Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

He Daqing's steamed bun business ended just as it began, and He Yuzhu began to follow He Daqing to the steel mill every day to learn Tan's and Sichuan cuisine. In this way, the steel mill began to close on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month at the end of the year.

Although He Yuzhu's soul has become Yang Chenggang in later generations, perhaps under the influence of He Yuzhu's soul and the New Year atmosphere, he has become no different from other children and likes the New Year atmosphere.

After the holiday, He Yuzhu took He Yushui out to run and play all day long. He Yuzhu would play with He Yushui whenever he had nothing to do, which made He Yushui like him as her brother more and more.

On New Year's Eve, He Daqing cooked five dishes at home and asked He Yuzhu to cook one as well. When the dishes were served, there was a plate of fish with fermented soybean paste, a plate of fried chicken, a plate of fried eggs, a plate of braised beef, a plate of mapo tofu, and two bowls of dumplings. The mapo tofu was made by He Yuzhu, and He Yushui was already happily sitting on a stool in front of the table, ready to wait for the meal to start.

"Zhu Zi, go set off the firecrackers and prepare for dinner."

He Yuzhu ran to the yard excitedly, placed a one-meter-long string of firecrackers on the ground, carefully lit them with incense, and then immediately ran home. Listening to the crackling sounds outside, the family ate happily.

The next day, He Yuzhu got up early in the morning, wearing a new coat, and followed his father to burn paper and kowtow to the ancestors. Then He Daqing burned incense to Yi Ya, the ancestor of chefs. Then the family started to eat breakfast, and He Daqing gave each of He Yuzhu and He Yushui a red envelope.

"Zhuzi, take this New Year's money for you. I'll take you and your sister to visit the Changdian Temple Fair."

He Yuzhu was also very happy when he heard this. After all, the New Year in the future didn't have much flavor. Living conditions were better and they ate the same food every day. However, he heard that the temple fair in Beiping was very famous. In his previous life, he was just an ordinary worker and had never had the opportunity to see it. This time, he became a native of Beiping and he must go and see it.

He Daqing carried He Yushui on his back, and He Yuzhu followed behind. The family of three walked towards Hepingmen. After walking for about an hour, they finally arrived. He Daqing carried He Yushui on his shoulders, and He Yushui sat on He Daqing's shoulders and shouted excitedly. The Changdian Temple Fair was crowded with people. When passing by a vendor carrying candied haws, He Daqing bought a string of candied haws for each of He Yuzhu and He Yushui. Kites and windmills of different styles on both sides of the road dazzled He Yuzhu. The craftsmen of this era were really ingenious. When passing by the traditional specialties of Changdian, the air was filled with tempting aromas. Skilled craftsmen from the south and north also set up rings on the two streets, one horizontal and one vertical, to show their skills. There was a wonderful lion dance performance, and the lions performed various difficult movements to the rhythm of the drums. Various eye-catching acrobatic performances: fire-breathing, stilt walking, balancing bowls on a unicycle in Sichuan Opera... The wonderful performances of the artists drew bursts of loud cheers and applause from the audience.

He Yuzhu was so excited that he clapped his hands. He also gave the New Year's money given by He Daqing to the artist who spit fire. At noon, He Daqing took He Yuzhu and He Yushui to eat donkey meat hot bread on the street.

In the afternoon, He Daqing returned home with the brother and sister who were still unsatisfied. He Yuzhu was still thinking about the acrobatic performance he saw on the street.

After breakfast on the second day of the Chinese New Year, He Daqing took He Yuzhu to visit his senior brother Wu Baotian at his home. He Daqing walked in front holding He Yushui, and He Yuzhu followed behind with a gift. The gift was the Beijing Eight Pieces and a piece of top-quality pork belly, about 3 pounds.

Wu Baotian lived in Muzhu Hutong. When he walked to the door of a house, he saw two children playing at the door. The boy looked 8-9 years old and the girl was 5-6 years old. He Daqing smiled at the boy and said, "Ergou is playing here with your sister Erni. Is your dad home?"

"Uncle He, you're here. My dad is at home. He said you would come today, so he's waiting for you at home."

The boy ran into the yard, apparently going home to inform his parents. The little girl glanced at He Daqing and followed him in.

He Daqing followed him into the yard and said to He Yuzhu as he walked, "Wu Baotian, the one you will be apprenticing to, has five children in his family, three boys and two girls. The two you just saw are the fourth and fifth children. When you meet people, don't stand there like a wooden stick and keep silent. Remember that?"

He Yuzhu nodded to indicate that he would remember. As soon as He Daqing entered the yard, Wu Baotian came to greet him with his whole family.

"Brother, sister-in-law, Happy New Year! I wish you a happy new year!"

Wu Baotian warmly welcomed He Daqing into the house. He Yuzhu followed He Daqing into the house. Wu Baotian looked to be in his forties.

Wu Baotian asked He Daqing to sit down. He Daqing put He Yushui on the ground and sat on the chair. He Yuzhu then stood beside He Daqing.

"Er Ni, come and take your sister Yu Shui out to play."

He Yushui glanced at He Daqing, and seeing that He Daqing agreed, she followed Erni out to play. He Daqing and Wu Baotian began to exchange pleasantries.

He Yuzhu stood aside and listened to the conversation between the two. After a while, Wu Baotian's wife came up with two cups of tea and went out again. He Yuzhu looked at the yard outside the house through the glass on the window. Wu Baotian's family lived in a traditional courtyard with one entrance. The whole yard belonged to his family. When He Yuzhu entered the yard, he looked at the layout of the house. There were three main rooms with two side rooms on the north side of the yard, two sets of east and west wing rooms on both sides, and a back house on the south side. The main door was opened in the southeast corner. He Yuzhu guessed that Wu Baotian's family conditions should be relatively well-off. After all, Fengzeyuan is the eighth largest building in Beijing, and the treatment of being a chef there should not be too bad. If it was really bad, the whole family would not live in such a big house.

After He Daqing and Wu Baotian exchanged pleasantries for a while, he pointed at He Yuzhu and said, "Brother, this is my son. His full name is Yuzhu. I usually call him Zhuzi. I brought him here today just to show you. What do you think?"

Wu Baotian looked He Yuzhu up and down and felt that he was very sturdy and a good candidate for carrying a big spoon, so he nodded and said, "Daqing, we have been friends for so many years. We have talked about this before. If you bring Zhuzi here today, I will accept him as my apprentice. But you are not an outsider. Today I will tell you about Fengze Garden. You have heard about the uproar last year. Since the surrender of the Japanese, I thought I could live a stable life. Who would have thought that the situation would get worse and worse, and money would be more and more scarce. So the chef of Fengze Garden found Luan Xuexuetang and asked for a salary increase. Luan Xuetang was unwilling to give him a high salary. The chefs wanted to raise their wages so much. So Xu Yonghai, the former head chef of Fengzeyuan, suddenly rebelled with the chefs and rebelled against Luan Xuetang, causing Fengzeyuan to close for almost half a year. In the end, Luan Xuetang lost the lawsuit. The incident was so serious that after the lawsuit, the old chefs in the store could not continue to work and left. Only Zheng Fuxiang was left. A restaurant cannot be separated from chefs. After all the chefs left, Luan Xuetang had no choice but to invite me to Fengzeyuan. But I think Luan Xuetang is too strong and will cause trouble sooner or later. It’s okay for Zhuzi to follow me as an apprentice. I can make the decision on this matter, but I guess I will have to make new plans after he finishes his apprenticeship.”

"It's too early to talk about becoming a disciple now. As long as you are willing to accept Zhuzi as your apprentice, it will be his blessing. Before leaving today, I checked the almanac and it is a good day to become a disciple. I have prepared everything with me. How about you officially accept Zhuzi as your apprentice today?"

Wu Baotian nodded, "Okay, since you are ready, I will accept the pillar today. You sit here and wait for a while. I will ask your sister-in-law to prepare the things."

Wu Baotian walked out of the room, and after a while Wu Baotian and his wife Liu E came in, and after a while Wu Baotian's children came in, and Wu Baotian's eldest daughter brought a teapot and cups. Wu Baotian sat on the left in the main hall, and Liu E sat on the right.

He Yuzhu took the apprenticeship letter and walked to Wu Baotian, performed the three kneeling and nine kowtows ceremony, and then presented the apprenticeship letter with both hands. After Wu Baotian received the apprenticeship letter, he said, "Today, I am willing to become your disciple. In the future, I will follow your teachings and practice my cooking skills." Wu Baotian's eldest daughter walked to He Yuzhu with a tea tray. He Yuzhu took a cup of tea from the tea tray and handed it to Wu Baotian, "Master, please have some tea." Wu Baotian took the teacup, took a sip, and put the cup on the table. He Yuzhu took the second cup of tea and handed it to Wu Baotian's wife Liu E, "Master's wife, please have some tea." Liu E took the cup, took a sip, and also put the cup on the table.

He Yuzhu presented the red envelope and the gift to Wu Baotian. After Wu Baotian received it, he handed the gift to Liu E and said, "When you learn cooking from me in the future, you must not be greedy or cunning. You must study hard and endure hardships." Then Wu Baotian stood up and walked to the sculpture of Yi Ya in the main hall and lit three incense sticks. "Master, I am your disciple Wu Baotian. Today I accept He Yuzhu as my apprentice. I hereby report to you, Master."

After paying respect to his teacher, Wu Baotian invited He Daqing and his family to have lunch together. At the table, Wu Baotian introduced the children in his family to He Yuzhu. The eldest son Wu Youren is 20 years old, the eldest daughter Wu Xiangxiu is 16 years old, the second son Wu Youyi is 14 years old, the third son Wu Youli is 9 years old, and the youngest daughter is Wu Xiangyun, who is 6 years old this year. Wu Youren has been learning cooking from Wu Baotian since he was a child, and has been in the kitchen for more than a year. Wu Youren married his wife last year, and his wife is called Zhang Xiaoqiao. There are no children yet. The two of them live in the east wing. Wu Xiangxiu and her sister live with her parents in the west room of the main house. Wu Youyi and his brother Youli live in the west wing. When Fengzeyuan opens on the sixth day of the first lunar month, He Yuzhu will live in Wu Youtian's house and live with Wu Youyi and his brother. Wu Youyi and Wu Youli are in junior high school and elementary school respectively. However, Wu Youyi usually lives in school, that is, he only goes home during holidays. Wu Youli is very happy, after all, there will be someone to talk to him at night in the future.

After dinner, He Daqing got up and said goodbye, and took He Yuzhu and He Yushui back home.