Chapter 40

Knowing it was Qin Qin Huairu knocking on the door, Chen Tian didn't want to bother.

Qin Qin Huairu wasn't simple; in the original story, Sha Zhu was sucked dry by her for a lifetime, almost ending his family line.

For a widow in that era to be able to bring home meat or white flour buns every day, it was impossible without some means.

In the TV series, after Jia Jia Dongxu died, Qin Qin Huairu got an IUD.

A widow, already with 3 children, why would she need an IUD and take measures?

There were some very obscure parts in the original story; Chen Tian guessed that Qin Qin Huairu was definitely not as chaste as she appeared on the surface.

Xu Xu Damao asked Qin Qin Huairu to wait for him in the factory's small warehouse when no one was around at noon, and he would treat her to lunch when they were done.

Meat dishes would be served generously, and white flour buns would be provided as much as she wanted.

Qin Qin Huairu had several children at home, plus a Jia Jia Zhangshi; if they were to have a good meal, and it was all meat, how much would it cost?

Although Xu Xu Damao was a bit wealthier, it was only slightly better than the average person; how could he afford such extravagance from Qin Qin Huairu?

An occasional meal was already quite a lot.

Poor Sha Zhu, always treating Qin Qin Huairu as a goddess, willingly being sucked dry.

Little did he know, Xu Xu Damao had already stolen the house.

Early morning, the air carried a hint of chill.

After winter set in, the weather in the Four-Nine City grew colder and colder.

After Chen Tian got up, he felt comfortable all over.

"As expected of Qin Qin Huairu, no wonder Sha Zhu is so greedy." Recalling last night, Chen Tian smiled knowingly.

5 yuan was enough for Qin Qin Huairu's family to eat for several days.

"Hiss~"

"The weather is getting colder; it seems I need to get the radiators ready sooner and get heat into my room."

Even though Chen Tian had practiced the Nine Yang Divine Art to the second level, he still felt a bit cold, let alone the others in the courtyard.

"In this courtyard, without Jia Jia Zhangshi, it's truly quiet."

"This kind of day is what you call living."

Chen Tian stretched comfortably, finished washing up, and started making breakfast.

After some exercise last night, Chen Tian felt refreshed.

Chen Tian got up early, and there was still some time before work.

It was too cold in the morning, so Chen Tian planned to make a bowl of noodles to warm up.

He was a northerner, after all, and liked eating noodles.

With master-level culinary skills, he naturally couldn't let himself suffer.

Taking out flour, Chen Tian kneaded a portion of noodles for himself.

He cracked two eggs, chopped a tomato, scooped a spoonful of lard into the pot, and stir-fried a portion of tomato and egg sauce.

The fragrance of the stir-fried eggs spread throughout the entire courtyard.

The Deaf Old Lady woke up early and got up early.

Elderly people had lighter sleep.

In the morning, the Deaf Old Lady could only pour a cup of boiled water and gnaw on a dry bun with pickles, which counted as breakfast.

The Deaf Old Lady wasn't short of food or drink; she was just too lazy to cook.

She was a five-guarantee household and had special supplies of grain, eggs, and so on.

She saved them all for Sha Zhu.

The Deaf Old Lady was biased toward Sha Zhu and truly cared for him.

Although Sha Zhu was a chef at the steel mill and could bring back lunch boxes, they were all taken by Qin Qin Huairu.

Sometimes, when the factory was busy, Sha Zhu couldn't get anything to eat either.

The Deaf Old Lady would save up some eggs, meat, and the like, and call Sha Zhu over to cook for her.

Don't look at the Deaf Old Lady as being old; she was quite greedy.

Sha Zhu could also take the opportunity to eat some meat.

Smelling the fragrance coming from Chen Tian's house, the Deaf Old Lady’s face turned dark.

"This little rabbit, eating good food every day; what is he making this early in the morning?"

"He doesn't even know to send a bowl over to me, an old lady; he's far worse than my good grandson Sha Zhu."

Because of Sha Zhu and Yi Yi Zhonghai, the Deaf Old Lady also didn't like Chen Tian and had opinions about him.

As the oldest person in the courtyard, the Deaf Old Lady felt it was necessary to point out Chen Tian's behavior; he couldn't be allowed to be so rampant.

When it was time for work, the people in the Sihe Academy got up one after another and started their day.

Qin Qin Huairu climbed out of bed with difficulty, washed up, and started making breakfast for Jia Jia Dongxu and the three children.

"This Chen Tian is too capable."

"Compared to that piece of trash Jia Jia Dongxu, he's truly much more powerful." Qin Qin Huairu felt a bit infatuated.

Just this once, she would be uncomfortable for several days.

Thinking that Chen Tian lasted a full hour, Qin Qin Huairu couldn't help but feel a bit of lingering fear.

Fortunately, Jia Jia Zhangshi was taken away by the security department and wasn't home these two days.

Otherwise, that old thing would definitely have seen through the trickery.

Arriving at the factory, Chen Tian rode his bicycle to the office building.

"Engineer Chen, good morning!"

"Engineer Chen."

"Engineer Chen, have you eaten breakfast?"

Workers greeted Chen Tian one after another when they saw him.

In just a few days, Chen Tian had become very prominent.

The workers who went to the western suburbs returned and publicized Chen Tian's deeds extensively.

Chen Tian not only designed the blueprints for the Red Star Steel Mill single-handedly but also chose the construction site.

Experienced veteran workers knew that building a large factory required considering too many things.

Building a large factory like the Red Star Steel Mill required considering a series of conditions such as terrain, topography, soil quality, hydrological conditions, and water sources.

It also had to take into account complex conditions such as transportation, power, and sewage discharge.

It often required an expert group to repeatedly demonstrate, design, and verify before a final plan could be produced.

Who would have thought it was completed by Chen Tian alone! This simply overturned everyone's understanding.

Arriving at the office, Yu Yu Haitang was already waiting there early.

"Engineer Chen, you're here."

"I've already cleaned up the office for you. Factory Director Yang said there's a meeting today, so I brewed tea for you in advance."

Yu Yu Haitang didn't hide her liking for Chen Tian at all.

She had been working at the factory for several months, and many people pursued her, but she didn't like any of them.

A man as handsome and excellent as Chen Tian had captured Yu Yu Haitang's heart the first time they met.

"Yu Yu Haitang, thank you." Chen Tian nodded.

There was a mobilization meeting at the factory today, and he needed to speak.

The construction of the Red Star Steel Mill had entered the right track, and everything had to run step-by-step.

Seeing Yu Yu Haitang being so attentive to Chen Tian,

In the office building, the factory staff were all jealous.

"Engineer Chen is still the best, even the factory flower has been taken down."

"I don't think Engineer Chen has that intention toward Yu Yu Haitang; Yu Yu Haitang is just being wishful."

"Engineer Chen is a proper graduate of a key university and a Level 3 Engineer!"

"Yu Yu Haitang is just a high school graduate; the two of them aren't on the same level."

"Regardless, Yu Yu Haitang wouldn't look at you anyway."

In the cafeteria kitchen, Sha Zhu walked in with his hands behind his back, swaggering with his feet turned outward.

"Master, you're here."

Ma Hua quickly brought over a teacup; this was prepared specifically for Sha Zhu.

Although Ma Hua had replaced Sha Zhu as the head chef, Sha Zhu was still his master.

In this era, respecting teachers and valuing the Dao was highly regarded.

Every worker, when entering the industry, would have an elder leading them, who was their master.

No matter how high an official you became later, your master would still be an old worker, and when you met, you still had to be polite to him.

A teacher for a day is a father for life; people in this era valued this very much.

Although Sha Zhu hadn't taught him anything in the past few years, he had taken care of Ma Hua quite a bit.

Ma Hua wasn't about to break up with Sha Zhu just because he had learned a few cooking tricks from Chen Tian.

Learning to cook from Chen Tian didn't affect his relationship with Sha Zhu.

This was Ma Hua's thinking.

Sha Zhu was narrow-minded and didn't think so.

Seeing Ma Hua offering him tea, he started putting on airs again.

"Ma Hua, it's not that I'm saying anything about you."

"Don't think that just because you've learned a few tricks, you can take the lead."

"Just wait and see; in a few days, Factory Director Yang will have to beg me to be the head chef." Ma Hua kept smiling and apologizing; he knew Sha Zhu's temperament all too well.

He could only go along with him; if he slightly displeased him, not only would he turn against him on the spot, but he would also cause trouble and trip him up behind his back.

"Master, you know me; I'm slow-witted and just got lucky."

"Factory Director Yang let me be the chef, and I couldn't help it."

"Don't worry, the position of head chef in the steel mill cafeteria will always be yours." Sha Zhu was very satisfied with Ma Hua's attitude, "Hmm, that's right."

"Huh, why is there a hen here?"

"Well, well, while I was away, you all started cooking your own meals?"

Sha Zhu turned his head and saw a hen lying in the corner, and on the ground, there was a bag of dried wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and the like.

Ma Hua was suddenly a bit speechless.

"That, Master, I brought that."

Sha Zhu’s eyes lit up; could it be that this kid Ma Hua brought it to honor him?

It seemed it was to apologize to him.

"Ma Hua, tell me, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it just being the head chef for a few days? Just do your job well; why send these things to me?"

Sha Zhu was happy; this Ma Hua was quite sensible.