Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 270

When Secretary Wang brought the sour plum and radish soup to the table, a tangy aroma filled the air.

The group, who were already full, suddenly had a renewed appetite. Each person filled half a bowl and began to drink.

The leader's wife was quite surprised. She usually ate these sour plums as snacks and never expected them to be cooked into soup.

After finishing half a bowl of plum and radish soup, the high-ranking leader surprisingly felt a bit better in his stomach. He smiled and said to his wife:

"Go and thank Master He for me, and also help him get a pass."

The homes of high-ranking leaders are located in a courtyard, which houses many senior officials. The gate is strictly guarded, and ordinary people simply cannot enter.

Only individuals and vehicles with the appropriate permits will be allowed to pass.

Director Yang was quite surprised. Passes are not something that can be given to ordinary people casually. He originally thought that He Yuzhu would need him to lead the way if he wanted to come again in the future, but he did not expect that the big leader would give him a pass directly.

The leader's wife nodded, then left the restaurant and went to the study to get a pass and stamp it with a red seal.

Then he went to the kitchen and saw He Yuzhu washing dishes, and quickly said:

"Master He, just put those bowls and chopsticks in the sink, the servants will wash them."

"It's nothing, just something I did casually."

"Chef He is so hardworking, no wonder the chef profession is also known as the hard-working profession."

The leader's wife showered He Yuzhu with praise, making him feel quite embarrassed.

"This is our compound's pass. Next time we come, the gatekeeper will check it, so we can just show it to them."

"Yes, thank you, Madam."

He Yuzhu took the pass, and then saw the leader's wife hand him two pieces of paper.

Only after receiving it did I realize that it was a foreign exchange certificate used in the Friendship Department Store.

Chapter 200: Gangstering

The Friendship Department Store in the capital is the only legal place to sell imported goods, such as peanut butter, Hershey's chocolate, caviar, and red wine.

Ordinary people cannot enter the Friendship Store with cash to buy the goods they want; they can only buy them by using foreign exchange certificates.

Elena could also get them, but not in large quantities. I didn't expect the leader's wife to be so generous, giving me two vouchers directly.

After receiving it, He Yuzhu quickly thanked his wife.

"Madam, you and the leader are too kind. I am just a cook. It is an honor to serve the leader. I will definitely come to cook for you on time whenever the leader calls."

The leader's wife nodded in satisfaction. This Master He was steady, experienced, and thorough in his work; he was a talented person.

When leaving, Secretary Wang arranged for He Yuzhu to get directly into the big boss's jeep, and then, in place of the big boss, to take He Yuzhu home.

This left Director Yang quite disappointed. Now that He Yuzhu and Secretary Wang had made contact, there would be nothing left for him to do.

Secretary Wang was very talkative, and he praised He Yuzhu throughout the journey, and they had a very pleasant conversation.

Those who can become secretaries are all very shrewd and worldly-wise, which clearly shows that the top leader and his wife are very satisfied with He Yuzhu.

As a secretary, of course I need to maintain a good relationship with Chef He to avoid any accidents next time he comes to cook.

Moreover, having a first-class cook like He Yuzhu as an acquaintance would be a very prestigious thing, especially if it was for weddings, funerals, or if friends needed help cooking.

"Secretary Wang, thank you for bringing me back. Please come into my humble abode and have a cup of tea."

Time flew by, and the jeep arrived at He Yuzhu's house.

Secretary Wang shook He Yuzhu's hand and said with a smile, "Master He, you're too kind. I'll drink this tea next time. I still need to go back and do a good job of serving the big boss."

Secretary Wang was unwilling to come in, and He Yuzhu did not force him. After watching Secretary Wang get into the jeep and leave, he turned around and went into the courtyard.

Once inside the house, Xu Huizhen asked, "How did things go?"

You have to understand that this is cooking for a high-ranking leader. If the leader is not satisfied, it will not only be embarrassing, but it will also cause a lot of trouble.

He Yuzhu said, "Don't worry, how could I fail? They're all eating well, their bellies are so big."

As he spoke, He Yuzhu gestured with his hand to his abdomen, making it look like he was several months pregnant.

Xu Huizhen chuckled and scolded, "You're just bragging. Those are all high-ranking leaders. What kind of food haven't they eaten? Why would they be so unrestrained and lose their composure?"

"Forget it if you don't believe it."

After He Yuzhu went out to wash up, he climbed into bed, hugged his wife, and then took out the foreign exchange certificates, saying:

"Look, this was given to me by the wife of a high-ranking official. She even gave me a pass, so I can go straight in next time."

"Really? You can go again next time?"

"Yes, if they weren't satisfied, why would they give me a pass?"

"That's good. From now on, you must go whenever the big boss asks you to. Don't be stubborn."

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Then you can't be stubborn and refuse to do what I ask you to do."

"What are you doing?" Xu Huizhen asked, and then she understood what He Yuzhu was talking about.

She wanted to leave He Yuzhu's embrace, but He Yuzhu reached out and held her tightly.

"My dear wife, I'm happy today, so please be a good girl and make me happy this once."

"You big bad guy, all you ever think about are these things. I'm pregnant again."

"That's irrelevant. Today I'll teach you how to shoot down planes in the sky."

"I don't want to," Xu Huizhen said shyly.

"invalid objection."

He Yuzhu, holding his wife's hand, found the control lever for the machine gun.

After it was over, Xu Huizhen complained, and He Yuzhu could only pretend to be dead. His wife was pregnant, so he couldn't hit or scold her. He just needed someone to say a few words to him so he could vent his anger.

The next day, He Yuzhu took Xu Huizhen to the Friendship Store and exchanged their foreign exchange certificates for imported cosmetics, which finally satisfied Xu Huizhen.

That evening, He Daqing came to his door and said, "Zhu Zi, this is what Secretary Zhang instructed me to do. I must pass on this twenty yuan to you."

He Yuzhu did not take the money, but said, "Keep it and spend it, I don't need the money."

He Daqing knew his son was wealthy, so he didn't insist on giving him the money and simply put it in his own pocket.

This is to show that Director Yang's attitude should not allow He Yuzhu, an outsider, to harbor resentment.

After cooking dinner for the big boss that one time, He Yuzhu's life returned to normal.

The high-ranking leader and his wife praised He Yuzhu's cooking skills highly, and every ten days or so, they would have Secretary Wang invite He Yuzhu over once.

Sometimes it was to prepare banquets for guests, and sometimes it was just to cook a few simple home-style dishes. Each time, the leader's wife would give He Yuzhu a lot of gifts to take home.

The top leader's monthly salary is close to three hundred yuan, and the salaries of his wife and children are also not low, so they usually have more than enough to spend.

He Yuzhu could only help spend some of it.

Right now is the peak season for fruit, and we can make more than 3000 cans of fruit every day. Soon, the warehouse will be piled high with fruit.

As long as there are enough for one truckload, workers will be arranged to load the truck, and He Yuzhu will drive it away directly to the warehouse at the front gate.

He Yuzhu had previously contributed 25,000 yuan plus 15,000 yuan in two cars as payment, which could be exchanged for a total of 100,000 bottles.

In just a few days, the payment for the goods was converted into canned goods.

From now on, every time He Yuzhu needs to pick up goods, he has to go to the finance office to pay first, since the cannery is out of money.

That day, He Yuzhu convened a meeting with Chen Xueru and Elena.

The gathering took place at Chen Xueru's home. First, He Yuzhu cooked a table of dishes and drinks, and then the three of them ate and chatted.

Chen Xueru said with a smile, "I just realized that running a factory is more profitable. These canned fruits look unremarkable, but I didn't expect the profits to be so high."

The cannery makes a profit of one cent for every bottle of canned fruit it produces. If it produces 3,000 bottles a day, the profit is 300 yuan.

Although Chen Xueru's silk shop was also profitable, it paled in comparison to running a factory.

"Yes, it does make money, but we also make a considerable amount by shipping it to Moscow."

Elena nodded and said, "Yes, our profits will only be higher than theirs."

Chen Xueru asked, "Is it still possible to get train cars this year?"

"Don't worry, I talked to them a couple of days ago, there shouldn't be any problems, it's still the plan for two wagons."

"Two are enough. Any more than that, and we don't have that much cash."

In fact, He Yuzhu himself had quite a bit of cash, totaling over 100,000 yuan, but it was difficult for him to take it out and use it.

He was willing to stay with Chen Xueru and wasn't afraid that she would leave him, but Elena was an outsider after all, and He Yuzhu would never reveal his family background to her.

Now I can rest assured. If Elena can handle the railcars, then international trade can still proceed this year.

He Yuzhu said, "We are under great financial pressure. If we only have two railcars, we will have to wholesale some canned goods."

A can of food contains 500 grams, and with the heavy glass jar and packaging, a can of food weighs two kilograms.

Each railcar has a weight limit of 60 tons, which means it can transport a maximum of 6 cans of food. Two railcars can transport a total of 12 cans.

In this way, He Yuzhu could use the pretext of wholesaling to take out the money he had stored in his space and exchange it for canned goods, which he could then sell privately to Chairman Qi in Moscow.

Moreover, this way, Elena also had no idea how many cans of food Chairman Qi had received.