Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 262

"So I don't want to keep the breakfast stall open anymore, and I want to transfer the staff to the cannery."

"I thought it was something serious, but it's nothing, how many people are involved?"

"Four."

Originally there were five people, but we also needed to keep Xiangcao's sister as a nanny, so we only needed to arrange four people.

"Here's what I'll do. I'll give you eight spots. If any of your neighbors or friends ask you to help, you can get them in too."

"Okay, thanks, sis."

"Don't be so polite with me. Hurry up and get the cannery up and running. I'll take care of anything that happens on the street."

"My sister is still the best to me."

"Go away, you already have a wife and kids, and you're still grinning like that."

He Yuzhu came out of the street and went to Elena to share the good news. Although the cannery had not yet opened, everything was ready except for the final push.

I found Elena and told her what had happened, and as we talked, she started to become unruly.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The old building next to the cannery gate was converted into a purchasing station, which only accepted fruit delivered to the door. Purchasing staff were sent out, and truckloads of fruit were brought in.

He Yuzhu was not idle either; he stayed in the workshop to supervise.

You often hear stories online about food factory workers not eating the cookies from their own factories, and fruit factory workers not eating the canned goods from their own factories.

This statement applies to all food processing plants.

This was in the 1950s, and these workers were women recruited by the neighborhood committee. They had no sufficient hygiene knowledge or awareness.

It took He Yuzhu three days to teach these women how to maintain good hygiene—not just about cleaning the house, but about maintaining personal hygiene.

No long nails, no makeup, no long hair; hair must be covered with a hat...

The various requirements were very demanding, leading many people to criticize He Yuzhu behind his back for being too nosy.

Canned food needs to be sterilized at high temperatures before it can be sealed. At this point, the cap is not the kind that can be opened with a simple twist; it needs to be pried open with pliers or a screwdriver before it can be consumed.

For convenience, many people simply use a kitchen knife to cut a cross-shaped opening in the thin sheet metal and then pour out the canned food.

He Yuzhu initially wanted to use the new type of bottle cap, but after calculating the cost, he found that it was two or three times more expensive than using thin iron sheets, so he opted for can lids made of thin iron sheets.

"How much longer?" Director Shen asked.

He Yuzhu glanced at his watch and said, "Don't rush, it'll be another two minutes."

After three days of bumpy progress, the cannery finally started its first trial production. The cans are currently being sterilized in high-temperature chambers and are just waiting to be packaged.

Two minutes usually pass in the blink of an eye, but in this crucial moment, it feels like an eternity.

Finally, the time came, and He Yuzhu opened the closed door.

"The high-temperature sterilization time cannot be shortened. If the time is too short, the canned food will not be sterilized thoroughly and will easily rot and spoil, which will damage our own brand."

"You're right, this matter must be strictly managed," said Director Shen.

Currently, there is no timer available, so we can only check the wall clock and manually operate the machine when the time comes.

He Yuzhu couldn't possibly work regular hours himself. This was just a trial production. Once the workers were trained, He Yuzhu wouldn't care about that anymore; he'd just enjoy being a middleman.

As soon as the door opened, a burst of hot steam came out. After the steam dissipated, He Yuzhu pulled out the cart.

Each layer on top was filled with unsealed cans, leaving only the final step: to put the lids on.

He Yuzhu simply took a plate and placed it on the table next to him, indicating that the packaging workers should take the rest away.

Factory Director Shen instructed someone to bring some bowls and chopsticks, then wrapped the canned food in a towel and poured it into two bowls.

After exchanging a few casual words, they tasted the food together with He Yuzhu.

After tasting it, Director Shen said, "The description of the canned white pears as having a light and delicate fragrance is quite apt. I didn't expect them to taste so good."

"It's pretty good." He Yuzhu also took a bite.

After tasting the white pear, and then the apple and grape, He Yuzhu found that they tasted the same as the previous experimental samples. He was relieved.

"Both are good. We'll use this recipe, and we can package and label it."

"Then let's do it this way, full production, make as much as we can."

Then he called out, "Everyone, come and have a taste. This is canned food produced by our Limin Cannery."

The type of factory you work in determines the type of conveniences you'll have.

Just like He Daqing, who works in the kitchen, he can bring back a box of leftovers every day.

The most direct convenience for these women working in the cannery is the ability to eat fruit. In this day and age, there are no surveillance cameras, so it's impossible to monitor them all the time. They can only let them eat as much as they want.

They will only stop eating when they've had enough and are tired of it.

So at the beginning, He Yuzhu and Factory Director Shen discussed that it didn't matter if they ate some scraps, as long as they strengthened management and prevented them from taking the fruit home.

This was the first time we made canned food, so we invited them to try it. Otherwise, they would still sneakily eat some.

"Mr. He is truly generous."

"Thank you, Mr. He, and Director Shen."

Needless to say, several women gathered around, each taking a bowl and chopsticks to taste the freshly made canned food, praising it highly as delicious.

After they finished eating, they went back to work with smiles on their faces.

The cans over there have already had their lids put on and labels affixed, so they can be put on the shelves for sale.

After inspecting the goods, Director Shen and He Yuzhu said, "This first batch should be sent to the street office so that the leaders can have a taste."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "That's only right. I'll take two boxes and put it on my tab."

Factory Director Shen hesitated for a moment, then said, "There's no need to keep records of this anymore. You can just take it."

"No way, this belongs to the public; let's just put it in the books."

"Alright, I'll make a note of it."

If He Yuzhu were to eat the canned goods directly at the factory, that would be his job as a technician. But if he were to give these canned goods to the leaders to taste, it would be to celebrate the canned products coming off the production line and to ask the leaders for their comments and inspections.

However, it would be unacceptable to take public property home without permission.

He Yuzhu doesn't need these few coins, so why would he do something that would make him the subject of gossip?

The first batch was just for testing, and only a little over 100 cans were made in total. Now that everything has been confirmed to be fine, we've started full-scale production.

After all, there are already quite a few pears and apples piled up in the warehouse. Everything is ready now, and all we need to do is work overtime to ensure production is of high quality and quantity.

Factory Director Shen took some canned goods to the street in a tricycle to claim credit. He Yuzhu did not go with him, after all, he was not a person within the system, and at this time, it was enough for Factory Director Shen to go by himself.

He Yuzhu stayed until the end of his shift, having already produced more than thirty boxes, before registering and leaving the yard with two boxes of canned goods.

He collected one box and put it into his space, then took another box to the courtyard house.

As soon as I pushed my bicycle into the yard, I was greeted by Yan Bugui.

"Uncle, I'm busy."

"Yeah, I'm going to take out the trash."

Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Zhu Zi, I heard a cannery opened on the street?"

"Yes, it was just produced today. Here, have a jar to try."

He Yuzhu casually grabbed a can and handed it to Yan Bugui.

Previously, He Yuzhu had sown discord among the three elders, suppressing Yi Zhonghai and letting Liu Haizhong go, while only trying to win over Yan Bugui, often giving him things.

This led to Yan Bugui often saying many good things about the situation.

Yan Bugui was very happy, his smile stretching all the way to his ears. He said gleefully, "Zhu Zi is so generous. Then I won't stand on ceremony."

They said they were being polite, but they didn't back down at all. When it was handed over, they simply accepted it with both hands.

"You're too kind. Has anything been going on at the courtyard house lately?"

"Nothing serious, I'm fine."

He Yuzhu asked with a smile, "Grandpa, I heard that Grandma is pregnant again?"

Yan Bugui blushed and nodded awkwardly: "Yes, this is the fourth child. I can't afford to raise another one."

"Then I'd like to congratulate you on the birth of your precious child, preferably twins."

"Zhu Zi, I really am a twin. I'm going to miss out on food. I'll come to your house for a meal later." Yan Bugui laughed happily.

"Grandpa is just joking. You're a small business owner, you can afford to raise a few more children."

"Pshaw, what small property owner? That's nonsense."

Yan Bugui denied it outright.

It's important to know that the criteria for identifying small business owners in Beijing are quite strict. They need to have more than 12 residential units or a shop for business.

Those who set up stalls on the roadside are just craftspeople, earning their own living, and do not employ others, so they are not considered small business owners.

Yan Bugui's family also has a courtyard, but it's a bit far away, so they don't usually go there.

All the houses there are currently rented out, and there is a rental income every month.

He was a primary school teacher, earning only a little over 30 yuan a month. He had three children, and after they grew up, he gave each of them a house. No matter how frugal he was, he couldn't afford to buy a house for all three of his sons with his meager salary.