Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

In the courtyard at No. 95.

Sha Zhu's life is getting better and better lately.

Since he took on several apprentices and sincerely taught them cooking skills, his reputation quickly spread throughout the entire alley.

The number of people who came to ask him to become their apprentice was so great that they almost wore down his doorstep.

Early that morning, as soon as Sha Zhu got up, he saw more than a dozen young men standing in the yard, each carrying a gift and looking at him expectantly.

A young man spoke first, "Master! We've come to become your apprentices!"

"We've heard that you're generous in sharing your knowledge with your apprentices, and that your cooking skills are exceptional. Please accept us as your students!"

Sha Zhu was secretly delighted by the scene before him, but he pretended to be serious.

"You can become my apprentice, but let me make this clear: you must learn virtue before you learn skills. If you dare to cheat or shirk your duties, I'll be the first to kick you out!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

There was a shifty-eyed fellow in the crowd; he wasn't there to learn the skills, but to steal them.

This young man's name is Wang Er, and he came to become an apprentice three days ago.

He looks honest and simple, but he's actually full of bad intentions.

These past few days I've been learning cooking from Sha Zhu, and I've secretly memorized the recipe for the special seasoning powder he uses.

He thought this recipe was a treasure, and that he could make a lot of money if he sold it outside. So why was he willing to honestly become an apprentice and learn the craft?

In the afternoon, Wang Er secretly slipped out of the courtyard, took the recipe, and found a chef at a restaurant, asking for 500 yuan right off the bat.

The head chef, a knowledgeable man, examined the recipe with a skeptical look and said, "Is this really Sha Zhu's recipe? It looks rather ordinary to me."

Wang Er patted his chest and guaranteed, "Absolutely true! I personally bought the spices for him and secretly watched him mix them."

The chef was instantly tempted and, gritting his teeth, gave Wang Er five hundred yuan.

Only then did Wang Er hand over the remaining half of the recipe.

Seeing that there was still half a portion left, I thought, "Hey, you're pretty cunning, aren't you!"

"I have no choice. If you take a few glances, remember what I'm looking at, and don't pay me, then I'll be at a loss."

The chef took the two pieces of paper, turned around, and went back to the kitchen to give it a try.

The dishes made according to the recipe tasted mediocre at all; they were far from being as fragrant as the alleyways, and couldn't even compare to ordinary home-cooked dishes.

The chef immediately felt cheated and flew into a rage. He called a few of his men and blocked Wang Er at the alley entrance as he was about to go home.

The chef kicked Wang Er in the stomach, yelling, "You liar! You dared to cheat me with a fake recipe! If you don't give me my money back today, I'll break your legs!"

Wang Er was beaten so badly that he ran away with his head in his hands, crying and begging for his parents.

In the end, he obediently handed over the five hundred yuan and was released.

After that, Wang Er never dared to go back to learn cooking from Sha Zhu again. Sha Zhu later found out that the guy had stolen his recipe and was selling it.

Sha Zhu's recipe contains the most crucial ingredients, which he bought himself; how could he possibly let outsiders know?

Just as Sha Zhu was instructing his apprentices on chopping vegetables in the yard, someone sneaked into the courtyard.

Sha Zhu looked closely and exclaimed, "Liu Guangqi! You're back?"

"I just came back to visit, to come back to see you."

When Liu Guangqi heard that his two younger brothers had made a fortune in Hong Kong and that Liu Haizhong was living a better life, he had the idea of ​​returning to Hong Kong to curry favor with them.

Liu Guangqi, carrying bags of gifts, entered the house and exclaimed, "Dad! I'm home!" "I've done quite well in the south these past few years, so I came back especially to show my respect!"

Upon hearing the shout, Liu Haizhong looked at the person who had arrived, but remained silent.

Liu Guangqi's smile froze on his face. He said ingratiatingly, "Dad, why aren't you saying anything? I know I was wrong back then. I shouldn't have run away secretly. Please forgive me, you're a magnanimous person."

"You see, although I've been in the south all these years, I haven't forgotten you two. I plan to come back and take care of you when you get old."

Liu Haizhong picked up his cane, tapped it lightly on the ground, and said, "I only have two sons, one named Liu Guangtian and the other named Liu Guangfu."

"As for you? Go back to where you came from. I don't need to explain why you came back."

Finally, Liu Haizhong slowly stood up, leaning on his cane, and walked step by step into the inner room.

The door slammed shut with a "bang".

Liu Guangqi stared blankly at Liu Haizhong, who had closed the door. He hadn't expected that Liu Haizhong would actually disown him.

Just then, Auntie Er came in carrying the groceries she had bought. The moment she saw Liu Guangqi, she dropped all the groceries on the ground.

"Hikari... Hikari! You're back?"

As she spoke, the second aunt grabbed Liu Guangqi's hand and said, "Where have you been all these years? You haven't even written a letter home."

Liu Guangqi looked at his mother, feeling as if something was blocking his throat. He opened his mouth and could only manage to say, "I..."

Hearing the noise, Liu Haizhong suddenly pushed open the door and came out.

"Stop crying! What are you crying for! Since he dared to run away, he shouldn't come back!"

"There is no such person in my Liu family. He died long ago!"

Aunt Er covered her mouth and kept crying. Liu Guangqi looked at his mother and then at Liu Haizhong, whose face was full of anger.

Sha Zhu's apprentices all wanted to go and see what was going on when they heard the commotion.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu angrily shouted, "What are you looking at! When learning a craft, you must be focused! Hurry up and practice!"

After saying that, Sha Zhu walked towards Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard on his own.

"Tch~ Isn't it just that the master himself wants to see it?"

At Liu Haizhong's house, his second aunt, with tears streaming down her face, said, "Our son is back now, let's give him a chance."

"Are you really going to kick him out?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong angrily retorted, "Don't you know why this beast came back?"

"You really think he missed you? He only came back because he knew the second and third sons were making money in Hong Kong and saw that we were doing well."

The second aunt looked at Liu Guangqi and asked, "Is what your dad said true?"

"I......"

Liu Guangqi stammered and couldn't say anything.

Seeing this, Aunt Er covered her mouth and slowly walked into the inner room. As soon as she entered, her sobbing could be heard.

"Get out! Get out right now!" Liu Haizhong said, pointing to the door.

Liu Guangqi looked at Liu Haizhong. He knew that Liu Haizhong was definitely not coming back, but he still asked, "Then tell me where the second and third brothers are."

Liu Haizhong was instantly enraged and raised his cane to strike Liu Guangqi.

"Get out! Get out of here, you bastard!"

Liu Guangqi dodged Liu Haizhong's attack, but before he could regain his footing, Liu Haizhong struck him in the back.

Liu Guangqi stood up angrily and raised his hand to retaliate. At this moment, Sha Zhu, who had been watching from outside, rushed in and kicked Liu Guangqi to the ground.

"Liu Guangqi, what do you think you're doing! You actually dare to fight back! You've gone too far!"

Several of Zhongyuan's apprentices rushed over upon hearing Shazhu's voice.

A short while later, Liu Guangqi was dragged out of the courtyard by several people.

Back at the guesthouse, Liu Guangqi told his wife what had happened. His wife just sighed and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about it. Let's go back tomorrow. Anyway, our current salary is enough."