Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

When the day of rest arrived, Banggeng couldn't wait to go home.

At this time, Qin Huairu and a few others were still experimenting with fried chicken.

After several days of experimentation, their fried chicken was starting to look quite good.

It's not as good as Xiangpiao Bancheng, but it's not far off either.

When Qin Huairu saw Banggeng return, she quickly pulled him over.

"You're back just in time. Try my fried chicken, how does it taste?"

Banggeng didn't eat the fried chicken; instead, he glanced at it first. Judging by its appearance alone, it looked almost identical to the fried chicken sold in Xiangpiao Bancheng.

He asked in confusion, "Do you know the recipe for 'Fragrance Spreads Half the City'?"

Qin Huai didn't explain, but just smiled and urged him, "Don't ask so many questions first. Try it and see how it tastes."

Banggeng took a bite of a chicken nugget.

Yi Zhonghai and the others all stared at Bang Geng, wanting to get Bang Geng's evaluation.

Of all these people, only Jia Zhangshi had ever tasted the fried chicken that was famous throughout the city.

Jia Zhangshi was afraid that others would take it from her, so she ate very quickly. To put it bluntly, she was like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit, not knowing what it tasted like.

They couldn't determine whether it tasted good or not based solely on Jia Zhangshi's evaluation.

Now that the jokes are here, it's a good time to give them a fair evaluation.

"Okay."

"How does it compare to the fried chicken at Sha Zhu's shop?"

Banggeng tasted it again; "The taste is still a little lacking."

Yan Bugui asked, "What do you think about us opening a fried chicken shop? Is that a good idea?"

Banggeng thought for a moment: "It would be pretty good to open one in a hutong (alleyway)."

Yan Bugui was relieved upon hearing this: "Since Banggeng has said so, I think we can open a fried chicken shop."

A look of joy appeared on the faces of the group.

To verify if the fried chicken recipe was authentic, they bought several chickens.

The group argued for a long time over the money to buy the chicken.

Now that the hard work has paid off, it's certainly something to be happy about.

The group entered the Jia family home and began discussing opening a fried chicken shop.

A group of people were discussing the price and how to distribute the profits.

They hadn't even earned a single penny before they had already divided up all the money they had made.

Banggeng couldn't help but ask, "Where do you buy chicken and chicken legs?"

The room fell silent instantly.

Fried chicken shops are different from braised meat shops. Pork and pig's head meat are available in the wet market.

Pork from local farms is always sold cut up.

Chicken is different. In the past, when you bought chicken, you bought it with the feathers on.

The chicken legs they used for their experiments were all made from live chickens that were slaughtered in their yard.

It's nothing special if we make it at home normally.

But if it were a restaurant, they couldn't handle it. Not to mention how troublesome killing chickens is.

What do they do with the leftover parts of fried chicken?

It's a waste to throw it away, but it's also impossible to eat it all—there's just too much. They simply can't finish it all.

"Where did Sha Zhu buy his chicken legs from?"

Nobody can answer this question. They only see that fried chicken shops make money, but they don't see the work done behind the scenes.

"Should we ask Bi Xiufeng again?" the third aunt suggested.

"Will this work?" Qin Huairu asked.

Yi Zhonghai snorted: "Why not? We can find out the recipe, and where to buy chicken legs isn't a secret. Of course we can find out."

The formula was something He Yuzhu didn't intend to keep secret.

But Yi Zhonghai doesn't think so.

In Yi Zhonghai's view, the reason why Bi Xiufeng dared not hide the fried chicken recipe was that she dared not go against her elders.

If they could force Bi Xiufeng to hand over the formula, they could also get her to tell them where to buy things.

Those present did not find anything wrong and nodded in agreement.

After everyone else had left, only the Jia family of three remained. Banggeng then revealed the purpose of his return: "Mom, Yanling told me that she wants to get a marriage certificate with me."

Qin Huairu heard Tang Yanling's displeasure: "Bang Geng, I think Tang Yanling is not good enough for our family."

Or should I introduce you to someone else?

"No, I'm going to marry Yanling. She's already agreed to marry me. If you don't agree, I'll do what Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang did: move out of the house and never come back."

Bang Geng thought there would be trouble finding a job for Tang Yanling.

He never expected that Qin Huairu would disagree with the mere mention of marriage.

Qin Huairu explained calmly, "Bang Geng, listen to what your mother has to say."

As the old saying goes, "Marry a virtuous wife," meaning that you should look for a wise and virtuous woman as your wife.

Based on Tang Yanling's behavior that day, do you think she can be considered a filial daughter?

The word "filial piety" sounds jarring to Bang Geng.

He didn't even need to ask; he knew it was Yi Zhonghai's idea. Of the entire courtyard, only Yi Zhonghai constantly talked about filial piety.

"Was it that bastard Yi Zhonghai who said it? What does my marriage have to do with him?"

Qin Huairu said, "Never mind who said that, just tell me if it makes sense."

Banggeng said angrily, "What kind of logic is that? These days, when a family is looking for a wife, all they care about is whether she's filial."

He keeps saying that Sha Zhu and Xu Damao's wives are unfilial.

But why doesn't he take a look at how other people's families are doing?

Those unfilial children he mentioned are all living better and better lives than the last.

What about you?

He praises your filial piety all day long, making you sound like the best person in the world.

"Look again, what kind of life are we living?"

The last sentence made Qin Huairu so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head.

Filial piety is a label that Qin Huairu is proud of. But in Bang Geng's mouth, this label has become an excuse for disdain.

This left her feeling utterly helpless.

Sitting to the side, Jia Zhangshi wished she could give the stick a couple of slaps.

She couldn't help but recall that day in 1951 when Jia Dongxu ran up to her and shouted that he wanted to marry Qin Huairu.

At that time, Jia Zhangshi's first reaction was to disagree.

At that time, Jia Zhangshi had never met Qin Huairu. In her mind's eye, a voice told her that she could not let Qin Huairu into the house.

Jia Dongxu's reason at the time was that Qin Huairu was filial.

Jia Zhangshi finally had no choice but to agree to the marriage.

As it turned out, Qin Huairu was indeed filial. However, ever since Qin Huairu entered the Jia family, the Jia family's life had never been easy.

Now it's even dragging down Bang Geng, who's over thirty and still can't find a wife.

Hearing Banggeng's rejection, Jia Zhangshi wished that these words were spoken by Jia Dongxu.

If Jia Dongxu had been able to see through these things when he was young, the Jia family wouldn't have been implicated by Qin Huairu.

Bang Geng said angrily, "Anyway, I will marry no one but Tang Yanling in this lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu couldn't help but burst into tears.

“Bang Geng, would your mother harm you? You can’t go wrong by listening to me, you really can’t marry Tang Yanling.”

There's a saying that goes, "Once you marry a wife, you forget your mother."

Qin Huairu suffered her whole life, and her only hope was that Banggeng would make something of himself and be filial to her.

Let's leave aside the question of making a name for himself for now; the way Bang Geng is acting, he doesn't seem like the type to ever achieve anything.

Qin Huairu only hoped that Banggeng would be filial to her in the future, so that she could also experience being a mother-in-law.

Banggeng said with dissatisfaction, "Has Yi Zhonghai ever met Yanling? He said that Yanling is unfilial."

Mom, it's me getting married now, not Yi Zhonghai.

He's an outsider, what right does he have to interfere in our family affairs?

I'm just asking you, do you agree or not?

If Qin Huai didn't want to be the villain, he turned his head to look at Jia Zhangshi.

Madam Jia was secretly pleased and pretended not to have seen anything.

For Jia Zhangshi, offending anyone in the courtyard was fine, except for Bang Geng. (End of Chapter)