Chapter 206: Cafeteria Director

"Uncle Li, you're here too."

"Yes, this is your aunt, Zhu Xiaoyue. He is Ping'an, and that is his wife, Wang Xiaoling."

"Hello, Aunt." X2

"Yes, hello. Ping'an, you are truly blessed to have married such a beautiful girl as Xiao Ling."

"Not at all, Aunt. You are the one who is truly beautiful." Wang Xiaoling said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

It must be said, Li Baoguo's wife, Zhu Xiaoyue, indeed still possessed a charming grace; one could tell at a glance that she was a woman of refinement.

"Uncle Li, do you know our Factory Director Li as well?"

Those who came today were basically all relatives and friends of Li Huaide. From the Rolling Mill, there was only him, Factory Director Nie Haiquan, and the Head Chef, He Daqing, who brought three apprentices.

"Old Li and I were comrades-in-arms in the past."

"Ah? What a coincidence."

"I actually didn't expect Old Li to value you so highly. I see that only a few people from your Rolling Mill came."

"Ahem, I am just a soldier under our Factory Director, after all."

"Hehe, I know that Old Li's wife wasn't like this before. And the injury medicine you gave to Aihua at my eldest brother's house..."

"Hehe, nothing can be hidden from Uncle Li." Zhang Ping'an briefly explained the matters between him and Li Huaide.

"So that's how it is. No wonder Old Li has always strongly supported you."

"Xiao Ling, does your family still have that wild honey Ping'an just mentioned?" Zhu Xiaoyue whispered.

Hearing that the effects of the wild honey were so potent, her eyes sparkled. What woman doesn't love beauty? Especially since she was already over forty; she needed to pay even more attention to her maintenance.

"Yes, we have some. My family rarely drinks it, so I didn't even know that honey would have the effects Ping'an mentioned."

"Uncle Li, that wild honey has a side effect if drunk long-term: it increases the secretion of female hormones."

"What does that mean?"

"Uh, well, it just means... anyway, you'll know when the time comes. Next time, I'll give you some good stuff so you have the ability to face it."

"Face what?" Li Baoguo was still a bit confused.

"In any case, it's all good for the body." Zhang Ping'an said vaguely.

He couldn't very well say, "Your wife will drink wild honey long-term, and her desires will be stronger than the average person's, while at your age, your heart is willing but your strength is lacking, so you'll need medicinal wine to help," could he?

"Heh, still being all mysterious."

However, Li Baoguo believed that what Zhang Ping'an called good stuff shouldn't be bad. After all, the Tiger Bone Wine and tea leaves he gave him every year kept him full of energy; it was just that the quantity was too small, not enough to last the year.

Xu Qianshan came over to show his face and then left; after all, everyone felt constrained with him there.

Before leaving, he greeted Zhang Ping'an, which made all of Li Huaide's comrades and colleagues remember this young Deputy Division Level official.

The living area of current apartments isn't large. Li Huaide's home was two units combined, and it was only a little over eighty square meters. The living room felt a bit crowded with two tables of guests.

Li Huaide didn't make anything extravagant; they were all ordinary home-cooked dishes, but since they were made by He Daqing, the taste was naturally incomparable.

"Is that chef also from your Rolling Mill?" Li Baoguo asked.

"Yes, Third-grade Cook He Daqing. He lives in the same courtyard as me."

"No wonder then, this food really has flavor."

"Old Li, you have such a master chef in your factory?"

"Hehe, it was also by a stroke of luck that he ended up in the factory." Li Huaide briefly explained He Daqing's background.

He Daqing was invited into the factory by Lou Bancheng. Later leaders of the Rolling Mill were all aware of this, but everyone naturally respected a skilled craftsman; otherwise, He Daqing wouldn't have become the Deputy Cafeteria Director.

"Hmm, Master He, why don't you come to the Mechanical Factory? I'll give you the position of Cafeteria Director."

"You're joking. I'm just an ordinary cook, and the Rolling Mill treats me very well. I'm not going anywhere."

He Daqing also saw Zhang Ping'an, but he wasn't too surprised by this. Yan Jiecheng, however, couldn't believe it; the people at this table were either Deputy Factory Directors, Factory Directors, or people from the Ministry, yet Zhang Ping'an, a Deputy Division Level official, was actually able to sit here.

"Big Brother, is it really okay to poach someone in front of our Factory Director Nie?"

"Oh, oh, right. Forgot Old Nie was here too."

"..."

Nie Haiquan had black lines on his forehead, but he and Li Huaide exchanged a look; they both knew that keeping He Daqing as the Deputy Cafeteria Director was a bit of a waste of his talent.

He Daqing's answer also made them very satisfied; it was time to promote him from this Deputy Director position.

"Ahem, Old Xu, that's not fair. You have to punish yourself with a cup of wine for that."

"Fine, but Master He, do consider it."

"..." Nie Haiquan shook his head and smiled bitterly; he couldn't do anything about this thick-skinned man.

Soon the banquet ended, and Li Baoguo and Zhu Xiaoyue followed Zhang Ping'an and his wife home, just to see that magical wild honey.

Passing by the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Li Baoguo and his wife went to buy some gifts to bring along; it wouldn't do to visit empty-handed.

"Younger Brother Li."

Zhang Laohan looked at Li Baoguo and found him a bit familiar. Later, he remembered: wasn't he the childhood friend of his second brother-in-law who drove them back?

"Hahaha, it's me. It's been a while, Elder Brother Zhang. This is..."

After the pleasantries, Wang Xiaoling took Zhu Xiaoyue to the kitchen to get the honey, while the men drank tea in the main room.

Before Li Baoguo left, Zhang Ping'an stuffed a bottle of Tiger Penis Wine into his hand.

"Uncle Li, this is Tiger Penis Wine. The dosage is half that of the Tiger Bone Wine, and it can only be drunk at night. You understand."

Seeing Zhang Ping'an's mischievous look, Li Baoguo's old face turned red.

"Ahem, you child, how old is your uncle? Why would I need these things?"

Although he said that, Li Baoguo's hand gripping the wine bottle didn't loosen. He was four years younger than Zhang Ping'an's second uncle, Dong Dali, and would be fifty next year. Zhu Xiaoyue was four years younger than him; if they worked hard, maybe they could still have another child.

"Mm, mm, mm."

"Hurry home, you."

"Alright, alright, you and the auntie take it slow on the road."

On the way home, Zhu Xiaoyue still felt a bit strange.

"Li, what were you and Ping'an whispering about so mysteriously?"

"Uh, I'll tell you when we get home."

Li Baoguo saying this only made her more curious; as soon as they returned home, she asked impatiently, and Li Baoguo helplessly took out the Tiger Penis Wine, causing Zhu Xiaoyue's old face to flush as she spat lightly:

"Didn't you say that child Ping'an was quite honest? How has he learned to be bad too?"

"Ahem, he said that drinking Wild Honey long-term..."

Even if Li Baoguo were foolish, he would know what the side effect Zhang Ping'an mentioned was by now; giving him the Tiger Penis Wine was indeed helping him.

"Pah, there isn't a single good man."

The next morning, the Rolling Mill announced a personnel appointment: the former Cafeteria Director was appointed as Logistics Deputy Director, Comrade He Daqing was appointed as Cafeteria Director, and He Yuzhu was appointed as Deputy Cafeteria Director in a position replacing a cadre.

"Shazhu, you really did take your old man down and successfully moved up," before Shazhu could recover his senses, Xu Damao's raspy voice reached his ears.

"What the hell do you know?"

Shazhu did not yet know that he had successfully moved up because of his father, He Daqing.

Yesterday, the two Factory Directors saw that He Daqing was not the least bit tempted by the offer of a higher position, so they had to show some appreciation today; after all, the banquets for all the Rolling Mill's receptions and send-offs were handled by He Daqing.

He Daqing was a Third-grade Cook, and it was already rare that he was willing to stay at the factory; plus, his son He Yuzhu was already a fifth-grade, and He Daqing might even be able to test for Second-grade in the next two years.

By then, the factory would have a Second-grade Cook, and wouldn't they be able to show off wherever they went in the future?