Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Under Jia Zhangshi's "abyssal gaze," Yan Bugui finally came up with a bunch of excuses and reluctantly handed over two yuan. Everyone was already used to Yan Bugui's stinginess.

Unless Jia Zhangshi starts a fight with him right now, there's no way to get the money out of him. Yan Bugui's offer of two yuan is already quite generous.

Moreover, with Director Wang watching, Jia Zhangshi didn't dare to cause trouble in front of the street office, because in recent years, the street office had sent quite a few people back to their hometowns.

Then it was Sha Zhu's turn. He wanted to donate more, but he didn't have any money because his money was borrowed every time he got paid.

He asked Jia Zhangshi, somewhat embarrassed, "Aunt Zhang (Jia Zhangshi), how about—"

"Shall I put it on my tab? On credit?"

"Hahahaha!"

The neighbors burst into laughter. It was the first time they had ever seen a funeral involve debt. No wonder Jia Zhangshi was unhappy about it. They cursed Sha Zhu for being heartless.

Sha Zhu protested, "Why not? Every month when I get my salary, Sister Qin..."

"Silly Zhu!"

Qin Huairu quickly ran out, crying, to stop Sha Zhu. She couldn't reveal the monthly loan issue anymore, and she definitely couldn't talk about not paying back the loans.

Moreover, he subtly and overtly guided Sha Zhu—

Why don't you go borrow some?

It's not a good thing to be in debt for a funeral.

They owe money to the dead.

[What the hell do you mean, someone owes money to the dead?!]

How did it become owing money to a dead person? I don't owe Jia Dongxu any money!

However, with everyone staring at him, Sha Zhu couldn't bring himself to do it.

Even Yi Zhonghai continued to manipulate Sha Zhu.

So in the end, he could only look at He Yushui with longing eyes and ask, "Yushui, how about... you lend me some?"

He Yushui rolled her eyes at him. If you don't do anything about it, it's really embarrassing. But if you do, you feel like the Jia family is taking advantage of you, which is very unpleasant.

However, unlike Zhang Dabiao, they didn't directly state their stance of cutting all ties with the Jia family; it wouldn't make sense for them to remain silent.

So she asked Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, "Aunt Zhang, Aunt Jia, since everyone donated money today, does that count as a funeral gift?"

"And if my brother gives us money, do we still need to cook for your family? We need to figure that out first."

This stumped the Jia family. They were thinking of collecting a donation first, then a gift, and still having Sha Zhu work for free cooking.

Making two profits here and saving one, that's what you call shrewd calculation.

But He Yushui said it directly, which made things difficult.

Qin Huairu said with difficulty, "Yushui, what you're saying is different. Donations are donations, and gifts are gifts; how can you conflate them?"

"Shazhu cooked for our family and saw Dongxu off; it wouldn't be right to charge him for that, would it?"

He Yushui shook her head, then walked directly to the square table and took out the money, placing it on the table.

"Teacher Yan, I'll give two yuan as a gift, I won't donate it. My brother will probably help with the banquet, so consider it a gift."

Whether he donates or not is up to him.

The money wasn't put into the donation box, but was placed next to Yan Bugui.

Everyone was stunned. Is this really possible?

Suddenly, Yan Bugui quickly took out two yuan from the donation box and put it together with He Yushui's two yuan, saying as he did so, "I'm just giving a gift, not donating."

"Why would you need to donate? This was a simple matter on the trip, so you should have given a gift anyway, shouldn't you?"

"We didn't donate when Zhang Bansian passed away the year before last; we just gave him a gift. We also gave a gift when Lao Jia passed away that year."

"Why make one trip for one thing? I'll change mine to giving a gift!"

He's so cunning; he understood as soon as He Yushui mentioned it.

Why must it be described as giving a gift?

That's because they're afraid the Jia family will try to extort money from them again!

While Director Wang is still here, let's change it directly. Who dares to say anything?

Donations and gifts are both meant to express goodwill to the host; they are essentially the same thing!

Liu Guangqi with bangs — [?!]

The two exchanged a glance and quickly made a decision: "Third brother, change my ten yuan to a gift as well."

"Don't take it out. Just revise it in the notebook. It's all the same."

Jia Zhangshi was about to rush forward, but Director Wang gave a cold snort.

Qin Huairu then pulled Jia Zhangshi away.

Everyone looked at Director Wang, waiting for her to give her an answer: would this work or not?

Director Wang said calmly, "Comrade Yan Bugui is right, whether it's a donation or a gift."

"Essentially, it's all about doing our part to help families in need."

"It's all the same, so it doesn't matter whether you donate money or give a gift."

Everyone's eyes lit up. Since the officials have admitted it, then there's nothing wrong with it.

Sha Zhu quickly raised his hand and said, "Then I'll volunteer. I'll cook the meal. There's a rule for this: the cook doesn't charge for the food; consider it a gift."

There is indeed such a rule. You can't expect the cook to cook for free and then give gifts to the host—wouldn't that be a huge waste?

"When I go out to cook for people, the minimum charge is 2 liang (0.2 yuan) per table. This is the rule my master set for me."

"You can't disobey your master's orders. No matter what, you still have to set up these three tables for Jia Dongxu's funeral, right?"

"And as everyone knows, my salary is only 27.5 yuan, so I gave 6 yuan as a gift, which is quite a lot."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Indeed, there were quite a few, and it wouldn't make sense to break the rules of the culinary world just because the Jia family is being treated differently.

Jia Zhangshi was furious, but with Director Wang present, she couldn't say anything, and Yi Zhonghai even subtly shook his head.

So she had no choice but to give up.

Suddenly, Zhang Dabiao asked, "Shazhu, you always say your salary is twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents... All the neighbors who work at the steel mill have taken the certification exam this time, why didn't you?"

Sha Zhu replied casually, "Hey, I also want a raise, but this is a steel rolling mill. I've never heard of cooks taking certification exams at steel rolling mills. I asked our canteen manager, Director Ma, and he said no."

Zhang Dabiao was taken aback for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Can't you go to a restaurant or association in the city that has chefs to take the exam?"

"If all else fails, why don't you ask your master? Do you want to be a level 8 cook for the rest of your life?"

Sha Zhu was stunned when he heard this.

Upon closer reflection, Zhang Dabiao's words make sense.

Why hasn't anyone told him this all these years?

Looking around, Yi Zhonghai awkwardly looked away—because he had previously spoken to Director Ma of the canteen to keep Sha Zhu in check.

I never expected that Director Ma would keep Sha Zhu under his thumb until now.

That's incredibly honest!

Liu Guangqi frowned and added, "Shazhu, in principle, he should be recommended by the canteen director and the senior chefs in the kitchen. He should fill out a personal application and proof of his length of service, and after the factory's labor union and personnel department conduct a preliminary review, it should be submitted to the catering service department of the district commerce bureau for record-keeping. Once the assessment date is set, he can go for the assessment."

"At the very least, you can go to your master's place where you learned your craft, or to Hongbinlou, Quanjude, or Sijiucheng Restaurant to take the exam. Once you get the certificate, the factory has to recognize it."

"And after all these years, why don't you ask your master?"

Sha Zhu was completely stunned. Why didn't he go to find his master?

Because I'm ashamed!