The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

As soon as Liu Hao finished speaking, everyone was stunned.

Twenty-two years old, graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology, earning seventy or eighty yuan a month?

Liu Guangqi's girlfriend, Xie Qing, exclaimed in surprise, "A level-six assistant researcher at the East Fourth Branch of the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences? This is a scientist!"

The residents in the courtyard all stared wide-eyed. Although they were not highly educated, the scientist knew that their gazes toward the deaf old woman, Sha Zhu, were full of contempt and mockery.

"My goodness! A scientist at just twenty-two, earning seventy or eighty yuan a month—she's a prodigy!"

"Now I know why Accountant Liu was so angry and even slapped the deaf old lady. If it were me, I would have slapped her too. Isn't this just disgusting?"

"Exactly, how can you insult someone like that?"

"Indeed, it's outrageous, vicious, and utterly insulting."

Hearing the crowd's disparaging remarks, Sha Zhu retorted angrily, "Are top students from Harbin Institute of Technology superior? Are scientists superior? We're all working people, why should we be divided into high and low, noble and base?"

"My family, He Yuzhu's family, has been farmers for three generations. We have impeccable revolutionary credentials. Our ancestors were all from humble beginnings, working for landlords. We were the true proletariat, unlike some people who are obsessed with wages and academic qualifications. That's the corrupt and evil mentality of the bourgeoisie!"

The group exchanged bewildered glances; this silly Zhu was quite the smooth talker.

Liu Hao asked with a half-smile, "He Yuzhu, I heard your family has a family recipe for Tan family cuisine?"

"yes."

When talking about the family's traditional Tan family cuisine, Sha Zhu puffed out his chest with pride.

"I'm not bragging, but my cooking skills are among the best in Beijing. My great-grandfather's generation made a living from this skill, and countless high-ranking officials and nobles had to queue up to eat there!"

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai, who was secretly observing from behind the crowd, changed their expressions drastically.

Oh no, Sha Zhu has fallen for their trap.

They know best whether the He family has any issues with their background.

Many older people in Nanluoguxiang have heard of the restaurant run by Grandpa Shazhu, He Zongguo.

It used to be located in Beijing. Two years before Sha Zhu was born, he went to Tianjin with a widow surnamed Zeng to open a restaurant there. It is said that the restaurant they opened in Tianjin was quite large.

Sha Zhu and He Daqing were in the capital, and although their class status was determined by their actual labor and income, it was not tied to their grandfather's class status.

However, in December 1950, Yi Zhonghai was drinking with He Daqing. When He Daqing got drunk, he boasted that his father, He Zongguo, had returned in 1946 and bought him four shops and two courtyard houses. He collected rent for three years and then quietly sold them a month before the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In 1949, land reform work teams were already going to the countryside, and there were rumors of investigations into industrial and commercial exploitation in the city. The streets and alleys were full of discussions about classifying people by class and distributing their wealth. Many families with houses and shops were in a panic.

He Daqing was terrified when he saw his neighbors who rented out properties being summoned for questioning. If the exploitative accounts of collecting rent from their shops for three years were brought up, he would definitely be classified as a capitalist.

The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. So, before the situation was completely settled, I secretly sold off my assets at a low price to cash out, hoping to cut off all the loose ends and avoid being purged later.

Yi Zhonghai was initially jealous of He Daqing's good fortune, but soon after, when class distinctions were made, he admired He Daqing's foresight.

He casually mentioned this to the deaf old woman, who immediately suggested driving away He Daqing and training Sha Zhu to be her caregiver.

At the time, he had Jia Dongxu and did not agree with the deaf old woman's suggestion, but when the deaf old woman told him in a sinister tone that he could make a fortune, he was tempted.

So the two of them threatened He Daqing, demanding 4000 million yuan and leaving Beijing, or they would report the He family for falsifying their family background.

Left with no other choice, He Daqing had to accept his fate. Coincidentally, Widow Bai insisted on going to Baoding, so he simply went with her.

Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Just as they were about to try and change the subject with a joke, Liu Hao said with a puzzled look, "Wait a minute, you said your family has been farmers for three generations, doing odd jobs for landlords to make a living?"

"Then that's contradictory. What is Tan Family Cuisine? It's official cuisine, a skill for serving high-ranking officials and nobles. To learn this skill, you have to work as a chef in a large mansion, prepare delicacies every day, and have a master teach you step by step."

"Farmers can't even get their hands on the threshold of a landlord's kitchen, so how could they possibly have the opportunity to learn Tan family cuisine?"

"Furthermore, the term 'laborer' only applies to rural residents who have no land or tools and rely on selling their labor. How did you define this 'laborer' category? And where did you get the money to buy three main rooms?"

After hearing this analysis, all the residents present frowned and looked at Sha Zhu with suspicion and uncertainty.

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat; he panicked a little.

Right, where would you find farm laborers in the city?

He had never considered this question before, but now that he thought about it, he immediately felt that it was unreasonable. Was that old beast He Daqing hiding something from him?

Standing diagonally opposite him, Xu Damao's eyes shone like light bulbs, and he trembled with excitement.

Yes, Sha Zhu's family background is definitely problematic. I heard my dad say before that Sha Zhu's grandfather used to run a restaurant in Beijing. He ran away to Tianjin with a widow and ran a restaurant there as well.

"You idiot Zhu!"

Xu Damao roared and jumped out, pointing at Shazhu and said sternly, "Your ancestors were farmers? Bah! My father used to tell me that your grandfather ran restaurants in our capital and Tianjin before liberation, specializing in Tan family cuisine, serving only high-ranking officials and nobles."

"Opening a restaurant definitely requires hiring staff. What do you call that? That's called being a small capitalist, the tail end of the bourgeoisie. It's a world apart from the 'third-generation peasant' you're talking about, who's supposedly pure and upright!"

Xu Damao became more and more excited as he spoke, and then turned to shout to the neighbors who were watching.

"Listen to this, everyone! What kind of talk is this? Can farmers open restaurants? Can farmers afford three main rooms? Can farmers serve high-ranking officials and nobles? This is deceiving the masses! This is smearing the face of the proletariat!"

"This toad with questionable ingredients and a mouthful of lies shamelessly wants to marry my aunt. I think he has ulterior motives and wants to drag my aunt down with him. If this gets out, our entire courtyard will be utterly disgraced!"

The crowd erupted in uproar; He Jiacheng's money was a fraud.

Sha Zhu jumped up and down in a panic, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Xu Damao, you're talking nonsense! Stop spouting lies!"

"I'm a third-generation farm laborer. My grandfather worked for a landlord first, and later became a cook in a large mansion. We earned money through physical labor, so how am I not a proletarian?"

"And my grandfather's restaurant, it was a small business, just a tiny storefront. The employees were there to help the neighbors, and we didn't make much money at all! Then, with the chaos of war, it went out of business long ago!"

"Besides, what does it have to do with me that he opened a restaurant in Tianjin? Did I take a single penny from him?"

After Sha Zhu finished his explanation, which was full of spittle, he glared at Xu Damao.

"Our class background is based on the new society. My father was a worker in a steel rolling mill, and I was a worker too. We are of impeccable revolutionary lineage. Don't try to pick a fight with old grievances, you bastard!"

Xu Damao crossed his arms and sneered, "That's just sophistry. Your family's background is fabricated. I'll report you tomorrow..."

"You dare!"

The deaf old woman shouted and raised her cane as if to hit Xu Damao.

Lou Xiao'e quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

"Grandma, don't be angry. Da Mao was just joking. How could he possibly report Sha Zhu!"

"Why don't you report him? I, Xu Damao, am going to report bad elements like Sha Zhu."

Lou Xiao'e scolded, "Xu Damao, I won't allow you to do such a heartless and immoral thing."

???

Xu Damao was stunned. He pointed his finger at his nose and asked incredulously, "You're saying that my reporting the He family for falsifying their social status is heartless?"

Lou Xiao'e then realized she had done something stupid, but she was strong-willed and wouldn't admit her mistake.

"No...isn't that right? What Sha Zhu said is correct. Class background is calculated according to the new society. Sha Zhu's father was a worker, and so was he. Even if the He family isn't classified as farmers, they are still working class, not capitalists!"

Everyone frowned. Was Lou Xiao'e really stupid or just pretending?

If family background is determined by what one did after the founding of the People's Republic of China, then those who were traitors to the Japanese before returning home to farm after the Japanese surrendered in 1944 or 1945 would also be considered poor peasants or hired farmers.

Why didn't you classify your Lou family's assets as workers after the founding of the People's Republic of China?

Liu Guangqi's girlfriend, Xie Qing, was deeply shocked; it was the first time she had ever heard such fallacies and heresies.

With her straightforward personality, she couldn't help but remind him: "Comrade He Yuzhu, there is a problem with what you said. Personal class status and family class status are two different things. His father and he are steel mill workers, so they are working class, that's true. But family class status is based on the economic and labor conditions in the three years before liberation."

"If his grandfather was still running a restaurant and employing waiters in the three years before liberation, he must have been a small business owner or a member of the petty bourgeoisie."

"The classification of urban residents as farmers is unreasonable; I've never heard of anyone with an urban household registration being classified as a farmer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sha Zhu was so angry that his lungs felt like they were about to explode. This bitch was trying to kill me!

Consumed by rage, he seemed to have forgotten that there were four men in the Liu family. He pointed at Xie Qing and opened his foul mouth.

"Where did this bitch come from? It's none of your business how you get involved!"

Liu Guangqi was immediately enraged. "I dare not provoke Liu Hao, but I'm afraid of you, you idiot Zhu?"

Liu Haizhong was equally furious. His eldest daughter-in-law's father was a leader, and if his daughter-in-law was mistreated in his home, she might break up with his beloved son Guangqi, which would be a huge loss.

"You little bastard, Sha Zhu, how dare you insult my daughter-in-law! Guang Qi, Guang Tian, ​​Guang Fu, beat her up!"

Liu Haizhong roared and raised his fist, charging towards Sha Zhu.

Liu Guangqi followed closely behind, while Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu exchanged a glance and also rushed towards Shazhu.

If they don't listen to Liu Haizhong, they'll be the ones getting beaten up.