Chapter 5

After roughly tidying up the house, He Yuzhu strolled out to go to work; he had pretty much figured out why Yi Daye didn't take a liking to Character.

Actually it's not a big deal—just being slapped twice and stepped on. He Yuzhu felt he could forgive Character, just as Yi Daye always had him forgive Bang Geng.

As for himself, it was even less of an issue; his wife was more important.

Upon reaching the gate of the Courtyard House, a seedy man carrying two strings of garlic was chatting idly with San Daye at the doorway; seeing He Yuzhu approach, he immediately puffed up his scrawny chest.

"Silly Zhu, off to work—have a look at this garlic; I'm going to the countryside to show a movie, and they insisted on giving it to me."

He Yuzhu wore a grin, raised his hand and slapped him, then kicked him in the chest, throwing out a line—'I don't know why, but I'll just ask San Daye.'

Xu Damao, who had just gotten up from the ground, was a bit dazed; he didn't bother asking San Daye and went straight to Yi Daye to tattle.

The cafeteria work remained as usual; as soon as He Yuzhu entered, Liu Lan came over to pass along a message: today some leaders would come for an inspection, and they needed a few good dishes at noon.

"What do they plan to eat? Are they going to have stewed chicken with mushrooms?" He Yuzhu guessed the plot might be coming up; this time he wouldn't bring chicken back, to see how Xu Damao would still try to frame him.

"You're the one who wants to eat stewed chicken with mushrooms," Liu Lan said with a smile. "I didn't hear what exactly they want—I'm not a gossip—but I'll need to find out what they're eating. Since there's no chicken in the supplies, I might have to go replenish the store."

"No need, go get busy."

The meals nowadays are still fairly simple; no need for fancy knife work—just make a few dishes and adjust the flavor a bit.

He had perfectly inherited the original owner's cooking skills; these dishes weren't difficult,

Kung Pao chicken,

Twice-cooked pork,

Sweet and sour spare ribs,

Braised tofu,

……

After finishing his work, He Yuzhu sat in the cafeteria drinking tea; Liu Lan came over, beaming, and told him: "These past few days I haven't seen you, your cooking seems to have improved; the leaders ate extremely well and all praised you."

Being praised isn't bad either; if they keep praising him, they ought to give him a promotion and raise.

While he was here thinking about his future happy days, Qin Huairu in the cafeteria felt utterly wronged—yesterday it was clear soup and water, today's dishes were simply unbearable to look at.

As the saying goes, 'What the superior likes, the inferior follows extravagantly.' Previously He Yuzhu gave her good things every day, and nobody dared to speak up; now He Yuzhu explicitly said he would no longer look after Qin Huairu.

Those serving meals below just went through the motions however they could.

Qin Huairu, furious enough to sputter, immediately went to find Yi Daye, asking him to judge the matter.

After work, He Yuzhu first went to the Grocery shop, tidied up the things a bit, then waited for customers to come; usually neighbors would come over to buy something, and some would even stand outside drinking some bulk liquor.

By seven or eight o'clock, He Yuzhu turned off the lights and returned to the Courtyard House; if anyone still needed something, they could come to the Courtyard House to find him, so it wouldn't delay any business.

Although there was meat and noodles at home, He Yuzhu wasn't extravagant; he simply made a bit of lump soup, which counted as tonight's dinner,

He was happily eating here when Yi Daye came in with a grim face and asked, "Zhuzi, why did you suddenly think of drinking lump soup today?"

"All the stuff at home has been stolen clean by Bang Geng, so we have no choice but to drink soup."

Yi Daye felt a bit choked.

"I was just about to tell you, the Jia Family's days are really hard, Bang Geng is still a child, otherwise he couldn't come to your place looking for food." Yi Daye sat on the chair, "You're the head cook, your family isn't lacking food, you should be more generous."

He Yuzhu felt utterly annoyed, what does it mean that he should be more generous? Bang Geng's behavior is that of a thief; even if it's love me, love my dog, Yi Daye has gone too far.

"From now on, we should still help each other; we're all neighbors in the same courtyard. You eat steamed buns at home, while the neighbor's family can't even have cornmeal porridge—do you think that's alright?"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that." He Yuzhu glanced at Yi Daye, "I also want to marry and have children; I can't keep supporting the Jia Family forever. Actually, the most suitable person for our Courtyard House is you."

Yi Daye didn't dare to accept that; although his salary is high, he needs to save for his old age.

Still need to persuade He Yuzhu.

"Speaking of marriage, you wouldn't really want to marry Character, would you? I think you two aren't suited." Yi Daye said somewhat sternly, "That's a tigress."

As for Character, He Yuzhu already knew pretty much everything, so Yi Daye's words had no effect; He Yuzhu wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Character is still just a child, what does she know? It's not like she's stepped on you, and hardly anyone knows about it; you should still forgive her."

Yi Daye's face suddenly changed; in his view, this was nothing short of a great disgrace, and he had never suffered such humiliation in his life.

"No, we all disagree with you marrying Character."

"What are you lot, still trying to control who I marry? Not letting me marry Character—do you expect to take turns being my wife?" He Yuzhu said rudely, "Today these two matters aren't for you to control; do you really think you're some big shot?"

Yi Daye listened to He Yuzhu's words, his face turning grim and frightening; he threatened, saying, "If you don't obey, let alone being kicked out, you even hit Xu Damao today—aren't you afraid of being caught by the police?"

Hearing Yi Daye start to threaten him, He Yuzhu understood that he had no other recourse, but trying to use this to make him submit was simply naïve.

But he had reason and evidence.

"He didn't even ask San Daye why; well, I'll formally tell you again: whoever calls me Sha Zhu again, I'll be rude to them, including you."

Yi Daye angrily turned and left; he went into the courtyard, where Jia Zhangshi was sitting at the doorway waiting for him, her gaze seemingly asking whether she could go to He Yuzhu's house for a meal.

"Old sister-in-law, Sha Zhu's brain is already ruined—completely unresponsive; I'll think of another way, you don't need to worry."

After Yi Daye left, Jia Zhangshi spat out three words: "Old good-for-nothing."

"Ding, the host's language really lacks aggressiveness, but good that you've learned to refuse; keep it up, clean up these beasts in the Courtyard House."

"Reward: 100 catties of Chinese cabbage, 10 catties of peanut oil, 100 yuan of renminbi."

This reward is not small, but He Yuzhu isn't overly pleased; now these beasts still have the upper hand, he needs to find a way to dismantle them, ultimately defeating each one.

Where should we start?

The moral blackmail of Yi Daye,

The lazy and gluttonous Jia Zhangshi,

The White Lotus Divine Maiden Qin Huairu,

The Thief Sage Bang Geng….

Of course, we start with the simple stuff.