Chapter 57: Manager Luan's Departure

A few days later, Zhou Jianye brought news regarding the enemy spies. They had all been captured, and several more lurking agents had been unearthed. From that point on, the matter was no longer He Yuzhu's concern. As for the reward, Zhou Jianye had it delivered to him.

Time flew by, and the year 1956 arrived.

In this year, joint state-private ownership was implemented across all industries.

In this year, a system of fixed interest rates was adopted, and the original shareholders ceased to exercise their managerial functions.

One day, just after He Yuzhu had returned from catering a banquet, he heard a knock on his door.

Opening it, he saw Manager Luan: "Manager Luan, what a rare visitor! Please, come in."

He Yuzhu invited Manager Luan into the living room to sit down.

As Manager Luan stepped inside, he looked around He Yuzhu's small courtyard: "Zhuzi, you've fixed up this little courtyard quite nicely."

"Oh, just tinkering around. I just set it up however is most comfortable for me." He Yuzhu poured Manager Luan a cup of tea.

Manager Luan took the cup and took a small sip. "Ah, it's still that same taste. Do you have any more of this tea? After finishing the batch you gave me, I couldn't find anything like it on the market."

"This is wild tea, you won't find it in stores. If you like it, I'll pack some up for you when you leave later." He Yuzhu poured a cup of water for himself and sat down as well.

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you then. This tea has a unique, refreshing fragrance. Drinking it leaves you clear-headed and comfortable."

"You've taken good care of me all these years, it's just some tea leaves. Don't mention it."

"Zhuzi, the reason I came today is to invite you to my place tomorrow evening to cook a banquet."

"No problem, I have time tomorrow. What time does the banquet start tomorrow? How many tables?"

"Just one table. You don't need to come too early tomorrow. The guests I'm inviting in the evening are your master and the others, so they won't arrive until past seven. We won't be making anything that takes too much time."

Hearing that Manager Luan was inviting his master, He Yuzhu didn't ask any further questions: "Very well, I'll arrive around five o'clock."

"It's a deal then." Manager Luan stood up to take his leave.

"Wait a moment, let me get the tea for you." With that, He Yuzhu walked into his room and retrieved half a catty of tea leaves from his dimensional space.

Returning, He Yuzhu handed the tea leaves to Manager Luan: "I don't have much of this tea left either, so this is all I can spare for you."

Manager Luan took the package and saw it was quite a substantial amount: "This is more than enough. Thank you, Zhuzi."

The next afternoon, He Yuzhu arrived at Manager Luan's house at the agreed-upon time. Manager Luan's residence was a small Western-style villa. Although not as luxurious as the Lou family estate, it was far beyond the reach of ordinary households.

Manager Luan was not at home yet, so Mrs. Luan greeted He Yuzhu instead: "You must be Chef He. Truly as young as our old Luan described."

"Hello, Mrs. Luan. You can just call me Zhuzi. These past few years, I've relied a lot on Manager Luan's care."

"Very well, I'll call you Zhuzi. And you don't need to call me Mrs. Luan either, just call me Aunt Liang."

"Alright, I'll listen to Aunt Liang. I'll have to trouble you to show me to the kitchen."

"Come with me." Aunt Liang led He Yuzhu to the kitchen.

"Have a look around, and tell me if anything is missing."

"Understood, Aunt Liang. Let me organize things first and figure out the menu."

"Go ahead and get to work, just call out if you need anything." With that, Aunt Liang stepped out of the kitchen.

He Yuzhu first sorted through the ingredients. There was plenty of everything—chicken, fish, pork knuckles, sea cucumbers, and more, all of exceptional quality.

Seeing that it was getting late, He Yuzhu began preparing the ingredients.

Around seven o'clock, Aunt Liang entered the kitchen to inform He Yuzhu that the guests had arrived: "Zhuzi, the invited guests are all here. They're all colleagues from the Fengzeyuan Restaurant. Go out and say hello before you start cooking."

"Alright, Aunt Liang, I'll wash my hands and come right out." He Yuzhu washed his hands, followed Aunt Liang to the living room, and saw his master, Master Sun, along with his second senior fellow apprentice and Master Sun's apprentice.

He Yuzhu greeted each of them in turn.

Manager Luan said: "Zhuzi, go ahead and get to work on the dishes. Come out and join us for the meal once you're done; there are no outsiders here."

He Yuzhu looked toward his master, and Fan Dakang nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright, you all keep chatting, the dishes will be ready shortly." With that, He Yuzhu turned and headed back to the kitchen.

With the help of the domestic staff, dish after dish was served at the table.

After finishing the final dish, which was carried out by a servant, He Yuzhu took off his apron, straightened his clothes, washed his hands, and finally stepped out of the kitchen.

Seeing He Yuzhu emerge, Manager Luan called out: "Zhuzi, come sit down, we've been waiting just for you."

He Yuzhu walked over to the table and took a seat next to his second senior fellow apprentice.

Manager Luan began urging everyone to drink and eat. After the meal, he gave He Yuzhu a thumbs-up: "Zhuzi, your culinary skills just keep getting better and better."

Flattered in front of his master and the others, He Yuzhu modestly replied: "Not at all, it's all thanks to the thorough guidance of my master and Master Sun."

After saying that, He Yuzhu remained quiet, keeping his ears open as he listened to Manager Luan and his master talk.

It turned out that Manager Luan was leaving Fengzeyuan. The Luan family had decided to send Manager Luan to develop their business in Hong Kong.

Manager Luan explained: "After I leave, the state-appointed manager will be calling the shots at Fengzeyuan, and all of you will be under state administration. I invited you all here today to express my gratitude for your support over all these years."

Fan Dakang sighed: "Oh, Old Luan, why talk about that? If it weren't for your care over the years, we wouldn't have had such peace of mind."

Master Sun chimed in: "Old Fan is right. If you hadn't shielded us from all those troublesome matters, we wouldn't have had such tranquility in the kitchen."

Manager Luan replied: "Wasn't that just my job? But now that I'm leaving, you all need to prepare yourselves. The state-appointed manager knows you were close to me, so he's bound to look for trouble."

Master Sun sighed: "There's nothing to be done about that; we'll just have to endure it. I suppose he wouldn't dare go too far—after all, Fengzeyuan is a restaurant, and if he pushes us too far, it won't end well for him either."

Manager Luan let out a sigh: "If only you could all come with me to Hong Kong."

Fan Dakang shook his head: "We're getting older and don't want to uproot our lives."

Manager Luan knew it was impossible for them to leave and follow him to Hong Kong.

Turning to He Yuzhu, he asked: "Zhuzi, would you like to come out and carve out a path with me?"

He Yuzhu answered: "Yushui is still too young and depends on me. Once she's older, I'll go out and see the world."

"Then I'll wait for you in Hong Kong." Manager Luan clinked his glass with He Yuzhu, already feeling a bit intoxicated.

In the end, Master, Master Sun, and Manager Luan all drank too much.

Master Sun was supported by his apprentice, while Master was helped by the second senior fellow apprentice. Aunt Liang and the servant helped Manager Luan back to his room to rest, and then came out to see the guests off.

He Yuzhu went into the kitchen to pack up his things. As he came out, Aunt Liang stopped him and handed him a package: "Old Luan prepared this for you. It's full of ingredients. We're leaving too, and keeping them here is of no use to us."

The package was filled with sea cucumbers, shark fins, bird's nests, large yellow croaker swim bladders, and more.

Unable to refuse, He Yuzhu accepted the package: "Thank you, Aunt Liang, and thank you, Manager Luan."

Carrying the package, He Yuzhu joined his second senior fellow apprentice in escorting their master home.