Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

Chapter 123

The steel rolling mill had already issued a notice that it would be closed for the Lunar New Year's Eve.

So no one was in the mood to work today. The leaders of the steel rolling mill could see that, so they had the workers maintain the machines instead of starting work.

However, the scene in the canteen was quite different, with people constantly pushing carts to the warehouse to get pigs back to the canteen.

"Master He, the pigs are here."

Two helpers entered the canteen, placed the cart, and each carried one side of the meat directly onto the cutting board.

He Yuzhu put down the enamel mug he had just taken two sips from and said, "Goodness, did you even count how many are left?"

This year, we will give out welfare during the Lunar New Year's Eve holiday: half a pound of meat per person. However, the meat was not processed when it was brought over from the pig processing plant; it was all in pieces.

So the meat has to be brought to the canteen in advance so they can cut it up.

Of course, there's no need to cook today, so there's plenty of time.

"There are three more, Master He." A helper handed the knife to He Yuzhu and replied casually.

Hearing that there were only three heads left, He Yuzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had lost count of how much meat he had cut since morning.

Fortunately, the meat was already butchered; otherwise, the staff of just three canteens wouldn't have been able to handle the workload.

There's a trick to this meat; it can't be too much or too little, or someone will complain. Luckily, He Yuzhu cut off too much, so the weight was about right with each cut, neither too much nor too little.

They then cut all the meat into pieces and threw it into a basket, and two helpers carried the full basket of pork to the side.

Here, several older women were tying straw ropes to the meat so that people could take it with them.

"Old Ma, are you still not done cutting here?"

He Yuzhu came to Old Ma's side and saw that he still had a lot of flesh on him, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Almost done, just what's on my cutting board," Old Ma replied to He Yuzhu, his hands still busy. But He Yuzhu didn't just stand by and watch; he joined in to help, hoping to finish quickly and get some rest.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. After finishing the work, everyone can have a holiday. You know, there's still a lot of work to be done at home.

By noon, the work was almost finished, and everyone carried all the tied-up meat onto a handcart and pulled it to the workshop, where the workshop director distributed the meat as a bonus to the workers.

He Yuzhu, as the group leader in the canteen, was also responsible for distributing pork to everyone in the canteen.

Although they all eat pork, the meat served in their third canteen is different from that of the other workers; it's almost entirely fat.

They were all our own people, and there wasn't much more, but they still had more fat than the ordinary workers.

The third canteen staff happily distributed the pork, and the remaining meat was packed into baskets and taken to the small warehouse.

He Yuzhu also had a piece of pork, but he didn't care and just put it aside.

"Alright everyone, now that we have the pork, let's start cleaning up. The sooner we finish cleaning, the sooner we can leave work, right?" He Yuzhu shouted to the people in the third canteen.

Everyone agreed and immediately got to work. They had all been busy all morning, but the thought of leaving get off work early filled them with energy.

"Zhu Zi, come here." Director Zhang's voice came from the doorway. Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu immediately went out.

"What's wrong, Director?" he asked Director Zhang, puzzled.

Director Zhang said with a smile, "Zhu Zi, have the cafeteria benefits been distributed to everyone yet?"

"Don't worry, Director, I've already distributed the meat," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Director Zhang nodded and continued, "That's fine. Come to my office after you get off work."

Although he was puzzled as to why Director Zhang wanted to see him, He Yuzhu nodded and agreed.

We were busy until 2 p.m. when the broadcast finally started. But this time it wasn't the end-of-get off work bell; instead, it was the factory leaders broadcasting New Year's greetings.

After the broadcast stopped, people gradually started to leave work, and the canteen was no exception. After extinguishing all the fires in the stoves, He Yuzhu checked the cleanliness and found that it was clean before announcing the holiday.

Suddenly, everyone in the cafeteria dispersed, and He Yuzhu arrived at Director Zhang's office.

"Director, I'm here." He Yuzhu entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"Zhu Zi, here, this is a special perk for you." Director Zhang smiled and placed a bag in front of He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu opened it out of curiosity and found two jin of flour and two jin of pork inside.

"What's this?" He Yuzhu asked in confusion. Hadn't he already taken it? How come there's more?

Director Zhang smiled and said, "Zhu Zi, you've worked hard these past few days. This is an extra perk for you."

"In that case, thank you, Director Zhang." Hearing that it was an extra gift, He Yuzhu didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it with a smile.

"Alright, go back now. Get some rest these next couple of days." Director Zhang was also eager to go home, so he waved for He Yuzhu to leave.

"Thank you, Director Zhang. I'll be going now." He Yuzhu nodded, turned around, and left the office.

He really wasn't in the mood for small talk with Director Zhang, because he still had some things to do at home today.

It was already past three in the afternoon when we got back to the courtyard house.

"Zhu Zi, you're back! How about we get a couplet?"

Yan Bugui, who was helping someone write couplets in the courtyard, saw He Yuzhu return and quickly called out to him.

This is an old tradition of the courtyard house. As a teacher, Yan Bugui writes couplets in the courtyard every Lunar New Year's Eve.

Of course, this wasn't free; usually, it involved exchanging something with Yan Bugui.

He Yuzhu also saw Yan Bugui writing couplets there. He went closer and found that Yan Bugui's writing was quite good.

"Uncle, alright, write me two couplets." After saying that, He Yuzhu took out five mao from his pocket and handed it to Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up when he saw the money. He quickly said, "No problem, Zhuzi, wait here, I'll write it for you right away. After I finish writing it, I'll ask my husband Jiefang to help you put up the couplets."

"Alright, thank you, Uncle San." He Yuzhu said with a smile and went home.

"Yushui, has your sister-in-law come back yet?" He Yuzhu put the bag in his hand on the table and asked He Yushui.

Rain shook her head, pouting, and said, "Not yet, brother. You and your wife both have to work until you're thirty."

"Alright, stop talking. If your sister-in-law isn't back, she isn't back. I'll take you to her grave first." He Yuzhu ignored He Yushui's complaints, put the paper money and offerings he had bought in advance into a basket, and led He Yushui out of the courtyard.

This was a long-standing tradition in his family. Unlike other families who didn't bring girls to the graves, He Yuzhu always brought He Yushui with him.

o

Their mother's grave is located in the reed marshes outside the city, not far from the city gate.