The next morning, the fat man went to Deputy Factory Director Li's office.
He's now a favorite of Deputy Factory Director Li. Li Huaide not only personally brewed tea for him, but also wouldn't let the fat man stand while talking. Instead, they sat down on the sofa together, chatting like old friends: "Fatty, what other dishes can you cook?"
"Huaiyang cuisine is meticulous in its selection of ingredients, exquisite in its preparation, and elegant in its style; it pursues the original flavor, and is light, fresh and mild. Due to regional limitations, some dishes cannot be made now."
Deputy Factory Director Li became interested: "Oh? Tell me, what are the restrictions?"
The fat man didn't mince words: "As the saying goes, drunken crabs shouldn't be eaten during the Lantern Festival, wind-dried chickens shouldn't be eaten during the Lantern Festival, knife fish shouldn't be eaten during the Qingming Festival, and sturgeon shouldn't be eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival. This practice of varying according to the season ensures that every ingredient is prepared at its best."
Take that dish of soft-shelled eel for example; it's best made with the "pen-handle green" eel caught around the Dragon Boat Festival. Yesterday's version was a bit lacking.
After talking with Deputy Factory Director Li for a while, the fat man took out the 10 yuan from his pocket and explained his purpose: "Deputy Factory Director Li, if possible, I don't want the bonus, but I would like to ask you to put in a good word for me with the real estate department."
Unmoved by money and driven by practical needs, this fat man doesn't seem like a young man who has just turned 20.
Deputy Factory Director Li asked him with great interest, "What do you want me to say for you?"
The fat man immediately told Deputy Factory Director Li everything about his family situation, the difficulties he was currently facing, and his aspirations for the future.
He spoke with great skill, and from his words, Deputy Factory Director Li seemed to hear "endless stories of family matters and countless joys and sorrows."
The warmth and everyday life of ordinary people are what touch people's hearts the most. Deputy Factory Director Li admitted that he was almost persuaded by this guy, but he didn't plan to do the fat man a favor right now.
Deputy Factory Director Li suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, you're still single, aren't you? We have plenty of suitable female employees in our factory. Would you like me to introduce you to one?"
The fat man paused for a moment, then immediately understood what Deputy Factory Director Li meant. He truly was a cunning old fox; even his words had to be carefully chosen to maximize their impact.
Why not help him now, instead of waiting until he's already talking about marriage but still hasn't settled on a house? That way you'll be doing him a huge favor.
But that's fine too. Favors are something you owe me and I owe you. When you can't even keep track of them all, then the relationship is truly established.
Just like how Sha Zhu and the big boss formed an unbreakable alliance of interests, this is how the meat can truly rot in the pot.
Of course, if one of them suddenly decides to settle things, then it will be time for them to become enemies.
※※※※※※
Fatty didn't come back last night; the front door was locked.
Sha Zhu and Xu Damao came looking for him one after the other, but both of them came up empty-handed.
Sha Zhu's expression was unfriendly: "What are you doing here?"
Xu Damao shook a bottle of good wine in his hand: "I'm here to drink with Fatty!"
Drinking? When did their relationship become so good?
Sha Zhu glared at Xu Damao and was about to leave when Xu Damao stopped him: "Sha Zhu, do you know who I had dinner with tonight?"
What a jerk! So what if the boss asked this bastard to show a movie after dinner? What's so great about that?
Xu Damao shook his head and said, "I had the honor of accompanying Director Zhang and his entourage yesterday. Do you know what dishes were served at the banquet yesterday?"
Sha Zhu, being a cook and a carefree person, would ignore Xu Damao if he tried to brag about anything else.
But Xu Damao got carried away with the topic of food. He was already holding back his anger, and upon hearing this, he also wanted to test the fat man's true intentions: "Oh, you, Xu Damao, can tell the difference between good and bad food? Giving you that would be a waste. So tell me, let me see for myself."
Xu Damao's mustache stood on end in anger: "Listen, you idiot Zhu! Soft-shelled eel, ever heard of it? That was the number one dish of the founding of the nation!"
Fatty, can make braised eel with soft shell? Sha Zhu was initially a hundred percent skeptical, but given Xu Damao's experience, if he hadn't actually been there, Sha Zhu dared to say he wouldn't even know the name! His father-in-law would probably be more likely to do it…
As Xu Damao vividly described what dishes had been served yesterday, Sha Zhu's heart sank further. How old was this fat man? He had just turned 20 a while ago. He only found out that day when Aunt Pang was going to cook longevity noodles for him.
But who knew that the kid was so ungrateful, insisting on saying things like "I don't grow a beard while my father is alive, and I don't celebrate my mother's birthday while she's alive." His act of having a harmonious family and both parents alive disgusted Sha Zhu!
Sha Zhu thought to himself that things couldn't go on like this; the fat man was now threatening his position.
There's not much to say about this; there are only two paths: one is to completely subdue Fatty and make him follow your lead from now on; the other is to kick him out of the canteen, preferably out of the Red Star Factory altogether, so that he can never rise again.
A few more days passed, and New Year's Day 1965 arrived.
The factory was closed today, and Chen Yan came to find Fatty early in the morning, dragging the listless Fatty out of bed.
This prompted the fat man to protest incessantly: "Second sister, I get up before dawn every morning. The staff start work at 8 o'clock, but our canteen has to open at 6 o'clock..."
Chen Yan wouldn't listen, and twisted his ear, saying, "Why didn't you say you took a break at 1:30 pm? You didn't go back to work until 4:30 pm!"
That's why people say a cook's job is enviable. They get three extra hours of rest every day, so they can legitimately slack off.
"Get up right now and get dressed properly. If you dare delay today's business, I'll skin you alive!"
He's already 20 years old, and not only is Fatty's aunt worried about Fatty's personal life, but Zhou Haiqin is worried too!
So, after asking around and inquiring with several girls, none of their families were willing—it's obvious, isn't it? Everyone knows the fat man's family situation. If their daughter marries into that family, besides having a mother-in-law to keep her in check, she'll also have to carefully serve three sisters-in-law. Who would want to marry their daughter into that family?
Zhou Haiqin was so anxious that her cheeks swelled up, and she hadn't been able to eat for the past few days because of her toothache.
With their mother unhappy, their three daughters naturally felt bad too, and even Old Chen had been afraid to breathe too loudly lately. To protect herself, Chen Yan remembered she had a close friend who was older than the fat man…
On a whim, I told Zhou Haiqin about it; Zhou Haiqin slapped her thigh and said, "It's good that you're older, you know how to care for people, so let's do it this way!"
And so, today's blind date came about.
As Chen Yan dragged the fat man out the door, Sha Zhu also got up.
Upon seeing Chen Yan, he immediately forgot all about his past disagreements with Fatty and shamelessly approached her, saying, "Hello, hello, you have time to come see Fatty today?"
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