Siheyuan: Cooking journey

Director Yang simply said hello and left.

Director Lou said with a smile: "Master He can make a simple dish of cold-mixed shredded carrots so delicious. You will be in for a treat later."

"That dish is not simple at all, don't pretend to know it when you don't."

Mother Lou glared at him and said, “That dish is not simple at all. It’s not just about chopping carrots and mixing them with some seasonings;

"This dish is a special cold dish in some places. Although the main ingredient is carrots, it is also served with vermicelli. First, the carrots must be blanched in water.

"This tests your control of the heat. If you cook it for too long, the dish will be cooked through. If you cook it for too short, the raw taste of the dish will not be removed.

“Then seasoning is even more difficult. There is no fixed standard for how much seasoning to use for each ingredient. It all depends on the chef’s experience.

“Just like soy sauce and vinegar, the right amount can make a dish delicious, but if it’s out of balance, it becomes bitter;

“Many spices are like this, they affect each other, and how to use them together is a big question;

"Chef He has done all these to perfection. The carrots are blanched just right and the seasoning is just right. It looks simple, but it actually best reflects the level of a chef."

Lou Xiao'e's eyes lit up when she heard this. "So it's so complicated. I thought it was quite simple. I want to learn it."

Director Lou's face turned red. His wife came from a cooking family, so he didn't argue. He couldn't win anyway, so he changed the subject and said in fake surprise:

"So that's how it is. No wonder you asked me to bring some fans here and even specially asked Chef He to make this dish."

“I used to eat this dish when I was a kid.”

Mother Lou recalled with deep emotion: “At that time, my grandfather was still alive and we would only make it during the Chinese New Year;

"This dish has many names. My grandfather likes to call it 'Hecai', which means that every time we eat this dish, it is the time when the family is reunited. At that time, among all the dishes on the table, I prefer this one. It is refreshing and I will never get tired of it.

"After Grandpa passed away, I seldom ate it anymore, and I can't make it taste the same anymore..."

……

in the kitchen.

He Yuzhu was drinking tea leisurely when Director Yang came in carrying a bag.

"It's for you. Take a look."

"what's that?"

He Yuzhu took it and looked at it in confusion. The bag was filled with all kinds of tickets, including soap tickets, clothing tickets, toothpaste tickets, cloth tickets, etc., as well as vermicelli, eggs and seaweed.

"What does it mean?"

He Yuzhu looked at him in confusion.

"These tickets are a gift for you. Vermicelli and carrots are mixed together, and eggs and seaweed are used to make soup."

Director Yang explained: "Do you remember the director of the steel plant where you cooked before? He always wanted to invite you to cook at his home. I turned him down for you, but he and his family came directly to the cafeteria.

"I just happened to be discussing the raw materials with the steel mill, so I have to give you this favor. In addition to these two dishes, you can make as many as ten or eight dishes as you like with the existing vegetables.

"This can be considered a kind of diplomacy at the dining table. If the talks go well, our factory won't have to worry about raw materials."

The main raw materials for steel rolling mills are steel ingots or billets.

In the past, these raw materials were mainly transported from northern industrial areas by train.

Not only is the journey long, but there are also steel rolling mills in key industrial areas with their own production tasks. The raw materials shipped in are often insufficient, which limits the output of the steel rolling mills.

This situation changed in 1958 when the city's steel mills successfully produced steel.

But there are three steel rolling mills in the city, and there is still not enough raw materials to go around.

Moreover, the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill ranks last among the three companies, with just over a thousand workers and a small monthly quota.

He Yuzhu was also aware of these situations and understood the importance of sufficient raw materials to the steel rolling mill, so he nodded.

It’s just making a few dishes, it’s quite simple.

"By the way, do it seriously, just like you did yesterday."

Director Yang reminded him again that Director Lou had tasted his cooking yesterday and the taste was not right. If the difference was too big, it would not be good.

"Row."

He Yuzhu originally wanted to talk to Director Yang about Liu Lan.

But mentioning it at this time seems to be a bit like asking for credit or reward.

After thinking for a while, he changed the topic and asked, "Deputy Director Li's reputation and work style are not very good. Doesn't the factory care?"

"Some things are not that simple."

Director Yang sighed, "There are negative rumors about Deputy Director Li, but no one has come forward to provide evidence, so the factory has no way to intervene even if it wants to."

He Yuzhu was silent. In that era, a woman's reputation was more important than anything else. If she reported Deputy Director Li, her reputation would be ruined. She would be pointed at and despised by others. No one was willing to do that. Perhaps that was the reason why Deputy Director Li was so unscrupulous.

"You want to talk about Liu Lan, right?"

Director Yang glanced at him and said helplessly: “Deputy Director Li mentioned Liu Lan’s matter at the morning meeting;

"We can usually turn a blind eye to the issue of leftovers, but strictly speaking, they are indeed the property of the factory. If we must follow the regulations, it is in line with the factory regulations and there is no problem. After all, there are still a lot of waste materials in the factory, and the leftovers that can't be used can't be taken away privately just because they are waste materials;

"It's not one person who has the final say in the factory. As long as there is a sufficient reason, we have to follow the rules. Liu Lan was only criticized and warned, and transferred to a workshop without a struggle session. This is a relatively light punishment.

"As the saying goes, flies don't bite cracked eggs. As long as you behave properly, no one can do anything to you."

After a pause, Director Yang reminded: "You should also be careful and don't let Deputy Director Li catch you."

"understood."

He Yuzhu nodded, agreeing with what Director Yang said.

Although it is not easy to lose a stable job and the factory director cannot fire people without reason, the situation is different if someone behaves improperly and is caught doing something wrong.

It seems that this Deputy Director Li uses this method to threaten others.

Liu Lan was transferred to the workshop. If she couldn't stand the hardship, she might eventually agree to Deputy Director Li's conditions.

Don’t you like to find fault with others and threaten them?

Then treat others in their own way.

He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold.