Chapter 64: Cooking at the Municipal Bureau Canteen

Chapter 64: Cooking in the Municipal Bureau Cafeteria

At noon, Zhou Jianye followed his uncle to the private dining room designated for the leaders of the Municipal Bureau.

"Dad, you sit down, I'll go see what Zhuzi is cooking," Zhou Jianye said.

His uncle waved his hand, gesturing for Zhou Jianye to get lost immediately and stop being an eyesore.

Zhou Jianye walked up to the serving window reserved for the bureau leaders and called inside, "Zhuzi!"

Hearing the call, He Yuzhu came over to the window and saw Zhou Jianye. "Why are you still here? Didn't you go back?"

Hearing this, Zhou Jianye immediately snapped back, "Are you trying to tear down the bridge after crossing the river? Don't forget, I was the one who brought you here. You ungrateful wretch."

"How am I ungrateful?" He Yuzhu retorted. "I'm just concerned about you. You're a police station director, yet instead of staying at your post, you're sneaking around loafing under the noses of the municipal bureau leaders. Do you still want a promotion or not?"

"Fine, I won't lower myself to your level. Serve me my food first. Which of these dishes did you stir-fry?"

He Yuzhu pointed to the Mapo Tofu, Dongpo Pork, and Vinegar-glazed Cabbage, saying, "I made these."

"Then give me two portions of each."

He Yuzhu complied, dishing out two portions for Zhou Jianye and handing them through the window.

"All right, you get back to work. I'm going to eat, and once I'm done, I'll head back to the precinct."

"Come over to my master's place tonight. I'll prepare a grand feast to celebrate."

"Sure, with a grand feast waiting, I definitely won't miss it."

After bidding farewell to He Yuzhu, Zhou Jianye carried his lunch away.

"Dad, taste Zhuzi's cooking," Zhou Jianye said, placing a lunch tray in front of his uncle.

His uncle picked up his chopsticks, took a few bites, and tasted the food. "Hmm, the flavor is exceptional. Delicious."

At that moment, Bureau Chief Liu and Political Commissar Wang also walked in carrying their lunches and sat down next to Zhou Jianye's uncle.

"Old Zhou, what's so delicious?" Bureau Chief Liu asked.

Seeing the bureau chief and the political commissar, Zhou Jianye stood up to greet them. "Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang."

"Ah, little Zhou is here. Sit down and eat," Bureau Chief Liu said.

"The dishes today are cooked rather well, you should try them," Zhou Jianye's uncle remarked.

Hearing this, Bureau Chief Liu and Political Commissar Wang picked up their chopsticks, sampled the dishes, and tasted them.

"Hmm, today's food really is well-made. Old Huang's culinary skills have improved," Bureau Chief Liu observed.

Zhou Jianye's uncle smiled without a word.

"I doubt this was made by Old Huang. Old Zhou, is this a new cook you found?" Political Commissar Wang asked.

"That's right. He started just this morning. How are his culinary skills? Do they suit both of your tastes?"

Political Commissar Wang replied, "His skills are top-notch, much better than Old Huang's. It's not easy these days to find a chef with such craftsmanship for the unit cafeteria. Where did you find him?"

"To be honest with you, he's somewhat of a junior to me, the closed-door disciple of my in-law. He has fully inherited my in-law's true mastery, excels in the family's Tan cuisine, and is also well-versed in Lu cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine."

"Is he that good? Then our Municipal Bureau has struck gold. Call him over so we can meet him."

"I'll go get him," Zhou Jianye volunteered, standing up to find He Yuzhu.

Arriving at the kitchen entrance, Zhou Jianye called inside, "Zhuzi!"

Hearing the call, He Yuzhu came to the doorway. "Didn't you say you were heading back to the precinct after eating? Why are you looking for me? Is something the matter?"

"Come with me right now. Several leaders want to see you."

"Wait a second, let me take off my apron."

"Hurry up, you can't have the leaders waiting for you, can you?"

Taking off his apron, He Yuzhu followed Zhou Jianye to the leaders' private dining room.

Seeing He Yuzhu enter with Zhou Jianye, his uncle introduced him, "Zhuzi, come here. Let me introduce you. This is Bureau Chief Liu, and this is Political Commissar Wang."

Realizing they were the top leaders of the bureau, He Yuzhu immediately offered his greetings, "Hello, Bureau Chief Liu. Hello, Political Commissar Wang."

Both Bureau Chief Liu and Political Commissar Wang were quite surprised when they saw He Yuzhu. "So young?"

Zhou Jianye's uncle chimed in, "Don't let Zhuzi's youth fool you; he is already a national third-grade chef."

Political Commissar Wang said, "Zhuzi, right? Keep up the good work. The bureau won't treat you unfairly. If you have any needs, just bring them up, and we'll do our best to meet them."

"Thank you, Political Commissar. Since I've come here, I will definitely work hard," He Yuzhu replied.

"All right, Zhuzi, you can go back to work. If anything comes up, just come straight to me," Zhou Jianye's uncle said.

Hearing this, He Yuzhu left the private room.

Bureau Chief Liu asked, "Old Zhou, it couldn't have been easy to invite him here, right?"

"Of course not. It took all kinds of persuasion before my in-law agreed, and that's how we managed to invite him. From now on, I'll have to ask all of you to take good care of him."

Listening to his old man's wild bragging from the sidelines, Zhou Jianye couldn't expose him. He could only shovel a few mouthfuls of rice quickly to mask his embarrassment.

"Easily done. Just for the sake of these culinary skills, we'll certainly look after him," Bureau Chief Liu agreed.

The lunch He Yuzhu prepared at noon completely conquered the leaders of the Municipal Bureau.

That afternoon, He Yuzhu received a notice from the cafeteria director, Zhao Sheng: "You can go back and prepare this afternoon, and officially report to work tomorrow."

He Yuzhu bid farewell to Master Huang from the cafeteria and left.

In the afternoon, He Yuzhu went to his master's house and told his master's wife that he had already started working at the Municipal Bureau cafeteria today.

"Zhuzi, your master's wife knew that with your culinary skills, there wouldn't be any problem at all."

She was genuinely happy for He Yuzhu, as he now officially had a decent and respectable job.

"Master's wife, I'll go out to buy groceries in a bit, and tonight we'll make a grand feast to celebrate."

"Very well, do whatever you like tonight."

"All right, I'll go prepare the ingredients."

With that, He Yuzhu hopped on his bicycle and left.

Returning home and sitting at his desk, He Yuzhu pondered what to eat for the evening.

The weather was so cold; having a hot pot was undoubtedly the most suitable choice. Besides, it was lively when a group of people ate together.

Since he decided on hot pot, mutton and beef were indispensable, along with fish balls, shrimp paste, and all kinds of assorted meatballs.

The fish balls and other handmade meatballs could only be prepared inside his interspatial dimension. He flashed into the kitchen within the space.

He made beef meatballs, exploding-juice beef balls, fish balls, and shrimp paste.

After finishing, he retrieved some more beef, mutton, and fresh vegetables from the space.

Carrying these supplies, He Yuzhu headed back to his master's house.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he said to his master's wife, "Master's wife, it's freezing outside. Let's have hot pot for dinner tonight."

"Alright, in this weather, hot pot is wonderful."

In the evening, those who went to school and those who went to work returned one after another. Seeing the hot pot prepared by He Yuzhu, both the adults and Yuzhu's younger sister Yushui loved it immensely.

Fan Dakang raised his glass and said, "Come, let's raise our glasses together to congratulate Zhuzi on smoothly starting his job at the Municipal Bureau cafeteria today."

Everyone raised their glasses in unison, shouting, "Cheers!"

Hot pot needed a crowd to be lively, and fighting over the food made it taste even better.

The dinner ended amidst playful banter and an atmosphere of pure joy.

Senior sister Fan Ting and the master's wife took charge of clearing the table and washing the dishes.

As usual, master Fan Dakang, He Yuzhu, and Zhou Jianye sat together to chat leisurely.

"Zhuzi," Zhou Jianye said, "my dad asked me to tell you that from now on at the Municipal Bureau, we don't go looking for trouble, but we aren't afraid of it either."

"Go back and thank your uncle for me," He Yuzhu replied.

"Don't mention it, we're family, no need to be formal. Besides, you really saved face for my old man today."

Everyone still had work the next day. Once the master's wife and others finished cleaning up the tableware, Zhou Jianye and He Yuzhu ended their chat, bid farewell to the master and his wife, and left.