Chapter 1 Time Travel

In the winter of 1952, in the city of Sijiu.

Wang Jianye woke up in a daze and suddenly found two half-grown boys lying next to him.

They were sleeping soundly, one of them was drooling on the pillow, and the other had his arm around his neck.

Wang Jianye was confused.

He is an orphan, never married or had children, and he has always lived alone at home.

But now there are two naughty kids sleeping with him, something is wrong.

Wang Jianye's hard work recalls.

He remembered that he went to bed last night after watching a TV series called Love in the Courtyard, and no outsiders came to his house.

"Whose naughty kid is this? How did he fall asleep on my bed?"

Wang Jianye frowned.

He couldn't remember how these two children came about, and had no impression at all in his mind.

"Wait, this doesn't seem to be my home."

Wang Jianye suddenly reacted.

He reached out and gently took the naughty boy's arm away from his neck.

Then he sat up and looked around carefully.

Below him was a hard earthen bed, and on the right side of the bed was a wall with several cracks and traces of water seepage.

There was a wooden beam across the roof above the wall, with spider webs hanging in several places and a tungsten filament light bulb hanging in the middle of the beam.

In front of the earthen kang stood a large dark brown suitcase. It was not touching the ground but was placed on a wooden scaffolding.

On the wall next to the suitcase, there was an old-fashioned clock with the second hand ticking away.

There is a military green shoulder bag hanging on the wall near the door, with a red five-pointed star printed on it, and a military green big-bellied kettle hanging next to it.

On the wall next to it there is a portrait of a great man and a thick stack of old almanacs.

In the middle of the room stood a small round table covered with a tablecloth, on which lay a few untied books, and on the floor stood an old bamboo kettle.

There was a kerosene lamp on the window frame, and next to it was a wooden washbasin stand with a washbasin underneath. On the wooden board above were towels, soap, wooden-handled toothbrushes, and tooth powder. There was also a square mirror embedded in the washbasin stand.

Looking at the unfamiliar environment around him, Wang Jianye felt dizzy.

Then there was a sharp pain, and suddenly many more memories appeared in my mind.

"I have...traveled through time."

Wang Jianye covered his head before he understood.

He has now traveled back to the winter of 1952 and become a resident in the TV series "Love in the Courtyard".

The other person is also called Wang Jianye, he is 20 years old and lives in the backyard of Qingman Siheyuan.

They are neighbors with Liu Haizhong's family in the east wing, Xu Damao's family in the west wing, and the deaf old lady in the west ear room of the north house.

There is a wing room and an ear room in the house, both in the north room.

The wing room is larger, with a brick wall in the middle. The outer one is used as a living room and the inner one is used as a bedroom. His mother and sister live there now.

He has two younger brothers and two younger sisters. His father died early and his mother raised them.

My mother's name is Zhang Lan, and she works at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill outside Dongzhimen.

Lou's Steel Mill is the Red Star Steel Mill in the TV series. It will be renamed Red Star Steel Mill after the public-private partnership in two years. Zhang Lan is a mid-level fitter in the first-line workshop of the steel mill. Her level is equivalent to that of a level 5 fitter after the technician grade system is introduced. According to the current salary distribution system, she received 52.2 yuan last month.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, prices were unstable, so the government required that the wages paid by each unit should be converted according to the necessities of life such as grain, cloth, cooking oil, salt, and coal.

比如一个工资分包括粮食0.8市斤、白布0.2市尺、油0.05市斤、盐0.02市斤、煤2市斤。

The wage points system is based on the market prices of these items, and then multiplied by the number of wage points you have, which is the actual wage you receive.

Wang Jianye has two younger brothers. The older one is ten years old this year. His name is Wang Jianwen. He is now in senior primary school and ranks among the top students in the class. He is very honest and sensible.

The younger one is eight years old this year. His name is Wang Jianwu. His academic performance is as bad as Wang Jianye's when he was a child. He is always among the last few in the class. He is usually naughty and disliked by everyone. It is this kid who put his arm around his neck when he sleeps.

The older sister’s name is Wang Jianting. She is eighteen years old this year. Because she studies hard, she was admitted to university last year. The university is relatively close to home, so she can usually just take a bus back home on weekends.

Moreover, as a college student, she also receives a living allowance, so she does not need to take money from her family and can even save a lot.

The second sister is named Wang Jiannan. She is twelve years old this year and is still in junior high school. She has very good grades and is always among the top students in the grade in every exam.

The current school year system is four years for primary school, which is equivalent to the first to fourth grades of primary school in later generations, two years for senior primary school, which is equivalent to the fifth and sixth grades, two years for junior high school, and two years for senior high school.

As for Wang Jianye's academic performance, it was very average. He dropped out of school after finishing junior high school. He looked for odd jobs and worked as a helping hand for others, and spent a few years there.

Three years ago, Zhang Lan asked a local recommender for help and arranged for him to become an apprentice at Fengze Garden.

Fengzeyuan was founded in 1930 and specializes in Shandong cuisine. It is one of the top restaurants in Beijing and has entertained many dignitaries. The chefs here are also top-notch.

After Wang Jianye entered, he became a disciple of Chai Wenshan, one of the second kitchen masters in Fengze Garden.

The hierarchy in the kitchen is strict. For example, the levels of the chefs responsible for preparing delicious dishes are, from low to high, third stove, second stove, head stove, and chef.

Wang Jianye showed mediocre talent, so he had no chance to become an apprentice of a master chef.

However, the skills of the second chef of Fengzeyuan are also very impressive. He can stand on his own in any small restaurant outside.

There is a rule in Fengzeyuan that after the three-year apprenticeship, one must take part in Fengzeyuan’s internal chef grading assessment. Only if you pass the assessment can you stay in Fengzeyuan and be assigned work and remuneration based on your level. Otherwise, you will have to leave.

In order to stay in Fengze Garden, Wang Jianye has been training hard in the past two or three months. However, due to his limited talent, he has not yet reached the minimum standard for the grading assessment.

So he was extremely anxious and stressed during this period, and couldn't sleep for nights. He finally died suddenly this morning.

This gave Wang Jianye from later generations the opportunity to travel through time and replace him.

"Since we have traveled here, we should make the best of it and live a good life from now on."

Wang Jianye accepted the reality calmly.

Before he traveled through time, he was an orphan, now nearly middle-aged, without a wife or children, so there was nothing he was reluctant to leave behind.

"Fengze Garden offers good treatment, and I can learn a lot. I also have the opportunity to meet those dignitaries. If I can pass the assessment and stay here, it would be the best, but..."

Wang Jianye frowned.

His cooking talent was mediocre as his predecessor’s.

Now he only has a little over a week left before the end of his three-year apprenticeship.

In other words, he will have to take part in Fengze Garden's internal assessment in more than a week.

Time is too tight.

It is almost impossible for him to improve his level so much and reach the assessment standards in such a short time.

Just as he was worrying, a reminder sound suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding, the cooking skill bonus system has been successfully bound.]

(End of this chapter)