Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

As the full moon banquet for He Yuzhu's son came to an end, all the residents of the courtyard who attended the banquet were satisfied. Of course, not all of them were happy. Jia Zhang, who was unable to attend the banquet, was jealous at home. Especially when Qin Huairu prepared lunch and called her to eat, when she saw the noodles in the pot without much oil, Jia Zhang's dissatisfaction reached its peak.

Jia Zhang filled a bowl of noodles with an impatient look on her face. When she took the first bite of noodles, she lost her appetite instantly. She threw the bowl away and said, "I have no appetite and I'm not hungry. I won't eat anymore." Then she turned around and walked into the house and lay down on the kang. Lying on the kang, Jia Zhang thought about other residents in the courtyard eating meat while she was eating noodles with bland soup at home. She became more and more irritated, so she closed her eyes and prepared to go to sleep. After all, she might still dream when she fell asleep, and there were all kinds of things in her dreams.

Although it would be dark as soon as she closed her eyes, Jia Zhang couldn't fall asleep because as soon as she closed her eyes, the crystal-colored braised pork that made her salivate would appear in her mind. So Jia Zhang, who couldn't sleep, began to toss and turn on the kang, trying to find a good sleeping position.

Qin Huairu, who was eating in the main hall, couldn't help but pout and snort in disdain when she heard the noises made by Jia Zhang in the inner room. She was really incompetent as a mother-in-law. She ate everything without leaving any residue. In short, she was just lazy and gluttonous. She was obviously angry that He Yuzhu didn't invite her to the banquet, and she said that she had no appetite. Usually, she could slurp two bowls of noodles she made at noon like a pig. Why did she have no appetite today? To put it bluntly, she wanted to eat the meat at the banquet outside, and she disliked that her own food was not as delicious as He Yuzhu's.

When everyone stood up from the banquet with satisfaction, it meant that today's banquet had come to an end. The second uncle said consciously, "Are you all satisfied with the food today?"

"Satisfied, Uncle Er, this is the first time in my life that I've eaten such delicious braised pork."

"Yeah, me too. This guy's cooking skills are really high. I think the noodles mixed with the vegetable soup taste better than the meat I cook at home."

"Since everyone seems to be satisfied with the meal, I'll trouble you all to take your chairs back with you when you leave. This will save Zhu some trouble and save him from making several trips."

"No problem, no problem. It's just a simple matter."

So everyone found their own chairs, moved them up and walked home.

After Liu Haizhong and the other guys left, he turned to Yan Bugui and said, "Old Yan, let's go home and call our wives to help clean up the things on the table."

"What the second uncle said is right. I think so too. I will go home and call my wife now. After the table is cleared, I will arrange for my eldest and second sons to return the table to someone else."

"Then let's go back to our homes." After saying this, the second uncle Liu Haizhong put his hands behind his back and walked slowly to the backyard.

After a while, the second and third aunts came, along with Aunt Wang and another aunt. Looking at the clean plates and the enamel basin with only a little soup, Aunt Wang smiled and said, "It seems that these old men are just like us, none of them are elegant when eating. If we don't know what dishes are served, we can't tell what they are eating just by looking at the plates. The plates are really clean."

The other ladies laughed when they heard this. "That's great. It will save us a lot of trouble when we brush our clothes later."

The four aunties quickly put the dishes on the table into the trays. The third auntie said, "Help me take the food to the sink later. I'll wash it. You go and clean up the three tables in the house."

After everyone had finished eating, Liu E said to Wu Xiangyun, "Xiangyun, since you plan to stay at your brother Zhuzi's house tonight, don't rush back to get your clothes. Help your brother Zhuzi clean the house later. Aunt Zhuzi, Xiangxiu, come on, let's take the plates and enamel basins on the table to the kitchen first."

Zhang Xiaoqiao quickly said, "Mom, let me help too."

The four women quickly cleared the two tables in the main room. As soon as they finished clearing the tables, the second aunt brought the other two aunts into the room.

Seeing this, the second aunt hurriedly said, "You are the guests, how can we let you clean up? Just sit down and have a rest, and leave it to us."

"Second Aunt, it's alright. We have nothing to do anyway, and since you're here, it's time for us to go. We've already put the plates and enamel basins on the table in the kitchen. Please wash them later."

"It's your duty, Master Zhuzi's wife. Won't you sit here for a while? It's very sunny outside now. It won't be too late to leave when the weather gets cooler." The second aunt said enthusiastically.

"No, it's time to go. I have things to do at home. I'll go inside to say hello to Xiao'e, and then we'll leave."

"Then you guys chat, we'll go to the kitchen." After saying that, the second aunt and the other two turned around and walked out.

When Liu E came to the inner room, Lou Xiao'e saw Liu E coming and hurriedly sat up from the bed, "Master's wife, have you had lunch?"

"I'm done eating. I ate really well. Xiao'e, I'm here to tell you that we are going home."

"Master's wife, why are you leaving so early? Sit down and rest for a while."

"No, I've been out for a long time, it's time to go home. Okay, don't get up, let me see the three little ones. They are so cute." Liu E said with a smile. After that, she took out three red envelopes from her pocket, put them on the children, and said gently: "Little ones, this is a gift from grandma for you."

Lou Xiao'e picked up an envelope and felt the thickness inside, thinking that there must be a lot of money in it. She hurriedly said, "Master's Wife, just give me one, and you should take the other two back. I can't take them."

Liu E insisted, "Xiao E, this is a gift from me as a grandmother to my child, not for you."

Just as Lou Xiao'e and Liu'e were pushing each other with the red envelope, He Yuzhu came in. After he asked about the reason, he smiled and said, "Xiao'e, since Master's wife gave it to you, you should take it. This is Master's wife's love for the child."

Lou Xiao'e hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "Okay then." After all, He Yuzhu had already spoken, so she would no longer refuse.

"Master's Wife, I just met my master outside, and he said you are leaving."

"Well, it's time to go. Well, I've seen the child, and I'm leaving now."

"Xiao'e, I'm going to go out and see Master and Master's Wife off."

He Yuzhu escorted Guan Xuezong, Wu Baotian's family, and Cai Quanwu's family to the gate of the courtyard and said, "Masters, uncle, and mistress, I will escort you here. I will come to visit you later. Please go slowly on your way back."

"Okay, go back and pack your things. We don't live far away, and besides, we still have bicycles," Wu Baotian said with a smile.

"Zhu Zi, now that the master is gone, please take good care of Xiao'e." Guan Xue Zong instructed.

He Yuzhu waited until everyone had gone far away before turning around and walking back to the courtyard. Since Lou Xiaoe finished her confinement, she had not asked Su Xiulian to continue taking care of her. Although Su Xiulian wanted to continue helping to take care of her, He Yuzhu still let her go back. After all, her cousin Cai Quanwu also had a child at home. Although the child was several years old, it was not good for no one to take care of the child at home for a long time. Anyway, He Yushui was already on summer vacation, and with He Yushui's help, Lou Xiaoe could handle the work.

After finishing the banquet, Jia Xudong walked slowly back home. It wasn't that Jia Xudong didn't want to walk faster, but He Yuzhu made the food so delicious that he couldn't help but eat too much. When Jia Xudong returned home, he saw Qin Huairu sitting in the main room, while Banggeng was running around in the room. When he found that Jia Zhangshi was not in the room, he asked casually, "Huairu, where's mom?"

"Mom is sleeping in the room." Qin Huairu pouted towards the room.

"Grandma said her stomach was uncomfortable and she went to bed without even eating." Banggeng suddenly said.

"Huai Ru, what's wrong with your stomach? It was fine when I left. How come your stomach is in trouble at noon?" Jia Xudong asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's nothing. Don't listen to his nonsense. Mom said she has no appetite, not that there is something wrong with her stomach." Qin Huairu explained with a smile.

"So that's how it is. When the weather gets hot, I really have no appetite, and it's normal not to want to eat. By the way, Huairu, you don't know, the dishes He Yuzhu made for lunch today were so delicious, especially the pot of chicken. The potatoes in it were stewed so well, and it tastes even better than the meat we cook at home! And finally, paired with the chewy noodles, it was really amazing!" As Jia Xudong spoke, a satisfied expression appeared on his face, as if he was still immersed in the deliciousness at that time and couldn't extricate himself.

Qin Huairu nodded. She knew that He Yuzhu was a first-class chef with superb cooking skills, so the food he made was naturally very delicious. However, she couldn't help but sigh: "He Yuzhu is a first-class chef after all, so isn't it natural that the food he makes is delicious?"

At this moment, Jia Xudong suddenly thought of something and quickly asked Qin Huairu: "By the way, when I went to the banquet today, I heard from other people in the courtyard that He Yuzhu invited the families of other residents in the courtyard to the banquet, but why didn't he invite our family?"

Qin Huairu sighed and shook her head helplessly: "Hey, He Yuzhu didn't invite everyone. He only invited the families of the six aunts who helped send his wife to the hospital. The auntie living opposite our house didn't help either, so He Yuzhu didn't invite them either." After she finished speaking, a trace of loss and melancholy revealed in her eyes.

"So that's how it is. But why didn't you go to help at that time? Our family and He Yuzhu's family live in the same yard, so we should be closer!" Jia Xudong frowned, a puzzled look on his face, and asked Qin Huairu while staring at her.

Qin Huairu's heart tightened, but she quickly regained her composure and answered softly, "That day, He Yuzhu's cousin came directly to the hallway to call for help. It happened that our mother stayed at home that day. When I went out to check, they had already arranged everything. Besides, I had to take care of Banggeng, so I was unable to help in the end."

Qin Huairu would not tell Jia Xudong, of course, because Jia Zhangshi did not allow her to go. So she had to make up this excuse. After all, if she told Jia Xudong the truth, once her mother-in-law Jia Zhangshi knew about it, it would definitely cause trouble.

After hearing this, Jia Xudong nodded in sudden enlightenment, and then complained: "So that's how it is! But He Yuzhu is too stingy! We are all neighbors in the same yard, can we all go to send his wife? He actually discriminates against us! He gets such a high salary, how could he starve to death if he sets up a few more tables for banquets? He's so stingy!" After saying this, Jia Xudong pouted in dissatisfaction.