1987 My Era

Chapter 192: It's not a good deal to go for it (Please subscribe!)
After eating cafeteria food for a week, Li Heng, who was almost losing his appetite, planned to make some chili dishes himself to improve the food tomorrow and the day after tomorrow as it was the weekend.

It’s boring to eat alone, of course I have to call my friends.

With this thought in mind, Li Heng rushed to the downstairs of girls' dormitory No. 12.

Before he could speak, the dorm manager who recognized him asked, "Your name is Mai Sui?"

Li Heng smiled and nodded, "Yes, thank you, Auntie."

The dormitory manager turned on the loudspeaker and shouted twice: "Mai Sui from 217, someone is looking for you downstairs! Someone is looking for you downstairs."

I turned off the speaker and later the dormitory manager said, "Since you showed up last time, the number of boys looking for Mai Sui has dropped dramatically."

Li Heng asked: "Does it mean there are still people who refuse to give up?"

The dorm aunt said: "You haven't even passed one semester, so there must be some of you. You are all educated people, so you don't know what to call in the book."

Li Heng replied: "I won't turn back until I hit the wall."

"Yes, yes, yes! You are indeed a college student, you are very knowledgeable and well-read." The dormitory manager praised him and then asked, "Are you dating?"

Li Heng asked: "Does it look like that?"

The dormitory manager shook her head: "Not really."

Li Heng was surprised.

The dormitory manager pointed at her eyes and said, "I have been sitting here for more than ten years. I can't say that I have trained my eyes to be sharp, but I can roughly tell what's going on between you boys and girls with just one glance. I feel like there is something missing from you two."

Wow! That’s amazing.

Li Heng secretly gave a thumbs up and asked, "Which girl in this building is the most popular?"

The dormitory manager said a name: "Liu Yue."

Li Heng was surprised, "Not Zhou Shihe?"

The dormitory auntie said with an experienced look: "Of course not, the girl you are talking about is as beautiful as the seven fairies in the sky. Few boys have the confidence to pursue her openly. Those who do would just secretly write love letters to test the waters.

Li Heng gave a thumbs up: "Auntie still knows more."

However, Liu Yue did surprise him. In his impression, this girl was not a good person. How could so many boys dare to pursue her?
The ears of wheat appeared.

Li Heng turned around and asked curiously: "I thought you wouldn't come down today?"

Mai Sui smiled softly: "My intuition tells me it should be you, so I came down to take a look."

After leaving the girls' dormitory building, Li Heng recounted the conversation he had just had with the dormitory manager, "I've caused fewer boys to pursue you. Will you blame me?"

Mai Sui just smiled and didn't say anything.

Li Heng explained the purpose of his visit, "You haven't eaten yet, right?"

"I was planning to go out to eat with my roommate. Luckily you came early. If you were two minutes later, I would have gone to the cafeteria." Mai Sui said.

"Oh, what's the smell in the cafeteria? Let's go! Let's call Comrade Manning and make beef hotpot tonight." Li Heng looked impatient and made her laugh.

Mai Sui said: "If I had your cooking skills, I would cook for myself on weekends."

"Go ahead and learn. Didn't you buy the recipe? I'll teach you how to make hot pot tonight." Li Hengte wanted to cultivate a friend who could cook so that he could lie down and eat and drink for free in the future. This was a sure-win business.

Mai Sui was not very sure, "I'll try."

I rushed to the No. 9 girls' dormitory, but Sun Manning was not there.

Li Heng asked: "Where did she go? Did she go to the cafeteria?"

Mai Sui covered his forehead and realized belatedly: "Uh, I just remembered that today is Friday. She should have gone to the vice-principal's house. I heard that someone was having a birthday over there. I accompanied her to buy a gift two days ago."

"Forget it. She is unlucky not to be able to eat the hotpot made by a great writer like me." Li Heng turned around and walked out of the school and went to the vegetable market.

I bought beef, ingredients, side dishes, and finally some fried tofu, which is the soul of hotpot and is indispensable every time. It is juicy when you take a bite, and anyone who has tried it will know how sour and refreshing it is.

After preparing the hot pot, Li Heng asked, "Do you have any special dishes you want to eat? I'm free today and I'll make them for you."

Mai Sui asked, "Really?"

Li Heng nodded, "With our relationship, how can I lie to you?"

Mai Sui really wanted to eat something: "I want to eat pounded peppers with preserved eggs. My grandma used to make it for me when I was a child. I'm kind of missing it."

Li Heng understood and took her to buy chili peppers. "Are you homesick?"

Mai Sui said, "I miss my grandma. I keep dreaming about her recently."

Li Heng asked: "How old is she?"

Wheat Ear said, "71 this year."

Then she added: "She is not well."

Li Heng said: "It's so big, so your father must have many brothers and sisters."

Mai Sui hummed: "Six brothers and sisters, four aunts, and one uncle."

After buying peppers and preserved eggs, they had to buy some wine and beer. On a whim, they also bought a bottle of Erguotou. Later, the two returned to Lushan Village.

At this time, the fake Taoist priest was meditating in the attic. Seeing this, he asked, "Li Heng, do you want to go to piano lessons today?"

Li Heng shook the food in his hand and said, "I'm not going tonight. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

His eyes stayed on the dish in his hand for a few seconds, and Fu Yanjie felt a little regretful. He had wanted to take Li Heng to learn piano so that he could invite Si Ya to dinner, but this guy came back with a beautiful girl.

Fu Yanjie asked: "What time are you going tomorrow? Let's go together."

Li Heng said, "Maybe in the afternoon, or in the evening. I have something to do during the day."

Fu Yanjie grinned and watched the two people enter the house.

Beef hot pot is simple. Li Heng demonstrated and explained, and asked at the end: "Have you learned it?"

"I think I understand." Seeing him looking at her expectantly, Mai Sui vaguely understood what he was planning.

"Understand? God! It's no use to understand cooking by looking at it. You have to learn how to cook. The same recipe tastes two different ways in different people's hands. Maybe next time. Oh, don't even mention next time. Just cook for me tomorrow at noon." Li Heng knows very well that in the cooking business, you can learn it by looking at it, but fail once you try. He has to strike while the iron is hot to make her confident.

Mai Sui asked jokingly, "Are we going to have beef hotpot for lunch tomorrow?"

Li Heng said, "Mutton, change to mutton, the cooking method is almost the same, I will teach you step by step."

Mai Sui said: "You should go teach Xiao Han, Song Yu and Chen Zijin."

"What you said makes sense, but they are too far away. How can I teach them?" Teach the three of them? Forget it. I taught them a lot in my previous life. I will teach them today and return the favor in a few days. Li Heng had already given up.

The traditional way of pounding chili peppers is to roast them over fire. Li Heng threw the chili peppers into the charcoal brazier and covered them with a layer of fine sand to prevent them from burning. Then he started to work, while Mai Sui watched him very seriously.

Just when the two men finished roasting the peppers and were blowing the ashes outside, an uninvited guest came to the door.

Fu Yanjie asked with his hands behind his back: "What did you cook today? Why does it smell so good?"

Some words made sense the moment they were heard. After exchanging a glance with Mai Sui, Li Heng shouted towards the door, "Beef hotpot, pounded peppers, Teacher Fu, have you had dinner yet? Let's have some together?"

"I'm so sorry." Fu Yanjie took off his gold-rimmed glasses and said this as he walked in.

The trip was not in vain, as he brought a bottle of Moutai.

Sitting down, Fu Yanjie looked at the fragrant beef hotpot with red oil, swallowed his saliva, and said politely: "Li Heng, I didn't expect you can cook. I wanted to go to the cafeteria to have a bite, but I couldn't walk when I smelled the fragrance coming from your house. So I thought, we are also acquaintances, so I'll be thick-skinned and touch you." Then the other party added: "Don't worry, it's not for nothing. I will treat you and your girlfriend to a Western meal some other day."

Li Heng glanced at the wheat ear and said, "This is my classmate."

Fu Yanjie was stunned. He looked at Mai Sui and stammered for a while before saying, "Hey! Look at my poor mouth, then..."

Li Heng was good at reading people's expressions and immediately replied, "Her name is Mai Sui."

Fu Yanjie said sincerely: "Mai Sui, I said something wrong. I apologize to you."

Mai Sui smiled, stood up and fetched some bowls, chopsticks and cups, and also opened three bottles of beer.

Fu Yanjie said: "What's the point of beer? If you want to drink, drink white wine."

As he spoke, he opened the bottle of Moutai and poured a glass for each person.

Li Heng was not very good at drinking white wine, so he looked at Mai Sui, who nodded slightly to indicate that it was okay.

After receiving the signal, Li Heng felt relieved and raised his glass and said, "Come on! We are both in Fudan University and neighbors. Let's not talk nonsense anymore. Let's toast."

"I just like your straightforward personality, you're not pretentious, it's just to my taste." Fu Yanjie clinked glasses with the two of them with a smile, then drank half a glass in one breath.

Well, judging from her behavior, this Fu Yanjie is an alcoholic.

Fu Yanjie had been craving for beef for a long time. After drinking half a glass of white wine, he put a piece of fatty beef in his mouth with a shudder, and immediately praised: "No wonder it smells so good, it's really delicious. I am lucky to have such a good meal today."

The three of them clinked glasses several times in a row and it was lively.

After three rounds of drinking, Fu Yanjie suddenly asked, "Li Heng, you said that yesterday, so you must have a lot of experience in love, right?"

Li Heng understood what the other party was saying: "Teacher Fu, you think too highly of me. How old am I? How can I have rich experience in love? I can only say that I have been in love before, but I know a little bit about it."

Mai Sui smiled at someone, lowered his head and picked up some peppers for him with chopsticks, without exposing him.

"Don't call me Teacher Fu all the time. It sounds strange. I'm seventeen or eighteen years older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me Old Fu from now on. I like to hear people call me Old Fu." Fu Yanjie stared at the pounded chili in Li Heng's bowl, then glanced at the ears of wheat. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Receiving Fu Yanjie's gaze, Mai Sui seemed to be aware of his own misbehavior, but he didn't take it too seriously. Usually when he, Manning and Li Heng were eating at the same table, the three of them would occasionally serve food to each other, which made the three people who were living in different places feel more intimate.

"Okay, OK." Li Heng also felt that Teacher Fu was a little off, so he happily agreed.

Fu Yanjie leaned forward slightly and said, "Actually, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I really came here to have a free meal today, and I really want to learn from you.

Siya and I used to live in the same courtyard, but we moved away. I gave up my bright future abroad and came back mainly for her. I have been pursuing her for 8 years, but I haven't even held her hand. But how long have you known her? She pours tea and red wine for you, and even teaches you piano step by step.

When I see you two sitting next to each other and your hands occasionally touching, I get really annoyed. Do you have any good ideas?"

Li Heng knew his own limitations: "Old Fu, it seems you misunderstood. Sister Chen poured me tea and wine not because of my face, but because of Teacher Yu's help."

Fu Yanjie shook his head vigorously: "No, no, no, I admit that you are partially right, but not entirely. I know Siya quite well."

Li Heng asked: "Lao Fu, what do you teach in school?"

Fu Yanjie replied: "Mathematics."

Li Heng blinked: "Mathematics? Then Lao Fu, you should be good at logical analysis, then why don't you compare and analyze the two of us?"

Fu Yanjie drank half a glass of white wine in one gulp and said calmly, "I analyzed it last night. I'm not as good as you in terms of appearance, but it's not that bad either. I think I'm a good-looking guy. But I'm not as good at speaking as you."

Li Heng asked casually: "How is your financial ability?"

Fu Yanjie said: "I don't have big money, but small money is not bad."

Li Heng asked again: "What are the conditions of your two families?"

Fu Yanjie said: "Siya and I have similar family conditions, but hers is slightly better."

Li Heng asked: "You said you pursued her for 8 years?"

Fu Yanjie counted on his fingers, "I am eight years older than her. I started writing love letters to her when she was 8 years old, and it has been exactly eight years now."

Li Heng asked: "What is her attitude towards you?"

Fu Yanjie recalled: "We didn't hate each other, but we weren't close either."

Li Heng asked: "During these eight years, has she ever been in a relationship?"

Fu Yanjie shook his head: "No, absolutely not!"

Li Heng thought about it, dipped his fingers in water, and wrote the word "追" on the table.

Fu Yanjie pondered for a long time, and finally asked with wide eyes, "What does this mean?"

Li Heng said in an unfathomable way: "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed. Understand it on your own. When you figure it out, the problem may be solved."

We enjoyed the meal very much. Not only did we finish the Moutai and Erguotou, but we also each drank 4 bottles of beer.

Li Heng was a little drunk.

Lao Fu said he drank too much and felt dizzy for the first time. Before leaving, he was still mumbling the meaning of the word "chase". He was almost crazy.

Only Mai Sui acted as if nothing had happened. He walked Teacher Fu out the door calmly, then closed the door and turned back to help Li Heng to the sofa on the second floor.

She bent down and put the pillow under his head, and helped him to lie down halfway, "Do you want me to make you a bowl of sobering soup?"

Li Heng raised his eyelids and said, "A person who can only cook eggs can also make hangover soup?"

"Ginger and scallion soup. I often see my mother serving my father like this at home." Mai Sui said with a gentle smile.

"Okay." Li Heng didn't want to move anymore. He lay comfortably on the sofa and acted like a boss.

After a while, the ginger and scallion soup arrived.

Mai Sui held the bowl and half-knelt beside the sofa. "Drink it now. I put it in a basin of cold water to cool it down. It's not hot."

Li Heng stretched his head and tried to take a small sip. It was just right, indeed not hot. He finished the whole bowl in one breath.

He licked the corner of his mouth and said, "It tastes surprisingly good. Thank you, Comrade Mai Sui."

Mai Sui put the bowl of rice on the tea table and asked, "What does the word 'chase' mean?"

Li Heng tilted his head to look at her, "You don't understand either?"

Mai Sui said softly, "I've never been in a relationship."

"That seems to be the case. Seeing how popular you are with boys, I almost forgot that you are a novice in relationships."

Li Heng explained: "It's literally what it means. There is an old saying: Going up the pole is not a good deal.

I've seen how they get along, and Teacher Fu cares too much about each other."

Mai Sui thought for a moment and asked, "You mean, if Teacher Fu is not so enthusiastic, the effect may be better?"

Li Heng said: "About the same."

Mai Sui asked: "If you know so much, why do you pursue Song Yu?"

Li Heng's face twitched. "Why do I feel like you've tricked me? You've already thought of this, right? You were just waiting to ask me this question?"

Ps: Please subscribe! Asking for a monthly ticket!

(End of this chapter)