Chapter 175: Sha Zhu's Gratitude
It was around nine o'clock the next morning.

Wang Jianye was instructing his apprentices in practicing basic skills when he was suddenly called to the office of Jiang Rongqing, the owner of Fengzeyuan, by Zhou Qingde.

Here, in addition to Jiang Rongqing, Wang Jianye also saw a slightly plump middle-aged man sitting on the sofa on the side.

"Boss, you're looking for me."

Wang Jianye came to Jiang Rongqing's desk.

Jiang Rongqing nodded, walked out from behind the desk, and introduced to the middle-aged man sitting on the sofa: "Master Cheng, this is Master Wang Jianye, who makes our signature braised pork."

After knowing that it was Wang Jianye he was looking for, Master Cheng stood up from the sofa, shook hands with Wang Jianye, and greeted him with a smile: "Hello, Master Wang."

"Hello, Master Cheng."

Wang Jianye didn't know the person in front of him and was a little confused.

Master Cheng looked at him with satisfaction: "I didn't expect that Master Wang, who is so young, could make such delicious dishes. He is really young and talented."

"Master Cheng, you are too kind."

Wang Jianye sat down with him.

Then Master Cheng told him what was going on. "This is what happened. Master Wang, I came to see you because I saw that your braised pork is very delicious. I wanted to ask you how you made it. Master Wang, would you mind telling me?"

"convenient."

Wang Jianye nodded. He was not like other chefs who were reluctant to teach others their signature dishes. He even asked people to stand three meters away from him while he was cooking.

"Great, then Master Wang, please tell us."

Master Cheng became interested and he came here just for this matter.

Wang Jianye expressed his understanding and insights about braised pork without reservation.

His cooking skills for this dish have reached the state banquet level, and his understanding of braised pork is very profound and valuable.

Master Cheng listened carefully, and then shook Wang Jianye's hand gratefully. "Thank you, Master Wang. I understand. If there is a chance, I will come to ask for your advice again."

After Master Cheng left, Wang Jianye curiously wanted to ask Jiang Rongqing what was going on.

But Jiang Rongqing lowered his voice and said, "Master Wang, don't tell anyone about what happened today. If that person comes to you again, you should do your best to teach him. Don't worry about anything else and don't ask."

……

The next day was the weekend, and it was Wang Jianye's turn to take a day off.

So today, after work, Wang Jianye asked his apprentice Chen Xiaoyang, who was his driver, to go back first, while he rode his bike north to Nanluoguxiang.

Not long after walking out of the kitchen door of Fengze Garden, Wang Jianye met Qin Huairu who was walking home alone.

"Brother Wang, can you give me a ride?"

Qin Huairu looked at him expectantly and asked.

Wang Jianye suddenly remembered that he had asked Qin Huairu not to tell anyone in the courtyard that he had become the head chef. It had been such a long time, and the people in the courtyard still didn't know about it. It showed that Qin Huairu did a good job. In that case, "Come up. I'm going back to Nanluoguxiang tonight, so it's on my way with you."

"Ok!"

When Qin Huairu saw that Wang Jianye agreed, she happily got into the car.

The last time she rode was Wang Jianye’s old bicycle, which had problems everywhere and shook violently all the way.

Now that Wang Jianye has traded in a new car, Qin Huairu has a much better experience sitting in the back seat.

"Thank you, Brother Wang."

"Hold on tight, I won't take care of you if you fall." Wang Jianye pedaled the bicycle hard, and the new bicycle began to run smoothly, feeling particularly light and powerful.

"Brother Wang, is this your new cotton-padded jacket?"

Qin Huairu carefully grabbed the clothes, and seeing that it was clean without a single spot of pudding, she asked curiously.

"It's new clothes. My mother made them for me some time ago." Wang Jianye nodded.

Qin Huairu was surprised and said, "Brother Wang, there is still more than a month until the Chinese New Year. Why are you wearing new clothes already? Aren't you going to wait until the Chinese New Year to wear them?"

"Just wear new clothes when you have them. Why wait until the New Year?"

Wang Jianye didn't care.

Zhang Lan had made this new cotton-padded jacket earlier and had originally planned to wait until the Chinese New Year to give it to Wang Jianye, but Wang Jianye wanted to wear the new one now because the old one was too worn out.

Zhang Lan had no choice but to remind him repeatedly to take good care of the sleeves and not to put them in dirty places. If the sleeves were worn out, he should send them to her in time so that she could sew a new one.

Wang Jianye agreed readily and repeatedly promised to take good care of the clothes. Only then did Zhang Lan give him the clothes.

"It's great, I have new clothes to wear before the New Year."

Qin Huairu looked at his back with envy. Other people had new clothes to wear before the Chinese New Year, but she would not have any new clothes to wear even when the Chinese New Year came...

Her family was poor in the village, and because she was a girl, she had never worn new clothes since she was a child. She would pick up clothes that her older brothers couldn't wear and alter them to make them her own.

No matter spring, summer, autumn or winter, I wear the same clothes. If it's cold, I'll untie the edges of the clothes and stuff cotton inside. If it's hot, I'll take out all the cotton.

When they entered Nanluoguxiang and were almost at Courtyard No. 95, Wang Jianye asked Qin Huairu, who was sitting on the back seat, to get off and walk over. He couldn't just ride his bike with Qin Huairu to the gate of the courtyard so blatantly.

If someone saw it, who knows what kind of trouble would happen.

Qin Huairu got off the car when she was told to. Although she was reluctant to leave, she still listened to Wang Jianye and got off the car obediently. "Thank you, Brother Wang, for giving me a ride."

Watching Wang Jianye riding away on his bike, Qin Huairu couldn't help but think to herself, how great it would have been if she had married Wang Jianye...

Wang Jianye rode his bike to the gate of Courtyard No. 95, pushed his bike into the gate, and then entered the central courtyard through the hanging flower gate.

In the Central Courtyard, I heard an old lady chatting with several other old ladies saying that Shazhu was having a hard time making ends meet, so he bought a huge piece of meat, which must have weighed more than one pound, and also bought a big carp.

What's going on? Did Sha Zhu get rich?
Out of curiosity, Wang Jianye went into the main house in the middle courtyard when he passed by and asked. He then found out that the meat and big carp that Sha Zhu brought back were not bought, but forced upon him by the chef of Cuihua Tower.

"Brother Wang, I really want to thank you. In order to get me to help you, the chef there not only gave me a raise, but also gave me fish and meat..."

Sha Zhu was very happy. He never thought that one day his familiarity with Wang Jianye would become an advantage for him and make others beg him, give him gifts, and even give him a job.

"What do they ask you to help with?" Jianye asked curiously.

"Hey, what can I do for you? I can just talk about the benefits of Cuihualou in front of you, that's all." Sha Zhu said, "Brother Wang, come to my house for a drink tomorrow? I'll cook the fish and meat that Cuihualou gave me, and you can try my cooking, how about that?"

"You invited me to drink for no other purpose? It has nothing to do with Cuihualou?"

"How could there be any other purpose? To tell you the truth, I never intended to help them." Sha Zhu said happily, "But I will accept all the benefits they gave me and bring them back for us to eat and drink together. After all, if it weren't for your ability, Brother Wang, and your increasing ability, would they be so good to me..."

Sha Zhu is quite self-aware. He knows who he should thank and who he should build good relationships with.

"Okay, I'll come over tomorrow night."

After making an appointment with Sha Zhu, Wang Jianye returned to his home in the backyard.

There was a piece of good news that he had to tell his family about, which was that Fengze Garden was going to reward him with a piece of furniture with twenty-four legs, so he didn't have to spend any money to buy it, and he could make his family happy.

(End of this chapter)