portions were definitely sufficient.

He would certainly make sure the guest ate his fill.

Two cold plates—green‑green white‑white, jade gold hook.

Four hot dishes—Red Luck at the Head, Round and Round, Three Immortals Visit the Cave, Auspicious Crystal.

Two soups—Clouds Supporting the Moon, General Crossing the Bridge.

He Yuzhu had put a lot of thought into this table of dishes; at this time it didn't look overly extravagant, had both fish and meat, and wouldn't embarrass the factory director.

"You have both meat and vegetable dishes, and your skills are excellent—you have a few capable people under you." The guest nodded in praise, "Let's go to the cafeteria to have a look and also get to know this person."

"I'll call him up."

"This habit isn't good; we should still go down and have a look more often."

The two walked and talked, recalling amusing stories from their army days, and soon arrived near the cafeteria. At that moment the cafeteria was quiet, everyone busy moving vegetables into the storeroom.

By the time they walked past, the vegetables had almost been moved; a few young workers left laughing, leaving only some movement in the storeroom.

Upon entering the storeroom, the factory director and his guest felt they had never seen such a neat storeroom; everything inside had visual labels, each recorded clearly.

"This is the cafeteria's storeroom, it's spotless." The guest praised, "I've never seen such a tidy storeroom; you have capable people under you."

The factory director's face turned red; this praise from a superior made him feel a bit embarrassed.

"Ma Hua, why did you make it like this? It's even tidier than our workshop." The factory director saw Ma Hua busy inside and asked.

"Factory Director, this is my master's requirement; from now on, all vegetables leaving the storeroom must be weighed, and we must inspect every week." Ma Hua saw the leader stuttering a bit.

He Yuzhu came out from the innermost part of the storeroom and gave the factory director a detailed explanation of this requirement.

"Good, excellent." The factory director's guest nodded, "This trip wasn't wasted; this set of measures can also be moved to our factory, so the storeroom won't be a mess anymore."

The factory director also pondered whether this set of measures could be promoted in the Steel Rolling Mill; after thinking carefully, he felt it would still be somewhat difficult.

"Master He, right? I didn't expect you to be so good at cooking, and also skilled in management—a real talent. Are you interested in going south with me? It definitely won't be worse than here."

This was poaching someone right to his face; the factory director hurriedly pulled him away, the Steel Rolling Mill being so large, there were still many places he hadn't toured.

He Yuzhu also didn't want to leave; he had put in great effort to carve out a niche here, and going elsewhere would mean starting over.

"Master, you're amazing; I think our storeroom will become a template for everyone to learn from." Ma Hua was somewhat excited.

He Yuzhu secretly shook his head; while this arrangement was indeed nice, surely many people would be too lazy to do it.

The reason is also simple: for example, doing it this way will still end up messy, so what's the point of the effort? Or, although it looks messy, I can grab whatever I need with one hand.

Or perhaps it doesn't look like work at all—just looks nice.