Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 61

He Yuzhu said, "What? Do you have any evidence to prove he's an enemy agent?"

Yi Zhonghai forced a smile and said, "Yes, there are some, so..."

"Don't be like that! You already have evidence, what are you saying to me? Go report it to the police! Isn't this bending the law for personal gain?"

"you......"

"What do you mean, 'I'? Don't you know what it means to put aside family ties for the greater good? If He Daqing is an enemy spy, I'll publish a statement in the newspaper severing my father-son relationship with him, and let the organization investigate me to see if I'm really him. That way, I can clear my name."

When He Yuzhu said this, everyone nodded in agreement.

This is the normal course of action. On the contrary, Yi Zhonghai's actions were somewhat unethical; he had evidence in his hands but did not report it to the police.

"I'm just wondering, why didn't you report the evidence to the police immediately, but instead set up a private court here? What are you trying to do?"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless. He said he had evidence, but it was just a casual remark, meant to scare He Yuzhu.

He Daqing knew perfectly well why he ran away; it wasn't a problem with enemy agents, but rather that he was scared away by him.

Yi Zhonghai is currently in a difficult situation; why is everything going wrong today?

He quickly gave Liu Haizhong a look, and Liu Haizhong looked at Yi Zhonghai blankly. They hadn't rehearsed before, so what was he supposed to say?

Yi Zhonghai was completely overwhelmed by He Yuzhu's flurry of punches and was disoriented. How could he possibly be a match for He Yuzhu?

Xu Wude realized that the situation was about to deteriorate. The issue at hand was not how to deal with He Yuzhu, but rather how to save face for the three senior members of the management school and prevent the first meeting from becoming a joke.

"Zhu Zi, don't get agitated. We do have some clues, but they're not enough to prove your father is an enemy agent. Otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here asking you questions."

"Yes, yes, we only have some clues, your father might be involved."

Yi Zhonghai immediately found a reason and seized the opportunity to say, "He Yuzhu, you must honestly tell us about your father's affairs and not hide anything from us."

Xu Wude glanced at Yi Zhonghai. Was he trying to take the initiative just because he was older?

He Yuzhu wasn't buying it: "There's nothing to say. If you're so capable, find the evidence yourself and hand it over to the police."

Although he didn't know why Yi Zhonghai was doing this, He Yuzhu didn't care and was completely unyielding.

Although He Yushui heard some words that were unfavorable to his father, he was still young and did not understand what they meant. He just held He Yuzhu's hand nervously.

He Yuzhu offered words of comfort from time to time, so she wasn't frightened into tears.

When Yi Zhonghai realized that his attempt to intimidate He Yuzhu had not achieved the desired effect, he stopped mentioning it and instead started talking about other things.

It was all about everyday trivialities, such as water and electricity management, fee collection methods, and other minor issues on the street.

There are other trivial matters, such as the superiors' requirement that one should not urinate or defecate in the street, but should be civilized and set a new standard, and all of them should go to public toilets.

He Yuzhu had nothing to do with any of this, so he just sat there listening to the gossip.

After He Yuzhu's outburst, the three of them simply gave a perfunctory response and hastily announced the end of the meeting.

Yan Bugui then said, "Zhuzi, those three aren't up to anything. Don't fall for their tricks."

"Yeah, I know. I'll just sleep here at night from now on, so it's none of your business."

He led He Yushui back to his home, where the two washed up, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

Yi Zhonghai and the other two gathered together to discuss the matter. He Yuzhu glanced at the document before going to bed but didn't pay much attention to it, since they didn't have any ideas anyway.

The next morning, He Yuzhu went out early, bought breakfast, and came to the courtyard.

He knocked on the door: "Sister Zao, are you up?"

Tian Zao immediately opened the door: "How can you talk like that? Do you think I'm that kind of lazy person?"

Then He Yuzhu let him into the house and asked, "Didn't I tell you to practice your basic skills at home? Come over when you can hold a horse stance for half an hour."

"I'm ready!"

He Yuzhu said, "After three days of diligent practice, I can now hold the Siping horse stance for half an hour."

Although I learned how to tie the four-square horse at the beginning, I had already entered the door.

However, the duration is insufficient; a single treatment cannot last for a full half hour.

You need to stop and rest frequently.

Later, He Yuzhu added all the experience he gained to it, and after reaching level 2, he was finally able to maintain it for half an hour.

Tian Zao stared wide-eyed in surprise and asked, "You can do this for half an hour at a time?"

"Would I lie to you about this?"

"Then you'd better do it right here and show me, no cheating or trickery allowed."

He Yuzhu pulled out a bench to make room, and then set up a four-horse stance right in the main room.

Tian Zao first checked to make sure the posture was completely correct before going out to wash up and then coming back to eat breakfast.

Soon after, Uncle Gui and Xianglan arrived. He Yuzhu chatted with them for a few minutes, offered them encouragement, and then went back to prepare breakfast.

Half an hour later, He Yuzhu was still unusually relaxed, which really surprised Tian Zao.

"I didn't expect you to be such a skilled wrestler. Come on, I'll take you to the wrestling ring."

He Yuzhu finished his practice, stretched a bit, and then left the courtyard with Tian Zao.

Riding along the bluestone road with Tianzao in tow, He Yuzhu asked, "Sister Zao, is Master fierce?"

Tian Zao pinched him hard from behind and said, "What are you calling me, Master? I'm not married yet."

"Just call him Tiedan when you see him."

Following Tian Zao's directions, we exited the city gate, then turned a corner, and there was an open space between the city gate and the moat, where some equipment was placed.

This is a temporary wrestling arena. As long as it's not raining or snowing, some wrestling enthusiasts practice here.

Tie Dan also has a proper job; he is a police officer at a local police station. Wrestling is just a hobby for him.

Riding a brand-new bicycle, the five or six people who were practicing stopped and greeted Tian Zao warmly.

Tian Zao responded with a smile, and then said, "This is my newly accepted apprentice. He will practice with you from now on, so you mustn't bully him."

"No way, Sister Zao is joking."

"Yeah, looking at his big, burly figure, we wouldn't dare."

Why does it smell like scallions?

He Yuzhu said shyly, "I'm a cook. Teach me more in the future, and I'll treat you brothers to drinks later."

He Yuzhu quickly became familiar with them after a few words, and then Tian Zao taught him how to use the equipment for practice.

Tie Dan arrived shortly after. After introducing himself, he gave some pointers and discovered that He Yuzhu learned everything very quickly, so he believed Tian Zao's words. It was true that Tian Zao could learn to sit on a folding stool in Siping for half an hour.

He Yuzhu was a little apprehensive at first, but later found that the group of people were all very nice, there was no backstabbing or scheming, and they didn't make things difficult for him.

What makes He Yuzhu happiest is that this place is right by the moat. He can release his spiritual power and directly catch fish from the river. Although there aren't many, he can still catch several hundred kilograms in a morning.

They finished practicing around 7 p.m. and went back to work.

He Yuzhu delivered Tianzao to the entrance of their management committee and then went to the vegetable market.

Before he had a bicycle, He Yuzhu could only buy a small amount of things at a time. Now that he has a bicycle, it's much more convenient. He can put things directly into his pocket. Chicken, duck, fish, meat, various vegetables and fruits—He Yuzhu buys whatever he sees.

Prices are extremely unstable now. In just one year, 1950, prices increased more than tenfold. Since the beginning of 1951, prices have increased two or three times.

This is why ordinary people kept Yuan Shikai silver dollars at home instead of RMB. When they had money, they would exchange it for goods and store them at home.

No one was surprised to see someone like He Yuzhu buying extra supplies.

They arrived at the restaurant ahead of time, and after a while, Hong Henian and Ye Xiangqun arrived together.

As usual, He Yuzhu made tea for them and they chatted for a while. Xu Huizhen was busy with the preparations, so He Yuzhu didn't need to make any in advance.

He Yuzhu asked, "Master, are there any houses for rent around here?"

I had been thinking of living in a courtyard house, but lately I've had too many upsetting things happen.

He Yuzhu then planned to rent a storefront, abduct Xu Huizhen, and start a business together.

She's quite skilled now and could easily run a restaurant. Although Xu Huizhen hasn't received formal training yet, she has a natural talent for business and will get the hang of it soon.

They can move out and work to earn money for a few years first. After the public-private partnership is established, they can apply for jobs at any restaurant and have no problem with their skills.

Regardless of how much or how little you earn in these three or four years, when you finally take out the money, no one will be surprised, and that makes sense.

“You want to rent a house? Why go through all this trouble? Just stay at my place,” Hong Henian said.

"I can't trouble you, but I think it would be better if I rented a storefront near you and set up a small restaurant."

"You don't want to work here anymore?"

"No, this is what I'm thinking." He Yuzhu explained that all they need is an assistant to sell some finished products, even just breakfast items like steamed buns and spicy soup.

The chefs usually start work at 9:00 AM, so running a breakfast business doesn't interfere with anything.

Hong Henian said, "It's easier to rent houses now, but most of them have been taken over by the neighborhood committees. You have to ask the neighborhood committees for information."

He Yuzhu said, "Okay, then I'll go back and find Tian Zao from the neighborhood and ask her to help me rent a house."

He Yuzhu doesn't want to leave Taifenglou's kitchen right now, so he wants to inform his master first. If his master objects, he can't sell steamed buns outside anymore.

Hong Henian said, "Your cooking skills are already quite good, so opening a steamed bun shop shouldn't be a problem. It seems you even know the recipe?"

He Yuzhu said shyly, "Yes, I used to sell meat buns on the street when I was a child."