Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 241

By the afternoon, He Yuzhu had regained his touch and then went to Fengzeyuan.

Fengzeyuan is not far away, it's near the overpass, and everyone in their kitchen knows each other.

As He Yuzhu entered the backyard, many people greeted him with smiles. His senior apprentice, Hong Jindong, quickly came over to greet him and led him inside for tea.

This made all the chefs in the yard who needed to be assessed very envious.

"Who is this? He's got some influence, even the chefs being evaluated got up to greet him?"

"You're a chef? You don't even know what braised meat is?"

"He's Braised Pork He, how come he's so young?"

"Don't underestimate him just because he's young. He's got the skills. I knew he'd get the Level 1 Cook certificate without even needing an exam."

"What? You can get it without any assessment? I wish I had that ability."

"You? You'd be lucky to get a level 5, let alone a level 1?"

"What's wrong with me? We all have the same nose and two eyes, so why am I worse than him?"

"They can only get Level 1 because that's the highest level. If there's a Special Level, then they can get the Special Level. Do you understand?"

"That's nonsense, how could that be possible!"

"You haven't tasted his cooking. I was fortunate enough to have it once, and many chefs secretly admit that their skills are not as good as He's braised pork."

"Really? Then wouldn't that mean I can attend a state banquet?"

"I heard that the Great Hall of the People extended an invitation to him, but he declined."

"What? I wish you could send me an invitation!"

He Yuzhu and Hong Jindong chatted for a few minutes, and then head chef Jiang Guanghui came over to greet them: "Boss He, what brings you here?"

"I'm here for the assessment too, aren't I?"

Jiang Guanghui's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "That's great! It's a rare opportunity for me to taste Boss He's cooking."

He Yuzhu is an oddity in the culinary world. Although his skills are unparalleled in Beijing, he doesn't usually cook.

At most, I'll only host a few tables if I have friends having weddings, funerals, or other celebrations, and I just can't refuse their invitation.

It would be impossible for an ordinary person to eat He Yuzhu's food.

He Yuzhu asked with a smile, "Brother Jiang, you know my skill level, why are you asking me to do it?"

"Of course, everyone should be treated equally. I would appreciate it if Brother He could cook a couple of dishes himself. Otherwise, with so many chefs watching, I can't make an exception for you."

With that said, He Yuzhu couldn't say much more. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he didn't need to use any back channels and would have to take the assessment honestly.

"Okay, I'll take care of the assessment first, and we'll talk again later."

After He Yuzhu came out, he went to the registration point and paid five yuan. Each chef needed to cook two dishes, so Fengzeyuan only charged one cost fee.

After all, chefs need a lot of ingredients, and Fengzeyuan wouldn't provide them for free.

After paying the fee and receiving a number, some familiar chefs in the courtyard came over to say hello. These chefs all take exams to become intermediate or advanced chefs, and many of them are key members of their restaurants. Most of them get their braised meat from He Yuzhu.

Soon it was He Yuzhu's turn to take the test. The first test was knife skills. He Yuzhu picked up the knife, weighed it in his hand, and had a good idea of ​​what to do. Then he honestly cut a potato into evenly sized shreds.

The examiner looked at it and was very satisfied, then said, "Master He, could you please cut some shredded tofu for us?"

He Yuzhu asked, "I don't think they take this test?"

"Isn't it you who's here to assess me?"

Alright, since that's the case, He Yuzhu didn't waste any more words. He picked up a piece of tofu from the side, took a deep breath, and quickly started cutting it.

After cutting, put the tofu strips into clean water. You can see that all the tofu has been cut into thin strips, and they are all spread out without any broken strips or even crumbs.

"Okay, that's great."

The chef who was assessing the chef had nothing to say. He readily gave the chef a score of 10 and said that He Yuzhu had passed the test perfectly.

The second and final stage is the actual operation, but it is divided into different assessment methods such as stewing, stir-frying, and cold dishes, depending on each person's characteristics.

He Yuzhu chose the most commonly used stir-fry dish, which is the simplest and most practical.

A hot and sour shredded potato dish and a vinegar-braised cabbage dish—two of the most common and ordinary dishes—were completed by He Yuzhu in just a few minutes, and then served to the judges by his apprentice.

He Yuzhu looked up and saw that there was an extra Jiang Guanghui on the judges' panel, which originally had only three judges.

The four of them, as if they hadn't eaten for three days, picked up their chopsticks and ate the dishes in no time.

Jiang Guanghui suddenly looked up at the dumbfounded He Yuzhu and said, "This dish is alright. You can also stir-fry some shredded pork with sweet bean sauce."

“Kung Pao Chicken.”

"Stir-fried pork tenderloin."

Stir-fried liver tips.

The four people ordered four dishes, which left He Yuzhu speechless. This wasn't ordering food at a restaurant; it was a chef's assessment. Everyone else only needed to cook two dishes, so why did he have to cook four more?

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Guanghui added, "Then make a hot and sour soup too, and that will complete the four dishes and one soup."

He Yuzhu said speechlessly, "Isn't this too much?"

"Is it a lot? Not really. It's really not easy to find food that you cook."

He Yuzhu knew that this time he would have to cook a few dishes to satisfy their wishes, but seeing that there were still many chefs queuing behind him, he said, "Okay, why don't we go directly to the kitchen so as not to delay the other people's assessment."

"Alright, let's go to the kitchen, they have the ingredients there."

Jiang Guanghui led the way into the kitchen, followed by the three chief examiners.

Someone shouted from behind, "Why have all the examiners left? How are we supposed to take the exam?"

Jiang Guanghui turned around and said, "I'll arrange for a few more people to come over."

Once inside the kitchen, three people were chosen to be examiners, and He Yuzhu started cooking using Hong Jindong's stove.

Hong Jindong quickly prepared eight dishes, and Jiang Guanghui joined them for a meal and drinks.

They drank from dusk until after 10 p.m. before the party ended, and He Yuzhu returned home drunk.

Xu Huizhen was surprised: "Didn't you go to take the chef's certificate exam? How come you're drunk again?"

"Don't even mention it. When I got to Fengzeyuan, did they let me leave? They insisted that I cook a few dishes and then we drank together."

"So how did you do on the exam?"

Xu Huizhen held down He Yuzhu's dragon claw hand and asked the question she cared about most first.

二级炊事员只有80块5毛钱，比一级的要少9元，这一个月少9元一年就是108块钱。

If you make a mistake and only get a Level 2 certificate, wouldn't you lose hundreds of yuan in income every year?

"Don't worry, with my skills, getting a level one certificate is a piece of cake."

He Yuzhu put his arm around his wife and started groping her, which made Xu Huizhen say with disgust, "You smell like alcohol. Go wash up first, or don't come to my bed."

Well, He Yuzhu, still drunk, went to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth, then came back and said, "Now there's no taste. Come on, let's have another child."

Having obtained his Level 2 Cook certificate, He Yuzhu went to the traffic police station the very next day to inquire about the ZIS-100 sedan and two trucks he owned, as he needed to get a driver's license.

After making inquiries, I learned that I needed to find a company to "affiliate" with before I could take the driving test.

The reason why private individuals do not own cars is not because policy prohibits it, but because the reality is that they simply do not have them.

All cars are now owned by certain organizations, and a certificate is required from the organization before one can take the driving test.

He Yuzhu had no choice but to go back to Tian Zao. Although he was not currently affiliated with any unit, He Yuzhu would soon be a technician in the soon-to-be-established braised meat shop, so strictly speaking, he was still affiliated with a unit.

Upon hearing He Yuzhu's purpose, Tian Zao asked in surprise, "You can drive trucks and cars?"

I knew Tian Zao had driven a sidecar tricycle before at the police station, but a tricycle and a car are definitely different. One is a handlebar, and the other is a steering wheel. When did He Yuzhu learn this?

"Didn't you learn that in Moscow?"

He Yuzhu was also very fortunate that he went to Moscow and stayed for a month or so, which explained his ability to drive a car.

"Okay, I'll give you a certificate so you can go and get a driver's license. It's just that our company doesn't have any cars."

"Of course I know. There's no one here, not even in the neighborhood."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "Then give me two more certificates, and I'll take the carpentry and antique appraisal exams."

"Yes, you also know woodworking and identifying antiques."

Tian Zao quickly prepared the certificate and then said, "It's not easy to do any of these things well, yet you have four skills."

"I'm a very diligent person. If I learn a few more skills, I'll never starve as a craftsman."

"How could you possibly go hungry? The best job in the world is being a chef. Even in a year of famine, you can still eat your way to a fat man."

He Yuzhu chuckled and then asked, "Sister, do you want our neighborhood committee to use equipment to transport wood?"

"That big machine for turning wood?" Tian Zao asked back.

“Yes, I can get a set,” He Yuzhu said. “They’re all old, brought from Moscow.”

"Do you have connections with the railway?" Tian Zao asked in surprise.

"No, Elena got this and entrusted me to sell it, but she doesn't show up; I handle it all."

"I see, that explains it."