Chapter 378: Gourmet System of the Eighties (16)

That said, this was all just Liu Shen's speculation.

It is said that when the Women's Director went to Xue Lihua's home to conduct ideological work, she avoided her and refused to see her.

Therefore, whether she will come to pick up the children remains an unknown.

Xie Yang rarely dwells on things that haven't happened yet.

When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go straight.

At worst, she could sell her job at the Canteen, rent a small storefront near Xue Lihua's home, and sell some savory crepes or tea eggs; that wouldn't be bad either.

The recipe for the savory crepes was actually provided by Shuisheng.

It was an extra reward from the Gourmet System after he completed his first Task.

However, he is illiterate and didn't know what was written on it, so he asked Xie Yang if it was useful; if not, he would take it to the outhouse's toilet paper basket to save for wiping his butt later.

Xie Yang took it and saw, to her surprise, that it was the recipe for savory crepes.

Replicating the savory crepes wasn't difficult; what was difficult was the soul-sauce for spreading on the crepes.

This paper happened to have the complete recipe for the sauce.

Isn't this just like having a pillow appear when you're sleepy?

Even if the two children were taken away to live with their biological mother, opening a small shop near their home and meeting up with the brothers every day to feed them a bit, just to confirm they were doing well at their mother's house, wouldn't be a bad plan either.

Xie Yang pondered a few contingency plans and then stopped thinking about the matter.

"Xiao Xie, has Lao Lou not returned to work yet?"

At the start of the new week, just as Xie Yang arrived at her post, she was called into the office by Director Lao.

"Since Lao Lou hasn't returned yet, you will be in charge of ordering the ingredients for next week."

Xie Yang took the ingredient purchase list handed over by Director Lao and discovered that many items on it had been crossed out.

Just as she was about to ask, she heard Director Lao say: "The ones crossed out are beyond the budget."

"..."

Then what was she supposed to order!

All she could choose were some cheap offal, soy products, and vegetables.

She picked a few items, choosing the best among the mediocre.

Just as she came out of Director Lao's office, she heard Xiao Rong say that Master Lou had arrived.

Xiao Rong had likely been scolded, and she complained as soon as she saw Xie Yang:

"I don't know if it's because his son's situation isn't great, but he started venting his anger on us as soon as he arrived, scolding us for wasting seasonings. Isn't that a ridiculous reason?"

Xie Yang: "..."

They had been making quite a few heavy-sauce dishes these past few days, so the seasonings were indeed being used up quickly.

"Didn't you explain it to Master Lou?"

"Xiao Fu has been explaining it to him the whole time, but he won't listen."

"..."

Actually, it wasn't that Master Lou wouldn't listen, but that he couldn't believe it.

He had come to work happily today; his son had finally been moved out of the incubator, which was such a joyous thing, and he could finally work with peace of mind.

But as soon as he entered the factory gate, he was stopped by the old gatekeeper, who showered him with praise.

But listening closely, the man wasn't praising him at all, nor was he congratulating him on his new son, but rather praising the food at Yi Chuangkou, saying it had greatly improved recently.

"Xiao Lou, it's so good that you're back! If you're making that Stir-fried Kidney and Liver for lunch today, could you save a portion for me? My legs aren't good and I can't run fast; I haven't been able to grab any the last few times. I heard from a Workshop Worker that this dish is the most tender, fragrant, and delicious of all the offal dishes, and it really made my mouth water. You're the only master I know at Yi Chuangkou, so I'm counting on you!"

Before he could even figure out the situation, Officer Xiao Wang from the Propaganda Department also ran over and gestured to him:

"Master Lou, back to work? Is there any offal to eat this week? The new master at your Yi Chuangkou is quite something; they can actually make offal taste that good!"

A new master at Yi Chuangkou?

Who?

Which leader did this?

Taking advantage of his leave, they actually stuffed a master into his Yi Chuangkou?

Master Lou stormed into the Da Shitang.

As it turned out, there was no "Master" at all, just a Temporary Worker who had taken over the ladle while he was away.

Hmph!

This made Master Lou furious.

A mere Temporary Worker dared to replace him as the new master of Yi Chuangkou?

But he couldn't scold them openly.

So many people were praising them right to his face.

If he scolded them openly, wouldn't that make him look petty?

So, he took it out on the seasonings.

As for today's meat dish, he would, of course, be the one to take the ladle.

He was the only Master Chef at Yi Chuangkou!

A Temporary Worker was only fit to do the work of a Temporary Worker!

And so, Xie Yang became idle.

Squatting in the back kitchen to wash vegetables and pots, she had nothing else to do.

Aside from the pig intestines being a bit troublesome to wash, all the other ingredients were very easy.

By rights, she had great strength and had inherited the original body's traits—being diligent and efficient—so the work of washing vegetables and pots was finished very quickly.

But they had agreed not to compete, not to roll, and not to engage in internal friction.

For the past week, there was no other way; Master Lou was away, and Xiao Fu and Xiao Rong were not skilled at stir-frying large-batch meat dishes, so she had to step up.

Now that Master Lou has returned, she is happy to be a slacking Temporary Worker.

The ingredients for the noon dishes were washed and handed to the kitchen assistants, and there were no pots or bowls for her to wash for the moment, so she took a small stool and sat outside the back kitchen door, cracking melon seeds.

These melon seeds were Kuihua seeds she bought at the entrance of the alley on the day she moved and stir-fried herself.

The auntie who sold the Kuihua seeds was a villager from a nearby village who, after the household contract responsibility system, had planted sunflowers on the barren mountain land she drew in the lottery.

Because the yield was not high, she had not thought about bringing them out to sell at the time.

This time, because her grandson had reached the age to be sent to school, she brought the dried peanuts harvested last year to the city to sell to raise tuition fees; selling only one item seemed shabby, so she brought the Kuihua seeds along too.

Seeing the melon seeds and peanuts, Xie Yang could not help but think of her retirement life in the previous plane.

After she and Jiang Yinian retired, they built a small villa on a beautiful, sparsely populated island to spend their later years.

After Cheng Zixin and the others heard about it, they all rushed over to grab land next to their house to build their own.

Later, a group of old men and women would stand in meditation and practice Tai Chi facing the blue sea view every morning; after getting enough exercise for the day, they would sit on the fresh-aired terrace, cracking melon seeds, shelling peanuts, playing cards, bragging, and playing mahjong.

In those few years, the melon seed shells spat out by their group of old men and women could definitely be pieced together to form a giant volume of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

Seeing the melon seeds and peanuts now, Xie Yang thought of the people from before.

Although her emotions had been extracted, for her, the previous plane had only ended a week ago, and everything that happened was still vivid in her mind.

On an impulse, Xie Yang bought out all the remaining peanuts and melon seeds on the auntie's stall.

She stir-fried some after returning home, and every day she would stuff a handful into the pockets of the two children and her own clothes, taking them out to crack a few whenever she had a spare moment.

She was cracking melon seeds while stealing a moment of leisure, unaware that a commotion had broken out in the front.

"How is it white-cut pork liver again? What about the Stir-fried Pork Liver with Chili and the Stir-fried Kidney and Liver?"

"I didn't get enough of the duck blood vermicelli soup yesterday, so I specifically watched the time today and sprinted over as soon as I got off work; how is it gone?"

"Xiao Fu, didn't you say there would be dry-pot pork intestine today? Where is it? Don't try to fool me with that nasty stir-fried pork intestine."

"..."

The employees who rushed to Yi Chuangkou found that today's food was clearly not as good as the previous few days; never mind the color, aroma, and taste, they could even smell a gamey odor that made them want to turn around and leave as they got closer.

Master Lou's face turned black.

Although they did not explicitly say that the dishes he stir-fried were unpalatable, these looks of disgust were like arrows shot from all directions, piercing deeply into his heart.