The Courtyard House: The story begins with He Yuzhu beating up the White Widow.

As time went by, the Spring Festival of 1953 drew ever closer. He Daqing was busy with hospitality, leaving early and returning late every day. Even Liang Wanping needed He Yuzhu to pick her up from the factory in the afternoons. Since the holiday began, He Yuzhu had been spending her time either with Xu Xiaoling or with Lou Xiao'e. In short, He Yuzhu's heart had become wild with playfulness.

He Yuzhu continued his daily routine, going to and from get off work as usual. Occasionally, he would go into the mountains to hunt some game. In any case, He Yuzhu had stored quite a lot of things in his spatial storage.

On the evening of the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, the steel rolling mill closed for the holiday. The workers happily left with their factory benefits. He Daqing, however, remained busy in the kitchen. Not long after, Nie Shuji's secretary, Zhang Guowei, rushed into the kitchen and asked, "Chef He, have the guests arrived?"

He Daqing tossed the wok a couple of times, scooped out the vegetables, and said, "The cold dishes are all ready. They can be served now!"

"Yes!" Zhang Guowei responded and immediately ran out of the kitchen. About ten minutes later, Nie Shuji, along with a group of factory leaders, accompanied the ministry leaders into the small dining room behind the canteen. After everyone sat down, Vice Minister Bi, sitting at the head of the table, quickly scanned the dishes on the table and said, "The food is really plentiful today!"

Nie Shuji instantly grasped the other meaning behind the words and hurriedly explained, "Old leader, our factory hasn't violated any rules. These dishes were all made by our canteen's head chef, Chef He Daqing. Chef He used to be the head chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, but Boss Lou likes good food, so he poached him to our factory."

"So that's how it is?!" Deputy Minister Bi muttered to himself, "It seems Boss Lou left your factory quite a few treasures."

Nie Shuji said, "Old leader, the land to the east of our factory was originally reserved by Boss Lou for factory expansion. But given our factory's current development, the land to the east is clearly not enough."

Vice Minister Bi said, "Regarding your factory's situation, the land to the east is indeed somewhat unsuitable. We originally planned to discuss it after the New Year. Since you asked today, I'll tell you in advance. The land to the east still belongs to your factory, but it will be a farm配套 (supporting) with your factory. The land to the west of your factory also belongs to your factory. As for how much land, we'll decide after we have a meeting. Your factory has a heavy workload next year, so please don't let us down."

Nie Shuji hurriedly said, "Don't worry, old leader! We will definitely not hold back the country's development." Then he said, "Old leader, please start eating!"

"Hmm!" Vice Minister Bi responded, picking up his chopsticks, just as Zhang Guowei brought in a plate of Mapo Tofu. The moment Vice Minister Bi saw the dish, his eyes lit up. After Zhang Guowei put the dish down, Vice Minister Bi immediately switched to a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of Mapo Tofu, brought it to his lips, gently blew on it, and then put it in his mouth.

Vice Minister Bi closed his eyes, chewed carefully a few times, swallowed, then looked at Zhang Guowei and said, "Please invite Master He over!"

Zhang Guowei glanced furtively at Nie Shuji.

Nie Shuji nodded. Zhang Guowei immediately ran out of the private room, quickly went to He Daqing's side, and said, "Master He, the leader wants to see you."

He Daqing was taken aback and asked, "Is there something wrong with the food?!"

Zhang Guowei said with a smile, "Master He, you'll see when you get there. It's a good thing!"

"Okay!" He Daqing responded, quickly ladling the food out of the pot and carrying it with him as they followed Zhang Guowei to the small private room.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" When they reached the door of the private room, Zhang Guowei knocked first, then pushed the door open and led He Daqing inside.

He Daqing placed the dishes on the table and respectfully stepped aside. Vice Minister Bi looked at He Daqing and asked, "You're Chef He Daqing?!"

He Daqing nodded and said, "I am He Daqing."

Vice Minister Bi pointed to the nearly empty plate of Mapo Tofu not far away and asked, "Did you make this dish?!"

"Yes!" He Daqing replied honestly, then asked, "Sir, is there a problem with this?!"

Vice Minister Bi laughed and said, "I'm just curious. Your Mapo Tofu is a little different from what other Sichuan chefs make."

He Daqing said, "This Mapo Tofu was improved by my son, He Yuzhu. Other restaurants use minced pork or beef in their Mapo Tofu. My version uses specially processed soybeans."

"No wonder the taste is a bit different," Vice Minister Bi agreed, then asked, "Is your son a chef too?!"

He Daqing replied, "He studied cooking, but he's not a chef. He's a purchasing agent for the military control commission's canteen."

Vice Minister Bi immediately became interested in He Yuzhu and asked, "Being able to improve dishes means your son's cooking skills are quite good. Why didn't he become a chef and instead became a purchasing agent?!"

He Daqing replied, "It's just a matter of different people having different aspirations! No matter what position you hold, you are serving the people."

"Well said!" Vice Minister Bi echoed, then said, "Pour Master He a glass of wine!"

Zhang Guowei immediately walked to the side, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to He Daqing.

He Daqing took the glass and said, "Please, leader, drink as you please, I'll finish it!" After saying that, He Daqing tilted his head back and drank the wine, then handed the glass back to Zhang Guowei and said, "Leader, there are still dishes on the stove. Excuse me!" With Nie Shuji's permission, He Daqing left the private room.

Vice Minister Bi said, "Dongshan, after eating Chef He's cooking today, I really wanted to transfer him to the ministry. But considering your factory can't do without such a great chef, I'll have to decline." He then asked, "Dongshan, how much do you know about this Chef He?!"

Nie Shuji was momentarily speechless. Zhang Guowei, standing nearby, hurriedly said, "Vice Minister Bi, Chef He's situation is somewhat special." Zhang Guowei then recounted what he knew. After listening to Zhang Guowei's account, Vice Minister Bi exclaimed, "I never imagined Chef He was actually a family member of a martyr!!"

The banquet ended a little after 6:30 PM. After seeing the guests off, Nie Shuji sent Zhang Guowei over. He Daqing saw Zhang Guowei and asked, "Is there anything else you need, Nie Shuji?"

Zhang Guowei handed He Daqing a slip of paper and said, "Master He, you've all worked hard these past few days. This is a reward from Nie Shuji. Take this slip, go to the small warehouse next door, collect your supplies, and head back!"

"Please thank Nie Shuji for me!" He Daqing took the approval slip, looked it over, and after confirming that there were no problems, he sent Zhang Guowei away, immediately went to the back to change his clothes, and led his men straight to the warehouse where the ingredients for the small kitchen were stored.