Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

Sha Zhu suggested asking Aunt You to be a matchmaker for him.

He told Aunt You that his name was He Yuzhu, an eighth-level cook at the steel mill, with a salary of 35.5 yuan. He had four rooms at home, one of which was a three-room main room in the middle courtyard where he lived, and one was a room in the east wing where his sister lived. He had no parents above him, and his sister was in a technical secondary school, with subsidies and no need for his help. She would be a state cadre after graduation. Now he wanted to find a beautiful and virtuous wife. After saying that, Sha Zhu took out ten yuan and handed it to Aunt You, saying it was matchmaker money, and said that there would be a generous reward after the success.

Aunt You looked at the big black ten, took it happily, and kindly asked Sha Zhu if he had any other requests.

Sha Zhu said: "It would be even better if the girl could graduate from high school. Also, it would be better if this happened quickly. I'm already 25."

"It's quite urgent! Don't worry, I, your Aunt You, have been matchmaking for people all the time, and I know all the good girls around here. Just go ahead. Come to my house in five days, and I'll tell you which girl it is, and then we can discuss when to let the girl visit your house."

"Speaking of this, Aunt You, I have something else to explain to you. I have an enemy in the yard, named Xu Damao. This guy is a villain. He can't stand me doing well and always says bad things about me behind my back. So if you let him know about introducing a girl to me, he will definitely come to make trouble. It would be okay if he confronts you face to face, but this guy is a villain and he likes to say bad things about people behind their backs. So I can't let the people in our yard know about this. I need to wait until the girl and I get to know each other and it's almost settled before I let them know. I also need your help to explain this situation to the girl." In order to avoid others ruining his good deeds, Sha Zhu first found a way for himself.

"Xu Damao?" Aunt You had heard of him, but didn't have much impression of him.

"He's the film projectionist at our steel rolling mill. He has a horse face and is married. His wife is the daughter of a capitalist." Sha Zhu gave Aunt You a brief introduction.

"He married the daughter of a capitalist." Aunt You repeated meaningfully.

After dinner, they left the restaurant and went home.

But by chance, they were seen by Xu Damao who was wandering on the street when they were leaving the hotel.

Xu Damao hadn't eaten for several days since he ate Shazhu's special supply. He would vomit if he ate, and he felt sick at the smell of food. While Lou Xiao'e was eating, he made a disgusting sound beside her, so Lou Xiao'e got angry and drove him out and told him to come back after dinner.

Xu Damao saw Sha Zhu walking away and Aunt You walking to another alley, so he followed her a few steps and stopped her. Aunt You wondered what happened today, why she was stopped by people one after another.

Xu Damao came up and said, "Auntie, I'm the neighbor of that man just now. Can you tell me what he wants from you?"

Aunt You looked at Xu Damao's face and asked, "Are you talking about He Yuzhu?"

"Yes, that's He Yuzhu. We all call him Shazhu." Xu Damao nodded and said, "He's stupid all day long and always does stupid things. Why did he come to you?"

Aunt You didn't know who he was at first, but after hearing his words, she remembered that He Yuzhu had mentioned that villain, and now it matched. However, Xu Damao had no grudge against her, so she couldn't be angry, but she couldn't tell the truth. She promised He Yuzhu, so she replied: "It's not him who came to me, but me who came to him. He is the cook in the steel mill. I want to ask him if he will accept apprentices."

"What kind of cook is he? His cooking skills can only fool the poor workers in the factory who have never eaten anything. He even accepts apprentices. Don't mislead the students. You must not let your family members worship him as a master."

Aunt You thought to herself: Well, He Yuzhu is right. This guy is really a mean person who gossips behind people's backs. The leaders in the factory are all fools. If the food they cook is not delicious, they will be given the rank of Grade 8 cook.

She often acts as a matchmaker for others. Although she has never met any important person, among the people she has met and known are some who are section chiefs in factories and directors in the street. She knows that officials are not that simple, and they know how to speak, do things and employ people.

Aunt You said perfunctorily: "Okay, thank you for your reminder, I understand." Then she stopped talking to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao thought he had ruined Sha Zhu's good fortune and was very happy. He turned around and went home to show off to Lou Xiaoe.

Lou Xiao'e looked at his beaming face, and remembered that he took advantage of Sha Zhu's blindness to add more food to the other party, and then he ate double the amount of Sha Zhu's special food. She couldn't help but frown, and then reminded him, "If Sha Zhu finds out, be careful that he will treat you to food again."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. As soon as he said it, Xu Damao started vomiting again. Lou Xiao'e was impatient and drove him out again. Lou Xiao'e looked at Xu Damao's hunched back and felt resentful in her heart: Why did I find such a man who looks like a beautiful woman on the outside, but the key is that his appearance doesn't seem to be as beautiful as a beautiful woman, ah...

Sha Zhu went home and told Yu Shui about his matchmaking. Yu Shui was very supportive of her brother and thought that her brother should have gotten married a long time ago.

Ever since he played Go with the elderly Go group by the river, Sha Zhu had a place to go after get off work every day. He would either watch the game in silence or play Go with the elderly and gradually get to know them.

After playing chess that day, Sha Zhu saw some vegetables and meat placed next to Uncle Ren, and asked casually: "Uncle Ren, you picked up the dishes and planned for me to cook them for you? I can cook them now, but the taste may not be as good."

"Oh, I was so busy playing chess that I didn't pay attention to the sky." Grandpa Ren looked at the hazy white moon in the sky, "I was on my way to buy groceries after get off work, but I was so busy playing chess that I forgot to go home. Now dinner will become a midnight snack, and my wife will scold me."

"Auntie will scold you. Why don't I go and help you? I cook quickly, and with an outsider like me here, Auntie won't be able to say anything to you."

"That can't be considered the meal for the bet." Uncle Ren was quite cunning. "The main thing is that home-cooked meals don't show your level of skill."

"Okay, you have the final say. I can also cook home-cooked dishes with different flavors. Just wait and see." Sha Zhu's words revealed his confidence in his cooking skills.

Uncle Ren lives in a courtyard with only one entrance. On the way, Uncle Ren told Sha Zhu that the courtyard he lived in was the property of counter-revolutionaries confiscated after liberation. There were three families living in the courtyard, all from the same unit.

When Sha Zhu followed Master Ren in, he saw three main rooms on the north side of the yard, three wing rooms on the east and west sides, and an additional ear room on the west side.

There are three trees planted in a row in the middle of the yard. The leaves haven't grown yet after the New Year, but judging by the shape of the branches, one is a osmanthus tree in the corner between the east wing and the main house. There is a wooden frame with several beams next to it, and some withered vines are left on the frame in front of the main house. One is a plum tree, now full of white plums, she is like a pure fairy facing the south window of the west wing, standing proudly in the chilly wind, showing her enchanting beauty. I think it must be very pleasant to watch plum blossoms in this house on a snowy day.

Uncle Ren's family lived in the west wing. I don't know whether it was Uncle Ren's request because he liked to appreciate plum blossoms or it was allocated by the government at that time.

Aunt Ren had been waiting anxiously. When she heard someone in the yard greeting Grandpa Ren, she came out of the side room that served as the kitchen. When she saw her old man, she greeted him, "Why did you come back just now? You're not hungry after playing chess, right?"

"You were too absorbed in it. This won't happen again. Well, we have guests." Grandpa Ren stepped aside to let Sha Zhu go. "This is He Yuzhu, my little chess friend. He is also a chef. He wants to show us his cooking skills today."