Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

"Old Qi, perhaps your time hasn't come yet. There's no use thinking about it too much. In Yanjing City, you rank third, and no one dares to rank second. Our master is number one."

"I'm only forty-six. We're in good health; we should be able to keep up this culinary scene until we're sixty-five. We still have twenty years; we can take it slow. I'm only forty; it's frustrating not to feel any improvement in my cooking skills."

"It's probably still a matter of talent. I'm not going to think about it anymore; it'll only cause me more trouble. I'll just slowly improve my cooking skills." The master said helplessly.

"Zhu Zi's broth is beautifully made, with a clear, fresh, and rich flavor. I can't even meet the requirements for the color of my broth. There are still many areas where I need to work harder."

"Fourth brother, you've done very well this year. Not only have you earned money, but your cooking skills have also improved, especially with simple dishes like shredded pork with garlic sauce. Keep up the good work."

"Let's prepare the ingredients, not only for today, but also for all the dishes we need for tomorrow. Preparing the cold dishes shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"The cold dishes are ready; once the weather cools down, they can stay for a day without any problems."

After a busy day, I prepared all the cold dishes for 42 tables and prepared most of the hot dishes, so I can just stir-fry them and serve them tomorrow, saving a lot of time.

The next day, before nine o'clock, I took He Yushui to the restaurant to cook and prepare all the necessary ingredients and side dishes for lunch.

At 11:50, eight cold dishes were served first, followed by twelve hot dishes. Within forty minutes, the kitchen staff and front-of-house staff were extremely busy, barely having time to breathe.

Forty minutes later, when all eight cold dishes, twelve hot dishes, and one soup had been served, everyone finally took a break, smoked a cigarette, and caught their breath.

The good thing is that two more tables of food were left unserved, so I can have a meal around one o'clock.

Around 2 PM, Manager Wang walked into the kitchen with a smile and handed He Yuzhu one million yuan.

"This is a gift from the owner on the second floor. They think the dishes today tasted great, and the chef put in a lot of effort. It's specially for the head chef, which is you. Take it; we often give these things to people like this."

"Thank you, Boss Wang." He Yuzhu accepted the tip without hesitation, following the restaurant's tipping rules.

"The second floor is inhabited by old-fashioned people and their descendants, and there's also a super-rich person. I didn't expect them to be so generous." Master Ma didn't care about the million-dollar reward.

"These people care about their image. They are the most generous when it comes to tipping. It makes a difference whether they have money or not. In the past, when they watched plays, silver dollars and coins flew everywhere, just for fun."

It's a good thing that Zhu Zi's cooking skills have been recognized by others; he should continue to work hard. The master was not surprised.

"I will try my best."

In the evening, the brother and sister got home around 9:30. Today was the 11th, and there were many people coming to eat. Fearing that they would ask for more food, He Yuzhu stayed until the very end.

As He Yuzhu rode his bike into Fuxiang Hutong in Nanluoguxiang, he saw two people vomiting across the street. He didn't pay much attention to it; it's normal for friends to drink a lot during holidays.

But as he got closer, he heard something like, "The flower girl is really good." He Yu was taken aback.

One of the men had already stood up. By the light of the headlights on the front of the car, it was clear that the man was very short, only 1.6 meters tall, and had bowlegs when he stood up.

Without that compliment, "The pretty girl is so lovely," He Yuzhu wouldn't have bothered to really look at them; something seemed off about these two men.

By this time, He Yuzhu had already ridden his bicycle ten meters away without looking back, afraid of alerting the two suspects.

Two men, and one person was vomiting. He Yuzhu rode another twenty meters or so, turned the corner at the alley entrance, gently patted He Yushui's shoulder, and told her to get off the bike. He said softly.

"Rain, be quiet. Those two men were acting suspiciously. Ride your bike to the military control commission and report them to the authorities. Tell them to be quiet when they come over. I'll keep an eye on them from here."

He Yushui nodded vigorously, using the crotch-grabbing method to ride the bicycle, making it incredibly fast. It was worth practicing riding a bicycle behind the restaurant.

Less than 400 meters away, in the blink of an eye, He Yushui shouted to the sentry, "Comrade, I'm here to report to the authorities, don't fire!" from 20 meters away.

The sentry shone his flashlight and found a little girl, probably not even ten years old, riding a big bicycle. He couldn't see her clearly from a distance, but when he heard the sound of the bicycle, he thought it was an adult.

The two sentries kept their guns pointed downwards, not letting their guard down completely. When they got closer, He Yushui got out of the car.

"Comrade, I need to see Company Commander Yue. My brother spotted two suspicious men and he's keeping watch on them. He sent me to see Company Commander Yue."

"Come with me, I'll take you to Company Commander Yue." There were two suspicious men, and the sentry dared not be negligent.

"Company Commander Yue, this young girl has come to report a crime..."

"He Yushui, I know you. Where's your brother? Why didn't he come?"

"Company Commander Yue is..." He Yushui asked, referring to what it was about.

"Your brother is monitoring them in Fuxiang Hutong. He told me to take some men there quietly. Squad leader, gather your squad. We have a mission." Company Commander Yue didn't think He Yuzhu would talk nonsense.

Company Commander Yue led a platoon, hurrying and whispering as they made their way to Fuxiang Alley, without even using a flashlight.

Two alleys away from Fuxiang Hutong, a squad of soldiers started to walk briskly from a jog, making almost no sound.

"Company Commander Yue is here. It's the two people in front of me. Yu Shui and I got off work late today and went to Fuxiang Hutong. The two of them were vomiting."

I heard one of them say, 'The pretty girls are great!' A man stood up; he was only about 1.6 meters tall and had bowlegs. He was very suspicious. I sent Rainwater to find you."

He Yuzhu whispered to Company Commander Yue why he found the two men suspicious.

"They are suspicious. 'Flower girl' is a term used by Japanese devils or traitors to refer to our women. They are short and have bowlegs. Arrest them."

"Split your troops and ambush them at the two alley entrances. Capture them alive. Squad leader, you take five comrades and go around to the other alley entrance..." Company Commander Yue ordered them to ambush them from both ends and capture them alive.

Company Commander Yue was overthinking things. Instead of leaving the alley, the two knocked on a door and entered a house. The soldiers at the other alley entrance should have been able to see which door it was.

"They're residents here; they're arresting people and trying to break in."

"Company Commander Yue, they shouldn't be from this alley. I've never seen either of them before. I've passed through Fuxiang Alley every day for the past few years."

"They're not from Fuxiang Hutong. What are they doing at someone else's house so late at night? The suspicion is growing." Company Commander Yue began to think about how to handle the situation.

"Company commander, the two of them went into the last house in the alley. The squad leader asked, 'What do we do now?'" A soldier from the opposite alley ran over and asked in a low voice.

"Wait a little longer, let me think about it. Comrade He Yuzhu, take your sister back first. If they are the enemy, they might resist, and it could be dangerous."

"Okay. We'll go back first, you guys be careful." He Yuzhu didn't want to put himself in danger.

"Brother, shall we go back?"

"go back."

The distance home was less than 120 meters, and He Yuzhu didn't ride his bike; the two of them walked home.

"Brother, we're good at fighting, why don't you help them?" He Yushui asked.

"We can fight, but we can't beat guns. If they have guns, and we get shot, we'll be either dead or crippled, and it will be very dangerous."

Capturing the enemy is not our job; it's their duty as soldiers. We don't need to take any risks.

"Okay." He Yushui obediently didn't offer to help anymore.