All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Xu Damao tried to pull her away, but Qin Huairu glared at him fiercely. Xu Damao snorted, glanced at Qin Huairu triumphantly, and then said to Qin Jingru, who was looking back every few steps.

"Jingru, I'll wait for you at the entrance!"

After saying that, he ignored Qin Huairu and, with a smug expression, pushed his bicycle and walked outside.

He had already succeeded last night, and now he had nothing to worry about. That silly girl, Qin Jingru, was no longer able to escape his grasp.

Xu Damao is that kind of person. He never cherishes what he gets. When it comes to pursuing women, he enjoys the process more. Of course, as for the result, it's still about having children.

As he gets older, his child has become a source of anxiety for Xu Damao.

Qin Huairu grabbed Qin Jingru's hand and forcefully pulled the unwilling, silly girl into the house.

Qin Huairu was furious. She pointed at Qin Jingru's nose, too angry to speak. Then, looking at the silly girl's red woolen coat and leather shoes, she finally understood everything.

These past few days, that brat has been away from home all the time. I thought she was out on a date with that silly Zhu. Qin Huairu was so angry she didn't know what to say. All my heartache these past few days was for nothing.

She looked out the window and saw that Sha Zhu's door was closed, and he was obviously still sleeping in. The steel mill had already closed for the holidays, and Sha Zhu had taken on a lot of work during this time, often disappearing from sight and returning late at night.

The whole truth has now been revealed.

After being angry for a while, Qin Huairu calmed down a bit. She had come out of Xu Damao's yard early in the morning and hadn't come back all night, which spoke volumes.

"Tell me, where are you at?"

Qin Jingru blushed and shyly tugged at Qin Huairu's hand.

"Sis... what are you still asking? You saw it all!"

You...you, if I had known you were getting together with Xu Damao, I would have bought an iron chain to lock you up!

Qin Huairu's heart, which had just calmed down, almost exploded again upon hearing these words. Who was Xu Damao?

He's a pervert, or to be more precise, a selfish and lecherous one. If you stay with him, this silly girl will cry sooner or later, but everything is already set in stone.

In this day and age, if an unmarried woman sleeps with a married man, it goes without saying that she's at a disadvantage; her reputation is completely ruined.

Now that things had come to this point, Qin Huairu's mind raced as she began to devise a plan for her cousin. The deed was done, and if she didn't come up with a solution for this silly girl, she would eventually be discarded by Xu Damao.

Over the years, Xu Damao, using his position as a film projectionist, has harassed many women in the factory. In the original novel, when He Yuzhu told a group of older women that someone in the factory was being harassed, the first person those women thought of was Xu Damao.

As a result, he was stripped naked by a group of old women. In the original novel, this matter was glossed over lightly, but in reality, one can imagine how much psychological damage Xu Damao suffered from this incident.

Although Deputy Factory Director Li also enjoys this kind of thing and will be planting and watering the plants for a long time, Xu Damao, as a projectionist, can't afford to support him long-term. So he can only rely on small favors to get some benefits.

But he has no bottom line; he's a master at playing the fool. Ever since he went to the big boss's house with the factory manager and was kicked out, he hasn't given up.

He is now considering whether to join the ranks of Deputy Factory Director Li, the factory director's rival. As the situation becomes increasingly dire, someone like him who loves to use underhanded tactics, coupled with his limited talent, will eventually be valued by Deputy Factory Director Li. He just hasn't found a good way to get close to Deputy Factory Director Li yet!

Qin Huairu talked to the silly girl for more than ten minutes before letting her leave.

The first thing she told Sha Niu was that before Xu Damao got a divorce, she couldn't let him sleep around for free anymore, and she couldn't ruin his reputation before he even entered the brothel.

The second thing is to have Qin Jingru take the opportunity to pressure Xu Damao to speed up the divorce process, get a marriage certificate with Xu Damao as soon as possible, and settle down in peace.

Although Qin Huairu looked down on Xu Damao, to be honest, Xu Damao's conditions were not bad, and in fact, in this era, he was much more promising than that cook Sha Zhu.

Who told Xu Damao to have such a lucrative job as a movie projectionist?

Watching Qin Jingru leave with Xu Damao, feeling quite pleased with herself, Qin Huairu's sense of loss and inner turmoil intensified.

But for some reason, she felt a vague sense of ease, though she didn't know where that ease came from.

She looked toward He Yuzhu's door and saw He Yuzhu yawning, stretching, and looking in her direction.

He Yuzhu was still half asleep when he opened the door, stretched, and saw that Widow Qin was looking at him. He smiled, turned around, and went back into the house.

He Yuzhu has been so busy lately that he has no time to deal with Qin Huairu's matter. Due to certain reasons, the steel plant closed for the holiday half a month earlier this year.

I originally planned to take a good rest during the holiday, but instead, I've been dealing with a lot of trouble every day.

Recently, He Yuzhu received numerous invitations to help organize banquets. Several of the relatives in these banquets were influential figures, and before the guests had even left, these same influential individuals invited He Yuzhu to organize a few more for them. How could He Yuzhu possibly refuse?

Just look at the guards and secretary around him, and you'll know you can't refuse to give them face.

As a result, He Yuzhu's reputation for culinary skills spread rapidly in certain circles, and he has been busy for almost half a month.

Even when Uncle San's eldest son got married and held a banquet, He Yuzhu only took an hour during lunch to cook a few tables, which made Uncle San complain quite a bit.

However, He Yuzhu didn't care about the old man's complaints. He had originally promised to introduce Teacher Ran Qiuye to him, but because he was too busy these past few days, the two of them missed meeting again.

This incident left He Yuzhu with a slight sense of regret.

But there are too many things to do during the New Year, and He Yuzhu really has no mood to talk about that matter. During this period, although he was busy, he also gained a lot. At least he met a bunch of big shots, and even some of them became famous in later generations.

However, He Yuzhu didn't intend to get too close to these big shots. He was just a cook, helping out in case of special circumstances, and he wanted to get to know them for now.

Besides that, getting to know many of the characters in textbooks is a unique kind of fun, isn't it?

Besides these, He Yuzhu also met a very interesting "old" friend during this period. He was busy until the 28th of the lunar calendar, and he finally managed to find some time to visit this "old" friend today!

The reason I call him an "old" friend is because he is actually quite old, over eighty years old, but his personality is still like that of a playful old man!

He was interested in this old rascal, mainly because this person was also somewhat of a colleague.

Chapter 21: The Old Rascal

Meeting this "old rascal" was purely by chance.

A while ago, he helped a big shot organize a birthday banquet. The big shot arranged ten tables, but He Yuzhu only had to cook for eight tables. The other two tables were already arranged separately.

This incident was quite a blow to He Yuzhu at the time; it seemed like they didn't believe in his cooking skills or something.

If it were up to his usual temper, he would have stormed off long ago. Who does he think he is?

However, He Yuzhu now had a sullen face. After questioning his secretary, he learned the whole story and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although He Yuzhu considered himself to be a decent cook, he knew that the capital of Yan was a place where hidden talents were everywhere, and there were bound to be many true culinary masters, so he was not arrogant.

As it turns out, I actually met a master today.

However, it wasn't that the boss didn't trust Yu Zhu's cooking skills; rather, there was a special reason why the other two tables invited other people to cook.

It turns out that the boss's mother is a vegetarian, and the other two tables were set up for vegetarian feasts. They had hired a real vegetarian feast master to prepare the vegetarian feasts.

Upon learning the reason, He Yuzhu became interested, as he actually didn't know anything about vegetarian cuisine.

Moreover, the secretary's mysterious remarks about the master's impressive background piqued He Yuzhu's interest even more.

So that day, He Yuzhu waited for a long time, and after he finished preparing his eight tables, the master still didn't show up. Just as he was wondering about this...

Then an old man with white hair, a ruddy face, and wearing a faded Taoist robe strode into the kitchen.

While He Yuzhu was in a daze, the old man saw that there was no one in the kitchen, raised his eyebrows at He Yuzhu, and quickly reached out and tore off a chicken leg from the plate that He Yuzhu had just made and stuffed it into his mouth.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to send the man away, he saw his secretary rushing into the kitchen. Upon seeing the white-haired old man, she breathed a sigh of relief and said to him.

"Master Su, please hurry up and cook! The old lady keeps urging us!"

He Yuzhu was a little dumbfounded. Just like that, he watched helplessly as this old man with white hair, who was like a playful child, started to roll up his sleeves and show off his skills while stuffing a chicken leg into his mouth.

He Yuzhu originally thought that making a vegetarian feast would at most consist of vegetables and radishes, and would be a bit bland!

But He Yuzhu watched helplessly as the white-haired old man took a bowl of ordinary bean products, added some flour and some of his own seasonings, pounded it hard, steamed it to set its shape, carved it with a small knife, and finally deep-fried it in three rounds of hot and cold oil.

When the white-haired old man was fished out of the oil pan, He Yuzhu could hardly believe his eyes. He was stunned and, for the first time, began to doubt his own culinary skills.

A golden-yellow vegetarian chicken appeared before him. Its crispy, golden color made He Yuzhu swallow hard. The chicken was perfectly intact, with almost no flaws.

If He Yuzhu hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought that the vegetarian chicken in front of him had just been taken out of the oven, with its golden skin glistening with oil.

"Damn it, this is a real master, a true culinary expert!" He Yuzhu swallowed hard, wondering how to strike up a conversation, when he heard the white-haired old man grumble in dissatisfaction.

"Young man, have you seen enough? Hurry up and come help me, I'm exhausted!"

Without the slightest hesitation, He Yuzhu immediately went to help with a big smile.

The wise are teachers. The white-haired old man's performance just now completely struck a chord with He Yuzhu. In this era before money corrupted people, He Yuzhu originally had little ambition and was content to just drift through life.

However, the appearance of the white-haired old man allowed him to see a world different from the original story. He realized that his cooking skills could be even better than He Yuzhu's in the original story. In this era, he could definitely take his cooking skills to the next level.

The white-haired old man hadn't paid any attention to this old-looking young man, initially assuming he was just a group of cooks.

But when He Yuzhu started working for him, the old man became interested in his solid basic skills and techniques. He realized that this young man was quite a talent.

He Yuzhu's personality was quite compatible with the white-haired old man's; his honesty and straightforwardness made the old man think that this young man was good. The two worked together smoothly, and in less than forty minutes, all eight vegetarian dishes were ready.

The roast chicken with its golden sheen, the roast duck with its distinct layers, and the pork belly that made everyone's mouths water—especially the pork belly, with its white marbling visible to the naked eye—were a favorite among people of that era.

Besides these, there are braised pig ears, shiitake mushrooms and abalone, fried vegetarian meatballs, two brightly colored green vegetables, and a hibiscus soup, making it eight dishes and one soup.

All the ingredients are vegetarian, including the vegetable oil. Yet, someone unfamiliar with the food could easily tell at a glance that it consists of six meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.

He Yuzhu not only cooked these dishes himself, but also tasted them. These dishes deserve a perfect score of ten.

In terms of shape, it's already close to 9.5 points. It can be said that it's precisely because it's too realistic that He Yuzhu loses 0.5 points.

As for the taste, He Yuzhu, a professional chef, can still taste the difference from real meat dishes. However, if an ordinary person is not told the truth, they will definitely question their existence after eating it. In terms of taste, I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

This made He Yuzhu exclaim repeatedly, "This is a true master, a true expert!"

Although He Yuzhu's understanding of cooking skills far surpasses that of ordinary people, after helping out and preparing two meals, he still hadn't even grasped the basics, especially the ingredients prepared by the white-haired old man, which He Yuzhu couldn't recognize at all.

Even when the white-haired old man smugly offered him a taste, He Yuzhu still couldn't figure out how it worked.

The ingredients are very ordinary, but after processing, why is it that even I, a professional chef, can't figure them out?

He Yuzhu had eaten plenty of vegetarian chicken and duck in his previous life, but the ones in his later life were completely different in appearance and taste. They were just gimmicks. Maybe some real high-end vegetarian restaurants had some real food, but compared to the one in front of him, they weren't even entry-level.

However, since the old lady is a vegetarian, why did she hire a master to make it look so real? It's like she's trying to have her cake and eat it too.

However, this was a family matter, and He Yuzhu didn't concern himself with it.

After getting to know the old man, He Yuzhu discovered that he was a remarkable person. He could make vegetarian dishes look like meat dishes, and they were indistinguishable from the real thing, but he didn't like them.

On the contrary, they are particularly interested in real meat and fish, indulging in lavish meals and drinks, and scoffing at the high-quality imitations they make!

He Yuzhu really wanted to learn this skill, and he put in a lot of effort to please this person.

From the day he met the white-haired old man, He Yuzhu basically filled four large aluminum lunchboxes and a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) every day, rain or shine.

The room was filled with big fish and meat dishes, and even when he was busy, He Yuzhu never stopped working.

Upon learning that the white-haired old man was staying at a Taoist temple in the suburbs of Beijing, He Yuzhu would spend two hours each way every day to go and chat with him.

Humans are made of flesh and blood, and the old man with white hair has long since become indifferent to the ways of the world after experiencing so many human relationships over the years.