Siheyuan: He Yuzhu's Comeback

In the winter of 1962, He Yuzhu opened his eyes on the hard plank bed in the courtyard, becoming the easiest person in the whole compound to bully: Silly Zhu.

His father had been dead for twelve years. The file said four words: "Improper operation."

His mother knelt for four hours and did not get a single cent in compensation.

Everyone in the compound ate the meat from his lunchbox, then turned around and called him a fool.

He did not argue or make a scene.

First, he took back his lunchbox. Then he opened the ledger. Finally, he set his sights on the vast stretch of saline-alkali land east of the city.

Others schemed over a single meal of meat. He calculated how to produce 800,000 jin of grain in three years.

Others fought over half a room. He staked his own reputation.

When someone accused him of falsifying the books, he spread out the ledger: "Come on, let's go through it from the start."

When someone tried to take credit for his success, he brought out all thirty-seven ledgers and showed them, page by page.

When someone asked what he was after,

he said, "I want to accomplish one thing in this life. If I do, I can die without shame."

- From being called a fool by the whole compound to 324 people standing at his gate with bowls in their hands.

- From the three seconds when his father shouted, "Get out of the way!" to decades of extra life for 2,200 people.

- From one lunchbox to 19.3 million jin of grain.

This is the story of a cook.

With a spoon and a patch of saline-alkali land, he changed the four words "Improper operation" into the seven words "Died saving lives."