Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Upon arriving at the school gate, Sha Zhu brought rainwater into the campus. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he bumped into Liu Guangtian, who was on his way to school.

Liu Guangtian strode forward to Sha Zhu's bicycle and asked, "Brother Zhu, you've moved back home? Does that mean I can still go to Master Li's house to practice martial arts?"

After thinking for a moment, Sha Zhu replied, "That depends on you."

However, I suggest you go for a few more days and tell the driver that you can continue next year.

The weather is getting colder and it gets dark earlier, making it unsafe to travel.

If you feel you can train, you don't need to run every day. You can come to Brother Zhu's house to play on weekends.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangtian said with a joyful expression, "Okay, Brother Zhu, I'll come to your house this weekend!" After saying goodbye, Sha Zhu got on his bicycle and rode towards the steel mill.

Just as Sha Zhu arrived at the gate of the steel rolling mill, he ran into Uncle Liu Gen, a neighbor from courtyard number 95, who was walking there.

He quickly greeted, "Uncle Liugen, you're here so early!" Uncle Liugen was looking worried and walking with his head down. Hearing the greeting, he looked up.

Upon seeing Sha Zhu pushing his bicycle, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, but it quickly dimmed again. Thinking of Sha Zhu's family situation, he hesitated before approaching Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu led Uncle Liu Gen, pushing their bicycles to the bike shed, where it was quiet and less crowded.

He asked Uncle Liugen, "Uncle Liugen, what's wrong?"

Uncle Liu stammered, "Isn't it because we're short of money at home?"

Last time, the bandits stole all the money from the house, and there wasn't much food left. For the past two months, we've been living on borrowed money, paying off our debts as soon as we get paid.

With winter approaching, we haven't prepared much food or vegetables, nor have we prepared winter clothes for our family.

Your aunt and I discussed it back in the summer, and after two years of preparation, your aunt and the child still haven't gotten any winter clothes.

Just when things were starting to look up, this happened. Zhu Zi, I know your family isn't doing well either, could you lend me some money?

I want to buy a used cotton coat for my family from a consignment shop. I'll pay you back as soon as I get my wages.

Sha Zhu thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle Liu Gen, do you have any relatives or friends?"

Uncle Liugen didn't know why Shazhu asked that, so he shook his head, but still answered, "There's another brother in the countryside, also from a poor family. His family is struggling, and several children share one set of clothes."

Sha Zhu shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Uncle Liu Gen, how about this, how much money do you need? I can lend it to you, and you don't have to pay it back in time."

However, you have to attribute the borrowed money to your relatives or friends, and don't even tell your wife that I borrowed it.

My aunt has a big mouth. I'm afraid your wife will find out and tell everyone. Then all the neighbors in the yard will come to me for money, and I won't be able to make a living."

Liu Gen was well aware of the current situation in the courtyard, and when he heard that Sha Zhu was willing to lend him money...

He quickly assured her, "Zhuzi, don't worry, I won't tell even if she's my wife. If anyone asks, I'll just say I borrowed her from my brothers in the countryside."

The people in the compound can't possibly go to the countryside to verify; they don't even know where my brother lives.

Sha Zhu took out 100 yuan from his pocket and handed it to Liu Gen, saying, "This is the money I was planning to use to buy a watch after get off work. Uncle Liu Gen, you can take it and use it first. Whether you wear the watch or not is not really important."

Liu Gen took the money with trembling hands and said repeatedly, "Zhu Zi, this is too much. Just lend me twenty or thirty yuan. I was thinking of borrowing seven or eight yuan, but I didn't expect you to lend me so much."

Sha Zhu still felt quite guilty towards the few families who had been affected by him.

Therefore, he said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I just moved back to Nanluoguxiang yesterday, and the foreman gave me the two hundred yuan left over from building the house."

The remaining money is enough for my sister and me. It's not too late to pay me back next year when you have more money.

"But it's best not to let anyone in the compound know you've borrowed so much money," Sha Zhu specifically instructed.

Liu Gen also understood the nature of the people in the courtyard, so he said, "Zhu Zi, don't worry, I definitely won't let the people in the courtyard know."

Sha Zhu then suggested, "Uncle Liu Gen, isn't there a secondhand market over in Dongdan? I saw lots of people selling used clothes there. You could go and browse around. If all else fails, you could just get a couple of new cotton-padded coats made."

Now that he has a "huge sum of money" in his hands, Liu Gen looks much better and is no longer worried about not being able to get through the winter.

But he still shook his head and said, "The new clothes are too expensive; we can't afford them."

I'll listen to you. After get off work, I'll go to Dongdan and take a look. If it's cheap, I'll buy one for the child too.

Also, I think I should buy more food. With the Lunar New Year approaching, food prices are starting to rise.

"Zhu Zi, if you have any extra money, save up some grain. Having grain at home gives you peace of mind."

After hearing Liu Gen's words, Sha Zhu understood the reason behind it.

It's all because those private grain merchants want to take advantage of the war to make a fortune.

He couldn't help but wonder why, even though the government had already executed some capitalists and landlords and was still cracking down on such behavior, there were always people risking their lives to oppose the government.

These people don't even know how many heads they have.

After parting ways with Uncle Liugen, Shazhu went to the kitchen, greeted everyone, and then called Zhang Long, his apprentice—his nominal disciple—to the small warehouse.

Sha Zhu had been observing this disciple for over two months and found him to be a good person. Moreover, he always took the initiative to share Sha Zhu's work, truly embodying the spirit of "when the master has something to do, the disciple will serve him."

Having such a cheap disciple is quite good; it will be much more convenient to have him help collect rainwater from the school when I work overtime in the future.

Sha Zhu pulled a beautifully printed book from his pocket and gently tossed it to Zhang Long.

A hint of smugness flashed in his eyes. "I stole this book from my master with great effort, and he was also the editor."

Look at the last page of this book; it says Wang Yijun's name. He's your future grandmaster. Once I formally accept you as my disciple, you'll have to address him as grandmaster.

Sha Zhu pointed to the last page of the book in Zhang Long's hand and said with a serious expression, "This is your future grandmaster. He is now a top-level chef."

You've even hosted state banquets; you've really hit the jackpot.

If I become his formal disciple in the future, I might have the opportunity to pay my respects to him in person.

You should keep this book safe and practice the methods in it whenever you have the chance when you get home.

"If you lose the book, I won't let you off the hook; I'll expel you from the sect!"

Upon hearing Sha Zhu's words, Zhang Long felt as if he had been struck by immense happiness, leaving him in a dazed state, as if he were finally about to soar to great heights.

He carefully tucked the book into his arms, knelt down, and respectfully kowtowed three times, his voice filled with excitement and determination: "Master, rest assured, I will take good care of this book, practice diligently when I get back, and never let you down!"

After kowtowing, Zhang Long cautiously raised his head, a hint of trepidation in his eyes, and asked, "Master, if there are any parts of the book that I don't understand, can I ask you?"

Sha Zhu smiled, already understanding Zhang Long's thoughts.

For the past two months, he has allowed Zhang Long to watch him cook, but he has never offered any explanations.

Occasionally, when Zhang Long couldn't help but ask a question, he would simply tell Zhang Long to practice the basics first.

Sha Zhu gestured for Zhang Long to stand up and said earnestly, "Alright, don't kneel down so easily in the future."

Now it is the new China. As the teacher said at the first CPPCC session, the people have stood up from now on.

I'll give you two years to thoroughly understand this book. You can ask me anything you don't understand, but there's no space for you to practice in the kitchen; you'll have to practice at home.

I will check your progress then. If you can pass my test when I come of age, I will take you to see my master. Perhaps he will give you a chance to take a grading exam.