Chapter 142 Birthday Gift Li Youde received Master Quan instead of Zhou Yimin, mainly because he was familiar with the man and was from the next courtyard! Master Quan naturally went in and said a few auspicious words to the birthday boy. Don't underestimate the eloquence of chefs. They can serve people well, not only because of their cooking skills, but also because of their eloquence. People like Shazhu in a certain drama, who insult and offend people as soon as they open their mouths, are always a minority. Master Quan is also very good at praising people and can grasp the key points. He did not praise the old lady directly, but kept praising Zhou Yimin for how good he was and what he was like when he was a child. As expected, the old lady was so annoyed that her teeth were showing. The old lady likes to hear people praise her grandson the most. "Auntie, you can just enjoy your life in peace. With Yimin's ability, he will at least be a state official in the future." After praising him, he checked the time and continued, "Oh! It's getting late. You guys chat while I go make a simple meal for everyone." "Okay! Master Quan, thank you for your help." "Uncle, don't say that. I do this job and I serve the people!" Master Quan said to Zhou Yimin's grandfather. Then, I went out and started preparing lunch.
The lunch is more casual, mainly for the evening meal. Some dishes need some time to marinate, stew, etc. In addition to the two kitchen helpers, there were other people in the village who could be used by him, making his work easier and allowing him to have a few sips of tea from time to time. Chef Quan suddenly realized that today's banquet didn't seem as busy as he had imagined. The main reason was that someone in the village helped him, which reduced his chores by at least 30%. He hoped to take more jobs like this in the future. To this end, he even showed off his knife skills in front of everyone. I just came and watched from the side, and it felt very impressive. "Little boy, stand further away, don't get too close!" Master Quan said as he followed. Luo Dapeng said with a smile: "Master Quan, this kid is Yimin's younger brother. Yimin plans to let him learn cooking in the future. You can just let him steal a few tricks." Zhou Yimin’s younger brother? Is there such a thing? I haven’t heard of it either! Zhou Dazhong explained: "He is not my biological brother, but he is better than my biological brother." After hearing this, Master Quan's eyes lit up and he had a plan in mind. He leaned over and asked Lai Cai, "Do you want to learn?" Laicai really wanted to learn, and immediately responded loudly: "Yes." "Okay, then wait for your elder brother to come back and I'll talk to him. When you grow up a little, you can learn from me." Master Quan wanted to take in an apprentice, and he also hoped to get closer to Zhou Yimin. This is Zhou Yimin’s younger brother, isn’t that just perfect? Huang Lan, who was not far away, heard this and hurried over with Qianqian in her arms to thank Master Quan. However, she did not agree to anything because Yimin had to agree to this. Although she really wanted her son to learn from Master Quan, who knew if his elder brother had found another chef? If he had made an agreement with another chef and she agreed to Master Quan, wouldn't that make it difficult for her nephew? Besides, she naturally realized that the reason why Master Quan took the initiative to bring up this matter was just for Yimin's sake, right? Therefore, Yimin cannot be avoided no matter what, and we must wait for Yimin to come back before making a decision.
So, next, Lai Cai just stood by and watched Chef Quan cook. Master Quan also spared some attention to observe him. He was surprised to find that although this boy was not very old, he did have some talent in cooking. "Cai, wash your hands and make longevity buns with me." Master Quan said to Lai Cai. I was very excited when I came here. I immediately washed my hands and even blew my nose. When they got serious, they actually learned it quite well, which surprised the whole world. To outsiders, this scene is just admiration for Lai Cai! It seems that Lai Cai has a bright future, at least he can be a chef. Cooks are good! Cooks will never go hungry even in years of disaster. "You'll have a bright future!" the village woman next to her said to Huang Lan. "Yes! You'll be able to learn cooking from Master Quan and work in the city for sure." This is a bit similar to Daqiu, who also took a city man as his teacher and now basically lives in the city. It is said that Doctor Chen even got him a temporary job in the steel plant's medical room. If you do a good job, wouldn't it be natural to get promoted to a regular employee? By then, Daqiu will also be a steel mill employee, and he won't have to go to the workshop and work so hard. This is the benefit of having a master, who can lead you into the industry. Now, the scenario is almost the same. The question is, how old is that boy? This made the young men in the village feel ashamed. They were not as good as a child of a few years old. Who could they turn to for justice? Huang Lan did not get carried away, but thankfully said: "It's all thanks to his elder brother Yimin." No one refuted this. If it wasn't for Yimin, even if Laicai had this talent, he wouldn't necessarily be accepted as a disciple. There are many talented people in this world. Everyone is envious, why don’t their sons have an older brother like them? How many years of hard work will this save? After the longevity buns are pinched out, they look malnourished, but Master Quan is not in a hurry. After the buns are cooked, they will expand and become big peaches. At this time, Zhou Yimin came to Uncle Zhang's house. Uncle Zhang and his family are also ready. Especially Zhang Yan, she even wore a new dress specially made by her mother. Zhou Yimin's parents were not around, so meeting his grandparents was like meeting the parents, so it had to be formal. In addition, they also prepared a birthday gift for Zhou Yimin's grandmother. How can you go to celebrate a birthday with nothing in your hands? Zhang Jianshe had a bicycle of his own, and he borrowed another from colleagues in the department. When those colleagues learned that Zhang Jianshe was going to celebrate the birthday of Lao Zhou's mother, they all asked him to bring their small gifts. What they gave were all common daily necessities, nothing particularly precious. It is not appropriate to give gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings as gifts like in ancient times. In this environment, isn't it harmful to give such things? Even Zhang Jianshe's wife only prepared a set of clothes as a birthday gift for the old lady. However, the fabric of the clothes is "Dacron". We all know that "Dacron" is a kind of chemical fiber. It became popular internationally in the 50s. It is also called "Dacolon" and "Polyester". It can be pure spun or blended with cotton and wool. It is usually used to make shirts.
It is said that this fabric was originally called "Duoqiliang" in Guangdong according to the phonetic translation. After it was spread to the north, it became "Duoqiliang". Later, people found that "Duoqiliang" was not cool to wear, so it was changed to "Duoqiliang". The superiority of "Dacron" is obvious. Although it is not sweat-absorbent and breathable, it is crisp, smooth, easy to wash and dry quickly. It is also stronger than cotton, and can be worn, stomped, spread out and covered, so one piece is equivalent to three pieces. Nowadays, there is very little "Dacron" on the market. At present, China does not have the production capacity from petroleum to chemical fibers and can only rely on imported polyester fibers to develop "Dacron". If Zhou Yimin remembers correctly, it was only a year or two later that "Dacron" began to be trial-produced in small batches in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. But even though we rely on imported polyester chips to make polyester fibers, we try to use the products we produce for export to earn foreign exchange, such as the Bingshan brand bleached "Dacron" and Tiantan brand shirts produced in Beijing. Only a small amount of "Dacron" materials and ready-made garments are available in big cities or exported for domestic sales, and they are in great demand, with large queues forming to buy them. It was not until the 70s that the country decided to introduce petrochemical equipment on a large scale and develop the entire industrial chain of the chemical fiber industry. Large factories such as Jinshan Petrochemical in Shanghai were built one after another, and the high-end product "Dacron" gradually became popular. The gift Zhou Yimin prepared for his grandmother was also very simple, a pair of cloth shoes. I asked Grandma Xu to help make it before. Grandma Xu spent nearly a month making two pairs of cloth shoes, so the quality is naturally top-notch. (End of this chapter)
