At sixteen, Sha Zhu, thanks to the teachings of He Daqing and Wu Bangming, could already cook many dishes.
However, Wu Bangming did not let him start cooking immediately; instead, he had him begin with odd jobs. The purpose of this was to lay a solid foundation for his future.
The original Sha Zhu looked down on such work and always harbored resentment.
But the current Sha Zhu embraced it with joy. He secretly drank a bit of the spiritual spring water and immediately felt his body brimming with strength. These odd jobs wouldn't make him tired at all.
While cooking, Wu Bangming would occasionally glance at Sha Zhu. Seeing him work so diligently, he was very satisfied, feeling that Sha Zhu had grown up.
Let's talk about the Deaf Old Lady again.
She woke up in the morning, went to the breakfast stall outside, bought a bowl of soy milk and five large meat buns, and sat down to eat heartily at the stall.
The breakfast stall owner was not at all surprised by this; in fact, he took special care of the Deaf Old Lady. After she finished a bowl of soy milk, he even gave her half a bowl for free.
The Deaf Old Lady smiled and thanked him, and even spoke highly of the owner to other patrons, saying he was a good person who knew she was alone and often treated her to soy milk.
The common people of this era were still very simple and not as cunning. Hearing that the owner was a good person, they supported him with their actions, buying two meat buns instead of the one they originally intended.
The owner was naturally happy and always took special care of the Deaf Old Lady whenever she came for breakfast.
The Deaf Old Lady had a precise grasp of human nature; she would always demonstrate her value to anyone who helped her, earning their sincere admiration.
This was most evident with Sha Zhu. Especially when Sha Zhu fought with Xu Damao, the Deaf Old Lady always unconditionally supported Sha Zhu.
After breakfast, the Deaf Old Lady had nowhere else to go, so she could only return home.
Passing through the Middle Courtyard, she specifically looked around a couple of times before heading towards her own house.
As soon as she reached the Back Courtyard, she heard the cries of a child from the Liu family's home. The one crying loudly was Liu Guangfu, the youngest child of the Liu family, who had just been born today and was not yet a year old.
"Cry, all you do is cry. Crying day and night, not letting me have a moment of peace."
Second Aunt, while coaxing the child, said, "Why are you shouting? The child is young and doesn't know better. Which child doesn't cry?
If you find the child annoying, don't come looking for me at night."
At this time, Liu Haizhong was only in his thirties, in the prime of his life. With nothing to do at night, embracing his wife, he naturally had no other business.
Liu Haizhong's face flushed, and he muttered, "Can you blame me? Xu Fugui and his wife made such a big commotion that I couldn't sleep. You're my wife, if I don't look for you, who do I look for?"
The Deaf Old Lady immediately couldn't help but curse softly, "Shameless."
This curse was not only for Liu Haizhong but also for Xu Fugui.
Xu Fugui was Xu Damao's father. He learned how to project films from someone else early on and gained the appreciation of Lou Zhenheng. Later, he married a woman who worked as a servant in the Lou family.
Xu Mother worked as a servant in the Lou family and couldn't come home every day. At most, she returned once a week. It was normal for the couple to be intimate after such a long time apart.
However, Xu Fugui was a film projector and had seen more foreign films, so he knew more tricks, and the couple's commotion was a bit louder.
The Middle Courtyard and Front Courtyard were fine, but the neighbors in the Back Courtyard truly suffered, and the bachelors were the most uncomfortable.
The Xu family's door suddenly opened, and a fourteen-year-old boy walked out, shouting towards Liu Haizhong's house, "Guangqi, are you up? If you don't leave now, you'll be late."
"Coming, I'll be ready in a moment." A fourteen-year-old boy also walked out of Liu Haizhong's house, with delicate features, resembling Liu Haizhong somewhat.
He had half a steamed bun in his mouth and carried a school bag in his hand.
Xu Damao saw the Deaf Old Lady but pretended not to, not greeting her at all.
After Liu Guangqi came out, seeing the Deaf Old Lady standing in the courtyard, he said, "Old Lady, you're up so early."
The Deaf Old Lady hummed in response, ignoring both of them.
She naturally had no good feelings for Xu Damao, who disrespected her. Especially after the Xu family's house often emitted delicious smells without thinking of her, she disliked the Xu family even more.
The Deaf Old Lady couldn't bring herself to like the obedient Liu Guangqi either. While Liu Guangqi was filial, it was only to his own parents, and he didn't care about her, an Old Lady.
Both of them were used to the Deaf Old Lady's demeanor and ran out with their school bags.
Liu Haizhong saw his precious son with Xu Damao and was somewhat displeased, telling Second Aunt, "When you have time, talk to Guangqi. Xu Damao doesn't study all day; don't let him play with him."
Second Aunt looked worriedly at the sleeping Liu Guangfu and said, "I know. Our two families are neighbors, and both children are in the same school; it's not good if they don't talk."
A slap interrupted Second Aunt's words.
Then came the cry of another child, along with Liu Haizhong's scolding: "You little brat, who told you to eat breakfast? Don't you know that only I and your brother can eat our family's breakfast?"
Liu Guangtian looked at Second Aunt aggrievedly, not daring to say a word.
Second Aunt, however, did not comfort him but said, "Guangtian, your father needs to go to work to earn money, and your brother needs to go to school, so the breakfast is for them. When you go to school, you can also eat breakfast."
Liu Haizhong snorted, "Him? He's always at the bottom of his class even if he goes to school. What right does he have to eat breakfast?"
Second Aunt didn't dare to contradict Liu Haizhong, so she had to lead Liu Guangtian aside.
Such a big commotion was, of course, heard by the Xu family across the way. Xu Mother grabbed Xu Fugui's ear and said, "I told you to be careful, but you just wouldn't listen. Now people are laughing at us!"
Xu Fugui, however, didn't care: "Laughing at what? It's a joke that they can't compare to my abilities."
Xu Mother slapped him hard, "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the child?"
She turned to take care of her slowly eating daughter, Xu Xiaoling: "Eat slowly. Our family doesn't lack food for you. Why are you eating like you've never seen food before?"
Xu Xiaoling chewed her food and complained to Xu Mother, "If I don't grab it, brother will eat it all. Brother eats so fast, I can't compete with him."
Xu Fugui glared at his daughter before saying, "A growing boy will eat his father poor. Da Mao is at an age where he can eat a lot. When you go to the Lou family, try to get more delicious food. They have so much food; it's a waste if they don't eat it all."
Xu Mother rolled her eyes at him: "Always thinking about the master's things. Do you think this is still the past? The Lou family doesn't dare to buy so many things casually now."
Xu Fugui said indifferently, "What do you know? The Lou family is used to enjoying themselves; they can endure one day, but can they endure two? Don't worry, their family will definitely get things."
"Even if they get it, we can't just eat it freely. That Old Lady in that room is always watching with longing eyes. What if one day..."
"There's no 'what if.' How many more days can an Old Lady with no children live? Maybe one night she'll fall asleep and never wake up. Only Yi Zhonghai, that hypocrite, makes his wife take care of her."
Xu Mother saw that Xu Fugui was speaking more and more inappropriately and quickly stopped him, not letting him continue. It wouldn't be good if the Deaf Old Lady heard these words.
The Deaf Old Lady was quite familiar with the people from the Military Control Commission. If she just mentioned it to them casually that day, it would be enough trouble for their family.
But she only realized it now, and it was too late. The Deaf Old Lady might not be good at other things, but her nose and ears were unrivaled; she had long heard the Xu family's conversation clearly.
"Those damn Xu family lackeys, they actually dare to wish for my death. I will definitely make your family pay!"