He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

"Uncle Dongxu, come and have a cup of rice wine to warm yourself up. The weather is getting colder and colder. Next year will be the 37th year of the Republic of China, and Dongxu will have grown up."

Jia Gui picked up a peanut without saying a word, and Jia Zhangshi immediately smiled, took his arm, and said:

"Dongxu's uncle, Fugui, only had one son left. We, a widow and orphan, suffered a lot. I raised him from infancy, and now he's finally managed to get a job in a factory."

But he's so skinny, he has no flesh at all. He can't do any heavy work, and he still needs to get married. If something happens to him, how am I supposed to live? The Fugui line will end.”

As soon as Jia Zhangshi finished speaking, she burst into tears. Jia Gui was also deeply troubled.

"Hai Zhong, is the work at Dongxu very tiring?"

Liu Haizhong hurriedly swallowed the pig's head meat in his mouth and replied:

"Master Jia, he's learning manual skills now, mainly reading blueprints and taking measurements. It's different from mine. If his is tired, I simply can't handle it. We have to swing a hundred-pound sledgehammer and move iron blocks every day."

Jia Gui looked at Jia Dongxu, then at his own physique, and turned to He Daqing, saying:

"Da Qing, how about letting Dongxu learn to cook from you? Just teach him a little bit, enough for him to make a living."

He Daqing glanced at Sha Zhu and said:

"I definitely agreed to Brother Jia's instructions. It's just that in restaurants outside, at least the second-in-command is used for small-scale cooking. Usually, it's a big pot, and the vegetables inside weigh dozens of kilograms. You have to use both hands to toss it vigorously, otherwise it's easy to get injured, and you might even break a bone. Look at how thick Yuzhu's arms are; I've had him train since he was a child."

Upon hearing this, Jia Gui nodded, then fell silent, looking at the bewildered Dongxu and the weeping Jia Zhangshi.

Upon seeing this, Liu Haizhong said:

"Master Jia, Yi Zhonghai from our Central Court is quite skilled. He became a master craftsman even earlier than me. Why don't we have him mentor you?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia stopped crying and said:

"No, Dongxu's uncle, think it over again. Yi Zhonghai is unreliable."

Jia Gui downed his cup of yellow wine and said:

"Girl, with this skill, you won't go hungry. Although I'm powerful now, it's all up to a single word from above. Patrolling has no future; there's war outside, it's not safe."

"Make Dongxu an apprentice to Yi Zhonghai first. If he dares to cause trouble, I'll arrest him and execute him immediately."

As he spoke, he tore open his black coat, revealing a pistol at his waist.

After a moment's hesitation, Madam Jia Zhang agreed. Seeing this, He Daqing poured yellow wine for everyone and said:

"The matter is resolved, let's have a drink. I also want to thank Brother Jia for letting me become the canteen manager. Cheers, it's all in the drink."

Liu Haizhong was stunned by He Daqing's words. What did he mean? With just one word from Master Jia, He Daqing, a lowly cook, became the manager, so why couldn't Liu Haizhong, a mere cook, be promoted?

Thinking of that little steward above him, I felt incredibly envious and jealous. He knew nothing, yet he bossed everyone around, constantly hurling insults and beatings, and still had plenty of people giving him money and meat. If only I could...

Hehe

After Liu Haizhong and everyone finished their yellow wine, he squeezed past Jia Zhangshi, who was standing next to him, and poured the wine into Jia Gui's cup, saying:

"Master Jia, come and have a drink. I also want to thank you, Master Jia, for allowing my family to settle down in Beijing."

He finished speaking in one gulp, then laughed and said:

"Master Jia, you have no idea how hard I work. I work from dawn till dusk every day, and I have the most apprentices under my command. I'm also constantly being criticized by my supervisor. If it weren't for my apprentices' filial piety, I would have thought of ending it all."

Jia Gui was also confused, but after drinking the yellow wine, he said:

"Did the foreman give you trouble or something? Doesn't he know you're my brother?"

Liu Haizhong then poured him some yellow wine and said:

"Master Jia, he said he's the older brother of a servant in the Lou family, and he doesn't give face to anyone except the Lou family."

"Snapped"

Jia Gui shook his flushed face and shouted loudly:

"This is outrageous! Don't even mention a servant's brother, even if it were Lou Bancheng, if anything happened to him, I'd skin him alive and eat him alive!"

"You'll see how your Master Jia avenges you in the sea. Tomorrow I'll get rid of that man, and you'll become his steward."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong excitedly stood up, his obese body knocking Jia Zhangshi, who was leaning back, to the ground. He said:

"Thank you, Master Jia. From now on, I, Liu Haizhong, will go through fire and water for you without hesitation, even unto death."

And so, everyone kept clinking glasses and drinking, and the banquet ended in a cheerful and relaxed manner.

Jia Gui staggered out of the courtyard gate, got on his motorcycle, and drove off. The others also went home.

Liu Haizhong looked at his heavily pregnant wife and said:

"Wife, our good days are coming soon! I'll be in charge of things tomorrow!"

The woman from the sea, touching her belly, said:

"Okay, that's good. But you have to return my dowry; it's for Guangqi's wife later."

……

At noon the next day,

Liu Haizhong, sweating profusely and shirtless, wielding a large iron hammer, was called out. After a few questions, he happily walked back to the workshop.

A moment later, Butler Lou stopped everyone in the workshop, produced a letter of appointment, and announced that Liu Haizhong was the workshop manager.

Inside the canteen, after He Daqing had his cooks start preparing large pots of food, he pulled the widow Bai to the storeroom.

"Little Bai, I miss you so much! A day without you feels like three autumns."

The white widow swung her small fist and punched Da Qing in the chest, saying:

"Don't hug me. If someone comes in, how am I supposed to face people after this?"

He Daqing chuckled and said:

"Xiao Bai, what do you mean by 'being a decent person'? You'll be my wife, He Daqing's wife, and the steward's wife in the future, won't you?"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to kiss her.

A moment later, a "whooshing" sound came from inside the warehouse.

……

Inside the largest workshop, Jia Dongxu was carefully examining a blueprint.

At this moment, a tall, strong, middle-aged man walked up behind him.

"Dongxu, well done! Study hard. From now on, you'll be working under me. Tonight, have your mother prepare the things for your apprenticeship. If you need anything, just tell me. We're next-door neighbors; a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. You don't need to report everything to the higher-ups."

Dongxu nodded as well.

Yi Zhonghai also kindly taught me how to read blueprints and how to measure molds.

Before leaving work in the afternoon, he even personally taught Dongxu how to make a simple mold.

After finishing work, Jia Dongxu happily ran home and told Jia Zhangshi about these things.

Seeing Dongxu's joy, Jia Zhangshi suppressed her worries, thinking that as long as Jia Gui was around, Yi Zhonghai couldn't cause any trouble. She immediately bought the necessary items for the apprenticeship ceremony.

After all, they've known each other for over a decade and even collaborated before; how could they not know what kind of person the other was?

Yi Zhonghai, having just returned from Qinjiacun in the early hours of the morning, was exhausted from the journey. He only briefly attended the apprenticeship banquet, ate a few bites, and then went back to his room to sleep.

At that moment, a soft ticking sound came from the wealthy old woman's room in the backyard.

A moment later, the sound of a table overturning was heard, and the wealthy old woman fainted on the ground.

A note floated down from the table, which read:

"Forgive me for being unable to fulfill my filial duty. I have been shot twice and have no hope of survival. Enemies surround me, and no one will come to my aid. I hope my mother can survive. If anything happens, please seek out Le Weiguo. Er Kang kneels and begs, do not worry."

……