Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

After He Yuzhu and Lou Xiaoe sat down, Xiao Liuzi asked, "Master He, what would you two like to eat today?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Same old, full set!"

"Hey! Wait a moment! The food will be here soon!" After saying that, Xiao Liuzi turned around and walked out.

Lou Xiao'e asked curiously: "He Yuzhu, what do you eat here?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "The most famous thing here is the whole lamb banquet. The two of us definitely can't finish a whole lamb. So we'll have some of each part of the lamb. Don't worry! Today I will make sure you can eat as much meat as you want."

"He Yuzhu! Do you really want to fatten me up?!" Lou Xiao'e complained coyly, then asked, "Aren't we not allowed to do business now?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "There are policies from above and countermeasures from below. Their store is registered under the name of the street office. It is a street enterprise. So it is not illegal." Then He Yuzhu changed the subject and said, "Before I left the factory, Director Yang came to see me. I don't know who told him that I have a good relationship with your family. He wanted me to be a lobbyist."

Lou Xiao'e asked: "Then are you willing to be a lobbyist?!"

He Yuzhu said, "What does it have to do with me whether the factory is closed or not?! If I can't stay here, I can find another place. If the factory is closed, I can just move to another place. Besides, I don't need these little things."

Lou Xiao'e looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "You don't have a salary, so what do you spend?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "If I don't have a salary, I won't be able to live? With my skills, I can be a private chef. I can earn 20 yuan per session. If I take five sessions a month, I can earn 100 yuan. It's not much less than my current salary."

"The dishes are here!" At this moment, Xiao Liuzi's voice rang out, and then Xiao Liuzi came in with a tray, put the cold dishes on the table, and put a pot of plum wine they brewed themselves, and said, "Master He, plum wine is just right for drinking today. My second uncle asked me to make you a pot."

He Yuzhu said: "Thank your second uncle for me."

"Enjoy your meal!" Xiao Liuzi left the room with a smile. He Yuzhu picked up the wine pot and poured some wine into the cups in front of him and Lou Xiao'e, saying, "Their plum wine uses a secret recipe from the palace, and it's very delicious. Try it!"

"Really?! Then I really want to taste it." After saying that, Lou Xiao'e picked up the wine glass, smelled it first, then took a small sip. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she couldn't help but shouting, "It tastes good!"

After a while, the hot dishes came. He Yuzhu picked up a piece of lamb ribs and put it in Lou Xiaoe's bowl, and asked, "Have you returned all your houses?!"

Lou Xiaoe replied: "Most of them have been returned. Some of the courtyard houses have now become slums. It may be difficult to get them back."

He Yuzhu said: "During the earthquake, many houses collapsed. The subdistrict office is unable to repair them. You can contact the subdistrict office and ask them to exchange houses with you."

Lou Xiao'e asked: "He Yuzhu, what do you mean by this?!"

He Yuzhu said: "You have been in Hong Kong for so long, don't you know anything about land speculation?! The times are advancing, and China can't remain unchanged. What if one day we catch up with the world and people don't want to live in bungalows anymore, but in high-rise buildings?!"

He Yuzhu's reminder seemed to open another window for Lou Xiaoe. In the TV series, because Lou Zhenhua died, after Lou Xiaoe came back, many houses had become slums and it was difficult to get them back. In the end, Lou Xiaoe had no choice but to compromise and sell them to the street office at a very low price.

Lou Xiao'e smiled and said, "He Yuzhu, I didn't expect you to be so smart. You are wasting your talent in Beijing. You should come to Hong Kong Island with me."

He Yuzhu said, "What's so good about Hong Kong Island! I still like it here." Then he asked, "Can you eat such good mutton in Hong Kong Island?!"

Lou Xiaoe replied: "We can't eat such good mutton, but we can eat seafood."

He Yuzhu picked up a piece of mutton and put it in his mouth. He chewed it for a few times and said, "It's easy if you want to eat seafood! Come to my house tomorrow at noon. I'll cook it for you."

Lou Xiao'e asked: "You will do it for me tomorrow at noon?! Aren't you going to work?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "It's rare for your friend to come back. Shouldn't I take a few days off to spend some time with you?!"

"You're smart!" Lou Xiao'e put a piece of meat into He Yuzhu's bowl and asked, "Where are we going this afternoon?!"

He Yuzhu asked back: "Where do you want to go?!"

Lou Xiao'e pondered for a few seconds and said, "I want to go to the Temple of Heaven and Beihai Park."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu responded, and together with Lou Xiaoe, they quickened their eating pace.

At the same time, Director Yang returned to the factory. Someone had spread the news that the factory owed money to the Lou family. Now the whole factory was in a panic. Director Yang had just returned to the office when there was a knock on the door. Director Yang shouted, "Come in!"

Three deputy factory managers walked in one after another. Factory Manager Yang saw the three people who suddenly appeared and gestured, "Sit down!"

The three deputy factory directors pulled out chairs and sat down opposite Director Yang. Deputy Factory Director Zhang spoke first, "Old Yang, I don't know who spread the news that the Lou family came to collect the debt. Now everyone in the factory is panicking. If this continues, the morale of the people in the factory will be dispersed."

Director Yang said, "I have checked. The money on our factory's books is enough to pay the Lou family's dividends, bonuses and interest."

Deputy Director Song looked at the other two directors standing beside him and said, "Old Yang, if we give the money to the Lou family, where will we get the money to replace the equipment? We can't pay this debt!"

Director Yang asked in return: "If we don't pay it back, who will?!"

Deputy Factory Director Zhang said, "Hasn't the Lou family's matter already been determined?!"

Director Yang sneered, "We have put things right! We have returned the houses that were confiscated from the Lou family to them."

Deputy Director Liu, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly said, "We could have a public-private partnership back then. Why don't we do it again with the Lou family now?!"

Deputy Director Zhang sneered, "Do you think the Lou family is stupid?! After being cheated once, will they be cheated again?! Besides, the policy does not allow it!"

While Director Yang and the three deputy directors were arguing about the Lou family, He Yuzhu and Lou Xiao'e finished their meal. They left the courtyard. He Yuzhu took Lou Xiao'e to the Temple of Heaven first. As luck would have it, when He Yuzhu and Lou Xiao'e arrived at the gate of the Temple of Heaven, they met the sisters Fan Li and Fan Tian.

Fan Tian asked, "Brother Zhuzi, why are you here?!" Then Fan Tian noticed Lou Xiao'e next to He Yuzhu, and asked, "Brother Zhuzi, who is she?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Her name is Lou Xiao'e. She is my friend. She came to Sijiucheng from another place, and I accompanied her for a walk." Then he asked, "Why are you two sisters here?!"

Fan Li replied, "I was out doing some work and happened to meet Tiantian. Anyway, I wasn't busy going back to work this afternoon, so I dragged her over for a walk."

"Okay! You guys have your fun! We're leaving first!" After saying that, He Yuzhu took Lou Xiao'e away.

Looking at the backs of the two, Fan Tian couldn't help but ask, "Sister, do you think that woman just now is Brother Zhuzi's girlfriend?!"

Fan Li agreed, "I think so. My sister-in-law has been gone for so many years, it's time for Brother Zhuzi to find someone. Who made our sister get married so early?! It would be great if Brother Zhuzi could be our brother-in-law."