Chapter 143: with translation of chapter title

People feel refreshed when happy things happen.

Once you have a wife, you forget your mother.

Engaged to Yu Li.

Let Shazhu live a plain life.

Gradually it becomes less plain.

During the time Yu Li became Shazhu's fiancée, Shazhu always felt time was a bit short, and also felt that He Yushui had truly become the annoying person she disliked.

Yu Li came to the Siheyuan to find Shazhu, doing whatever work she could manage.

The little girl insisted on relying on her youth, her being female, and her being Yu Li's sister-in-law, and in front of Shazhu she wildly displayed their intimacy.

In Yu Li's mindset of loving the house and its belongings, she actually forgot Shazhu, her fiancé, entirely, and couldn't recall her original purpose; she and He Yushui were playing and eating.

Even more aggravating, He Yushui had completely betrayed Shazhu.

He absolutely wouldn't let Yu Li work.

As soon as Yu Li starts to work.

The little girl then called for Shazhu to help, while she and Yu Li played games only girls would play; otherwise she would pull Yu Li to the next room, where they'd whisper secrets—either Yu Li would burst into loud laughter, or He Yushui would chatter happily.

Originally it was Yu Li coming over to wash, rinse, mend and sew for Shazhu, but it eventually turned into Shazhu cooking to reward the two women who had tired themselves from shopping.

Doting on the younger sister.

Loving the wife.

It's only natural.

Yet someone insists on looking for trouble.

Yan Jiecheng of the front courtyard, ever since he learned that Yu Li had become Shazhu's fiancée, upon seeing Shazhu he no longer wore a pleasant expression, and sometimes even glanced at him with hatred.

Even Yan Fugui became his enemy, openly saying that the reason Yu Li became Shazhu's wife was that Yan Fugui was unwilling to spend two dollars on matchmaker fees and didn't beat Shazhu to the proposal by going to Yu Li's family first, which left Yan Jiecheng unable to win the beauty.

Just because of this.

The Yan Fugui household erupted in several fights.

It's unclear whether Yan Fugui struck Yan Jiecheng or Yan Jiecheng felt too ashamed to remain in the Siheyuan; Shazhu hadn't seen him for several days, and hearing from Da Mao, Yan Jiecheng had run away from home.

"……" Means ellipsis. Keep as "……". Translate as "……". Probably keep same.

Middle courtyard, the Jia family.

Also a family dissatisfied with Shazhu and Yu Li's engagement.

Every time Yu Li comes.

Jia Zhangshi always looks at Yu Li with a venomous gaze as if wanting to devour her; the moment Yu Li and He Yushui's laughter rings out, Jia Zhangshi is destined to curse in the street.

That kind of scolding, pointing at the mulberry while cursing the locust.

She scolds Qin Huairu until she's drenched in filth.

Shazhu kills enemies with a soft knife.

When eating, he deliberately makes the food fragrant, opens the window, letting the aroma drift into the Jia household, making the Jia mother and son instantly feel their steamed buns are not fragrant.

Whenever this happens.

Those who feel the steamed buns aren't fragrant also include the deaf old lady in the back courtyard.

Smelling the aroma of food coming from Shazhu's house.

The deaf old lady's heart welled with a faint regret, regretting that she had listened to the eldest aunt's instigation, and on the day Shazhu and Yu Li met, she went to Shazhu's house to stage this 'scare the snake by stirring the grass' act.

As a result, she had it.

But it completely cut off any chance of reconciliation between Shazhu and her.

In the deaf old lady's eyes, Yu Li still gives the impression of being unable to bear sons, but that doesn't mean the deaf old lady dislikes Yu Li; during this time, the interactions between Yu Li and He Yushui, and the scene of He Yushui bringing Yu Li to act coquettishly toward Shazhu, were all taken in by the deaf old lady.

Envious.

Only envy.

The vital aura of Shazhu, Yu Li, and He Yushui greatly stimulated the deaf old lady, who, as a childless, daughterless lonely old woman.

Her greatest wish is to have children and grandchildren surrounding her knees, enjoying family bliss.

If she had earlier drawn closer to Shazhu, she surely would have been part of this happy life as the deaf old lady.

"Ah!"

A low sigh.

Flew out from the deaf old lady's mouth.

Regret comes too late.

If there were a regret pill, the deaf old lady would surely buy and take it.

Old Lady Yi.

Old Lady.

Did you see it?

I saw it.

We made a mistake.

The eldest aunt didn't answer the deaf old lady's words; whether she regretted or not, only she herself knows, but she likely regretted; looking through the glass at Shazhu cooking and Yu Li teaching He Yushui to read, she felt really unpleasant inside.

"……" ellipsis. Keep as "……".

Capital City.

A certain department.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses is meticulously reviewing documents; before him lies a thick stack of personnel files; those meeting the conditions he places on his left, those not meeting the conditions on his right; up to today, not a single person meeting the conditions has appeared.

Thus.

It then provoked an old man into a great fury.

The cause of this matter.

It's very simple.

Some people, because they couldn't eat well, fell ill, couldn't continue working, and fainted several times at their work posts.

But this matter.

And was artificially concealed by those people.

After the old man learned of this, those people couldn't get out of bed.

With the mindset of mending the pen after losing the sheep.

Preparing to select from the Capital City a chef with superb culinary skills and clean background to cook for those people.

In front of the middle-aged man was a thick stack of files, the personnel records of all the top chefs in the Capital City, which included Shazhu; from just after ten this morning until past four in the afternoon, he saw not a single person meeting the criteria—either they couldn't make Shandong cuisine, or they could only make Sichuan cuisine, or otherwise only imperial cuisine.

The all-around chef demanded by superiors never appeared.

Only when Shazhu's name appeared on the documents in the middle-aged man's hand did his hanging heart finally settle, albeit reluctantly.

Yagangchang's number one divine chef!

Specifically responsible for Yagangchang's reception meals, for inspection teams coming from south and north; whoever had eaten Shazhu's food said it was not bad, and could be called superb.

Not to mention his clean background.

What's even rarer is that this twenty-year-old chef has experience with all the major cuisines of the country, and each dish he makes excels in color, aroma, and taste.

He struggled to calm his mind.

The middle-aged man submitted Shazhu's files upward.

Then a call came to Yagangchang; after confirmation, another call was made to the scrap collection station, leading to the present situation.

Cooking.

For a chef.

It's not unfamiliar.

Every chef will cook countless meals in his career; cooking for a chef is like taking an exam, each meal a test.

The quality of one's culinary skill determines the good or bad reputation of a chef.

Shazhu didn't care about those things; through several years of Yagangchang's reception meals, he earned the reputation of being Yagangchang's top chef.

What truly left Shazhu bewildered was discovering he might meet that legendary great leader five or six years, or seven or eight years, earlier than expected.

As for that great leader.

Shazhu is not unfamiliar with him.

In his previous life.

Shazhu became entangled with that great leader because of his cooking, and they formed an ageless friendship!

I vaguely recall that Shazhu was responsible for cooking, Dahai Mao for projecting movies, but because Shazhu brought his overbearing attitude from being a big boss at Yagangchang to the great leader's household, treating the leader's wife as a maid and saying things that upset her, if not for Dahai Mao badmouthing Shazhu behind his back, which the great leader discovered, and sacrificing himself to help Shazhu, Shazhu might have lost this great opportunity.

The great leader counts as a benefactor in Shazhu's life fate.

Lou Xiaoe married Shazhu, which enraged Dahai Mao; Dahai Mao took revenge on Lou Xiaoe by arresting her family.

Shazhu appealed to the great leader, who intervened and saved Lou Xiaoe's family.

This is one aspect.

On the other hand.

Bangeng returned to the city but couldn't find work, and besides giving Shazhu a cold shoulder, Shazhu sought the great leader and obtained from him a job letting Bangeng drive.

Also because of this, Bangeng accepted Shazhu and agreed to Shazhu's involvement with Qin Huairu!

Recalling those bits and pieces from his previous life.

Shazhu had doubts.

Surely due to being reborn, he actually met the great leader ahead of time.

Besides, there was no annoying Dahai Mao around.

He felt a bit unaccustomed.

"Master He, this is tonight's menu; please take a look!"

The Yagangchang secretary handed Shazhu a menu; Shazhu took it, glanced through, and his brows involuntarily furrowed.

Because, based on his understanding of the great leader, the leader should only eat one type of cuisine.

It included Sichuan cuisine, braised cuisine, Dongbei cuisine, and also some Hunan and Cantonese cuisine.

After a moment's thought, he wondered what the great leader was up to.

Although he felt doubtful.

Still, Shazhu adhered to his own cooking principles and did his best to prepare this meal well.

For those who know, it's not difficult.

For those who don't know, it's difficult.

The dazzling array of cooking techniques left the Yagangchang secretary helping out in awe.

A little desire to show off caused trouble.

Shazhu also added a bit of craftsmanship on top.

This counts as a benefit of his rebirth; his culinary skills from the previous life weren't forgotten, brought into this life, bolstered by decades of expertise.

This meal was literally turned by Shazhu into a fragrant work of art.

According to the server, those people, seeing the gorgeous dishes, were reluctant to start eating.

Shazhu, unfazed, raised his head.

He shone.

After the dishes were brought up.

Shazhu, relying on those impressions from his previous life, mistakenly thought he would still be received by the senior leader, and wondered how to leave a good impression on the senior leader.

This concerns the senior leader.

This concerns Shazhu's interests.

It must be given importance.

However, the outcome left Shazhu helpless; after the dishes were brought up, the senior leader had no intention of meeting Shazhu, merely arranging for the driver to send Shazhu back to the Siheyuan.

……

In the blink of an eye.

A few more days passed.

That day.

Shazhu had just finished his lunch and was about to go to work when he saw Old Wang of the Jiēdào accompanying the Yagangchang leader as they entered the Siheyuan's gate.

Liu Haizhong went up to them at once, showing his presence to the two leaders.

"Factory Director Yang, with your visit, our Dayuan flourishes."

"Who are you?"

"I am Liu Haizhong of the sixth workshop, also the Head Steward of this Dayuan. Factory Director Yang, if you have any matters, please feel free to give orders."

"I am looking for He Yuzhu."

Pushing his bicycle, Shazhu, walking to the front courtyard, was stunned.

"Looking for me?"

"Could it be that we have to prepare a reception meal again?"

Soon that idea was overturned again.

Preparing a reception meal doesn't require the Yagangchang director to personally go out, and Old Wang of the Jiēdào is also accompanying him.

In the midst of thought.

Shazhu was then assaulted by a transfer order!

Looking at the transfer order handed to him by the Yagangchang director, Shazhu's head buzzed.

The transfer order moving Shazhu from the Red Star Scrap Station to work at some place.

Looking at the place name written above.

Shazhu had already guessed a bit of the truth.

His heart.

In an instant it rose to his throat; if not for his chest blocking it, Shazhu's heart might have burst right then.

Shazhu never imagined that he would one day also be involved in this matter.

Logically speaking.

For such a matter, Shazhu cannot shirk responsibility.

Family knows family affairs.

The situation is somewhat different.

Shazhu is not alone; he also has to support his sister He Yushui, who is only twelve. She cannot go with him. Shazhu knows that place is harsh, with no school for Yushui. Leaving Yushui alone in the Siheyuan also won't work, because among the livestock there, if Yushui were left alone, Jia Zhangshi this Laoqianpo would be the first to refuse, and there's also a big aunt and the deaf old lady—two troublemakers—really making things difficult.

A troubled expression appeared on Shazhu's face.

"Shazhu, go ahead, leave Yushui with me—it's just two years, right?" When Shazhu felt troubled, Xu Daming suddenly stood up to help him out, saying, "You are my brother Xu Daming, Yushui is your sister, which is also my sister Xu Daming's sister; I will take care of Yushui, you can relax."

Shazhu thought it over and entrusted Yushui to Xu Daming's care—this was not without being a solution.

Over these years.

His relationship with Xu Daming has indeed been not bad; they're so close they might as well wear the same pants.

"Daming, thanks for the trouble."

A word of thanks.

This made Xu Daming furious.

Shazhu quickly offered an apologetic smile.

Solved one problem.

Still need to solve a second problem.

To make the livestock in the Siheyuan shy away, and fundamentally cut off the idea of scheming against Yushui.

"Director Wang, Factory Director Yang, with you two leaders present, there's something I shouldn't say by rights, but I must say." Shazhu pointed to the two buildings behind him, saying, "In our courtyard, shallow water means many turtles; all residents are talented. I worry that during these two years I'm away, our house and my belongings..."

This isn't Shazhu's petty scheming; rather, there's someone like Jia Zhangshi in the Siheyuan, and Shazhu must consider everything possible. He doesn't want to come back and find his house seized by Jia Zhangshi, and his belongings sold off by her.

Better than sitting idle later.

It's better to clarify some things now.

Xu Daming had agreed to look after He Yushui, but Xu Daming is a film projectionist at the Yagangchang, often going to the countryside to screen films, leaving for two or three days, sometimes four or five. During that time, He Yushui effectively has no outside help, being young, and there are still many livestock in the Siheyuan.

This damn thing has been tricked.

Troublesome.

Liu Haizhong is present, Yan Fugui is present, the neighbors are present.

Lay out the matter openly to avoid future trouble.

"Zhuzi, rest assured, your family's house is your family's house, and the belongings inside are your family's belongings. I, in the name of the Jiēdào, give you this guarantee: during the time you're away working, if anyone dares to have designs on your house and its belongings, I don't mind letting them spend a few days in the police station! Aside from that, I have no other rights, but I still have the right to write something unfavorable on their records."

Old Wang's words.

Thoroughly deterred those scheming individuals inside the Siheyuan.

Such as Jia Zhangshi.

Laoqianpo had already started calculating, how to deal with Shazhu's bicycle, how to deal with Shazhu's radio.

A few words from Old Wang scared Laoqianpo into giving up such thoughts.

The Yagangchang factory director also began to state his position; he knows Shazhu is a commander personally appointed by the senior leader—what that signifies, the Yagangchang factory director is very clear.

He looked at the people around him wearing Yagangchang work uniforms.

"Comrade He Yuzhu is not one of our Yagangchang factory, but he has supported our Yagangchang factory's mountain area construction; he left for two years. I hope the fellow workers in our factory, in consideration of He Yuzhu's contribution to supporting Yagangchang's mountain area, will look after his sister He Yushui a bit—no need for you to cook meals; when something comes up, help say a few fair words. Liu Haizhong, you are...."