Siheyuan: I am stupid, I don't want to be a bootlicker

He Yuzhu had made mistakes before, but as long as he said a few nice words and smoothed things over, the matter would be over.

But these few times...

"Okay, I've asked all the questions I wanted to ask. I'm pretty tired after a day's work, so I won't accompany you all anymore."

After He Yuzhu finished speaking, he waved his hand and went into the house.

"I told you, Shazhu may be a little bit stupid, but he can't just leave his own sister alone and help the widow, right?"

"Who says it's not true? Logically speaking, after He Daqing ran off with the widow, the two siblings depended on each other for survival. Any good things should be given to the younger sister first!"

"Hey, this old man is really something. He earns 99 yuan a month, has no children, and has no one to rely on. If he really cares about the Jia family, wouldn't he use his own money to support them?"

"Let me see, this idiot is still stupid. An old man asked you to help the widow Qin, and you really helped the widow Qin?"

"My goodness, Brother Dongxu has been dead for a year, and Qin Huairu only borrowed a hundred dollars from Shazhu?

I remember that when Jia Dongxu died, the factory gave him a pension of four or five hundred yuan, and everyone in the hospital also donated money to his family.

Add to that Qin Huairu's monthly salary of 22 yuan, her family shouldn't be so poor that they have to borrow money from others, right?"

The onlookers were whispering and talking to each other.

"Oh, Qin Huairu borrowed five dollars from me last month. This...it turns out that she is richer than me!"

Old Li in the front yard suddenly thought of the 5 yuan that Qin Huairu had lent him.

"What? She said her family couldn't make ends meet half a month ago, and she even borrowed three dollars from me."

……

Suddenly, the whole yard was in an uproar, and everyone looked at Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi with accusatory eyes.

Even though the two widows' skin was as thick as the bend of a city wall, they couldn't withstand so many "fierce" and murderous gazes at this moment!

"Alright, alright, let's all go."

The old man waved to everyone and went into the house first.

After Qin Huairu returned to the room, she hugged the quilt and cried "woooo woooo". Jia Zhangshi also sat on the edge of the kang with a gloomy face and didn't say a word.

Although Banggeng didn't know what was going on with the adults, he felt like he was in trouble and was hiding in the kitchen, refusing to come out.

forecourt

"Boss, what do you think about this matter today?"

After the third aunt came into the house, she poured a glass of water for the third uncle and sat on the kang to sew the soles of his shoes.

"What do you think? Shazhu has finally come to his senses. Don't call him Shazhu next time you see him."

The third uncle was watching the show almost the whole time. The first uncle Yi Zhonghai, who was usually highly respected in the courtyard, was suppressed by Sha Zhu the entire time. What could he do to watch?

"Hey, what else can you call me if not Shazhu?"

The third aunt curled her lips and smiled. She quickly cut off the remaining thread on the sole of the shoe, took a new piece of hemp thread and passed it through the eye of the needle, and continued the previous action.

"Master He, when you see him from now on, you should call him Master He, or you can call him Zhuzi, but don't call him Shazhu anymore."

The third uncle gave a serious instruction, and the third aunt quickly nodded in agreement when she saw that her old man didn't seem to be joking.

The next morning, when He Yuzhu finished his work in the kitchen and was about to take a break, the workshop director Ma Ming came to the kitchen to find him.

"Hey, Master He, are you done with this?"

"Hey, isn't this Director Ma? What brings you here today?"

He Yuzhu felt a little strange. He didn't know why Ma Ming suddenly came to find him. They were people with nothing in common.

"Do you have time after get off work today? Can you come to my house for a drink?"

Ma Ming chuckled. A few days ago, his younger brother Shao Xiner said that he would find a job for his eldest nephew Ma Hua.

He and his wife Wang Lan searched for several days but couldn't find a suitable one. The main reason was that Ma Hua could hardly read and it was difficult for him to find a job.

When Wang Lan came home and mentioned that He Yuzhu had gone to the street office to see Director Wang, Ma Ming suddenly had an idea: he could send his eldest nephew Ma Hua to the steel rolling mill to be He Yuzhu's apprentice.

This job can be done even if one is illiterate. Not only is there a lot of money in the kitchen, but he can also work in the steel rolling mill. If he reports it back, it will be more prestigious for Ma Ming, right?

"Hey, Director Ma, we're all from the same factory. If you have any questions, just tell me. I'll definitely help you if I can."

He Yuzhu didn't know what Ma Ming was up to, so he naturally wouldn't go to Ma Ming's house easily.

"Okay, man, since you are an open person, I, Ma Ming, will not hide anything."

Ma Ming smiled and patted He Yuzhu's shoulder, then explained his purpose in a few words.

"Hey, what happened to me? Bring the person to me tomorrow when you are free. It's fine as long as it's not a big deal."

He Yuzhu agreed immediately. Ma Hua is a good apprentice. Although his cooking skills are average, he is absolutely loyal.

The next morning, as soon as He Yuzhu arrived at work, Secretary Zhou invited him to the office of Deputy Director Li.

Deputy Director Li put down his pen and notebook and looked like he had just returned from a meeting.

"Comrade He Yuzhu is here, please sit down."

"Hello, Deputy Director Li. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Although He Yuzhu had already guessed the reason why Deputy Director Li came to see him, he still greeted him very respectfully.

Fifteen minutes later, he came out of Deputy Director Li's office and his salary had increased from 37 yuan to 5 yuan.

It was only after He Yuzhu repeatedly expressed his loyalty and emphasized his ideological awareness that Deputy Director Li agreed to let him go.

Deputy Director Li knew that Lou Jingzhai would definitely poach people and offer them a salary of at least 100 yuan per month.

Compared with others, the only advantage that the steel rolling mill has in retaining He Yuzhu is the importance that its leaders attach to him.

On Saturday afternoon, when He Yushui came back from school, He Yuzhu had already finished get off work and prepared dinner.

In fact, they were not freshly cooked. They were just the steaming hot stir-fried dishes that Deputy Director Li had served out in advance when he was entertaining guests.

He also took out five steaming white flour buns that had just come out of the oven from the space, plus a bowl of mushroom and old hen soup.

These dishes were cooked by He Yuzhu himself. Even Deputy Director Li and Lou Jingzhai couldn't suppress their appetite, not to mention the people in the hospital.

As soon as the dishes were placed on the table, the rich aroma wafted throughout the courtyard. Aunt Jia from next door was munching on a steamed bun in her hand, and when she smelled the aroma, her face immediately fell.

Bang Geng took a look at the steamed bun in his hand and dropped his chopsticks with a "click":

"Mom, grandma, I want to go to Shazhu's house for dinner. He must have meat and white flour buns.

I don’t want to eat steamed buns made of two-grain flour or pickled vegetables. I want to eat meat and drink chicken soup…”

Qin Huairu held her son in her arms and couldn't help but sigh secretly:

I don’t know what happened to Shazhu in the past month. He doesn’t even send lunch boxes to his home. If this continues, what should Banggeng do?

Children are in the growth stage, they won’t grow tall without some oil and water!

In the backyard, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong’s family was having dinner. Smelling the sudden fragrance, Second Uncle suddenly felt that the white flour bun in his hand was no longer fragrant.

"Hey? Whose rice smells so good? It smells like meat!"

Liu Guangtian looked at the steamed bread in his hand which was as hard as a rock, and his throat felt sore when he swallowed it.

"Eating can't stop your mouth. If you don't want to eat, get out!"

The second uncle glared at his second son Liu Guangtian, picked up the enamel pot and drank a sip of jasmine tea, and then he felt a little better:

At least I can still enjoy some jasmine tea.

"That's right, your dad is right, if you don't want to eat, get out!"

The second aunt also glared at Liu Guangtian, and Liu Guangtian immediately shrank his neck and kept silent.

The front yard, the third uncle’s house

"What delicious food does this idiot eat at home that smells so good?"

The third aunt glanced towards the central courtyard. She had never smelled such delicious food in her entire life.

"There must be oil, and meat."

Yan Jiecheng glanced at the third uncle and muttered, "I don't know when we can eat meat."

"When you stop eating me, you can eat meat whenever you want."

Yan Bugui glared at his son. Didn’t he know the smell of meat?

Doesn't he want to eat something good?

But I have to support such a big family with just that little salary a month.

"Wow, brother, you made so many delicious foods today?"

He Yushui was stunned. She didn't expect to have a hot meal as soon as she came back, and it smelled so good.

"You are already a sophomore in high school, but you are still skinny and pale, looking like a child. Come home every week and I will nourish you well."

He Yuzhu touched his sister's head, climbed onto the table on the kang, and the brother and sister started cleaning up the place.

After dinner, He Yushui helped his brother clean up the dishes on the table.

"Rainwater, what do you think of the deaf old lady in the backyard?"

He Yushui was slightly stunned, not knowing what her brother meant by asking this, but she still said:

"She's a very good old lady. Although she always wants you to be her grandson, she loves you from the bottom of her heart."

"She told me to take you to Baocheng to see the old man when I have time. What do you think?"

After He Yuzhu cleaned up the dishes on the kang table, he took a rag to wipe the table clean and stood behind the door.

He Yushui paused while washing the dishes, a hint of sadness flashed in the depths of his eyes:

"Why would you mention him?"

He Yuzhu walked to the stove and helped his sister clean the bowls and plates. After they were put away, the brother and sister sat back on the kang. He then spoke slowly:

"Yushui, even though you are a sophomore in high school, you are still a grown-up girl. Let's talk behind closed doors today."

He Yuzhu's serious attitude surprised He Yushui a little, but when she thought that her brother had finally come to her senses these days, she put away the smile on her face and waited for what would happen next.

"My grandfather, my father and I all cook Tan's dishes. Did you know that?"

He Yushui nodded. Of course she knew this. She also learned a lot of skills from her father when she was a child.

“Do you know what Tan’s cuisine is?”

He Yuzhu asked seriously.

A hint of doubt flashed across He Yushui's face. She really didn't know this.

"Tan's cuisine is official cuisine. Ordinary people can't afford it. Even apprentices with little family background can't even get enough food to practice.

Do you understand?"

As soon as He Yuzhu said this, He Yushui's expression changed instantly.

Their current class status is middle peasants. If their grandfather and father were both cooking Tan family dishes for officials, then they should at least be rich peasants.

Even though one is a middle peasant and the other is a rich peasant, with only one letter difference between them, their social status is vastly different.

"But……"

He Yushui frowned. She wanted to say that they, brother and sister, are middle peasants now.

“I guess this is why the old man abandoned us and ran away with the White Widow, and it was an uncle who sent him off in the first place.

An old man or a deaf old lady must know something."

He Yuzhu is just making a rough guess now:

"Moreover, over the years, I think the uncle must have played some dishonorable role in this."

He Yushui's body trembled violently, and tears fell down.

After He Yuzhu said this, she also remembered that when her father taught her and her brother to cook, they usually went to wealthy families.

"This, this...he is not...he is..."

He Yushui was incoherent and sobbing. She felt that the grievances she had suffered over the years were like being trapped in a flood dam that suddenly broke.

"Yushui, just be clear about this matter, and you will have to behave as you should in the yard from now on.