PDLP Chapter 2 He Daqing's Escape
Chapter 2 He Daqing's Escape
Master Wang Defa had many disciples, but only three truly received his teachings.
The eldest apprentice stayed in Sichuan Province, essentially to carry on his family line.
There is another apprentice in the capital who has already gone to work as the head chef at Emei Restaurant, and there are several other apprentices at Fengzeyuan Restaurant.
They were all nominal disciples, but He Yuzhu was now being directly trained by Wang Defa as his closed-door disciple.
What is a nominal disciple? They can announce their name to others, but they cannot claim to be a true disciple.
At the same time, the master won't really give you the final recipe, so you'll basically only be able to work as a chef in a small restaurant.
A true disciple has a master who can vouch for them at any time, and the master's prestige also increases as the disciple becomes famous.
An apprentice is also a son, and will also have to wear mourning clothes for his master in the future.
The last disciple is definitely the most outstanding disciple the master has ever taken in his life.
For a craftsman to truly decide to treat his apprentice as his last disciple is not so simple.
First, the apprentice must be filial enough; second, his talent must be outstanding enough. These two conditions are relative and require multiple considerations.
The fact that Wang Defa decided to publicly acknowledge He Yuzhu as his last disciple fully demonstrates his character and culinary talent.
The manager of Fengzeyuan Restaurant was aware of this, otherwise he wouldn't have immediately decided to raise his salary. He was afraid of offending both the head chef, Wang Defa, and a rising star chef.
Wang Defa represents the present, while He Yuzhu represents the future.
The manager of Fengzeyuan Restaurant is not the kind of person who only cares about immediate interests. He has enough judgment and execution to stand out among the top restaurants in Beijing.
By winning over He Yuzhu, not only did they gain the goodwill of Master Chef Wang Defa, but they also made He Yuzhu feel grateful to Fengzeyuan.
How could He Yuzhu possibly leave Fengzeyuan so easily in the future? By binding himself to a chef with extraordinary talent, Fengzeyuan's business can continue to suppress other restaurants for the next few years.
The success of any great restaurant is not just about good food; service and management are also crucial.
Otherwise, if they could run a successful business simply by hiring a few master chefs at high prices, why would they bother to go to great lengths to curry favor with others?
There are countless reasons to succeed in the food business, and the success of any business naturally involves many factors. Fengzeyuan's current dominance over several top restaurants in Beijing is largely due to the shrewdness and competence of its manager.
He Yuzhu specially prepared the dish of boiled fish fillets today. This dish, which will be a household name in later generations, is making its debut at this time.
He Yuzhu only remembered it occasionally; he only remembered that the boiled fish slices were missing when he saw the boiled pork slices.
Fortunately, his personal space contained a pond, and the fish in it had all grown up. Each time he scooped up a net, he would catch several large fish weighing six or seven pounds.
With the raw materials in hand, He Yuzhu quickly made boiled fish fillets in the space kitchen.
Once He Yuzhu had mastered the taste and plating, he naturally took out this dish to present to his master, Wang Defa, to make a name for himself.
Master Wang Defa was very happy to see that his apprentices could now create new dishes. How could he not be proud?
I imagine any master would be delighted to have such a good disciple.
Good masters are hard to find, and similarly, good disciples are not so easy to come by either.
True complementarity means that two people happen to meet and can help each other achieve a win-win situation.
As for his apprentice's suggestion to use his name as the dish's name, Wang Defa would definitely not agree. He wasn't the kind of master who coveted his apprentice's achievements, although he was quite satisfied with his apprentice's filial piety.
This also proves that he is not old and blind, and that his apprentice is a person with a conscience.
Fengzeyuan became famous for this improved Sichuan dish, and He Yuzhu gained even more favor from his master and the manager.
Countless customers have come from far and wide hoping to taste this new dish. Actually, once you know how to make boiled sliced pork, making boiled fish is incredibly easy.
Other Sichuan cuisine chefs can now also make boiled fish.
Especially Wang Defa, He Yuzhu's master, whose boiled fish is even better than He Yuzhu's.
However, in the culinary world, there's an unwritten rule: the creator is always more impressive than the followers.
Just like some martial arts moves, no matter how well later practitioners practice them, the creator will always be more famous than the original.
He Yuzhu became a standout at Fengzeyuan Restaurant thanks to this dish, and customers would specifically request He Yuzhu to make boiled fish when they came to the restaurant.
This is the creator's bonus; no matter how good other people's cooking skills are, they can only stand aside.
You can be jealous, but you can't deny He Yuzhu.
Because of this new dish, He Yuzhu has become quite well-known in Beijing's culinary circles.
Who knows, he might even make a name for himself in culinary history someday.
By the end of September 51, He Daqing finally showed signs of wanting to flee.
He Yuzhu considered several ways to try and change the plot. In the original story, Sha Zhu was schemed against his entire life by Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, and Qin Huairu.
While it's true that Sha Zhu is quite foolish, it's also related to He Daqing's escape.
Without parental guidance and care, a few old fogies could easily fool a simpleton into becoming crippled.
Of course, Sha Zhu himself also has a lot of problems; it's certain that he lusts after widows.
Otherwise, Xu Damao also liked Qin Huairu, and he got the benefit by exchanging steamed buns for steamed buns. Sha Zhu, however, didn't experience her affections until he was forty years old.
This isn't to whitewash Sha Zhu; he certainly had many shortcomings. However, for a sixteen-year-old boy whose father suddenly ran away, leaving him to raise a seven-year-old sister, it's hard to say that anyone else would have done a better job.
Now it's Wu Tao's turn to have traveled through time, and he certainly won't accept this fate.
He Yuzhu didn't have that much hostility. Whether it was Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai's wife Luo Qiaoyun, Qin Huairu, or Jia Zhangshi, they were all strangers to him.
In the months since he traveled here, He Yuzhu has greeted them normally whenever he sees them.
He definitely wouldn't become closer to them; they were just ordinary neighbors. He Yuzhu wouldn't deliberately do anything to harm anyone, nor would he let them continue to scheme against him.
Some people think that since you are a time traveler, you should take the initiative.
He Yuzhu felt it was unnecessary. In reality, how many illegal and criminal things had these people in the courtyard actually done?
In this particular era, you really can't convict them. You could say they're morally flawed and too self-serving, but in reality, they're still somewhat removed from breaking the law.
Even the things Xu Damao did during that special period were actually the most normal behavior at that time.
He Yuzhu wouldn't intentionally harm anyone; as long as they don't get any benefit from it, they'll be the ones who suffer in the end.
Without entertainment, without cell phones, without TikTok, watching a play live is actually quite nice.
He Yuzhu ultimately chose the most stable approach to resolve the issue.
"Dad, are you planning to leave with the White Widow?"
He Yuzhu's words left He Daqing dumbfounded.
He Daqing stared at He Yuzhu in shock. He wondered how his foolish son could have figured it out when he had been so discreet.
"Don't be shocked. I've been suspicious of you going out every night. I've even been following you for a while now. I secretly went into the yard and overheard your conversation. Are you really planning to abandon us, my brother and me?"
He Daqing's face flushed red, and he didn't know what to say.
He already had some trouble explaining it to his son and daughter. Giving up the white widow was something he truly couldn't bear. Her gentle and considerate nature had captivated this old widower, making him irresistibly drawn to her.
"Silly Zhuzi, Dad doesn't want to either, but now they're forcing me to leave, or they'll report me to the military control commission."
He Yuzhu knew that this part of the story wasn't actually acted out; it was all revealed through conversations between several people.
He Yuzhu was also very curious about how Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady had schemed against He Daqing.
"Dad, how did you and she meet?"
Why are you asking this?
As a father, He Daqing became somewhat impatient when his son pressed him for answers.
"I once secretly went there to wait for you, and I saw Uncle Yi go into that courtyard too. Then, out of curiosity, I followed him over the wall and vaguely heard something about taking He Daqing away quickly, saying that I had already given you two million or something."
He Daqing looked incredulous, yet also somewhat enlightened.
"Alright, I see. I knew it. That old bastard Yi Zhonghai, I'll go beat him to death."
He Yuzhu hurriedly stopped He Daqing.
"Dad, what do you mean? Are you saying Uncle Yi sabotaged things?"
"Don't ask anymore. Remember, Yi Zhonghai is not a good person, including the deaf old lady in the backyard. Don't pay any attention to them in the future."
He Daqing wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he quickly figured out their scheme.
"Dad, are you still leaving?"
The thought of the White Widow made He Daqing unable to hold back his emotions again.
"Hey, Zhu Zi, Dad really has to leave. They have something on me, and it won't be good for you and Yu Shui if I don't leave."
"Alright, since you're leaving, let's discuss what's next."
You should transfer the house to me, so I won't be schemed against by the White Widow later. Also, you and I will go to the military control commission to sign a severance agreement.
I've secretly looked at the money in the metal box under the bed; there's six million. Leave me two million. From now on, send me 100,000 every month until Yushui turns eighteen.
"Hey, you idiot Zhu, you're trying to steal all my stuff. 100,000 a month? No way."
He Daqing started acting like a rogue; he didn't want to be broke every month.
"Dad, you'd better listen to me. Your widow's son definitely won't take care of you in your old age. If you want to live your own life, we won't stop you. But if you treat us badly, I won't take care of you in your old age. If you listen to me, I'll definitely take care of you and see you off when you come back."
He Daqing was so angry at He Yuzhu that he blew his beard and glared at him, but finally burst out laughing.
"Alright, my silly son has grown up. With you at home looking after him, I feel relieved. I'll grant all your requests. I'll give you 100,000 every month until Yushui turns eighteen."
He Daqing thought about what his son had said, and he knew perfectly well that the widow's son wouldn't support him in his old age. For the sake of his own future, He Daqing really didn't dare to offend his son too much.
The next day, He Daqing went with He Yuzhu to the Military Control Commission to complete the house donation contract, and the severance agreement was also registered and filed with the Military Control Commission.