In the county government, the investigation team from the city was losing its temper in the county party committee office.
The entire county party committee hadn't eaten. Deputy County Mayor Gu had been sitting in the conference room without moving. Deep inside, he felt more satisfied with his daughter-in-law’s clever and calm nature.
His daughter-in-law had only told him yesterday, and today, these people had already arrived.
Luckily, his daughter-in-law reminded him yesterday, so today he went to the county party committee leader to stir things up again. Now that the investigation team had arrived, he wouldn’t be the one held responsible. On the contrary, the leaders were quite satisfied with him.
The investigation team checked the accounts of the county party committee. There was still some money left to buy seeds, but the rest had already been used to invest in building a steel plant.
Furious, they slapped the table right there.
"What nonsense is this? People can’t even eat, and you're working on a steel plant? The country isn't doing mass steel production anymore! The people are still waiting for relief food from the city. Even the city doesn’t have much relief food!"
Team Leader Yan shouted angrily, "What are you leaders doing? Are you really working for the people, or just for the chair under your ass?!"
Secretary Sun quickly explained, "We’re doing our best to develop the county. Our county is poor and can only grow with the help of heavy industry. We are fully implementing the spirit of the central government..."
"Bullshit! Is it the central government's intention to starve the people?! If anyone in this county starves to death this year, you will be held responsible for their life! Sun Shucai, Lin Qien, you two don’t care about the people at all. In this situation, I have to report this to the higher-ups. From now on, you are not allowed to handle the county’s finances. Wait for organizational punishment."
After saying that, Team Leader Yan turned to Deputy County Mayor Gu and said, "Comrade Gu Guodong, you’ll temporarily take over county matters. The top priority is the seed issue. The city can help, but you must also do your part. Go to the city and bring back the seeds. Remember, spring planting is only a few days away. You must not delay! Move quickly!"
Deputy County Mayor Gu immediately stood up, full of energy, and responded solemnly, "I guarantee to complete the task!"
Secretary Sun and County Mayor Lin stood to the side, their faces dark.
By the end of the meeting, it was already afternoon. Everyone was hungry. Although Secretary Sun and County Mayor Lin were embarrassed, they had no choice but to invite everyone to the county party canteen for lunch.
Team Leader Yan immediately refused, "No need. I have to go back to the city after eating. We’ll eat outside." Mainly, he hadn’t eaten a proper meal yet and still felt uncomfortable about it.
Secretary Sun and County Mayor Lin watched as the group left.
Deputy County Mayor Gu smiled and went home to eat. He didn’t eat at the cafeteria. His family had saved food for him, so he went home to eat something warm.
Seeing him like this, Secretary Sun nearly threw his teacup at him.
County Mayor Lin pulled him into the office.
"Old Sun, what are you panicking for? He’s just in charge of the seed matter. We’ve been in this county for so many years—can we really still stay here? Gu Guodong is walking into trouble this time. Time is so tight now. Where can he find seeds? Even if he finds some, they’ll be the leftover ones picked over by others. The weather isn’t good, food is hard to grow, and nothing will survive. It’s all going to be a waste. They’ll understand later that developing industry is the right path. As long as we can produce industrial products, we can make money to buy more food. That’s how Big Brother Soviet Union did it."
Secretary Sun thought that made sense. This kind of thing wasn’t easy. It was a hot potato now!
Inside the state-owned restaurant, Su Qinghe was checking a recipe.
She planned to cook a dish using simple ingredients—Mapo Tofu. Although this dish wasn’t a meat-heavy one, it was still a famous dish.
Looking at the picture of the spicy tofu, she was drooling. She really wanted to go into the army’s kitchen and cook a bowl to try it out.
She regretted being so lazy before. She should have started cooking earlier just to enjoy these delicious dishes.
She shouldn’t have waited!
Su Qinghe reflected on herself deeply.
Just as she was looking at the recipe with interest, she heard a knock at the door. She quickly peeked out the window.
She thought to herself, Who doesn't know the rules? It’s not meal time. Why are they here? Who’s going to serve them?!
But the more she thought about it, the happier she became. It felt good to act like a proud waiter at a state-owned restaurant.
However, once she saw who was outside, her joy disappeared.
Mother, why are these people here at this time?
She quickly opened the door.
Team Leader Yan and the others were planning to leave. They had come for a bowl of braised pork but didn’t get to eat it, which left them feeling a bit upset.
So before heading back to the city, they decided to stop by the state-owned restaurant for one last try.
When they got there, they remembered that the restaurant only served during official meal times. Just as they were about to leave, a young secretary ran to knock on the door, not wanting the old leader to leave disappointed.
After knocking a few times, they heard movement from inside, and then saw the same young comrade who had served them before.
Team Leader Yan smiled, "Little comrade, we didn’t get to eat lunch. Do you still have anything left to eat?"
Su Qinghe thought for a moment and said, "Originally, we weren’t serving now, but since you’re from out of town, we can’t let you go hungry on official duty. Come in, I’ll close the door." She quickly invited everyone inside and handed them a menu. "What would you like to eat?"
"Braised pork! That braised pork you made," Team Leader Yan said right away.
"Alright." Su Qinghe smiled and turned to head into the kitchen.
Now that she had mastered the dish, making it was easy. Everything came together smoothly.
There wasn’t enough rice left, so she brought out some large steamed buns along with a big plate of braised pork.
Everyone was starving. When they saw the shiny braised pork and big buns, they didn’t hesitate to dig in.
Once the pork entered their mouths, their eyes lit up. Team Leader Yan gave a thumbs-up in surprise. "This is it—authentic flavor! Comrade, your skills are really good. Much better than some masters. I’ve had this in Beijing before, and it tasted about the same. You really have talent. Where did you learn it?"
Su Qinghe smiled, "I thought of it myself. I always wanted to eat meat when I was young. Now that I’m grown, I treasure it and don’t want to waste it, so I just figured out how to make it taste better. Maybe I have a little talent. Everyone who’s eaten it says they like it."
"It’s delicious. We like it too. You’re too good to be just a waiter—you should be a cook."
"I’m just a temporary worker. I don’t dare to think that far. The master’s been here for years. I’m not qualified yet."
They were surprised that Su Qinghe was only a temp worker. Several people looked at her and felt that she had good character and real skill—much better than the regular staff.
They didn’t say anything more, but Team Leader Yan asked, "Little comrade, what else do you know how to make?"
Since the master wasn’t around, Su Qinghe answered honestly, "I know a few more dishes. I also have a couple of special ones."
"You’re being wasted here. You’re very skilled. People like you shouldn’t be buried."
"What talent? I just cook so everyone can enjoy eating."
Team Leader Yan laughed, "We’re definitely enjoying it." He pulled out an iron lunch box from his bag. "Pack one up for me. I want to take some back for others to taste. Your braised pork is the best in this county."
Su Qinghe quickly packed another serving in the lunch box.
As they were about to leave, Su Qinghe asked curiously, "Comrade, where are you from? Is it as tough outside as it is here?"
"...It’s about the same," Team Leader Yan replied awkwardly.
Su Qinghe sighed, "I don’t know when things will get better. I hope we can plant grain soon and have a good harvest. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for relief food from the city again. Last year, my hometown waited so long we ended up eating tree bark."
Team Leader Yan said sincerely, "Don’t worry, comrade. This year you’ll be able to plant. You won’t be chewing bark again."
Su Qinghe said bitterly, "Who knows? But Secretary Sun’s wife likes our big meat dumplings. If she comes to buy dumplings next time, I’ll ask her."
The investigation team: "..."
After eating, the team got ready to head back. Before leaving, Old Yan carried a bowl of braised pork with him.
…
That evening, Su Qinghe returned home and reported everything to Deputy County Mayor Gu. He smiled and said, "Qinghe, you were right. The people from the city came to investigate. Now Secretary Sun and County Mayor Lin are no longer handling the seed issue. I’ve been put in charge of buying seeds."
Su Qinghe was thrilled. She didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. She really did have a good eye for people.
"Dad, when are you going to buy seeds?"
Mentioning the matter made Deputy County Mayor Gu look worried. “I’m still looking for someone to help with that. But at least we’re in control now—that’s already a big step forward. Qinghe, you really helped a lot.”
"Of course. Our Qingmiao’er is smart and thoughtful," Gu Ma said proudly.
Her third son was always looked down on in the family. Now that his wife was doing well, they finally had something to be proud of.
Seeing her father-in-law still worried, Su Qinghe didn’t feel completely happy either. She had hoped the city could handle it, but it looked like she couldn’t count on that. If her father-in-law couldn’t get it done, maybe she’d have to help out again.
That night, she went back to her room to cook.
After four rounds of testing, she finally succeeded in making Mapo Tofu.
“Ding… Congratulations to the host for passing the Class B Cooking Appraisal for Mapo Tofu. The taste is good. You are rewarded with two sets of Mapo Tofu ingredients and a little bit of skill.”
“I really am talented!” Su Qinghe checked her skill points. She already had six. Tomorrow, she’d go home for a short break and practice cooking in private. An upgrade was in sight!
She packed one aluminum lunch box with Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Chicken, and Braised Pork. Only then did she exit the military wife’s kitchen.
Early the next morning, Su Qinghe said goodbye to Gu Ma and went back to her hometown for her day off.
As a state-owned hotel worker, she usually worked year-round. But now, since there were two workers, they could take turns resting.
Aunt Li didn’t want any days off—after all, she got to eat in the restaurant and the job wasn’t hard. So this rest day belonged to Su Qinghe alone.
She rode her bicycle with ease and grace. When she got to town, she went straight to the commune’s supply and marketing cooperative.
As soon as she entered, she shouted, “Uncle, I’m here!”