Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 51

Hong Henian curled his lip and said with some disdain, "Zhang Jing'an's cooking is so-so. If it weren't for his father, he wouldn't be a head chef. He often leaves early at night, like a good-for-nothing."

He Yuzhu had only worked half-days before and didn't know what happened at night, so it seems Zhang Jing'an often leaves.

Furthermore, it was previously discovered that Zhang Jing'an was often absent, and when she was present, she rarely cooked stir-fries, mostly preparing stews and broths.

"His skills aren't good enough?"

"Yeah, he's just not cut out to be a chef."

Hong Henian casually mentioned Zhang Jing'an's matter, and that was the end of it.

At this time of night, there are only a few people, since it's not a nightlife scene. People come to eat earlier after dark and finish earlier as well.

Around 9 o'clock, things calmed down in the kitchen. The helpers and apprentices started cleaning up. Hong Henian asked He Yuzhu to cook four dishes, and then he took two lunch boxes and gave one to He Yuzhu and one to Ye Xiangqun.

The three of them chatted all the way while pushing their bicycles, and soon arrived at Hong Henian's house. Ye Xiangqun's house was in a nearby alley, which was actually very close. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become Hong Henian's apprentice to learn cooking.

He Yuzhu followed his master into his home, first greeting his master's wife and senior sister, and then meeting his senior brother Hong Jindong, who worked at Fengzeyuan.

After talking for a while, He Yushui reluctantly came out of the house.

He Yuzhu asked, "Why don't you want to come back with me?"

He Yushui nodded: "Brother, can we not go back? I'm fine sleeping with my second sister. I'll have to sleep alone when I go home."

That's how kids are; once they have playmates, they don't even want their homes anymore.

He Yuzhu said, "But if you don't go back, the neighbors in the courtyard will all think I sold you out."

If He Yuzhu had a deep relationship with his master's family, it wouldn't matter if He Yushui was placed here. However, they had only known each other for a short time, and He Yuzhu didn't want to trouble others.

It was already embarrassing enough to trouble Master's wife to take care of He Yushui during the day; we couldn't let He Yushui stay at Master's house all day long.

Master and Mistress suggested that He Yushui stay, but He Yuzhu said, "No need. I'll take Yushui back from here later, and I'll trouble you to watch over her at night. If it rains or snows occasionally, she can stay with you."

"That's fine too."

After bringing He Yushui out, the master's wife noticed an extra lunchbox on the table: "Why did you bring an extra one?"

Hong Henian hadn't noticed earlier, as he was too busy trying to persuade He Yushui to stay. He had mentioned that He Yuzhu had been promoted to a full-time position and that this was the first time she had brought food with her.

The master's wife said, "This child is quite kind and righteous; he left the vegetables here on the very first day."

"We made the right choice in taking this apprentice. Da Qing is teaching him well, and he can already cook."

"Really? When are you going to formally accept him as your apprentice?"

"Let's wait a bit longer and pick a good day."

He Yushui followed He Yuzhu for a while and then stopped, pouting and saying, "Brother, I'm tired."

He Yuzhu turned around and looked at He Yushui, who seemed a little unhappy. His face was full of helplessness. He walked up to her and asked, "Then shall I carry you?"

"Okay, okay, thank you, brother." He Yushui instantly cheered up.

He Yuzhu carried He Yushui back home, wondering if he should buy a bicycle.

I now have a stable income of 35 yuan a month, and He Daqing also sends me 10 yuan, although I haven't received it yet but I should receive it soon.

Besides, if he wanted money, he could catch some fish in the moat and resell them for a lot of cash.

I didn't need a bicycle before, but now that I work a full-day job, there are no buses at night, only a fixed tram that doesn't go along my route.

Although bicycles are very expensive now, costing around 300 yuan, it's still possible to buy one if you grit your teeth.

The price of bicycles will only come down when the First Five-Year Plan is implemented. Only then will factories and mines be built in large numbers, and bicycle production will explode, allowing prices to drop below 200 yuan.

He Yushui didn't look heavy, but carrying her was quite tiring. She asked, "How about I buy a bicycle in a few days and take you back on my bicycle at night?"

"Great, great, I can ride a bicycle now."

He Yushui was very excited when she entered the house and saw that it had been repaired, especially the indoor bathroom. He Yuzhu taught her how to use it and told her to flush it every time and to remember to lock the door.

The next day, He Yuzhu took Yushui to school. After walking a few steps, he saw Tianzao.

Pulling He Yuzhu to the roadside, he asked, "Do you know a chubby man who's a bit shorter than you, smells strongly of scallions, and has a mole on his ear?"

"We know each other, what's wrong?"

"Zhang Yong's wife is having an affair; we need to investigate."

He Yuzhu was immediately surprised. The man Tian Zao described to him was Zhang Zusheng's son, Zhang Jing'an. Could it be that Zhang Jing'an and Zhang Yong's wife were adulterers?

"Sis, are you saying they're having an affair?"

Tian Zao nodded and asked, "Do you know him?"

After He Yuzhu reported the information to Tian Zao, Tian Zao took it very seriously and told Tie Dan about it.

Tie Dan immediately arranged for people to set up surveillance and check the house. Last night, they discovered someone sneaking in and heard sounds of incest. After the man came out, they passed by and smelled a strong aroma of scallions, which confirmed that he was the chef.

Tie Dan then told Tian Zao the whole story.

Coincidentally, I ran into He Yuzhu this morning. I figured he was also a chef and would probably know the man who came to have an affair.

He Yuzhu said, "Of course I know him. He is Zhang Jing'an, the son of our head chef. He has a special relationship with Zhang Yong. They should be cousins."

He Yuzhu was also surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense. Zhang Jing'an had limited skills and plenty of free time, so it was normal for her to seduce her cousin's wife.

He Yuzhu first explained the relationships between the Zhang family members, then asked, "Can you confirm that their family are enemy agents?"

Tian Zao nodded: "I wouldn't tell anyone else, but since you provided the clue, I'll let you know. Yesterday, while Zhang Yong's wife was out, we climbed over the wall and searched the place. We found a gun and a diary with coded messages. We can confirm that Zhang Yong is an enemy agent."

This was exactly the result He Yuzhu wanted. Once it was confirmed that Zhang Yong was an enemy agent, his days were numbered.

That way, he wouldn't need to seek revenge himself; Tian Zao and his group could wipe them out in one fell swoop.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Tian Zao said, "You're just an ordinary chef apprentice, so you shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing to avoid any accidents. Just keep an eye on Zhang Yong's behavior in the kitchen to see if there's anything unusual about him or if he comes into contact with anyone."

"If we have a lead, how do we find you? By going to the Military Control Commission?"

“I basically work here, but if you can’t find me, you can come to my house.”

Tian Zao then gave an address; Tian Zao lived in the back room of a courtyard house.

"Okay, I'll come and let you know if anything happens."

"Yes, this time we caught them. I'll help you apply to be an activist, and you'll get a red flower and be praised at a big meeting," Tian Zao said with a smile.

"Can we change the reward?" He Yuzhu didn't want to stand out. Who knew if they had caught all the fish? If any escaped, they might plot against him. Wouldn't that be terrible?

Tian Zao asked, "What reward do you want?"

He Yuzhu said, "I mainly don't want to show off. How about you teach me wrestling, sister?"

Tian Zao's father was a famous wrestler in the capital, but unfortunately he died at the hands of Han Qingkui.

Tianzao's partner, Tiedan, is her senior brother, and he is also a highly skilled wrestler.

Logically speaking, learning from Tie Dan would be the right choice, but He Yuzhu is a man with a system. Once he enters the field and his wrestling is included in the system, he can improve his level by practicing diligently. As for whether his master is good or not, it doesn't really matter.

"You want to learn wrestling?"

"Yes, I wanted to learn when I was a child, but my dad forced me to practice flipping the wok."

“Sure, no problem. Come to my house tomorrow morning, and I’ll take you to the wrestling arena.”

"Thank you, Master."

"You don't have to be so serious and just call me senior sister. I can't exactly turn you into my apprentice," Tian Zao said with a smile.

"Okay senior sister."

He Yuzhu was overjoyed that Tian Zao was willing to teach. At that time, there were no training classes available, and the only way to learn a skill was to find a master.

Otherwise, others wouldn't teach you their best skills.

He Yuzhu actually wanted to learn a martial art, but since he didn't know anyone, he could only learn wrestling for now.

I bought some things on the way, as usual, and after delivering them to my space, I felt even more that I needed a bicycle.

You can only buy a very small amount of things here. If you had a bicycle, you could buy a whole bag of rice and flour at once.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the kitchen and saw that Zhang Yong was still acting as if nothing had happened, he found it very funny, as if he could see a green meadow on Zhang Yong's head.

Zhang Jing'an was still very happy, humming a little tune, looking quite carefree and relaxed.

No one in the kitchen paid any attention to him. The manager, out of respect for Zhang Zusheng, didn't bother with his affairs. Zhang Zusheng was also troubled by his son and couldn't control him at all.

He Yuzhu was just doing his job, and incidentally teaching Xu Huizhen how to cut vegetables.

Knife skills are a process of practice makes perfect, and it's quite easy to get started.

Anyway, we'll be cutting the cold dishes first, so it doesn't matter if they're a little bigger or smaller.

When they got off work in the evening, Hong Henian said, "Zhuzi, don't leave this lunchbox at our house. You can take it back and eat it in the morning."

He Yuzhu chuckled. He felt embarrassed to take the lunchbox back to his master's house that night, especially since He Yushui had already eaten at his master's house. He said, "There's no one else at my house. I always buy breakfast in the morning and there's no one to eat the lunchbox I take back."

People in Beijing generally don't make their own breakfast; they usually buy things like soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and spicy soup from outside.

He Yuzhu declined politely, but when they arrived at his master's house, he left the lunchbox behind and took He Yushui with him.

Seeing He Yuzhu return with his younger sister, Jia Dongxu turned to the east wing and said, "Master, you're the head of the courtyard now, can't you deal with Sha Zhu?"

Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes: "How do you plan to deal with this?"