I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

Qin Huairu obediently helped Sha Zhu clean up the kitchen.

"Zhu Zi, our restaurant's business is getting worse and worse. Can you think of a solution?"

"I've been thinking about these things lately. I went to Nan Yi's restaurant, and their decor is miles ahead of ours, and the prices aren't too expensive, just a little bit higher!"

"But where would we get the money for renovations?"

Hearing this, Sha Zhu didn't say a word. The restaurant had made a lot of money in the past two years, but the Jia family was like a bottomless pit! According to his budget, if he could just take 5000 yuan from those profits, the restaurant would definitely be a different story.

"We'll just have to make do for now since we don't have any money!"

"The landlord said the rent is going to go up again next year!"

"How much will it increase?"

"Double the price!"

Sha Zhu angrily slammed the large ladle into the pot. "This is outrageous! Should we go somewhere else?"

Qin Huairu frowned deeply. "Changing locations sounds so easy to you, but where would we get the money?"

"Money, money, money! Aren't you in charge of all the money? We've been running this restaurant for two years, and we've made at least 2 yuan! The competition is so fierce now; if it weren't for my cooking skills, this restaurant would have gone out of business long ago!"

"I didn't squander that money, so why are you taking it out on me?"

Sha Zhu looked at his wife, feeling utterly exhausted for the first time. "Fine, I don't want to argue with you. If we don't have money, this restaurant will just stay the same. Those who can keep going will stay, those who can't will part ways. I'm going to find my sister!"

Sha Zhu angrily threw down his apron, leaving his wife alone in the restaurant. When he went outside and saw bicycles all over the street, Sha Zhu looked on with envy. He slowly lit a cigarette and walked slowly towards his sister's house.

When he arrived at his sister's room, it was already dark. Sha Zhu sat at the entrance of the courtyard and smoked five or six cigarettes before finally mustering the courage to step into the yard!

"Uncle! You're here, have you eaten yet?"

"Where's your mother?" Seeing his nephew, Sha Zhu felt inexplicably better.

"She went to visit her classmate with Aunt Yu; only my dad is home!"

"Who is it?" Li Jianguo came out of the kitchen when he heard the noise. He had just finished washing the dishes and hadn't even taken off his apron yet.

"Zhu Zi! Have you eaten? There's still some in the kitchen, I'll go get it for you!"

"No need! Jianguo, I'm here to find rainwater."

"What bad timing! Your sister went to see Lin Feng with Yu Haitang. Do you have something important to discuss? Should I talk to her about it later?"

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. "Why did Yu Shui go to find Lin Feng?"

"What else can he do? My silly boy is still unemployed..."

Sha Zhu looked at his nephew after hearing this, his heart filled with guilt. "Of course I should go! I don't have anything else to do, I just came to check on things. You go ahead with your work, I'll be going now..."

A man returned to the courtyard gate as if he had lost his soul. Sha Zhu looked at the familiar gate, and Zhong Yuan occasionally let out cheerful laughter. Without a doubt, a group of old and young men were sitting and watching TV again.

Sha Zhu quietly walked into the courtyard, walked to the familiar locust tree, squatted down quietly, and looked at the television not far away, without any intention of going inside.

Inside the restaurant, Yu Haitang was truly amazed by what she had seen. "Boss Nan, I never knew you had such skills! The presentation of these dishes is exquisite!"

"Hehe! Imperial chefs are all about presentation. You guys enjoy your meal, I'll go cook a couple more dishes."

Raindrop stared wide-eyed at the five or six dishes laid out on the table. "I bet we couldn't get this kind of cooking even if we paid!"

"The chef usually doesn't cook himself! Please, eat up..."

As soon as Lin Feng picked up his chopsticks, the two women followed suit without hesitation. The three of them ate for a while before slowly putting down their chopsticks.

"Rain! What do you want from me?"

Yu Shui's personality is similar to his brother's; he is reluctant to ask for help, while Yu Haitang is much more carefree.

"What else could it be? My nephew is getting married, and he's still unemployed! Old classmate, you've got to help him out."

"That's all? I remember you have a daughter, right? Do you need me to help you with that? By the way, what's your son good at?"

Hearing Lin Feng's words, Yu Haitang proudly raised her eyebrows at the rain.

Rain seemed a little embarrassed. "My son went to high school, but my daughter dropped out after junior high..."

"That's great! They're all highly educated, and the factory manager's second-phase project has started. The positions in the old factory are basically full, so there's no point in squeezing them in! How about this? Let the two kids take on some administrative positions at the construction site first!"

When Yu Shui heard the words "highly educated intellectuals," his face turned slightly red. His old classmate was praising him too much.

"You can arrange it as you see fit!"

"Oh, by the way, remember to let me know when your son gets married. A red envelope is a must for your classmates!"

"With the boss making a move, we're all waiting..."

Lin Feng smiled and looked at Haitang. "I definitely can't let my old classmate down!"

"Boss, if I get married again, will you still give me a red envelope?"

Yushui almost spat out a mouthful of food and angrily slapped her outspoken best friend!

After finishing his meal, Yu Shui returned to the house with a rosy complexion, and Li Jianguo eagerly ran up to him.

"Honey, how did things go?"

"My old classmate is really great; he's got both his son and daughter's affairs sorted out!"

After Yu Shui finished speaking, she recounted Lin Feng's arrangements, and Li Jianguo's last bit of worry vanished.

"That's great! By forcing it in, people won't say it's a backdoor deal, which would be bad for the child later. Your classmate is so thoughtful!"

"How could such a big boss not think of something so small?"

"By the way, your brother came again today."

"He didn't say anything! He left as soon as he heard you went to see Lin Feng. I guess he wanted something from you but was too embarrassed to ask."

"What else could he possibly be doing? He doesn't even have a son of his own, he's just wasting his time! Just wait, he'll get what's coming to him!"

Yu Shui was furious when she mentioned her older brother. "He gave such a good job opportunity to Bang Geng back then, never imagining he had a nephew! My son wasted two whole years in Beijing! Did he even care?"

"Sigh, that's just how your brother is. He's not a bad person, just a bit too carefree..."

"Him? He has the world in his heart, everything, but he can't fit in his own family! I've long since stopped thinking of him as a brother!"

"You two are still siblings after all!" Li Jianguo sighed. The two siblings were practically estranged from each other until the end!

"Brother and sister?" Raindrops sneered. "He doesn't even care about his own father, so what am I, his sister?"

Speaking of He Daqing, Li Jianguo suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, your father seems to be in a bad situation! How about we take some time to go to Hebei to visit him?"

"What's wrong with my dad again?"

"The other day you asked me to call and inquire about the situation. My colleagues in the Hebei police station said that it seems your father was beaten by his son, and it even escalated to the point of going to the police station!"

"He deserves to raise someone else's son!" Rainwater said, her heart clenching again. "Let's take a day off the day after tomorrow and go to Hebei to see him. If he doesn't live well, we'll bring him back!"

"I'll listen to you!"