Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

"Fourth brother, your master's arrangement is the best. Making banquet dishes can earn money and also help us practice our skills. We don't have enough talent, so it's best for us to earn money while honing our skills."

Around the Lunar New Year, you earned several million yuan, and it was easy to give money to your parents. You couldn't do that at the restaurant. With Zhu Zi around, it's very convenient for us to ask for leave when we go out.

Your skills are still lacking, so you'll have to work hard to earn money. When you reach your master's level, a table of food should cost 150,000 yuan. If you want to earn more money, you'll have to make up for it with hard work.

However, Zhu Zi's talent as a cook is astonishing; his cooking skills keep improving, and we have no idea where he'll reach his limit.

"The higher the better, I hope he can become a legendary master chef." Qi Tianfu was happy for his apprentice.

"Master chefs? I've heard of them, but never seen one. There isn't one in Yanjing City, at least. I also hope that Zhu Zi will become a master chef. I watched him grow up practicing his skills."

"It's too difficult. Zhu Zi's goal is to become a master chef, which is a reasonable goal and not too ambitious."

"Master chefs are not something ordinary people can hire even if they have the money. I have never tasted the food prepared by a master chef."

"Let the pillar do it for us a few times."

"Haha, I'll definitely make him do it in the future."

.........

On Monday, February 4th, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, He Yuzhu rested at home and read books, and did not go out in the morning.

Before ten o'clock, Tan Guilan arrived at the house. "Zhu Zi, I've come to ask you something."

"Aunt Tan, please speak." Tan Guilan had come to regard He Yuzhu as the only person in the compound she could ask questions.

"I've been divorced from Yi Zhonghai for over six months, and I've been considering whether to remarry or adopt a child, but I can't decide. Which do you think is better?"

"Personally, I think you're only forty years old, with decades ahead of you. You should find a man to have children with. Ideally, this man should be childless, or older, and agree to you being his stepmother."

A man without children, or with some disability, doesn't need care or attention; he can be waited on hand and foot. Also, regardless of his appearance, he must have a formal job; you can't support him financially.

Adopting a child is a bit early, but it's safer than finding a man. After all, you'll raise the child yourself, and they'll be able to take care of you in your old age without much trouble.

It's best to adopt a child after menopause, as the biological child is your own and provides better proof that you have no issues.

"Zhu Zi, I understand you want me to find a man, preferably one with a biological son, to prove myself. What is menopause?" Tan Guilan asked, not understanding.

Menopause signifies the decline of ovarian function in women, the depletion of estrogen secretion, the cessation of menstruation, and the termination of reproductive function. In other words, women can no longer have children normally.

Menopause is generally divided into three stages: premenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Menopause is calculated from the date of a woman's last menstrual period.

Most women experience natural menopause between the ages of 45 and 55.

The sign is that a woman who hasn't had her period for several months, and is around 45 years old, is very likely entering menopause.

"We women can only have children before menopause; we can't have children after menopause. I understand."

I'd rather adopt a child. I'm getting older and don't want to get married again; I'm afraid of meeting the wrong man.

"Adopting a child is fine, orphans are best. If the child isn't an orphan, don't let their parents know. You're the one who's adopting the child, and you're capable of supporting yourself now. It would be great if you could adopt two at once."

"Adopting two children is a good idea. When we first started saving money in the bank, the fixed deposit rate was 45.6%, then it dropped to 36%, and now it's 14.4%."

The average is only slightly over 5%, raising two children isn't difficult, and I also have the money Yi Zhonghai gave me, plus the principal in the bank.

"Zhu Zi, how about I go to the countryside to adopt a child?" Tan Guilan was at home calculating bank interest rates.

"The Military Control Commission should also have places like orphanages, but I don't know the specifics of how they operate. You should go to the Military Control Commission and ask; their leaders will know."

"I'll go ask. Zhu Zi, yesterday was Sunday, and people from the Military Control Commission came to ask about roof repairs. They have a waiting list of about a month. It's a bit better for us in Nanluoguxiang."

The wall separating me and Yi Zhonghai is made of wood, and I'd like them to help me rebuild it.

"What should we use?"

"Use bricks."

"It's impossible to build a simple partition wall with bricks. You need to lay a foundation at home, and there need to be heavy objects on top to weigh down the wall. How high should the wall be built to ensure safety? It's not just a simple matter of building a wall."

You need to build firewalls. You're going to rebuild the house. A single wall is too dangerous in a house. Your firewalls used to be only a little over a meter high and less than two meters long, which was also for safety.

It's too long and too tall; it couldn't withstand a collision with us. The roof is five meters high; if bricks fell, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He Yuzhu had originally considered partitioning the house, but after careful consideration, he felt it was impossible. The only solution was to rebuild it, or at least use curtains for safety. Ideally, he would use an ancient screen.

"The houses are no longer divided, thank you Zhuzi, I'll head back now."

Sigh, partitioning a house is no simple matter; the partition wall needs to be load-bearing, otherwise, there will be big problems. If you have the money and time, it's better to rebuild the house.

After Tan Guilan left, she took He Yushui to the Zhengyangmen courtyard to cook.

........

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the restaurant was booked again. This time there were fewer people, and only the private rooms on the second floor were booked. Although there were fewer people, the quality was not low.

The pricing for the lobby on the first floor of Emei Restaurant differs from that of the private rooms on the second floor, ranging from 20% to 30%, which is the same for most restaurants.

Before I time-traveled, when I was still in college, I heard a classmate, a "third-generation miner," say something like that.

"When dining at a high-end restaurant, you should go to a private room that costs extra. If everything is free, you should order more expensive dishes and have the head chef prepare them."

The chefs in a restaurant have different levels of skill, and their techniques vary. The main chefs, especially the head chefs, usually cook for the large, private dining rooms.

After time-traveling, he became an apprentice at the Emei Restaurant and realized that what his classmate had said was true. It was an unspoken rule in the restaurant, or you could say it was the price difference in name only.

In the main hall, the fourth chef takes the orders, while the third chef prepares the food. He has the heaviest workload but the lowest salary.

Chef Ma was cooking in the regular private room. The number of private rooms and seats on the second floor was significantly less than in the main hall on the first floor.

Only when there are truly distinguished guests or too many customers will the head chef take charge or lend a hand. The head chef is the foundation of a restaurant, and he's the one who faces the most important guests; for ordinary people, it's nothing.

When the waiter brings the menus, they also need to be distinguished. Emei Restaurant uses different colors for the first and second floor seating.

In high-end hotels, the higher your chef's rank, the less busy you are, and the more money you earn. It's kind of a rule.