readsfreenovel Chapter 209 "He Yuzhu" 13
Chapter 209 "He Yuzhu" 13
After liberation, more and more people lived in the courtyard. When Wang Dahe became a junior worker, it was unknown where he would be assigned. So He Daqing paid three years' rent for the house. Of course, these brothers-in-law would have to pay it back after they started working.
Wang Yan had already cleaned the house. Wang Dahe could go in, make up a bed, and move in. He would eat with the He family and pay for the meals later.
He Daqing didn't care about this matter, but Wang Yan insisted, so He Daqing let her make the arrangements herself.
“Dahe, your apprentice salary is 150,000 a month. You can give your sister 50,000 a month for rent and food expenses. Keep the remaining 100,000 for yourself to use when you get married in the future.” Wang Yan said while making the bed for Wang Dahe.
"Sister, I'll give you all my salary. Please save it for me. I've never had so much money before. What if I lose it all?" Wang Dahe was still immersed in joy. He had become a worker and would earn 150,000 yuan a month, which would be 1.8 million yuan a year. How much money was that? He felt a little uneasy.
That's true. When his mother was alive, she was in charge of the household. After she passed away, his sister took over. He lived on his own for about ten days after his sister got married, and he didn't spend a single penny.
Wang Yan thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give you 20,000 yuan a month for spending money. The city is different from the countryside. You need money for everything you do. I'll save the rest for you to get married. If you don't have enough money, just tell me."
"Okay! I got it, sis."
After He Daqing brought Wang Dahe to the factory to register, and then introduced him to Sun Daquan, a mid-level worker in the second workshop, as his mentor, the He family's life got back on track.
However, Yi Zhonghai was very angry when he learned that He Daqing's brother-in-law had entered the factory but did not recognize him as his master. Even though He Daqing's reason was very reasonable, after all, the two were of the same generation according to He Daqing, so how could he become his master?
He felt that he was the most skilled fitter in the yard, but the people in the yard who came to the factory didn't recognize him as their master, but instead recognized this outsider. Did that mean that Yi Zhonghai was not as skilled as others? No wonder he was scheming! But he could only be angry in his heart and couldn't show it.
Because of his brother-in-law's matter, He Yuzhu's graduation banquet was postponed by a week. Fortunately, He Daqing had informed Wu Dahai in advance, otherwise it would have been quite a mess once Wu Dahai sent out the notice.
So, during He Daqing's second week off, the father and son arrived at Wu Dahai's house early. At noon, there were three tables. He Yuzhu was busy preparing the lunch, while He Daqing stayed in the living room, drinking tea and chatting with Wu Dahai, the owner of Fengzeyuan, and other chefs.
The graduation banquet was a success. After tasting He Yuzhu's cooking, the host immediately decided that He Yuzhu would start working at the second kitchen the next day, with a monthly salary of 450,000 yuan.
On the way back to the courtyard house, He Daqing said, "Zhuzi, do you want Dad to save your salary for you to get married?"
"No, I'll save it myself." He Yuzhu didn't want to give the money to He Daqing. He wanted to save it himself so he would have an excuse to bring back things from outside later.
He Daqing didn't mind: "Then you can give the family 100,000 yuan every month for household expenses! I'll save the rest for you to use when you get married."
Well, it all comes down to getting a wife. We need to think of a way. Hopefully, Aunt Wang will get pregnant soon. "Yes, Dad!"
When they passed by the vegetable market, He Daqing took He Yuzhu to buy some meat and a chicken. After all, becoming an apprentice was a great event, and the family should celebrate.
Inevitably, upon returning to the courtyard house, the father and son once again received the "stares" of their neighbors. As soon as they entered the house, He Yuzhu asked his father, "Dad, we've been eating so well all this time, won't something bad happen? Look at the way our neighbors are looking at us, it makes me uneasy."
"Our family just eats meat a lot more often. It's mainly because a few families in the yard are well-off, and he doesn't buy meat! Oh well, let's be more careful in the future. I'll bring my own lunchbox from now on, and you should too. Let's try to reduce the number of times we cook in the yard. What kind of nonsense is this!"
He Daqing was displeased: "When you finish cooking today, take a bowl to the old lady in the backyard. She can still use it to intimidate people."
"Okay, Dad, I'm going to cook!" He Yuzhu said, carrying the chicken and meat to the kitchen.
When He Yuzhu was resting at home, his uncle Wang would help him with cooking. To be honest, after Wang helped him once, He Yuzhu didn't want him to go into the kitchen anymore.
He wasn't exactly making things worse; he just could make a meal that should have taken an hour take two. But when He Yuzhu saw Wang Dahe's eager eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. After all, he was only 18 years old.
Wang Dahe didn't want to go into the kitchen, but he couldn't just sit at his brother-in-law's house waiting to be fed! He felt that since he came to the city, apart from working in the factory, he had nothing to do after get off work. His sister washed his clothes, cleaned the house, and his brother-in-law or sister took care of the kitchen. He could only play in the rain.
Wang Dahe had no choice but to spend the last week or so with his adopted nephew, since they were about the same age and he would need to learn to read from him later!
Before, He Yuzhu came home too late every day, but after he started working at the second kitchen, he could come home after mealtimes, except when he was on duty, usually around 7 pm. Then he could teach Wang Dahe and He Yushui to read. Yushui will be starting school next year, so they can learn together.
The textbooks were the first and second grade textbooks that Teacher Yan from the front yard got. Of course, it cost money. He Daqing's bicycle was also given to He Yuzhu to ride, just so that he could come home earlier every day.
As a second-in-command, He Yuzhu had his own quota of dishes to prepare, one dish a day, which he would cook in different cuisines. Although the master chefs never explicitly said anything after tasting the dishes, they would sometimes let slip when scolding their apprentices, "How are you guys learning every day? You're not even as good as someone who's just hanging around. I'll be driven crazy by you guys sooner or later."
Lately, the people in the kitchen have been looking at He Yuzhu with a lot of resentment. He Yuzhu pretends to be oblivious, but he often gives out cigarettes and candy, so for now, everyone gets along fairly well.
Wu Dahai no longer bothers He Yuzhu. Sometimes after get off work, he will even exchange half a plate of food with He Yuzhu. After all, He Yuzhu studied Sichuan cuisine, so he can be considered to be enjoying the filial piety of his apprentice in advance. He is the only head chef in the kitchen who is happy every day now.
Now, the family usually waits for He Yuzhu to come home before eating. After dinner, Wang Yan cleans up, and He Yuzhu teaches Wang Dahe and He Yushui to read, following the textbook.
Since there's no pinyin now and everything is in traditional characters, I just practice writing down the characters I learned the day before. If I get them wrong, I review them again. Then I learn five new characters and a little math. The whole process takes less than an hour.
Sometimes, when Wang Yan finished her work, she would listen in and learn something from him. After finishing his math lesson, Wang Dahe would retell what his master had taught him, and He Yuzhu would give him pointers on the parts he didn't understand. After all, he had worked as a fitter in his previous life.
Wang Yan and Wang Dahe weren't surprised. They had always thought He Yuzhu was very smart. What child isn't smart enough to master a skill so quickly? And learn several different cuisines? The basics of metalworking aren't difficult; he learned them after just one listen. Isn't that normal?