At the same time, Zhang Lin, who was walking on the way home, sighed and muttered, "Your brother is so obsessed with home that he has forgotten about it. He stays out until the middle of the night every night. If this goes on for a long time, people will inevitably gossip about him."
Zhang Qingshan said, "Mom, there is nothing to gossip about. My eldest brother and sister-in-law are husband and wife. What is there to say between husband and wife?"
Zhang Lin shook her head, "How can they be husband and wife now? They don't even have a marriage certificate."
Zhang Qingshan frowned, "Mom, a marriage certificate is just a small matter. Big brother can get one at any time. The key is that in big brother's heart, she is his wife."
"Besides, Shu Lin is so big now, how would outsiders know these things inside? Don't worry about it, just be nice to your sister-in-law." What he didn't say was that the reason why his elder brother and sister-in-law are like this is because his sister-in-law doesn't want to remarry his elder brother so soon. So, his mother should be nicer to his sister-in-law, otherwise his sister-in-law will have no trouble finding a husband. Now it's a disadvantage for his sister-in-law to marry his elder brother.
Seeing Zhang Qingshan defending Li Hehua so much, Zhang Lin was upset and said helplessly, "Okay, okay, you two are on her side now, I won't say anything, okay?"
Zhang Qingshan shook his head, knowing that his mother had not completely gotten over her previous grudges and was still feeling uncomfortable. She did not regard her sister-in-law as a real family member, so her words lacked the intimacy and tolerance she showed to her relatives and she would talk about everything.
Fortunately, his mother has gradually accepted it now, and all he has to do is wait a little longer.
Zhang Qingshan would now speak well of Li Hehua in front of his mother from time to time, and it was the same now. He said, "Mom, big brother must treat sister-in-law well now, otherwise what will happen if sister-in-law doesn't want to marry me? Sister-in-law is very beautiful now, she cooks delicious food, and she opened a restaurant to make money. Her temper has also become very good. How can there be no men to marry such a woman? If sister-in-law really wants to find a husband, I guarantee that many men will marry her. Now it seems that brother is not worthy of sister-in-law."
Zhang Lin was so angry that she slapped Zhang Qingshan and said, "How dare you say that about your own brother? What's wrong with your brother that makes him unworthy of her?"
Zhang Qingshan curled his lips. He knew his mother knew the whole thing but was just being stubborn. So he didn't say anything more. After all, he had already said it.
When the two of them got home and lit a candle, Zhang Linshi noticed that Zhang Qingshan's clothes were torn, with a big cut on them. She couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with your clothes? How did they get so damaged? They're new clothes."
Zhang Qingshan's face drooped, and the heartache that had just subsided in his heart came up again. This was a new piece of clothing made of fine material that Li Hehua bought for him. He usually took good care of it for fear of damaging it, but today it suddenly had such a big tear. If it weren't for this incident, he wouldn't have come back so late from dinner time.
Zhang Qingshan got angry when he thought of this and said, "It was someone who was my apprentice who broke it. He did it on purpose."
Zhang Lin was also angry when she heard this. "What's wrong with this guy? Why did he deliberately tear your clothes? This is too bad. You can't just let it go. Have you asked him to compensate you?"
Zhang Qingshan's face turned green and he shook his head, "I went to find him, but he denied it. I had a fight with him, but I was punished by the master."
"What's going on? Didn't your master make the decision for you?"
"This person is a relative of my master's. My master is very partial to me and spoke for him. He then turned around and scolded me for causing trouble."
Zhang Qingshan felt really aggrieved. He had suffered a lot of grievances during this period. Every time, that person would take the initiative to pick a fight with him, and then the master would side with that person, and the bullied person would be scolded instead. He endured it every time, but he was in a bad mood every day.
Moreover, the master was not very willing to teach them carpentry and only used them as hard laborers. He didn't know if they could learn it if they continued like this.
Zhang Qingshan had been holding back on grievances for too long, and he had been holding it in without speaking about them in order not to worry his family. But now that he had brought it up, he wanted to talk about it, so he told them about all the grievances he had suffered during this period.
Zhang Lin was originally very angry about the man bullying her son, but when she heard that the man was a relative of Master Zhang Qingshan, she hesitated. "Qingshan, since he is a relative of your master, your master must be biased towards him. If you quarrel with him, you will definitely suffer. What if your master is displeased with you because of this and doesn't want to teach you carpentry?"
"Mother, I have endured it every time, but that person is getting more and more excessive. He not only bullies me, but also bullies other apprentices. He always likes to take advantage of others and finds faults when others don't give him what he wants. He is such a bad person. Mother, I don't want to do this anymore!"
Zhang Lin was shocked. "How can you do that? You can't talk nonsense. Your brother finally found you an apprenticeship job. This company is the best in town. What if you don't learn and you won't know anything? How will you support your wife and children in the future? Qingshan, you can't do anything rash. Listen to your mother. Don't bother with that man. Stay away from him and be obedient."
Zhang Qingshan pursed his lips, feeling very sad. He thought his mother would comfort him, but she asked him to continue to endure it. At this moment, his eyes were sore. In order not to embarrass himself, he hurriedly said "I'm going to bed" and ran back to his room.
"What a childish temper." Zhang Lin shook her head and went to sleep.
.............................................................
Ever since the disturbance was resolved, no one has come to cause trouble again, and the guests have gradually forgotten about it. In addition, the dishes cooked by Li Hehua are so delicious and addictive, so the restaurant's business has gradually improved, and the restaurant is full of customers every day again.
Everyone was very happy to see that business was picking up again, and they returned to their work with renewed energy.
Soon it was the 14th, and Li Hehua announced to everyone that they would have a collective holiday, saying that wages would be paid as usual. This was a big surprise, and everyone was overjoyed. They worked extra hard that day, and it seemed as if they had the wind under their feet, which made Li Hehua laugh a lot.
Li Hehua packed a bag that night, which contained various foods for the next day, most of which were for Shulin, as well as a bamboo tube of water, a towel, and a large oilcloth. It was just like the rhythm of a picnic on the eve of a picnic.
Zhang Tieshan watched quietly from the side, with a smile on his face. He lowered his head and touched Shulin's forehead, saying with a slightly sour tone, "Look how much your mother has prepared for you!"
Shulin had been watching with sparkling eyes and grinning since Li Hehua was cleaning up, and he was obviously very happy. He had never gone out to play since he was a child, let alone flown a kite.
Thinking of the kite, Shulin climbed down from Zhang Tieshan's lap, ran to the table, picked up the kite Zhang Tieshan bought for him, ran to Li Hehua as if he was holding a treasure, and presented the kite to Li Hehua, "Mom, a kite."
Li Hehua rarely saw him willing to say more than two words, and he knew that the little guy was very happy at the moment, so he kissed his little face and said, "Is this kite Shulin's? It's so beautiful. We can fly it into the sky tomorrow."
The little guy kept nodding with his mouth wide open, and was extremely excited at night. It was difficult to coax him into sleep.
After coaxing Shulin to sleep, Li Hehua was afraid that Zhang Tieshan would be naughty again, so she drove him out. She didn't want the scars on her neck that had finally gone away to appear again. What would happen if someone saw it tomorrow?
Zhang Tieshan looked at the door behind him that slammed shut, touched his nose, and smiled after a moment.
The next day, Li Hehua and Zhang Tieshan took Shulin to Mr. He's farm in the suburbs. The gatekeeper had been greeted in advance, and when he heard Li Hehua introduce himself, he politely welcomed him in, prepared a room for Zhang Tieshan and Shulin to rest, and then took Li Hehua to the kitchen.
As soon as Li Hehua arrived in the kitchen, Mr. He came over and said to Li Hehua, "Boss, I'm sorry to bother you today."
Li Hehua smiled faintly and shook his head, signaling him not to be so polite, and then asked: "How many guests do you have today? Is there anything they particularly like to eat or avoid eating?"
Seeing how meticulous and serious she was, Mr. He was very satisfied and said, "There are six people today, and two of them like fish very much. You can make two more fish dishes. There are no dietary restrictions for the others, so you can make whatever you like."
Li Hehua nodded, "Okay, I'll do my best."
After Mr. He left, Li Hehua took the apron handed to her by a kitchen helper and put it on, then began to familiarize himself with today's ingredients.
The kitchen helpers were a little indifferent to the fact that Li Hehua was a woman, but when they saw Mr. He coming in person to thank her and being quite polite to her, the indifference in their hearts disappeared and was replaced by caution. Not only did someone take the initiative to hand her an apron, but someone also followed Li Hehua and introduced her to the ingredients purchased today and the locations of various seasonings, etc.
Of course, there were also people who disliked Li Hehua, and that was the original chef. His name was Zhang Daming, and he had learned cooking since he was a child and was quite talented in it. Later, he was appreciated by the restaurant in the town and worked as a chef for many years. Two years ago, the foodie Mr. He spent a lot of money to hire him as his personal chef, and he was very proud of it.
But for some reason, recently Mr. He often went out to eat and seldom stayed in the house to eat the food he cooked. Later, when he ate the food he cooked, his expression was no longer satisfied, but picky. This time, he didn't even let him be the chef for an important banquet, but instead invited a woman from outside to be the chef. How embarrassed he was.
Originally, he was given a day off today to go back and rest, but he was not convinced and wanted to see who could be better than him, so he stayed. Unexpectedly, when he met the person, he found out that she was a young woman in her twenties. This made his already dissatisfied heart even more dissatisfied. He was not convinced and did not believe that such a woman who obviously had not cooked for a long time could cook better dishes than him.
But this person was invited back by Mr. He himself, so he couldn't provoke her verbally, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. But he did want to see what this woman could do and whether she would make a fool of herself.
Li Hehua had no idea that she had become the enemy in other people's minds. After she had decided on the dishes she wanted to cook, she started to select the ingredients. She asked the kitchen helpers to wash and cut them while she picked up two spatulas and shook them in her hands to feel them.
People around didn't know what she was doing. The way she was gesturing with a spatula in each hand looked quite strange. They had been helping in the kitchen for so many years and had never seen such a great chef. However, as Li Hehua was a person whom Mr. He treated politely, everyone cleverly pretended not to see anything and no one said or asked anything. Only Zhang Daming watched coldly, sneered softly, and had a look of great disdain.
A woman can only put on some useless fancy words. Cooking requires real skills. Just playing with a spatula is not enough.
After Li Hehua tested the feel of the spatula, she asked someone to start lighting the fire. When both stoves were hot, she poured a proper amount of oil into the two pots at the same time. Then, with both hands moving at the same time, she scooped up two spoonfuls of proper seasonings and side dishes. With a flick of her hand, the seasonings on the spatula were accurately sprinkled into the oil pan and began to stir-fry.
Li Hehua planned to cook eighteen dishes, which would definitely be enough for the occasion. These eighteen dishes were: Squirrel Fish, Boiled Fish, Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Butter, Shrimp in Garlic, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Dongpo Pork, Braised Lion's Head, Pea Yellow, Husband and Wife's Lung Slices, Big Plate Chicken, Boiled Cabbage, Tofu Casserole, Shredded Pork with Fish Flavor, Dry Pot Vegetarian Assortment, Ants Climbing a Tree, and Braised Mushrooms with Oyster Sauce.
Li Hehua planned to cook sweet and sour spare ribs and Dongpo pork first, because the two dishes were cooked in about the same time. She picked up the prepared spare ribs with her left hand and the meat with her right hand, and when she put both hands on the pans at the same time, the two oil pans instantly made a sizzling sound.
Li Hehua picked up the spatula and put salt on the left and soy sauce on the right without delaying either, but in the end they were both out of the pot at the same time, and the two dishes were ready.
Everyone was stunned by her agility and the fact that she could draw the bow with both hands. What was even more surprising was that the unprecedented fragrance was like invisible threads that penetrated into people's noses and even the brain, instantly making people want to eat it.
It smells so good! This was what everyone was thinking. Even Zhang Daming, who had been standing aside and watching with disdain, was startled by the fragrance and felt a little shaken.
What he thought before seemed to be wrong.
Seeing that the kitchen helpers were standing still and not knowing how to serve the dishes, Li Hehua had to remind them, "Serve the dishes before they get cold."
After being reminded by Li Hehua, the people who were waiting for the dishes finally reacted. They did not dare to delay and hurriedly took the two dishes out. However, it was unknown how much suffering the aroma caused them.
Li Hehua cleaned the two pots again and started preparing the next two dishes.
As Li Hehua cooked two dishes after another, the dishes that looked attractive and smelled even more attractive were served one after another. The people in the kitchen had gone from being skeptical at first to being stunned and now admiring. It was like they were watching a show. They were all thinking: No wonder Mr. He did not hire Chef Zhang but this woman. It turns out that she is really talented. Just by looking at the appearance and the smell, you can tell that she is much better than Chef Zhang without even eating. They originally thought that Chef Zhang was already a great chef, but they didn't expect that there are always people who are better than you. It's really amazing.
It took Li Hehua almost an hour to prepare all 18 dishes. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, took off his apron, and drank a sip of water to relax.
At this time, a young kitchen helper handed her a towel. Li Hehua was stunned for a moment before she took it and said thank you to the young man with a smile. The young man blushed and waved his hands repeatedly, stammering, "You, you are really, really good at cooking..."
Li Hehua laughed and said to him, "Thank you. You will be great in the future."
The young man's face turned red to his ears after hearing this sentence, and everyone around him laughed.
Seeing that there was nothing else for her to do, Li Hehua didn't want to stay any longer. After all, Shulin and Zhang Tieshan were still waiting for her. So she found the housekeeper of the manor, said goodbye to him, and asked him to help her talk to Mr. He.
The housekeeper immediately went to report to Mr. He. After a while, the housekeeper came out with a small bundle in his hand, and said to Li Hehua with a smile: "Madam, the master and the guests are very satisfied with the food today. The dishes on the table are almost finished, and the guests are still eating. Everyone praises it and asks the master who you are. The master asked me to thank you very much. He is busy now and cannot come out to see you off in person. Please forgive me." After speaking, he handed the bundle in his hand to her, "This is our master's thank-you gift to you, madam. I hope you will accept it as a small token of my appreciation."
Li Hehua was not polite. He took the bundle with both hands and said with a smile, "Thank you, butler. Please also thank your master on my behalf. I will leave first."
The housekeeper sent Li Hehua to the room where Zhang Tieshan and Shu Lin were entertained, then escorted the three of them out of the manor and watched them walk away before closing the door.
Zhang Tieshan held Shulin in one hand and carried all the luggage in the other, and took Li Hehua to Xianghua Temple not far away.
What Li Hehua didn't know was that at the farm, when the table was cleared after the banquet, Chef Zhang Daming, who usually didn't care about these things, actually took action himself. When he saw that the 18 dishes on the table had been basically eaten up, his heart sank to the bottom. He did not give up. He usually would not eat other people's leftovers, but today he broke the rule. He picked up a piece of tofu left on the plate with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Then, his expression changed.
The tofu, which was already cold, was smooth and tender, fragrant and delicious. After Zhang Damin swallowed it, all his contempt and dissatisfaction disappeared. He couldn't make this tofu, not even half as good. He never knew that tofu could be so delicious.
He had to admit that the dishes cooked by that young woman were indeed good. They were the best dishes he had eaten in all these years. He originally thought that his cooking skills were very good, but now after comparing them, he realized that there were always people who were better than him. His cooking skills were not even half as good as that of the young woman. No wonder Mr. He didn't like his dishes recently and even didn't want him to cook for banquets. He was as angry as he was before, and now he was ashamed. He was indeed far behind, and he had the nerve to look down on others in his heart.
Zhang Daming now has nothing but admiration for Li Hehua. He deliberately inquired about it and found out that Li Hehua is the owner of Delicious House. He decided in his heart that he would go and ask for more advice in the future. Even if he couldn't learn more, eating more food cooked by him would also be a kind of improvement for himself.
Since then, Li Hehua's restaurant has had a regular customer.
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