Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

After the first month of the lunar year, the third uncle Yan Fugui went to the Intermediate Court to find He Yuzhu.

"Silly Zhu, Third Master has something to ask of you."

"You say, Third Master."

"Look, it's the eighth day of the second month, and it means there's no need to get married. Uncle Sanye thought we should still set up a few tables and invite everyone in the compound to join in the fun."

"This is good news, Third Uncle. I, He Yuzhu, congratulate you in advance on your successful solution."

"Silly Zhu, Uncle Sanda wants you to be the chef and cook three tables of dishes. What do you think..."

"Uncle, how many dishes are you going to prepare for the table?"

"Well, four cold dishes and six hot dishes, what do you think?"

"Uncle, the number of dishes I mentioned doesn't count. It's fine to have four cold dishes and six hot dishes as you said, with larger portions. Of course, eight hot dishes would be the best, so that Uncle would be more proud."

"Silly Zhu, Uncle San wants 18 dishes, but our strength doesn't allow it. So, four cold dishes and six hot dishes."

"Third uncle, you want me to cook for Jie Cheng's banquet, right? Let me get to the point. According to your dishes, the market price is generally one dollar and a half per table, and the host needs to hire people to wash and cut the vegetables. We are neighbors, so the wages are one dollar per table. So you still have to pay three dollars. This is the rule of Qinxing, and I can't make an exception. Third uncle, do you think this rule is okay? Of course, Third uncle thinks highly of me, He Yuzhu, and asks me to cook, so I will pay one dollar, and you still have to pay the remaining two dollars."

"No, that's not it, Silly Zhu. We live in the same compound, and I let you cook, but you're still charging me wages? Can't you just help out?"

"Uncle San, this is against the rules. Think about it, I cooked for you for free today, and in the future, my neighbors will ask me to help for free, so I can help them. Not only my neighbors, but also so many workers in the steel factory asked me to cook for free for the sake of my colleagues. If this gets out, I won't be able to stay in Qinxing. I dare not take the lead in breaking the rules of Qinxing. One dollar per table is the price given for Uncle San. Uncle San, why don't you ask around?"

Yan Fugui had already inquired about it. Not to mention RMB 1.50 per table, there are also tables that cost two or three dollars. There is also one that costs one dollar per table with a head of dough. All together, it costs three or four dollars per table.

He Yuzhu was indeed doing this for the sake of his neighbors.

"Okay, Shazhu, just one piece. I don't trust you. Please help Uncle San to decide on the dishes so that I can prepare the ingredients as soon as possible."

"Uncle, generally speaking, one pound of pork and one chicken per table is the minimum, otherwise it won't work. I suggest you buy some pig offal, such as pig intestines, pig tongue, or pig ears, which will be more convenient to serve as side dishes, and it's not expensive. You're going to have the banquet on the eighth day of the first lunar month, right? You prepare the ingredients on the seventh day, and I'll take a look at what you've prepared and tell you the dishes, how do you think?"

"It's settled then, don't make trouble later."

"That can't be done."

The third uncle was returning to the front yard from the middle yard when he ran into Yi Zhonghai and his wife returning from outside.

"Old Yi, it's rare for you and an old lady to go out together. What's the good news?"

"Old Yan, I just took a walk for a while. I heard that something good is going to happen to your family."

"Yes, on the eighth day of the second month, Xie Cheng will hold a wedding banquet. Old Yi, you have to help me keep things organized."

"Okay, Old Yan, I'll go back first then."

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai and his wife were in a bad mood, Yan Fugui turned a blind eye and let it go.

"Ruihua, have you heard what Auntie said recently? I just saw Lao Yi and his wife coming back from outside, and they looked disappointed."

"Old Yan, I'm telling you something in secret. Don't go out and make a fuss. Guifang wants to go to the neighborhood office to adopt a child. Maybe there's no one suitable?"

"Did Old Yi agree too? Didn't Yi Zhonghai not want to adopt a child, saying he couldn't be trusted and he was afraid he would raise an ungrateful person?"

"It was not the end of last year that Jia Dongxu disappointed Lao Yi. So he wanted to go to the street office to look for one. It seems that he couldn't find a suitable one. Where can we find good ones to adopt now? Either they are disabled or weak and sick, so we can't keep the good ones. Beijing is such a big city, and Lao Yi is not the only one who wants to adopt. This is just like finding a partner. If you want a good one, you have to act in advance. Lao Yan, how about letting our Jie Kuang recognize Lao Yi as his godfather?"

"Yang Ruihua, you are dreaming. Do you think Old Yi will look for a child whose parents are still alive? If he is willing, I would love it. The main thing is that this is impossible. If we take the initiative to propose it, the Yan family will have their reputation trampled underfoot, and they will kick them a few more times. I am not a pig-headed person who would do such a shameless thing. You can imagine that even the shrew Jia Zhangshi was unwilling to let Jia Dongxu, that little bastard, take care of Old Yi and his wife in their old age, let alone our son who has both parents alive."

"Hey... I'm worried too. You said the baby in my belly is going to be born soon, and there will be another mouth to feed at home. Now we all rely on you to support us. Life is not easy."

"Ruihua, don't worry. It's much more difficult than ours. Just take it one step at a time. There are always more solutions than problems. It will be over in a few minutes. Don't mention this matter again in the future. Don't even think about it."

In fact, Yang Ruihua didn't want her children to be taken care of by others in their old age. It was just that Yi Zhonghai had good conditions and was right in front of her, so she could see him. That's why she was tempted. After Yan Fugui's analysis, it seemed that it was not so easy to get a bargain. She gave up.

Yi Zhonghai and his wife returned home, but they felt sad. After thinking about this, they had already gone to the street office to ask twice, and today they also went to the orphanage to take a look. According to Yi Zhonghai's inner thoughts, the children left there were just a bunch of misfits. They left with full hearts, but returned disappointed, which really dampened their enthusiasm for adoption.

Yi Zhonghai rekindled the idea of ​​letting Jia Dongxu take care of him in his old age, but he still had to think it over carefully.

During this period, Jia Dongxu seemed to be indifferent to his master, and he couldn't rush to get close to him.

After thinking it over, he said, "Guifang, come here for a moment. I have something to tell you."

"What's the matter, boss?"

"Does the hospital not know about our adoption of a child?"

"Well, no one should know. I didn't go out and say anything, so no one knows for sure."

"Here's what you do. In a few days, when you're chatting with those women in the orphanage, just casually mention it and say that you're interested in adopting a child, but there's no suitable one right now, and the neighborhood office asked you to wait."

"What do you mean?"

"I just thought about it. It's difficult to wait for the orphanage to find the child we like. You said it's not necessary to raise a weak and sickly child. Whether we raise him or he raises him is still up to us. So Dongxu has to take care of the old age. Let's spread this news. I'll observe Dongxu's attitude. If he is interested in taking care of us, he will definitely come to us. I think Dongxu is a relatively easy child to handle."

"Is this possible?"

"Let's see. We should give it a try. Even if we adopt the child, the compound will find out sooner or later. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Well, I'll know when to go, and I'll pass on the news in the next few days. Boss, why don't you consider Zhuzi? I think Zhuzi is much more affectionate than Dongxu."

"Shazhu, he has a bad temper and is stubborn. He is hard to deal with. Besides, no one can say for sure whether He Daqing will come back or not. He Daqing is not someone who will suffer any loss. Forget it, I won't consider it."