Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Chapter 173 Qin Jingru wins the favor of everyone in the kitchen.

"Yan Jiecheng, you've finished getting your food, why aren't you leaving? Do you really think the steel rolling mill is your private property?"

"Yan Jiecheng, eat more so you'll have the energy to kill the chicken tonight, hahaha."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng's face turned terribly gloomy, and he left with his lunchbox.

The people behind him were urging him on and making sarcastic remarks, and Qin Jingru didn't give him a friendly look either, so there was no point in him staying.

What he didn't understand was how Qin Jingru got into the steel rolling mill and even started working in the canteen.

There's no use thinking about it now. I'll just wait until I get back to the hospital after get off work and ask around.

Looking at the three tiny cornbread buns and a few cabbage leaves in the bowl, Yan Jiecheng felt bitter.

He does manual labor in the foundry workshop. He used to eat two cornbread buns a day, but now he has to eat at least three.

These three steamed buns are smaller than the usual two, and the cabbage only has two leaves, which is practically nothing. It looks like I'll have to go hungry until I get off work this afternoon.

He just couldn't understand it. He didn't think he had offended Wang Feng or Qin Jingru recently. Could it be that Qin Jingru suspected him of strangling her chicken?

......

After getting their food, Liu Lan and several other women found Qin Jingru. Liu Lan asked:

"Jingru, besides Yan Jiecheng strangling your two old hens, have Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai both offended you?"

Qin Jingru nodded, then said angrily, "Sister Lan, you don't know, this Jia Dongxu is my cousin-in-law, and I live in the same courtyard as him..."

Before Qin Jingru could finish speaking, Liu Lan looked at her in shock and asked, "Jingru, you said Jia Dongxu is your cousin-in-law, so why were you flipping the wok for him?"

Qin Jingru rolled her eyes: "Sister Lan, can you please not speak so quickly? I haven't finished yet."

"Hehe, Jingru, you go ahead." Liu Lan laughed awkwardly.

Qin Jingru nodded: "Jia Dongxu, he..."

"And then there's Yi Zhonghai, he's one of them..."

"Crackling and popping."

Qin Jingru talked at length about the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai, which shocked Liu Lan and the other women, who stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

After a while, Liu Lan gave a thumbs up and said with a smile:

"Jingru, the people in your courtyard are really talented. There's a saying, what's it again? Oh, right, it's, 'A small temple has a lot of evil spirits, and shallow water has many turtles.' Hehehe."

"Jingru, don't worry. When the three of them come to our third canteen again, we'll definitely cook for them."

"Yes, Jingru, don't worry. These people are disgusting. Look at Aunt Li, if they dare to come to our cafeteria, I guarantee they'll go hungry."

At this point, Aunt Li said with some worry, "When Sha Zhu was the squad leader, he always asked us to give Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai extra money. Jingru, what are we going to say when Sha Zhu comes back in a few days and asks us about it?"

Liu Lan rolled her eyes: "Aunt Li, what are you afraid of? Sha Zhu is no longer our class monitor. Are you still afraid that Sha Zhu will make things difficult for you? Jing Ru is our acting class monitor now, and she's actually a deputy director of the canteen, receiving the salary of a deputy director. So what are you afraid of Sha Zhu for?"

"Even if Sha Zhu goes back to the canteen, he won't be cooking the meals anymore. At most, he'll be a cook. And I reckon that once Sha Zhu goes back to the canteen, the leaders will transfer him to the workshop. Now that Jing Ru is doing the meals, what use is Sha Zhu? He used to offend the leaders a lot because of his cooking skills."

Aunt Li laughed awkwardly: "Hehehe, I forgot about that. Sha Zhu's mouth is really too sharp. He even dares to scold the canteen director and the logistics manager. If it weren't for the fact that no one in our factory has such good cooking skills as him, we would have transferred him to the workshop long ago."

Just as the group was chatting, Director Ma from the cafeteria walked over.

"Comrade Qin Jingru, how is it? First day at work, are you getting used to it?" Director Ma asked with a warm smile.

Qin Jingru smiled and nodded: "I'm quite used to it, thank you, Director Ma."

Director Ma smiled with satisfaction. This was how a master chef should act, unlike Sha Zhu, who, relying on his skills, didn't take him, the canteen director, seriously. However, Qin Jingru's husband was Wang Feng, and Wang Feng had a particularly strong relationship with Factory Director Li, so he didn't dare to put on airs in front of Qin Jingru.

"Comrade Qin Jingru, it's like this, Director Li just called to inform me that he's hosting the meat processing plant director tonight and asked you to do a bit of work by cooking some of his best dishes. There will only be one table, eight people in total."

Qin Jingru nodded: "No problem."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble. A new batch of ingredients has arrived today. You can have Liu Lan go to the warehouse to pick them up later."

"Okay, I understand."

Director Ma spoke to Qin Jingru in a very warm manner, and then left directly after finishing his conversation.

......

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Qin Jingru was chatting enthusiastically with a group of middle-aged women when Liu Lan ran over and said, "Jingru, Director Ma asked me to inform you that the dishes will be served at six o'clock this afternoon."

"Okay, I understand."

Qin Jingru had already prepared all the ingredients, and she cooked the dish very quickly.

At 5:20 p.m., Qin Jingru started cooking.

Qin Jingru skillfully tossed the wok, adding oil and flipping it with practiced ease. Her movements were fluid and effortless, leaving Liu Lan, Aunt Li, and everyone in the kitchen in awe.

The kitchen staff, including Liu Lan, did not approach Qin Jingru to watch her cook; they knew this basic etiquette.

Generally, unless permitted by the head chef or by an apprentice, people are not allowed to watch the chef cook up close.

When Sha Zhu is cooking, if anyone from the kitchen gets within three meters of him, he starts yelling, saying that this is his family's culinary tradition and he can't let outsiders learn it.

Qin Jingru prepared ten dishes: braised pork, four-happiness meatballs, stir-fried mutton with scallions, braised fish, braised pork intestines, sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce, Kung Pao chicken, shredded pork with garlic sauce, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and stir-fried cabbage.

She made a larger portion of the braised pork and braised pork intestines, and the extra was meant to be shared with everyone. These were the kitchen's hidden perks, and she couldn't break the rules.

Previously, Sha Zhu had kept the dishes for himself, which made the people in the kitchen hate him to the core. But there was nothing they could do because he was a good cook and the class monitor. They could only be angry but dared not speak out.

After Wang Feng reminded her that she couldn't make such a mistake, she decided to divide all the dishes among herself and not keep any for herself. After all, she had only used 60% of her cooking skills to prepare these dishes, and her family was not short of food and drink, so she wouldn't compete with everyone. This way, everyone would remember her kindness.

She's new to the kitchen, and this is a necessary step to quickly gain everyone's approval.

Qin Jingru cooks very quickly; she can cook ten dishes in just over half an hour.

Liu Lan delivered the ten dishes to the private room in an orderly fashion, and all ten dishes were served by 6 p.m.

Qin Jingru filled three lunchboxes in advance with braised pork and braised pork intestines, along with some other meat and vegetables, making a total of three full lunchboxes.

She waved to Liu Lan: "Sister Lan, you, Aunt Li, Aunt Zhang, Aunt Ma, Uncle Liu, and Sister Li should divide these dishes equally among yourselves. Tell everyone that from now on, I don't want anything when I entertain guests. Any extra dishes should be divided equally among everyone. Those who didn't get any this time will have their turn next time."

Liu Lan looked at Qin Jingru in surprise and asked, "Jingru, these dishes are so good, you really don't want them? You're really going to give them all to us?"

Qin Jingru smiled and nodded: "Sister Lan, you know me. My husband Wang Feng earns 87.5 yuan a month, and I earn 78.5 yuan a month. Together we earn a little over 100 yuan a month, and we don't lack food or drink. I know everyone is having a hard time right now, so I'll give it all to you."

After Qin Jingru finished speaking, she left the cafeteria without giving Liu Lan a chance to refute her.

Qin Jingru's actions quickly won the favor of everyone in the kitchen. Several elderly women from particularly poor families were so moved by Qin Jingru's kindness that they kept shedding tears and wanted to thank her in person, but Qin Jingru had already left the steel rolling mill.