The big boss's house was fully stocked with all kinds of meat and vegetables. Chef Mo led Zhou Mingli around to check all the ingredients and compared them with the dishes on the menu. After confirming that everything was correct, they began to prepare the dishes.
Zhou Mingli was focused on preparing all the dishes, cutting all the meat according to the type of dish. He glanced up casually and saw the big boss standing at the door watching them cook.
Zhou Mingli paused, nodded to the senior leader, and smiled.
The top leader remained calm and composed, showing no signs of nervousness at being caught, and appeared quite unperturbed as he watched them cook.
After Chef Mo added the required broth, he said, "Mingli, you can prepare the cold dishes first."
"Okay," Zhou Mingli replied, and quickly turned to attend to other tasks.
The senior leader looked at Chef Mo with a smile and said, "Although you've gotten older, your efficiency in working is still as good as ever."
Chef Mo waved his hand, "I'm not good enough anymore. If it weren't for someone helping me, I don't know how long I would have been busy!"
The top leader laughed and asked him, "A lot of work lately?"
Chef Mo thought for a moment and said, "There's more work than in previous years. Everyone's been under pressure for too long."
The senior leader pondered for a moment and nodded, then looked at Chef Mo with a smile, as if he had thought of something. "If you could start your own business and open a restaurant, would you be willing?"
Chef Mo was startled by these words. "This...this...how is this possible? Boss, although I do take on some freelance work on the side, I am, after all, the head chef of the municipal government's kitchen. I am a full-time employee and I would never engage in speculation or profiteering!"
That's not a respectable job. He's a state banquet chef with a respectable job; he wouldn't do such speculative things!
"Look at you, how can you be so timid!" the senior leader said speechlessly. "What if the crime of speculation and profiteering were abolished? What if the government encouraged employees to engage in private business? Would you be willing?"
When Chef Mo heard this, he thought it was a fantasy. He was a regular employee with a salary increase every year for his seniority. Why would he want to do some kind of private business? He was not going to do it!
Chef Mo shook his head repeatedly, not willing at all.
The big boss thinks Chef Mo is out of touch with reality. What a great policy, allowing you to openly take on private jobs, and you're still not happy about it!
He patted Chef Mo on the shoulder, looked at Zhou Mingli who appeared to be preparing food but was actually listening intently to their conversation, and asked him, "Comrade Zhou, what are your thoughts?"
Zhou Mingli's subordinate paused, thought for a moment, and said, "If the policies are all implemented and I can be issued an individual business license with guaranteed benefits, then I will do it."
Individual business license...
The senior leader silently repeated the term in his mind, a slight thought flashing through his mind. "How did you come up with this idea?"
Zhou Mingli smiled sheepishly, “My wife was a sent-down youth. After she came to Beijing, she often lamented that more and more sent-down youth were returning to the city, and that the public security in Beijing was not very good. I talked to her about this, and she said it was because the sent-down youth did not have jobs or stable income. They could not work and could only become street urchins in Beijing.”
“If we can give them something to do and money to earn, and legalize the jobs that make them money... I mean legitimate transactions, not things like prostitution, gambling, or drugs, my wife and I think at least there won’t be so many street thugs.”
The high-ranking leader looked at Zhou Mingli in surprise and said, "You and your wife talk about these things at home?"
Chef Mo pointed at Zhou Mingli, "His wife is a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she's really impressive!"
The high-ranking leader, intrigued, asked him with a smile, "What's your wife's name?"
“Jiangci,” Zhou Mingli said, his back straight and a smile in his eyes. “Jiang, as in the great rivers and lakes, and Ci, as in blue and white porcelain.”
Upon hearing the name, the high-ranking leader paused, then glanced back at Zhou Mingli. "Her?"
"She is indeed very good. At the meeting held in April, through the facilitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and European countries conducted trade exchanges and reached a deal worth £760,000, providing no less than a thousand jobs."
These were all reported at the meeting.
Chef Mo asked in surprise, "It sounds like a lot of money, but are there really that many positions?"
The high-ranking leader pointed at him and said, "Do you even know how much money 760,000 pounds sterling is equivalent to in our country?"
Chef Mo shook his head, a little embarrassed. "Boss, you know I don't know many characters."
"Seven hundred and sixty thousand pounds is equivalent to four million four hundred and eighty-four thousand yuan! That can buy thirty million kilograms of rice, which is the annual salary of one hundred thousand workers!"
"This is only a three-month transaction. New tea can be harvested every quarter. Tea that is difficult to sell in China is a hot commodity in Europe. As long as we proceed steadily, we can make tens of millions of yuan in profit in China every year."
The top leader was quite pleased when he talked about this.
Their commercial economy is far behind, so it's really good news that Jiangci can connect them with overseas markets to sell their domestic products.
The big boss's words left Chef Mo speechless; he truly hadn't expected to have so much money.
Chef Mo walked over to Zhou Mingli and patted him hard on the back. "Mingli, your wife is amazing!"
This time, Zhou Mingli didn't mince words. He glanced at the senior leader and said, "My wife once said that she not only wants to sell tea abroad, but also wants to sell domestic porcelain abroad."
Upon hearing his words, the senior leader thought to himself, "She's a woman with ideas."
The senior leader smiled and said, "If the country really promoted the individual economy and issued you some kind of individual business license, would you really be willing to do it?"
Zhou Mingli nodded. "Of course."
He can't stay in the city government's kitchen as a kitchen helper for the rest of his life.
This is just a stepping stone for Zhou Mingli.
The senior leader smiled and nodded, "You and your spouse are both good people."
"Alright, you guys get back to work, I won't bother you anymore."
The top leader, satisfied, walked out of the kitchen with his hands behind his back.
Chef Mo looked at Zhou Mingli and asked, "You really want to go into speculation and profiteering?"
Zhou Mingli shook his head. "Master, the leaders have said that the crime of speculation and profiteering will be abolished in the future."
“But you can’t just do something reckless that will ruin your future. When I retire, you can become the head chef in the kitchen. You’ve been with me for so long, and the leaders have all seen your culinary skills. You’ll have a regular job and you can also take on side jobs. You can easily make eighty or ninety yuan a month. Why do this kind of speculative work? There’s no security, and you might get arrested.” Chef Mo strongly disapproved of his idea of doing something similar to a black market businessman.
This is an old idea, and for the past ten years they have lived in fear because if they went to the black market and got caught, they would be criticized and denounced.
Even more serious offenses could result in the confiscation of their possessions, being paraded through the streets, or being sent to a labor camp!
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