Shen Yuan Chao sighed. He had only completed one fortieth of his task. Life was hard.
“Auntie, Yu Shui!”
Sha Zhu’s voice rang out. Liu Hui Zhen opened the door, “Zhuzi, why are you here?”
Sha Zhu smiled, “Today I went to take the level exam at your suggestion. I passed the Level 8 cook exam and Yang Factory Manager even made me the head chef, responsible for the factory's banquets in the future. Auntie Liu, if it wasn’t for you, I probably would’ve missed this exam. These are the dishes I made at the factory, untouched, I saved them for you and the kids!”
Liu Hui Zhen said, “Zhuzi, how can I accept this, you take these back and eat them with Yu Shui. Look at how thin she is, she needs to eat well to recover!”
Sha Zhu, “Auntie, I brought two, this is for you, I have one at home, enough for Yu Shui and me. Besides, it’s almost New Year’s, maybe you can help me get Yu Shui some new clothes!”
Liu Hui Zhen immediately stopped refusing, “Okay, if she needs things, tell her to bring them over.”
“Alright!”
After sending Sha Zhu away, Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian tiptoed over to look at the lunchbox, “Mom, what did silly brother bring?”
He Yu Shui liked to call Sha Zhu silly brother, so Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian learned to do the same.
Liu Hui Zhen, “Let me open it, wow, it’s braised pork. That’s a good thing, come have a bite each. We’ll save the rest for New Year’s, okay?”
Shen You Chu, “Mom, we’re not hungry for meat, you save it for brother to buy milk powder.”
Shen You Tian, “Yeah, Mom, we can eat steamed bread, save the meat for brother.”
Shen Yuan Chao felt a wave of emotion. His two little bean sprout sisters were so kind to him, it would be even better if they could kiss him a few more times.
Liu Hui Zhen, “Good girls, Yuan Chao is Mom’s child, you are also Mom’s children. In the past, our family didn’t have conditions, we couldn’t eat meat. Now that we do, Mom hopes you can all eat your fill and grow up strong. Just, our good days now are all thanks to your brother. You have to be good to your brother in the future, alright? In the future, he will be your only support in this world. If your brother is good, you can be better!”
“Mom, we remember.”
In this era, many families favored sons over daughters. Liu Hui Zhen was no exception. Though Shen Yuan Chao wasn’t her biological child, she treated him no differently.
Looking at the portraits of great men on the wall, Shen Yuan Chao continued to contemplate, how can I solve the problem of our family’s household registration?
He was only three months old now, he wouldn’t be able to talk until he was one. But it was the end of 1952 now. In February 1953, it would be impossible to move in or out of a household registration area! By the time he could talk, it would be too late.
Liu Hui Zhen cut a piece of braised pork and gave it to Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian. But they took it and wanted to give it to Shen Yuan Chao. Shen Yuan Chao felt helpless.
He sighed inwardly, why couldn't these two little girls pry open his mouth and see that his mouth was empty, where teeth should be?
He couldn't eat!
“Chu Chu, Tian Tian, brother can’t eat yet, you eat it!”
Only then did Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian give up on Yuan Chao, they ran over to Liu Hui Zhen, “Mom, you eat!”
“Be good, Mom doesn’t like to eat meat.”
But Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian insisted, “Mom has to take a bite, otherwise we won’t eat!”
“You eat, Mom really doesn’t like to eat meat.”
“No, no…”
Shen Yuan Chao lamented, what mother wouldn’t like to eat meat?
She just didn’t want to eat it, she wanted to give it to her children.
When she came home in the evening, Liu Hui Zhen had already prepared dinner. After eating, she fed him and pushed the small bamboo stroller, taking Shen Yuan Chao, Shen You Chu, and Shen You Tian to the literacy class.
Jia Zhang Shi sat at home, sewing shoes, “Dong Xu, you said your first uncle asked Sha Zhu to go to Baocheng, Sha Zhu agreed but didn’t go?”
Jia Dong Xu, “Yes, according to first uncle, if Sha Zhu missed this exam, then I would be the most outstanding person in our courtyard, and it would be good for our family’s reputation. But who would have thought that Sha Zhu, who agreed, suddenly didn’t go, and instead participated in the level exam and became the head chef!”
You have to know, Sha Zhu was only 17 years old! He was three years younger than Jia Dong Xu.
Qin Huairu frowned, “I think Sha Zhu has been getting close to Liu Hui Zhen, did she tell him something?”
Jia Dong Xu, “No! This level exam, the master said, only a few old workers know about it, not the other workers. Liu Hui Zhen doesn’t know a single character, how could she know this news? And help Sha Zhu? If she had that ability, how could her family live like this?”
Qin Huairu said reluctantly, “Then I guess it’s just Sha Zhu’s own doing, good luck, right.”
Thinking of Sha Zhu carrying those heavy lunchboxes, Qin Huairu felt envious. Holding Bang Geng in her arms, she thought, when he grows up, I’ll have him get close to Sha Zhu. This way, maybe I can get some lunchboxes.
Qin Huairu actually wanted to participate, but Jia Dong Xu cared about his reputation and cared about Sha Zhu too, so Qin Huairu could only envy those lunchboxes.
…
At Yan Bu Gui’s house, Yang Rui Hua saw Liu Hui Zhen leave with the children, “Old Yan, what do you think, Liu Hui Zhen, where is she going at this time? She doesn’t have any close friends in the city, does she?”
Yan Bu Gui, “Back when Old Shen was alive, he longed for a son, but she had two daughters. Then Old Shen passed away. Now, it’s probably because she has a son, she’s going out to brag. I’ve been thinking, Sha Zhu’s situation is strange. How did he become the head chef? He makes more than me!”
Yang Rui Hua, “He was taught culinary skills by He Da Qing since he was a child. He was shorter than the stove when he was little and he was already climbing on a stool to fry dishes, it’s probably normal, right?”
Yan Bu Gui, “I think Old Yi, why didn’t he sabotage Sha Zhu’s exam? He shouldn’t want Sha Zhu to grow up too quickly! Also, when Sha Zhu said he passed the exam, Old Yi and Jia Dong Xu’s faces were strange, shocked and resentful, clearly they wanted to sabotage it, but didn’t succeed!”
Yang Rui Hua, “Could it be the old lady? The old lady has a bit of face in the neighborhood committee and the factory. She treats Sha Zhu as a grandson, helping him is possible!”
“Right, it can’t be Liu Hui Zhen. That weak, pitiful widow in our courtyard, she definitely wouldn’t know this!”
The people in the courtyard were all curious, why was Sha Zhu’s exam so smooth this time? But nobody thought it was Liu Hui Zhen, which gave her space to grow quietly!
Shen Yuan Chao was happy with this. In this courtyard, the best thing to do was to stay out of it, conceal your achievements and let your name remain unknown, and then just eat popcorn and watch the fun! If he got involved, he’d get into trouble!
Liu Hui Zhen wouldn’t know that her unintentional actions had turned the whole courtyard upside down.
At this time, she was taking Shen Yuan Chao, Shen You Chu, and Shen You Tian to the literacy class.
The literacy teacher asked about Liu Hui Zhen’s literacy level, and then started teaching her according to the crash course method.
“The black crow flies in winter, out, out, stars appear. On the blackboard writing, giving, giving light. What word, gives light? Study, study, I know these two words well…”