Qian Xiang, along with Qian Duoduo, drove an oxcart to Mao'ershan Commune. Upon arriving at the state-run restaurant, Qian Xiang asked the waiter, "Hello, comrade, is Comrade Liu Haibo here?"
The waiter glanced at Qian Xiang, especially at the patch on his clothes, and frowned: "What do you want with him?"
Although Qian Xiang sensed that the other party's attitude was not good, he thought that the attitudes of employees in various state-owned enterprises were all similar these days, so he didn't think too much about it and said, "We are from Beian Village. We are looking for him because of our village's tofu, and we want him to try it."
The waiter's gaze turned unfriendly: "Comrade Liu isn't someone you country folk can just see whenever you want. Look at you all, covered in dust and smelling like mud!"
Upon hearing this, Qian Xiang immediately said, "How can you speak like that, comrade!"
The waiter crossed his arms, rolled his eyes, and said, "How dare you talk like that? A country bumpkin like you dares to come to our restaurant? I bet you've never even eaten any of the food here before."
Qian Duoduo saw that Qian Xiang's face was red with anger, and adhering to the principle that a good man doesn't fight with a woman, Qian Xiang could only fum in anger.
She stepped forward and said, "Comrade, are you the purchasing agent for this state-run restaurant?"
The waiter looked Qian Duoduo up and down, noticing that the young girl was clean and without any patches on her clothes. However, considering that the two of them had come together, he wasn't very polite: "Whether I'm making purchases or not is none of your business."
Qian Duoduo laughed and said, "Of course it's our business. After all, we've already contacted Liu Haibo. If you're in charge of purchasing?" Qian Duoduo looked him up and down, then turned to Qian Xiang and said, "Third Brother said Liu Haibo is a man. How did he become a woman?"
The waiter blushed and immediately reached out to push Qian Duoduo away, but Qian Duoduo stepped back and said, "Comrade, we are farmers, that's true, but we don't steal or rob. We are developing the village's sideline businesses under the guidance of Secretary Lu. We have also contacted Comrade Liu Haibo to cooperate. Are you trying to sabotage the collective economy by not letting us see Comrade Liu Haibo?"
The waitress immediately denied it: "Don't try to label me." This young lady doesn't seem easy to get along with. Every time she opens her mouth, she's talking about Secretary Lu or labeling people. She's really a troublemaker!
Just then, a man walked in from outside. Seeing that the atmosphere between Qian Duoduo, Qian Xiang, and the waiter seemed a bit off, he asked, "Sister Qiao, what's wrong with you all?"
The waiter glanced at Liu Haibo, his lips moved as he said, "They said they were looking for you."
Qian Duoduo smiled and said to Liu Haibo, "Comrade Liu, hello, we are from Beian Village, here to deliver tofu."
Looking at the two people in front of him, Liu Haibo recalled meeting Secretary Lu's secretary, Qian Mao, a couple of days ago and realized that these two must have been introduced by Qian Mao. He smiled and said, "Hello, Secretary Qian did mention this to me, but we don't use tofu in many dishes here, so we probably don't need too much tofu."
Qian Duoduo smiled and said, "Comrade Liu, Secretary Qian also told us about this matter. I came here this time to borrow the restaurant's kitchen to make a tofu dish. I wonder if Comrade Liu could put in a word with the chef?"
Liu Haibo looked at the girl in front of him, surprised by her boldness. He knew that many girls were still under the protection of their parents, but she could talk so confidently in front of a stranger like him. She must be very brave or have real skills, which made him look forward to the tofu dish.
He nodded and said, "Please wait a moment, I'll go to the kitchen and tell them."
Qian Duoduo nodded. After watching Liu Haibo leave, she gave a sweet smile to the waiter who was seemingly wiping the table but had been paying attention to her. The waiter trembled and immediately lowered his head to continue wiping the table that he had been wiping for a long time.
Qian Duoduo said with a smile, "Ma'am, you've been wiping that tabletop for a long time. If you keep wiping it, the paint will chip!"
The waiter immediately turned around and wiped other areas.
Qian Xiang shook his head helplessly at Qian Duoduo. He didn't have a good impression of this waiter either. He was arrogant from the beginning, but now that Comrade Liu was here, he shrank to the side like a quail. He wondered what he was up to.
If Qian Duoduo knew Qian Xiang's question, she would definitely say: This waitress must be waiting for Liu Haibo to refuse her tofu, so she can come back and ridicule them.
Not long after, Liu Haibo and a middle-aged man in his forties came out. He was wearing an apron and nodded when he saw the tofu that Qian Duoduo and the others had brought: "This tofu is quite good, very tender. It would be suitable for making tofu with scallions."
Liu Haibo nodded and said, "Master Jiao, this young lady said she wants to make a tofu dish and would like to use your kitchen. What do you think?"
Chef Jiao glanced at Qian Duoduo and said, "The woks in our kitchen are very heavy. This young girl has thin arms and legs. Can she handle it?"
Qian Duoduo said with a smile, "I'm just making it so that Master Jiao can try it out. Maybe he'll figure out how to make it after just one taste."
Master Jiao chuckled: "Alright, I'll take your provocation, young lady!"
Qian Xiang looked at Qian Duoduo with some nervousness. After all, he didn't know what kind of dishes Qian Duoduo could cook. Although his second aunt was a very good cook and Duoduo had learned some of it, his cooking was indeed a little better than his mother's. But where was this? This was a state-run restaurant. Could Duoduo really cook in front of the head chef?
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