Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 139

At that time, many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital knew about and enjoyed Tan Family Cuisine. Gradually, Tan Family Cuisine became one of the most famous cuisines in the capital, attracting many people to visit it.

Later, the Tan family's official career faltered, and their fortunes declined. The descendants of the Tan family had no choice but to run Tan Family Cuisine to make a living, which led to the further development of Tan Family Cuisine.

Although the descendants of the Tan family nominally run Tan Family Cuisine, they do not hang up a restaurant sign due to face-saving concerns, but quietly host family banquets.

Although Tan Zongjun is nominally the founder of Tan Family Cuisine, the actual cooks of Tan Family Cuisine are the matriarch of the Tan family and several family chefs.

He Daqing's father, who was also He Yuzhu's grandfather, was one of the Tan family's chefs.

He Daqing also worked in the kitchen of the Tan family when he was a child. Later, he left the Tan family, got married, and had children.

That's how the Tan family cuisine came about.

The tradition of Tan Family Cuisine still exists today, although several chefs have left the Tan family and continue to run Tan Family Cuisine in Guozixiang.

"Tan family cuisine is official cuisine, but we are just their cooks, the kind who have signed indentured contracts, so that wealth and status have nothing to do with us, understand?"

He Daqing's father signed a contract of servitude, but He Daqing later had the opportunity to avoid signing it. He even learned how to cook Tan family cuisine, but the authentic tradition of the Tan family was still there, so he mainly cooked Sichuan cuisine when he was young.

He Yuzhu was unaware of the long history of Tan Family Cuisine, and he listened with great interest.

Neither Xu Damao nor Liu Haizhong brought up this matter, so it seems that this is not a problem.

If there's nothing wrong with the identity of Tan Family Cuisine, then where does the problem lie?

"Then why did you want to leave last year? It would have been so much better to stay in Beijing."

"If I don't run away, I'll go to jail." He Daqing's face was full of bitterness.

In fact, He Daqing knew perfectly well that Bai, a woman in her thirties, was not worth him abandoning his family and going to a distant place.

He got drunk and slept with Widow Bai without thinking. Widow Bai cried and threatened to sue He Daqing, so He Daqing had no choice but to verbally agree to come to Baocheng with Widow Bai.

I'll help her raise her two children in the future, so she won't have to go to jail.

He Daqing was undecided for a while, but under pressure from He Yuzhu, he finally decided to flee overnight.

"Haven't you noticed anything suspicious about this all this time?"

"Yes, Old Yi introduced me to Widow Bai. I suspected that Old Yi had ulterior motives, but after what happened, I had no evidence and ended up here in a daze."

"Old Yi is a scoundrel; is he involved in this too?"

"Although I have some doubts, I have absolutely no evidence."

He Yuzhu said, "We're not the police solving cases. As long as we have suspicions, that's enough. Anyway, I don't have a good relationship with Yi Zhonghai. I've tricked him several times."

"Now that you've told me about my situation, how have you been these past two years?"

"I worked for a month and went from being an apprentice to a furnace master."

"Who are you trying to fool? With your level of expertise, are they blind or have they lost their tongues?"

"You're not allowed to talk about your brother like that. Your brother's cooking is the best, and his braised pig's head is delicious too."

He Yushui was immediately displeased when her father mentioned her brother.

Even her beloved father couldn't help but speak up in rebuttal.

He Yuzhu smiled. This little girl was truly worth spoiling; she knew how to be close to her brother.

"What pig's head meat?"

“I opened a braised meat shop on Yandaixie Street. In the morning, I sell steamed buns and spicy soup, and at noon and in the evening, I sell braised meat. Oh, and I also bought that three-courtyard house.”

"You're kidding me. Do you know how much a three-courtyard house costs? Even an ordinary house costs two or three thousand, let alone a shop."

"It's only 4000 yuan in total."

"Where did you get your money? You didn't do anything heinous, did you?"

"Just listen to me slowly."

He Yuzhu recounted how he had tricked Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu, and also mentioned how he had been tricked by Xu Wude into buying antiques.

"What? You're saying you got a large yellow croaker in the antiques?"

"Yes, I traded a large yellow croaker for a house, and I also opened a shop and made a name for myself."

He Daqing felt as if he were listening to a book written in heaven. Even the stories in traditional storytelling dared not be written like this. In just over a year, He Yuzhu had already completed his apprenticeship.

In particular, he managed to make several thousand yuan through several opportunities, and now he has bought a three-courtyard shop and is running a thriving business, making his braised meat famous.

"Why are you making this sound so far-fetched? You're not trying to trick me into going back, are you?"

"What's the point of lying to you? You'll see through it as soon as we get back to the capital. You have legs; you can go wherever you want."

"That's true, but I still find it hard to believe that you've actually mastered the craft. I spent five or six years learning it back then."

He Yuzhu pursed his lips. If it weren't for the need to improve his seasoning level, he could have mastered a technique in just three to five months.

Before leaving, I didn't think He Yuzhu had any outstanding talent for cooking; he was just average. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be able to cook on his own yet.

He Daqing said, "You stay here for now, I'll go back and think about it some more."

"Dad, I won't let you go." He Yushui let go of his hand in the middle, but when she heard that He Daqing wanted to leave, she immediately hugged his neck again and held him tightly.

He Yuzhu said, "What else do you have to consider? If it weren't for the rain, I wouldn't have come to find you."

"I have no reason to lie to you about this. Whether you go back or not is irrelevant to me."

He Yuzhu didn't care. He Daqing was still free and easy in Baocheng, so it would save him from interfering in his business later.

After all, he was the original owner's biological father. If he really wanted to take charge of He Yuzhu's household, it would be a headache.

"You have to give me some time to think about it."

He Daqing thought for a moment, then asked shyly, "Zhuzi, can you really help me find a virgin to be my wife?"

Chapter 107 He Daqing Wants a Divorce, and It Turns Out to Be Yi Zhonghai's Son

He Yuzhu didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked, "So what do you think? There must be something wrong with the White Widow. You've lived with her for two years, and she hasn't gotten pregnant or given you a son or daughter?"

"No, I'm also wondering about it. Logically speaking, neither of us has any health problems."

That makes perfect sense. He Daqing had a son and a daughter, He Yuzhu and Yushui, and the widow Bai also had two sons.

He Daqing and Widow Bai had been living together for two years, so she should have gotten pregnant long ago.

But so far, the White Widow's belly has not shown any signs of pregnancy.

There were birth control pills available at that time, such as the contraceptive soups used in ancient times. He Yuzhu guessed that the widow Bai did not want to have children with He Daxing and wanted He Daqing to spend all the money he earned on the three of them.

Such concerns are understandable. After all, the two sons of the widow are not He Daqing's biological children. If the two of them have a newborn child, they certainly won't care about the two sons anymore.

Qin Huairu, as a widow, thought the same way. She had been entangled with Sha Zhu her whole life, but in the end, she had no children with him. She wanted He Yuzhu to only support the three children of the Jia family.

"If you had your own children, would you still care about those two?"

"That's right."

"It seems the White Widow doesn't really want to live a genuine life with you."

He Yuzhu already had the answer in his heart, after all, after the White Widow died, Xu Damao brought the elderly He Daqing back to the courtyard.

If He Daqing had his own biological children, his later years wouldn't have been so miserable.

The widow never bore He Daqing a son or daughter in her entire life.

Although that's how it's portrayed on TV, He Yuzhu still wanted to come and see for himself. If He Daqing was doing well and the widow Bai was truly committed to living with him, He Yuzhu didn't want to break them up.

But what I saw today was pretty much what I had imagined. He Daqing had been tricked by Yi Zhonghai and the White Widow.

Judging from Widow Bai's attitude, it's clear that He Daqing doesn't hold a high position in the family.

If that's the case, how can we feel at ease letting He Daqing keep those two ungrateful wretches from the Bai family here?

It would be better to call He Daqing back. Of course, He Yuzhu doesn't want his money, but He Daqing should at least be responsible for Yushui and raise her to adulthood. That's what a father should do.

He Daqing sighed. He hadn't noticed anything wrong while he was in the bureau, but now that He Yuzhu had said that, he realized something was amiss.

Yes, she's been here for so long, and there's still no sign of pregnancy in the White Widow's belly.

"So you want me to go back too?" He Daqing was suddenly tempted. Compared to life in the courtyard house, he felt like he was living worse than a pig or a dog here, feeling extremely stifled.

"Let me make this clear first: after we go back, you will still live in the courtyard house. I'll give you the room over there, but you're not allowed to interfere with my business."

“Okay, no problem. I just need to go back and tell them. I can still work as a cook at the steel mill. Even if they don’t want me anymore, it will be easy for me to find a cook job.”

Then he asked, "Do you support me finding another young and beautiful woman?"

He Yuzhu is already 17 years old this year. If I were to find a girl who is not much older than him, would He Yuzhu be willing to accept it?

“You’re not even 40 yet, it’s normal for you to find another woman to live with, but you can’t have someone like the White Widow.”

"Yes, if it weren't for that accident, I wouldn't be living with the White Widow."

He Daqing hated Yi Zhonghai whenever he thought about it, because it was Yi Zhonghai who stirred things up and put him in a passive situation.

He Yuzhu said, "I will not object, but she must treat Yushui well and not bully Yushui."

"That's only right. Yushui is a good child, and I won't let her bully Yushui anymore."

At that time, life in the countryside was still quite tough. Although He Daqing was getting on in years, if he looked carefully, he could still find a younger woman.

Of course, finding a virgin is unlikely, given the significant age difference between them.