Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, He Yushui began to eat the candied haws slowly. He Yuzhu held He Yushui's hand and walked for a while, and found that He Yushui seemed to be unable to walk.

"Yushui, come, let me carry you on my back. This way we can walk faster."

He Yuzhu squatted down, let He Yushui lie on his back, hugged his neck, and then gently carried He Yushui on his back. After He Yuzhu carried He Yushui on his back, his walking speed increased immediately, and it didn't take long to reach Master Wu Baotian's house.

When they arrived at the door of Wu Baotian's house, they happened to see Wu Youli and his sister Wu Xiangyun playing at the door. He Yuzhu put the rain water on the ground. When He Yushui saw Wu Youli and Wu Xiangyun, he hurried over. He Yuzhu followed them and gave one candied haws to Wu Youli and Wu Xiangyun respectively.

He Yushui watched Wu Youli and Wu Xiangyun eating the candied haws with relish, and quickly asked his elder brother for his candied haws. After taking his candied haws from his elder brother, He Yushui quickly took a bite of the candied haws and put it in his mouth.

"Youli, take these remaining strings of candied haws and share them with your mother, your sister, your sister-in-law, and your nephew. Yushui, you can play with your brother Youli and sister Xiangyun. Big brother wants to talk to the master about something."

"Okay, Brother Zhuzi, I'll go distribute them to my mother and the others." Wu Youli took the four strings of candied haws from He Yuzhu and ran home. Wu Xiangyun and He Yushui followed him in.

He Yuzhu then walked into the yard and saw his master Wu Baotian lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, basking in the sun in the yard. He Yuzhu walked up to his master with a heavy face.

"Master, something happened in my family. I'm afraid I won't be able to go to Fengze Garden to learn cooking from you anymore."

Upon hearing this, Wu Baotian immediately sat up from the recliner.

"What's wrong? What happened at home?"

"Please read this letter first. Also, please do not tell anyone after reading it. I told my sister Yu Shui that my father was out of town on business. I did not tell her the truth."

He Yuzhu took out the letter left by He Daqing from his pocket and handed it to his master Wu Baotian.

Wu Baotian took the letter and was so angry that his face changed after reading it.

"Your father is such a jerk. I can understand that he wants to get married. It's not easy for him to be a widower for so many years. But why did he have to run to Baoding with a widow and abandon you two siblings? You are grown up, but your sister is only 6 years old, so she is still young."

He Yuzhu listened silently to his master's complaints about his father, and silently said in his heart: "I'm sorry, master, please forgive me for not being able to tell you the truth."

"So what are you going to do when you come?"

"After my father ran off with the widow, my sister couldn't be left unattended. The shift at Fengze Garden ends too late at night, so I can't stay here to continue being your apprentice. Master, please allow me to finish my apprenticeship early. I know that according to the apprenticeship rules, I have to follow you for at least 9 years, but my family's situation doesn't allow it, so I can only apologize to you. I plan to go to the steel mill where my father works tomorrow to see if the boss can let me take over my father's job."

Wu Baotian listened to He Yuzhu's words, and after a moment's silence, he said, "It's a new society now, and the old rules need to be changed. Don't worry about those old rules, such as saying that you have to serve your master for three years after you become an apprentice."

"You really can't stay in Fengze Garden if you want to take care of your sister. If you can work in the factory cafeteria, it will be more convenient for you to take care of your sister. It's a pity that you have such a good talent. If you continue to stay in Fengze Garden, you will become a world-famous Shandong cuisine master sooner or later. These days I heard that the Workers and Peasants' Party will send a union representative to Fengze Garden. I originally wanted to wait for the representative to come and talk to him about letting you be the chef of the second kitchen. It seems that you are no longer needed. Plans can't keep up with changes. Your father is really... Alas!"

"Zhu Zi, wait here for a moment. I'm going to go in and talk to your master's wife about something." After saying that, Wu Baotian got up and went back into the house.

After a while, He Yuzhu heard Wu Baotian calling him to come in. After He Yuzhu walked into the main room, he saw the master's wife holding a wad of money in her hand. He Yuzhu looked at the master with a confused look on his face.

"Take the money in your master's wife's hand. Your father didn't leave you much money when he passed away. You and your sister don't have any way to make a living at the moment, so you should use this little money first. This money is the wages you and I have earned in Fengze Garden over the years. Your master's wife has been saving it for you. I originally wanted to give it to you when you graduated and got married, but now that you are in trouble, I can only give it to you first."

"Master, I can't take this money. Although my father didn't leave a lot of money for me and my sister, if we spend it frugally, it's enough for more than half a year. I will definitely find a job in the next six months. This money should be given to you as a filial piety. You have already helped me a lot by agreeing to let me finish my apprenticeship early. I have been eating and living in your house for so long for free. If I take this money, I really can't hold my head up in Beijing anymore."

So after arguing with his master's wife for a long time, He Yuzhu finally accepted the 200 million yuan. It was just considered as a loan from his master. When He Yuzhu started working and earned money, he would return it to his master.

"Master and Madam, you two go ahead and do your work. I'll go to my room and pack my things." He Yuzhu returned to his room and packed his clothes. Although he said he was packing clothes, he didn't have many clothes. After all, it's not easy to live these days, so he didn't have that many clothes.

He Yuzhu finished packing in a short while. He Yuzhu wrapped the packed clothes in a bed sheet into a package, carried the package out of the house, and saw his master and his family waiting for him in the yard. He Yuzhu bowed to his master and his mistress.

"Master, Master's Wife, Senior Brother, Sister-in-law, and Big Sister, thank you for your care over the years. Please take care of yourself in the future. I will come to see you when I have time. When Big Sister gets married, remember to let me know so that I can give you a big red envelope."

When He Yuzhu was packing his clothes, except for a few children running around and playing, all the adults in the family knew that He Yuzhu's father had eloped with the widow, and they all gathered in the yard waiting for He Yuzhu.

"Zhu Zi, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, remember to come back and tell your master. Don't try to be brave on your own. If you can't get into the canteen of the steel mill, remember to come back and find me. I will ask someone to help you find a job."

"When you have nothing to do, come back and visit me more often. Then we can compete to see who is the better cook."

"Okay, I'll remember that, Master. Brother, you really need to work harder. If you continue like this, I'm sure I'll surpass you."

He Yuzhu tried his best to appear relaxed so that his master's family would not worry about him. The whole family escorted He Yuzhu out of the courtyard. When they reached the gate, He Yuzhu stopped He Yushui who was playing with the Wu brothers and sisters.

"Yushui, we are going home now. Come play with your brother and sister next time."

When He Yushui heard what He Yuzhu said, he immediately ran to He Yuzhu's side. Wu Youli and Wu Xiangyun saw He Yuzhu carrying a package and his family standing at the gate of the yard, so they also ran over.

"Brother Zhuzi, why are you carrying this bag? Aren't you going to live in my house anymore?"

"Well, you are polite. I, your brother Zhuzi, have graduated today. I can start my own business in the future. I will not live in your house anymore. I will go back to live in my own home."

"Brother Zhuzi, you are amazing. You have become a master so quickly. If I miss you in the future, can I come to your house to play with you?"

"Sure, Brother Zhuzi, I'll make you something delicious and treat you to a feast."

"I want to go too. I also want to go to Brother Zhuzi's house for a big meal." Wu Xiangyun said hurriedly when she heard it.

A group of people laughed at Wu Xiangyun's innocent words.

"Okay, Xiangyun will go too. Say goodbye to Yushui, uncle, aunt, brothers and sisters. We are going home. Master and mistress, I will be leaving now. Please stay and don't see me off."

He Yu Shui greeted and said goodbye to a few people obediently. He Yuzhu held Yu Shui in one hand and carried a bag in the other hand and walked towards his home in Nanluoguxiang.

Just when He Yuzhu went to Wu Baotian's house, Yi Zhonghai came to the door of Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard after lunch.

"Old Liu, are you home?"

"Old Yi, I'm at home, come in."

Yi Zhonghai pushed the door open and entered Liu Haizhong's home. Liu Haizhong asked Yi Zhonghai to sit down. "What's wrong, Lao Yi? What's the matter with you coming to my house?"

"I came here to tell you something. Before lunch today, He Yuzhu from the Central Court came to my house and told me that his father, He Daqing, had fled to Baoding with a widow and abandoned his two children in Sijiucheng."

"What do you mean He Daqing ran away with a widow? Is it He Daqing, the manager of your Intermediate Court?" Liu Haizhong stood up immediately after hearing this and asked anxiously.

"Yes, I am He Daqing, the manager of our courtyard. I came to you to discuss with you what to do."

"What should we do? An old man in our yard ran away with a widow. Such a big thing must be reported to Director Wang, the leader of the street office, immediately. Without an old man in charge, what if something goes wrong in the tasks assigned to us by the leaders? We have to ask the leaders to arrange a new old man." After the official-obsessed Liu Haizhong confirmed that it was the old man He Daqing who ran away, the first thing he thought of was to report it to Director Wang as soon as possible, so that he, the third old man, might have a chance to become the first old man. At worst, Yi Zhonghai would be the first old man and he would be the second old man.

"I thought so too. Why don't we go to the Street Office and report this to Director Wang right now?"

"Okay, let's go now." When Liu Haizhong thought that he might become the top leader in the courtyard, he wished he could grow two wings so that he could fly to Director Wang of the Street Office immediately.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong hurried to the subdistrict office and learned from the doorman, Uncle Qin, that Director Wang was on duty in the office without taking a break. The two of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that their trip was not in vain.

The two people came to Director Wang's office. Director Wang saw them coming and said, "I was just about to talk to you two about something, but I didn't expect you to be here first. What do you two want to talk to me about?"

"Director Wang, you speak first, and we'll talk after you finish." Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong looked at each other and said.

"It's nothing serious. He Daqing, who lives in your No. 95 courtyard, came to me this morning and said that he had found a widow from Baoding and decided to go to Baoding with his wife. He came to me to resign from the position of steward. What I am going to talk to you about is related to this matter. I plan to elect a steward in your courtyard again. I remember that one of you lives in the middle courtyard and the other lives in the back courtyard. This time I plan to choose a steward from the front courtyard. This way, one steward for each courtyard seems fair. You go back and notify the residents in the courtyard, and I will go over to announce it in the evening. By the way, what do you two want from me?"

"Nothing. We came here to report to you that He Daqing and the widow went to Baoding. I didn't expect that he had already told you. Then Lao Liu and I will leave first and not delay your work, Director Wang."

After Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong left Director Wang's office, Liu Haizhong asked Yi Zhonghai on their way back: "Old Yi, who do you think Director Wang will choose to be the manager of the front yard?"

"The residents of the front yard are quite mixed. Only Yan Bugui has a higher level of education. The others are mostly illiterate. I feel that Director Wang will most likely choose him to be the head of the front yard."

"Then how should the three of us line up? Now that He Daqing is gone, who will be the boss?"

"I guess Director Wang will let Yan Bugui be the third uncle. Let's both take a step forward. I will take over from He Daqing as the first uncle, and you will take over from me as the second uncle."

When Liu Haizhong heard Yi Zhonghai say that he would become a great uncle, he was not very happy at first, but he did not show it on his face. Instead, he happily congratulated Yi Zhonghai. "Then I would like to congratulate you, Old Yi, on becoming a great uncle."