All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

"Hey, okay!"

Xu Damao rode his bicycle and slowly disappeared around the street corner. Qin Huairu's charming smile slowly faded, and a trace of sadness appeared in her eyes. She stood there blankly for a long time, and finally sighed before slowly heading towards the steel mill.

Other mothers are strong because they are mothers, while she is charming because she is a mother. The methods are different, but the ultimate goal is the same: for the children!

He Yuzhu really didn't expect that Bang Geng would go with Xu Damao to learn how to project movies. But it's good, you learn what you learn from others. Following that cunning old man Xu Damao, he'll go astray sooner or later.

If Bang Geng truly acknowledges his mistakes and corrects them, and diligently trains under his guidance for a few years, He Yuzhu might actually accept him as his apprentice. After all, who hasn't gone through a rebellious phase?

However, many children remain in their rebellious phase throughout their lives, knowing full well that they are wrong but refusing to repent.

In fact, He Yuzhu had really thought about taking on more apprentices to improve his culinary skills. Now, apart from Ma Hua, he only has four real apprentices, making a total of five. As for those apprentices who do odd jobs, they can't really be considered apprentices, as they haven't been taught any skills.

He Yuzhu is not one to keep secrets. He will teach his skills to his apprentices one by one. There is no such thing as teaching an apprentice to starve the master, unless the master is a terrible person.

Moreover, the reason he taught apprentices was naturally because he hoped that he would have enough manpower to open his own restaurant in the future. It was really meaningless to be stuck in a steel mill every day dealing with cabbages and radishes.

After 78, when the policies were less strict, he planned to start by opening small restaurants and eventually open his own restaurant.

Over the years, he has learned many skills that are buried in his mind. He really wants to put them to good use. For a chef, the greatest honor is when guests eat his food and give him a thumbs up. That is true happiness.

He plans to teach each of his apprentices a different cuisine, hoping to pass on his skills as much as possible, even if he doesn't open a restaurant himself.

If in the future, all the time-honored brands in Yanjing City have their own apprentices as head chefs, wouldn't that be an honor?

No one can predict the future, especially for Qin Huairu. She only hopes that after her two daughters get married, her mother-in-law passes away, and Banggeng settles down and starts his own family, she can retire and stay at home to take care of her grandchildren and enjoy her old age. Perhaps life won't be as hard as it is now!

Chapter 84: Hidden Currents and Spring Breeze

It was dinnertime again. Qin Huairu hurriedly left work, prepared the meal, and everyone sat down and started eating without any worries.

Qin Huairu took two bites and said to Banggeng.

"Tomorrow morning, go to the entrance of the Red Star Cinema and wait for your uncle to start work. From now on, you will follow Xu Damao and learn how to project movies. At first, you may be a temporary worker, but you must study hard and not act arrogantly. This is not home."

Banggeng heard that he had been introduced to a movie projection job, and although he was secretly overjoyed, he still kept a straight face.

Qin Huairu instructed him to study hard and not to get too close to Xu Damao, among other things.

Banggeng reluctantly said "I understand" at the end, then put down his bowl, unfolded the folding bed, and buried his head in his sleep, completely disregarding the fact that there were still four women in the house.

Seeing Banggeng's actions, Qin Huairu helplessly put down her bowl, sat blankly on the stool, lost in thought, her face full of worry. This family was being supported by her alone, and she didn't know when it would end. She could only hope that Banggeng could finally calm down this time!

The old woman with the slanted eyes, upon hearing that her grandson had such a good job, happily sipped her noodle soup, not forgetting to say something to the stick on the bed.

"Wait a minute, Grandma will put on the new shoes she sewed a few days ago for you. Wear them to work tomorrow, and don't let your spirits get down!"

Banggeng seemed not to hear, remaining silent under the covers.

Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua exchanged glances, feeling a mix of envy for their brother's job and resentment towards their grandmother for being biased.

Seeing her mother deep in thought, Xiao Dang quickly finished the last bit of food in her bowl and said to Qin Huairu.

"Mom, I'll be going to live at school soon. I live so far away, you'll have to give me some living expenses!"

Xiao Dang spoke softer and softer, but Qin Huairu also realized what was happening, and her face finally regained some color as she smiled.

"Okay, I'm getting it ready for you."

The old woman with the slanted eyes standing to the side heard this and said somewhat unhappily.

"Isn't she going to be a teacher? Those factories and schools don't provide room and board."

Xiao Dang pouted and glared at her grandmother with a hint of temper, while Xiao Kuihua defended her.

"Grandma, my sister just started her new job and is still waiting for assignments. There are expenses to be made, so you can't just focus on your precious grandson and neglect us two sisters!"

The squinting old woman grumbled but didn't refute. Qin Huairu looked at the family with a helpless bitter smile, sighed inwardly, and began to clear the dishes from the table.

Across from them, He Yuzhu had just finished eating and was soaking his feet. Ran Qiuye, while clearing away the dishes, spoke to He Yuzhu.

"Zhu Zi, I ran into Teacher Zhang from our school yesterday. I heard that the higher-ups might be trying to restore the reputations of those who were criticized before. Do you think that's true?"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Ran Qiuye. The couple had been together for almost eight years, and he could guess what Ran Qiuye was thinking at a glance.

"What's wrong? You want to pursue your dream of becoming a people's teacher again?"

When Ran Qiuye saw that He Yuzhu had revealed her thoughts, she smiled shyly at him and said "Mmm".

When He Yuzhu saw that smile, he felt weak all over. This was the rhythm he was going to follow, so he helplessly quickened his pace of washing his feet.

Ran Qiuye wants to go back to being a teacher. There have been some signs of this over the past few years. He Zhen and He Hua are both in school now, and Ran Qiuye spends all her free time grading their textbooks. She really acts like a teacher, and she's scolding the two little ones, He Zhen and He Hua. Now, they like their mother less and less.

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Go if you want to. Now that your child is in school, you've got some free time, and you're probably itching to get back to work, right? In a few days, I'll use my connections to get you a job. I'll ask you this: you haven't taught in so many years, can you really still teach students?"

Seeing that He Yuzhu didn't believe in her teaching ability, Ran Qiuye snorted and said somewhat forcefully.

"You don't need to worry about that. I went to a former colleague's place a few days ago and went through all the elementary school textbooks. It's no problem for me at all!"

"Fine, fine, you're amazing. If you're so amazing, then stop coming to ask for things every other day. You're not even forty years old yet, why are you acting like a tiger!"

What are you saying?

"No...no, please pour out the water from my foot bath!"

"Hmph, hurry up and wash. I've sent the child to Grandma's. I'll deal with you tonight!"

He Yuzhu sighed inwardly, wondering where the innocent and shy Teacher Ran had gone.

He Yuzhu was experiencing both pain and pleasure. The once energetic virgin had now been tormented into a somewhat timid state, which showed just how powerful women could be.

Especially women in their thirties and forties.

It's good that she became a teacher. Otherwise, she's so energetic all the time that both kids are a little afraid of her now. She likes to use the teacher's way of scolding them all the time. He Hua is okay, but He Zhen, the older brother, is really suffering.

1975 passed uneventfully, but in 1976, a new undercurrent seemed to surge in Beijing. Just after the New Year, Director Li of the steel plant was transferred away.

Not long after, the Gejiu Committee finally restored the name of Hongxingzha Steel Plant, as if a spring breeze was blowing in the shadows.

Many workers were also secretly gossiping, saying that the newly appointed factory director Zheng was making a big splash in his new role, and that Director Li's lingering influence was being wiped out one by one.

Even the canteen was affected; the canteen manager, Wang Datou, was dismissed, and Director Zheng proactively asked He Yuzhu if he would be willing to take on the role of canteen manager.

Factory Director Zheng stated that the factory will no longer have a small canteen, and all leaders will eat in the canteen just like the workers. He also indicated that the factory will increase investment in the canteen so that workers can enjoy better food.

He Yuzhu really didn't want to be the canteen manager; there was too much fuss, and the salary was barely enough to cover the family's expenses. However, He Yuzhu could clearly sense that Director Zheng was an upright person and genuinely wanted to do something practical, so he reluctantly accepted the job of canteen manager.

On his first day as the canteen manager, He Yuzhu prepared vegetarian chicken legs for the canteen once again. Looking at the fragrant chicken legs, many veteran workers were filled with emotion. Many of them had been waiting for this taste for almost ten years, and the new workers had only heard about it in legends.

Besides the canteen food gradually improving, the issue of delayed wage payments at the steel plant, which had been dragging on for years, has also been completely resolved. With leaders who get things done, the steel plant has been transformed.

The old method of whistleblowing is no longer effective. The steel mill has even set up a special team to organize information about some people and events from the past few years.

A new trend is slowly emerging in the steel mill. He Yuzhu is becoming busier and more famous. Many family members of the steel mill workers are inviting He Yuzhu to help with banquets. Now he has to go out and book five banquets every week. He is so busy that he is exhausted!

He Zhen and He Hua are usually taken care of by an elderly couple. Ran Qiuye has become a proud teacher, teaching fourth-grade Chinese at a primary school three miles from her home. She is enthusiastic every day, going to and from get off work in a whirlwind.

However, recently, the Qin Huairu family across the street started making trouble again over some trivial matter, and the one causing trouble was none other than her precious son, Bang Geng!

Chapter 85: Choice

The trouble at Qin Huairu's house is nothing more than Bang Geng causing a ruckus at home, saying he doesn't want to go to work.

Who is Xu Damao? He's someone who's on par with Qin Huairu.

Bang Geng has been learning how to project movies from Xu Damao for more than four or five months. Although it has been a long time, Bang Geng has not actually learned anything.

For the first two months, he stood at the door selling tickets. For the next two months, he followed Xu Damao around doing odd jobs, helping to carry boxes and equipment. When it came to actually teaching him the skills, Xu Damao either hid them or kept them from him.

He originally thought he would become a glamorous projectionist like Xu Damao, but reality is cruel. Now, apart from being a temporary worker earning about twenty yuan a month, he has no other side income.

That's not the most important thing. Xu Damao's attitude towards him is getting worse and worse, which has severely damaged Bang Geng's self-esteem.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Bang Geng threw a tantrum at home after work that day, plunging the family into trouble once again.

Qin Huairu looked at herself in the mirror. Her once jet-black hair had suddenly lost its luster, and white hairs were faintly visible at the ends, with five or six strands already visible to the naked eye.

Her facial skin was no longer as plump as it used to be; years of labor and worry had made her skin somewhat sallow. She stood up wearily, straightened her body, and finally, the outline of her chest gave her a slight hint of womanhood.

But in the blink of an eye, she sighed deeply, bit her lip, her eyes reddening slightly, recalling her visit to Xu Damao last night.

The reason why the matter of Banggeng has been dragged on by Xu Damao is ultimately due to Qin Huairu herself.

Last year, Xu Damao promised to let Banggeng go to work, and afterwards, Xu Damao asked Qin Huairu for "reward" several times.

Qin Huairu used stalling tactics, repeatedly standing Xu Damao up. Under these circumstances, Xu Damao was able to give Bang Geng a friendly look.

If it weren't for one time when Qin Huairu saw that Bang Geng had been working as a temporary ticket seller for two months, and she really felt that Xu Damao should get a taste of success.

So one dark and windy night, under the cover of darkness, next to the public toilet outside the compound, she let Xu Damao hug her for half a minute before she let Banggeng go with him to do odd jobs the next day.

But Xu Damao felt that little bit of sweetness wasn't enough; what he wanted was a real, real fight.

However, Qin Huairu, being such a cunning and manipulative woman, naturally wouldn't let him have his way, which led to the current awkward situation.

It's also because Banggeng is useless and doesn't know how to behave. It's been four or five months and he's still like a block of wood, being bossed around by Xu Damao. If he were even slightly smarter, he would have taken this opportunity to improve the relationship and wouldn't have needed to come back and bother Qin Huairu anymore.

Bang Geng doesn't know how to behave, and Qin Huairu can only watch helplessly, so Xu Damao will naturally teach him how to behave.

Over the past six months, the relationship between Xu Damao and Qin Jingru has deteriorated, and Xu Damao has long been suppressing his anger.

Finally, when Qin Huairu found him last night, he stopped hiding it and directly discussed the "deal" openly.

Either you, Qin Huairu, agree to my terms, or Bang Geng gets lost. It's your choice.

Qin Huairu can still do it

As a seasoned scheming woman, she has stood up countless men over the years for the sake of this family. But she had no choice! This isn't the future. If she really had something going on with certain men, and it got out, Qin Huairu would be completely socially ruined.

So she could only rely on flirting to give those men a taste of their desires, and in return, she could get some benefits.

Rather than saying Qin Huairu was scheming, it's more accurate to say that this was a tragedy, a choice made without a choice.

In this day and age, how could a woman possibly raise three children and a mother-in-law, supporting a family of five, without some shrewdness and resourcefulness?

Let alone Qin Huairu, poor families in this era either had to learn to be as calculating as the Third Uncle or as cunning as Qin Huairu. If all else failed, they could only rely on the help of relatives to make ends meet, tightening their belts and just getting by!

Of Xu Damao's two choices, Qin Huairu would definitely rule out the option of letting Bang Geng go first. Bang Geng is indeed not young anymore, and without a stable job, how could he possibly date a girl with good prospects?

The remaining option was one that Qin Huairu didn't want to choose, but she couldn't not choose it either, so she was caught in a dilemma.

In everyone's life, there will be choices that leave you with no other option but to make them. Once you make a choice, you'll find that there's no going back.