Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

"Where's Shazhu?" someone in the crowd shouted. "Wasn't Shazhu also doing his ranking assessment today? What was his ranking?"

Just then, He Yuzhu walked into the courtyard and immediately said to everyone with a smug look on his face, "I've booked an eighth-level chef."

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, then several middle-aged women exclaimed in surprise, "Level eight? Sha Zhu's reached level eight? Isn't that two levels higher than Master Yi?"

He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand and explained, "Aunties, it's not the same thing! The chef's level is the opposite of the worker's level! For workers, the higher the number, the better; for chefs, the lower the number, the better! Level 1 chef is the highest, and Level 8 chef is the lowest! I only make 32.5 yuan a month."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they realized what was going on. Several middle-aged women said "Oh," nodded, and laughed, "You scared me! I thought Sha Zhu had suddenly become a master chef."

He Yuzhu didn't mind and chuckled, "Thirty-two and a half yuan isn't much, but I'm a cook, so meals at the factory are free. Sometimes they even cook special meals for me in the evenings, and I can bring back some leftovers. It's more than enough to support my sister and me."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although Sha Zhu's father had run away, he had a skill, could earn money, support himself, and take care of his younger sister. Compared to those who were overly ambitious, he was already much better off. He Yushui, standing outside the crowd, smiled slightly upon hearing her brother's words and quietly moved closer to He Yuzhu.

Just as everyone was talking at once, Jia Zhangshi stood at her own door, rolled her eyes, and gave He Yuzhu a disapproving look.

She cleared her throat and raised her voice, as if afraid no one would hear her: "An eighth-level chef, thirty-two and a half yuan? How dare you say that? My Dongxu is a third-level chef, forty-five yuan!"

He Yuzhu glanced at her, not angry, and slowly said, "Thirty-two yuan and fifty cents is a bit little, but I don't spend money on food when I'm eating alone, and I can even bring rainwater back. Aunt Jia, your Dongxu has forty-five yuan. He has to support you, support Sister Huairu, and soon he'll have to support his child. You do the math yourself, who has more left?"

Madam Jia was taken aback by these words. She opened her mouth to refute, but after calculating the accounts, it seemed that there wasn't much left, so she could only snort.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the center of the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over He Yuzhu, lingering for a moment on the faces of several young people, and finally settling on Liu Shuanzhu.

Yi Zhonghai took two steps forward and asked in a somewhat polite tone, "Master Liu, has your restaurant been graded yet? What grade did you get this time?"

Several people in the courtyard turned their gazes toward Liu Shuanzhu.

Liu Shuanzhu put down his teacup, a hint of embarrassment in his smile: "It's settled. Same as Zhuzi, thirty-two yuan and fifty cents a month."

"Thirty-two yuan and fifty cents?" Wang Xiuhe was taken aback. "Isn't that about the same as before?"

Liu Shuanzhu nodded: "Yeah, more or less. The standards set by the restaurant are different from those in the factory. I'm just a cook, I don't have any apprentices, so I haven't been promoted to a very high level."

Wang Xiuhe didn't say anything, just nodded and turned to walk into the house: "Alright, thirty-two yuan and fifty cents it is, that's enough."

Hearing "thirty-two yuan and fifty cents," Jia Zhangshi suddenly perked up. She had just been rebuffed by He Yuzhu and was worried about how to get back at him. Hearing Liu Shuanzhu say thirty-two yuan and fifty cents, she immediately stopped at the door, her mouth beating her brain: "Thirty-two yuan and fifty cents? That's less than my Dongxu. My Dongxu makes forty-five yuan, much more than you!"

She said it so easily, as if she had forgotten something, but Jia Dongxu reacted quickly and his face turned pale instantly.

Jia Dongxu turned his head, gave Liu Shuanzhu a smile, and said in a pleading tone, "Uncle Liu, my mother has a loose tongue. Please don't take it to heart. She was just too happy and spoke without thinking."

Liu Shuanzhu waved his hand, his face expressionless: "It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just happy, I understand."

Jia Dongxu breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Jia Zhangshi aside, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Mom, can you please stop talking? Have you forgotten? Uncle Liu's family also has Brother Yuheng. He's a high-ranking officer in the army, earning at least a hundred a month! You're just being cheeky here, offending people. What will you do when they need something later? Besides, it's not just one person earning money in their family, it's three! What are you comparing yourself to them for?"

When Jia Zhangshi heard the words "more than one hundred", her eyebrows twitched. When she heard "three people earning", she did some mental calculations and the number made her feel a little guilty.

But that wasn't what she cared about most. Suddenly, the last time she said she would introduce Liu Yuheng to someone, those words about "security department investigation" and "parading him through the streets and shooting him" flashed through her mind. She felt scared when she heard them then, and now that she thought about them, she felt that this person was not someone to mess with.

Jia Zhangshi swallowed hard, swallowing back the muttering in her mouth. She glanced at Liu Shuanzhu, said nothing more, turned around and quickly returned to her home in the Central Court, not daring to look back.

The courtyard was quiet for a moment. Although Jia Dongxu had spoken in a low voice, many people in the courtyard had sharp ears and clearly heard the words "Liu Yuheng," "more than one hundred," and "three people making money."

Someone silently did the math: if Liu Yuheng really earned over a hundred, plus Liu Erhe's forty-five, Liu Shuanzhu's thirty-two and a half yuan, and Liang Fangfang earning a dozen or so yuan at the street factory, the Liu family would have at least two hundred yuan a month. Two hundred yuan, in those days, would definitely make them a wealthy family in a courtyard house. Someone couldn't help but glance at the east wing a few more times, their envy and scrutiny even more intense than before.

The cotton curtains in the east wing were drawn down, keeping the gazes and whispers from the courtyard.

Wang Xiuhe and Liang Fangfang brought the food to the table. Liu Erhe sat down at the table with his son in his arms. Liu Shuanzhu washed his hands and sat down opposite him. Liu Tingting helped set the table. The family sat around the table, the sounds of clinking bowls and chopsticks mingling with the soft whispers of conversation.

After eating a few bites, Wang Xiuhe put down her chopsticks and suddenly sighed.

Liang Fangfang noticed first and asked softly, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Wang Xiuhe shook her head, remained silent for a while, and then said, "I just thought of your older brother. When he left at the beginning of the year, he said he would come back in six months, but it's already July and we haven't heard a word from him."

The room fell silent for a moment. Liu Erhe paused for a second, putting down his chopsticks and glancing at Wang Xiuhe: "Mother, if you miss your eldest brother, why don't you just write him a letter? It's not like the army can't receive letters."

Wang Xiuhe hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and picked up her chopsticks again: "Never mind. He's busy over there, and he probably won't have time to reply to a letter. Maybe he'll be back next month."

That's what she said, but when she picked up her chopsticks, she didn't eat much. She just poked around in the rice in her bowl, not tasting anything.

Liu Shuanzhu glanced at her and said, "Let's eat. The child is doing important work in the army; he'll come back when he's done."