After some time, the young man, who was sitting at the entrance with a bowl, waiting for dinner, suddenly heard a quarrel from the central courtyard.
He immediately ran to the central courtyard to watch the excitement.
Wang Ze was no exception. When he arrived at the central courtyard, he found that Yang Ruihua was quarreling with Jia Zhangshi.
"Why can't you give it to me? My Dongxu also worked, and it was Dongxu who suggested helping that kid pull weeds!" Jia Zhangshi stood at the entrance of He Yuzhu's room, shouting excitedly.
"These are all accounted for, two per person. What about everyone else if you take them all?" Yang Ruihua said angrily.
She certainly couldn't let Jia Zhangshi take them, as her steamed buns were also among them.
If they were taken, she feared her portion would be used to make up for the amount Jia Zhangshi took.
So she firmly blocked the entrance, preventing Jia Zhangshi from entering.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Jia Dongxu also ran out, wanting to watch the excitement, but he didn't expect his own family to be the source of it.
He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Jia Zhangshi, and asked in a low voice.
"Dongxu, tell me, why can't she give it to me? Everyone worked, so what's wrong with me taking a few?" Jia Zhangshi saw Jia Dongxu approach, put her hands on her hips, and said self-righteously.
"Sorry, sorry." Jia Dongxu nodded to Yang Ruihua.
Then he pulled Jia Zhangshi hard back into the room.
Jia Zhangshi, being pulled away, shouted, "What are you doing? Why are you pulling me? You're not helping me tell them off, and you're still pulling me! Old Jia, I'm sorry, my son is unfilial!!!"
Wang Ze, watching from the side, wanted to applaud. He finally saw it, a famous scene.
"Mom, stop shouting, stop embarrassing yourself here, okay?" Jia Dongxu pulled Jia Zhangshi and said in a low, angry voice.
Jia Dongxu's face was flushed red at this moment. Being watched by so many young people, he felt utterly humiliated.
Seeing that Jia Dongxu was truly angry, Jia Zhangshi's wailing immediately stopped, and she obediently followed Jia Dongxu back into the room.
"Keep an eye on Mom, how could you let her go ask for it?" Jia Dongxu closed the door, then looked at Qin Huairu and questioned her.
"I... I couldn't stop her." Qin Huairu said aggrievedly from the side.
She really did try to stop her. When Jia Zhangshi walked towards there, she asked, and when she knew what she wanted to do, Qin Huairu wanted to stop her, but Jia Zhangshi's physique was not something she could block.
Seeing Qin Huairu's head bowed and aggrieved look, Jia Dongxu's heart softened, and he comforted her, "You cook another dish, and I'll bring the food over later, and we'll eat together."
After speaking, he ignored Jia Zhangshi, who was still sitting on the bed grumbling angrily, and went straight out the door.
Seeing that there was no more fun, everyone didn't tease much and returned to the backyard one by one.
After the dishes were stir-fried, everyone lined up with their bowls, and He Yuzhu served a little of each dish to everyone.
Stir-fried cabbage, double-cooked pork, and shredded potatoes—a little of each of the three dishes filled a bowl.
Those who had their dishes went to the central courtyard, took two steamed buns, and then returned home to eat with their parents and children.
Although everyone living here worked at the Rolling Mill, meat dishes were not something they could eat often.
Of course, they wanted to share the fragrant dishes with their families at home.
After everyone had finished serving and dispersed, Wang Ze ran to the central courtyard to call the three elderly women to get their dishes.
"Brother Zhuzi, you go call Yushui to come eat with us," Wang Ze said, seeing that there was still a lot left in the pot.
"Hehe, okay." After saying that, he took off his apron, put it aside, and walked out of the room.
Soon, Wang Ze saw He Yuzhu enter with He Yushui.
Wang Ze looked at Yushui; this girl was only ten years old now and was very cute.
She didn't look thin; He Yuzhu had raised her quite well.
Wang Ze estimated that He Yuzhu hadn't started helping the Jia Family yet. Now that He Yuzhu was working, he could still take care of Yushui.
Only after being entangled with the Jia Family would Yushui's suffering begin.
"Wang Ze, come have a drink with me," He Yuzhu said as he walked into the room, holding a bottle of wine in his hand.
"I don't drink. Come, Yushui, sit down." Wang Ze refused the offer to drink, then said to Yushui.
"Brother Zhuzi, what you made is really delicious!" Wang Ze took a bite of the double-cooked pork, his eyes lit up, and he praised.
"Hehe, of course! It's a family heirloom skill. It's just that the Rolling Mill doesn't know what's good. Otherwise, I would have been a chef long ago." He Yuzhu put the wine aside without opening it. Upon hearing Wang Ze's words, he immediately said proudly.
Yushui, sitting beside them, greeted Wang Ze and then started eating on her own.
"Brother Zhuzi, how did you get into the Rolling Mill? With your skills, you should be at a restaurant," Wang Ze asked curiously.
Wang Ze didn't understand why he went to the Rolling Mill. In those days, very few skilled chefs were willing to work in factories.
Low pay, slow skill improvement, small social circles—all these disadvantages led to no one wanting to work in factories.
He Yuzhu was silent for a moment, then picked up a dish, took a bite, and after swallowing, said, "My father ran off for a widow in '51. At that time, I was still learning from my master at the restaurant. Something happened then, so I left Fengzeyuan. Last year, Uncle Yi helped me find a job at the Rolling Mill."
After speaking, he chuckled, "The factory is also pretty good. It's easier than a restaurant, not as much trouble. Now my salary is also 200,000, which is enough."
"Oh, that's good," Wang Ze echoed.
Seeing Yushui listening to their conversation with her ears pricked up, Wang Ze didn't continue to press the matter.
After all, it wasn't good to mention their father in front of this girl.
Calculating the time, this girl was only 7 years old when He Daqing left, which was quite pitiful.
After they finished eating, there were still some dishes left. After He Yuzhu took Yushui back, Wang Ze checked how much food in the room had been used.
It was quite frustrating to see that almost everything had been used up.
Half of the cornmeal was also used, but he didn't feel bad about that; the cornmeal of that era hurt one's throat when eaten.
There was still a lot of rice and fine flour he bought yesterday. He didn't take these out for everyone to use.
After all, eating meat could be explained as buying it to thank everyone, but fine grains were not something the general public could eat daily at that time.
However, the dishes were basically gone. Wang Ze tidied up the room and put everything back in its place.
Then he went out to buy vegetables, but this time he also bought a back basket. The meat he bought was placed at the very bottom, covered by cheap, common vegetables like cabbage.
This way, it would be impossible for them to be found, right?
From now on, he would also cook in the courtyard. As long as he was careful, others wouldn't discover what he was eating.
Carrying the back basket back to the Forbidden City Courtyard, Wang Ze immediately felt everyone's enthusiasm.
Basically, every family had taken food from his place at noon, instantly making Wang Ze a household name in the Forbidden City Courtyard.
Grinning and greeting people all the way, Wang Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to his room.
Perhaps this was the Beijing Forbidden City Courtyard.
This unique human touch made him a little unaccustomed to it for a while.
Wang Ze took out the vegetables from the back basket, organized them, and then placed them in the cabinet.
Looking at the cabinet full of various vegetables, Wang Ze wondered if he had bought too much. He habitually bought a lot of vegetables at once and then stored them to eat slowly.
However, in later generations, there were refrigerators, but now there was only a cabinet.
Closing the cabinet door, Wang Ze walked directly to his bedroom and lay on the bed.
Although he did the least work that morning, he still felt quite tired. Just as he was about to take a good nap.
He habitually opened the system panel.
As soon as he opened it, Wang Ze immediately became energetic.
He had one more skill.
Fitness Level 1, Experience 0.
Was this skill appearing because of the prisoner exercises he did in the morning?
Wang Ze didn't expect skills to be so easy to obtain; he only needed to do it once.
This way, previously envisioned skills like carpentry, design, etc., he thought should all appear as he built the toilet himself.
However, the skill upgrade box in the back still only had one, probably requiring the panel level to increase for it to add more.
Without an explanation, Wang Ze could only guess.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Ze decided to wait. He would put the fitness skill on after the chef skill reached level two.
After all, the chef skill was about to upgrade, and Wang Ze still wanted to know what changes and benefits he would get from the upgrade.
After observing for a while, there were no other changes. The panel level was still blinking, letting him know that the panel was still running, just like a power indicator light.
After a nap, Wang Ze groggily opened his eyes and stretched.
He got up, pulled open the curtains, and looked at the sky outside. Based on his original body's experience, it should be around three in the afternoon now.
Wang Ze himself couldn't tell the time; he only had experience checking the time on his phone.