The gift wasn't expensive, but it suited the leader's taste perfectly.
The fat man gave the big boss a jar of Sichuan pickled vegetables that he had made himself.
It was packaged in an exquisite glass jar, containing green cowpeas, red radishes, white scallions... soaking in water, crystal clear, making one's mouth water at first glance.
The big boss was very pleased: "Good, good! It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Fatty, you understand this principle! With this jar of pickling brine, we can pickle vegetables ourselves in the future."
After saying that, he solemnly handed the jar to his aunt and asked her to find a safe place to put it.
The fat man chatted with the big leader for a while. He was in high spirits today and talked a lot about his experiences and interesting things during his trip to the south.
The fat man guessed that this person had probably been reinstated, but as always, he kept it to himself. The big boss didn't like their friendship to be tainted by self-interest, and the fat man knew this very well.
However, there is one thing I can mention.
The fat man pretended to look around the house, acting as if he were standing up for the big boss: "This house is much smaller than the one you used to live in. I remember that the aunt kept the house very well, and it was very comfortable to be in. Every time I came to your house, I could feel the strong sense of home as soon as I entered."
Having experienced the ups and downs of life, the leader has become much more sentimental: "Yes, that room holds so many of my memories."
The fat man said at the right moment, "I still keep the phonograph you gave me. When I have nothing to do, I always like to listen to a song. Over the years, I have also searched around and managed to get a few more records."
The big boss finally realized: "You fatso! You want me to 'understand the meaning behind the words'? Tell me, what kind of trick are you up to now?"
The fat man scratched his head sheepishly: "You can't hide anything from me. So, when are you planning to move?"
The senior leader exchanged a surprised glance with Secretary Chen, who quickly clarified, "Don't look at me, sir. I didn't say anything to him."
The senior leader then turned to the fat man: "Fatty, what are you really up to? Don't make us guess!"
The fat man then began to explain: "It's like this, big boss. I have a second older sister. She's been very skillful since she was little, and she especially loves organizing and tidying up. She's even figured out a special skill for moving houses..."
Right then and there, I explained to the big boss what bSo is, the advantages of one-stop professional moving, the difference between it and ordinary moving, and the final effect it can achieve.
The top leader had just returned to Beijing and hadn't done anything yet, so he listened with great interest.
The auntie laughed and said, "Fatty, you didn't prepare this especially for us, did you?"
The senior leader chimed in, saying, "He wants to use us as a pilot project, to experiment and figure out a way to succeed!"
"Big Boss, you're wronging me. You're not the one piloting the program; it was Director Wang under you before. I've already tested it at his house and have a mature solution, which is why I dared to come before you and show off my limited skills."
The high-ranking leader said to his wife with a wry smile, "Listen to this, this kid has prepared everything, just waiting for us to promote him."
"..."
Secretary Chen came to pick up Fatty today, of course, because the big boss was craving his cooking.
Upon entering the kitchen, Secretary Chen was still somewhat hesitant: "I heard you were transferred away from the cafeteria two or three years ago?"
The fat man winked at him deliberately: "My skills haven't deteriorated at all, so don't worry."
Secretary Chen was both amused and exasperated: "You little rascal, I was just wondering if you needed to be moved to another place?"
The fat man quickly stopped him: "No need, no need, Hongxing Factory is fine. I won't lie to you, I've been making a fortune on the side these past few years. Now, it's really hard for me to leave."
Secretary Chen hesitated for a moment before saying, "I was worried that you would neglect your skills, which are the foundation for your livelihood. Now, I can only tell you to keep a low profile when you're out in the world."
As the fat man prepared, he shook his head: "No way. You just watch and see if I do a shoddy job."
Just as I was doing that, my aunt came in.
After watching for a while, he said to him with satisfaction, "Over the years in the South, I've personally done all these things. I have to say, even if I did it myself, I couldn't do it better than you."
The fat man knew that the aunt wasn't talking about cooking skills, but rather about details such as kitchen hygiene and food handling.
Watching the fat man cook, the aunt couldn't help but ask Secretary Chen in a puzzled tone, "Little Chen, why do I feel like the fat man's cooking skills have improved again?"
Secretary Chen wasn't sure about Fatty's current skill level either: "He seems more skilled than before, and the transitions between his movements are as smooth as flowing water, with nothing superfluous; and then there's his aura, now that he's standing here, I feel like he's the one who calls the shots in the whole kitchen?"
The aunt laughed: "He's the one who calls the shots in the whole kitchen!"
During the journey, Secretary Chen was handed over to the higher-ups to be assigned work.
Only when the fat man and the aunt were left could she sigh and say, “Life’s circumstances are really unpredictable. Back then, there were plenty of people eager to bring meat and vegetables to our home; later, when we fell on hard times, when I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables that winter, those people ignored me; and now that we’re back, look, we haven’t even started cooking yet, and the kitchen is already overflowing with ingredients.”
As the fat man put the twice-cooked pork into the wok to fry, he said to the aunt, "I've been hearing people say lately that after the storm comes the rainbow; you and the big boss have seen it all, now is the perfect time for you to set sail!"
The auntie smiled so broadly her eyebrows curved: "Thank you for your kind words. You're getting better and better at talking. When you're done with your work, take a look at these ingredients, pick out the good ones and take them home, so we don't waste them."
True friendship is revealed after hardship.
Director Wang is like that, and so are the big leaders. In the most difficult times, all those who usually fawned over him disappeared, and only Fatty still ran home nonchalantly.
Even though it was because of these people that Fatty was implicated and sidelined at the factory, he didn't complain at all.
Today, Fatty made two Sichuan dishes: twice-cooked pork and spicy diced chicken; he also made a braised lion's head meatball dish, a Huaiyang dish; and finally, he made braised prawns using the Shandong cuisine method.
These prawns are amazing, they're genuine Dalian prawns!
In another timeline, the fat man's father went on a business trip to Dalian in 1981 and brought back three bags of prawns, each costing six yuan and containing two prawns.
The fat man kept exclaiming as he processed the food, "This is what you call a real prawn!"
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