Chapter 19

The next day He Yuzhu came to Yagangchang to work as usual, except that today He Yuzhu didn't come by the No. 11 bus, but on our He Yuzhu's newest mount, a Yongjiu brand 28 large-bar bicycle.

He Yuzhu left the Courtyard House, riding under envious gazes all the way to Yagangchang; even the aloof office girl who just entered the factory gate gave He Yuzhu a few more looks. This made He Yuzhu feel proud, he didn't even look at those people and rode straight toward the cafeteria.

After arriving at the cafeteria and just arranging the work for Xiao Zhang and the other two, he saw Director Liu running in and shouting at He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, hurry up and come out with me, someone at the gate is presenting you with a banner."

Upon hearing about the banner, He Yuzhu remembered that Chen Weihai had previously said he would send him a banner and a thank-you letter, but a month had passed and He Yuzhu had already forgotten about it; this morning Chen Weihai came to deliver the banner, and only then did He Yuzhu recall the matter.

After agreeing to Director Liu, He Yuzhu followed him to the factory gate; wow, what a spectacle— a crowd of people stood at the gate, four or five in military uniforms talking with Lou Dong; seeing this, He Yuzhu and Director Liu quickened their steps and rushed over.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the gate, Chen Weihai grabbed his hand and said, "Comrade He Yuzhu, sorry, the case of Zhang Yanmo was only judged yesterday; I too have been transferred, so this morning I came together with our leaders."

"Uncle Chen, you're being too polite; this is just what I should do."

"You must be Comrade He Yuzhu, right? This time you've done us a great favor— Zhang Yanmo has been on the run for a long time; without you we still couldn't have caught him. Lou Dong, you've really trained a fine employee." Said an older military leader.

"Zhuzi, this is Li, the chief of our sub-bureau," Chen Weihai hurriedly introduced.

"Chief Li, this is just what I should do; I believe others would do the same. Moreover, our Lou Dong often educates the factory workers to frequently do good deeds, to respect and love each other," He Yuzhu gave Lou Dong a small compliment.

Lou Dong, hearing He Yuzhu say that, was still quite pleased and said to Chief Li: "Chief Li, let's not stand at the gate; let's go inside the factory."

A group of people followed Lou Dong into the factory area and arrived at the meeting room; during this, Chief Li again thanked Comrade He Yuzhu, and in the presence of Lou Dong presented the banner and thank-you letter to Comrade He Yuzhu.

At the same time there was a certificate for righteous courage and a 5 yuan reward for righteous courage; during the meeting, Lou Dong highly praised He Yuzhu's spirit of righteous courage, and said the whole factory should learn from He Yuzhu.

The award ceremony ended amid warm applause; during it, Lou Dong invited Chief Li to have lunch together, but Chief Li declined due to still having a case; thus Chief Li left the factory area accompanied by Lou Dong and other factory leaders.

Because there was still no public-private partnership, Yagangchang definitely had no broadcast station, so Lou Dong arranged for each workshop head to hold a special meeting before work, specifically to explain He Yuzhu's righteous courage incident, and invited He Yuzhu to go to the workshops to explain the details of righteous courage.

Thus Lou's Steel Rolling Mill launched a vigorous new atmosphere of learning from He Yuzhu.

Seeing He Yuzhu standing in front explaining his own heroic deeds, Jia Dongxu spat and said, "Pah, what's the big deal? It's just catching a person."

Just as he was about to say something more, he got a slap on the head; seeing it was Yi Zhonghai, he didn't dare speak, swallowed his saliva and swallowed his words.

It wasn't until almost 10 o'clock that Comrade He Yuzhu was allowed back to the cafeteria; seeing He Yuzhu, Director Liu joked, "Hey Zhuzi, you bought a bike yesterday and today someone sent you a banner— does that mean you should get a wife tomorrow?"

"Oh Director, isn't this just a coincidence? I really didn't expect Old Chen to come give me a banner; this matter is over a month ago, I had long forgotten it."

"Alright, stop being modest; just now Lou Dong called, your reward has been decided— 50 yuan; isn't Lou Dong generous?"

"Well, then I should properly thank Lou Dong, and also properly thank you, Director Liu, for telling me the good news."

"Fine, take this slip and go to finance to get the money," said Director Liu as he handed He Yuzhu a slip noting the fifty-yuan reward.

"Thanks, Director, I'm off then," He Yuzhu happily took the slip and went to finance to collect the money.

After He Yuzhu returned from finance, Xiao Zhang and the other two had already finished cooking the dishes; over the past month He Yuzhu had rarely cooked himself, mostly just watching from the side while Xiao Zhang and the others cooked.

He threw a pack of cigarettes to Xiao Zhang and said, "At noon you three keep busy making the meals; I have something to do, so I'm leaving first."

"Master Cheng, you go ahead and do your busy work; we three are here, we won't mess things up."

Comrade He Yuzhu, holding the recently awarded 55 yuan, rode his beloved 28 large-bar bicycle all the way to Lao Mo's.

Lao Mo is still a bit far from Yagangchang; biking from the factory takes at least half an hour; He Yuzhu left at 11:30, and on the road he didn't feel he was riding faster.

Upon arriving at Lao Mo, just as he stopped the bike and took the parking ticket, he saw Gao Yue waiting at the entrance; He Yuzhu involuntarily jogged two steps to her side and said, "Sorry, Comrade Gao Yue, something came up and delayed me, I'm late."

"No problem, I just arrived a moment ago; let's go in, or later there won't be any seats."

The two entered Lao Mo together; frankly, He Yuzhu had only ever looked toward Lao Mo from outside in his two lifetimes, but had never actually entered.

As soon as he sat down, He Yuzhu felt clumsy; having been a cook for two lifetimes, he had never eaten Western food before; looking at the utensils on the table, he was a bit at a loss.

Gao Yue, this smart girl, instantly noticed He Yuzhu's awkwardness, smiled and said, "Comrade He Yuzhu, do you want something to eat? I'll help you order."

"Comrade Gao Yue, don't call me comrade; just call me Zhuzi. Calling me comrade sounds too formal. You just look at the menu; I'll pay at the end. To be honest, this is my first time eating here, I don't understand anything, so don't laugh at me."

"Sure, I'm older than you, so from now on you can call me Yue Jie; then I'll just order the dishes."

"Waiter, take the order" the waiter came over and said, "Miss, hello, what would you like to order?"

Gao Yue ordered several dishes and two cups of juice, then handed the menu to the waiter.

It must be said that the speed of serving dishes is still quite fast. After the dishes arrived, Gao Yue looked at He Yuzhu and smiled, then tucked the napkin under her neck and told He Yuzhu, "Left hand holds the fork, right hand holds the knife," demonstrating it for him.