Chapter 105: The Deaf Old Lady's Roundabout Plan to Save the Country

Time arrived at September 30; today was the day He Yuzhu, in the siheyuan, set up a wedding banquet for He Yushui's marriage. Early in the morning, He Yuzhu and Li Qiang, together with their brothers and three families, all got up early.

He Yuzhu's master Ma Hongtao had already brought his apprentices the day before to set up the stove and prepare the ingredients. Although the head chef was He Yuzhu's senior apprentice, Ma Hongtao still came personally to supervise and guide.

Yan Butgui was still in charge of accounts, and Liu Haizhong still oversaw overall command, which satisfied his vanity once again.

When the banquet began, Li Ju, acting as matchmaker, was naturally invited as well, and he was seated at the main table together with He Yuzhu's master Ma Hongtao; Li Qiang and Li Bin were seated to accompany them. However, He Yuzhu also seated the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai at the main table, which made the deaf old lady and her companions extremely delighted—the deaf old lady hadn't sat at the main table in a long time, and this time she felt He Yuzhu was still treating her well. Yi Zhonghai need not say more; he thought this was He Yuzhu showing him goodwill. In fact, both of them overthought it: the deaf old lady was placed at the main table simply because she is the eldest person in the siheyuan, which was also Ma Hongtao's idea—he didn't want people to say He Yuzhu was immature and disrespectful to elders, since in that era reputation mattered greatly. Yi Zhonghai's seating at the main table was entirely thanks to the deaf old lady's influence, after all he is her adopted son, and with him around he could look after her; they just misunderstood.

"Everyone, quiet down, let me say a few words. Tomorrow is my sister Yushui's wedding day; today I invite all the neighbors to come and liven things up. Many of those present have watched Yushui grow up, and now she is getting married. As her brother I am very happy, and I also consider this an explanation to our mother." He Yuzhu stood up and said this, but he never mentioned He Daqing, nor did he mention the neighbors' help to him and his sister.

"Good, Zhuzi is not only righteous but also a good brother," Yan Butgui said, leading the agreement.

"Here I first want to thank my master, who taught me cooking skills, giving me the means to make a living; I also want to thank my elder brother Li Bin and younger brother Li Qiang. When we were young, I believe everyone remembers what kind of life we lived—if it hadn't been for the help of our elder and younger brothers, we siblings probably wouldn't be where we are today." He Yuzhu said this, and his voice sounded a little choked up.

"Zhuzi, don't say that; today is a happy day, we won't bring up the past," Li Bin said, standing up.

"Master, elder brother, younger brother, this is the first time I've said this much in front of so many people; I truly thank you," He Yuzhu said sincerely.

"Good child, we know your intentions; sit down and let us two have a drink." Ma Hongtao knew He Yuzhu's nature, and today for him to say this in front of so many people was indeed not easy.

"Master, I first offer this cup to you," He Yuzhu said, raising his wine cup respectfully.

"Fine, I'll drink this cup," Ma Hongtao said cheerfully. He liked He Yuzhu very much; although He Yuzhu was a bit stubborn, he was kind-hearted and understood respecting teachers and valuing the Dao, which was quite important in that era.

In the original story, Silly Zhu brought his apprentice Fatty to Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li's restaurant to earn extra money. Later, Yan Jiecheng and his wife disliked that He Yuzhu demanded high wages and still had to bring two dishes each day, so they privately agreed with Fatty to fire Silly Zhu and keep Fatty. Silly Zhu also severed his master-apprentice ties with Fatty. Because of this, Fatty almost got beaten by Ma Hua at the Yagangchang cafeteria. This shows that people in that era placed great importance on respecting teachers and valuing the Dao.

"Elder brother, younger brother, I offer this second cup to you; you understand me—I'm inarticulate and can't say anything else, it's all in the wine," He Yuzhu said, holding his wine cup toward Li Bin and Li Qiang.

"Alright, let the three of us brothers have a drink," Li Bin said, raising his wine cup.

"Alright, then let's all drink together," Li Qiang also said.

When the banquet was halfway through, He Yushui and Zhuang Yan began toasting. Their toasting order was similar to He Yuzhu's: first they toasted Ma Hongtao, then Li Bin, Li Qiang, and finally Li Ju.

"Old lady, we toast you with this cup," He Yushui said, approaching the deaf old lady.

"Good, good, good, old lady, I'm happy today; our Yushui has grown up and is about to get married. Old lady, I have nothing else to give you, so I'll give you this little trinket as a token of my feeling." The deaf old lady took out a small bundle from her bosom and handed it to He Yushui.

He Yushui accepted it without ceremony, thinking nothing of it—what could a lonely old lady possibly have to give?

"Yushui, why don't you open and see what gift the old lady gave you?" Yi Zhonghai said, laughing from the side.

"All right," He Yushui had originally not intended to open it; she wanted to save the old lady's face. But seeing Yi Zhonghai say that, she felt the old lady's gift must be special—otherwise, given Yi Zhonghai's temperament, he wouldn't let her open it in public.

"Old lady, this is too precious; I can't accept it," He Yushui said upon opening the small bundle and discovering a jade bracelet of emerald green inside.

"Since the old lady gave it to you, just accept it—it's only a bracelet," the deaf old lady said indifferently.

Li Qiang looked at the bracelet in He Yushui's hand and couldn't help sighing: the deaf old lady really does have something valuable; this bracelet on He Yushui's wrist would be worth several million even in modern times.

"All right, Yushui, since the old lady gave it to you, just accept it—as the saying goes, one does not refuse a gift from an elder, and she's not an outsider. Keep it; when you have time, come back often to see the old lady, who also watched you grow up." Yi Zhonghai not only dragged out his words, but also spoke as if the old lady had previously given her much help.

"Yushui, since the old lady gave it to you, just accept it—as Master Yi said, one does not refuse a gift from an elder, so don't be polite anymore," Li Qiang also said. He said this purely because he knew the bracelet's value; anyway, it was a gift from the deaf old lady, so why not take it? If any situation arose later, it could be liquidated, and even if not sold, keeping it as a family heirloom would be fine.

"All right, thank you, old lady," He Yushui said, trusting Li Qiang greatly; since Li Qiang told her to accept it, she had no further reservations.

"What's there to be polite about? Your Elder Yi just said that—when you have time, just come back often to see this old lady." The deaf old lady was plotting a roundabout way to save the country, knowing He Yuzhu cared deeply about Yushui; she intended to break through via Yushui, and Yi Zhonghai would persuade He Yuzhu to accept the bracelet, which likely meant the same thing.