Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 50 You’re welcome
The three-courtyard house where the brigade headquarters is located was built by the Lu family before liberation and has typical characteristics of Jiangnan residential architecture.

Made of blue bricks and black tiles, the walls are tall to facilitate ventilation and heat dissipation, and the roof has a high slope to facilitate the drainage of rainwater on rainy days.

The first row upon entering the courtyard consists of three main rooms, with the central room being the main hall, commonly known as the main hall, and two side rooms on the left and right, which can be used for receiving guests.

Go through the wall behind the main room, and you'll find a small courtyard.

There are two rows of side rooms on each side of the courtyard, and a two-story building with a brick-and-wood structure at the back.

The courtyard is surrounded by houses and is also known as a skylight. When it rains, the rainwater from the eaves of the surrounding houses falls into the central skylight, which is a common layout in Jiangnan called "Four Waters Returning to the Hall".

Passing through the two-story building, there is another two-story building with a small garden behind it, but without any side rooms.

This entire set of residences is not grand or imposing, but it has a clear layout. However, it lacks elaborate carvings and paintings, making it appear relatively simple.

In addition, the houses that were originally made of blue bricks and black tiles have been painted white in large areas and covered with lines of red slogans, which is unusually harmonious in the current social environment.

The entire residence faces south and is surrounded by a high wall. Twenty or thirty meters west of the wall, a row of tall camphor trees is planted to block the view of pedestrians on the riverbank not far away.

Below the slope, which is more than two meters high, on the east side of the compound, lies the pond where Chen Fan just conducted his group teaching session.

A bluestone path about ten meters wide is paved around the pond. There are more than a dozen large brick and tile houses along the path, but they are all ordinary single houses and none of them have a courtyard. Pushing open the door leads directly to the pond.

This ring of blue brick houses was the former residential area of ​​the Lu family.

The large courtyard has now become the headquarters of the Lujiawan Brigade. The former Lujiawan residence was distributed to poor villagers during the land reform and is now naturally the home of the commune members.

Crossing the pond to the east, there is a long row of earthen-walled, thatched houses built on a ridge.

Beyond that lay vast fields, the same path Chen Fan had taken earlier.

……

The west wing of the brigade headquarters courtyard was transformed into a kitchen and dining room. Chen Fan was busy cooking inside, and soon he had prepared a large table of delicious dishes.

Only after the last dish of stir-fried pork liver was served did he wipe the sweat from his forehead and introduce the dishes with a smile, "Braised soft-shelled turtle, stewed soft-shelled turtle, Northeast blood sausage, stir-fried pork intestines with pickled pepper, stir-fried pork heart, stir-fried pork kidney, stir-fried pork liver, twice-cooked pork, pork lung soup, and finally, stir-fried cabbage. That's it."

Zhang Changjiang stood up and pointed to the seat next to him, "Come on, Master Chen, sit here."

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand, "No, I can't sit in the main seat."

He then looked around and pointed to the spot by the door, saying, "I'll sit here."

He was about to move a chair when Zhang Wenliang stopped him.

After some polite refusals, Secretary Yang was finally allowed to sit in the main seat, with Chen Fan and Master Zhu sitting on either side of him. Then came Zhang Changjiang, Xiao Liewen, Ye Shubao, Zhang Guangwen, Zhang Wenliang, and the women's team leader Yang Xingxiu, making a total of nine people at the table.

Looking at the large table of dishes, Xiao Liewen grinned and said, "This is even more lavish than the New Year!"

Master Zhu nodded as he said, "The key is that I've never eaten many of these dishes before."

He pointed to the plate of stir-fried pork intestines with pickled pepper and laughed, "If you hadn't made this dish, I wouldn't have dared to say you're from here. Of all the dishes, he's the only one I recognize."

Xiao Liewen said, "I only know one more dish of blood sausage than you." After a burst of laughter, he started pouring more wine.

This time, Chen Fan didn't insist on using warm water to soak the liquor, because what he brought out were several bottles of liquor. On the bright, transparent glass bottles, there was a piece of paper the size of a palm, with a proper trademark on it. The four big characters, "Yunhu Daqu," were surrounded by pictures of several grains and crops (purely fictional).

This bottled liquor, despite its simple packaging, is a genuine grain-based liquor and has been tested by the distillery's professional organization, so there's no need to worry about excessive methanol levels.

The only thing to consider is that the alcohol content is a bit high, and how much I can drink.

However, even though he didn't want it, Master Zhu spoke up for him, saying, "Master Chen doesn't drink cold wine, it would be best to get him some hot water to scald it."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingxiu immediately got up to get a bowl and pour hot water. Secretary Yang deliberately kept a stern face and said, "Master Chen, just say what you need. Why are you being so polite?"

Xiao Liewen also said, "Every region has its own customs. Although it is said that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, we should still accommodate individual habits if we can. It's just warming up some wine, it's not even a small favor. Don't be so polite next time."

Chen Fan could only force a smile.

When it came time to pick up the chopsticks, there was another round of polite politeness.

Finally, Secretary Yang was asked to start eating first, followed by Chef Zhu, and only then did the meal officially begin.

By this time, Chen Fan was already covered in sweat. Oh my, eating out is really tiring.

Xiao Liewen, standing next to Chen Fan, immediately took a bite of the blood sausage. He picked up a piece, put it in his mouth, and his eyes lit up. He gave Chen Fan a thumbs up and said, "Delicious."

Upon hearing this, the others quickly grabbed a chopstick each and devoured most of the food in no time.

Xiao Liewen's eyes widened. "Save me a few pieces. I haven't had this in over twenty years."

Ye Shubao looked at him, his hands moving quickly. "Hey, Master Chen specially saved three big strips for you. Why don't you take them back and eat them slowly? Why are you fighting with us for them?"

Xiao Liewen ignored it and quickly picked up two more pieces, and the plate of blood sausage was empty.

Well, Chef Chen Fan made two batches of blood sausage today and didn't get a single piece. He doesn't even know how his first attempt at making blood sausage tasted—whether it was delicious or not.

Why is this the first time doing it?

Decades later, apart from when pigs are slaughtered in the countryside, where can you buy fresh pig blood? If you can't even buy pig blood, of course you can't make blood sausage.

Although he had never made it himself, Chen Fan had watched dozens of videos on how to make blood sausage and was already very familiar with it. Now his cooking skills had reached level 4, comparable to a professional chef in a small restaurant, and he was confident that he could make a blood sausage without any problem.

Judging from everyone's reactions, it's actually pretty good.

Besides Chen Fan, the only person who didn't try to snatch the blood sausage was Master Zhu. Instead of grabbing the blood sausage, he took a big bite of twice-cooked pork and a bite of stir-fried pig liver, enjoying his meal immensely.

Seeing this, the others were not to be outdone and all reached for their chopsticks at the dishes.

Zhang Wenliang, being a junior, was initially too shy to compete with his elders, only eating a piece of blood sausage. When he came to his senses, he realized his bowl was almost empty. Forgetting his reserve, he quickly grabbed a piece from another bowl, took a bite of twice-cooked pork, his eyes lit up, a bite of pig liver made his lips curl into a smile, and a bite of kidney made him beam with joy…

Chen Fan held chopsticks in his right hand and a wine glass in his left. Well, I guess I'll just eat the turtle meat.

(End of this chapter)