Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

After the incident, the tunnel was blocked in the middle, but it is still possible to go down from this side, as a section of the tunnel remains.

Logically, the staff should have already inspected the tunnel and confirmed that there were no problems before releasing the house for rent.

However, He Yuzhu could sense through his mental power that there was a jar buried half a meter below the tunnel.

Without spiritual perception, it would be impossible to discover that there was a jar hidden half a meter underground.

With a single thought, He Yuzhu made the jar disappear from the soil and enter his spatial dimension. He Yuzhu then instantly threw some broken bricks and tiles into the space.

Then he placed the jar in front of him.

Even though I already knew what was inside, I still felt obliged to see it for myself.

He Yuzhu was overjoyed. He had come to the right place to rent a house and hadn't expected to have such a great find.

I first looked around the exquisite porcelain jar. Although the jar, which was about a foot tall, had been buried in the ground for some time, the glaze was intact and the color was still bright. It was just a pity that the jar was from the Guangxu period and was not worth much at present.

But there's more to come.

Untie the hemp rope, peel off the waterproof kraft paper, and the first thing you see is a pistol and some bright orange bullets.

After He Yuzhu took it out, there were more than ten silver dollars at the bottom, and two large yellow croakers lying at the very bottom.

Although the price of silver dollars is high now, one silver dollar can be exchanged for three yuan.

However, the two large yellow croakers are more valuable.

"Large yellow croaker" is a common name for gold bars. After the Republic of China era, people no longer used gold ingots; instead, they used large yellow croaker and small yellow croaker.

Small yellow croakers are usually weighed in the tael (两), but in this case, one tael is not 50 grams, but 31.25 grams.

The large yellow croaker weighs ten taels, or 312.5 grams, while the current official price of gold is 3.08 yuan per gram.

Based on this calculation, a large yellow croaker is worth 962.5 yuan.

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "What a pity! If I had four and a half large yellow croakers, I could have bought this house."

This enemy agent is so stingy. You could have put in a couple more gold bars, but you only hid two big ones.

He Yuzhu admired the items for a while with some regret, then sent them all into his spatial storage.

That's not bad. My monthly salary is 40 yuan, and that's 50 months, a full four years' worth of income.

Right now, glutinous rice costs 11 cents and polished rice costs 15 cents. If I bought all the grains, it would be enough to feed myself for many years.

However, I definitely can't exchange the gold at the bank, otherwise it would be difficult to explain where it came from. I need to find a place that specializes in exchanging gold and silver.

He Yuzhu clapped his hands, drawing out a thin stream of water from the space, and washed his hands.

Only then did he lock the door and happily go to work.

When I arrived at the kitchen, it was a little later than usual, and the master chef had already arrived.

"Master, I'm late."

"It's alright, let's get ready."

He Yuzhu said, "Master, I have something to tell you. I have found a storefront I like and plan to open a small restaurant on Yandaixie Street."

"Pfft"

Hong Henian was very surprised and spat out a mouthful of hot tea.

Then he asked, "So you're thinking of going solo?"

He Yuzhu had previously mentioned wanting to rent a storefront, but at the time he said he wanted to sell breakfast.

It's important to know that breakfast business only operates during the early morning hours, and the kitchen staff's working hours are from 9 a.m., which doesn't interfere with their work at the restaurant.

If it were a restaurant, it would be different; He Yuzhu would need to personally cook, so he wouldn't have time to come to Taifenglou.

He Yuzhu had just received 2000 yuan in cash and suddenly felt arrogant. It was a pity that those three rooms were only used to sell breakfast. He thought it would be better to open a small restaurant there.

The upstairs area was converted into private booths, while the downstairs area was for dine-in. This kind of small restaurant makes more money than breakfast.

He Yuzhu said, "I just found a house, that's what I'm thinking."

He Yuzhu described the location and structure of the three houses, and finally shared his thoughts.

Hong Henian said, "Which house are you talking about? Wasn't it sealed off before?"

"It has been sealed off, but I contacted Tian Zao and he said the house can be rented."

“But you’re still in the learning stage. Even though you can already be a head chef in a small restaurant, you don’t know how to cook some top-notch dishes, and you haven’t learned how to plate them yet.”

He Yuzhu finally calmed down. He had become wild just from being hit with 2000 yuan. Yes, he still needed to train here for a while longer. After all, he had just accepted a master and was far from being a master.

Or should we continue making breakfast and selling braised meat?

He Yuzhu is currently still in charge of preparing braised meat. Whether it is pork, beef, donkey, mutton, dog meat, or camel meat, the braised meat made by He Yuzhu has received widespread praise.

He Yuzhu was confident that reopening the shop, selling only braised meat, would be enough to make a breakthrough.

If all else fails, we can just upgrade the seasoning level by one grade.

He Yuzhu said, "Then I'll sell breakfast in the morning and then braised food?"

Hong Henian nodded: "You are still young, so there's no rush to make money. Focus on learning a trade."

"Yes, I'll listen to Master."

Having money in hand meant there was no need to panic, and there was also space to store large quantities of grain. Grain control and the issuance of grain coupons would not begin until 1955.

The entire society would not use ration coupons until 59, giving us ample time to collect and store food and supplies before then.

Besides, I'm a cook, so how could I possibly starve myself?

If all else fails, I'll find a job in a large factory during those three years; I can at least feed myself in the kitchen.

Right now, He Yuzhu is focused on learning the techniques. He estimates that in at most six months, he will gain enough experience to upgrade a dish to its highest level.

Hong Henian asked, "Since you have to go to work, who do you plan to hand over the stall to manage?"

He Yuzhu said, "I think Xu Huizhen has almost mastered the art of making braised dishes. I'm planning to poach her to be in charge of the shop. What do you think?"

"It's not bad."

Hong Henian suddenly asked in a low voice, "Hey kid, have you got your eye on that girl?"

He Yuzhu quickly said, "Master, I'm still young. We can talk about things later."

"You!"

Hong Henian thought for a moment and said, "This girl is good. She is well-educated, reasonable, and not spoiled."

The master and apprentice chatted for a while, and then it was time for them to go to work.

He Yuzhu first assigned Xu Huizhen a task, and then asked, "Have you thought about setting up a wine stall? Or opening a small tavern?"

Without a second thought, Xu Huizhen happily replied, "Sure, Brother Zhu, are you going to quit your job? Let's work together!"

Although Xiangcao has not resigned yet, she often complains to Xu Huizhen.

The restaurant paid its waiters and helpers too little, and Xu Huizhen had always wanted to set up a wine stall.

He Yuzhu said, "I rented a storefront and plan to sell steamed buns. I can transfer one of the rooms to you to sell alcohol."

Although He Yuzhu is willing, he is still too young to act at the right time.

Therefore, they do not intend to give the house directly to Xu Huizhen.

He said, "There are two options: either you give me one-third of the rent each month, and you'll have three rooms to live in."

"How much will it cost per month?"

He Yuzhu stretched out a hand and shook it, saying, "My rent is 15 yuan a month."

Xu Huizhen nodded. The rent wasn't high. The hotel provided dormitories for eight people per room. She had thought about renting a place before, but even a single room would cost one yuan a month.

You only need to pay 1/3 of it, which is 5 yuan a month, and that includes the storefront and the backyard room for accommodation.

But I still asked, "So what's the second method?"

He Yuzhu said, "I haven't finished my apprenticeship yet, so I can't quit. So I have a suggestion: I won't charge you rent, and you'll have to help look after my business. You'll sell breakfast in the morning and braised meat at noon and in the evening. Of course, I'll hire other people, and you'll be in charge of collecting the money for me."

He Yuzhu had no close friends or relatives, so he could only cooperate with Xu Huizhen.

Xu Huizhen is kind, meticulous in her work, and keeps public and private matters separate. As can be seen from the TV series, she is not the kind of person who does bad things behind people's backs.

He Yuzhu believed that having her help look after the business and collect money meant she wouldn't withhold his money.

Moreover, He Yuzhu also had a clear idea of ​​the costs involved, such as how many kilograms of flour and vegetables were used in the morning and how much the steamed buns were worth. This could be calculated.

The same applies to braised meat. The amount of raw meat purchased can be used to calculate the amount of cooked meat produced and the final value.

You can know exactly how much you earn each day.

Even if there is corruption, it cannot be outrageous.

Of course, this was his last resort. He Yuzhu believed that Xu Huizhen was the kind of person who wouldn't do such a thing.

Xu Huizhen was surprised, not expecting He Yuzhu to propose such a plan. She tilted her head and asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid I'll embezzle your money?"

"I trust your character," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Xu Huizhen is determined not to dilute the wine she sells. He Yuzhu believes that she would not do such a despicable thing if she can do that.

Xu Huizhen was overjoyed to hear this answer. She hated those cunning and deceitful people the most, and this made her even happier than being praised for her beauty.