Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 128

As soon as Yi Zhonghai entered the room, he shouted, "I stood up for Dongxu, and he went back without saying a word. This is outrageous!"

Aunt Yi said, "I saw it. Qin Huairu pulled him back. It would be too embarrassing for him to stay there any longer."

"Sigh, this apprentice is really useless; he can't even beat a pillar."

"Don't blame Dongxu. He Yuzhu practices wrestling every day and is skilled in martial arts. Most people really can't beat him."

"Forget it, leave him alone."

"That's your apprentice, how can you not care? How's the work situation?"

"It's tough. I talked to the boss, but he said we don't need any people right now and it will take some time."

Yi Zhonghai understood that this was just an excuse from the other party, since Jia Dongxu was in jail and the factory didn't want to use him.

Ke Zhonghai's skills are among the best in the factory, so he can't disregard face and simply declined, saying he doesn't need more people in the short term.

"Oh dear, what should we do?"

The two were worried inside the house, while the onlookers outside gradually dispersed.

He Yuzhu thanked the two old men, then removed the bamboo poles and wires in front of the door, and finally went inside to clean.

The next day, Jia Dongxu was still furious. He went to Yandaixie Street and sat on the roadside opposite the small tavern to observe the situation.

They were all plotting revenge and teaching Sha Zhu a lesson.

The more I looked, the more uneasy I felt. How could He Yuzhu's business be so good? He could sell one or two hundred catties of braised meat in just one noon. When I came back in the evening, I saw that the business was even better. I wondered how much money he could make in a day.

From resentment to jealousy, Jia Dongxu felt a mix of emotions. Why did He Yuzhu always get all the good things?

He went to jail right after getting married, had slept with his wife twice before the wedding, and his mother aborted her pregnancy.

Not to mention the miserable days he spent in prison, he still had no job after getting out. Seeing how successful He Yuzhu's braised meat shop was, he felt like he wanted to take a knife and chop He Yuzhu up.

"I wish I could open a shop like that myself," Jia Dongxu sighed.

Yi Zhonghai came to find him and said, "Dongxu, go back. Let's have a drink tonight, just the two of us."

The two returned home, ate pig's head meat, and drank.

Jia Dongxu asked, "Master, why is Sha Zhu's shop so good?"

"Is there even a question? They have their own unique recipe. When He Daqing was around, the food was always delicious. It's normal for Sha Zhu to know how to braise meat."

"Is this profitable?"

"Of course! Pig head and offal only cost one cent per pound, but after they're cooked, they sell for three or four cents per pound, which is more expensive than raw pork."

"Master, what do you think about me opening a braised meat shop?"

In the afternoon, Jia Dongxu was thinking about how much money he could make a day if he owned such a popular braised meat shop.

Right now, the steel mill doesn't want me, and I can't just stay at home and eat for free every day.

Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes and said irritably, "You don't have the formula."

"Isn't the formula easy to handle?"

Jia Dongxu said, "Guess who I saw today?"

"how could I know?"

Jia Dongxu said, "I saw Dayong in Shazhu's shop."

"so what?"

"I'm sworn brothers with his younger brother, Eryong. Do you think if I go to Eryong and give him some money, I can buy Shazhu's formula?"

"Is this okay?"

"Give it a try. After all, Eryong is my sworn brother. He shouldn't betray me."

"Then you should try it tomorrow. If you can get the recipe for braised meat, that would be a really good thing. It's a craft that can be passed down for generations."

At this time, it is extremely difficult to learn a skill that can support a family, especially since Sha Zhu's business is so booming. If he could get the recipe, he could open another braised meat shop in another place.

I'll go ask him about it tomorrow.

After his initial joy, Jia Dongxu said with a bitter face, "Master, but I don't have any money left."

"My savings have been completely wiped out."

Yi Zhonghai sighed and then said, "At most, we can still come up with three to five hundred to buy this formula."

The thought of money made Yi Zhonghai's heart bleed. He had already spent several thousand yuan, and all he had left were a few hundred yuan.

However, if you really have a way to buy the recipe, it's still worth it.

Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai became increasingly excited as they thought about it, and they both got quite drunk.

The next day, Jia Dongxu went to his sworn brother Eryong and asked him to ask Dayong if he could get the formula.

He Yuzhu would often visit several shops in the morning to make sure there were no problems before going back to make furniture.

Seeing that his senior apprentice Ye Xiangqun was already considered ready to graduate and that his marriage with his senior sister was in the discussion stage, He Yuzhu prepared a set of furniture for his master.

He Yuzhu entered the back kitchen of the shop on Yandaixie Street and saw Dayong and Xiangcao huddled together, whispering something.

The two heard the door open, looked up and saw He Yuzhu. They were instantly speechless. Xiangcao's face turned bright red, and she said shyly, "Zhuzi, you guys are busy, I'll go out first."

Da Yong chuckled sheepishly and said, "Zhu Zi, you're here pretty early today."

"Is this because you think I arrived too early? You and Vanilla are...?"

"No, no, you're the manager, you can come anytime, it's nothing to us."

Da Yong quickly explained, "We really have nothing going on, you can't just say things like that."

"I'd be happy if you two had something going on. It's not easy for you to find a partner. If Xiangcao likes you, that's your good fortune. If things work out, you can't bully her in the future."

He Yuzhu could vaguely guess that Xiangcao had feelings for him before, but he couldn't say it openly. Sometimes he would deliberately get closer to Xu Huizhen in front of Xiangcao so that Xiangcao could know his feelings.

It seems my method was correct; has Xiangcao taken a liking to Dayong?

Da Yong said shyly, "Our relationship is still far from settled, so you can't just talk nonsense."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "I understand. How about I ask my teacher's wife to sound you out?"

One important reason why He Yuzhu so boldly handed over this shop to Dayong and Xiangcao was that his master's wife was helping out here every day.

The accounts are all handled by the master's wife and the eldest senior sister to prevent mistakes.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? If Vanilla disagrees, wouldn't we lose our friendship?"

"Are you stupid? Just ask your master's wife to ask for you. Whether it works or not, you can pretend you don't know."

"Alright, don't worry about this. I'll talk to my master's wife later. Is everything alright today? I'll make the braised meat."

Under normal circumstances, He Yuzhu personally mixes the ingredients every day. If there is a problem, he will hand the mixed ingredients to Xu Huizhen and let Xu Huizhen operate it. The ingredients will never pass through the hands of anyone else.

"You go ahead and get busy, but don't leave after you're done. There's something I need to tell you."

"You've come to your senses so quickly?" He Yuzhu thought Dayong had agreed.

"No, it's something else."

"If you don't have money for the wedding, just let me know and I'll give you a set of furniture."

Da Yong was embarrassed by what he said: "No, that's not it. You go ahead and do your work."

He Yuzhu didn't pay much attention. After Dayong left, he took out the prepared seasonings and put them into the braised meat pot.

After preparing the braised meat, I called Da Yong into my office and we sat down for tea. Only then did Da Yong say, "Is there a Jia Dongxu from your compound?"

"Yes, you know him too?"

“I’ve known him since I was a child. He and my younger brother Eryong are sworn brothers.”

"What a coincidence? Then why did you bring him up?"

"Jia Dongxu contacted my brother yesterday, and my brother asked me if he could get my braised meat recipe?"

He Yuzhu was greatly surprised. He had only beaten Jia Dongxu two days ago, and now he wanted to steal his formula?

This is suicidal. Since they can't deal with me openly, they're trying to cause trouble in secret.

Fortunately, I kept the recipe a secret and personally bought all the spices.

Xu Huizhen doesn't even know her own formula now, so it's even less likely that Da Yong would know.

"It seems Jia Dongxu still hasn't learned his lesson."

"Yes, I was also very surprised when I heard it. You need to be more careful in the future. Our business is so popular because of our unique recipe. If others find out, our business will not be able to continue."

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems with the formula."

He Yuzhu asked, "How did you reject him?"

Da Yong asked, "I haven't even had my brother pass on the message yet, but I wanted to ask for your opinion on what to say. Should I just refuse?"

"Don't refuse outright yet. Let me think about it. Since he's trying to scam me, I'll scam him back this time."

"Alright, I know what to do." Da Yong said and then left.

He Yuzhu didn't have any good ideas for the time being. How should he stir up trouble?

However, He Yuzhu was not in a hurry. He first went to his teacher's wife and told her about Dayong and Xiangcao.