Siheyuan: Learning to be the sixth

When he arrived at the kitchen, He Yuzhu took out the ingredients and classified them, then began to prepare for cooking. With He Yuzhu's efforts, several representative dishes of Sichuan cuisine were completed. Then He Yuzhu brought the first dish, Mapo Tofu, into the living room and placed the dish on the dining table.

Minister Li, who had been busy working all afternoon, heard the chirping of the little rain in the living room and came out early. He looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Zhuzi, let me guess that what you cooked today are all representative Sichuan dishes, right?"

He Yuzhu replied: "Uncle Li, I will keep you in suspense. Anyway, just wait and see what the dish will be like today."

Uncle Li said with a smile: "Zhu Zi, I will be very disrespectful to refuse your invitation. I will wait for your feast."

So Aunt Liu, the nanny, and Xiao Yushui all volunteered to serve the dishes.

Soon, Fuqi Feipian, Dongpo Pork Knuckle, Twice-cooked Pork were placed on the table in turn. He Yushui brought a plate made of fruits produced in the space, and He Yuzhu finally brought the sour radish and old duck soup.

Minister Li saw it and said happily: "Zhu Zi, your cooking skills are unparalleled. Just looking at and smelling it makes me hungry."

Aunt Liu next to her also interrupted: "The ingredients prepared by Zhuzi are better than those prepared by ourselves. Lao Li, try the fruit, it's much more delicious than what we buy ourselves."

Minister Li picked up an apple from the fruit plate, tasted it and said, "This apple is juicy and just the right amount of sweetness. It's very appetizing."

He Yuzhu introduced: "This is the good thing about being a chef. You can tell whether something is delicious just by looking at it. Uncle Li, Aunt Liu, let's eat the food while it's hot."

Minister Li laughed and said, "Zhu Zi is right. Otherwise, it will affect the taste when it gets cold."

Then everyone had lunch in a happy atmosphere. After the meal, Minister Li said: "Zhu Zi, your food is so delicious. I feel a little full."

Aunt Liu said with a smile: "I also ate an extra half bowl of rice at noon today."

Xiao Yushui interrupted: "Aunt Liu, you don't eat much. I ate a big bowl of rice."

Minister Li and Aunt Liu laughed at Xiao Yushui's childish speech. Minister Li looked at Xiao Yushui and explained, "Xiao Yushui, your Aunt Liu and I are both old, and our appetites are fixed. But you are different. You are growing up now, so you should eat more."

Xiao Yushui seemed to understand and said: "I think it's better to eat more delicious food."

This remark caused everyone to laugh again, and He Yuzhu was speechless looking at his foodie sister. However, he thought in his heart that if she wanted to eat, she could eat it, as we had the conditions at home.

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Old Li, our family hasn't been so happy for a long time. Little Rain is so cute."

Minister Li also nodded and said, "Yes, with Xiao Yushui livening up the atmosphere, I feel like my thoughts have been sorted out a lot. Zhuzi, Yushui, I will go to the study to continue working, and you two can stay with your Aunt Liu for a while."

He Yuzhu said quickly: "Uncle Li, please go and do your work. Yushui and I are here to talk to Aunt Liu for a while."

After He Yuzhu and Xiao Yushui chatted with Aunt Liu about family matters for a long time, Aunt Liu personally called Director Yang to tell him that there was no need to send a car to pick up He Yuzhu and his sister.

So before leaving, Aunt Liu said: "Aunt Liu Zhuzi has some unused tickets here, you can take them, don't refuse, there are no outsiders, your uncle and I really don't need them."

When He Yuzhu heard that Aunt Liu really treated him and Xiao Yushui as his nephews, Yushui hurriedly thanked her, "Aunt Liu, I'll accept it. When we have time, Yushui and I will come over to chat with you."

So they got into Uncle Li's car arranged by Aunt Liu and asked the driver Xiao Zhang to take the brother and sister back to the courtyard. When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, He Yuzhu handed Xiao Zhang, the driver who brought them back, a bag of peonies and watched him leave.

The third uncle Yan Fugui looked at the brother and sister who came back in the car and asked, "Zhu Zi, is this the car of the girl you're dating?"

When He Yuzhu heard this, it took him a while to realize that the third uncle Yan Fugui thought this was the Lou family's car.

In order to deter those who have ulterior motives, He Yuzhu said to the third uncle Yan Fugui: "Third uncle, I am going to cook for a senior leader. They sent a car to take me and Xiao Yushui back. We are tired after a day's work, so we will go back first."

The third uncle Yan Fugui looked at the brother and sister walking towards the central courtyard, and said with emotion: "The people this Zhuzi comes into contact with are becoming more and more unpredictable. Fortunately, our family has a good relationship with him." After that, he went to water his own flowers happily.

The brother and sister were a little tired after returning home, so they went back to their rooms to lie down and rest for a while. He Yuzhu, lying on the bed, opened the envelope given by Aunt Liu. There were indeed a lot of bills in it, including a sewing plane ticket.

Looking at the sewing machine ticket in his hand, He Yuzhu decided to buy it after the house was renovated. Although it was basically certain that Lou Xiaoe might not use it after buying it, He Yuzhu felt that he had to buy it since the family was not short of money.

Just as He Yuzhu was lying on the bed, thinking about his married life with Lou Xiaoe from the sewing machine, he heard a noisy noise coming from outside the door.

He Yuzhu wondered what big thing had happened that brought so many people together, so out of curiosity he had to get up from the bed.

When I opened the door, I saw that it was Liu Xia leading the reluctant Jia Dongxu to distribute wedding candies door to door. It was a rare happy event in the courtyard, so every household came out to join in the fun, and after receiving the wedding candies, they would say a few auspicious words.

He Yushui, who heard the noise outside, stood beside her brother and asked, "Brother, is Brother Dongxu getting married?"

He Yuzhu touched Xiao Yushui's head and said, "It looks like that. Yushui, you have to say something auspicious when they come over later."

He Yuzhu looked at Jia Dongxu, who was following Liu Xia with a bitter face and handing out wedding candies, and thought to himself: "Look, you two have bullied us siblings so much, and I secretly acted as a matchmaker to find you a wife, saving you the thank-you gift, so Jia Dongxu, just be happy."

Soon, Liu Xia led Jia Dongxu to He Yuzhu and his sister, and gave He Yuzhu and Xiao Yushui a few pieces of candy each. He Yuzhu also hurriedly said: "I wish you and Brother Xu a long and happy love."

Xiao Yushui also interrupted: "Sister-in-law, you are so beautiful."

Liu Xia also quickly expressed her gratitude for the blessings from He Yuzhu and his sister, then turned around and walked to the next house, but halfway through she turned back and looked at He Yuzhu deeply. He Yuzhu was not scared either, and smiled as he watched the two of them run to the next house.

Jia Dongxu looked at Liu Xia who turned back halfway and said unhappily: "After you marry here, don't associate with the brother and sister just now. I don't get along with his family."

When Liu Xia heard this, she knew that she couldn't push Jia Dongxu too hard, so she said to him: "You are my man, I will listen to you." But in her heart she kept thinking about the blessing that He Yuzhu had given her, which was different from others. Coupled with her own man's emphasis, Liu Xia felt that her neighbor was really not simple.

He Yuzhu looked at Liu Xia who was looking back at him and guessed that she might have guessed him. He Yuzhu knew that Liu Xia was a smart woman, but even if she knew, what could she do? If he refused to admit it, she couldn't do anything to him.

Only when Jia Dongxu looked at Liu Xia who obeyed him did he have a rare smile on his face, and continued to walk with Liu Xia.

He Yuzhu felt that he had enough of the fun and was thinking about going home to prepare dinner. As soon as he entered the door, he heard the voice of his third uncle Yan Fugui again.

He Yuzhu thought that since the third uncle Yan Fugui could shout from the front yard to the middle and back yards, either something big had happened or a leader had arrived. He Yuzhu guessed that the latter was more likely.

So he led Xiao Yushui outside again to see which leader was visiting. As soon as they reached the door, they saw the third uncle leading the street director Aunt Wang towards the central courtyard.

Hearing the third uncle's call, the first uncle Yi Zhonghai, who had been depressed at home, had to rush out to greet him. He hurriedly asked, "Director Wang, what's the matter with you coming here at this time?"

Director Wang said, "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, please call Jia Zhang out. I have something to announce."

When Yi Zhonghai heard this, he thought that Jia Zhang had been a little upset recently and that she had caused some trouble again, so he hurriedly said, "Director Wang, has Jia Zhang caused trouble again?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang waved his hands and said, "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, you misunderstood. I came to see Comrade Jia Zhang for good news. Please call her out quickly. After announcing her matter, I have to rush to the next house."

When Uncle Yi Zhonghai heard this, he walked and thought about what good things Director Wang could have for Jia Zhang. When he arrived at the door of Jia's house, Uncle Yi Zhonghai shouted, "Jia Zhang, come out quickly. Director Wang from the street wants to see you. He said he has good news to announce."

Jia Dongxu and Liu Xia, who had just distributed candies to their neighbors in the house, heard that Director Wang from the street was coming to see Jia Zhang and said that there was good news. They hurriedly picked up the plate of wedding candies and called Jia Zhang, who had a gloomy face, to go out of the house.

After leaving the house, Liu Xia and Jia Dongxu held the plates and hurriedly said to Director Wang: "Director Wang, please have some wedding candy."

Director Wang took one look, picked up two pieces of candy and said to the two people: "Thank you both for the wedding candy. I wish you two a happy marriage and a son soon."

Seeing Director Wang's eyes cast towards her, Jia Zhang's dark face forced a smile that was uglier than crying and said, "Director Wang, I heard you were looking for me."

Seeing Jia Zhang's forced smile, Director Wang, who knew the reason, said with a smile: "Jia Zhang, are you happy to marry a new daughter-in-law?"

Jia Zhang could only bite the bullet and say, "Happy, happy." But in her heart she was thinking, I'm so happy that I'm about to cry.

Director Wang continued, "Ms. Jia Zhang, the new daughter-in-law will be married soon. You must take good care of her in the future. You can't follow the old traditions. You must be a good mother-in-law in the new society."

When Jia Zhang heard this, she thought, didn't you ask the old man to call me over to announce something good about me? But this is not a good thing at all. You are clearly trying to criticize me. However, she still responded with a forced smile: "Director Wang, I can't do that. This is a new society. You must treat your wife well. I can't do something that everyone will scold me for."

When Director Wang saw that the knocking was almost done, he said, "Ms. Jia Zhang, it seems that your Jia family is having a double celebration. First, a new bride is coming home, and second, on behalf of the Subdistrict Office, I want to announce to you that after a meeting, the Subdistrict Office has decided to entrust you with the glorious task of cleaning the public roads and public toilets in your alley, with a monthly salary of six yuan."

When Jia Zhang heard this, her eyes went dark and she almost fainted. She pointed at herself with an incredulous look on her face and asked, "Director Wang, are you sure that the person you are talking about is me? Did you find the wrong person?"

Director Wang suppressed his smile and said, "How could I make a wrong announcement? The street office also took into consideration that only Jia Zhongxu is working in your family, and he will soon marry a wife and raise children. The financial pressure is relatively large, so our street office also made the decision based on your family's actual situation."

When Jia Zhang heard this, she felt that this was not giving her a way to survive. She thought that not only was she marrying a strong wife, but she was also being deprived of her last bit of freedom. What about the happy retirement life she had promised herself? Now this was not what she wanted.

So he hurriedly said: "Director Wang, I'm afraid I can't do this job. I'm old and I'm sick. Why don't you find someone else to do this job?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang's face turned serious and he said, "Ms. Jia Zhang, this is a decision that has been filed after the street office held a meeting. As far as I know, you are not a Beijing resident. Old Liu in the alley next door is physically disabled but still undertakes the sanitation work of cleaning his alley. He can do it, so why can't you, Ms. Jia Zhang, do it? Our capital is a role model for the whole country. Everyone should work hard to contribute to society. Our capital does not support idle people. Whoever lags behind will be sent back to where she is. So Ms. Jia Zhang, tell me, can you do this job?"

When Jia Zhang heard this, she knew that if she didn't agree, she would be driven back to her hometown. She thought that it would be a good opportunity to let Liu Xia do it, and she could get six yuan a month for free. When she thought about the money, Jia Zhang hurriedly said, "Director Wang, I will do it. I was just joking with you just now. How can I not do it?"

Director Wang seemed to see through Jia Zhang's thoughts and said to Uncle Yi Zhonghai: "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, you are the uncle appointed by our street office after a vote by the whole hospital. I am informing you now that I hope you three uncles will supervise Jia Zhang to work on time every day. No one else can replace her or cheat. Our street will send people to check at any time. We also hope that the general public will actively supervise and report any problems to the street office at any time."

When Uncle Yi Zhonghai heard what Director Wang said, he roughly understood that this job seemed to be set up specifically for the Jia Zhang family. Old Liu next door was a disabled soldier and didn't have to work, but he took the initiative to clean the alley on his own initiative.

Supervision of Jia Zhang was a troublesome matter, but he had to agree, so he said with a smile: "Director Wang, don't worry, the three of us and the neighbors in the courtyard will ensure that Jia Zhang comes to work on time every day and cleans the public health of the alley with quality and quantity."

Seeing that it was almost done, Director Wang said to the old man Yi Zhonghai: "I hope you can do what you say. This work will be linked to the honor evaluation of your hospital. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." After saying that, he gave He Yuzhu a meaningful smile and turned to leave.

When He Yuzhu saw this, he thought that Aunt Wang was even more sinister than himself. She had implicated Jia Zhang and everyone else in the courtyard. Life would be difficult for the eldest master and Jia Zhang from now on.