I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

When Wu Yousheng saw the bottle of wine that Zhou Weiguo had opened, he was startled. He glanced at Zhou Weiguo but did not ask any questions.

As He Yuzhu began pouring the wine, everyone raised their glasses and drank back and forth. Most of the wine ended up in the stomachs of Zhou Weiguo and Wu Yousheng. He Yuzhu was only responsible for eating and pouring wine, while Natasha sat obediently to the side, taking small bites of her food.

At this moment, Wu Yousheng's wife couldn't hold back any longer and quietly asked, "Brother Zhou, isn't Comrade Natasha a foreign guest?"

Zhou Weiguo smiled and nodded: "Sister-in-law, you're right. Natasha is a Chinese expert working on the project, and we both work at the steel rolling mill. When I was studying at Harbin Institute of Technology a few years ago, I took Natasha as my older sister. We're all family, so please feel free to say anything."

Natasha then exchanged a few polite words with the two of them.

Wu Yousheng's wife's face lit up with joy, and she was about to speak when Wu Yousheng glared at her, so she had no choice but to lower her head and remain silent.

Seeing this, Zhou Weiguo said, "Brother Wu, please don't blame me for being nosy. We're all family. I just forced Ersheng to tell me the general situation. Please don't blame Ersheng; I forced him to say it."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yousheng was about to raise his hand to strike Ersheng, but Zhou Weiguo grabbed him.

He sighed, "Brother Zhou, you don't need to worry about our affairs. At worst, we can just close this restaurant. It's not a big deal."

Zhou Weiguo shook his head. Now that we've reached the final stage of public-private partnership, simply closing the restaurant probably won't solve the problem unless someone can protect this family.

Thinking of this, his eyes lit up – the steel rolling mill was being expanded, why not bring Brother Wu and the others into the factory?

Zhou Weiguo said directly, "Brother Wu, this restaurant can't stay open for the time being. Given the current situation, a public-private partnership isn't an option either. If we do, your whole family will become restaurant employees, which will cause even more trouble. I have an idea; would you like to hear it?"

Wu Yousheng looked troubled: "Brother Weiguo, please don't get involved in this matter. To be honest, at worst..."

Zhou Weiguo raised his hand to interrupt: "Brother Wu, even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the children. I'm not joking, your insistence on not joining forces is indeed inappropriate. It's not that your ideas are wrong, but you shouldn't go against the general trend. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wu Yousheng sighed, looking frustrated. "I was thinking of giving them most of the space next door and the second floor, leaving only this small restaurant. Now it's less than 20% of what it used to be, so why are they still so persistent?"

Zhou Weiguo quickly chimed in, "That's simple. From the beginning, they weren't after this place, but you, brother. Who are these people you're talking about?"

Wu Yousheng gave Zhou Weiguo a deep look: "Brother Zhou, let me tell you something, but let's make this clear, you and Zhuzi are both young, you can't act impulsively. After all, this is my family's problem, it has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Zhou Weiguo nod, Wu Yousheng continued, "Actually, it's just a cadre surnamed Fan from the subdistrict office. He came to me many times, and I refused many times, but I couldn't reason with him at all. Later, he even brought some people from the compound, making it impossible for me to operate here. They only came when there were many people. In the end, I got angry and closed most of the restaurant and rented it to the subdistrict office, leaving only this small shop, but they still come to cause trouble every few days."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo was startled: A surname of Fan? Could it be Fan Jinyou? And what about the people from the compound? Why are they causing trouble? After a moment's thought, he said, "Brother Wu, in my opinion, they're only after your cooking skills."

Wu Yousheng nodded: "Those people from the compound used to come here to eat often, but they often ran up their accounts. Back then, a young man said he wanted to transfer me to cook, but I have my own shop, and at my age, how could I possibly go out and cook for someone else? I even said that if it really didn't work out, I could arrange for one of my apprentices to go there, and they could just give me some compensation for my trouble. Who knew that those young men would shake their heads and leave, telling me not to regret it before they left. I suspect that the guy surnamed Fan was one of the ones they called."

Zhou Weiguo understood: "That's it. Nine times out of ten, these people are short of money and want to get you into their canteen so they can eat and drink for free. Brother Wu, take my advice, this restaurant really can't stay open. It's not that we're afraid of those people from those compounds, but the major policies are what they are, and we can't resist them no matter what. You can't hold on, and continuing to resist will only plunge your whole family into hardship."

Wu Yousheng shook his head helplessly and said with a bitter smile, "Brother, you don't understand. All I know how to do is cook, and so do my children and wife. What can we do if we close the shop? All the restaurants in Beijing have been publicly-privately operated, and I don't want to work in a restaurant like that anymore."

Zhou Weiguo smiled and said, "Simple."

Wu Yousheng exclaimed in surprise, "Simple?"

Zhou Weiguo nodded: "That's right, you bring your sister-in-law and child with you to the factory."

Wu Yousheng's expression was strange: "We've never done this before. It's not that I can't endure hardship, but at this age, I can't do anything else."

Zhou Weiguo quickly explained, "Brother, you've misunderstood. What I meant was that you, your child, and your sister-in-law should all work as cooks at the factory."

Wu Yousheng's eyes lit up, then he shook his head: "Brother Weiguo, I appreciate your kindness. But which factory would suddenly hire so many cooks?"

Zhou Weiguo smiled confidently and said, "Brother Wu, I don't know if other factories are hiring, but Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, if I say it's hiring, it has to be hired! I, Zhou Weiguo, am the one who says this."

Wu Yousheng's wife excitedly tugged at her husband's sleeve.

Wu Yousheng still hesitated: "Brother, it's not that I'm ungrateful. I know you genuinely want to help our family, but I'm afraid it will implicate you."

Zhou Weiguo smiled confidently: "Brother Wu, don't worry, I still have the ability. You should close this shop as soon as possible, and one day you will be able to reopen the Emei Restaurant."

He Yuzhu quickly interjected, "Yes, yes, Master, don't worry! My uncle will definitely arrange everything perfectly for you. You should also hurry up and bring my brother Dasheng back. You and my master's wife aren't short of money, so why are you making my brother Dasheng do odd jobs?"

Wu Yousheng's face instantly darkened, and he said bitterly, "It's shameful to talk about this. To be honest, it's all my fault. These past few years have been tough. A while ago, Dasheng came back saying he'd found a way to exchange gold and silver for money and wanted to get some to help support the family. At the time, the family and the shop were really struggling, so I agreed. Who would have thought that Dasheng would be arrested by Fan Jinyou from the neighborhood committee? Later, Fan Jinyou accused us of hoarding gold and sealed off our house. Dasheng felt guilty towards his family and started carrying heavy loads to earn money every day. His mother couldn't persuade him to stop."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yousheng's wife couldn't help but wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.