Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Changzheng, marinate the meat as soon as you've cut it! Mahua, soak the potato slices in water! You tall guy, wash the eggplant quickly!"

"Director He, my name is Liu Zi..."

While stir-frying the cabbage, He Yuzhu shouted instructions. After keeping a pot of golden, fragrant cabbage warm, he turned around and started kneading meat filling, preparing to make four-happiness meatballs.

The kitchen staff were incredibly busy, but no one could match his nimble hands and feet. Twenty pounds of minced meat mixed with flour was kneaded with lightning speed, transforming into perfectly round meatballs in the blink of an eye.

I had just finished making the meatballs, wiped my hands, and was about to start making stir-fried pork with chili peppers when I suddenly heard the handyman shouting at the door, "Director He, someone's looking for you outside!"

"Who is it? Factory Director Liu?"

He Yuzhu wiped his sweat, his hands still oily, and was about to put down the pot and go out to check.

"It's not Factory Director Liu, it's Liang Ladi from the welding workshop."

"Liang Ladi? Who's that? I don't know her."

He muttered to himself, but still went out. He immediately saw a young female worker standing at the door, with delicate features and a neat posture, but he could swear he had never seen her before.

He Yuzhu stepped forward and asked, "Are you Comrade Liang Ladi? What do you need me for?"

Liang Ladi nodded and tentatively asked, "You're the chef here to cook the banquet today, right?"

"Yes, I brought two helpers with me. What's wrong?"

Upon hearing "three people," Liang Ladi's heart skipped a beat—that meant nine banquet vouchers, nine servings of meat dishes! Could three people eat that much?

She immediately reached out and grabbed He Yuzhu: "Come with me for a moment!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Comrade, let's talk this out, don't get physical!" He Yuzhu was startled; this girl was really bold.

But Liang Ladi ignored him completely, pulling him to the side of the cafeteria. She looked him over and lowered her voice, "You three can't possibly use all those meal vouchers, can you? Can you lend me a couple? I'll pay for them!"

She originally wanted to test the waters first, offering five cents a bill as a trial; if it didn't work out, she would grit her teeth and take it anyway.

"Can I give you two sheets?" He Yuzhu frowned. "Didn't the machine repair shop give you any sheets?"

"It's been distributed... but my family is large, seven or eight people sharing one dish, how can that be enough?" Liang Ladi's eyes reddened, and she quickly played the filial piety card, "My parents are almost sixty, I just want them to have a good meal, to put their minds at ease..."

He Yuzhu sighed inwardly. Are there still such hardworking female factory workers these days? But then again, three rolls of food were really useless to him—if he really wanted to eat well, he could just cook a plate himself.

He waved his hand: "Alright, I can give you two. Do you have any wine coupons? We can exchange them."

"Liquor coupons?" Liang Ladi shook her head. "No, I don't drink. I exchanged all my sugar coupons for grain coupons, so where would I get liquor coupons?"

He Yuzhu sighed: "If you don't have any wine coupons, then it's fine. They're 50 cents each. How many do you want? I only have three left."

"Five cents a note?!" Liang Ladi almost jumped up, her voice trembling. "That's outrageous! Five cents can buy a plate of meat outside, you're ripping people off!"

"Outside, a meat dish costs five cents and you have to pay two ounces of meat coupons, but here, one meal voucher can get you a whole meat dish. Besides, my cooking skills are far superior to those of roadside hawkers. And lastly—I'm not begging you to buy from me."

He Yuzhu finished speaking, flicked his sleeves, and turned to go back to the stove to continue his work. Liang Ladi was ungrateful; he didn't bother arguing with her.

"Wait! Hold on a minute..."

Liang Ladi grabbed his sleeve and pleaded with him for a long time, but He Yuzhu was unmoved and determined not to budge. In the end, she could only grit her teeth and take out a dollar to buy two meal tickets.

As soon as He Yuzhu left, Liang Ladi returned to the welding workshop, her cheeks puffed out in anger. Her salary was high, 33.5 yuan a month, but she always sent 28 yuan home without fail. Now that she was missing a yuan, she was afraid she would have to tighten her belt at the end of the month.

But He Yuzhu didn't care about any of that. A stranger wanted to buy but thought it was too expensive, so he wouldn't sell it to him. With his skills, this price was already a charity price.

Back in the kitchen, he plunged back into the pots and pans. There was a lot of work to do today, but luckily he had his reliable apprentice, Mu Changzheng, to lend a hand, otherwise it would have been a real struggle.

He finally understood why Liu Feng had gone to the steel mill to invite him—the cooks in this machine repair shop were all "veterans" who had worked their way up to level 10 over the years, but their knife skills and cooking techniques were terrible, and they couldn't even pass the proper level 9 exam.

So he was in charge of cooking all the meat dishes, Mu Changzheng was in charge of two vegetarian dishes, and the rest of the staple food and other chores were left to the factory's "cooks".

At noon, the machine repair shop canteen was bustling with people and filled with delicious aromas, and workers passing by couldn't help but peek through the door.

It smells so good! It's a completely different world from the pig swill I used to eat.

Factory manager Liu Feng walked in carrying a lunchbox, and grinned as soon as he smelled the food. Seeing He Yuzhu nod at him, he immediately turned to the crowd and announced loudly, "Fellow workers, I now declare—the machine repair factory's luncheon is officially open!"

Before he finished speaking, a long line immediately formed in front of the food serving window.

A meal voucher can be exchanged for a meat dish and a vegetable dish, or a half-meat dish with two vegetable dishes, plus a bowl of bone, vegetable and tofu soup. For these workers who usually eat rice with pickled vegetables, this meal is like a New Year's celebration.

As soon as the food was served, everyone eagerly began to eat. One bite, and the aroma filled their mouths, prompting a flood of praise.

Even Liu Feng and several other leaders nodded in approval as they ate – the quality was even better than that of state-run restaurants!

Liang Ladi and Fang Zhou sat in the corner, reluctant to order meat dishes, and only ordered vegetarian dishes, which they made do with the free soup.

Liang Ladi lowered her head and took a sip of soup, muttering to herself, "That person really wasn't bragging; his cooking skills are absolutely amazing..."

Fang Zhou knew she had gone to see He Yuzhu that morning. Hearing the cheers around him, he understood: five cents a coupon, a steal! If they were still available, he'd want to bring a few back home.

In the queue, an elderly man and a young man were waiting. The younger man couldn't help but ask the older worker in front of him, "Uncle Zhang, didn't you say the factory didn't have a head chef? This tastes like something a master chef would make, much better than mine... Is there any way I can squeeze in?"

Uncle Zhang frowned and clicked his tongue: "Nan Yi, don't rush, I'll ask the factory manager after we finish eating. It's strange, yesterday I could still find sand in my food, how come it's suddenly like a Michelin-starred meal today?"

After lunch, He Yuzhu and the other two packed up their lunchboxes and prepared to leave.

Liu Feng saw him off all the way to the factory gate, his face full of reluctance: "Director He, after this meal, I really don't want you to leave! Are you married? Would you like me to introduce you to a couple of girls? We have plenty of good prospects in our factory!"

"Thanks, Director Liu." He Yuzhu waved with a smile. "I'm engaged, and we'll have the wedding next year."

"Oh, you're so lucky!" Liu Feng slapped his thigh. "Next time we have a get-together, I'll just talk to Director Li and you can just give me a nod. We're from the same company, we should at least have that much of a relationship, right?"

"Of course," He Yuzhu smiled. "As long as you ask, I will definitely come if I can."

"Then I won't see you off?" Liu Feng remained standing still.

"Don't bother seeing me off, you can go back now." He Yuzhu waved his hand.

After saying goodbye, he led Mu Changzheng and Ma Hua to the bus stop.

On the bus, he opened the lunchbox, looked inside, and turned to Mu Changzheng, saying, "Changzheng, your family is better off, so I'll leave this meat and vegetable dish for Ma Hua."

Mu Changzheng quickly declined, "Uncle-Master, you're too kind! You've taken such good care of me and Shih-hu, helping you is just my duty. Junior Brother Ma Hua, please take these dishes..."

"Alright, alright," He Yuzhu interrupted him, his tone turning stern. "Why are you putting on all this formality in front of me? You and Shih-hu are both quite skilled cooks, so take some time to get your cook certification and stop sitting here acting like 'master chefs'."

He Yuzhu stopped Mu Changzheng, his brows furrowing slightly. Although his family was better off than Ma Hua, meat and vegetables were still rare treats, and they couldn't just give them away so easily, especially right under Mu Changzheng's nose.

His tone turned serious as he continued, "Although you and Shih-hu are my junior disciples, you are both older than me..."

"Uncle-Master, we truly respect you as our own uncle-master from the bottom of our hearts!" Mu Changzheng immediately replied.

"You brat, let me finish!" He Yuzhu glared at him and waved his hand impatiently. "You two have helped me out a lot in the cafeteria, and now you're both at the age to settle down and start families. So here's a promise: I can get you a bicycle and a sewing machine. Whoever gets married first gets to choose! Consider this your uncle's wedding gift."

Tickets and coupons were no problem for him. He'd already exchanged two nearly expired bicycle and sewing machine tickets for liquor coupons and stuffed them into his pocket. As for getting another one? A word to Li Huaide or some factory leader would be a piece of cake.

Money was no object. To He Yuzhu, it was just a number in exchange for a ginseng root.

Upon hearing this, Mu Changzheng's eyes lit up instantly, and he blurted out, "Uncle-Master, don't worry! I'll go back and tell Shih-hu right away that we're going on blind dates right now. Whoever succeeds first gets to come and tell you the good news!"

"Haha, sure!" He Yuzhu grinned. "Then I'll be waiting to drink your wedding wine."

After saying that, he turned to stare at Ma Hua and scolded him without any politeness: "What are you watching? Pass the Level 8 cook exam within three years! If you don't pass, don't say you're my apprentice! From now on, you'll be responsible for all two meals a day in your family. Practice your skills and stop just watching others eat meat all day long."

"Yes, yes, Master, I understand..." Ma Hua nodded hurriedly, but his heart skipped a beat. Especially the words "Don't say you're my disciple," which made his spine tense. But he also made up his mind—he must achieve Level 8 within three years!

After finishing their work at the machine repair shop, the three of them no longer needed to return to the steel rolling mill, giving them an extra half-day off.

He Yuzhu wasn't in a hurry to go home either. Lou Xiao'e had class today, and he had just tricked her into skipping class yesterday; it wouldn't be right to bother her again today.

So he strolled over to the two-courtyard house near Zhengyangmen, took a bath, changed his clothes, and headed towards Xue Ru Silk Shop.

Chen Xueru was busy tallying accounts, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, her fingers clicking rapidly on the abacus. Her demeanor was both cold and alluring, exceptionally captivating.