Chapter 4

Hearing Lou Dong say this, Jiang Dahai's eyes lit up immediately. Originally he thought that He Yuzhu coming as head chef meant he had no chance with him, but hearing Lou Dong say this, his heavy heart saw light again, excitedly he said to Lou Dong: "Lou Dong, rest assured, the third canteen in my hands will definitely be done well." After saying that, he stood up and bowed to Lou Dong just like He Yuzhu did.

Afterwards a crowd surrounded Lou Dong and walked out of the canteen. When they reached outside the canteen, Lou Dong said to everyone, "Alright, go back to work, Zhuzi, do a good job." He patted He Yuzhu's shoulder and then walked toward the office building.

After Lou Dong left, Director Liu said something to He Yuzhu and Jiang Dahai and then returned to the office.

"Uncle Jiang, you go back to your work first, I want to talk with Director Liu." After seeing Lou Dong off, He Yuzhu said to Jiang Dahai.

Jiang Dahai waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, talk properly with the director. Go find Lou Dong directly; he'll give you face, so speak well." After saying that, he walked into the canteen.

Outside the canteen director's office, He Yuzhu knocked on the door, entered, and smilingly said to Director Liu: "Director, it's like this: my father passed away last night, leaving me a letter and some tens of yuan, without explaining anything else. I want to go to Baocheng to see him once; may I take two days off, Director?"

"Sure, Zhuzi, just come back to work the day after tomorrow. Make sure everything at home is arranged."

"Okay, Director, thank you. By the way, Director, I acted too hastily today. After seeing my father's letter, I was dazed and instinctively wanted to go to the factory. Please don't mind; coincidentally, on my way I ran into Lou Dong's car, so I told him about the matter."

"It's fine, Zhuzi. Uncle won't hold it against you. Go attend to your affairs; you don't need to work today, go home."

"Okay Director, thank you, I'm heading back now." He Yuzhu said, pushing open the door and walking toward the factory gate, thinking along the way, "This Director Liu is a petty person; I'll have to be careful so he doesn't catch me in a mistake."

In his previous life, He Yuzhu had worked together with the canteen director for so many years; if he had known what kind of person he was, he wouldn't have let Yi Zhonghai find an opening.

Upon reaching the factory gate, he greeted the guard and then headed toward the Jiao Dao Kou Street Office.

After walking about half an hour, he arrived at the gate of the Street Office.

(Of course, at that time it wasn't yet called the Street Office; it was renamed the Office after 1954 and is now called the Takeover Committee. For convenience of later reading, we uniformly refer to it as the Street Office.)

He Yuzhu said to the guard on duty at the gate, "Hello, comrade. I am He Yuzhu from Courtyard 95, Nanluoguxiang. I want to see the Street Office director."

The guard said to He Yuzhu, "What business do you have?"

He Yuzhu said to the guard, "Comrade, it's like this: my father went to Baocheng with a woman last night, leaving me and my nine-year-old sister at home. He left me a letter saying he won't come back, and I want to ask the director for an introduction letter to go to Baocheng to look for my father."

"Alright, go in. The director's office is in the west wing of the central courtyard. Go in and find the director." The guard said to He Yuzhu, and then he entered the Street Office compound.

Upon reaching the director's office, He Yuzhu knocked on the door, heard "please come in," entered, and saw a middle-aged man about forty wearing a Zhongshan suit sitting at the desk writing. He then said, "Hello, Director. I am He Yuzhu from Courtyard 95, Nanluoguxiang."

The middle-aged man heard the sound, lifted his head, and said to He Yuzhu, "Hello, Comrade He. I am Wu Guodong, director of the Jiao Dao Kou Street Office. What business do you have?"

After He Yuzhu explained the situation to Director Wu, Wu slammed the table and said, "He Daqing is going too far; how can he do this? Comrade He Yuzhu, you don't need to worry. Our Street Office will handle this matter. I will now contact the Baocheng Military Control Commission to have them detain He Daqing."

Upon hearing Director Wu say that, how could he not...? He hurriedly said, "Director Wu, please calm down. It's like this: I am already 16 years old; before, I had been an apprentice at the Emei Restaurant, and now I have completed my training."

Moreover, I have already found a job at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill; I can certainly support myself now. My father went off to pursue his own happiness—I don't stand in his way—but my sister is only nine this year, and I need him to make arrangements for her. Director Wu, please calm down.

Upon hearing He Yuzhu say that, Director Wu looked at him and said, "You kid, fine, I'll make you an introduction letter right now. However, I still need to call the Baocheng Military Control Commission, after all you're still a child; let them accompany you to find your father to avoid any trouble later."

"Okay, Director Wu, thank you so much. There's nothing else to thank you for; if you ever have any banquets or such, just call me—I'll be there at once." He Yuzhu also wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Street Office director, after all later he'll definitely have to deal with various troubles involving Director Wu, so getting on good terms with him now does no harm.

"All right, Zhuzi, we'll talk about later matters later; I'm making you an introduction letter now." Director Wu said while picking up stationery and began writing the introduction letter. After finishing the letter, he picked up the phone, cranked it twice, and said into the receiver, "Please connect me to Baocheng." After waiting about a minute, Director Wu again said into the phone, "Please connect me to the Baocheng Administrative Committee." After waiting several more minutes, his call finally got through to the Baocheng Military Control Commission. After Director Wu finished explaining everything and hung up, he said to He Yuzhu:

"When you get to Baocheng, just go straight to the Military Control Commission; their comrades will take you to find He Daqing." After saying that, he patted He Yuzhu's shoulder and added, "If anything comes up later, just come find me directly."

After exchanging pleasantries with Director Wu, He Yuzhu left the reception office and headed toward Nanluoguxiang.

After arriving home, he glanced at the sun and felt it was nearly noon. He took out the cornmeal, poured it into a basin, and began kneading the dough. After He Yuzhu shaped the dough into individual steamed buns, he relit the extinguished stove, placed the buns one by one into the pot, and after they were steamed, he began slicing and stir-frying cabbage. Once the meal was ready, He Yuzhu covered the stove, put the cooked cabbage and buns into the lunch box, and left for Yushui School.

While at the Street Office, Director Wu helped He Yuzhu check the tickets to Baocheng; there were only two buses each day, one at 6 a. m. and one at 2 p. m. He Yuzhu could only take today's 2 p. m. bus. After arriving at school, he happened to catch the end of classes, found Yushui's class, handed over the lunch box, and said, "Yushui, I have to go on a business trip this afternoon; after school tonight I'll have the master come pick you up, and you'll stay at the master's place tonight; I'll be back tomorrow."

Yushui, while eating, said to He Yuzhu, "Okay, brother, go ahead; don't forget what you promised me."

"Eat quickly, it'll get cold soon; I'm leaving now. Remember to wash out the lunch box." Having said that, He Yuzhu left the school.