Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Chapter 124 Breaking the situation

Li Jianguo, seeing Sha Zhu's shameless behavior, was at a loss for what to do.

He walked to the desk, took out a pencil and a small elementary school notebook, and handed them to Sha Zhu.

He said, "You'd better hurry up and write a self-criticism, three thousand words, my god!"

"If things go wrong, I might not be able to leave work by 8 PM. You keep writing, I'll go get you some water."

As he spoke, Li Jianguo picked up his teacup from his desk and left the office.

Sha Zhu looked at the elementary school notebook and pencil that Brother Li handed him, scratching his head in frustration.

How am I supposed to write this? Even if you gave me a laptop, I couldn't write a 3,000-word self-criticism.

What's more, writing one word at a time with a pencil would be the death of me.

No, we need to break this deadlock. What's a good idea? Maybe we should ask Brother Li to help us write it later?

He figured he could just owe Li Jianguo another meal of stewed goose in an iron pot, or two if one wasn't enough. Having made up his mind, Sha Zhu sat and waited for Li Jianguo to return with the water.

A short while later, Li Jianguo returned, holding his teacup in his hand.

He placed the steaming teacup on the desk and said to Sha Zhu,

"I've put the water here for you. Drink it later, it's a little hot right now."

I need to check how many of your steamed buns and mutton are left. I was craving a couple of meat buns this morning.

"I won't hold back now, you can write slowly," Li Jianguo said, preparing to leave the office.

Sha Zhu hurriedly grabbed Li Jianguo, held up one finger, and said, "Brother Li, a meal of stewed goose in an iron pot."

Li Jianguo watched as Sha Zhu stretched out a finger and waved it in front of his eyes, and he understood perfectly what Sha Zhu was thinking.

With Sha Zhu's limited knowledge, he spends all his time using a book on "Postpartum Care of Sows" as a sleeping pill.

I definitely can't write a self-criticism. They want me to write one just because I cooked a pot of braised goose?

That's definitely not going to work, not even for two meals, that's what I, Li Ergou, said.

Thinking of this, Brother Li shook his head, "No, I've never written a self-criticism, I've only written reports."

I couldn't write a 3,000-word self-criticism even after two meals of stewed goose in an iron pot, so please don't make things difficult for me, Zhu Zi.

I'll bring you two steamed buns in a bit, so you can fill your stomach first.

"No rush, take your time writing. At worst, I'll sleep at your place tonight."

After Li Jianguo finished speaking, he turned and left the office without giving Sha Zhu a chance to reply.

The office door slammed shut, leaving Sha Zhu alone in the office, lost in thought.

Sha Zhu was a little annoyed; this method didn't work, and the food guide was ineffective.

Looking at the paper and pen in my hand, I had no better ideas, so I could only hunch over my desk.

He started brainstorming how to write it, but after Sha Zhu wrote two words in his notebook, he couldn't write anymore.

Looking at the two words "inspection" written on the paper, I couldn't bring myself to write them, even though they were written in a scrawl.

Sha Zhu suddenly stood up, went to the office door, and looked down the corridor; there was no one there.

Following the corridor to Director Wang's office, after hesitating for a long time, I knocked on the door.

Then came Director Wang's voice saying "Come in" from inside.

Sha Zhu immediately put on a big smile, pushed open the office door, and went inside.

When Director Wang saw that it was Sha Zhu again, he said irritably, "Why are you here instead of writing your self-criticism?"

"Director Wang, Brother Li's room is a bit gloomy and too cold. I'm a little scared to be alone in that room."

"I've come to see Director Wang to offer him some advice," Sha Zhu said.

Director Wang was furious. "It would be fine if you didn't cause me any trouble, but you're offering advice? Aren't you afraid? Fine, then write it here."

Sha Zhu sensed something was wrong and immediately got straight to the point.

"No, no, no, Director Wang, it's like this, I heard from Brother Li that the kitchen canteen in our subdistrict office..."

It's just radishes and pickled vegetables every day, or potatoes stir-fried with cabbage. The food is terrible.

Since I can't keep my meat bun and mutton soup stall running anymore, I might as well share my recipes to improve the meals at our neighborhood office.

Seeing that Director Wang's brows were furrowing deeper and deeper, Sha Zhu immediately continued,

"Director Wang, why don't you find a storefront in our street-facing location and open a cafeteria?"

I'll share a few more recipes, such as those for meat bun fillings, mutton soup, and I also know recipes for braised dishes.

Those lamb offal, chicken offal, and pork innards are all very cheap and can be braised.

If you help me find a cheap apprentice, I'll teach him how to make pancakes and shumai, and then our neighborhood office's canteen can open.

At that time, this canteen will not only serve as a place for the street office staff to eat,

Director Wang can also invite several nearby government offices to eat at this canteen.

It can also be sold as an industry owned by the neighborhood committee to increase revenue.

We could also add a few more people, solving a few employment problems. It's a win-win situation. What do you think of my idea?

Director Wang looked at Sha Zhu for a moment and then said, "You mean the neighborhood office should open a small restaurant?"

Sha Zhu immediately replied, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

I know that you, Director Wang, don't care how much income you can increase.

But isn't solving a few employment problems a good thing?

Director Wang, all you need to do is figure out where to open the small restaurant and find me a cheap apprentice.

Ideally, the family members should have a strong political background and be from impoverished families, such as children from families of military martyrs or soldiers.

Give me one more job opening, and I can take care of everything else, like tables, chairs, and food.

Director Wang looked at Sha Zhu with suspicion and said, "An apprentice is an apprentice, why should it be the apprentice who benefits?"

I know that spies have been making a lot of noise lately, and you're worried that taking on a disciple might lead to connections with them, which could ultimately implicate you.

That's understandable. What do you need job openings for?

"Don't you only have you and your sibling at home? Do your master's children and relatives need your help?"

Sha Zhu explained, "I haven't finished my apprenticeship yet, so I wouldn't dare say my skills are that great."

However, running a small restaurant is still possible, but he can only accept registered disciples, not formal disciples.

However, once I turn 18, I can officially graduate from my apprenticeship.

"If a disciple who is only a registered student performs well, they can become a formal disciple and then kowtow to me to formally become my apprentice."

Director Wang immediately interrupted Sha Zhu, "What do you mean by kowtowing and becoming an apprentice? Don't say things like that in front of me again."

"You're still young, remember this: from now on, when you find apprentices, they'll kowtow to you. When you go home and close the door, no one will care how you take on apprentices."

Sha Zhu immediately nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll secretly have my apprentice kowtow to me a few more times at home."

Director Wang slammed his hand on the desk with a "smack," staring at Sha Zhu with wide eyes.

Sha Zhu immediately said, "I won't talk about the apprentice anymore. That job opening was for Aunt Hu."

Her son, Da Niu, works as a porter at the grain depot, but he doesn't earn much money and is just a temporary worker.

My little girl and Yushui go to the same elementary school. I'm not home when I'm at work.

Aunt Hu and her daughter-in-law take good care of Yushui; do you think you could give them a job opportunity?

Director Wang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know if this small restaurant can even open."

There are storefronts available on the street, and they're already there. It's just that I still need to submit a report to my superiors.

By the way, is your skill being offered as investment, or will you be given a sum of money to pass on your skills? Won't your dad and your master care?

Sha Zhu shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that, it won't require my family's traditional techniques."

I learned the craft from my dad and my master, and also from books.

Or perhaps I learned it from other craftsmen at Fengzeyuan, just so I could build a house and lay the foundation. My dad and my master laid the foundation for me.

I can learn about 80-90% of the skills by just observing other craftsmen's techniques.

I have several cookbooks at home that I bought from street vendors, and I've tried them all out.

I've also learned some cooking skills. If a restaurant runs into problems with its food, you can hold me responsible.

As for investing or giving me money, forget it. Don't think I look down on our neighborhood committee.

"Even standing in your office for a while, Director Wang, feels less comfortable than basking in the sun on the street."

Director Wang, his face dark, pointed to the door and said, "Get out! Get out!"