The Steel Rolling Mill was a large state-owned enterprise with tens of thousands of employees, and the Canteen where He Yuzhu worked was basically responsible for stir-fried dishes and special small-stove meals.
Once he arrived at the Canteen, he changed into his work uniform and immediately got busy. By the time he finished, it was almost noon.
He Yuzhu was humming a little tune while tidying the stove when an acquaintance walked in through the kitchen door.
It was Silly Zhu's lifelong archenemy, Xu Damao!
"Silly Zhu, still busy? I'm happy today, so I came especially to tell you some good news!" Xu Damao said with a malicious grin.
"Isn't this Silly Damao? What could you possibly be happy about?" He Yuzhu said. "Having hallucinations in broad daylight without even drinking horse urine? Look at you, utterly hopeless!"
Xu Damao could not help but freeze. Usually, whenever he called the other man Silly Zhu, he got a response, but today Silly Zhu had actually retorted. It seemed this Silly Zhu had grown a temper.
How could he know that He Yuzhu was currently holding back all his strength to provoke everyone and everything, thereby earning negative emotion currency!
"Fine, fine, I won't call you Silly Zhu. He Yuzhu, all right? Let me tell you, I've found a partner. She's as beautiful as a fairy, and we'll be able to get married before long!"
"Our Siheyuan has only you left as a bachelor. Getting anxious, are you? Call me something nice, and someday I'll introduce you to a blind woman with a crippled leg."
He Yuzhu remained calm and said blandly, "The woman is Lou Xiaoe, right? Her family background isn't good. She's the Capitalist's daughter."
"I'm not cursing you, but with the way you are, Xu Damao, you won't make it! I'll leave these words right here: Lou Xiaoe is destined to become my wife, He Yuzhu's!"
Xu Damao was so furious he nearly vomited blood!
He usually knew how formidable He Yuzhu, the Siheyuan God of War, was, and never dared to provoke him face-to-face. But today he had drunk quite a lot, and alcohol had emboldened the coward!
"He Yuzhu! Stop spouting nonsense here. You don't even have a matchmaker, yet you want to find a partner? If Lou Xiaoe marries you, then from now on, whenever I see you, I'll kneel and kowtow, calling you Grandpa!"
"You little bastard, you're definitely going to call me Grandpa!" He Yuzhu shouted!
The two faced each other like needlepoint against wheat awns, neither willing to back down in the kitchen!
"He Yuzhu, don't push people too far! Whichever of us marries Lou Xiaoe first will be the senior, so do you dare to make a bet?" Xu Damao roared.
He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Fine. If you dare to die, I dare to bury you. Remember, Lou Xiaoe is my future wife. If I catch you laying a hand on her, I'll slap your mouth!"
Xu Damao knew perfectly well that this blockhead always kept his word. If he said he would slap someone across the ears, he would never kick them in the gut instead; he absolutely would not be vague about it.
"All right, all right, I'm not going to argue with you here. We'll settle this through our actions." With that, Xu Damao slunk out of the Canteen without daring to look back.
Xu Damao's negative emotions +200, +71, +37, +17...
In just this short while, the negative emotion currency total had actually risen to 796!
Moreover, the number jumped every so often. It was clear that Xu Damao was furious, but he was still brooding.
He Yuzhu knew about Lou Xiaoe's family. As former capitalists, they had lived comfortably and even had servants and maids. She had grown up surrounded by wealth and luxury.
The education she received, the books she read, and her food, clothing, and daily necessities were all vastly different from those of ordinary people.
Aside from being eloquent and knowing projection technology, Xu Damao was actually an ignorant good-for-nothing.
In particular, he had terrible morals. Flirting with women and abandoning the old for the new were ordinary matters for him, and he was utterly vicious and heartless.
How could such trash possibly be worthy of Lou Xiaoe!
Just as he was pondering how to deal with Xu Damao, the Canteen Director walked in.
From far away, he shouted loudly, "Silly Zhu, Silly Zhu, there's a task at noon."
The Canteen Director did not hold a high position, but he was technically He Yuzhu's immediate superior. He shouted "Silly Zhu" at the top of his lungs every time he opened his mouth, showing what his usual attitude was.
As the saying went, those above set the example for those below. Since the Canteen Director called him that so recklessly and He Yuzhu still answered, it was no wonder others followed suit.
He Yuzhu did not get angry. Without even looking up, he continued chopping vegetables, not answering either.
"Silly Zhu, why aren't you answering when I'm calling you? Leaders are coming at noon. Factory Director Yang specifically instructed us to have you pull yourself together."
"I don't have that much energy. I'm sick today," He Yuzhu said. "I nearly let the knife bite my hand several times just cutting this little bit. I'm taking the day off."
"What? That won't do!" The Canteen Director became anxious as soon as he heard this.
"You can't drop the ball at a critical moment. Factory Director Yang gave the instructions; how am I supposed to explain it? Aren't you deliberately making me look bad?"
He Yuzhu laughed.
"I'm only a grade eight cook. There are plenty of people above me. Isn't Old Xiao in our Canteen a Grade Six? He was just assessed last year. Why not find him?"
The Workshop Director's face turned blue, then red. Old Xiao's cooking skills were extremely mediocre; he merely knew how to conduct himself and had given the man plenty of gifts and cigarettes.
Although Silly Zhu truly had skill, his temper offended people and he did not know how to be flexible, which was why he had never received the chance to be graded.
Silly Zhu was manipulating him at a crucial moment today. If the matter went badly, and Factory Director Yang lost his temper, he would probably suffer greatly!
Thinking of this, the Canteen Director's attitude softened.
He said, "Silly Zhu, just hold on for today. As long as we get through today, I'll approve three days of leave for you, all right?"
"You should hurry and find Old Xiao. Listen to how you address me, calling me Silly Zhu every other word. Old Xiao isn't silly. Find him, and it'll definitely work!"
As He Yuzhu spoke, he began taking off his work uniform, looking as though he was about to quit on the spot.
Seeing this attitude, the Canteen Director understood.
He hurriedly said, "Master He, Master He, just consider it a slip of the tongue on my part, all right? I know you're upset about the grading. This year, I'll definitely fight to get it for you. Will that do?"
Then he raised his voice and shouted, "From now on, everyone will call him Master He. If anyone dares to call him Silly Zhu again, I'll be the first to object!"
He Yuzhu said blandly, "If you don't call me that, naturally no one else will follow your example. With all this shouting, people who don't know better might think I'm being petty."
The Canteen Director could only smile apologetically and did not dare say another word.
The system displayed: Wang Xinmin's negative emotions +130, +41, +31, +15...
The final total stabilized at 1,158.
"Just tell him that I want to make innovative dishes and need to ask Factory Director Yang in person. As long as the Factory Director agrees, half of my illness will be cured," He Yuzhu said.
As long as He Yuzhu agreed to stay and cook, the Canteen Director was already thanking heaven. He hurriedly agreed.
The two went straight to Factory Director Yang's office and explained their purpose.
Factory Director Yang asked hesitantly, "innovative dishes? Are you confident? A ministry-level leader is coming today. If things go badly, I won't be able to bear the consequences."
He Yuzhu said with a smile, "I usually save my wages, and whenever colleagues at the factory visit relatives in other provinces, I collect plenty of local specialties from them. I've developed quite a few dishes."
"There's still enough time to go home and bring back my supplies. I guarantee I'll satisfy the leaders. However, there's something bothering me. It's been weighing on my heart for a long time."
"What is it? Go ahead and tell me," Factory Director Yang said.
He Yuzhu understood that catering for a ministry-level leader was a rare opportunity.
This was his chance to amaze everyone with one brilliant performance!