Chapter 45 Yan Bugui's Plan
Everyone was chatting while working, and although some others were envious, no one was sarcastic.

Li Shengli continued to teach Liu Xikui how to cut vegetables, and other kitchen helpers also came over to listen to what Li Shengli had to say. Li Shengli glanced at the kitchen helpers and said nothing, nor did he drive them away. These were not exclusive secret recipes, but just some little tricks, basically the same things used in big pot dishes.

Liu Xikui was listening very carefully. It was not easy to get promoted to a higher rank for a cook. There were no such high ranks in the factory, and a few kitchen helpers didn't care that much. The more they could learn, the better. A higher rank would increase their salary by several dollars.

After explaining how to cut vegetables, Lee Seung-ri told the helpers around him about how to control the heat and when to season the dishes while cooking. These things require long-term practice.

After cooking, serving lunch and cleaning up the kitchen at noon, Li Shengli took the opportunity to take a walk outside. As he walked, he came to a canteen. Li Shengli saw a few workers outside the workshop, chatting and smoking while taking a break.

Li Shengli also came over, intending to listen to what the latest gossip was about the steel mill.

"Do you know that Lao Liu from Workshop 5 had a quarrel with his wife last night?"

"Is it true or not? How do you know?" someone on the side argued.

"Of course I know. Lao Liu and I are from the same courtyard. They had a very loud quarrel last night." The person who spoke was amazed. "You didn't see Lao Liu's face. It was scratched by his wife..."

"Really? I'll go check it out later." Hearing this, the others became excited. What a great fun it was.

"You guys can watch it but don't say it was me who said it." The person who spread the gossip changed his expression. Since they all lived in the same compound, it was not nice to talk about others behind their backs.

Li Shengli smiled behind the few people. The fun was not in vain. As they were joking with each other, a figure hurriedly walked past them.

"Hey, hey, stop talking and look." A person who was just listening to the fun saw it and quickly signaled everyone to be quiet and look in the direction of the person coming.

"What?" Huatou was a little unhappy when the people who were talking were interrupted. He thought to himself, "If you don't give me an explanation, I'll teach you a lesson." He turned his head and was stunned for a moment.

Li Shengli noticed that several people had strange expressions and turned to look, only to see Qin Huairu passing by hurriedly with a lunch box.

Li Shengli raised his eyebrows. Is this the leftovers from the cafeteria? Did they start so early?
"How about it? Beautiful, right?" The person who had previously motioned for everyone to look over there raised his eyebrows at the others and said with a lewd smile on his face.

"Is that from our factory?" asked a man who had previously turned a deaf ear to the outside world and focused only on work in surprise.

"Hey, you don't know this, right? This person just joined the factory. Her name is Qin Huairu and she works in Workshop 7. She took over Jia Dongxu's shift." A well-informed person said proudly.

"She's a widow." said the person asking the question disappointedly.

"Why, what do you think?" After hearing the man's disappointed tone, the others immediately started gossiping.

"Well, if she's not married and she's so beautiful, of course I'd have some ideas." The person who asked the question earlier was not embarrassed. As the saying goes, 'A gentleman loves a beautiful lady.' If she's a virgin, he would have to get her together. Forget about a widow. Nowadays, no widow is easy to mess with.

After hearing this, Li Shengli nodded in his heart. That’s right, regardless of Qin Huairu’s character and how she does things, her appearance is good.

"A widow is fine too." Another person teased in an obscene manner.

"Forget it, forget it, forget about the widow." The person who asked the question waved his hands repeatedly. He was a grown man, not ugly, with a good job, and a good family. If he didn't find a woman with a job, he should at least find a virgin. The few of them laughed and joked for a few more times, finished smoking, and went back to work. Li Shengli saw that there was no more gossip to listen to, so he wandered back to the kitchen.

After finishing dinner in the evening, everyone cleaned up the kitchen and Li Shengli rode his bike home from work. He said hello to the guard in the duty room and took Liu Xikui with him for a while. After dropping Liu Xikui off halfway, Li Shengli rode his bike back home.

After entering the courtyard, Li Shengli locked the car and opened the door of his house. He had already eaten dinner at the factory and was too lazy to cook as he was alone at home.

"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the door.

"Shengli, are you home?" The voice of the third uncle Yan Bugui came from outside.

What did this old man Yan want to talk to me about? Li Shengli thought strangely, as he did not bring any special dishes back.

"Uncle, is there anything I can do for you?" Li Shengli opened the door and wanted to see what Yan Bugui wanted.

"Shengli, the third uncle has something to ask you." Yan Bugui laughed dryly.

"What's the matter, Uncle? Come in and tell me." Li Shengli opened the door and welcomed Yan Bugui in. He picked up the teapot on the table and poured a glass of water for Yan Bugui.

"Just tell me what's the matter, Third Uncle." Handing the water to Yan Bugui, Li Shengli was somewhat curious about the purpose of Yan Bugui's visit.

"Shengli, here's the thing. Can you let Uncle San use your bicycle this Sunday?" Yan Bugui said with a dry laugh.

"Uncle, what do you want to do with the bicycle? I have to go to the countryside on Sunday. If you are in a hurry, I can lend it to you. If you are not in a hurry, I need to use the bicycle." Li Shengli was very curious about what Yan Bugui wanted to do with the bicycle.

"Do you want to use it?" Yan Bugui was a little disappointed.

"Uncle, if you need it urgently, I can lend it to you first."

"No, no, I plan to go fishing somewhere farther away. I found a new place in the countryside, and it looks like there are a lot of fish there." Yan Bugui waved his hand and refused.

"Sure, uncle. You're here to borrow a bicycle just for such a small matter." Li Shengli exclaimed with a hint of surprise.

"You're fine anyway," Yan Bugui said with a smile, his tone a little embarrassed.

"Uncle, I'm not saying this, but I won't lend you a bicycle for such a small matter." Li Shengli shook his head. If he needed the bicycle urgently, he could lend it out, but he couldn't set a precedent for such a small matter. Otherwise, people in the hospital would come to borrow bicycles for even the most trivial matters, and it would be troublesome for him to use them himself.

Besides, Lee Seung-ri knows what kind of people are in this courtyard. If someone asks Lee Seung-ri to borrow a bicycle, even if Lee Seung-ri himself wants to use it, the person who borrows the bicycle will definitely say bad things about Lee Seung-ri behind his back. And by then, the bicycle might become public, especially since there is a person in the courtyard who is good at moral blackmail.

"It's okay. If you need it, I'll just walk there." Yan Bugui replied with an embarrassed smile. He just came over to try it out. Besides, winter was coming soon. If he could borrow it, he could ride his bike to the countryside to fetch some firewood.

"Then you go ahead and do your work, Shengli. I'll go back first." Yan Bugui, who failed to borrow a bicycle, relaxed and said goodbye to Li Shengli.

(End of this chapter)