I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 23 Distance

"Mom wants you to come home for dinner."

The pregnant woman outside the door was Qin Huairu. She was also startled and turned back to the Jia family after speaking.

"Brother Dongjin, you have to keep your word!"

Seeing that Jia Dongjin was going home for dinner and the invitation was about to fall through, He Yuzhu became anxious and stopped joking around.

"Of course I keep my word. I'm going home to get the groceries now. From now on, call me Dongjin, don't keep calling me 'brother,' I was born in 36."

Jia Dongjin laughed heartily. He had fooled He Yuzhu for three months, and considering the help He Yuzhu had given him, he couldn't take advantage of him any further.

"You, Jia Dongjin, how dare you deceive our old worker!" He Yuzhu was truly enraged. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, so he didn't need to roll it up. He stepped forward and was about to tackle Jia Dongjin.

"Silly brother, you hurt Dongjin. Not only will we not be able to have a proper meal, but Aunt Zhang will also make you pay for his medical expenses. Our family needs to save money to marry off our sister-in-law, and we don't have any money to compensate her."

He Yushui was laughing so hard she was shaking.

"So all that time I've been calling you 'brother' for nothing?"

Thinking of Jia Zhangshi's scoundrel nature, He Yuzhu felt a chill in his heart and dared not step forward to make a move. He was unwilling to let the other party get away with it for nothing, and his eyes widened in anxiety.

Hearing the commotion, Jia Zhangshi rushed out as well. Seeing that her family had gotten the better deal, she wasn't angry at all. Instead, she held up a rolling pin and warned triumphantly, "Silly Zhu, I don't care if you hit Xu Damao, but you can't mess with my Dongjin. If you're not afraid, feel free to try."

Try it and you'll die?!

The rule in Beijing is that a good man doesn't fight with a woman, and he can't even get involved in a fight between women. He Yuzhu was still young and hadn't seen much of a fight, so he was immediately frightened by Jia Zhangshi.

Hearing the commotion, the people in the courtyard all rushed over to see what was going on. An older woman smiled and stepped forward to persuade He Yuzhu, giving him a way out.

He wouldn't back down, muttering to himself, "Jia Dongjin, if you don't serve good food later, I'm not finished with you."

"Silly Zhu, what's the big deal? Why are you making such a fuss?"

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but chuckle. He hadn't expected Jia Dongjin to be so shameless, lying without blushing at all, even trying to gain a mere verbal advantage.

Yan Fugui chuckled, shaking his head and saying, "Like playing with children!"

In the crowd, Xu Damao looked at his own mother with resentment. He had been beaten by He Yuzhu many times since he was a child, but his own mother never stood up for him.

Seeing this, Xu Fugui glared at his son and whispered, "If your mother were a shrew, would the Lou family let her serve them? What kind of relationship do I have with He Daqing? Why would I get involved in your petty affairs?"

Xu's mother used to be a maid in the household of Lou Bancheng, a wealthy merchant in Beijing. After the liberation, the Lou family dismissed all the maids and sent them home, but when entertaining guests or when they were too busy, they would still ask Xu's mother to help out in private. Naturally, they would choose someone who was docile, capable, and sensible.

The Xu and He families had a close relationship, not just as old neighbors. Before liberation, He Daqing was the Lou family's cook, and Xu Fugui and his wife also worked for the Lou family. Xu Fugui was a servant and private projectionist. The couple had no right to interfere in such a trivial matter as their children fighting.

"Is Zhu Zi home?" Jia Dongjin kept his word and soon arrived at the He family's door with a smile, carrying groceries.

"Call me Brother Pillar. You're the one who calls me Pillar."

When the other party actually brought things to the door, He Yuzhu put on airs again. He looked up at the ceiling, crossed his legs, and started to show off.

"What? What did you say? I can't hear you!"

Jia Dongjin continued to joke around; with the good dishes in hand, he had firmly grasped the initiative.

"Dongjin, if you bully Sha-ge again, I'll really get angry!"

He Yushui burst out of the door. She was a smart woman and didn't try to mediate between the two fools. Instead, she reached out and snatched the handbag from Jia Dongjin's hand, trying to seize the initiative.

"Hey, hey, you're a young lady, why are you fighting?" Jia Dongjin naturally wouldn't stand for it, and quickly raised his handbag, and the two of them started arguing and fighting over it.

Seeing He Yushui clinging to his arm without any sense of propriety, Jia Dongjin knew that the young girl had lost her mother at a young age and had grown up wildly, not understanding social distance. He quickly put on a righteous demeanor and said in a low voice, "Yushui, let me tell you something: you're about to grow up, you can't get too close to men, not even your brother. You need to know how to keep your distance."

He Yushui was still confused when Jia Dongjin's expression suddenly changed, and he ran into the He family home with his handbag.

"You brat from the Jia family, Sha Zhu is afraid of Zhang Xiaohua, but Zhang Xiaohua is afraid of me. If you don't satisfy my grandson today, I won't let you off the hook."

The deaf old woman's face was ashen. She strode in, leaning on her cane.

The Zhang Xiaohua mentioned by the deaf old woman is Jia Zhangshi.

In the past, in order to make a living, Jia Zhangshi had worked as a maid for the deaf old lady, and therefore she was very afraid of the deaf old lady.

Being two generations older can be incredibly oppressive.

Jia Dongjin didn't dare to cause trouble and obediently opened his large satchel.

"Pork belly!" He Yushui exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh, keep your voice down, my little auntie!" Jia Dongjin quickly pulled out some candy to shut Xiaoyushui up, then quietly took out some dried fish, and finally even took out a bottle of cabbage.

Actually, Qin Huairu had just called Jia Dongjin home to make braised pork. He was particular about cooking, and his braised pork was better than that of his mother and daughter-in-law.

Since they were going to have dinner with He Yuzhu, Jia Dongjin handed over the responsibility of cooking to He Yuzhu. Professional things should be done by professionals, which would also save him some trouble. Why not?

He said ingratiatingly, "Zhu Zi, take this opportunity to apologize to Bang Geng today. It was wrong of him to feed the earthworms with your vegetable leaves; I've already given him a stern talking-to. You make braised pork for Madam, sauté the dried anchovies with red chili peppers, and you should also have some peanuts. Make a cold shredded cabbage salad, and you'll be all set!"

Seeing He Yuzhu's happy face, Jia Dongjin said with a look of disdain, "It's a pity you're so poor you don't even have eggs. Otherwise, I could show off my skills and make a dish that suits Madam."

"There are plenty of Egg Guys out there!"

He Yuzhu wasn't one to back down. He bent over and rummaged around deep in the cupboard for a while before finally managing to pry out two eggs.

"Zhu Zi, you're really generous, no less so than Second Uncle." Jia Dongjin gave a thumbs up. For the sake of his stomach, he had to give He Yuzhu a thumbs up and encouragement.

He Yushui knew that Jia Dongjin just wanted to freeload, and was about to expose him when Jia Dongjin quickly took out the fruit candies he had brought for her. "Here are eight candies for you, two more than the stick candies. Am I being a good brother?"

After her mouth was stuffed with candy, He Yushui was so angry that she laughed when she saw that Jia Dongjin's so-called "show of skill" was just steamed egg custard.

"When it comes to braised pork, Zhu Zi's is the best. The aroma and color are simply unparalleled. Even immortals would jump over the wall if they smelled it."

Jia Dongjin was shameless; he didn't care at all. He casually shared half of the braised pork with the Jia family, not even bothering to make an excuse. He simply praised He Yuzhu's cooking skills a few times, which appeased Chef He.

The deaf old lady ignored this trivial matter; as long as there was enough for her to eat, that was fine. She had bad teeth and was only focused on eating the fragrant and tender braised pork and steamed egg custard.

Seeing He Yushui pouting and looking unhappy, the deaf old lady swallowed the egg custard and said with a smile.

"Rain, try this steamed egg custard. It's smoother than usual. Dongjin really put a lot of effort into it. Don't be ungrateful. He's a connoisseur of food. He put white wine in the eggs. I haven't had such a refined steamed egg custard in a long time. It's a pity he didn't add a few goji berries."

While taking a shower in the evening, He Yushui fired back at her brother for the first time.

"Hey idiot, what's the rush? Stay away from the shower. I'm a grown woman, understand? Keep your distance!"

He Yuzhu: "..."

58年8月初，贾东进终于领到了转正后的30块5，比试用期的22块5多出8块，刨去每个月给家里上交15块，他的小金库第一次超过了70块钱。

"Sister-in-law, let's go to the backyard to return the money."