Chapter 213: Nan Yi

Zhang Ping'an took the large bowl, set it down in the kitchen, and rode the Bicycle provided by the Steel Mill to work.

On the way, he ran into the trio of Damao and the others who were out digging for wild vegetables.

"Uncle."

"Hmm."

"Thank you, Uncle, for yesterday," Damao said with a solemn face, acting like a little adult.

"Haha, what's there to thank? I couldn't finish it all by myself anyway. I already told your mother; I'll be here for the next two days, so you can just come over for dinner in the evenings."

"Here, these are some White Rabbit cream candies. You all share them." After stuffing five candies into Damao's hand, Zhang Ping'an rode off.

The previous large steel mills were full of talent, so Zhang Ping'an didn't need to do the work himself, just provide some simple guidance; now that it was a subordinate branch, everything required Zhang Ping'an to do it personally.

"Factory Director Zhang, sorry for the trouble."

"Factory Director Liu, you're too polite. I'll just draw a simple diagram, and we can go straight to construction when the time comes."

"Good, good, good. Why don't you just draw it in my office?"

"Better to go to the Technical Section; I still need to use some tools."

"Fine, come with me."

The two arrived at the Technical Section, Liu Feng gave him an introduction, and Zhang Ping'an borrowed a ruler and began to draw.

Yesterday's site selection had already been decided. Considering there were still residents nearby, two-thirds of the pasture had to be planted between the residents and the Pig Farm, using the freshness of the pasture to dilute the stench of the pig manure.

After making some adjustments based on yesterday's terrain and finalizing the version, Zhang Ping'an looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.

He raised his wrist to check the time; it was already nearly 11:30, and Liu Feng happened to walk over at that moment.

"Factory Director Zhang, these are the meal tickets for our factory's grand lunch," he said, handing three to Zhang Ping'an.

"Alright." Zhang Ping'an didn't refuse; he also wanted to taste Nan Yi's cooking.

By 11:30, the canteen was already packed. The Workers had started lining up early, each looking excited, though they only had one meal ticket in their hands.

Zhang Ping'an also lined up in the crowd. It took twenty minutes before it was his turn. He handed over the three meal tickets directly, and Nan Yi, who was serving the food, even poked his head out to take a look.

"A leader from the main factory?"

"What leader? My name is Zhang Ping'an."

"Factory Director Zhang, your lunchbox."

"Here."

Nan Yi knew Zhang Ping'an had come to build a pig farm for their Steel Mill, so he picked out only the fatty slices of meat for him, which left Zhang Ping'an speechless.

However, he knew Nan Yi meant well. People nowadays lacked oil and fat in their diet, so there was no one who didn't love fatty meat slices.

"Good, many thanks."

"You're too polite."

Taking two Steamed Buns, Zhang Ping'an found a corner and started eating. It must be said, Nan Yi was worthy of being a descendant of an Imperial Chef; he really had some skills. This fatty meat was cooked to be rich but not greasy, melting in the mouth. Judging by the Chef ranking, it was about the same as Shazhu, maybe even a level or half-level higher.

However, the portion for three was quite large, and Zhang Ping'an didn't finish it all, so he closed his lunchbox and headed back.

In the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an took the blueprints and found Liu Feng.

"Factory Director Liu, find two people; let's go and finalize the location."

"Good, good, good." Liu Feng sighed inwardly at Zhang Ping'an's efficiency; he hadn't expected the blueprints to be finished in just one morning.

Zhang Ping'an and Liu Feng brought three Workers. Although he had made marks on the blueprints, they were based on his own preferences, as he wasn't a professional after all.

Along the way, Zhang Ping'an was responsible for explaining, Liu Feng listened carefully, and the three Workers were responsible for driving stakes and marking circles.

A two-acre Pig Farm could raise three to five hundred pigs. After handing over a portion for the quota, it would be more than enough for self-sufficiency.

They spent the afternoon marking out all the necessary land. Once the ground thawed, they could start clearing the land and building the Pig Farm.

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an went back and started boiling porridge, and he drafted all four little ones to help.

"Uncle, the garlic is peeled."

"Good, put it there. Ermao, make the fire stronger."

"Okay, Uncle."

"Damao, there's enough firewood, don't chop any more."

"Oh, okay."

"Sizzle!" Over a pound of pork belly was rendered for its fat, then over five pounds of prepared fish were added. Once both sides were golden brown, seasonings and enough water were added.

"Gulp." The little girl hurriedly covered her mouth.

"Haha, smells good, right? It'll smell even better once I stick the flatbreads on. It'll be ready in a moment." Zhang Ping'an was amused by her cute appearance.

Forty minutes later, the fish was stewed just about right. Zhang Ping'an started sticking a circle of cornmeal flatbreads around the edge of the pot and let it simmer for a while longer.

The neighbors nearby also smelled the aroma and sniffed hard; Nan Yi was among them.

"Too much soy sauce, the seasoning is a bit off, and the heat control isn't right either. What a waste of these ingredients."

Zhang Ping'an scooped the fish into a basin, scraped off the cornmeal flatbreads, and heated up the fatty meat from lunch.

"Alright, let's start. Xiuer, come here, I'll pick the fish bones out for you before you eat." Zhang Ping'an often picked fish bones for his daughter at home, so he was quite practiced at it.

"Oh, oh, okay, Uncle."

"These fatty meat slices are too greasy, you all eat less of them, eat more fish, don't be shy."

"Oh, okay."

The four children only dared to reach for food when Zhang Ping'an spoke, but just then, the door was knocked on with a bang-bang.

Zhang Ping'an frowned; the force of the knocking sounded like someone looking for trouble.

"You all keep eating, I'll go see. Xiuer, don't eat until I've picked out the fish bones."

"Okay, Uncle."

As soon as Zhang Ping'an opened the door, he saw it was Nan Yi, but he was currently being held back by Liang Ladi, who was stopping him from knocking.

"What's going on?"

"Leader, did you just say the pork I made at noon was greasy?" Nan Yi was huffing with anger, clearly very dissatisfied with Zhang Ping'an questioning his culinary skills.

He had just followed the aroma here without realizing it, and happened to hear Zhang Ping'an's comment about the fatty meat being too greasy, which was why he had indignantly come over to knock on the door.

"Leader, don't listen to Nan Yi's nonsense."

"Hehe, since you're here, come in and talk."

"Leader, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but your cooking really isn't that great," Nan Yi said, sniffing the air.

"I'm not a professional, so I just make do with whatever I eat, but your mouth is on par with He Yuzhu from our factory."

"Liang Ladi, what are you standing there for? Come in."

"Oh, okay."

"Who is He Yuzhu?"

"Just like you, a family-taught Chef, currently a Level 5 Cook. His father is a Level 3. I'll introduce you when there's a chance."

"Uh..." Nan Yi was only a Level 6 right now; he could pass the test for Level 5, but Level 4 would be a bit of a stretch. Hearing that He Daqing was a Level 3, he immediately quieted down.

"None of you have eaten yet, right? Let's eat together. Nan Yi, do you know why I said your fatty meat was greasy just now? It's because Damao and the others are a bit malnourished. If they eat fatty meat right off the bat, they'll easily get diarrhea. You agree, right?"

"Hehe, Leader, you're right. It was my petty mind." Nan Yi looked at the four sallow and thin children; they really shouldn't start by eating fatty meat.

"Alright, we can consider this a case of not knowing each other without fighting. Sit down and eat together. I learned this dish from someone in Jilin Province. You should taste it and give me some advice. Liang Ladi, you too, don't be polite."

Liang Ladi didn't know whether to stand or sit. She was already very grateful that he had invited her children to eat, and now that he was asking her to sit and eat as well, she really felt a bit embarrassed.

"Alright, weren't you quite forceful when you pulled me earlier? Why are you shy now? Our Leader isn't short one pair of chopsticks for you, right, Leader?"

Liang Ladi gave Nan Yi an annoyed glare, but who knew that this glare would leave Nan Yi stunned.

"Ahem, Nan Yi is right. Everyone sit down and eat."

"Ah, right," Nan Yi also snapped out of it and awkwardly chimed in.