Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

After leaving the courtyard, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to a villa according to the address. He Yuzhu stopped his bike, walked to the door, and pressed the doorbell. Not long after, the small window on the iron door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a butler asked, "Comrade, who are you looking for?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Hello! I am a chef sent by the steel mill. My last name is He! This is my work permit." He Yuzhu took out his work permit from his jacket pocket and handed it to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man took the work permit, looked at it, returned it to He Yuzhu, opened the door, and said, "Come in!"

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded and pushed his bicycle into the house. Following the middle-aged man's instructions, he asked He Yuzhu to park the bicycle in the parking lot for bicycles. After He Yuzhu parked the bicycle, the middle-aged man took He Yuzhu into the villa.

The middle-aged man asked He Yuzhu to wait at the entrance, walked to the living room, and said to Lou Bancheng who was sitting in the main seat, "Master, the chef from the steel mill is here."

Lou Bancheng said, "Ahfu, take him directly to the kitchen."

"Yes!" Ah Fu responded, then walked to the entrance and took He Yuzhu to the kitchen.

After all, they were rich, so the kitchen was quite large and fully equipped with all kinds of equipment. Ah Fu took He Yuzhu into the kitchen and told him, "The toilet is on the side. You can't smoke in the room. If you want to smoke, go out over there and smoke outside. Someone will come back to let you know when the food is ready. Wait a minute and see if there's anything missing in the kitchen. I'll come over later and you can tell me."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu responded, took off his coat, hung it on the wall, then walked to the long table, picked up the bib and sleeves and put them on, then carefully checked the dishes on the long table and the seasonings on the stove, and he already had an idea in his mind.

He Yuzhu found a cup, took out some of the most expensive Longjing tea in the supermarket, and made himself a cup of tea. After taking two sips, He Yuzhu adjusted his mentality, then walked to the sink, washed his hands, found a clean cloth, wiped his hands, scooped out some flour, and kneaded two doughs. Put the dough aside to rise, and then deal with other dishes.

About twenty minutes later, a woman walked in from outside and asked, "Are you the chef sent by the steel mill?!"

The first time He Yuzhu saw this woman, he recognized her as Lou Xiao'e's mother, Tan Lingya, the youngest daughter of the Tan family. He Yuzhu greeted her politely: "Hello! I am He Yuzhu, the chef of the steel mill."

Tan Lingya asked: "Do you know what to cook tonight?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Tan's cuisine!"

Tan Lingya looked at He Yuzhu in surprise and asked, "How do you know?!" If it weren't for the introduction of Tan's cuisine, seeing these ingredients would probably be called Shandong cuisine or Cantonese cuisine. But Tan Lingya didn't expect He Yuzhu to directly say the three words "Tan's cuisine".

He Yuzhu replied: "My father, He Daqing, worked in the Tan family's kitchen."

Tan Lingya originally wanted to embarrass He Yuzhu, but after hearing He Yuzhu's family tradition, Tan Lingya nodded slightly, and without saying anything more, she said directly: "You cook for three people at noon."

He Yuzhu understood what Tan Lingya meant and nodded, "No problem. Send someone to let us know when the food is ready."

"Mom! Is there anything to eat?!" Just then, a girl with a little baby fat ran in from outside. He Yuzhu heard the voice and turned his head to see. The person who came in was none other than Lou Xiao'e. Tan Lingya glared at Lou Xiao'e and said, "You are already a grown-up girl, but you are still so impetuous. How are you going to find a husband in the future?!"

Lou Xiao'e ran to Tan Lingya and hugged her arm, saying coquettishly, "If it's hard to find, don't look for it. This way, I can always be with you and dad."

Tan Lingya reached out and poked Lou Xiao'e on the forehead and said, "I really can't do anything about you." Then Tan Lingya looked at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu understood and said, "How about you two wait for a moment, I'll prepare the meat filling, and make two bowls of wontons and a few steamed dumplings." After that, He Yuzhu took a small bowl, scooped out a small bowl from the minced meat, and then scooped a spoonful of the broth simmering on the stove, stirred it into the minced meat three times, and adjusted the saltiness. Then He Yuzhu poured half a pot of water into each of the two pots on the stove. While the water was boiling, He Yuzhu turned around to get the dough on the side, and used his body to block the sight of Tan Lingya and Lou Xiao'e. He took out a ball of dough that had been fermented long ago from the space, put the dough that had not yet risen into the space, and then quickly rolled out the wonton skin and steamed dumpling skin.

After a while of busy work, when the water boiled, He Yuzhu had already wrapped the steamed dumplings and wontons. He Yuzhu put the steamed dumplings into the steamer and put it on the pot to steam. Then He Yuzhu found two large bowls, put some dried shrimps and seaweed in them, took a piece of pickled mustard, cut some pickled mustard foam and some chopped green onions and put them in the two large bowls, then put the seasonings in place and put a spoonful of lard in each of the two bowls.

He Yuzhu had a very good grasp of time. When the wontons came out of the pot, the dumplings were also cooked. He Yuzhu put two bowls of wontons on the empty table next to him, and then put the dumplings on the table. He Yuzhu had just put two small plates of vinegar on the table. Lou Bancheng suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

Lou Bancheng glanced at He Yuzhu, then smiled at Lou Xiaoe who was scooping a small wonton into her mouth and asked, "What are you eating?"

Tan Lingya replied, "Master He's freshly made wontons and dumplings."

Without waiting for Lou Bancheng to speak, He Yuzhu said politely, "Wait a moment, I'll make a bowl of wontons right away." Then He Yuzhu walked to the side and started working again. About seven or eight minutes later, He Yuzhu brought a bowl of wontons that had just come out of the pot to the table, put the bowl and chopsticks on the table, and said, "Enjoy your meal!"

It must be said that the three people in the Lou family are all top foodies. After Lou Bancheng finished the wontons and ate two more steamed buns, he smiled with satisfaction and called out, "Master He!"

He Yuzhu heard the call, walked over to Lou Bancheng and said, "Mr. Lou, my name is He Yuzhu. You can just call me Zhuzi. No need to call me Master He."

"Okay! I'll call you Zhuzi!" Lou Bancheng echoed and asked, "Zhuzi, are you willing to come to my house and be a chef?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Mr. Lou, I'm not trying to offend you. You know the current situation. I think it's better to be a chef in the steel mill. If you need anything, you can find me."

Lou Bancheng originally thought that if he just extended an olive branch, He Yuzhu would definitely agree. But he didn't expect He Yuzhu to say this. Lou Bancheng had to look up to He Yuzhu. Lou Bancheng nodded and said, "You are very good!"

He Yuzhu smiled and said nothing more. He walked to the side and continued to prepare for cooking. After a while, Lou Bancheng and Tan Lingya walked out of the kitchen. Only Lou Xiaoe was still eating. After a while, Lou Xiaoe finished the last wonton and walked to He Yuzhu with a satisfied look. After looking at He Yuzhu for a while, he suddenly asked, "Others are too busy to curry favor with our family. Why don't you want to come to our house to be a chef when my father invites you?!"