Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"I'm not just angry at him!" Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, "I'm also angry at Dongxu! I was clearly standing up for them just now, but that mother and daughter slipped away without a word and went back inside! Leaving me out outside to get yelled at!"

An older woman sighed, "I saw it. Dongxu was about to speak, but Jia Zhangshi pulled him inside."

Yi Zhonghai's expression softened slightly. His apprentice's thoughtfulness was commendable. "It's all that Jia Zhangshi's fault! From now on, I'll take better care of Dongxu at the factory and make sure he's not led by the nose by his mother."

The older woman nodded and then reminded him, "But you should also avoid provoking the He family father and son."

You often say that Chairman Lou values ​​He Daqing's skills highly. If he were to give you a hard time at the factory, even a level-six fitter like you wouldn't be in a good position.

"Ha." Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly, his nostrils flaring. "You think I'm afraid of a cook? So what if he's a bit more skilled and gets close to the boss? Does he think he can bring me down?"

Despite trying to comfort himself in this way, Yi Zhonghai was still feeling uneasy.

If He Daqing were to shift the blame onto him at the factory, that would be utterly disgusting.

He can't very well go and complain to Chairman Lou about such a trivial matter, can he? Even if he did, what difference would it make? A level six fitter might not even be as important as the head chef in the cafeteria.

Forget it, at worst I'll just go around him and avoid that reckless He Daqing.

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "If I had a son, would I let the He family father and son ride on my neck and shit on me?"

Just as she was feeling frustrated, He Yuzhu had already finished preparing today's dishes.

He made the most of a pound of pork belly – tender and fragrant shredded pork with green peppers, glossy and reddish twice-cooked pork, a crisp and refreshing stir-fried cabbage, a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes, and a pot of white soup made from pork bones, all served steaming hot.

Yan Bugui's eyes widened, and before he even put down his chopsticks, he exclaimed, "Zhuzi, your cooking is amazing! It's almost as good as the head chef at a big restaurant in the city!"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing's face immediately broke into a wide smile.

What do chefs like best? It's when people praise their apprentices for being successful! Isn't that just a tacit compliment to themselves?

"Come on, Lao Yan, let's have a drink!"

The wine glasses clinked, releasing a fragrant aroma. The three of them drank and chatted, with He Yuzhu occasionally chiming in and taking a sip himself. The atmosphere was as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.

The aroma of this meal was so enticing that even the neighbors couldn't resist coming over.

Especially the Jia family, which lives right next door. Today, Jia Zhangshi was practically tortured—she had just choked on a cornbread and was rolling her eyes back when the aroma of meat wafting from next door pierced her heart.

"That damned little beast! Old He Daqing is no better; he cooks a good meal but doesn't even bother to share it with the neighbors..."

She grumbled under her breath, but her hands didn't falter at all. With a mouthful of cornbread and a curse, she swallowed three in the blink of an eye, without wasting a single moment.

Qin Huairu saw this and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything. She just silently quickened her pace of eating—she ate one less cornbread and picked up a few more pieces of vegetables.

Actually, the Jia family wasn't considered poor in the courtyard house.

For ordinary families, it's considered good to have a cornbread, porridge, and pickled vegetables for dinner. Their family has two dishes at every meal, which makes them a respectable family.

A level 2 fitter earns 42.5 yuan a month. For a family of three adults and a child, that's over 10 yuan per person, so they eat quite well.

After finishing the last bite of rice, Jia Dongxu wiped his mouth and said, "Mom, I'll ask Huairu to cut you a piece of meat when I get paid tomorrow."

……

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

"Rain, let's go, bro'll take you to school!"

A loud shout rang out throughout the courtyard, attracting many people to peek out.

A bicycle! What child can ride a bicycle to school? It's an extremely rare thing!

"Hmph, don't be so smug, you silly Zhu! I'll be having one soon too, then we'll see if you're envious!"

Xu Damao finally showed his face, his eyes revealing his jealousy, but his words remained stubborn.

He heard last night that He Yuzhu had bought a car, so he deliberately hid inside and didn't come out, afraid of seeing his smug look.

You can hide for a while, but you can't hide forever.

He still has to go to school.

He Yuzhu instinctively wanted to swear at him when he saw him, but he swallowed the words back—he had relied on this guy to collect corpses in his past life, and the grudges were too complicated to bring himself to curse.

"Hey Xu Damao, you still have two years until you graduate from junior high. If you don't work, where will you get the money to buy a car? Do you think Uncle Xu will pay for it for you? By that logic, you'll have to wait until you start working to have a chance to ride a new car?"

One sentence hit his sore spot, and Xu Damao immediately lost his temper, almost blurting out, "I'm not going to study anymore, I'll tell Dad right now that I'm going to be a projectionist apprentice!" But the thought flashed through his mind and he immediately thought of the consequences—he would definitely get a severe beating, and the belt he was being whipped with was no joke.

"Oh, actually, bicycles aren't that great, they just save you some effort and time." He forced a smile. "Xu Damao, walking can also keep you fit, that's good..."

"You idiot Zhu! Just you wait!" Xu Damao's face turned red with anger. "I'll ride out on a brand new Flying Pigeon motorcycle one day and make you green with envy!"

He uttered those harsh words, turned around, and left, his back view looking as pathetic as a dog with its tail between its legs.

No amount of talking will change anything; the reality is stark: He Yuzhu is already speeding along on his bicycle, while he still has to run around on foot—the difference is enormous.

A moment later, He Yushui came bouncing out, with her hair in pigtails and carrying a schoolbag.

He Yuzhu stepped firmly onto the bike, then gently lifted his younger sister onto the back seat.

"Hold on tight!"

With a turn of the wheel, it sped off, delivering the person safely to the entrance of Hongxing Primary School in just a few minutes.

At this speed, what would take him almost half an hour to walk, he finished in ten minutes.

After dropping off the person, I turned the car around and headed straight for Fengzeyuan.

If you pedal faster, you'll be there within half an hour.

Not only did they arrive a quarter earlier than usual, but they also took care of an important matter along the way.

What reassured him even more was that the apprentice's wages had arrived yesterday, and with the extra few hundred yuan that He Daqing had secretly slipped in, a total of seven hundred yuan was in his pocket!

This is no small amount; it's a huge sum! Anyone else would have rushed out and taken home two large items to show off.

But He Yuzhu remained calm.

A bicycle is enough to make the whole hospital envious. If he really managed to collect all three items ("three turns and one sound"), wouldn't Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi, and the others be watching him and scheming against him every day?

Besides, even if we really entered the era of ration coupons, so what? With this skill in hand, getting a few meat coupons, cloth coupons, and industrial coupons would be a piece of cake for him.

These days, anyone who can cook will never starve.

They can even live a more comfortable life than anyone else.

"Master, I've arrived!"

He Yuzhu arrived unusually early today. Li Yuanguo was lighting a cigarette when he heard the voice, startled, and when he looked up and saw it was him, he raised an eyebrow: "Oh, has the sun risen in the west?"

When he heard that he had already bought a bicycle, the old man didn't ask any more questions. He just waved his hand and pointed to the stove: "Alright, stop standing there and get to work."

He Yuzhu deftly rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a kitchen knife, and went to the cutting board.

As the knife fell, the potato rolled into even slices, making a crisp, drumming sound.

While chopping vegetables, a thought struck him, and he quietly opened the interface hidden deep within his consciousness—

[Proficiency System]

[Host: He Yuzhu]

[Skills: Cooking (Level 4: 35261/200000) | Housework (Level 2: 30/200)]

"Huh?" He was taken aback.

When did housework suddenly reach level two? No wonder I cleaned the house like I was on steroids yesterday, sweeping and wiping the windows in one go, and even cleaning the dust under the bed.

This skill may seem insignificant, but it will be an invisible cheat code for the days ahead when you have to fight alone.

What warmed his heart even more was his progress in cooking skills—it had only been a few days! He was about to reach level three! As long as he used a knife, a ladle, and a wok, his proficiency level would rise rapidly like a rising tide.

As he quickly shredded the carrots, he thought to himself: With this cheat code, wouldn't it be a waste to just sit around the stove?

Open a restaurant! We have to do it!

Although policies are currently tight, the winds of change will eventually come.

Once he has mastered a signature dish and built up a strong network of connections, he will storm into the restaurant industry and turn it upside down.

He learned a lot of tricks from Lou Xiao'e in his past life, but unfortunately the Jia family ruined everything, and she ran away... Recalling those days, He Yuzhu couldn't help but sneer: He was really bewitched, what was he trying to gain by clinging to a widow? If he really had money, wouldn't he be able to pick any woman in Beijing he wanted?

Look at Xu Damao, he's all sweet talk and easygoing, treating everyone to meals and drinks, with women swarming around him, living a life of absolute luxury.

What defines a winner in life? This is it!

Then, a thought struck him—he needed to go to the library to brush up on his foreign language skills!

If this system can even level up housework, it will definitely be able to cheat your way to English proficiency.

In the 1970s and 80s, foreigners flocked to Beijing, carrying greenbacks in their pockets, just waiting for someone to serve them food.

When his skills are revealed, the whole city will know, and who would dare say he isn't the number one "God of Cookery" in Beijing?

Thinking about being able to cook in a magnificent high-end restaurant in the future, with foreigners giving him a thumbs up and money pouring in, He Yuzhu's hand trembled, and the knife speed suddenly increased. The green pepper strips on the cutting board were as thin as hair, each one distinct.

"Tsk, something's off about him today," Li Yuanguo muttered, glancing at him. "Did he stumble upon a gold mine?"

As the workday drew to a close, He Yuzhu wiped his sweat, walked up to his master, and said with a determined tone, "Master, I want to take the cook certification exam next week."

Li Yuanguo was wiping the pot when he heard this and looked up: "Okay, go ahead."

"Once you get the proper certification, becoming a full-fledged employee will be a natural progression."

Before he could finish speaking, the shopkeeper lifted the curtain and entered, beaming. "Why wait until next week? I've tasted Master He's cooking three times already, and each time it's been amazing! I'll get you a permanent position tomorrow!"