Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

"Honey, this is a gift from our kitchen staff for the baby. I've booked a table at the restaurant for tomorrow, as it's to celebrate the baby's one-month birthday."

"This is a golden longevity lock given by Master, and this is..." Fourth Brother said, referring to his personal gift.

"Your master and Zhuzi are very thoughtful. The longevity lock your master gave you was just made. Gold is not allowed to circulate now, so they specially commissioned a craftsman to make it."

The fabric and workmanship of this little cotton-padded jacket for Zhu Zi are excellent; they are not something that ordinary fabric shops could make. They are truly high-quality items.

"Zhu Zi has already completed his apprenticeship. How are his skills now? Is he starting to earn money outside?" Fourth Sister-in-law asked.

"Zhu Zi is still halfway through his apprenticeship. There was no graduation banquet yet. The restaurant started paying him according to the master chef's salary from the beginning of August. His monthly salary is 500,000. His skills are better than mine."

Now he has reached the standard of a senior chef. He was born to be a chef. He has never taken on outside jobs and has been filling in for us at the restaurant.

When his father left Yanjing, he left them... I'll also go take on some work in a few days to earn more money; the New Year is coming soon.

"It seems that you need talent to do any job. If you don't have it, then work hard slowly. You earned quite a bit of money in the past few months. Very few people can earn more than a million a month."

"I know I will continue to work hard to become a master chef," the fourth apprentice declared.

........

"Last night, the army in our area was arresting spies. It was terrifying. There were machine guns firing."

The most outrageous thing was that grenades were exploding everywhere, scaring us so much that we dared not go out. It took us half an hour of fighting to kill four agents.

"The four spies were from two families, and they were even neighbors. The two couples had five children. I heard that only two survived; the three older children helped their parents fight, but they all died," Master Ma said after arriving at work.

"We have a lot of spies here, and they resist when they cause trouble. There are fewer this year than in 49. There are gunfights every day as they try to catch them, so we need to be careful."

"I wonder when they'll finally catch all these spies? Sometimes it's terrifying, like a war. We ordinary folks just want a peaceful life."

"It should be soon. The decades of chaos are basically over, and our lives will get better."

After catching the spies, we should catch those robbers. They're too brazen now, daring to even enter the inner city.

"We won't let them get away with this."

Speaking of spies, He Yuzhu believes they should be eradicated completely. As for robbers, well, there are all sorts of people, it's hard to explain in a few words.

At noon, my fourth senior brother set up a table of dishes at a restaurant for his child's one-month celebration. Since he lived far away, his wife and child did not come.

The kitchen staff, along with Manager Wang, sat together to congratulate Fourth Brother on the birth of his first child, saying that he would have many descendants in the future.

At the table, Manager Wang was very happy, not because of his fourth senior brother. His fourth senior brother was not the master and did not have a high enough status in the restaurant.

"Everyone, I have good news for you. That Sichuan restaurant across the street will be closing down within a week at most," Manager Wang said with a smile.

"The shop across the street is closing down, Manager Wang. Their business isn't doing too badly, why are they closing down?" the master asked.

"The big boss is going out of town and he's taking the head chef with him. Without the head chef, how can they compete with us? The restaurant is going to be sold."

The deal is done. The owner will be going south before the Lunar New Year. The restaurant is just a small business for him and isn't highly regarded.

"Manager Wang, is our restaurant really in such danger? Our income is much better than the one across the street."

"There's no danger. If our boss wants to leave, I'll take over the restaurant. I already own shares. As long as you don't leave, everything will be fine. Our boss never said he was leaving."

"We're fine with our jobs here. Quite a few people are leaving Yanjing these days; I wonder where they're going?"

"Go abroad or go to the south; the business environment in the south is better."

"I've lived in Yanjing for over twenty years, I know it well, I don't go anywhere else. I'm still a cook, no matter where I work, I'll still be a cook." Master Ma was very open-minded.

"More and more people are going to work as cooks in factories these days. I wonder what the reason is behind that?"

"There's no official explanation, it's just that the job is stable. We work in a restaurant, and it's hard to even have a meal with our families. The only advantage is the high salary."

"Each person's choice."

The news that the Sichuan restaurant across the street was going to close down was true. In the afternoon, He Yuzhu's third senior apprentice came to the kitchen to find their master.

He implied that he wanted to go back to work at the Emei Restaurant, or that his master could introduce him to a job.

"Fugui, there's no way you can go back to work at Emei Restaurant. Your sixth junior brother's skills have reached the level of a senior chef. There are only three stoves here, and four chefs."

We already have enough people, so I can't hire you unless Manager Wang personally approves.

As for working elsewhere, I'll have to try my luck and ask around for you, but I can't guarantee there will be a job. "Master is politely declining."

"Sixth Brother has the skills of a senior chef? Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Third Brother was extremely shocked.

"Fugui, you underestimate people from families of chefs. They may not have much hands-on experience, but their theoretical knowledge is very strong."

They were trained by their father from a young age and worked in restaurants, where they had hands-on experience and learned cooking skills very quickly. Don't think that chefs from other departments can't teach us Sichuan cuisine.

Once you understand one thing, you'll understand everything. After trying Sichuan cuisine a few times, you'll grasp its main ingredients; the rest is just a matter of modification. Our Sichuan restaurant also offers other cuisines, just with slightly different flavors.

His master said a lot, but he didn't give a definite answer. He was still dissatisfied with his third senior brother when it came to finding him a job.

The third senior brother, who had not received any definite good news, left the Emei Restaurant with a grim expression. He should understand that his master did not want to find him a job.

.......

Before four o'clock in the afternoon, He Yushui skipped back to the restaurant. First graders have two classes in the afternoon and are dismissed from school before three-thirty.

Aside from his school duty shifts, He Yushui always returned to the restaurant before 4 PM, and didn't play any games on the way there.

"Brother, this is a drawing I made for you. Doesn't it look just like you?"

Looking at the painting in He Yushui's hand, He Yuzhu's mouth twitched. How could the person in the painting look like me? Your face is covered in smears.

To put it nicely, it's ice cream; to put it bluntly, it's...

Without discouraging He Yushui's enthusiasm for drawing, they said, "Yushui, is this your first time drawing? Did you start drawing because you saw other students drawing?"

"Yes, brother, the girl who sits behind me can draw. I learned from her and wanted to draw me and my brother, so I drew this. Isn't it pretty?"

"Your first time drawing a person is a bit ugly. For example, you drew your brother's face too dark and messy. You can't tell that it is your brother's handsome face. You still need to practice."

If you want to draw well, it will take a long time. We can start from the basics and take it slowly.

I'll buy you drawing books, not just calligraphy practice books, but also art books so you can copy what you see.

"Brother, how long is 'a long time'?"

"It depends on the person. Some people need it for decades. You can treat it as a hobby. It depends on your own thoughts."

"Brother, I want to learn to draw."

"I'll buy you a sketchbook tomorrow."

"Zhu Zi, you're so good to your sister."

"Of course."

"When I grow up, I will also be good to my brother."

"I'll wait until you grow up."

The sketchbook is available in the system store; I can take it out tomorrow. It's not time to prepare the food yet, so I'll play with He Yushui for a while first.