Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

"Over the past few years, the authorities have targeted many people from wealthy and powerful families. It is estimated that these families were spared because their crimes were minor or they had contributed to the effort."

There are too many people in Yanjing City; we can't execute them all. The higher-ups know that these rich people just eat and drink; they wouldn't dare do anything illegal.

"They have money. We only have income when they come to our restaurant to eat. Ordinary people can't afford the food here."

"Haha, that's right. They're our providers. Next time they come, cook more carefully."

"These people dine lavishly in the restaurants, and even the waiters often receive tips."

"A few days ago, the head of the Du family and his two sons were executed, and their property was confiscated. It's said that they were reported, and there was evidence proving that his family served the Japanese and were traitors."

"The Du family's reputation was only so-so twenty years ago. The patriarch even served as a bureau chief in the puppet government. There was probably no evidence before, but this time they can't escape."

"What's most unexpected is the Xu family. When their crimes were announced at the beginning of last year, they deserved to be executed ten times over. They've done all sorts of bad things and have been traitors and lackeys for thirty years."

In private, he committed all sorts of evil deeds, especially his three sons. On the surface, however, he was a benevolent figure, distributing porridge and small sums of money during famine years and treating the poor with great courtesy.

Who would have thought that it was all a ploy to win people over? Only after a single thought revealed the true nature of their family?

"'You can know a person's face but not their heart.' They are too far removed from ordinary people like us. What do they do? We would never know."

"Zhu Zi, I just went to school. Is it okay for students to attend school in the rain?" Qi Tianfu asked.

"As long as you pay the tuition, that's fine."

"It's only right to pay tuition if you can go to school," Qi Tianfu nodded. Paying tuition for school is a common practice.

"A primary school student's tuition of 20,000 yuan per semester is not a small amount, and families without formal employment still cannot afford to send their children to school."

"Going to school has never been easy. Now there are more schools, so it's relatively easier to go. But it was much harder for us back then. There were hardly any schools or teachers in the countryside."

"When Master Ma and I were young, it was difficult to go to school. We fled to the city because we had no money. Fortunately, when we became apprentices, we had food even though we had no money, so we didn't starve. It's just that going to school was out of the question."

"Things will get better gradually."

"We're doing alright now; it wasn't for nothing that I spent eight years as an apprentice."

"Master Ma's monthly salary is not low, exceeding that of 99% of people."

"The salary isn't bad, but my ultimate dream is to become a master chef. It was my master's dream, but he never achieved it before he died. It's too difficult."

"Right now, you should focus on making more money. Skills require talent, and you can't force them," Qi Tianfu comforted Master Ma.

"I understand, I'm just a little sentimental."

"Let's try our luck."

........

On Sunday morning at 8:30, I took He Yushui to Emei Restaurant to start my normal workday.

Today, the Lü and Cheng families are hosting their wedding banquet, and the chefs in the kitchen are starting work two hours early to earn extra money.

When I get to work in the morning, I not only have to prepare the dishes, but also arrange the cold dishes so that they can be served when the wedding banquet starts. There are at least eight cold dishes.

Both banquets had around 180 guests. Emei Restaurant rarely had 10-person tables; most tables were for 4 or 6 people, and there were only two large private banquets for 10 people.

There are three eight-person tables, and a total of thirty tables, so you can sit down.

However, 180 people does not mean 18 or 15 tables are full. According to the number of tables in Emei Restaurant, it would take 26 tables to be full.

Each type of cold dish needs to be prepared in advance in twenty-six portions. If we squeeze in, we might fill twenty-two tables. But what if people don't want to squeeze in?

The kitchen must be prepared. Manager Wang negotiates the price with them. Any extra money may belong to the restaurant staff, and the host will pay for it. They don't pack leftovers.

They're just that rich and that capricious!

From eight to ten in the morning, the seven people in the kitchen finally arranged the eight kinds of cold dishes, twenty-six servings each. They were a little unaccustomed to the bowl in their right hand, as the workload was too heavy.

"It's been a long time since I've practiced my knife skills for an extended period, so suddenly assembling such a cold dish today isn't really suitable."

"It's a bit of an adjustment. Before, we would wait for Lao Wu and the others to prepare the food, but this time there are more people, so we have to help out. Zhu Zi did a good job this time."

"Your knife skills are superb, and you have the strength to keep your hand still in the same position throughout the entire process. Your knife skills are good enough to graduate from your apprenticeship," praised Master Qi Tianfu.

"Old Qi has taken on a good apprentice. He's strong, steady, and fast at chopping vegetables. He's a natural-born chef. Little Gui, you should practice your arm and wrist strength more often."

"Find a pot and practice your wok-flipping skills. A cook can't do without upper body strength," said Chef Ma, the second cook.

"Thank you, Master Ma. I only benefited from being stronger," He Yuzhu said modestly.

"Master, I will practice my strength more," Gui Zi replied. He was Master Ma's apprentice, his full name was Wu Gui, he was twenty-one years old, and He Yuzhu and his fifth senior brother both called him Gui Zi.

"Xiao Zheng is quite strong and works very hard. You are still young and haven't formally become an apprentice yet. If you study hard now, you will spend less time as an apprentice in the future. Keep it up."

Xiao Zheng is the youngest worker, a relative of the restaurant owner, Mr. Wang. He is mute, not deaf, but has difficulty communicating.

Manager Wang wanted him to learn cooking skills in the kitchen so that even in years of famine, the cooks wouldn't starve. He had asked his master to take him on as a disciple, but it was still a "probationary period" and the formal apprenticeship date was undecided.

Xiao Zheng uses sign language to say thank you and will obediently do as instructed.

He Yuzhu has learned some simple sign language, but he can't do anything more difficult. The key problem is that he has no interest in learning.

"After you've rested, we'll prepare hot dishes. The soup is already simmering on a low flame, so it won't take much time."

"Zhu Zi's cooking skills have reached the intermediate level. He's running four stoves, just like your fourth senior brother. He'll be cooking several dishes, so we expect he'll be very busy. We hope there won't be too many tables of customers," Qi Tianfu instructed.

"Old Wang is stingy too. Not only did he not want to hire two more master chefs, but he also wanted twelve hot dishes, twenty-six servings of each, and he wanted them to be served quickly. It's not easy."

"Old Wang asked us to work a little harder because no one from the restaurant came on Sunday noon, and the chefs from the factory were not very good."

"If the banquet is well-prepared and the host is satisfied, we in the kitchen will receive payment and the food." The master spoke a fair word for Manager Wang.

"With the change of leadership over the past two years, the largest banquet our restaurant has ever received is a real challenge, and now we receive fewer banquet bookings."

"I used to go to the homes of wealthy people and cook banquets for them. I miss those days," Master Ma said with great emotion.

Indeed, after liberation, He Daqing's Tan Family Cuisine did not have much market presence, so he went to work as the canteen manager at a steel rolling mill.

The wealthy are observing and watching the winds; they are all cunning and shrewd. This year has been better since the Lunar New Year than last year, and these people have started spending money lavishly. This phenomenon will likely continue for several years.

There are twelve kinds of hot dishes, and a total of twenty-four tables. If we reduce two tables, it's because some people know each other and don't want to be separated, so a table of six people can become seven or eight people.

Starting promptly at 12:00, by 12:30, all eight cold dishes and twelve hot dishes were served, and the host was satisfied with the speed of service.