Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

Hearing Xu Xiaoling say this, He Yuzhu simply nodded without saying anything more. He threw Xu Damao onto the bed, covered his stomach with a blanket, greeted Xu Xiaoling, and then returned to the central courtyard.

Xu Damao's parents are still working for the Lou family.

Even Xu Damao only became a projectionist because his father had helped Director Lou for so many years and managed to get him a spot to study in Nanjing.

It wasn't that he could simply become a projectionist after entering the factory; rather, he joined the projection team after undergoing unified training in 56.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be spending all my time working as a servant in the Lou family—this job has many advantages, but I can't tell outsiders about them.

As soon as they arrived at their doorstep, He Yushui opened the door from the inside.

He Yuzhu picked up the lunchbox in his hand and shook it.

"Rain, look what I've brought you today!"

He Yuzhu now really enjoys playing with Xiaoyushui. Perhaps it's because of the large age difference that He Yuzhu always feels like he's raising a kitten.

He Yushui was also curious about the lunchbox in her brother's hand.

During this time, her brother has been feeding her, and she has long been used to it. Whenever she works overtime, her brother always brings back some delicious food.

"Brother, did you drink a lot?" He Yushui didn't answer her brother's question, but instead smelled a lot of alcohol on him.

He Yuzhu was taken aback. He sniffed himself and indeed, the smell of alcohol was too strong.

"Yes, but most of the wine belonged to Xu Damao. I drank some, but not much."

"Huh? Brother, when did you and Xu Damao become so close? I remember you two used to fight all the time?" He Yushui asked, somewhat puzzled.

He Yuzhu placed the lunchbox on the table and opened it.

"Before, we didn't have any elders in the compound, just the two of us. I was afraid those people would bully my brother and me, so I had to find Xu Damao as a target, beat him up, and make those people pay attention." He Yuzhu sighed and continued.

"I've known Xu Damao since we were kids, why would I beat him up all the time? After I beat him up, I'd become known as a troublemaker, and people would know I was a bit of a thug, so he wouldn't dare to bully us."

He Yushui nodded knowingly, because her brother would fight back whenever someone bullied her, for fear that someone would bully her when he wasn't around.

"So now that your brother has a job, he has more confidence, and I don't have to target Xu Damao like that anymore. But to be honest, that Xu Damao kid deserves a beating; his mouth is too venomous." At this point, He Yuzhu curled his lip in disdain.

He Yushui looked at her brother with some strangeness; her brother's mouth was much more venomous than Xu Damao's.

"Alright, that's enough. Hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold."

Upon hearing this, He Yushui nodded quickly, ran to the cupboard, took out two pairs of chopsticks, and then brought over the steamed buns.

"Here, brother, have a pair of chopsticks. Haven't you had your drinks yet? Let's eat together." He Yushui said as she handed the chopsticks to her brother.

He Yuzhu didn't stand on ceremony today and nodded. Although he had a space to cheat, he actually drank quite a bit of alcohol to prevent others from noticing; if not a pound, then at least eight ounces.

My stomach is empty now, so I'll eat some vegetables and steamed buns to fill it up.

"Brother, why does this meat taste so strange today?" He Yushui asked after taking a couple of bites. After all, although his family hadn't been eating meat every day, they had eaten it quite a few times, and this meat was clearly different.

He Yuzhu didn't say it explicitly, but pointed to the piece of meat and said to He Yushui with a smile, "Yushui, try it and see what's different."

Seeing her brother making fun of her, He Yushui didn't ask any questions. She picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and chewed it carefully.

"This braised pork tastes a little different from the ones I've had before. Did you add any other spices, bro?"

No wonder she's He Daqing's daughter; she really has a discerning palate.

"That's right, Rainwater. This meat is beef. Besides star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, scallions, and ginger, I also added cardamom to this braised beef to remove any fishy smell and enhance the aroma. Another thing is that when I stir-fry braised pork, I caramelize sugar. But when I braise this beef, I first caramelize the spices, then add the beef and simmer it to color it. Also, beef takes longer to cook, so the stewing time is long enough. After cooking, the meat is very tender and delicate, and it doesn't get stuck in your teeth. Look, this white stuff is beef tendon. It tastes soft, flavorful, salty, and slightly sweet."

Since his younger sister had some talent for cooking, He Yuzhu was generous in teaching her.

After all, nowadays girls are expected to know how to cook after marriage, unlike in later generations where men are more likely to be good cooks.

He Yushui took this skill very seriously and listened carefully to her brother's teachings, since her father would never have taught her these things when he was alive.

Or perhaps her father didn't teach her because she was young, simply because she was a girl and he wouldn't teach her anyway.

The night passed slowly under He Yuzhu's guidance and He Yushui's attentive listening.

On Sunday, He Yuzhu was still lying in bed.

He Yuzhu doesn't have to go to work today, and He Yushui is also on holiday at home.

Neither the brother nor sister rushed to get up, and they enjoyed the weekend atmosphere.

Unfortunately, at 9 o'clock, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it? Why aren't you sleeping so early in the morning?" He Yuzhu's muffled voice came from the room.

Yi Zhonghai was standing outside the door.

Seeing that it was already 9 o'clock and He Yuzhu still hadn't gotten up, Yi Zhonghai frowned and felt somewhat displeased.

"Zhu Zi, it's me, your grandpa."

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's voice from outside the door, He Yuzhu suddenly remembered that he had promised Yi Zhonghai that he would cook for the old lady in the backyard.

Thinking of this, he quickly got up, put on his shoes, and opened the door.

"Grandpa, so early today?"

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the weather and gestured to He Yuzhu to take a look.

He Yuzhu pretended not to see it and instead looked at the meat in Yi Zhonghai's hand.

"Hey, grandpa, this meat is pretty good, it's pork belly, you know how to eat."

"This meat was specially bought by the old lady in the backyard. If you ask me, I would have preferred to buy fatty meat. Fatty meat is much more fragrant when cooked." Yi Zhonghai waved the pork belly he had bought early that morning.

In his opinion, pork belly was inferior to fatty meat, but since the old lady wanted to eat it, he went to buy it.

After all, today's event wasn't just about He Yuzhu cooking for the old lady in the backyard; it was also about the old lady wanting to see what He Yuzhu was thinking.

Having already promised, He Yuzhu didn't waste any more words. He took the piece of meat from Yi Zhonghai and returned to the kitchen.

After washing himself up, He Yuzhu started making lunch.

That's right, he plans to cook breakfast and lunch at the same time.