Siheyuan: Reborn Silly Pillar, Taking Control of the Entire Courtyard

"Crunch... crunch..."

The crisp, pleasant sounds of chewing echoed throughout the quiet room.

He Daqing picked up a piece of shredded potato with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, the crispness went straight to the top of his head.

"Absolutely amazing!"

He Daqing's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had discovered a new continent.

"The knife skills and the control of the heat are absolutely amazing!"

Not quite satisfied, he picked up another bite with his chopsticks, chewing and mumbling indistinct praises.

"This tastes just as good as what I've had in restaurants! Zhu Zi, you better tell me the truth, did you secretly find a master? You think you can learn it just by watching? I don't believe it!"

"Dad, that's what you call talent."

He Yuzhu put down his chopsticks and pointed to his head with a sincere expression.

"Your son is smart. You should also try this stir-fried cabbage with vinegar; that's a real specialty."

He Daqing picked up a piece of cabbage with some skepticism.

The cabbage slices were translucent, coated with a thin layer of sauce, and tasted slightly sour at first.

Next comes the natural sweetness of the cabbage itself, crisp and refreshing, without any greasiness.

"This level..."

He Daqing put down his chopsticks, gave a thumbs up, and his face was full of shock.

"This is definitely the work of the second chef at Fengzeyuan! Zhu Zi, if you went to get a chef's certificate, you could definitely get a top-level one! You really didn't learn from anyone?"

"Hey, what's wrong with you!"

Chen Lanxiang couldn't stand it anymore. She slammed her bowl on the table and glared at her husband like a mother protecting her child.

"You're still not happy that your son has become successful? You have to find a mentor for him to be satisfied? Today, Zhuzi saved my life and is a great hero, so stop finding fault!"

"No way, I'm just happy and excited!"

He Daqing immediately put on a grinning face, grabbed a cornbread and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling something.

"My son is better than me, and I'm proud of him!"

"Alright, Zhu Zi, eat up and ignore your dad."

Chen Lanxiang turned to look at her son, her eyes instantly softening with tenderness.

"Eat more, you need to grow strong."

"Mother, you should eat too."

He Yuzhu picked up a piece of plain cabbage with his chopsticks and put it into Chen Lanxiang's bowl.

He then picked up another steamed bun made from two kinds of dough and handed it over.

"You just gave birth, so you can't eat spicy food. This cabbage is good for your stomach."

"My son still loves his mother the most." Chen Lanxiang took the bowl and sighed happily.

Then he glared at He Daqing, who was only focused on eating.

"Look at yourself, then look at your son—that's the difference!"

With his mouth full of food, He Daqing dared not continue and could only speed up the process of eating.

In this house, remaining silent is the wisest choice at this time.

He Yuzhu lowered his head, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he was overjoyed.

Seeing his father's cowardly "henpecked" appearance, he finally understood.

No wonder that cheap old man ran off with that young widow later; the "shrewish wife" in this family was indeed a bit too much to handle.

"Hey kid, what are you laughing at?"

He Daqing keenly noticed his son's sly smile, glared at him fiercely, and thought to himself: That's it.

When no one's around, I'll show you what I'm made of. How dare you laugh at your father!

He Yuzhu pretended not to see it and picked up the bowl to drink the porridge in big gulps.

He Yushui's dinner was a carefully cooked millet porridge, with a thick layer of rice oil floating on top.

The little guy drank about half a bowl, smacked his lips, and fell asleep contentedly.

He Daqing carefully warmed the remaining porridge by the stove, intending to reheat it if the child got hungry in the middle of the night.

That night, the He family slept exceptionally well.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, He Yuzhu suddenly opened his eyes.

The first thing he did was not to put on clothes, but to call upon the system deep within his consciousness.

"System, check-in!"

[Ding! Check-in successful!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received: 5 wild crucian carp, 2 pairs of high-quality pig trotters, and 5 catties of Northeast soybeans.]

He Yuzhu's lips twitched as he watched the supplies appear out of thin air in the system space. Did this system have mind-reading abilities?

Why are you only giving me things that promote lactation?

Although I know my sister urgently needs nutrition, this is just too obvious, isn't it?

Crucian carp and tofu soup, stewed pig's trotters with soybeans...

These are all amazing products for increasing milk production!

However, despite the joy, a serious problem arose.

How do we get these things out?

It is now 1965, and resources are scarce, so a rationing system is in place.

If someone were to suddenly produce so much meat and grain, they could be arrested as speculators or even denounced as spies if seen by others.

"Well, it seems I'll have to find a chance to go out today."

He Yuzhu sighed, hid the things, and quickly got dressed.

"Pillar! What are you dawdling for? Come out and eat breakfast!"

He Daqing's gruff voice came from the kitchen.

"They're here!"

Breakfast was simple: a big pot of corn porridge, served with dark pickled vegetables and hard cornbread.

Only Chen Lanxiang's bowl was different; it contained leftover chicken soup and cornbread from last night—something He Yuzhu had specially saved for his mother, which he himself hadn't drunk a drop of.

"what?"

He Daqing looked at his son with some surprise.

"Why aren't you grabbing any meat today? You used to be like a starving wolf when you smelled meat."

"Mother's health is weak; she needs some nourishment."

He Yuzhu said something indifferently, picked up the bowl of porridge, and took a big gulp.

"Good! Good boy, you've really grown up!"

He Daqing was taken aback for a moment, then patted his son on the shoulder with satisfaction.

After dinner, He Daqing put on his cotton-padded coat and prepared to go out. Before leaving, he casually instructed, "Zhuzi, Dad has some things to do today and will be back later. Stay home and keep an eye on your mother and your sister, and don't let them wander off."

"Okay." He Yuzhu rolled her eyes.

This dad is too carefree.

My mother just gave birth, and there's a newborn baby at home, and he still has to go out "on business"?

The key point is, he's only ten years old!

This father is utterly unreliable.

As soon as I pushed open the door, a blast of cold air hit me.

It snowed all night last night, and there's already a thick layer of snow on the ground, covering your ankles.

He Yuzhu returned to the yard, picked up the shovel in the corner, and began clearing the snow.

He wasn't so kind as to help the Jia or Yi families shovel snow; he knew perfectly well what kind of people those two families were.

He only cleared the area in front of his own house, and even cleared a little more to create a path leading to the courtyard gate.

After doing all this, he hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked towards the backyard.

The deaf elderly woman has difficulty walking, so it must be very difficult for her to go out in this heavy snow.

Although the old lady can be confused at times, she did help yesterday, and He Yuzhu is not an ungrateful person.

At the backyard gate, He Yuzhu wielded a shovel with nimble movements, clearing a clean path in no time.

"Crunch."

The door was pushed open.

The deaf old lady, wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, was leaning against the door frame, looking outside.

She originally wanted to go to the front yard to see Chen Lanxiang, but seeing the snow all over the ground, she didn't dare to take a step out with her small feet.

Seeing He Yuzhu shoveling snow with his head down, a glimmer of light flashed in the old lady's cloudy eyes, and her face instantly lit up with a smile.

"Grandson, take a rest, don't tire yourself out."

He Yuzhu straightened up and wiped his sweat: "Madam, it's alright, I'm young and strong. It'll be easier for you to go out after I'm done shoveling."

"Good, good, good." The old lady smiled broadly. "Come here quickly, help Grandma to see your mother."

"Please wait a moment, I'll put the shovel back."

He Yuzhu ran back to the central courtyard to put away his tools. When he turned back, he found that the old lady had an extra thing wrapped in oil paper in her hand.

"Madam, what is this?"

"This is food I brought for you."

The old lady smiled mysteriously.

He Yuzhu helped the old lady and carefully walked towards the front yard.

As soon as I entered the room, Chen Lanxiang was leaning against the headboard sewing shoe soles. Hearing the noise, she looked up and quickly tried to get up: "Grandma! Why are you here? It's freezing cold, come and warm up on the kang (heated brick bed)."

"Don't move, don't move, you're still weak after giving birth."

The old lady quickly waved her hand and slowly moved to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to sit down.

"I was feeling bored being all alone at home, so I came over to chat with you."

"Zhu'er, quickly pour a bowl of hot water for the old lady," Chen Lanxiang instructed.

"Why."

He Yuzhu helped the old lady sit down and then went to the kitchen.

He walked around the kitchen, his brow furrowing – there wasn't even a thermos in the house.

"This is such a rough way of living."

He Yuzhu muttered something to himself.

"It would be great if the system could reward users with a thermos bottle for checking in."

Fortunately, there was still some hot water left over from last night in the big pot.

He took two large, rough porcelain bowls and filled them with hot water.

After thinking for a moment, he opened the drawer of the chest of drawers, rummaged around for a while, and finally found a small paper packet wrapped in a handkerchief—the only brown sugar in the house.

He hesitated for a moment, but still hardened his heart and scooped a spoonful of brown sugar into each bowl.

"Grandma, have some water to warm yourself up."

He Yuzhu placed the bowl on the kang table.

The old lady's expression changed when she saw the bright red sugar water in the bowl, and she reached out to push the bowl back.

"Grandson! Nonsense! This brown sugar is precious, it's for your mother to nourish her body, why are you giving this old woman some to drink! Take it back right now!"

"Grandma, please drink it."

Chen Lanxiang smiled and smoothed things over.

"It's so cold today, have some sweet soup to warm yourself up. Zhu'er is just being filial, he'll be sad if you don't drink it."

He Yuzhu stood to the side, chuckling foolishly, without saying a word.

The old lady looked at Chen Lanxiang, then at He Yuzhu.

In the end, she picked up the bowl, took a sip, and her eyes reddened slightly.

"Okay, okay, I'll drink it. This sweet soup is so sweet it warms my heart."

After finishing her water, the old lady pushed the oil paper package in front of He Yuzhu.

"Here, my grandson, these are Daoxiangcun pastries that your mother specially brought for you."

Upon opening the oil paper package, a rich aroma of pastries wafted out.

Inside were several exquisite mung bean cakes and jujube blossom pastries, which were definitely luxuries in those days.

He Yuzhu swallowed hard, but he didn't eat first.

Instead, he picked up a piece of mung bean cake and held it to the old lady's lips, saying, "Madam, you eat first."

The old woman was stunned, a hint of surprise flashing in her cloudy eyes.

Having lived to such an old age, she had witnessed far too many children fighting over food, and it was truly rare to see someone like He Yuzhu who would think of her elders first when there was something good to eat.

"Oh, oh..." The old lady took the cake, her face beaming with smiles that smoothed out all her wrinkles. "My eldest grandson is so sensible. It wasn't all that love I gave him."

He Yuzhu picked up another jujube blossom pastry, carefully broke it in half, and held it to Chen Lanxiang's lips.

"Mom, you should eat too. This stuff is soft and easy to digest."

"Mother doesn't like sweets, Zhu'er, you eat it yourself."

Although Chen Lanxiang said that, her eyes were full of longing.

"Mother, please don't lie to me."

He Yuzhu pretended to be angry and shoved the pancake into her hand.

"Who doesn't love sweets? If you don't eat them, I won't either."

Seeing her son's serious expression, Chen Lanxiang could no longer resist and took a bite of the jujube blossom pastry.

The sweet, soft texture melted in her mouth, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears: "Delicious... My Zhu'er has really grown up."

Seeing his mother and the old lady enjoying their meal, He Yuzhu picked up the remaining pastries, a mung bean cake in his left hand and a jujube blossom pastry in his right, eating with both hands until his cheeks were bulging, like a cute little hamster.

This comical appearance made the old lady and Chen Lanxiang burst into laughter.

The room was filled with laughter and joy, and a warm atmosphere filled the air.

As they chatted, He Yuzhu keenly noticed that his mother's attitude towards the deaf old lady was very special, both affectionate and with a hint of reverence.

The old lady did indeed treat Chen Lanxiang like her own daughter, asking her all sorts of questions, from whether the family had enough money to whether they were missing any cloth or food coupons.

"Lanxiang, has your milk come in yet?"

The old lady suddenly changed the subject and looked at He Yushui in the swaddling clothes.

A hint of embarrassment and helplessness appeared on Chen Lanxiang's face.

"Not yet... Daqing made chicken soup, and I drank it, but there's still no sign of it."

The old lady frowned and leaned over to look at the child.

The little guy was sleeping soundly, but his face was a bit yellow and he did look rather thin.

"This girl... is probably going to suffer."

The old lady sighed.

"She didn't have any milk to drink when she was born, so her body was already weak."

He Yuzhu carefully observed the old lady's expression.

He noticed that although the old lady said that girls were suffering, there was no disdain for girls in her eyes, but rather a concern for the younger generation.

However, she didn't seem to like holding the child much, and didn't even touch him.

"It's alright, ma'am."

Chen Lanxiang forced a smile.

"In the past, conditions were tough, and there were many babies who didn't have enough milk, but they still grew up. If all else fails, we'll feed them rice gruel."

"That's alive!"

The old lady suddenly raised her voice and glared at Chen Lanxiang.

"Can you compare them? Children raised on rice water are not as physically strong as those raised on breast milk. They're like little chicks, they'd fall over in the wind."

"Then... what do you suggest we do?"

Chen Lanxiang also became anxious.

"Take a look."

The old lady pondered for a moment.

"If that doesn't work, let the Qing Dynasty find a way to get a ewe to give the baby goat milk. Goat milk is good for you."

"A ewe?" Chen Lanxiang gave a bitter smile.

"These days, mutton is rationed, so where are you going to get a whole sheep? Besides, those things aren't easy to raise."

"Then we can only leave it to fate..."

The old lady sighed, "If there's really nothing to eat, it's just this girl's fate."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

With a creak, the door opened, and Yi Zhonghai's wife, Yi Li, peeked in.

"Oh, the old lady is here too."

Yi Li's face was all smiles, but her eyes were somewhat darting around.

"Lanxiang, are you feeling better? I've come to see you."

"I feel much better, sister-in-law, please have a seat," Chen Lanxiang said.

Yi Li didn't dare to go near the kang (heated brick bed), but just stood on the ground and exchanged a few pleasantries with the old lady.

He Yuzhu keenly noticed that Yi Lishi looked at the old lady with obvious fear in her eyes, and spoke cautiously, like a mouse seeing a cat.

After exchanging only a few words, Yi Li made an excuse: "Well, I still have a dish cooking at home, and water is boiling on the stove. I need to go back and check on it. Lanxiang, just let me know if you need anything."

After saying that, she practically fled.

Around noon, the old lady got up to go home.

"Grandma, please have lunch before you leave."

Chen Lanxiang tried to persuade her to stay.

"No, I'll go back to eat." The old lady waved her hand. "You just gave birth, you should rest well."

"Madam, please wait a moment."

He Yuzhu suddenly spoke up.

"What's wrong, grandson?"

He Yuzhu patted his chest and said confidently, "Madam, you haven't tasted my cooking yet. My father isn't home, so I'm cooking lunch today. Please stay and try it, and see if my skills are even seven or eight tenths as good as my father's."

"Oh?"

The old lady's eyes lit up, clearly intrigued. "You can cook, kid?"

"That's right!"

He Yuzhu proudly raised his chin, "You heard about the shredded potatoes yesterday, right? Today I'll show you something amazing!"

"Okay!" The old lady sat back down, looking at him with a smile.

"Then I'll take advantage of my grandson's fame today and try this 'chef's' cooking!"