Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

Xu Damao didn't get the wine, so he ran out of the courtyard and bought a piece of pig's head and a piece of braised pork from a nearby deli. He still didn't eat other people's food for free.

"Zhu Zi, your cooking skills are really good. You could make a lot of money opening a delicatessen. The braised dishes at the delicatessens around here are nowhere near as good as yours."

Braised pork belly is delicious with rice, especially when mixed together; it's much better than eating steamed buns.

Xu Damao is also a gourmet, and his self-praise is spot on.

"There's plenty of food, eat more. I'm not interested in opening a cooked food shop, but when I have some free time in a few days, I can make some braised dishes. Pig's head meat, pig's liver, and pig's stomach are all pretty good."

"Do you know how to make cured pork? It has a long shelf life, and I can cut some up whenever I want to eat meat. There are many ways to cook it, and it tastes good too."

"The best time to make cured pork is at the end of the year, ideally between November this year and January next year. I make it in restaurants and courtyard houses, because people will want it. It needs to be hung in a cool, well-ventilated place to dry."

"I understand. With Jia Zhangshi from your Zhongyuan Court here, she's incredibly greedy and will definitely 'borrow' it so you can take care of her 'elders'."

"affim."

"They definitely can't escape."

"I'll buy more meat then, thirty or fifty catties, enough for her to take." He Yuzhu smiled.

"Hahaha, you're wicked. I'll have my parents buy more meat, enough to make up a hundred or so pounds, and see how many years she gets sentenced." Xu Damao understood He Yuzhu's idea.

"She's too greedy. There's free food inside. If she goes in a second time, she'll get a longer sentence."

"It would be best to shoot directly at the target. Jia Zhangshi is much smarter. She will run away when she sees Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, unlike her."

Liu Haizhong has been very powerful this month, getting people at the factory to deal with Jia Dongxu every few days.

He stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, bullying Jia Zhangshi, thinking himself incredibly powerful. He was annoying.

"I didn't see Liu Haizhong because I came back late. Jia Zhangshi still has a lot of opinions about me. Let's deal with her first. Liu Haizhong is a good-for-nothing and won't affect me much."

"We have to take them one by one. The most cunning one in the courtyard is Yi Zhonghai. He's more honest than a grandson in the steel rolling mill. No matter what you say or scold him, he always greets you with a smile."

In the courtyard, apart from the Jia family mother and son, everyone else was treated the same way; this kind of person was difficult to deal with, and it wasn't appropriate to directly beat him.

"There will be a chance. He Yushui, eat some shredded potatoes, don't just eat meat."

"Mmm." Her mouth was full of meat, and she didn't have time to answer her brother.

"The rain was fine, I didn't gain weight. We all like to eat meat, so it's good if we don't gain too much weight." Xu Damao seemed to be right.

"It will be good for her to eat some vegetables."

"My dad told me that the steel rolling mill has opened three more canteens this time, making a total of five canteens, including the two that were already there. Each canteen will provide meals for 400 employees."

Each canteen has at least three master chefs cooking large batches of dishes, and about twenty assistants doing odd jobs.

The steel rolling mill canteen needs thirteen master chefs, sixty-five kitchen helpers, and eighty people just for the back kitchen. It will need to expand in the future; a single canteen can feed a maximum of one thousand people, ideally six or seven hundred.

"A thousand people is a bit too many. It's best to keep it under six hundred. One head chef should cook for two hundred people in one large pot; otherwise, they won't be able to cook it well."

"You're familiar with this. It's already good enough that the workers have food to eat, why are you being picky about the taste?"

"That's true. The steel mill canteen now serves several meals."

"Three meals a day. Breakfast and lunch are for the workers, and dinner is for singles. Breakfast doesn't include stir-fried dishes, just steamed buns, cornbread, porridge, and pickled vegetables."

Previously, both canteens were open, but now that there are five canteens, having two or three should be enough.

"Three canteens are enough, and I can get to and from get off work on time. I'll learn the skills and go back to the steel rolling mill."

"Brother, you're going back to work at the steel mill, is it the same job Dad used to have? Should I come back to school too?" He Yushui overheard this.

"The work hours are about the same. Yushui needs to come back to school; she's older now, so she can go to school by herself."

"Brother, when?"

"There's still plenty of time. If my job goes smoothly, in two years, around 54 or early 55, you can start attending a primary school in the Xicheng District."

"Two years later, Yushui has indeed grown into a young woman, able to go to school on her own. Things are much easier for you now, and you're of marriageable age."

"I'll get married soon if there's a suitable match. I'm not opposed to marriage," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"After you get married, I'll be approaching marriageable age too."

"I'm not getting married." He Yushui still remembers.

"You're still young. You'll get married when you grow up."

........

After He Yuzhu and the other two finished their meal, there were more than ten pieces of braised pork left, as well as some cooked food that Xu Damao had brought over. The shredded potatoes were gone, as they had already been eaten.

He Yushui went out to play and also to digest her food. She returned home in less than ten minutes and asked, "Brother, are we going to a restaurant tomorrow?"

"What do you want now?"

"Distribute the remaining food; someone might need it. My brother said that some delicious things should be shared with acquaintances and close friends."

"You're quite the talker. The vegetables are in the kitchen; you can prepare them yourself." He Yuzhu didn't pay much attention, assuming she was going to feed Junjun and Jingjing. There were plenty of vegetables, and they could eat them tomorrow.

The leftovers were a reward from Tan Guilan for passing on the message; it wasn't a large sum of money. Having her and Xu Damao as eyes and ears in the courtyard was good; she wouldn't be blind or deaf.

Damn, He Yuzhu walked to the window and saw that not only Junjun and Jingjing, but also Tan Guilan and Qin Huairu were there.

He Yushui was feeding the two children, while Qin Huairu was eating braised pork with chopsticks, looking quite content.

Yi Zhonghai sat on the threshold, smelling the aroma and swallowing hard. No one from the Jia family came out; they probably saw Yi Zhonghai waiting for them to leave.

It's fine if He Yushui gets along well with them; humans are social animals, and having a few friends is good. But the reclusive men and women of later generations don't have that luxury now.

"Rain, your brother's braised pork is delicious, but the cooked meat isn't made by him; it tastes much worse, only slightly better than ours."

"The braised pork was made by Zhu Zi, and the cooked meat should have been bought by Xu Damao. I saw him bring it back wrapped in oil paper."

"Mom, Brother Zhuzi's meat is delicious, and the cooked meat is delicious too, it's all delicious." Jingjing is still little, so she likes meat.

"Aunt Tan, take the rest of the meat back for the children. They are still young and need to eat more meat to help them grow."

I tried the braised pork made with three pillars, and it was alright. Thank you, Rainwater. "Qin Huairu hasn't turned evil; she's doing well."

"Eat a few more pieces. They've already eaten tonight. I'll buy some meat tomorrow or the day after; I'll make braised pork, but it's not as good as Zhu Zi's."

"I ate three pieces of meat, quite a lot. I'll leave the rest for them. Zhu Zi's cooking is far superior to ours; you can tell just by the smell," Qin Huairu said with a smile.

"Aunt Tan, there are still a few pieces of braised pork and cooked meat left. Please take them back for them to eat at the restaurant tomorrow at noon. We'll be eating at the restaurant for the next few days."

"Rain, is your brother very busy working at the restaurant? You guys didn't get back until eight o'clock. The steel rolling mill is hiring kitchen staff, you can come back to work there, then you'll have more time."

"It's different, I've heard them say that."

"Aren't they all chefs? Are there differences between them?" Qin Huairu didn't understand.

"Yes. And it's quite large."