Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

At 1 a.m. on the 23rd, He Yuzhu packed up, put on his big backpack, woke up He Yushui, and carried her half-asleep to the old Yanjing Station to take the train to Baocheng.

On the way, we encountered three patrol teams in succession. They showed us their letters of introduction, said they bought train tickets yesterday, and were going to Baocheng to visit relatives.

After inspection, it was released.

I arrived at the train station at 1:40 PM, but didn't board the train until after 4:00 PM. The train from Shenyang was delayed by 1 hour and 40 minutes. Not only was it slow, but the delay wasn't long either.

I boarded the old-fashioned green train and found that sitting in the second-class sleeper carriage was quite nice, at least there weren't many people inside. Many passengers got off at Yanjing Station.

They changed their two seat tickets to second-class sleeper tickets, and the brother and sister went to their own sleeper berths to sleep, since they had to get up too early at night.

The next morning at 8:30, He Yushui woke up first because she was hungry, and then woke up He Yuzhu.

There was no time to wash my face or brush my teeth. The train was very basic, and there wasn't much water in the carriages. I just had to bear with it until I got to Baocheng.

The brother and sister each ate a steamed bun filled with braised pork and pickled vegetables. After finishing their meal, they didn't rest but instead looked out the window at the scenery.

The four-person sleeper car was occupied only by the brother and sister. The train was traveling from Shenyang to Shijiazhuang, stopping in Baocheng, which was already two hours late.

We expect to arrive in Baocheng about two hours late, and the parking time in Baocheng will be around 11:00 AM.

Along the way, there were desolate places and farmers working in the fields. It felt like there were few people, a lot of wasteland, and not as many trees as in later generations.

The train arrived at Baocheng Station at 11:10, and He Yuzhu led his younger sister off the train.

He Daqing wrote very clearly that it was only four stops to the city guesthouse by taking bus number four or five.

We arrived at Baocheng Guesthouse at 11:40 a.m. There weren't many customers in the restaurant, so we called over a waiter.

"Excuse me, is He Daqing from your kitchen? Could you please tell him that his daughter is coming to visit him? Thank you."

"He's daughter, please wait a moment while I go and inform Mr. He."

Within five minutes, I saw He Daqing, still with his perpetually zombie-like face and chef's uniform, unchanged.

"Pillar, Rain, you've arrived."

"Dad, I missed you so much!" He Yushui rushed over to He Daqing, but He Yuzhu wasn't as excited and stood up.

He sneered at He Yushui's words, "I missed you so much!" "I've heard you mention He Daqing so often at home," she said, "and you're not even surnamed Feng." A woman's words are deceitful. Even a little girl is a woman.

"Rain, Dad misses you too. You've gotten so much fatter. Is your brother treating you well?"

If it's not good that you brought her to see you, how did she get so fat? Those are all pointless questions.

"Dad, how are things here in Baocheng? Do we still have to work later?" He Yuzhu asked.

"My brother is very good to me, very good. I eat well and play well. I study at the restaurant during the day, and when I come home at night, my brother teaches me martial arts. I will definitely..." He Yushui chattered on and on.

The little girl was finally able to tell the truth, and was no longer on guard against He Daqing.

"Zhu Zi, not bad, you handled the rainwater very well, better than me. The people in the courtyard, they had something to say as soon as I left, they all need to be taught a lesson."

Jia Zhangshi still wants to exploit your childless family; just give her a good thrashing. Continue to thrash her next time, don't hold back. Jia Dongxu claims to be honest, but he's really just a coward, a good-for-nothing.

As expected, Yi Zhonghai used the banner of respecting the elderly and caring for the young to side with the Jia family. When I left, I even asked him to take care of you.

There weren't many people eating lunch at the guesthouse; the cooks at the second kitchen could manage. The place got busier in the evenings, mostly with people from the past, and there were quite a few wealthy people from Baocheng as well.

"I sent you the money on March 10th. You should have received it in two or three days. It was supposed to be a fast and safe wire transfer. And did you receive the remittances from the 10th of this month?" He Daqing asked.

"No, haha, very good. I hope the people in the courtyard house get their hands on it and don't give it to me."

Keep the remittance stub safe. In a few years, when the remittance amount becomes large, whoever received the money can be sent to eat peanuts. They may have an excuse once or twice, but in three to five years, let's see how they try to justify themselves.

Next time, please write two letters. Send one, along with the money, to the courtyard house. Send the other letter to the Emei Restaurant.

"Who do you think it will be, Yi Zhonghai?"

He Daqing wanted to know who it was. He Yushui was eating steamed buns and braised pork.

"Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui. Yan Bugui moved here after you left. He lives in the west wing of the front yard. He is very stingy. His house is in a good location. People entering and leaving the courtyard have to pass by his house."

"Also, on the morning you left, I put 1.2 million yuan in the drawer. Did you take it?" He Yuzhu asked.

"I saw money in the drawer, knew your purpose, but didn't touch a single penny. It's gone. What about the food I left behind?" He Daqing realized.

"When I returned to the courtyard, the money and grain were gone. Yi Zhonghai must have taken the money, and Jia Zhangshi took the grain."

I'm prepared to escalate their situation further; I'll send both of them to their deaths. Fifty catties of grain won't be enough.

"Those two bastards, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi, must be killed. Especially Yi Zhonghai, an old widow, who dares to eat your widow's flesh, keep beating him."

Making them all crippled is the best retribution they can receive, but that's not enough; we'll kill them sooner or later. Don't let Jia Dongxu get away with it either; he's trying to cut off your income, so he's a mortal enemy too.

"Your thinking is right. If you had no money and lost your restaurant job, I don't even want to think about the consequences." He Daqing has always been a ruthless person.

"I know, how are you doing in Baocheng?"

"Things are going well for now, so don't worry about me. Be careful of people in Yanjing who might have ill intentions towards you, and bring rainwater. How's your cooking coming along? Where's your master?"

As they were talking, the waiter brought over two dishes, and He Daqing ordered four dishes, two meat and two vegetable.

"I will be careful, and I will bring rain gear with me. By the end of the year, I should be at the level of a master. My master is very good to me."

He Yuzhu didn't tell the whole truth. He said that his cooking skills had already reached the level of a senior chef in March, but he was afraid that He Daqing would feel inferior if he said it.

That works.

He Daqing went out for less than half an hour and cooked several dishes for the guests.

The three talked until 3 p.m., when the brother and sister parted ways with He Daqing. He Yushui cried a few more times but didn't make a fuss. She then went back to Yanjing with He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu wouldn't gamble on his train being delayed at 4 PM; if he had time, he would wait for the train as usual.

It was the first train departing from Baocheng, and it wasn't late, but it was delayed by forty minutes when it arrived in Yanjing.

The brother and sister got home around 11 p.m., rested, and went to sleep, as they had to go to work the next day.

After stopping He Yushui, who was still excited, I told her that we could talk about it tomorrow and that it was time to go to bed.

The next morning, He Yushui's excitement had worn off, and she didn't say much more. She probably just wanted to express her joy at seeing He Daqing.

"Zhu Zi, how is your father in Baocheng?" Master Qi Tianfu knew that He Yuzhu had gone to Baocheng yesterday.

"He's doing well. He works at the Baocheng City Guesthouse, and he looks quite healthy."

"As long as your father is doing well, that's all that matters. He's almost forty years old and has seen a lot of the world. You siblings don't need to worry about him."

Take care of your life, be careful of scheming people, things will get better in a couple of years. You're still young, you haven't settled down and started a family yet, that's why they have all sorts of ideas.

If someone makes things difficult for you, speak up, and I'll stand up for you. Don't be afraid of them; if you're weak, they'll take advantage of you.

"I won't back down, Master, don't worry." He Yuzhu had no intention of being a coward; he still wanted to deal with a few people and change the fate of 'Silly Zhu'.