Chapter 131: Hosting Again

After chatting for a while, seeing that it was getting late, Li Shengli said goodbye to his master Wang Defu and his family and left Wang Defu's house with Han Qiuyun.

Li Shengli drove Han Qiuyun back to Shuijing Hutong. The two of them spent a while together and then Li Shengli said goodbye and left.

"Qiuyun, you met Shengli's master today. What did they say?" Old Mrs. Han asked nervously.

"Yes, sister, please tell me quickly." Han Qiuyu poured a glass of water for Han Qiuyun and urged her.

"They are very nice people. The calendar says March 15th is a good day for engagement, and that day happens to be a Sunday. They said they will come to our house on March 15th to get engaged." Han Qiuyun took a sip of water, put down her cup, and said while taking off her scarf.

"It's settled, it's settled." Old Mrs. Han felt relieved.

"Well, Qiuyun, did Shengli say whether you still want to hold your wedding?" asked Old Mrs. Han.

"I haven't talked about it yet. Let's talk about it when we get engaged." Han Qiuyun shook her head and said.

"Next time Shengli comes to see you, you can discuss it with him. We don't have many relatives here. Marriage is a big event for both of you, so you must discuss it carefully." Old Mrs. Han said earnestly.

"I understand, grandma." Han Qiuyun nodded and had an idea in mind.

In the courtyard, in Xu Damao's house in the backyard, Lou Xiao'e looked a little unhappy. She and Xu Damao had visited relatives in the past few days, and almost every relative was talking about how her belly was not doing well and how she hadn't gotten pregnant yet. As a result, she was not in a very good mood after returning home.

Xu Damao was comforting her, but he began to get a little impatient. He had thought that by marrying Lou Xiao'e he would be able to move up a level, but the result remained the same. Although his life was better, he had lived badly before. The most important thing was that after more than a year, Lou Xiao'e's belly was still flat.

Xu Damao felt a little sorry when he thought of Lee Seung-ri's girlfriend. It seemed that Lee Seung-ri and his girlfriend had been together for a long time, so he couldn't say anything bad about her.

If Li Shengli knew what Xu Damao was thinking, he would give him two slaps in the face.

Soon the steel rolling mill started operations. Li Shengli was too lazy to pay attention to the trivial matters in the yard. Li Shengli heard from people in the yard that the cabbages in Sha Zhu's vegetable cellar had their hearts dug out. The central courtyard was relatively large, and generally the vegetable cellars were shared by several families. It was obvious that Bang Geng had done it, as the cabbages in Sha Zhu's family had their hearts dug out.

However, Sha Zhu did not say anything. He probably knew who did it. Bang Geng had been taking things from the house when he was not around, such as Sha Zhu's peanuts. Bang Geng knew exactly where they were hidden. Qin Huairu would go to apologize to Sha Zhu every time Bang Geng took Sha Zhu's things.

When Li Shengli was in the yard, he would hear the aunt in the yard saying that Qin Huairu went to borrow grain from someone's house again. Li Shengli couldn't figure it out. Did someone really lend it to her? Every time Qin Huairu cried poor in the yard, Li Shengli didn't see how difficult her family was.

Apart from other things, the union cadres in the factory would visit needy families door to door during the holidays every year and distribute relief funds according to the degree of family difficulty. When workers and their families were seriously ill, the union would send people to express their condolences. However, Li Shengli did not see the factory send anyone to express condolences to the Jia family.

During working hours, in the deputy factory director's office, Li Huaide was reviewing documents when the phone in front of him rang.

"Hello."

"Yes, yes, I'll call him right away." Not knowing what was said on the other end of the phone, Li Huaide nodded repeatedly.

After hanging up the phone, Li Huaide called his secretary.

"Xiao Liu, go call Xu Weimin from the cafeteria." Li Huaide instructed his secretary.

"Okay, Director, I'll go now." Secretary Liu responded respectfully.

Secretary Liu left the factory director's office and came to Xu Weimin's office.

"Director Xu." Secretary Liu knocked on the door and pushed it open after getting permission.

"Secretary Liu, what's up with Director Li?" Xu Weimin saw that it was Secretary Liu who came to see Li Huaide, and he knew that Li Huaide wanted to see him. "Director Xu, Director Li is waiting for you in the office." Secretary Liu said.

"Okay, I'll be there right away." Xu Weimin followed Secretary Liu to Li Huaide's office.

"Director, you're looking for me?"

"Weimin, Li Shengli from the third canteen is still here, right?" Li Huaide asked.

"Yes, he should be preparing lunch now." Xu Weimin said after calculating the time.

"Okay, let him stay for a while in the afternoon and go somewhere with me in the evening." Li Huaide nodded with satisfaction.

"Okay, I'll go inform him right away." Xu Weimin didn't ask where to go. This was not something a mere canteen director like him could ask.

"Well, go ahead." Li Huaide said, and then continued to deal with documents with his head down.

"Wang Tiezhu, go and call Li Shengli over." Xu Weimin shouted to Wang Tiezhu while standing at the cafeteria door.

"Shengli, come here." Wang Tiezhu curled his lips in annoyance. Every time Xu Weimin came to see him, it was something bad. But he couldn't stop the director from coming, so Wang Tiezhu shouted inside at the top of his voice.

Li Shengli glanced at Wang Tiezhu, finished cutting the last bit of vegetables, asked Liu Xikui and Tian Shulin to continue cutting vegetables, wiped his hands on his apron, and walked towards the door.

"Director, squad leader, do you have something to talk to me about?" Li Shengli asked puzzledly.

"He has something to talk to you about." Wang Tiezhu said to Xu Weimin with a sneer, then went back to the kitchen to continue his work.

"Hey, this Wang Tiezhu." Xu Weimin pointed at Wang Tiezhu and complained to Li Shengli.

"Director, is there anything I can help you with?" Li Shengli knew that the two were used to joking around, and he didn't care about Xu Weimin's tone.

"Shengli, there is a mission tonight. You should go out with Deputy Director Li tonight." Xu Weimin stated his purpose.

"Okay." Li Shengli nodded to indicate that he understood.

When Li Shengli got off work, he first went to the woolen mill to say hello to Han Qiuyun, and then returned to the factory and got into Li Huaide's car.

"Li Shengli, you can't be negligent in this reception. The leader wants to entertain his comrades, so you have to bring out your best cooking skills." Li Huaide had a serious face. This was not a meal with his subordinates. Most of those present were leaders of different departments.

“No problem, Director.” Li Shengli was confident in his cooking skills. He had acquired his cooking skills through practice, and he also knew some recipes from later generations.

"By the way, Director, where are the guests coming this time from? Do they have any food taboos?" Li Shengli needs to make preparations in advance.

Li Huaide looked at Li Shengli with approval. He would have answered this question even if Li Shengli didn't ask.

"The people who came this time are from all over the country, but they are mainly from Sichuan and Hunan." Li Huaide did not say which leaders came, but only said where they were from.

"Is that so..." Li Shengli thought about it and felt that it would be troublesome if so many people came.

"Director, how about I focus on Sichuan cuisine and add some non-spicy dishes? This will cater to both people from Sichuan and Hunan who eat spicy food, and people from other places who don't eat spicy food." Li Shengli thought about it and decided that since Sichuan and Hunan cuisine would be the main focus, he could just focus on Sichuan cuisine and supplement it with Hunan cuisine.

(End of this chapter)