Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 78

What they wanted was for Jia Dongxu to be arrested and imprisoned by the police on the very day Qin Huairu married into the family.

That way, enduring a year or two of living like a widow is the only way to do yourself justice.

The group was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. Thinking about it, it made sense, since the wedding ceremony was in progress and the couple had entered the bridal chamber.

Before anything could be done, several police officers suddenly rushed in and handcuffed the groom.

Haiyang said, "Zhuzi, you're not leaving this Jia Dongxu any way out."

“He had his eye on my house before, saying he wanted to borrow it, but he was just taking advantage of my young age and not leaving me any way out. Why should I leave him any way out?”

“That’s how it should be done. How can you bully people like this?” Tian Zao was the first to support his apprentice.

"Yes, what's the point of keeping such a scoundrel around? He should be sent in for labor reform."

Tie Dan nodded: "Okay, as long as the investigation is clear and the details of his crime are confirmed, I will wait until the 10th of July to make the arrest."

This crime is not harmful and is not a serious crime. In addition, Jia Dongxu is at a crucial moment of his wedding and will definitely not run away. It doesn't matter whether it happens sooner or later.

He Yuzhu quickly thanked him and offered him two more glasses of wine.

Seeing that Tie Dan was getting carried away, Tian Zao quickly stopped him. Facing his master, He Yuzhu had no choice but to say, "Grandmaster, next time I'll treat you to the one without a master."

Tian Zao said angrily, "Zhu Zi, you've gone astray. You're too young to drink yourself, but you only know how to force others to drink."

“I’m a minor, so I can’t drink alcohol,” He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"You."

After discussing serious matters, we chatted casually. In fact, these kids who trained in wrestling with Tiezhu were all from poor families in the neighborhood. They did odd jobs and didn't live a good life.

Among them, Dayong's family was the most impoverished and he was the worst off. He had many siblings and did odd jobs every day, but he didn't have any skills.

He Yuzhu suddenly had an idea and asked Dayong, "Why don't you come work for me as an assistant? I still need to work at Taifeng Restaurant."

Dayong was taken aback; he hadn't considered this before. Confused, he asked, "Can it be done? I don't know anything about this."

He Yuzhu said, "What's wrong with that? You can help with some heavy work, and you can learn it slowly later."

Da Yong was actually a little hesitant. After all, they were fellow apprentices before, and it felt a bit strange to suddenly become his employee.

Tie Dan said to He Yuzhu with satisfaction, "I've agreed on behalf of Dayong. He can definitely do this. If not, we'll talk about it again."

He Yuzhu is a really good person, and he has cooking skills comparable to a master chef. He is respectful to his master and caring to his junior apprentices. It's so easy to have such an apprentice.

The group ate and drank until after 10 p.m. When they came downstairs, the roadside stalls were still full, with people playing drinking games and chatting about various national affairs.

Tian Zao said, "Your business is really good. It just so happens that many of the people in our Military Control Commission are from Sichuan Province. I'll introduce them to your restaurant later."

He Yuzhu said, "Sister, I still have to work at Taifeng Restaurant."

"Taifenglou is too expensive. Besides, these are all leaders. It would be too high-profile to have a meal or gathering there. I'll let you know in advance if we have a gathering in the future."

Tian Zao then said, "There are quite a few Sichuan chefs in the capital, but none of them can make good food."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. These leaders from the military control committee would be street cadres in the future, and it would be beneficial to maintain good relations with them.

Although I don't offer bribes, getting to know the leaders will make things much easier in my life and in handling affairs.

Tie Dan said, "Many of my superiors are from Sichuan Province. I'll promote them later."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Then thank you, Master and Grandmaster."

"You little brat..." Tie Dan shook his head, unsure of what to say.

The next day, Tie Dan reported to his superiors and then went to the prison to verify with Qian Datong, confirming that the Jia family had lied and seized Qian Datong's house.

Tian Zao also visited the courtyard houses in the alley to confirm whether the houses were dilapidated.

Once inside the courtyard house, Yi Zhonghai accompanied them on a tour.

Upon arriving at Qian Datong's house, he frowned and said, "This looks like that criminal's house. Why is someone living here?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "This is Qian Datong's house. Although he was sentenced, the government did not take the house away, so it was rented to someone else."

Tian Zao asked, "Really? Is there a lease agreement?"

Chapter 84 Isn't that infuriating?

"Yes, I've checked it, there's no problem," Yi Zhonghai said calmly.

Tian Zao didn't say much and continued to inspect the house.

Yi Zhonghai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, genuinely worried that Tian Zao would continue to question him.

Upon arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Zhangshi was washing herself under the tap. Seeing Tian Zao enter, she immediately plastered a smile on her face: "Leader Tian, ​​hello, this is..."

Yi Zhonghai said, "Let me introduce you. This is Jia's sister-in-law."

Tian Zao responded with an "oh," recognizing this as Jia Dongxu's mother. After looking her up and down, she said, "Hello, I'm busy."

After exchanging a few polite words, the two continued their inspection.

The next day, when He Yuzhu went to exercise, Tian Zao recounted what had happened, confirming the fact that the Jia family had occupied Qian Datong's house.

Time flies, and the day has come to the ninth day of the seventh lunar month. Today is Saturday, and the whole courtyard is bustling with activity.

Jia Dongxu was in high spirits, his face beaming with joy, and dressed smartly. He asked, "Master, is Sha Zhu really unwilling to help?"

Yi Zhonghai was also helpless. He went to see Sha Zhu again yesterday, but no matter how he tried to persuade him, Sha Zhu just wouldn't agree, saying, "Yes, we can only go to the kitchen."

In Beijing, ordinary people would naturally hire a chef who specializes in weddings and funerals to hold a wedding.

This is mainly due to the customs of the capital city, where people need to conduct business in their own homes. When returning home, they should sit down at the gate when going out and sit down when entering. Even for funerals, the procession should be carried out in a dignified manner, and people take the conduct of business in their own courtyards very seriously.

Therefore, chefs needed to be specially invited to the courtyard, which gave rise to a professional profession called "kouzi". Ordinary families all used kouzi as their chefs, and the profession was called "running greenhouse chefs".

There are also companies that specialize in renting out various utensils. Today is the first day, and I need to find them to rent various utensils, such as square tables, benches, pots and pans, large pots for cooking, etc.

Jia Dongxu sighed. He couldn't take advantage of the situation this time. The last time he ate at his master's house, he found Sha Zhu's cooking to be really good, no worse than He Daqing's.

I was thinking of having Sha Zhu take charge of the cooking, but after asking him twice, that scoundrel Sha Zhu refused.

"Alright, you stay home and help out, I'll go get a cook."

He Yuzhu only returned the next day after taking leave. From a distance, he could hear the sound of suona horns. When he got closer, he saw an eight-immortal table outside the courtyard, where several people were playing suona horns, gongs, drums, and sheng (a type of reed pipe instrument). Two red lanterns were hanging in front of the courtyard gate, and large red "double happiness" characters were pasted on both sides of the gate.

After passing through the moon gate, you'll see Yan Bugui sitting under a pomegranate tree, writing a gift list.

There were only a few people in the courtyard; after exchanging gifts, they went to the central courtyard.

There was a pergola in the courtyard with several tables set up, indicating that even banquets required using the central area of ​​the courtyard.

He Yuzhu came over, sat on the stool, picked up some sunflower seeds from the table, cracked open two, and then spat them out.

"Uncle Yan, are these sunflower seeds from the Jia family?"

"Yes, how could it be someone else who paid for it?"

"Why is it all soggy? It doesn't taste good at all."

Yan Bugui sighed: "Jia Zhangshi bought everything himself, so of course he picked the cheapest items. We'll just have to make do."

He Yuzhu disdainfully tossed the melon seeds back onto the table; this was indeed something the Jia family was capable of doing.

Q: How much is the typical wedding gift these days?

No one has come to give monetary gifts lately. Yan Bugui put down his pen, pushed up his glasses wrapped in cloth, and said, "There are three types of monetary gifts now. If it's someone you're close to, it's usually one or two yuan. The amount varies depending on how close the relationship is."

He Yuzhu nodded. It was like having a sister or aunt, the closest relationship, so the gift money was the most generous. Jia Dongxu didn't have a sister, but he did have an aunt. For such close relatives, the gift money was usually around 5 yuan.

For less close relatives, the amount is between 1 and 5 yuan, depending on the closeness of the relationship or if the other party has given the same amount of money when the Jia family has previously handled events.

He Yuzhu said, "Like my ordinary neighbor."

Yan Bugui said, "There are two types of this. One is that you can have a meal together and give 50 cents or a dollar. If you live far away and are just familiar with the place, you can give 20 cents or 10 cents as a gift."

Yan Bugui asked, "This is your closest neighbor. How much are you paying?"

He Yuzhu asked, "How's the food preparation going today?"

Yan Bugui did not answer directly. Instead, he picked up the damp melon seeds on the table and said, "Look at these melon seeds that are meant for the guests. They're already damp. You can imagine how much meat the Jia family can prepare."

He Yuzhu immediately smiled. Yes, Zhang Pozi was not happy about marrying Qin Huairu as her daughter-in-law, so she was not enthusiastic about preparing for the wedding.

In addition, given his sharp and sarcastic personality, he would definitely be thinking about making money when he holds a wedding.

To think you can afford to buy fine wine and meat to entertain relatives and friends is wishful thinking.

He Yuzhu asked, "How much did you pay as a gift?"

Yan Bugui sighed again, then said with a pained expression, "Of course I'll give five cents as a gift."

Although Yan Bugui felt bad about the expense, he still had to maintain the social interactions within the courtyard, so he paid 50 cents.

He Yuzhu said, "Grandpa, what are you still worried about? You have three children, while the Jia family only has one. When your family holds an event, they will have to give three gifts. Won't you still make a profit?"

The Yan family now has three sons, but the fourth son, Yan Jiedi, has not yet been born.

Yan Bugui was stunned, and then immediately felt annoyed, wondering why he wasn't as smart as Sha Zhu.

I was only thinking that it would hurt to spend 5 cents this time. How could I not have thought that Jia Dongxu would come to eat at the banquet three times when his three sons got married?

Couldn't you earn a dollar?

Yan Bugui asked, "How about I change it again and change the gift money to one yuan?"