Chapter 14

After listening to the radio for a while, He Yuzhu glanced at the old 3‑5 brand clock on the wall; it showed past nine. He turned off the radio, took all the money from his bag—only over thirty yuan left—and instantly felt a headache, having spent more than a month's wages in two days. After a bit of self‑comfort, with the idea 'if you can spend, you can earn,' he sealed the stove and fell asleep with difficulty.

At dawn, with the seven‑o'clock bell ringing, He Yuzhu was full of energy again. He put on his clothes, steamed the buns, then went to the pickle jar, took a piece of preserved vegetable, shredded it, added a little sesame oil, and took his toothbrush to the yard to brush his teeth. Even in this deep winter, Comrade Zhuzi is a tough guy, brushing his teeth without hot water.

After finishing his meal, He Yuzhu kicked his lunch box into his bag, mounted the eleven‑route vehicle reserved for Comrade Zhuzi, and headed to Lou's Steel Rolling Mill without incident. Arriving at the cafeteria, he found Jiang Dahai already there, directing Xiao Zhang and a few other kitchen hands in cleaning. Seeing He Yuzhu arrive, Jiang Dahai warmly greeted him, saying, 'Zhuzi, are all the home matters settled?'

He Yuzhu quickly replied, 'Uncle Jiang, everything's settled— isn't that why I'm here for work today?'

'Fine, since you're here I have to go oversee the third cafeteria; it'll be renovated in a few days, after which I'll work over there. By the way, when the time comes Xiao Li, Xiao Liu and I will go over, plus Master Li, and then you can ask the director for more staff,' Jiang Dahai said, looking at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu thought, 'What a good bunch—I've driven them all away as soon as I arrived,' but he said aloud, 'All right, Uncle Jiang, I'll go report to Director Liu,' and walked toward the cafeteria office.

Arriving at the cafeteria director's office, He Yuzhu knocked; hearing 'come in,' he pushed the door open. Director Liu, seeing it was He Yuzhu, took a sip of water and said, 'Zhuzi, are the home matters settled? If not, I'll give you two more days off to finish them.'

'No need, Director, everything's settled—I can start work today,' He Yuzhu said while picking up the kettle to pour water for Director Liu.

'All right, I'll take you to the second cafeteria. Old Jiang has taken a few people to the third cafeteria; if you find yourself overwhelmed, tell me and I'll assign more staff,' Director Liu said as he headed out, speaking to He Yuzhu.

Following Director Liu behind him, He Yuzhu said, 'Director, we really need more staff. Previously the second cafeteria had one head chef, two assistant chefs, and five kitchen hands; now it's just me and three helpers. At the very least you should assign me an assistant chef.'

'Hmm, assistant chefs are hard to find these days. How about this: I'll first assign you a kitchen hand; pick a sharp one from among them and train him for a while to see if he can pick it up. You'll have to work hard in the meantime,' Director Liu said, then led He Yuzhu to the door of the second cafeteria.

Entering the cafeteria, Jiang Dahai had already taken his people away; only three kitchen hands remained, busy cleaning. Seeing Director Liu approach, the three helpers hurried over to hear his instructions.

'Let me introduce you all: Comrade He Yuzhu will from now on be the head chef of our second cafeteria, and will also act as its squad leader for the time being. Please support his work going forward,' Director Liu said, then led the applause.

'All right, Zhuzi, you all get to work—I'm heading back,' Director Liu said after finishing the introduction of He Yuzhu, then returned to his office.

After Director Liu left, He Yuzhu said to the three men, 'Brothers, you're all older than me; from now on we'll work together and help each other—make sure of that.'

At this point Xiao Zhang spoke: 'He Yuzhu, even if you aren't the head chef, thanks to Master He's connection we can't give you a hard time, right?' Xiao Zhang's real name is Zhang Shaoping; the other two are Tao Yibo and Wang Zhongping.

Tao Yibo and Wang Zhongping echoed agreement. Then He Yuzhu continued, 'Master Jiang has taken a few people away, leaving just the four of us. Since the director can only assign us one kitchen hand, I intend to pick one of you to teach cooking skills so he can pick them up quickly. Over the next few days, while I'm stir‑frying, you can watch from the side and ask me if anything is unclear.'

Upon hearing this, the three men looked at He Yuzhu with excitement. Xiao Zhang asked, 'He Yuzhu, are you serious? Do you really want to teach us?'

In those days, an apprentice had to start by chopping vegetables for three years; without the master's permission, a disciple could not even watch the master cook. Moreover, even after three years of chopping, some masters still wouldn't teach you, as the old saying goes, 'Teach the apprentice and you'll starve the master.'

'It's true—the factory won't give me an assistant chef. I can manage on my own for a day or two, but if it goes on any longer even a god couldn't stand it.'

'So does that mean we three will have to call you Master from now on, He Yuzhu?' Xiao Zhang said excitedly.

'Whatever works, Brother Zhang—we brothers don't need formal titles; just call me Zhuzi.' He Yuzhu didn't insist on this, but since the three are older than him, if they ever stopped listening he'd be at a loss; therefore, out of that relationship they dare not act otherwise.

'No, that won't do. From now on we three will call you Master, and you won't call us brothers; just call us Xiao Zhang, Xiao Wang, Xiao Tao. Otherwise, if we call you Master and you call us brothers, things will get confused.' After saying this, Xiao Zhang turned to Xiao Wang and Xiao Tao and asked, 'You two agree, right?' The two quickly echoed their agreement.

'Fine, then I won't stand on ceremony. Do we have a menu? What's today's dish? Let's get to work.' Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu said nothing more, took the menu, and began assigning tasks.

Yagangchang now has two cafeterias; each serves about five to six hundred people, with three serving windows total. Normally at lunch there are two dishes, but each must be prepared in three portions, and steamed buns are made daily. It has to be said that meals at Yagangchang are still free, though the standard is a bit lacking—for example, today's lunch consisted of steamed buns, stir‑fried cabbage, and stir‑fried shredded potatoes.

Although the dishes are simple, the volume is large; fortunately Xiao Zhang and his two companions know how to steam the buns, otherwise He Yuzhu would have had to spend his first day on the job just standing there.

At lunchtime He Yuzhu didn't need to serve dishes; the three kitchen hands were enough. The first few workers who got their food took a bite and exclaimed, 'Delicious, fragrant!' They then asked the server Xiao Zhang, 'Xiao Zhang, has the head chef been changed? This dish tastes truly authentic.'

'That's right, Master Li. The current head chef is He Yuzhu, the son of the former head chef Master He; these dishes are all cooked by Little Master He,' Xiao Zhang said while serving the workers waiting in line behind him.

Yi Zhonghai, standing behind and waiting for his meal, heard Xiao Zhang's comment, froze for a moment, then suddenly recalled something. He said a word to Jia Dongxu, asking him to bring Yi Zhonghai's meal back, and then hurried off.