Siheyuan: Learning to be the sixth

Sometimes surprises come so suddenly.

Before He Yuzhu finished his meal, a staff member came in and said, "Team Leader He, please get ready. Zhou Gong may want to see you later. Please get ready first."

"I~"

He Yuzhu pointed at himself and asked in disbelief.

"Team Leader He, please keep your tongue to yourself. We have to pay attention to our image..."

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure..."

As soon as the staff left, the chefs from the kitchen gathered around to congratulate them.

He Yuzhu didn't have time to exchange pleasantries.

He clasped his fists and said, "Everyone, I'll clean up first, and I'll buy you all a drink when I'm done."

He Yuzhu didn't even have time to eat. He hurriedly washed his hands, tidied his clothes, and then sat obediently in his seat waiting.

"Master He, follow me quickly."

When the time came, He Yuzhu felt that his legs were a little out of control.

"Xiao Li, hit me quickly, I'm a little nervous."

"Master He, I'm nervous too."

"Clap~"

Fortunately, the staff was knowledgeable and gave He Yuzhu a hand, and only then did He Yuzhu move his legs, but he was still trembling.

Along the way, he whispered, "Comrade, what should I pay attention to later? Which leg should I step forward first when entering the door?"

"Comrade, don't be nervous. Zhou Gong is very approachable. Just relax."

After arriving at the door of the reception hall and passing the security check, He Yuzhu followed the staff to the meeting place which had already been arranged in the room and waited.

The staff asked He Yuzhu to sit with the pillars of the country, but He Yuzhu shook his head repeatedly and said that he was not qualified, so he went to stand in the back row.

Just kidding, even when I was standing I felt this was a great opportunity. If you sat down, you would probably be so nervous that you would die.

Someone among the national pillars in the front row recognized He Yuzhu, but due to the current occasion, he did not greet He Yuzhu but just smiled at him.

He Yuzhu was so excited that he clasped his hands together, but then he remembered that the occasion was inappropriate and quickly put his hands down.

Not long after, Duke Zhou came into the hall accompanied by Engineer Deng and a group of leaders.

When the applause broke out, He Yuzhu was also very excited. He clapped with all his might and didn't even notice that his hands were red from clapping.

Zhou Gong shook hands with everyone and smiled kindly.

When it was He Yuzhu's turn, He Yuzhu did not expect that Zhou Gong would speak to him alone.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, your cooking skills are really good, but you need to keep working hard and strive to improve."

He Yuzhu made repeated assurances. Later, when his colleagues asked him about it, He Yuzhu had forgotten how he had answered.

Not long after, someone came to inform He Yuzhu.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, with the approval of the leadership, you have been included in the list of chefs for the state banquet."

He Yuzhu was also a little confused by the sudden appearance of his comrade.

"Comrade, should I go with you, or continue to work in the steel mill?"

"Comrade He, in view of your special situation, the leadership has specially approved that you continue to work in the steel rolling mill. Someone will notify you when there is a task."

He Yuzhu felt relieved after hearing this.

Although working in a ministry allows one to meet many legendary figures, that kind of serious working environment is okay to try out occasionally, but if it were like this every day, He Yuzhu felt that he would not be able to bear it.

After seeing off the staff member who came to notify him, He Yuzhu felt that he should tell Yang Weimin about this matter.

……

"Zhu Zi, I have already been notified about this matter. Do your job well and don't bring shame to the factory."

"Uncle Yang, don't worry, I won't embarrass you."

"Zhu Zi, from now on you can receive two salaries, one from the factory, and one approved by your superiors, but both are collected from the factory."

There was also an unexpected surprise. He Yuzhu felt that he was really lucky recently and was very happy.

As soon as he left Yang Weimin's office, Secretary Song came over and said, "Zhu Zi, I heard that you shook hands with Zhou Gong?"

He Yuzhu frowned and asked, "Brother Song, how did you know about this?"

Secretary Song knew He Yuzhu had misunderstood as soon as he heard it. "Zhuzi, the factory director told me about this. I don't know the rest."

He Yuzhu was probably informed by his superiors that it was not convenient to make public the status of a national pillar, but since he was just a chef, he did not have to worry so much.

He Yuzhu, who had figured it out, nodded and agreed to the matter.

"Zhu Zi, whichever hand Zhou Gong shook, I'd like to shake to share in the good fortune."

He Yuzhu couldn't refuse, so he simply shook hands with Secretary Song.

"Zhu Zi, I have decided that I will not wash the hand that shook your hand for three days."

He Yuzhu thought: "Should I follow suit and not wash for three days?"

As he was a germaphobe, he thought about it and decided to give up. True respect comes from the heart and there is no need for all these empty talk.

But Secretary Song's reaction gave He Yuzhu a heads-up. Secretary Song knew everything, so maybe others knew it too.

In order to prevent his hands from getting swollen, He Yuzhu slipped away decisively.

"Old Song, if someone comes to the cafeteria to look for me later, just tell them I'm not here."

Seeing He Yuzhu running away in a hurry, Song Aiguo wondered in his heart, "Is Director He digging up someone's ancestral grave?"

Not long after He Yuzhu left, Deputy Director Qian, Yang Xian and others hurried to the kitchen.

"Song Aiguo, where is Zhuzi?"

"Director He said he had something to do and left."

A few people still didn't believe it, so they went to He Yuzhu's office to search and confirmed that no one was there.

"This kid runs really fast."

Everyone whose plans had gone through the roof looked at each other in bewilderment.

Song Aiguo asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Leader, what has Director He done wrong?"

After Deputy Director Qian told Song Aiguo the news he had heard, he began to criticize He Yuzhu for being disloyal.

Song Aiguo was dumbfounded when he heard this, and thought that he and Director He were still closer.

I was wondering why Director He came back and shook hands with me before he left.

I was so nervous that I thought something big had happened to Director He.

"Well, leaders, Director He shook hands with me before leaving~"

"Gah~"

The air suddenly became quiet.

Yang Xian reacted immediately. Since he couldn't shake hands with He Yuzhu, he could shake hands with Song Aiguo.

Song Aiguo was quite excited at first. He didn't expect that there would be a day when he would shake hands with so many leaders.

But gradually Song Aiguo discovered something was wrong. There were too many people shaking hands.

After the leaders shook hands, the workers in the workshop also came to share in the good news after hearing the news.

Song Aiguo couldn't stand being shaken by a bunch of mechanical men.

"Comrade, it hurts, it hurts, please use less strength."

"Ouch~ Director Song, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was too excited and didn't control the strength well."

……

When he got off work, Song Aiguo looked at his red hands that had been shaken, and his face was filled with satisfaction. It was another day of glory for his family.