Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

Chapter 67 Soft Drinks

When He Yuzhu arrived at the location, he saw a long line of people. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that they were all drinking tap water.

It was clearly not tap water, though. Curious, He Yuzhu joined the queue at the back of the group, looked at the worker in front of him, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "Comrade, what's that queue for?"

The worker was chatting with his colleagues when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw He Yuzhu, who smiled and said, "Master He, you're here too? They're lining up for soft drinks."

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up when he heard it was soda. It wasn't that the government didn't sell soda anymore, but it cost money, and it wasn't cheap either. He Yuzhu was reluctant to drink it and usually just drank some cold boiled water.

"The factory has soft drinks? And they're free?"

He Yuzhu's bright eyes made the worker laugh, and he asked curiously, "Master He, you've been working at our factory for so long, you don't know that we give out free soft drinks every summer, do you?"

"Uh, I really don't know," He Yuzhu said somewhat awkwardly.

"Haha, Master He, you're really funny. But it's okay, this soda will last a long time anyway, drink it slowly, it'll fill you up." The worker didn't laugh, but instead comforted him.

Hearing that it was free soft drinks, He Yuzhu waited patiently behind. The soft drinks were placed at the tap, and a lunchbox would be filled quickly, so it was quite fast, and He Yuzhu's turn came soon.

He Yuzhu took out his lunchbox, curiously filled it with food, and tasted it.

"Hmm~ Goodness, it's salty." He Yuzhu smacked his lips. How to describe the taste? It tastes like soda, but it's very similar to ordinary soda made with carbon dioxide in later generations. Not only that, it's also salty.

"Master He, how's the taste?"

He Yuzhu heard the noise, turned around, and saw that it was the workers queuing behind him making a fuss.

"This tastes pretty good, just a little too salty." Despite saying that, He Yuzhu still took a few sips and then got another bowl of rice.

"Master He, it's originally salty, it's for cooling off in the summer."

Someone noticed that He Yuzhu genuinely didn't know what the soda was for, and explained it to him. Only then did He Yuzhu realize that the soda was for the workers to cool off in the heat.

Steel rolling mills are a special type of steel industry, and they are never allowed to stop operating, even now that it's unbearably hot in the summer. They can only try to provide the workers with some drinks to cool them down.

Right now, they only have some soft drinks. When the weather gets hotter, the factory will also give out popsicles for free.

Leaving the crowd and standing in a secluded spot, he quickly replaced the lunchbox full of soda with an empty one and took it back to the cafeteria.

Upon entering the cafeteria, He Yuzhu noticed Director Zhang was there, so he immediately stepped forward and said to him, "Director, what brings you to the cafeteria today?"

Director Zhang turned around and saw that He Yuzhu had returned. He immediately waved for him to come forward.

"Zhu Zi, you're here just in time. It's hot now, and the factory leaders have assigned us to add an extra serving of soup to cool us down every day at noon. As the head of the third canteen group, you can arrange for someone to make it yourself," Director Zhang said.

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu nodded repeatedly: "Director, don't worry. I will definitely complete the task."

After listening, Director Zhang nodded without saying much and led the group to other canteens.

After Director Zhang walked away, He Yuzhu pulled back Lao Ma, who was about to return to the stove.

"Old Ma, what kind of soup do you usually make to cool off in the summer?" He Yuzhu asked Old Ma, an elderly man in the canteen.

Without hesitation, Old Ma said, "It's simple. When it's hot, just boil some mung beans to make mung bean soup. After a while, you can make winter melon soup and use winter melon in other dishes."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu immediately wrote a note to go to the warehouse to get mung beans. After getting the mung beans, he put them in the kitchen, intending to cook them the next day, as it was too late now.

When He Yuzhu got home in the afternoon, he found that He Yushui was not there. He took off his bag, took out the lunchbox containing the soda, and put the lunchbox in a mesh bag.

He Yuzhu then went to the supply and marketing cooperative where Yang Lifang worked.

When they arrived, He Yuzhu found her busy. He Yuzhu didn't disturb her, but stood aside and waited quietly.

After waiting a while, Yang Lifang finally finished her work. Seeing He Yuzhu standing beside her, she smiled and invited him in.

He Yuzhu didn't stand on ceremony and went straight in. As soon as he entered, he saw that the place was full of goods and there were many people busy inside.

Yang Lifang led He Yuzhu to the back and said, "Brother Zhu, sit down for a while, I'll get you a glass of water."

He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, I'm not thirsty, I just came to see you." After saying that, he looked at Yang Lifang with tenderness in his eyes.

Yang Lifang felt a little embarrassed by his gaze and lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes.

"Brother, I'm here too."

Suddenly a voice came from beside them, interrupting the atmosphere between the two.

He Yuzhu looked over with displeasure, only to see it was He Yushui: "What are you doing here?"

He Yushui was displeased upon hearing this: "Can't I come? Honestly, I've been here for several days in a row."

He Yuzhu, trying to make conversation, nodded and took the lunchbox full of soda from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"What is this?" He Yushui and Yang Lifang were both very curious.

He Yuzhu didn't speak, but simply raised his chin, indicating that they should open it themselves.

He Yushui was the first to open the lunchbox, and immediately saw that it was full of bubbling soda.

Seeing this, Yang Lifang quickly went out to get one of her cups, and He Yuzhu poured her a glass of soda and handed it to her.

Yang Lifang took the cup but didn't drink from it. Instead, she handed it to He Yushui, saying, "Yushui, you drink it!"

Looking at Yang Lifang and He Yuzhu, Yu Shui felt a surge of joy and said, "Thank you, sister. Thank you, brother. You're both so kind. Now I have two people who will love me." She then took a large gulp of water.

Then, He Yushui almost vomited and said, "This tastes awful, bro, what is this?"

"How does this soda taste?" He Yuzhu asked with a smile.

He Yushui nodded, then shook her head, frowning as she said, "I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like soda, but it's salty."

"Oh right, this is soda, but it's salty. It comes from the tap in the factory." He Yuzhu explained the origin of the soda in this lunchbox.

However, it was obvious that the soda wasn't sweet, which didn't quite suit He Yushui's taste.