Chapter 60: The Japanese Have Surrendered

The He Family had a very prosperous New Year; meat was seen on the dining table at every meal, and the aroma of meat never dissipated all day long.

He Daqing even invited guests far and wide, holding banquets at home for days on end, and the sound of clinking glasses could be heard from morning till night.

Whenever someone probed into the source of their wealth, everyone in the He Family gave the same answer: forty Big Ocean given by the Xu Family.

The old neighbors living in the Siheyuan were all sharp-witted; how could they easily believe such a story? They all ran to the Xu Family to sound them out.

Xu Fugui had already been brought back from the hospital; his legs were finally saved thanks to the superb medical skills at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and although there were no sequelae, he still could not leave his wheelchair for the time being.

His spirits were not bad, especially after following He Yuzhu's idea to have his two brothers-in-law carry him to see Lady Lou, Tan Yali.

As soon as they met, he prostrated himself and wept bitterly, repenting endlessly and swearing to take good care of the orphans and widows left behind by Lou Feng.

Considering that Xu Fugui's wife, Cui Xiu, had been her own personal maid for many years, Tan Yali finally relented and agreed to put in a good word with Lou Laoban.

At that time, Lou Laoban was exhausted from various matters, so he agreed.

Upon learning the result, Xu Fugui moved back home from the hospital immediately.

Facing everyone's indirect inquiries about whether he had really given money to the He Family, Xu Fugui always just smiled without a word.

Seeing this, everyone stopped asking.

After the New Year, Lao Zhou and the eldest uncle had still not returned, and He Yuzhu instead gained a period of leisure.

During the day, he was forced by He Daqing to learn cooking. Strange to say, ever since his physique was strengthened, he learned everything at an astonishing speed. Within three months, he had actually learned seven or eight tenths of He Daqing's secret skills.

Not only that, He Yuzhu also created several famous dishes from later generations, such as: Boiled Fish, pickled cabbage fish, and spicy hot pot, among others.

After being tested at a small restaurant, everyone who tasted them praised them endlessly.

Even He Daqing, who had always been picky, had to admit that He Yuzhu's talent for cooking was far superior to his own.

Although He Yuzhu was well-behaved during the day, he was not idle at night, either shuttling through the black market or going to cause trouble for the Japanese.

In these three months, he had a bountiful harvest; from just one puppet army Commander, he swiped fifty Small Yellow Fish.

All this gold was used by him to upgrade the system, and now he could detect objects within a three-meter radius and collect them directly without touching them.

With this ability, it became much easier to loot the Japanese's property.

However, objects weighing more than several tons still could not be stored in the space.

To upgrade this function, it would require consuming one ton of gold, which was truly beyond He Yuzhu's reach at the moment.

The summer was scorching; the Japanese army was retreating steadily on the battlefield, and they had also restrained themselves a lot in Si Jiu Cheng, mostly cowering in their barracks and not daring to act rashly.

Some clever Japanese had already begun to quietly sell off their real estate in the city.

He Yuzhu, under the name "Chen Qingshan," bought a bankrupt large restaurant.

At first, Chen Qingshan was dead set against taking it over, so He Yuzhu had to explain: "Siqiang, you are the only one who knows what I have been doing these past few months. If my mother found out, wouldn't she beat me to death?"

Chen Qingshan nodded: "That makes sense. To tell the truth, even I am often worried for you. Fortunately, with your current skills, ten or so ordinary people cannot get close to you, so I am slightly relieved."

One day while taking inventory of the space, He Yuzhu discovered that he was still holding fifteen land deeds.

But these were all the original properties of Dengzhao; could they really see the light of day? He hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to wait until the Japanese rolled away before making plans.

During this period, the lives of the neighbors in the No. 95 Siheyuan were not easy.

The shadow of unemployment had not yet dissipated. Lou Laoban was already being closely monitored by the crazy Japanese, and every day Japanese would come to the door to loot, because they themselves knew that the day they would pack up and roll away was not far off.

The Rolling Mill had already been shut down for seven months, and the men of the Siheyuan had all gone out to do odd jobs, their family circumstances plummeting.

Liu Haizhong's wife came to the door to borrow money, but was given the cold shoulder.

He Yuzhu was at home and refused to let Shen Guizhi open the door, no matter what.

For a time, Shen Guizhi could do nothing about him.

He Yuzhu argued forcefully: "Before the New Year, I said you were hospitalized and went everywhere in the Siheyuan to borrow money; Liu Haizhong's wife was inside and refused to open the door, so I am going to treat her the same way today."

Shen Guizhi tapped his forehead and scolded: "You don't learn the good, but you insist on learning those bad ways. Maybe they really are in trouble!"

"Mother, the world is cold; if I hadn't experienced it myself, I would never have felt it so deeply. Someone said 'Hell is other people,' and that is absolutely true."

"Don't be stubborn; when treating others, you must look at the good side. Your mother, I, was taught this since I was a child," Shen Guizhi chided.

"Mother, but it depends on who it is. Like Grandpa Ma's family in the Houyuan, I would be willing to share half of the food in our house with him, but Liu Haizhong is different."

In the evening, He Daqing returned, and people borrowing grain were actually lining up.

He Daqing was not considered heartless; seeing which family was truly unable to make ends meet, he would give away a few catties of cornmeal to help them get through the crisis.

Jia Zhangshi wandered in front of the He Family's door several times, but in the end, she didn't have the face to come in.

The He Family was also annoyed by these people borrowing money and grain.

To avoid these "creditors," the He Family also went to great lengths, always leaving early and returning late, telling outsiders only that the whole family was working for a boss.

On the fifteenth of August, the Japanese surrendered, and He Yuzhu took the opportunity to loot one of their logistics warehouses, obtaining a large amount of grain.

By the middle of November, their large restaurant finally opened, and the name was still He Ji Restaurant.

On the day of the opening, He Yuzhu didn't make a big show of it, only setting off a few strings of firecrackers.

He Daqing did not know that the boss behind the scenes was actually He Yuzhu; he had always thought it was opened by Chen Qingshan's family.

However, He Daqing was very happy to be the head chef, because the employer paid generously, fifty Big Ocean per month.

On the first day of opening, there were not many guests; perhaps having just experienced the exploitation of the Japanese, even wealthy families were short of money.

Today, He Yuzhu was guest-starring as the lobby manager; in fact, he only had Chen Daya under him, and a newly hired little girl—the one who had helped He Yuzhu deliver letters back then.

She was fourteen this year, but she looked like she was ten.

The reason he hired her was because He Yuzhu had gone to her house again, only to find that her father had actually run away, and she and her mother were living entirely by selling newspapers; their lives were truly miserable.

He Yuzhu wanted to give her a way to survive; this child's name was Li Xiangxiu.

He Yuzhu had wanted to hire two more people, but Chen Daya refused, feeling that there were not many guests at the moment, and she alone was enough.

He Yuzhu had no choice but to work himself like a donkey.

A group of people who had just entered caught He Yuzhu's attention.

A man in his fifties, with a refined appearance, was holding onto a young woman in her thirties.

Following behind was a young woman in her early twenties. She was truly beautiful, possessing a standard melon-seed face with a sharp, delicate chin and soft, smooth contours. Most striking was her skin, a flawless, cool-toned porcelain white like polished pearl, glowing even amidst the crowd. Her refined brows and eyes, however, held a myriad of charms.

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment; only after Chen Daya nudged him did he hurry forward: "What would you like to have today, sir?"

"Scallion Braised Sea Cucumber, Oil-Exploded Double Crisp, Wine-Sauce Stir-fried Fish Fillets, Pan-Fried Tofu, Nine-Turn Intestines..." The refined man scanned the menu, fluently ordering these famous dishes, then asked: "Pickled Vegetable Fish? I haven't heard of it; is it a new creation of your establishment?"

He Yuzhu nodded in affirmation: "Yes, we came up with this ourselves. Actually, the Boiled Fish on the menu is also a specialty, though the spice level is quite high."

"Then bring the Boiled Fish as well!" the man instructed.

"Sir, our portions are quite large; are there other guests coming?" He Yuzhu asked.

"There are two drivers; they both have big appetites," the refined man replied.

He Yuzhu nodded and took note.

Because there were only two tables at the moment, the dishes were served very quickly.

The three of them began to eat, and after the young woman tasted the Boiled Fish, she couldn't lift her head again, ordering two consecutive bowls of rice.

"It's too delicious!" she kept muttering.

The young woman waved at He Yuzhu, and He Yuzhu hurried over, responding, "What is it, miss?"

"Who made this Boiled Fish?"

He Yuzhu said proudly: "This dish is my own original creation. If you want to know who makes it the best, it's definitely me, though my father made it today."

The young woman nodded and said: "You're just bragging! A little brat like you can create a dish yourself?"

He Yuzhu smiled and waved at Chen Daya, asking: "Was the Boiled Fish created by me?"

"Miss, it really was created by Zhuzi!"

The young woman nodded, half-believing, when suddenly, two soldiers burst in, fully armed with live ammunition.

The burly man in the lead scanned the room and asked in a rough voice: "Who is in charge here?"

He Yuzhu stepped forward: "Officer, the shopkeeper has gone to handle the deed, so I am in temporary charge."

The officer grabbed his arm: "Come with us!"

He Yuzhu flipped his wrist, easily breaking free, and instead caused the officer to stagger a step.

"Hey! You dare to fight back?"

The officer immediately went to draw his gun, but felt a blur before his eyes, and his sidearm was somehow already in He Yuzhu's hand.

"Wearing that uniform makes you forget who you are?" He Yuzhu sneered, "I'm not even afraid of the little Japanese devils, so why would I fear you? Speak your mind!"

The officer was stunned; he had seen blood on the battlefield, but had never seen such swift movements.

The other soldier was about to move, but was stopped by a wave of his hand.

"Chen Qingshan is suspected of colluding with the Japanese and embezzling private assets." The officer lowered his voice, "Since you are in charge, you must come back with us for questioning."