Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

On Monday, He Yushui went to school at noon, while He Yuzhu went to the Military Control Commission to retrieve old items.

"Hello, Platoon Leader Yue, I'm here to collect some old items. How many do you have?" He didn't stand on ceremony with Platoon Leader Yue; he wanted to take as many as he could get for free.

"Young man, our Platoon Leader Yue is already a company commander, we can't call him platoon leader anymore," a soldier said with a smile in the office.

"Platoon Leader Yue has been promoted to company commander. Congratulations!" He Yuzhu offered his congratulations in the usual way.

"Hello Comrade He Yuzhu, I was able to get promoted to deputy company commander thanks to you. It's not easy to get promoted without fighting. You deserve the most credit this time."

We've decided that since you're a hero who bravely fought off the robbers, there will be no cash compensation. However, we can't let a hero suffer a loss, so you can choose thirty old items you like from the warehouse.

The main problem is that none of us recognize antique items. I've heard there are many fakes from the Republic of China and late Qing Dynasty. You choose carefully; we don't guarantee their authenticity. Deputy Company Commander Yue was quite pleased.

"Thank you, Company Commander Yue. Whether it's real or fake doesn't matter; it's all out of kindness that you don't want me to suffer a loss. I never intended to sell it; I just keep it as a souvenir."

He Yuzhu doesn't plan to sell the old items; there aren't many, and he'll display them at home as decorations in the future.

If there are too many, someone can help open a museum. As long as it has a purpose, it's fine. It can't just gather dust in the system space.

"Come with me to see Comrade Hao Wen, the warehouse keeper. He's in charge."

"Company Commander Yue, are the thirty old items categorized by size?"

"It doesn't matter the size; you can bring a large bottle or a jade pendant, it all counts as one item."

Our Company Commander Yue really doesn't understand old objects. What does "big bottle" mean? What does "fake" mean? That's not how antique dealers talk.

He Yuzhu didn't refute it. Exchanging 500,000 yuan for 30 old items was not a loss at all. The old items of the Military Control Commission were basically obtained through confiscation of property, and were much better than what he could buy himself.

"Mosquito, this is Comrade He Yuzhu, our hero who caught the robbers. His foreign bicycle broke down, so he took thirty old items from the warehouse as compensation. Take a look."

"yes."

"Comrade He Yuzhu, I'm going back to my office. After you've made your selection, take this compensation receipt with you. It will prove that the old items were compensation from the Military Control Commission." Company Commander Yue handed over a receipt.

He Yuzhu took the receipt, didn't look at it, and put it in his pocket. "Company Commander Yue, you're busy. I'll go back by myself after I've made my selection."

"become."

"Comrade Mosquito opened the door to a warehouse, and the two entered the warehouse. He Yuzhu glanced at it, took out a box of Hademen cigarettes, and handed the whole box to Mosquito."

"Smoking, and as for old objects, you put everything on the floor except for calligraphy and paintings." The house is less than 30 square meters, with hundreds of porcelain pieces on the floor and calligraphy and paintings on an iron shelf.

There were a few boxes on the ground, probably old items, small ones that shouldn't be left lying around.

"Comrade, we have regulations; we can't smoke your cigarettes."

"You just can't take a single needle or thread from us, not that we can't give you anything. Here's a pack of cigarettes for the brothers to smoke, don't be shy."

Comrade Mosquito awkwardly lit a cigarette and put the rest in his pocket.

He Yuzhu didn't really understand antiques and calligraphy, but he talked a lot about it online in later generations. Calligraphy, paintings and porcelain are valuable, and large paintings are more valuable than normal-sized paintings.

Whether it's true or not is unclear, but perhaps the experts are right. When He Yuzhu arrived in front of the calligraphy and paintings, he actually found four large paintings and asked Comrade Mosquito to help unfold them.

Please accept this if it is not a printed item.

Then I went to the porcelain, picked out ten pieces that looked good, went back to the calligraphy and painting, opened the calligraphy and painting, and chose paintings for the remaining sixteen old objects, leaving the others untouched.

"Comrade Hao Wen, please count: twenty paintings and ten pieces of porcelain."

"The number is correct, but the porcelain is quite large. How are you going to take it back? Why don't you take a burlap sack, put it inside, and then return the sack?"

"Alright." He Yuzhu did not refuse, and the Military Control Commission also saved money.

The porcelain pieces weren't very large; a burlap sack could hold them all, along with the calligraphy and paintings. The sack was tied shut, and I said goodbye to Comrade Hao Wen before heading home.

He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle, carrying a burlap sack in his hand. He walked slowly, worried about breaking the porcelain inside the sack. What if it was real?

Back in the courtyard house, a woman looked at the sack in his hand, nodded, and went home without saying a word.

He opened the sack, but didn't look at the old items again. "Put it away."

After putting away the old items and taking a few minutes to rest, I returned the sack to work.

After get off work, no one in the courtyard asked what was in the sack. They were still worried about offending He Yuzhu.

.......

Gradually, the heat surrounding the robbery case subsided, and the courtyard returned to normal.

New Year's Day 1952 arrived. He Yuzhu decided to take a day off since he didn't go to work today. The three master chefs had no one to take their jobs, but there were people to do the work.

I also wanted to treat He Yushui to a good meal, and for myself, I'd been eating at restaurants all the time and wanted to try something different.

Today, we're making four dishes from Huaiyang cuisine.

Braised Lion's Head Meatballs with Crab Roe: Hand-diced pork (both lean and fatty parts) is braised with crab roe until tender and melts in your mouth. Originating from the Sui and Tang Dynasty dish "Sunflower-shaped Chopped Meat," it's a frequent dish at state banquets.

Braised Dried Tofu Strips: Dried tofu is finely shredded and simmered in chicken broth. The knife skills are superb, and it originates from the "Nine-Shredded Soup" of the Qing Dynasty. It is a standard dish for Yangzhou morning tea.

Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish: Mandarin fish is scored, deep-fried, and drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. Its shape resembles a squirrel, hence the name bestowed by Emperor Qianlong.

Nourishing Lamb Rib Hot Pot: The lamb ribs are tender and have a rich, milky flavor.

In my past life, I really liked Huaiyang cuisine, but I didn't dare to eat too much spicy food because it made me feel uncomfortable and caused me a lot of suffering.

If you can't finish it, store it in the mall space. There's no time flow there, so it's preserved.

"Brother, what are we eating today? The teacher said that today is New Year's Day, 1952, the first day of the new year in Western countries." He Yushui was craving food again.

"Yuan" means "beginning," and the beginning of any number is called "Yuan"; "Dan" means "day"; "Yuandan" means "the first day." "Yuandan" usually refers to the first day of the first month in the calendar.

It was too complicated and there was no explanation. He Yushui knew it was the first day of the new year in Western countries.

"Today's dish is Huaiyang cuisine. Right now, we're making braised dried bean curd strips. Huaiyang cuisine is also suitable for you, although it's a bit complicated to make. I'll teach you how to make it later."

"Brother, do you have any fried chicken? It's delicious." He Yushui's expression clearly showed that she was reminiscing about the taste of fried chicken.

"Fried chicken is a snack, not a meal. I'll make you fried chicken after you finish your meal."

"Thank you, brother."

"Go study. The weather's nice this afternoon, let's go out and play."

"Brother, the weather is awful. It looks like it's going to snow. If it snows heavily, we can build snowmen and have snowball fights."

"Snowfall is quite nice; it's a good omen for a bountiful year."

"Brother, you cook, I'll go back to my room and study."

Before 11 a.m., snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The snow was not heavy, but it lasted for a long time.

At noon, the brother and sister happily finished their meal, and He Yuzhu fried a chicken for He Yushui.

Compared to the family bucket which only contained chicken legs and wings, He Yushui seemed to prefer the whole fried chicken. He Yuzhu also ate two pieces, and they tasted good.

The snow wasn't heavy, so the brother and sister didn't go out; they just stayed home and took a walk around the neighborhood.

I returned to the courtyard house before eight o'clock in the evening.