Meanwhile, the leaders who had just arrived at the private room saw Liu Lan setting the table. The leader from the Light Industry Bureau, seeing the dishes on the table, immediately smiled and said, "I've heard the steel rolling mill has a good cook! We'll have to have a good taste today!"
Director Li smiled mysteriously. Then, after whetting everyone's appetite, he said, "Distinguished leaders, tonight is different from usual! Please take your seats."
When Liu Lan returned to the kitchen and told Ma Hua that he could start cooking, Ma Hua quickly began stir-frying dishes. One dish, two dishes—in less than half an hour, the table in the private room was full of food.
After Liu Lan brought the last dish into the private room, Ma Hua plopped down in a chair, picked up his teacup, and gulped it down. He was just too thirsty.
Seeing Liu Lan return, Ma Hua immediately urged her to come and eat. Liu Lan looked at Ma Hua with some surprise, seemingly incredulous. "This??"
Ma Hua laughed and said, "Sister Lan, aren't you hungry? Why don't you come and eat?" Ma Hua hurriedly urged Liu Lan to eat.
Liu Lan just stared intently at Ma Hua, then smiled. This kid was nothing like his master. If Sha Zhu were the cook, she wouldn't even be able to eat, let alone pack up leftovers.
When Ma Hua saw that Liu Lan hadn't moved, he immediately understood what she meant and explained, "Sister Lan, you don't think I'm like Sha Zhu, trying to take these vegetables home, do you?"
When Ma Hua saw Liu Lan nod, he immediately became both amused and exasperated: "Sister Lan, how should I put it? In our culinary world, there's an unwritten rule: chefs are only allowed to eat, not take anything away. There's this saying, 'A chef who doesn't steal grains won't prosper.'"
That's an insult to our culinary profession. Our ingredients are precious and meant to be eaten. Therefore, we chefs must adhere to stricter rules than those in other professions. We earn our living through our skills and hard work, not through those despicable means!
"Great, well said!" Just as Ma Hua and Liu Lan were talking, a burst of applause suddenly came from the doorway. Ma Hua and Liu Lan looked over and saw that it was Director Li and several people wearing Zhongshan suits who walked in.
As they walked, the man in the lead said to Director Li, "Young Yang, I think your factory's chef not only cooks well, but also has a high level of ideological awareness. Not bad, not bad at all, a good comrade worth cultivating!"
"No, you flatter me. These are all things that our factory leaders taught me," Ma Hua immediately stepped forward. Looking up, he saw that this was the benefactor of Sha Zhu from the original story! However, he still quickly explained to the leaders.
After listening, the senior leader's eyes softened even more. This comrade is neither arrogant nor impatient; he is a good comrade. He had originally wanted to see who the chef was, but he did not expect him to be so young and have such a high level of ideological awareness. It seems that Xiao Yang's factory is quite good!
Upon hearing Ma Hua's words, Director Yang and Director Li immediately relaxed. "Not bad, not bad, so sensible!"
After the group left, Ma Hua instantly felt his back was soaked with sweat. There was no way around it; the aura of the big boss was just too strong. Ma Hua let out a long sigh of relief before noticing that Liu Lan was still staring blankly at him.
Ma Hua reached out his hand to Liu Lan and tentatively called out, "Sister Lan, what's this?"
Liu Lan then realized what was happening, her eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension, as if she were meeting Ma Hua for the first time. However, she still retorted defiantly, "Hey, you're such a fool!"
After everything was finished, Liu Lan waved the lunchbox in her hand at Ma Hua and said, "Ma Hua, you really don't want it?" Seeing Ma Hua nod, Liu Lan chuckled and scolded him twice before stopping her questioning. However, she was even more satisfied with Ma Hua now. If it had been Sha Zhu before, she would have only gotten some leftovers.
After saying goodbye to Liu Lan, Ma Hua slowly walked towards her home. Fortunately, the moon overhead illuminated the streets; otherwise, the hutongs of Beijing under the night sky would have been pitch black, like a monster with its mouth wide open, ready to devour people.
When Ma Hua got home, he realized that his parents' room light was still on. Ma Hua slapped his forehead and said, "Oh no, how could I forget to tell my parents?"
Just as Ma Hua hesitated, preparing to knock on the door, he saw his father, Ma Jianguo, come out of the house. Upon seeing Ma Hua return, Ma Jianguo immediately put on a stern expression and scolded, "You brat, it's so late, where have you been playing?"
Inside the room, Chen Hongmei was still anxiously waiting when she suddenly heard Ma Jianguo scolding Ma Hua outside the door. She immediately rushed out and said to Ma Jianguo in an annoyed tone, "The child came back late because something happened. What's wrong? Why are you scolding him? Honestly!"
After finishing speaking, Chen Hongyan turned around and said with a concerned look, "Xiaohua, have you eaten? There's still some food prepared for you in the pot!"
Seeing his wife like this, Ma Jianguo grumbled irritably, "Just now, I don't know who was so worried that they couldn't sleep, and they still had the nerve to talk to me. Honestly, I think I shouldn't have left him leftovers. It's so late and he's still not home."
"Go away, go away, go away! You're always here! Hurry up and heat up the child's food, what are you muttering about?" Chen Hongmei said irritably. Ever since she heard people talking about what happened at the alley entrance last night, she had been worried.
"Hey, Dad, I'm not hungry, I've already eaten," Ma Hua hurriedly called out to her father, then said mysteriously to the two of them, "Dad, Mom, come inside quickly, I have something good to show you."
Then, Ma Hua mysteriously pulled the two into the house. Once inside, Ma Hua pulled out his chef's certificate from his pocket.
"Wow, Xiao Hua is amazing! Jianguo, Jianguo, come and see! He's at level six!" Chen Hongyan said excitedly to Ma Jianguo.
Ma Jianguo, standing to the side, feigned disdain and said, "Only level six? Why are you so happy? Really!" Before he could make a big deal out of it, he saw his wife's murderous glare and immediately swallowed his pride, though a hint of pride still flashed in his eyes.
After her initial excitement, Chen Hongyan immediately sat down next to Ma Hua, curious about how he had passed the exam and what dishes he had prepared. When they heard that one of the examiners was named Wang Defa, her parents' expressions became slightly uneasy. However, Ma Hua didn't notice this and continued excitedly recounting the events of the day.
After Ma Hua left, Chen Hongmei and Ma Jianguo looked at each other, no longer as excited as when they were chatting with Ma Hua. Ma Jianguo gently hugged Chen Hongmei and comforted her, "It's okay, it's all in the past, it's all in the past, I'm here for you!"
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