Chapter 13 Return to the courtyard
"Master Li, what does the director want to see you about?" Yao Qin walked in cautiously.

"We have a special meal to prepare today, and you will have to serve the dishes then." Li Shengli glanced at Yao Qin.

"Hey, can our cafeteria have its turn to cook for this small kitchen?" Yao Qin was surprised.

"Isn't this an opportunity given by the canteen?" Li Shengli nodded in the direction of the canteen.

"That's right. If Shazhu hadn't taken leave, this wouldn't be our turn." Yao Qin looked suddenly enlightened.

"We can also cook our own meal in the evening." Li Shengli said happily.

"Then I'll wait for you tonight." Yao Qin's eyes lit up after hearing Li Shengli's words.

"No problem. I'll have to talk to the squad leader later."

"What did you say?" Before Li Shengli finished speaking, Wang Tiezhu walked in from outside.

"The director just came and said that he wanted Master Li to prepare today's special meal." Before Li Shengli could say anything, Yao Qin told him the story first.

"Oh?" Wang Tiezhu was also surprised. The third canteen was the farthest from the office, and usually the leaders would go to the nearest canteen for their special meals.

But it's not hard to guess that Shazhu from the cafeteria had asked for leave. After all, Li Shengli's cooking skills are top-notch in the steel mill.

"Then you better work hard tonight and don't lose face for our No. 3 canteen." Wang Tiezhu smiled and patted Li Shengli on the shoulder.

Li Shengli nodded and said nothing with his teeth bared. Wang Tiezhu's grip was really strong.

In the afternoon, Li Shengli and Liu Xikui took the notes and went to the logistics warehouse to pick up the ingredients.

In the evening, Li Shengli plans to make a dish of chicken stewed with mushrooms, and a braised carp. In addition, he will stir-fry pork with some braised pork, scrambled eggs with leeks, and a vegetarian dish of shredded cabbage and a seaweed egg drop soup. There is not much to eat, so he can just make something of it.

Li Shengli first cooked the big pot of food for the evening and handed the job of serving the food to others. Li Shengli began to prepare the food to be cooked in the evening.

Prepare the ingredients first. Seeing that time is almost up, Lee Seung-ri starts cooking. He starts with stir-frying the chicken and stewing mushrooms, which takes a longer time, and then braises the fish.

Soon, the people who were eating were about to arrive. Li Shengli fried some peanuts first, and then started to cook. Soon, the other dishes were cooked. Yao Qin served them one by one.

In the box.

"Chief Wang, today's dishes taste great, no worse than what Sha Zhu made." The speaker was Chief Yang from the textile factory.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that there was such a great chef hidden in this steel mill." The person sitting nearby echoed.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Section Chief Wang didn't expect that either. He thought that since Sha Zhu was not here today, the reception would be ruined. He didn't expect that the chef recommended by Director Xu would be so reliable.

The dishes were almost served. Li Shengli smiled and said to Yao Qin, "Yao Qin, the dishes are almost served. It's getting late. You should go back as soon as possible. It's not safe to go back too late."

After saying that, Li Shengli divided the leftover ingredients and asked Yao Qin to go first. After all, the nights in this era were still very dangerous.

"Master Li, I'm leaving first." Seeing that the sky was beginning to darken, Yao Qin packed up her things and prepared to leave.

Li Shengli and Liu Xikui cleaned up the kitchen and finished their meal with the leftover stir-fried ingredients.

After more than an hour, after having eaten and drunk their fill, the people in the room dispersed. Li Shengli and his partner cleaned up the room, washing and emptying the place.

"It's getting late, go back and have some rest." Li Shengli looked at the starry sky outside and said to Liu Xikui. He gave half of the leftovers to Liu Xikui and put the rest in a lunch box, not planning to take it home.

"Okay, Master. Please be careful on your way."

Li Shengli nodded and walked towards home in the cover of night. It was pitch black all around and from time to time he could hear someone shouting in the yard next door.

Back in the courtyard, the hustle and bustle of the day was gone. Everyone else had helped with the Jia family's affairs and went to bed early.

Arriving at the door of his home, Li Shengli took out the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed open the door of his home and it creaked open.

"Shengli is back. Where have you been? Why did you come back so late?" Yan Bugui, the third uncle next door, heard the noise, opened the door and came out to inquire about the situation. Seeing that Li Shengli did not have the lunch box in his hand, a look of regret flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, it's the third uncle. Something happened at the factory, so he came back late today." Seeing Yan Bugui coming out of the house, Li Shengli was no longer in a hurry to go home. He had not been in the yard all day today, so he planned to ask for some information from the third uncle Yan Bugui.

"Uncle, nothing big happened today, right?" Li Shengli asked meaningfully.

"Well, what big deal can it be? The relatives of the Jia family came to pay their respects today, and the second uncle has made all the arrangements." Yan Bugui thought for a while and said. He also went to work today, so he went to help when he came back from get off work.

Li Shengli thought about Yan Laokou's usual behavior and it was not realistic to ask him to take leave. He would not get paid if he took leave, and Yan Laokou would not do such a loss-making thing.

"Uncle didn't look for me today, did he?" Li Shengli thought for a while and asked.

"I did look for him, right after get off work, but since you weren't there, I didn't say anything."

The old man didn't say anything? That's right, there's Shazhu here, Li Shengli thought a little strangely.

"There was a reception at the factory today, and Shazhu took a leave and was not there, so I came back so late." Li Shengli explained.

This kind of thing must be explained clearly, and then the third aunt will tell the ears of other people in the yard. It is either that I don't want to help, but that there is something going on in the factory. Otherwise, in the eyes of others, I am not keeping my word. I said I would help, but now I disappear when something happens.

"Oh, the factory had a treat but you didn't bring your lunch box." The third uncle Yan Bugui was stunned for a moment. He thought that something was wrong with Li Shengli. He didn't bring his lunch box even though he was entertained. Sha Zhu would always bring his lunch box when there was a treat at the factory.

"Where is the lunch box? There's not enough food." Li Shengli didn't care. If he was full, the whole family would not be hungry. It was better not to bring the lunch box if possible.

"Uncle, I'm going to go home first. I've been busy today." Li Shengli said hello and prepared to go back to sleep. There was nothing big happening in the courtyard.

When the third uncle Yan Bugui saw this, he retreated back to his home. It was a cold day and he was not wearing enough warm clothes.

"Old man, who is outside?" Auntie asked, putting down the shoe sole in her hand.

"Li Shengli from next door." Yan Bugui replied while taking off the cotton jacket he was wearing.

"He came back so late. An old man was still looking for him at night." asked the third aunt.

"They have a reception at their factory." The third uncle Yan Bugui sat down and poured himself a glass of water.

(End of this chapter)