All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

In addition, He Yuzhu is also the kitchen supervisor, second only to the canteen director. Even if he is the canteen director, He Yuzhu usually ignores him because his cooking skills are so good.

Upon arriving at the canteen, He Yuzhu inspected the work. Several of his apprentices had arrived even earlier than him and were already cooking porridge and steaming cornbread.

He nodded in satisfaction, picked up his enamel mug, and took out a packet of tea from the drawer. Tea was cheap, but in this day and age, it wasn't easy to enjoy a good cup of tea, as it was a scarce commodity.

He poured himself a glass of hot water, sat down in a chair, took a delicious sip, and watched the kitchen bustling with activity. This sense of satisfaction made He Yuzhu very happy. This was the right way to live life!

No matter where you are or what era you live, there are always people who live a good life. He Yuzhu thinks it's pretty good. This kind of simple life is pretty good now!

He's sick, so he went to find a widow with three children. With five mouths to feed, only a lunatic would take on such a responsibility.

The most crucial point is that since you're pushing the responsibility onto Sha Zhu, you have to take responsibility for what Sha Zhu has done for your whole family. But you knew he was a normal man in the prime of his life, yet you deliberately kept him hanging until your three children were grown up and you could no longer have children before you agreed to marry him. Isn't that absurd?

So whenever He Yuzhu thought about this, he felt that his predecessor was really pathetic. However, He Yuzhu was a straightforward person with no guile. He would repay anyone who was good to him a hundredfold, which is why he was deceived by Widow Qin's small favors.

Just then, someone walked into the kitchen; it was Qin Huairu.

Everyone in the factory knew about Qin Huairu and He Yuzhu's affair, except for the silly He Yuzhu. When the kitchen staff saw that it was Qin Huairu, they immediately pointed at the daydreaming He Yuzhu with smiles.

"Hey! Come out here, I need to talk to you about something!"

He Yuzhu was interrupted by Qin Huairu's shout. He frowned and glanced at her. This scheming bitch, coming so early in the morning to make her presence known. Now everyone inside and outside the compound knows that something can't be said in the courtyard.

Isn't that obvious?

Fine, I can't beat you. Wait until I find a girlfriend, then let's see if you still have the nerve to come and freeload.

He Yuzhu nodded, put down his enamel cup, put his hands behind his back, and followed Qin Huairu out of the kitchen. They stopped in the outer room.

Qin Huairu had been observing He Yuzhu's behavior today, but it was clear that he was still indifferent to her. However, she thought about it all night and finally thought she had found the reason.

A few days ago, Qin Huairu mentioned that her cousin Qin Jingru from her hometown hadn't found a husband yet. She had just casually mentioned it to He Yuzhu, and hadn't taken it to heart. Now that she was thinking about it, she wondered if it was because of this that he was angry with her. So, Qin Huairu took advantage of the opportunity this morning to find Sha Zhu.

He Yuzhu stood with his hands behind his back, remaining silent and waiting for Qin Huairu to speak.

"Alright, what's wrong with you, a grown man like me? I've already asked someone to tell my sister to come over this Sunday so you can meet, is that alright?"

He Yuzhu was a little confused. Before he could speak, Qin Huairu stepped forward, straightened his collar, and said something.

"A grown man like you doesn't even know how to take care of himself. It's time to find you a wife!"

After saying that, he ignored He Yuzhu's still stunned expression and turned to leave.

He Yuzhu touched his collar, and his bewildered mind finally came to its senses.

"That scheming bitch!"

Chapter 6: Silly Girl Qin Jingru

Life went on like this. Despite Qin Huairu's constant scheming and manipulative actions, He Yuzhu subconsciously distanced himself from her. Even when he returned to the compound, he rarely tried to chat with her, and as for bringing her leftovers, that was out of the question.

Because of the lack of leftovers brought by He Yuzhu, the quality of life in Widow Qin's family declined at a visible rate. In the past, the cornbread and leftovers were stewed together on the table, and occasionally there was meat and white flour steamed buns. The taste was wonderful.

These past few days, each person has been eating two cornbread buns with a thin, watery soup every night. There's not a single bowl left. At the dinner table, a few ungrateful kids are sighing and complaining about being hungry after they finish eating.

The squinty-eyed old woman kept sighing, implying that she was superfluous and a burden to the family. These words made Qin Huairu wipe away tears countless times.

This gave those ingrates a new idea, and they started thinking about how to go to Sha Zhu's house to beg for money again.

In the past, even though He Yuzhu brought her family leftovers every day, those ungrateful brats would often raid He Yuzhu's house, licking up even the crumbs of anything edible.

However, He Yuzhu has learned his lesson now. Once the iron gate is locked, the naughty kids can go play somewhere else. Besides, now he doesn't keep any food in his house anymore; it's locked, mainly to keep Qin the widow away.

In the past, He Yuzhu's house was a mess, and Qin Huairu would take the opportunity to come over after get off work to clean it up, doing laundry and sweeping. She did a lot of cleaning, and everyone in the yard knew about it.

He Yuzhu was very grateful for Qin Huairu's contributions, so he never treated Qin Huairu's family as outsiders, spending all his food, drink, and salary on them.

But He Yuzhu isn't stupid now. How could he not understand Qin Huairu's reasons for doing that? It's one thing for her to be kind, but what kind of woman is she, a widow, doing laundry and tidying up for a bachelor like me every day? Doesn't that invite gossip?

So these past few days, even if He Yuzhu had food, he would give some to the old man's family, and put the rest in the deaf old lady's room. It was the treasure of the courtyard, and no one dared to steal it.

When he feels like having a drink, he goes to the deaf old lady's house to get some. The old lady is very accommodating to her grandson, always smiling. She's overjoyed that her grandson can spend every day with her.

Sunday arrived, and a simple-minded country girl, dressed in a colorful dress, happily went to her cousin Qin Huairu's house. Upon receiving the letter that her cousin had sent through a messenger, Qin Huairu was overjoyed, and her whole family was happy too.

After all, in this day and age, being able to marry into the city is a great honor for the whole family. Don't be fooled by the fact that Qin Huairu's family is barely making ends meet now; in this era, even making ends meet is difficult in the countryside.

Farmers in this era truly suffered. Not only were their tasks heavy, but they also had many children at home, and not having enough to eat had become a habit.

They toil in the fields 360 days a year, earning just a few work points. In good years, each household would receive a few dozen yuan at the end of the year. But now, in this kind of year, when the year is over, families with many children are still in debt to the commune.

This isn't the future. If you can't make money in the countryside, you can go to the city to work. In this era, there's a rationing system based on population. You need ration coupons to buy even a needle or thread. If you're from the countryside, you can't even afford to eat, let alone work.

A peasant is a peasant, a worker is a worker, and a capitalist is a capitalist; the class distinctions are clear, and no one can cross them.

If a rural girl wants to shed her rural household registration status, she either needs to excel in her studies and become a pillar of the nation; otherwise, there is only one way.

That means marrying into the city and becoming a proud city dweller. If you really marry into the city, you become the hope of your whole family.

Therefore, Qin Huairu, a rural girl, was able to marry into the city and receive a monthly salary of 27.5 yuan in place of her deceased husband, making her the envy of all the women in the Qin family.

So when Qin Jingru received a letter from her cousin Qin Huairu, saying that she would introduce her to a potential partner in the city, how could she not be happy?

To be honest, the main reason Qin Huairu chose this cousin was that Qin Jingru was indeed beautiful, with a figure and looks that were seven-tenths as good as Qin Huairu's.

In addition, she was a virgin and younger than Qin Huairu, which gave her enough leverage to find a city man.

The silly girl was quickly attracted by the charm of the city when she entered it. Today, it was Sunday night and the steel mill was showing a movie, so Widow Qin happily took Qin Jingru with her.

In rural areas, you might not see a movie even once a year, but at the steel mill, movies are shown during festivals, holidays, and even occasional large meetings.

The steel mill also had a movie theater and a projection team. Xu Damao was the projectionist, which was a lucrative job. He would go to the countryside to show movies and bring back a lot of local specialties from the villages.

Therefore, Xu Damao's family was one of the best in the compound. Plus, he had no children, and he was selfish and cunning, so he lived a very comfortable life at home!

But that's how people are; once they're full and satisfied, they start having other thoughts. Plus, after several years of marriage, his wife hadn't laid a child, so Xu Damao also started having some other little ideas.

Xu Damao was quite envious of Qin Huairu, the widow who could give birth to three children. He often had his eye on this widow Qin, thinking that it would be wonderful if she could give him a big, healthy son!

But who is Qin Huairu?

She's a notorious scheming woman. Even a golden bachelor like He Yuzhu, who has been helping her family for so many years, hasn't managed to get a taste of her. Let alone a married man like Xu Damao.

However, Qin Huairu did not directly reject Xu Damao. She would often ask Xu Damao to put his hand on her shoulder and hug her waist when they were getting food in the cafeteria, in order to get a few steamed buns.

This was in the 1960s; only a scheming woman like Qin Huairu could do something so immoral and scandalous.

Of course, every time someone told He Yuzhu about this, and He Yuzhu came to ask her about it, her face would turn red and tears would stream down her face. She had so many grievances to tell. "I did all this for the children!"

However, when Qin Jingru, this silly girl, appeared, Xu Damao's eyes widened. This girl had seven parts of Qin Huairu's appearance, but the problem was that this girl looked like a silly girl!

Young, beautiful, and with a touch of naiveté—that's exactly what Xu Damao liked about her!

Alright, a new target has been set, and Xu Damao has already started to hatch his own scheme.

Ordinary workers can take their families to the movies on Sundays, but He Yuzhu has to work hard on Sundays. Usually, the factory leaders will take this opportunity to host a banquet. Even if there isn't a banquet, after a hard week, he deserves to treat himself.

He Yuzhu took a sip of tea, quite relaxed. He was enjoying the banquet hosted by his superiors; there was a chicken and a rabbit today, and quite a few leftovers. He'd just heat up the leftovers, have a couple of ounces of liquor, and some peanuts—wouldn't that be wonderful?

However, his apprentice Ma Hua next to him seemed distracted.

"Hua Zi, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and finish. I need to get back early; the weather is getting colder and colder!"

"Okay, Master!"

"Master, I heard that Qin Huairu's cousin is incredibly beautiful, and her figure is just as good as Qin Huairu's!"

"Ahem, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Master. I'm not thinking about your wife. I just heard it from Old Yang!"

"Alright, alright, who's the master's wife?"

Qin Jingru's figure was indeed decent, but her naiveté wasn't He Yuzhu's type. Although she was also a virgin, He Yuzhu wasn't as eager for Qin Jingru as he was in the original story!

In this day and age, you can't mess around with relationships. If you choose a good wife, you can settle down and live a stable life. So if you're going to choose, choose someone you like, including her looks, figure, and personality.

However, Qin Jingru's figure and skin are indeed younger and more vibrant than her sister's. If it really works out, it'll be alright. After all, it's just a dream, and matters between men and women are just like that.

The main reason is that He Yuzhu's mindset of being single for thirty years has influenced him. After being single for so many years and still a virgin, it's normal to be impatient.

He poured all his energy into the kitchen, lifting the wok with ease!

After Ma Hua finished chopping the vegetables, He Yuzhu started to get busy. When the leaders held a banquet, He Yuzhu still had to cook himself. He made a living by his cooking skills, and no matter who was in power, they couldn't do without him.

In this world, He Yuzhu didn't want to get involved in those things; he just wanted to live his own quiet life.

Chapter 7: Qin Huairu, what is our relationship?

After the movie ended, He Yuzhu packed up and prepared to go home. His two aluminum lunchboxes were full of meat dishes, and he also took half a bottle of good wine from the table.

It's become an unspoken rule for cooks to bring leftovers from government offices. It's not just cooks; these days, everyone's poor, and all they're lacking is food.

Those who have a little bit of energy on hand are all hoping to eat something good; everyone is starving!

Rural areas are poorer and have even less entertainment, so when movies are shown in the countryside, the villagers are genuinely excited and grateful. They prepare plenty of local chickens and cured meat. Every time Xu Damao shows movies in the countryside, he naturally makes a lot of money off the various communes!

He Yuzhu wasn't a rigid person. The kitchen staff would usually take leftovers and scraps without him noticing, and everyone understood. He carried two lunchboxes, humming a little tune, with his hands behind his back, and walked home.

As soon as he opened his door, he noticed that the light was on at Widow Qin's house across the street. He glanced at it, his brows furrowed, and he quickly closed the door. After thinking for a while, he still felt uneasy, so he picked up his lunchbox and wine bottle and headed towards the old man's house.

If I can't afford to offend them, I can at least avoid them.

Her actions these past few days have already made her intentions quite clear. If she continues to shamelessly pester her, that would be going too far. Besides, these days, there aren't any widows with that much shamelessness.

He knocked on an old man's door, and an old woman opened it for him. He asked the old man to have a drink with him. The old woman smiled and chatted for a bit before taking the lunchbox to heat up the food and bringing out a plate of peanuts.

The old man was the most kind-hearted person in the compound. Because he had no children and a high salary, he often helped his neighbors with money. Everyone in the compound spoke highly of his kindness.

Of course, most people still wanted to take advantage of the situation. The old man didn't mind and helped as much as he could. Widow Qin's family received a lot of help from him.

It was precisely because of the old man's frequent help that Qin Huairu's mother-in-law once suspected that Qin Huairu and the old man had an ambiguous relationship.

The old man had helped He Yuzhu a lot since he was a child, and even had his own ulterior motives, wanting He Yuzhu to take care of the couple in their old age and see them off when they died.

He Yuzhu had never taken this matter seriously before. He felt that it was only right to take care of the old man, so he never mentioned it.

Although He Yuzhu is no longer the same He Yuzhu he used to be, he still knows who treats him well, and he is also confident about taking care of the old man in his old age.

An old man and a young man drank some wine and discussed the affairs of the courtyard. He Yuzhu was the same as always, with no change, but a trace of warmth could be clearly seen in the old man's eyes.

As they were drinking, the door was pushed open, and when the two looked up, they saw Qin Huairu.

Before the old man could speak, Widow Qin launched the first attack, pointing at He Yuzhu, who was raising his wine glass.