Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

As the sun set, He Yuzhu followed the flow of people leaving get off work home.

At that time, there was no overtime or three-shift system; it hadn't reached that level yet. Of course, this was also because their steel rolling mill was just a small subsidiary of a large factory.

Their steel rolling mill can only start operating if parts or steel are delivered from above. Otherwise, they just work regular hours and don't need to do anything.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw Yan Bugui watering the flowers.

"Shazhu, you're back? I heard from your third aunt that you're working as a chef in the cafeteria now." Yan Bugui seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; even though He Yuzhu hadn't made a sound, Yan Bugui noticed.

"Yes, Uncle, I'm a cook in the cafeteria now." After saying that, He Yuzhu prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui, like a monkey, suddenly darted in front of He Yuzhu and said with a beaming smile:

"Zhu Zi, I heard that cooks can bring back lunchboxes, is that true? Could you show them to your third uncle?"

"Uncle, this won't do. These lunchboxes and ingredients all come from the factory, they belong to the government. How can we take advantage of the government? You can't have this kind of thinking," He Yuzhu said righteously, since he really didn't have any lunchboxes left.

It was obvious that Uncle Yan Bugui didn't believe it. He looked at the lunchbox in He Yuzhu's hand, which really left him speechless.

He Yuzhu picked up the lunchbox, opened it, and showed it to Yan Bugui, who then gave up hope.

"Silly Zhu, I didn't expect you to be so enlightened. I underestimated you. It's my fault." Since he didn't gain any advantage, he didn't mind talking and prepared to turn around and leave.

But at this point, He Yuzhu refused to accept it.

"Uncle, what are you saying? Do you often try to take advantage of public resources?"

"Oh, you can't say that, Sha Zhu. How could I possibly take advantage of the public?" Yan Bugui was startled. He was not like the cook.

If there's a saying about cooks: "If a cook doesn't steal, the harvest won't be plentiful," then teachers must ensure their moral character is impeccable. Otherwise, a lack of moral integrity could cost them their job.

"No, then why would you, Uncle San, think there was government food in my lunchbox? Or are you used to taking advantage of others and assume everyone else does the same?"

Yan Bugui finally understood. It was all his fault for offending He Yuzhu with his mouth; He Yuzhu was pointing fingers at him.

"No, no, Zhuzi, it was Third Uncle's fault. Third Uncle misspoke. Look at my mouth, I deserve a beating. From now on, Third Uncle won't say things like that again." Yan Bugui smacked his lips in a silly manner and changed his address from "Silly Zhu" to "Zhuzi".

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "Third Uncle and Third Aunt are a perfect match. When you speak kindly to them or ask them for help, Silly Zhu will turn into a pillar."

"Alright, Uncle, that's all I wanted to say. I'm heading back now. Goodbye." He Yuzhu said, turning and leaving. His younger sister had already returned home, and he couldn't afford to waste any more time.

When I got home, I saw He Yushui cleaning and tidying up the house.

"Hey, Yushui's been diligent today, cleaning your brother's room." He Yuzhu said, placing the lunchbox on the table. In that instant, the lunchbox switched places with the one in his spatial dimension, and this time it actually contained food.

Hearing her brother say this, He Yushui was somewhat dissatisfied: "Brother, how can you say that? Before, we weren't even full, and if we moved around for a while, we'd get hungry again, so we had to conserve our energy. But yesterday we ate our fill, didn't we? Now that we have energy, we still need to clean the house."

"Yes, yes, it's my fault. My little sister was hungry before and wouldn't clean up. Now that she's full, she can clean up for her brother. She's so good," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Brother, stop joking around. Brother, I suddenly remembered something, how old are you this year?" He Yushui's expression was very serious as she stared at him.

He Yuzhu, who had originally wanted to make a few more jokes, lost that desire.

"What's wrong, Yushui? I'm 21 this year, why are you asking me that?" He Yushui was acting very strangely today, and He Yuzhu was a little worried.

At this moment, He Yushui's eyes reddened, and she said to her brother, "Brother, you're already 21, you're practically an old maid. Jia Dongxu is 21 and already has a child. It's all my fault for dragging you down with me."

It turned out that He Yushui was thinking of him as her older brother, and He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart at that moment. But to be honest, He Yuzhu didn't really care, after all, he was only 21 years old. In his previous life, it was normal to get married at 30, but he was only 21 now.

"Yushui, it's alright. Look how well our family is doing these days. Maybe before long, your brother will bring you a sister-in-law." He Yuzhu smiled, then opened the lunchbox on the table and said to He Yushui, "Yushui, look at this lunchbox. There's meat and vegetables, and radish stew with meat. Your brother made it today."

He Yushui's gaze was immediately drawn to her brother, who saw the meat and vegetables on the table.

"Wow, bro, the food at your steel mill is amazing! They even have radish stew with meat."

Although I just ate meat dishes yesterday, I still couldn't help but drool when I saw them today.

"Alright, alright, look at how greedy you are. Go wash your hands and come back for dinner."

He Yuzhu found He Yushui's appearance quite amusing and quickly urged her to wash her hands.

A few days ago, He Yuzhu did a simple cleaning of the house. After cleaning it again today after the rain, the house immediately felt much brighter, and the dusty and hazy feeling disappeared.

To be honest, when I ate radish stew with pork in the cafeteria, it was just so-so, so I didn't think much of it. But when I ate it with my sister, it tasted really delicious.

Or rather, it's only at this time that I feel at home.

Silent all night.

The next morning, He Yuzhu simply cooked some porridge at home and ate it with some pickled vegetables, quickly finishing his breakfast.

After all, He Yuzhu could save a lot of money by having a meal at the factory. And He Yushui also had money, so she could eat out.

Once in the kitchen, He Yuzhu got busy.

Two or three days passed like this, and then the cafeteria director suddenly approached He Yuzhu again.

He Yuzhu initially thought he was about to be promoted, but to his surprise, the canteen manager said to him, "Zhuzi, I know you've learned many skills. Now I want to ask you, can you cook the food that people in the Soviet Union ate?"

When He Yuzhu heard the cafeteria manager tell him about this, his eyes lit up.