Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

On the way home from get off work, the three pregnant women, Yu Shui, Qin Huairu and Qin Yuru, were surrounded by the crowd, fearing that they would be bumped into.

"Jingru, how are you? Are you adapting to work?" He Lai asked.

"Well, it's okay. The master is very nice to me." Qin Jingru replied happily.

He Lai still took good care of Qin Jingru. He didn't let her go to the plastic lighters, but instead sent her to the quality inspection department of metal lighters.

After all, the pace of plastic lighters is faster, while metal lighters pay more attention to quality and require more detailed inspection. In fact, this is also a disguised way of making it easier.

"Well, remember to put a cloth on your thumb so that you won't hurt your hand when you light a fire." He Lai reminded.

"Yes, the master has said it all. Thank you, Brother Lai." Qin Jingru said with a smile.

"Okay, and remember to go to the fifth cafeteria for meals. The chef there is called Nan Yi, and I know him. Although he is a little bit inferior to our Brother Zhuzi, he is still very good. If you mention my name, he will definitely take care of you."

He Lai reminded again.

"Brother Lai, I've already said it, I just need to take good care of Sister Yushui." Chun'er interrupted.

"Ah...oh, I forgot! Yes, yes, you are there too."

He Lai slapped his forehead, feeling embarrassed, so embarrassed.

"Xiao Laizi, who is Nan Yi? Is he a good cook?"

Sha Zhu asked curiously.

"Well, he learned to cook imperial court cuisine. Although his master is retired, he is still quite good. I think his surname is Yuan. He is a palace chef. He should know Master Liao from Fengze Garden. Nan Yi is his last disciple."

He Lai introduced.

"Master Yuan, I've heard of him but never met him. He's an old senior." Sha Zhu nodded and said.

Sha Zhu's cooking skills in this life are much better than in the original drama. At least now he is definitely better than Nan Yi. After all, He Lai has tasted their cooking skills.

He Lai feels that if it were in the original drama, Sha Zhu's level would still be far inferior to Nan Yi's. After all, Sha Zhu only relies on secret seasoning recipes, while Nan Yi relies on real craftsmanship.

This was particularly evident in the later period in Yan Jiecheng's restaurant. Sha Zhu was able to conquer the diners simply by adding seasonings and letting the fat man cook the dishes.

That means if Fatty masters the seasoning, his cooking skills will be able to catch up with Sha Zhu, which is very telling.

The dishes cooked by Nan Yi are very popular among people from different groups. Even a plate of Nan Yi's boiled rice noodles can make the leaders praise it. It can be imagined that there is still a gap.

"I'll challenge him to a fight if I get a chance," said Sha Zhu.

"Haha, Brother Zhuzi, are you stupid? If you have that much time, why don't you go to Fengze Garden to find Master and the others? Why bother to spar with Nan Yi? What a waste of time."

He Lai teased.

"Ah... Isn't that why the master is so busy? If I go, I will have to stay for the whole day without any rest."

Sha Zhu explained.

Sha Zhu is very smart! When he knew that they were going to Fengze Garden, Master Hu would definitely let him cook all the dishes, because Sha Zhu was one of the best among their apprentices.

He would be exhausted by then, so he no longer goes to Fengze Garden on weekends. If he goes, he would go after get off work, so he only needs to stay for one night, which is only a few hours.

"Brother Zhuzi, aren't you afraid that I will tell Master?"

He Lai said.

"Xiao Laizi, I'll make you some boiled beef when we get home! It's delicious!"

"Well, thank you, Brother Zhuzi!"

"polite!"

The two of them smiled knowingly, and everything was said without words.

Everyone laughed immediately, but He Lai didn't feel embarrassed at all. After all, nothing was more important than eating delicious food.

……

That day, Mr. Zhou invited many people to his farewell banquet. Without exception, they were all leaders at the ministerial level or above in the city, and many of them were people He Lai had never met before.

Old Master Zhou took He Lai aside and talked to each of them for a while. Without exception, he said nice things to each of them and wanted to ask them to help take care of He Lai in the future.

He Lai was very moved when he saw Mr. Zhou talking to them.

Because He Lai knew that Mr. Zhou never liked hypocrisy, but in order for He Lai to gain a foothold in Sijiu City in the future, he still did things he was unwilling to do.

Rather than being a farewell party, this banquet was more like one carefully prepared for He Lai, with the purpose of introducing He Lai to them.

He Lai did not refuse. He could not let Mr. Zhou down. The Cultural Revolution was about to begin, and even if he could only make friends with three or four of the big guys among them, it would be good for him.

After the banquet was over, He Lai helped the already drunken Mr. Zhou to see the big guys off at the gate of the courtyard. There were many people among them who admired him very much, such as Li Huaide's father-in-law, Minister Gong of the Machinery Department.

"Xiao Laizi, this old Gong is not a decent person. You should be careful when you come into contact with him, understand?"

Mr. Zhou looked at Minister Gong who was the last to leave and spoke slowly.

"Grandpa Zhou, in your eyes, am I just a newbie?" He Lai said speechlessly.

He Lai knew very well what kind of person Li Huaide's father-in-law was. After all, those who could survive during the Cultural Revolution were all shrewd people. Moreover, after the Cultural Revolution, he was able to help Li Huaide retire safely from that position and was only transferred to another factory. It can be seen that this man's ability in officialdom was extraordinary.

"What Xiaobai! I'm still Xiaohei! As soon as the outsiders leave, you dare to go against your Grandpa Zhou!"

Old Master Zhou glared at He Lai, hit him and said.

“Uh…” He Lai was stunned, forgetting that Xiaobai was a word from later generations. It was normal that Mr. Zhou didn’t understand.

"I was wrong, Grandpa Zhou, I will definitely pay attention." He Lai said with his head down.

"You little rascal, this time the old man has thrown his face on them, you have to fight for it." Grandpa Zhou said with emotion.

"Grandpa Zhou, I'm quite capable." He Lai muttered.

"I want you to be proud, I want you to be proud. Hiding in the office and sleeping every day, that's what you want to be proud of, right?"

After Mr. Zhou finished speaking, he started to teach He Lai a lesson. He didn't even bother to raise his hands and just kicked him directly.

"Oh, Grandpa Zhou, you really hit me hard. A good man doesn't fight with an old man. I've always let you go. Oh... Grandpa Zhou, where are you kicking?"

He Lai was kicked on the buttocks by Grandpa Zhou, and his penis was almost touched. He stopped playing with Grandpa Zhou and ran into the house to seek shelter from Grandma Zhou.

"You little brat, you're quite strong. My feet are hurting from your kick."

Old Master Zhou smiled, rubbed his legs, and went to the vegetable garden to check on the vegetables.

Inside the house, Yu Shui was talking to Old Lady Zhou. Old Lady Zhou touched Yu Shui's belly, her eyes full of affection.

The biggest regret in her life was that she could not give birth to a child of her own. The long years of war and hardship had worn down her body and she lost the chance to be a mother.

When Old Lady Zhou saw He Lai coming in, she quickly called out, "Little Lai, come and sit down."

"Thank you, Grandma Zhou." He Lai sat next to Yu Shui and held her hand.

"Have you delivered all of them? Where is your Grandpa Zhou?" asked Old Mrs. Zhou.

"Grandma Zhou, Grandpa Zhou is not a good person. He beat me as soon as the guests left. He kicked me on the butt several times. Look, there are footprints on my butt."

As He said this, he raised his buttocks to show Old Lady Zhou.

"Haha... kid, sit down quickly. Who made you upset? Let me tell you, in the past, your Grandpa Zhou was famous for beating people. If anyone under his command dared to disobey, make a mistake, or not follow his orders, he would beat them first and then teach them a lesson."

Old Mrs. Zhou said with a smile.

"Grandma Zhou, Grandpa Zhou must have been scolded by the higher-ups a lot."

He Lai had seen "Drawing Sword", and Li Yunlong was scolded like a dog by the brigade commander.

"Haha, that's not true. Your Grandpa Zhou only got the rank of major general because he loved to beat and scold people, which was the same level as several of his former subordinates. He was so angry that he took off his military uniform and never mentioned the matter again after he came back."

Mrs. Zhou recalled, and then added, "Don't mention this to him, or he will be unhappy."

"Grandma Zhou, don't worry, I definitely won't mention it." He Lai said solemnly. After all, every anti-Japanese war general deserves He Lai's respect, and he doesn't want to mention such things.

"Alas, I was originally planning to wait until Yushui gave birth before leaving, but the old man said that we can't occupy someone else's house forever, so we can only see each other later."

Old Mrs. Zhou held Yu Shui's other hand and sighed.

"Grandma Zhou, look at what you said. When the child is over one year old, I will take her to the south to pay my respects to you and recognize you as my great-grandmother."

He Lai said.

"Okay, okay, then grandma will wait, grandma will wait." When Grandma Zhou heard what He Lai said, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.