Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Has Tian Zao arrived yet?

"No, not at all." The old man still didn't look up.

Helpless, He Yuzhu sat on the steps not far from the gate and waited.

After a while, Tian Zao was seen carrying a cloth bag embroidered with a five-pointed star as she came to work.

He Yuzhu got up, patted the dirt off his bottom, and went to greet her: "Sister Tianzao, good morning!"

"Good morning, is something the matter?" Tian Zao asked.

He Yuzhu nodded: "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Alright, come in with me."

The neighborhood committee has not yet been established, but as an active member of the street community, Tian Zao still has an office here.

After the two came in, Tian Zao asked He Yuzhu to sit down, then went out to fetch a pot of boiling water and made tea for him.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tian Zao said, "I was just about to ask you about something, but I didn't expect you to contact me first. So, what's up?"

He Yuzhu had already prepared a reason in the morning and felt that his story was sound before he spoke: "Sister Tianzao, I have discovered an enemy agent."

"An enemy agent?" Tian Zao looked He Yuzhu up and down, somewhat disbelieving.

When entering the capital, it was easy to catch enemy agents. At that time, it was difficult for enemy agents who committed many evils to hide. The eyes of the masses were sharp, and it was easy to find the bad guys.

It has been two years since liberation, and most of the bad guys who showed their faces have already been caught.

The overt elimination has been completely eradicated, leaving only some hidden and lurking personnel.

That's why they thought of organizing elections among the elderly people in the courtyard to mobilize the masses and identify the hidden enemy agents.

The three elected elders simply investigated and reported Qian Datong's background, and then they never found another bad guy.

Unexpectedly, He Yuzhu came over today saying that he had discovered hidden enemy agents.

He Yuzhu said, "It's inside our restaurant, not in a courtyard house."

"Oh. Then tell me quickly."

Tian Zao perked up immediately. Most of the residents in the courtyard at No. 95 were ordinary people. Only Da Qian Datong was a former street thug who ran errands for some wealthy and powerful people and acted as their henchman. He was a thug, but not a real enemy agent.

"I discovered it while I was taking a nap."

Although He Yuzhu knew that Zhang Yong's house contained guns, a codebook, and gold bars, he couldn't say it directly, because that would expose his supernatural abilities.

After thinking for a long time, He Yuzhu finally came up with a solution.

"He and I are both chopping boards, you know what a chopping board is, right?"

"How could I not know this? There's a guy in our compound named Uncle Gui. Before Liberation, he was a chef in a big restaurant. Tell me about the bad guy."

“We would take a nap after we got tired at noon, and I heard him saying some strange things, like reciting some code words, something about making contact, and he also mentioned a name called Han Qingkui.”

"Han Qingkui?"

Tian Zao's expression changed instantly. Her parents had died at the hands of Han Qingkui. Although the villain had been caught and executed, she was still somewhat angry at the mention of his name.

"Yes, that's the name."

He Yuzhu took a sip of tea and then said, "It's strange that he would use coded language in his dream, so I came to you. You can send someone to investigate whether he is an enemy agent."

When He Yuzhu first met Tian Zao, he didn't notice anything unusual. But later, he felt that the name was somewhat familiar. When he met Director Li Changying again, he suddenly realized that this was the protagonist of a period drama called "Hutong".

Tian Zao's parents died at the hands of Han Qingkui, so in order to make Tian Zao believe his words and be determined to thoroughly investigate Zhang Yong, He Yuzhu told a lie here.

Even if Zhang Yong is caught and interrogated afterward and told he doesn't know Han Qingkui, it would be easy for Tian Zao to explain to him that he misheard.

This is a small matter; at least Zhang Yong has a password book at home, which is enough.

This would allow us to determine that Zhang Yong was an enemy agent, and that we had made a meritorious report, so there shouldn't be any problem with mishearing a name.

Otherwise, you can't exactly say that you found a codebook in their house, because that would be hard to explain how you found it, or why you went into their house and pried up the floor tiles for no reason.

If we can get Tian Zao's attention right now and send someone to investigate, any experienced person should be able to find the hidden compartment under the movable floor tiles and locate the diary.

If we can find him, we can convict Zhang Yong. Wouldn't that be more satisfying than beating him up myself?

I never imagined that Zhang Yong was actually an enemy spy hiding among the people. It won't be long before we never see this villain again.

Tian Zao's smiling face turned serious as she asked, "Who else knows about this? Has he ever suspected you?"

"No, no, I didn't tell anyone. He was asleep. I overheard a few words, but absolutely nothing. No one else would suspect me if they knew."

He Yuzhu then revealed Zhang Yong's home address, saying that he had a wife and no one else lived there, and also mentioned his relationship with Zhang Zusheng.

"That's good. Thank you for providing such a valuable clue. We will send someone to verify and investigate as soon as possible."

He Yuzhu said, "It's what I should do, don't mention it."

After thinking for a moment, Tian Zao instructed, "Then you should observe carefully for the next period of time, but don't do anything excessive that might attract their attention, and don't alarm them."

He Yuzhu had indeed considered putting a sack over Zhang Yong's neck and beating him up, but now that he knew the other party was an enemy agent, he had to abandon the idea and dare not pursue it.

“I understand, I won’t let them realize that I have a problem.”

"Then you go to work first, and I'll contact you if anything comes up."

"Okay, then I'll go back first."

Stepping out of the management committee's courtyard, He Yuzhu relaxed. He had been terrified after discovering the codebook yesterday, never expecting that enemy agents were so close.

Telling Tian Zao about this was like sharing the burden; since I was too weak to solve such a big problem myself, I could only leave it to someone more capable.

Tian Zao's partner, Tie Dan, is a wrestling expert and a police officer. By handing the matter over to them through Tian Zao, He Yuzhu will be out of the picture.

With my mind at ease, my steps felt lighter, and my mood improved considerably.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we first brewed tea for our master and senior brother. A short while later, they arrived together at the appointed time.

Ye Xiangqun's home is not far from his master's courtyard house. The two of them go to work together every day, and he can hitch a ride on his master's bicycle.

After arriving, he pulled He Yuzhu aside and asked, "The chef said that the dishes you cooked yesterday were better than many professional chefs?"

At that time, there was no hierarchical system for professional positions. Restaurants were simply divided into three levels: head chef, second chef, and third chef. It was difficult to say that a chef's skills were superior; comparisons between chefs were the only way to determine their abilities.

"It was my master praising me," He Yuzhu said shyly.

Ye Xiangqun said, "Are you trying to fool me? You're cooking lunch."

No matter how impressive someone's claims are, you'll know once you try it out.

The restaurant staff usually eat lunch in advance, around 10 a.m. The three of them, master and apprentice, usually cook one dish. Of course, the master, Hong Henian, doesn't cook it himself; Ye Xiangqun usually does it.

The restaurant provides meals, but we can't waste food; they only cook as much as the three of us can eat.

He Yuzhu wanted to be modest, but Hong Henian said, "That's right, from now on, Zhuzi will cook lunch."

"Yes, Master."

He Yuzhu eats the dishes cooked by Ye Xiangqun from the second stove every day. He used to think the taste was okay, but after he leveled up to level five, the dishes he cooks taste even better than Ye Xiangqun's.

He really didn't want to discourage Ye Xiangqun, but since Hong Henian had spoken, He Yuzhu naturally had to comply.

When they finished working around 10 o'clock, Hong Henian called He Yuzhu to the stove and said, "Come and stir-fry some celery and shredded pork."

"Okay Master."

He Yuzhu's smooth and skillful operation left everyone stunned. They had previously thought that He Yuzhu was only good at preparing cold dishes, but they did not expect that in just a few days, judging from his cooking skills, he was like a veteran.

A large plate of stir-fried celery and shredded pork was served, and Ye Xiangqun, disregarding etiquette, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

"Zhu Zi, your stir-fry tastes better than mine."

Chapter 63 Praise

After the initial surprise, Ye Xiangqun's face was filled with bitterness.

He Yuzhu's basic skills are already quite high. He hasn't even formally learned to cook from a master yet, and his cooking is already better than mine, who is just a second-hand cook.

With his skills, he could be the head chef at any restaurant or tavern, except for a few top restaurants in the capital.

He Yuzhu just smiled sheepishly; there was no point in saying anything more at this moment.

Hong Henian said, "Zhu Zi, although your skills have improved, you still need to learn and practice more. You know that we don't have any chefs in the kitchen right now."

Although Taifenglou has a total of 5 stoves, each of the 5 master chefs is currently assigned a second chef. Even though He Yuzhu has excellent Sichuan cuisine skills, Taifenglou no longer needs him.

These ten people are sufficient to meet the current requirements.

Besides, the only people who can cook Sichuan cuisine are one's own master and senior apprentice. You can't just take over and push your senior apprentice out of the top position.

He Yuzhu nodded: "I understand, I'm quite good at making cold dishes now."

The weather is getting hot soon. The hottest days of summer are the most uncomfortable time to sit by the stove and cook.

As soon as I start cooking, I'm drenched in sweat. There's only one oscillating fan in the kitchen, which only makes things a little better.

Although there are ice vendors in the capital to cool you down, the kitchen is just too hot, and even two large blocks of ice are no use.

He Yuzhu wanted to stay here because he had a lot of experience in making cold dishes, and he could also get through the hot summer and then switch to the stove to practice stir-frying in the fall.

This way you can escape the sweltering summer.

Seeing that He Yuzhu was neither arrogant nor impatient, Hong Henian nodded secretly. He had thought that He Yuzhu, who was only 16 years old, would be young and ambitious and want to make a name for himself. But it seemed that He Yuzhu, at 16, already looked like an adult and had a mature demeanor.