Acting on one's own initiative

  After receiving the subcontracting contract, Zhang Jin and Hai Jufu said goodbye and wanted to leave. The old branch secretary hurriedly opened his mouth to keep the guests: "Little Zhang, look at this noon, why are you in such a hurry? Come on, have lunch with your uncle at our house before leaving!"

  Zhang Jin hastily pushed it away, waving the contract book that had just been handed over in his hand: "Uncle Hai, really no need. I'm not anxious to find a construction team to help me with this land? I tell you, I'm really eager now!"

  Zhang Jin's words, of course, Lao Zhibu didn't believe, and thought he was just being polite. So he put on a stern face: "Little Zhang, in the next few years, we'll be fellow villagers, so you can't be so polite. Listen to Uncle's words, go to Uncle's house for dinner first, and then talk about it later. What's the rush? Besides, isn't that just building a house and digging two mu of fish ponds? Our village also has people who go out to work on construction projects. I'll just make a phone call to ask them to come back and help out a bit. You can rest assured, it won't cost much money since we're all fellow villagers, and it will definitely be sturdy. No one dares to cut corners or anything like that. It will last for 100 years without collapsing."

  Zhang Jin looked at Lao Zhi Shu and felt that he was being too polite, and didn't want to make excuses again, so he half-heartedly followed Lao Zhi Shu back to his home.

  The old writer's courtyard has a lot of life, the silk melon and green beans on the trellis are lush and green, several lychee trees are full of bright red fruit, an old hen leads a group of chicks pecking and scratching in the yard... The vivid scenes make Zhang Jinjin walk into the yard with admiration. Under the cover of the silk melon and winter melon trellises, a row of four rooms of red brick and glazed tile houses shines brightly with joy.

  "Uncle Hai, your house is really big and beautiful. When my house is built, if it can be like yours, I'll be satisfied." After Old Zhang drove away the big black dog that rushed out to see strangers at his house, Zhang Jin couldn't help but praise him excessively.

  Someone was boasting about his own home, and Hai Cui's heart was of course happy, but with a smile on his face, he humbly said: "What's so beautiful? Don't all rural households have this? You're used to living in the city, so when you come to our countryside, everything seems fresh. Besides, the land in Haigou Village is worthless, as long as it doesn't affect others, no one cares how you build your house. My yard isn't big either, once you get familiar with it, you'll know that there are many bigger yards in this village."

  As he spoke, Hai Jufu led Zhang Jin into the house while shouting: "Wife, we have guests today at noon, go kill a chicken to make wine for us." This wife was naturally Hai Jufu's wife.

  Lao Zhi's wife was very enthusiastic about receiving guests, not only did she instruct her daughter-in-law to kill chickens and add dishes, but also specially invited the neighbor next door, a man in his 40s named Haigen Sheng, to come over as a guest.

  Hai Dabu is a capable woman, killing chickens and cooking with great efficiency. Before Zhang Jin and Lao Zhiben had exchanged more than a few pleasantries, steaming hot dishes and slightly turbid homemade wine had already filled the table. After a brief moment of hesitation, several people sat around the table in a circle, raising their cups and toasting each other.

  Although Aunt Hai's cooking skills are not as high as her own master-level culinary skills, the table full of farmhouse dishes is still very satisfying to eat. The vegetables such as celery, bok choy and other greens were all grown in their own backyard, not only fresh but also absolutely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the most authentic green vegetables; the pork was slaughtered by another villager a few days ago, it was raised on leftover vegetables and grass, absolutely no hormones; the chicken was freshly killed free-range chicken, and the fish was wild fish caught by Hai Gen this morning in the river...

  He was eating with gusto, muttering to himself: "Just this one table of dishes, don't look at the fact that there's no abalone or lobster, those so-called mountain and sea delicacies. But if you put it in a slightly upscale restaurant in Shenzhen, it would cost at least several hundred. This green food is really good, it smells great!"

  With a mouthful of fragrant farmhouse dishes, looking at the TV, phone, refrigerator, and sofa in the house, Zhang Jin felt a sense of wonder: "After all, it's an economically developed region. Even Haiwocun, which is considered one of the poorer villages in southern Guangdong Province, seems to be living quite well! Compared to villages in northern Guangdong, it's already heaven and earth, let alone those poor places in western China."

  Just as Zhang Jin was sighing and clinking cups with Haigen Sheng, the phone at Lao Zhi's house rang.

  After Lao Zhibu told Zhang Jin about the crime, he went to answer the phone. As soon as he picked up the phone, Lao Zhibu's voice suddenly rose: "What did you say? 8,000? Are you coming out of the Great Hall of the People? Even killing people is not so ruthless, we don't need you anymore, can't we find someone else?" He slammed down the phone in a huff. After sitting back in his seat, he didn't speak, but simply picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. Clearly, this old and cunning old man now had a fire burning in his belly!

  Seeing Hai Jufu's furious appearance, Zhang Jin was stunned and didn't know what to say. It was Hai Gensheng, who had been pulled over by Hai Jufu to accompany the guest, who seemed to know something and asked tentatively: "Uncle, is it about inviting Master Fu on the phone?"

  Hai Ju nodded, his voice still rough from the previous argument: "Yeah, that fat guy thinks we're all stupid in the countryside, right? He was saying nice things before, but now he's changing his tune. The price has more than doubled overnight, wanting 8,000 a day. Who does he think he is? Fine, we won't use him, we'll find someone else!"

  "Uncle, this fatty is really too shameless. When it comes to the critical moment, he changes his mind suddenly, isn't that cheating people? What kind of person does that?! But if we really don't need him anymore, can we find someone else in time? Don't let Erwa's big matter be delayed!" Haigen Sheng heard Hai Jufu say this and also got angry, but in the end, he was still a bit worried.

  Hai Ju Fu also looked a bit worried, the wrinkles between his eyebrows twisted into a "川" shape, he panted heavily, picked up his bamboo pipe from beside him and lit it, taking a few silent puffs.

  Seeing Hai Jufu looking like he had encountered a difficult situation, Zhang Jin couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Hai, what's wrong? Tell me, maybe I can help." After all, they would be together for at least a few years, and Zhang Jin also thought that Hai Jufu was a good person, so he planned to help if he could.

  Hai Ju Fu suddenly realized there were still guests at the table, hastily put down the bamboo pipe and forced a smile: "Nothing, nothing, come eat, eat."

  It was Haigen who accompanied the guests and spoke out the difficulties of Hai Laozhi Shu.

  Originally, Hai Ju Fu's family had two sons. The older son was a few years older than Zhang Jin and was already over 30 years old. He had long since gotten married and moved out to live on his own. Recently, he partnered with several fellow villagers to buy a fishing boat, spending most of his time drifting at sea, only returning to the village once every few days.

  The second son, also known as the second child, is only 22 years old this year. He works in a factory in Hui City and has a girlfriend. They planned to return to Haiwazi Village on June 6th to hold a wedding banquet. Previously, they had contacted a chef from a restaurant in Hui City to come to the village to take care of things, and it was agreed that the price would be 3,000 yuan per day. However, by the end of May, with the date approaching, the chef suddenly changed his mind and insisted on changing the price to 8,000 yuan per day, or else he wouldn't come. Eight thousand yuan is not a small amount for Hai Jufu's family, and this is only the price for one day. Naturally, they were unwilling to give in, but with the big happy day approaching, suddenly coming up with such a situation made them feel stifled and heartbroken. If they had to change people at the last minute, it would be too hasty, and they feared that the good wedding banquet would be ruined. This dilemma naturally made Hai Jufu, who has a somewhat stubborn temper, feel angry and frustrated.

  After Hai Gen Sheng finished introducing the situation, he said with embarrassment: "Brother Zhang, you are a city person, and city people know each other's heads. Do you have any acquaintances who can introduce us to a master?" Although Hai Ju Fu was a bit embarrassed to ask for help as soon as they met, things were urgent, so he didn't stop Hai Gen Sheng from speaking, and he looked at Zhang Jin with a hopeful expression.

  Zhang Jin's mind moved, and he smiled: "So that's it? I don't know any great chefs, but my cooking is quite good. Why don't I do it? I won't ask for any labor costs either. Just have your second son and his new wife give me two cups of wine and light two cigarettes, and we're settled."

  Hai Jufu and Hai Gensheng didn't know Zhang Jin's profession, but looking at his refined and elegant appearance, with a pair of half-frame glasses on his face and soft white hands, he didn't have the typical "big head, thick neck" look of a chef, so they naturally thought Zhang Jin was joking.

  "Xiao Zhang, you really love to joke around. Being the chef for a village wedding banquet is not like cooking at home, where just three dishes and two bowls would suffice. Our village's wedding banquets are a big deal, with six rounds of feasting over three days. All hundred or so households in the village will come, plus relatives from the groom's family, adding up to over 200 people. That's at least 20-30 tables. On the first day, each table has eight dishes and eight bowls, on the second day nine dishes, and on the third day three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, one soup, and one dessert. That adds up to at least 700-800 plates of food. We'd have to use huge pots to cook it all, even then we'd need to make 60-70 pots. Can you really handle that?" As for Zhang Jin saying he wants to be the head chef, Hai Ju Fu naturally didn't believe him one bit, and had a million doubts.

  As a master chef, how could Zhang Jin be troubled by the problem of big pot and small pot? So he didn't hesitate, and readily agreed: "What? Uncle Hai doesn't believe me? I'm not bragging, but among those chefs in the restaurants, there are really only a few who can cook better than me! Don't believe it? Let's try it out now!"

  Zhang Jin's words moved Hai Jufu's wife, Hai Dabao, who had been sitting at the table without speaking. Firstly, Zhang Jin's words were sincere and convincing; secondly, her second son's wedding was indeed imminent, and a reliable chef had not yet been found. So she also sought her husband Hai Laoban's opinion: "Old man, this matter is really urgent, why don't we let Little Zhang try?"