NFBE Chapter 174 Disciple Zhang Long
Chapter 174 Disciple Zhang Long
Yu Shui picked up a piece of beef tendon and ate it. It was soft, chewy, and delicious. "Brother, what kind of meat is this? It smells so good."
"Beef, beef tendon, isn't it delicious?"
"It's delicious! Bro, I heard from my classmate that your factory had mutton and mutton soup today. Did you make it?"
"Didn't I work the night shift yesterday? You know that, don't you?"
"Oh, so you really made it? Then why isn't there any mutton soup on the table today?" Yu Shui looked at her brother expectantly.
"Don't you drink it often? Why are you envious when you hear that your classmates are having mutton soup?"
Having her thoughts exposed by her brother, Yu Shui said shyly,
"Brother, when will we make mutton soup at home again? All my friends are asking me that."
Their parents wouldn't do it for them.
Erdan's father bought some mutton offal and made a pot of mutton soup. Erdan told me that he vomited after taking a sip.
It tasted awful. His dad pinched his nose and forced himself to drink the whole pot of mutton offal soup.
"Oh, is Erdan's dad alright?" Shazhu asked, thinking to himself, "He doesn't know anything. He wants to save money and eat well? It's not that easy."
"It's okay, but his dad said he'll never make mutton offal soup again."
“I don’t dare to do it anymore, look, even Director Wang is angry. Let’s talk about it again after the New Year. If you want to drink mutton soup, go to the small restaurant and find your second uncle.”
"Oh."
After the two finished eating, Sha Zhu reluctantly carried the rainwater and practiced boxing in the living room, which was a required course of study.
Xu Damao, that kid, even begged Shazhu to teach him martial arts, but he didn't come over after school. I wonder if he was seduced by a pretty girl again.
The next day, when Sha Zhu went to work, Zhao, the foreman, came over and asked him what to do with the brine.
Sha Zhu thought for a moment, "How about we make a big pot of stew for lunch and use some as a seasoning every day?"
It's all oil and fat, and it won't spoil even if left out for a few days in this weather.
This noon, I asked Aunt Liu to roll out some noodles and pour some braising sauce on them. They were delicious, and it was a good opportunity for us kitchen staff to have a better meal.
"Squad Leader Zhao, didn't the kitchenette have plenty of braised meat? How come it's all gone?"
"Luckily I hid some beforehand, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat any at all."
After you get off work, those factory leaders come looking for you, and our canteen manager gives all the meat in the kitchen to those leaders.
Zhu Zi, your braised pork is really good! My son has been craving it ever since he tried it.
She kept asking me when we could eat it again. "Or, could you teach me?"
You're shameless! I even ground some of the spices in the seasoning packets for boiled fish and pickled fish into powder for you, and you still want to learn my cooking skills?
Actually, dishes like boiled fish and pickled fish have had their recipes featured in newspapers.
Unfortunately, these newspapers never reached the people. Reporter Li said that some of the newspapers that were published later were targeted not only by the fixed distribution points, but also by the chefs and managers of restaurants.
This has caused internal strife in all the restaurants. The managers aren't raising wages, and the cooks don't want to work anymore, making the conflicts even more serious than in the previous life.
If this continues, the government will likely intervene and it won't be long before the property is nationalized.
It will be another thirty years before I can open my own restaurant again. Let's make a scene, the bigger the better, and see how many privately owned restaurants are left.
"Um, Squad Leader Zhao, please don't make things difficult for me. You know, it's a three-year apprenticeship, two years..."
"Thump thump thump," before Sha Zhu could finish speaking, Squad Leader Zhao, shameless as ever, knelt down on both knees, clasped his hands in a fist, touched his forehead to the ground, and respectfully performed the apprenticeship ceremony under the watchful eyes of the kitchen staff.
Sha Zhu quickly stepped aside, helped Squad Leader Zhao up, and said...
"Squad Leader Zhao, didn't I already say that Director Wang of our subdistrict office won't let me take on apprentices? I need Director Wang's approval first."
While explaining, Sha Zhu forcibly helped Squad Leader Zhao up.
Squad Leader Zhao had already kowtowed, but now, hearing Sha Zhu say this, he was a little incredulous. "Did you say that? When did you say it? How come I didn't know?"
"Don't you know, Squad Leader Zhao? Don't play dumb. All the kitchen staff know. If you don't believe me, ask them."
The temporary workers and apprentices in the kitchen nodded quickly.
Although I was a little surprised by Squad Leader Zhao's actions, I wondered, on what grounds?
If you, Squad Leader Zhao, can become Master He's apprentice just by kowtowing, then why didn't we take our families to the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office to ask Director Wang? Director Wang didn't even acknowledge us.
Sha Zhu had no idea that the mutton soup and braised meat he made yesterday had won the hearts of everyone in the kitchen.
Yesterday after get off work, some people even brought their families to see Director Wang of the neighborhood office. Unfortunately, Director Wang didn't agree to their request and kicked them out.
"This," Squad Leader Zhao was a little dumbfounded. It turned out that he had kowtowed for nothing. He was the squad leader, and he had knelt down in front of everyone in order to learn a skill.
Okay, it's just about finding Director Wang. I'll do anything to learn cooking skills, and I have to go secretly, otherwise what if they all start learning from me?
“It’s alright, Master He. From now on, you will be my master in my heart. Even if I don’t learn cooking skills, I will still serve you wholeheartedly.”
Son, your father has lost all face because of you.
But if you can really learn some real skills, what does this little bit of face matter?
Master He has a lineage of skills; if it weren't for Master He teaching me how to make boiled fish and pickled fish, I probably would have stepped down long ago.
What's more, he didn't even learn the secret recipes for those two dishes. Although Chef He's cooking skills aren't that great.
If I could learn even just one of the secret recipes for mutton soup, braised dishes, or boiled fish, I'd be fearless wherever I go for the rest of my life.
From now on, they will be people with specialized skills, no longer just half-baked cooks.
“Master He, Zhang Long is not your first disciple. I, Zhao Jianguo, will be your second disciple.”
Although I'm quite old, I'm willing to be second best, even if you, Master He, disagree.
Zhang Long felt uncomfortable; yesterday, the kitchen staff had divided up all his meat.
You, Squad Leader Zhao, completely ignored me, and now you want to be my junior? What makes you think you can?
At over forty years old, he really has no shame. He's my junior brother, so I wouldn't dare to bully him. Zhang Long felt waves of pain in his heart.
Sha Zhu thought to himself, "This guy's been blackmailed. Whatever. I didn't agree, so do whatever you want."
But seeing the looks in the eyes of the other kitchen staff, all of whom were looking at him and seemed to have an urge to kneel down, Sha Zhu was speechless.
"Thump, thump" Just as the other kitchen staff knelt down...
Sha Zhu turned around and disappeared. He ran outside; he needed to have a smoke to calm down.
This world is so crazy, I can hardly understand it myself.
The man, a man in his forties, was also her boss. She humbled herself to learn some cooking skills.
He hadn't even started the process of accepting apprentices yet, and these people were already rushing to kneel and kowtow.
In the past two years, Beijing has been filled with people kowtowing and worshipping masters, which are considered feudal remnants and should be banned.
How can they have no shame at all? They know that this kind of behavior is now subject to crackdown, yet they are all rushing to kowtow and become disciples.
After Sha Zhu left, the kitchen staff who had knelt down were a bit dumbfounded. We've already become his apprentices, so why did Master He run away?
The group exchanged glances, their eyes all turning to Squad Leader Zhao. "Squad Leader Zhao, from now on you're the second senior brother, and we're the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth junior brothers..."
An apprentice stood up and said.
“Yes,” “Yes,” the others stood up and said in unison.
Zhang Long was devastated. "I'm the senior brother. Yesterday, you guys were the ones who knelt down the most enthusiastically, trying to steal the braised meat that my master left me." But he didn't dare to say it. He felt incredibly wronged.
When Sha Zhu returned to the kitchen, the apprentice and temporary worker who had just knelt down were incredibly obsequious.
Zhang Long's usual job of making tea was also taken away, and the group surrounded Sha Zhu, massaging his back and legs. They looked every bit the wealthy landlords.
Liu Lan couldn't stand it anymore and came over to say, "He Yuzhu, you don't know, do you? Yesterday, it was those people next to you who stole the braised meat you left for Zhang Long and ate it among themselves."
The men patting Sha Zhu's back and legs suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. One of them protested...
"Liu Lan, don't talk nonsense. It was our senior brother who took pity on us. Besides, didn't you eat anything?"
Sha Zhu immediately knew that it must be his own disciples who couldn't refuse and were being morally blackmailed by them.
Sigh, this kind of thing happens everywhere. If you can't stand up for yourself, you'll always be played around by others.
If you refuse, everyone will isolate you and subject you to passive-aggressive treatment.
Saying you're not a social butterfly is sometimes unavoidable in this era. If you're not strong enough and not prepared for isolation, you can't always avoid it.
It's common for people to be driven to suicide when everyone isolates them. They're just being desperate.
"Alright, alright, go back to your own business. We're cracking down on feudal remnants right now. If Director Zhang sees this, he'll probably put all sorts of labels on you."
This is clearly part of traditional Chinese culture, reflecting respect for elders and mentors.
But some people, whether out of lack of education, deliberate attack, or simply because they can't stand it,
Anyway, even Director Wang from the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office said that if you want to kowtow, go back to your own home and do it behind closed doors.