Rebirth He Yuzhu stays away from troubles

The great teacher led the people to overthrow the "three mountains", namely imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, and established a new country. The workers and peasants became the backbone of the new country's society. They were the fighters for the country's industrialization and agricultural modernization, and also the active participants in socialist construction.

Under the leadership of the teachers, through a series of policies and measures, workers and farmers enjoyed relatively stable jobs and incomes, while also participating in the decision-making and management of state affairs and enjoying corresponding rights and status.

In early 1956, the country witnessed a climax of socialist transformation, and the public-private partnership was realized in all industries of capitalist industry and commerce. The state changed the redemption of capitalist private shares to a "fixed interest system" with a uniform annual interest rate of %. The means of production were uniformly allocated and used by the state. In addition to the fixed interest, capitalists no longer exercised their powers as capitalists, and gradually transformed themselves into self-reliant workers through labor.

In this environment of earth-shaking changes, it became possible for hired farm families like the Xu family and capitalist families like the Lou family to marry each other. The marriage between the children of the masters of the country and the objects of reform became a mutual achievement, and the fate of the children of the two families became intertwined.

The next day, He Yuzhu prepared an ordinary menu for Xu Damao's wedding banquet: the first dish~fried peanuts, the second dish~Qianlong cabbage, the third dish~braised bamboo shoots, the fourth dish~elbow elbow roll, the fifth dish~braised beef in soy sauce, the sixth dish~fried shrimp, the seventh dish~four-happiness meatballs, the eighth dish~fried bean curd sheets with coriander, the ninth dish~crispy chicken, the tenth dish~boiled pork slices, the eleventh dish~boiled fish, the twelfth dish~mullet egg soup.

As Xu's father and mother went in and out of the courtyard, cleaning, decorating the house, and adding daily necessities... slowly everyone in the courtyard knew that Xu Damao was getting married and the wedding banquet was scheduled for Sunday at noon.

When there are weddings or funerals in Siheyuan, the general practice is for the third uncle Yan Fugui, the only "cultured person" in the Siheyuan and an elementary school teacher, to help collect and register the gift money. For a happy event like the Xu family, Xu's father and mother also entrusted the third uncle Yan Fugui to go to the Siheyuan to notify each family one by one.

As the third uncle Yan Fugui went door to door to inform everyone, everyone knew that Xu Damao, who worked as a projectionist at the steel mill, married the daughter of a family nicknamed Lou Bancheng.

As the news spread, the courtyard was bustling with discussions this week.

"Xu Damao is a projectionist. You see, he always brings back a lot of things from the countryside. Everyone will have a good feast at this banquet..."

"If you say so, I will prepare a bigger bag and bring some leftovers home to try..."

"The Lou family is not an ordinary family. Did you know that the steel mill is actually the property of the Lou family..."

"The steel mill is now owned by the state and has nothing to do with the Lou family anymore."

"Bullshit! The Lou family still gets about 25% of the steel mill's total annual profit every year."

"Nonsense! I heard that you can get 5% of the steel mill's total annual profit."

"Go away~ You just like to argue with me~ Go away..."

"Hiss~ If you say that, then the Xu family has married a golden phoenix!"

"If you say so, it arouses my curiosity. I will definitely stay in the courtyard on Sunday. I want to take a good look..."

...

In this era of food shortage and material scarcity, people in the compound were curious and expectant, and both adults and children hoped that Sunday would come soon.

The adults wanted to see if it was the legendary daughter of the Lou family who had married into the compound, and most importantly, the wedding banquet was too suggestive; the children thought: there would be candies, peanuts, melon seeds... they would drool just thinking about it.

After all, in this era, it is not easy to solve the problem of food and clothing for families with large populations and children. So it is understandable that families in difficult situations may not be able to have a few dishes for the New Year, let alone prepare candies, peanuts and melon seeds for their children.

As Sunday arrived, the 95 or so families in the courtyard of No. 20 Nanluoguxiang did not see any loud gongs and drums, nor did they see any carts of rich dowries.

At lunchtime, a Mercedes-Benz car drove up and stopped at the entrance of the courtyard. The imposing Lou Bancheng, the graceful mother Lou Tan, and the elegant Lou Xiaoe got out of the car. As soon as they got out of the car, Xu's father, mother, and Xu Damao welcomed them into the Xu family.

Sitting at the main table were: Lou's father Lou Bancheng, Lou's mother Lou Tan, Lou Xiao'e, Xu's father Xu Debiao, Xu's mother Wu Fangfang, Xu Damao, and Xu's youngest sister Xu Daidi. The two main seats were unexpectedly empty.

According to the rules of the Siheyuan, each family can only send one representative to attend the banquets for weddings and funerals, so the 20 or so households just filled up two tables.

Special mention should be made of the Jia family and the He family. What surprised everyone was that the representative of the Jia family was actually Jia Zhang, because the representatives sent by each family in the courtyard to attend the banquet were generally the men who were the head of the family; and since He Yuzhu was the chef for the He family, Liang Ladi sat down to eat on behalf of the He family, which everyone could understand.

"Ding-ling, ding-ling-ling..." As the pleasant sound of bicycles came, Yang Aiguo, the director of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, and Li Bufan, the deputy director in charge of logistics, entered the backyard of the courtyard one after another and walked towards the location of Xu Damao's banquet.

Everyone sitting at the main table stood up. Lou's father Lou Bancheng, Xu's father Xu Debiao, Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e hurried forward to greet Director Yang and Deputy Director Li and sat at the main seat at the main table.

People who worked at the steel rolling mill and were sitting at the other two tables also stood up and greeted Director Yang and Deputy Director Li.

As the representatives of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, Director Yang and Deputy Director Li, sat down, dishes were served one after another: fried peanuts, Qianlong cabbage, braised bamboo shoots, pork elbow rolls, braised beef, deep-fried shrimp, four-happiness meatballs, stir-fried tripe with coriander, crispy chicken, boiled pork slices, boiled fish…

There were two tables in the courtyard, and the meal was very lively. There was enough food for everyone, but for Liang Ladi it was commonplace, so she ate slowly.

At the main table, Director Yang and Deputy Director Li were both experienced people. When the boiled fish was served, Deputy Director Li joked, "Boss Lou, the chef you invited to hold a banquet for your daughter's wedding is not an ordinary one!"

"I guess even the chefs in Beijing Hotel in this city can't make dishes like boiled pork slices or boiled fish!"

"Two factory directors, my daughter's wedding banquet was not organized by our Lou family, but arranged by our in-laws." Lou's father, Lou Bancheng, explained with a little concern.

"Director Yang, Deputy Director Li, you are right. The chef I invited today is absolutely unique in the city."

"It's just because of my, Xu Damao's, face. We are brothers, otherwise I have never seen him go out to entertain guests." Xu Damao said proudly.

Lou's father Lou Bancheng, Lou's mother Lou Tan, and Lou Xiao'e lowered their heads and ate with worried looks on their faces.

"Xu Damao, could you please introduce us to the chef you hired?" Deputy Director Li joked.

"That's not difficult! Director Yang, Deputy Director Li, please wait a moment, I'll be back soon." Xu Damao said proudly.

He Yuzhu was inexplicably pulled out of the kitchen, "Da Mao, Damao...the last soup hasn't come out yet. I'm not in a hurry to eat that one. I'll definitely have a drink with you after I'm done!" He Yuzhu said anxiously, I'm still worried about the last soup.

He Yuzhu was pulled to the banquet. Director Yang and Deputy Director Li smiled at each other, revealing an expression that showed I had guessed it was Zhuzi.

He Yuzhu hurriedly said, "Two factory managers, you guys drink first. I'll come over to have a drink with you guys after I finish making the last soup. Enjoy it!"

"Da Mao, you are really respectable. You even invited the canteen director of our steel rolling mill to be the chef." Director Yang said while giving a thumbs up.

"We are buddies who grew up together. Brother Zhu is here to do voluntary work for me." Xu Damao said proudly.

With the arrival of the last soup, mullet egg soup, the banquet came to an end. Everyone divided the leftovers in a lively manner, and each household representative received 3 White Rabbit milk candies from the third uncle and went back home.

Tonight at the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang is destined not to be a peaceful night.

The lights in Xu's house were shining brightly, reflecting the festive atmosphere of the new house. The red bed curtains fluttered gently in the breeze, and peanuts and dates were placed on the antique furniture, adding a touch of homely warmth.

Hiding under the windowsill of the Xu family were Liu Guangfu and Liu Guangtian from the Liu family, Yan Jiekuang from the Yan family, and a bunch of young boys from the compound. They pricked up their ears and listened quietly to what was going on inside the house...