Chapter 35

"Peel the potatoes, wash them, and cut them into thin slices, then cut them into fine shreds..."

"Wash the wok and heat it, turn to low heat... stir-fry the dried chili segments in oil until they change color."

"Turn to high heat, pour in the shredded potatoes and stir-fry quickly... pour in the balsamic vinegar and continue stir-frying..."

Cao Weiguo gave pointers from the side, while Liu Limin was sweating profusely, working with extreme seriousness.

Although cooking is very tiring, Liu Limin was happy in his heart and felt grateful to Cao Weiguo, his master.

He felt his life was truly blessed to have met such a good master and learned real skills.

The kitchen was filled with smoke and fire, but everyone's mood was different.

Shazhu looked at Cao Weiguo's back, his eyes filled with disdain and jealousy.

What right does Cao Weiguo, a mere greenhorn, have to stand on equal footing with him, and even ride a bicycle that he doesn't have?

Yesterday, he was so jealous he wanted to report Cao Weiguo for speculation and profiteering.

But he was afraid that what Cao Weiguo said was true; if the report failed, he might end up in jail for false accusation.

Suppressing the urge to report him, Shazhu went to find Deputy Factory Director Li as soon as he arrived in the morning.

He thought that if Deputy Factory Director Li denied it, he would immediately go and report Cao Weiguo.

But the reality was extremely cruel: Deputy Factory Director Li admitted it and even criticized him on top of that.

Shazhu was indignant: "Cao Weiguo, you villain, just you wait; sooner or later I'll let you know what I'm capable of."

At lunchtime, workers stood in long lines to get their food.

Cao Weiguo and Shazhu were each serving food at their windows, but the difference in the length of the lines was quite obvious.

There were hundreds of people in line at Cao Weiguo's window.

There were only a dozen or so at Shazhu's window.

This wasn't because of the difference in the quality of the food, but because of the quantity and the person serving.

Shazhu is accustomed to using his stir-frying skill when serving food; when he meets a widow or someone he has a good relationship with, he gives a full scoop, but when he meets others, he shakes half of it off, and when he meets someone he doesn't like, they only get soup and water.

Looking at Cao Weiguo serving food, everyone gets the full amount, a full scoop.

No one is blind or stupid; naturally, they know which side to stand on.

This obvious difference made Shazhu's expression extremely ugly, and his hatred for Cao Weiguo grew deeper.

Shazhu's stir-frying isn't entirely because of his mood; the main reason is to save "leftovers."

If he doesn't stir-fry, how can he keep "leftovers"? Without "leftovers," what can he bring back to help Qin Huairu?

Cao Weiguo serves all the "leftovers" that should have been brought home to the workers.

Shazhu felt as if his heart was filled with fire!

Factory Director Yang, who came to the cafeteria for food, saw the lines of different lengths and said to the fellow workers with a stern expression: "Why aren't you going to line up over there? Why are you crowding in this line? Isn't this a waste of time?"

The fellow worker said without fear: "We can't get full at Shazhu's window, but we can get full at Cao Weiguo's window."

In this era, the workers and peasants are the masters of the house; the workers have high status and plenty of confidence.

Factory Director Yang said: "It's all the same food, how could you not get full?"

The fellow worker sneered: "You would definitely get full at Shazhu's window, but when we go, we only get soup and water."

Factory Director Yang said angrily: "Nonsense, I am a builder of the motherland just like you; would I engage in special privileges at the factory?"

Other fellow workers said: "Director, you don't engage in special privileges, but Shazhu does engage in differential treatment; he gives widows two scoops and gives us half a scoop."

"With one shake of Shazhu's scoop, we can only drink soup."

"We would rather wait in a long line than go hungry."

"Director, you should go find Shazhu about this problem."

"Who in the factory doesn't know that Shazhu has a good relationship with the Director?"

"Everyone, let's just line up honestly."

"It's a good thing the cafeteria has Cao Weiguo, otherwise we would have to keep going hungry." ===== CHAPTER 37 =====