Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

He Yuzhu replied: "If others flatter your family, it means that your family is worth being used by others. But for me, being a chef in a steel mill is not as good as being a chef in your family. Everyone has their own pursuits, and you can't make everyone live according to your ideas."

Lou Xiaoe then asked: "What are you pursuing?!"

He Yuzhu smiled and replied, "I sleep until I wake up naturally, and count money until my hands cramp."

"Pfft!" Lou Xiaoe couldn't help laughing and said, "You are such an interesting person?!"

He Yuzhu said: "People are boring, only their souls are interesting."

"You speak in a very coherent way. Have you read a lot of books?!" Lou Xiao'e asked He Yuzhu with a curious look on her face.

He Yuzhu said while busy with his work, "I swear to God, I only finished primary school because my father wouldn't let me go any further. Besides, I was young, playful, and a little stubborn at that time. If my father didn't want me to go to school, then why didn't I just stop?! I learned a craft from my father. Later, my father joined Fengze Garden and let me learn cooking from his junior fellow apprentice." He Yuzhu was like a bystander, telling Lou Xiao'e about his past.

After listening to He Yuzhu's narration, Lou Xiao'e said, "I didn't expect that you are so young but have so much experience?! That Yi Zhonghai is just like your father, a piece of shit."

He Yuzhu said: "It is said that reincarnation is a skill. Men only have one chance to reincarnate. Women have two chances to reincarnate."

Lou Xiao'e said: "I understand what you mean by the first reincarnation. What do you mean by the second reincarnation?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Of course I'll marry a man?!"

Lou Xiao'e said: "I don't want to rely on a man?!"

He Yuzhu smiled and asked, "You graduated from high school, right?!"

Lou Xiao'e nodded and said, "Yes! Unfortunately, my family background is not good, so I can't go to university."

He Yuzhu said: "If you can't go to university in China, why can't you go abroad?! There is no such thing as class background abroad?!"

Lou Xiaoe said, "My brother and the others are all out. I'm the only one left at home. If I leave, my parents will be too lonely." Then she asked, "What are we having for lunch today?!"

He Yuzhu glanced at Lou Xiaoe and asked, "What do you want to eat?!"

Lou Xiao'e looked at the dazzling array of dishes on the long table and didn't know how to answer. He Yuzhu smiled and said, "I plan to make bird's nest and shark's fin banquet tonight."

Tan Lingya, who was eavesdropping outside the kitchen, heard He Yuzhu say that he was going to make a bird's nest and abalone banquet, and her eyes suddenly lit up. Bird's nest and abalone banquet is one of the highest standards of Tan's cuisine. In Tan Lingya's memory, when her sister Tan Lingrou took over the Tan's cuisine, the Tan family had already fallen into decline. There were only two or three people in the entire Tan family who could make bird's nest and abalone banquet. Tan Lingya didn't expect that the chef she invited today, who was so young, actually had this ability? !

"Swallow's Wing Feast?! The name sounds very luxurious. I'm really looking forward to this dinner tonight. I won't chat with you anymore. I'm going back to my room to read." After saying that, Lou Xiao'e walked out of the kitchen. When Lou Xiao'e walked to the kitchen door, she saw Tan Lingya and shouted, "Mom!"

"Hey!" Tan Lingya responded, walked into the kitchen and asked, "Zhu Zi, is there anything else you need?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Nothing is missing."

"That's good!" Tan Lingya echoed, and then said: "Today, there are only five people eating at home, including you. Just do what you think is right."

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded and chatted with Tan Lingya for a few more words. After Tan Lingya left, He Yuzhu had almost finished cleaning up the dishes. Because there were few people at noon, He Yuzhu didn't want to make it too complicated. He simply made six Tan family dishes, including white fungus vegetarian and yellow wine braised duck.

When the dishes were served, even the experienced Lou Bancheng was deeply attracted by the aroma of the dishes, and his saliva flowed from the corners of his mouth as if he could not control it. If Lou Bancheng was like this, let alone others. Lou Xiao'e did not care about etiquette and picked up the chopsticks to eat first. Seeing that their daughter had already started eating, Lou Bancheng and Tan Lingya did not care about anything else and started eating too.

After dinner, Lou Bancheng slumped in his chair, looked at the indifferent He Yuzhu, and said, "Zhuzi, if it were ten years earlier, I would have brought you home as a chef."

Lou Xiao'e echoed, "He Yuzhu, it's a pity that you don't come to our house to be a chef." Then she asked, "Can I come to see you in the future?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Of course! Usually I am either at the steel mill or at home."

Tan Lingya was an experienced person. She saw something strange in Lou Xiaoe's eyes. Tan Lingya was very familiar with this look. It was similar to the look she had when she looked at Lou Bancheng. Tan Lingya thought of what Lou Bancheng had said to her recently. Suddenly, she felt that it would not be bad if Lou Xiaoe married He Yuzhu. At least the cook would not starve to death in a famine.

After lunch, Lou Bancheng and Tan Lingya went upstairs to rest. Lou Xiao'e had nothing better to do so she read a book in the yard, basked in the sun for a while, and then went back to her room. Lou Bancheng was going to entertain guests in the evening, so he called back a few servants who he still had some contact with, including Xu Damao's mother Wu Caihua.

Wu Caihua was a little surprised when she saw He Yuzhu and asked, "He Yuzhu, why are you here?!"

He Yuzhu smiled and replied: "I am a chef, of course I am here to cook." After that, He Yuzhu ignored Wu Caihua and continued to be busy with his work.

At 4:30 pm, guests arrived one after another. Half an hour later, the cold dishes were served. About half an hour later, at around 5:30 pm, He Yuzhu was notified that he could start cooking. As the dishes were served, the guests who had just been chatting stopped chatting, and everyone's chopsticks fell on the dishes like raindrops.

After eating for a while, Lou Xiao'e found that she was snatching food from them at the table, which was a bit too much. She whispered something in Tan Lingya's ear and left quietly.

"Lou Xiao'e, why are you here?!" He Yuzhu shook the pot twice and asked with a smile when he saw Lou Xiao'e sticking her head into the kitchen with a sneaky look on her face.

Now that she was discovered, Lou Xiao'e no longer hid it and walked into the kitchen openly, complaining: "What else can I say?! It's all your fault that the dishes are so delicious?!"

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Don't complain! I'll give you some special treatment here."

"Really?!" Seeing He Yuzhu nod, Lou Xiao'e immediately found a set of bowls and chopsticks and a plate, walked to the table and sat down. After that, He Yuzhu would give Lou Xiao'e some of each dish that came out of the pot. Anyway, when the last dessert, almond tea, was served to Lou Xiao'e, Lou Xiao'e gave He Yuzhu a complaining look and said, "I can't eat anymore!"

He Yuzhu smiled and replied, "No hurry! Rest for a while before eating."

"Hmph!" Lou Xiao'e snorted softly, picked up a small spoon, scooped a spoonful of almond tea into her mouth, and her eyes lit up instantly. She squinted her eyes, and an expression like a mouse falling into a rice jar appeared on her face.

"Zhuzi!" Tan Lingya came in from outside, glanced at Lou Xiaoe who was still eating, sighed unconsciously, looked at He Yuzhu, took out a red envelope from her pocket, and said, "Zhuzi, thank you for your hard work today!"

"It's not hard! It's not hard!" He Yuzhu took the red envelope with a smile and put it in his trouser pocket, and asked: "Do you want more dishes?!"

Tan Lingya replied, "No need! Zhuzi, the dishes you prepared today have won everyone over. Several people came to my old Lou to ask about you, hoping to recruit you. But my old Lou refused them all. But he didn't say anything final, so he told them to go to the steel mill to look for you."

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded, "Since you don't need more food, I'll leave first! I have a younger sister at home."

"Go!" Tan Lingya watched He Yuzhu change his clothes, sent He Yuzhu out of the villa, and returned to the kitchen. Lou Xiaoe walked to Tan Lingya with almond tea and asked, "Mom, did you send him away?!"