Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 79 Dong Lai Shun

The backyard of No. 7 Courtyard.

The weather is sunny and windy.

Around noon, the old lady of the Ji family sat in the sun, wearing a black satin cotton-padded jacket, with a hot water bottle wrapped around her knees, her eyelids drooping as if she were asleep.

The daughter-in-law, Tan Jingya, wearing a red sweater, was squatting under the eaves, washing the bed sheets with hot water from the coal stove. "Mom, what would you like to eat for lunch?"

The old lady opened her eyes, yawned, and said, "I don't know. I always get worried when it's mealtime. What do you want to eat?"

Tan Jingya shook the soap off her hands and added some hot water to the thermos. "How about I make you some noodles with braised meat sauce?"

"Noodles with braised meat sauce!" The old lady smacked her lips, seemingly not really wanting to eat it.

"Bang bang..." There was a knocking sound at the door.

The old lady smiled with narrowed eyes, "Maybe Hongbin has returned. He has an idea. Let's ask him."

Tan Jingya was a little puzzled. Her husband went out today saying he wouldn't be back by noon. Could something have happened?

She quickly wiped her hands on her apron, went to the back door, and opened it to find a young man standing outside. It was Li Zhe, the tenant in the front yard. "Mr. Li, what can I do for you?"

Li Zhe pointed to the basket at his feet: "I borrowed a few coal briquettes from your house a few days ago. I've been busy moving for a few days, so I took the time to bring them to you today."

Tan Jingya said, "Mr. Li, you're too kind. We're neighbors, everyone needs something sometimes. It's just a few pieces of coal, it's not worth you making a special trip."

“I know you don’t need a few coal briquettes, but as the old saying goes, it’s easy to borrow again if you repay a loan.” Li Zhe then pointed to the woven bag next to him. “Sister-in-law, this bag contains a few cucumbers, which were just picked this morning. They got a little bruised during transport, so we keep them for ourselves. We’re just bringing you a few to try. Please don’t mind.”

"You're too kind, I'm so grateful! I was just wondering what to eat for lunch, and this is great, it'll make smashing cucumbers so much easier."

"Sister-in-law, is Mr. Ji home? I'd like to discuss something with him."

“He’s not home yet, he probably won’t be back until tonight. Why don’t you tell me first, and I’ll tell him when he gets back?” Tan Jingya squatted down, her tight sweater and jeans outlining her graceful curves, and took the coal briquettes out of the basket.

"There's a small boiler in the front yard, and I noticed that we've put radiators in the house, so I was thinking of lighting it up to make the house warmer. I was wondering if you'd like to light one in your backyard too?"

Tan Jingya's eyes lit up. "That's great! But I can't make the decision myself. I'll ask Hongbin when he gets back."

"Just let me know once you've discussed it with Boss Ji. You're busy, I'll head back now." Li Zhe said, then left with his basket.

Tan Jingya put away the coal briquettes and carried the cucumbers into the yard. The old lady heard footsteps but didn't even lift her eyelids. "Who's here?"

"It's Mr. Li from the front yard. He borrowed a few coal briquettes when he moved a few days ago. He came over to return the coal briquettes and also gave us some cucumbers, saying that they were damaged during transportation and they all looked quite fresh."

"Cucumbers? These are a rare find! Let me take a look." The old lady glanced at the cucumber with yellow flowers and prickly top, her eyes shining with delight. "These cucumbers are fresher than the ones we buy at the market. A few bumps and bruises won't hurt. We'll have them for lunch!"

Tan Jingya smiled and said, "How would you like to eat it? I'll make it for you."

……

Around noon, Li Weidong rode his bicycle home. He carried the bicycle into the yard, but seeing no one there and hearing no sound from the kitchen, he wondered, "Where did everyone go in the middle of the day?"

He strode into the living room and saw Li Zhe sitting at the coffee table drinking tea. Upon his return, Li Zhe poured him a cup of tea as well.

Ignoring whether it was hot or cold, he tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp: "Second brother, why didn't you cook today? What are we eating?"

Li Zhe laughed and said, "You're in luck today, I'll treat you to something good."

Li Weidong swallowed hard: "Shall we go eat roast duck too?"

"Let's not have roast duck today, let's have something else."

"What should we eat?"

"You will know when you go."

"Where are Jianjun and Zhuzi? Where did they go? We can't just go with the two of us." "They went to queue up."

"What the heck?" Li Weidong didn't react at first.

"You will know when you go."

After finishing his last cup of tea, Li Zhe went to the restroom and then rode his bicycle straight to Wangfujing.

The Donglaishun flagship store was still located on Wangfujing Street, in the heart of the commercial district, surrounded by department stores, time-honored shops, and state-owned stores. At this time, Wangfujing had not yet undergone large-scale renovations, and the street retained its traditional commercial atmosphere, with gray-brick and tile buildings interspersed with hutongs, creating a charming ambiance.

Li Weidong sat on the back of the bicycle, looking around as he went. Although he had been to Beijing many times, he only went between his home and the vegetable market and had never actually visited this area before.

He made up his mind that once he was less busy in a few days, he would definitely take his wife out for a day to explore the city of Beijing.

Soon the two brothers arrived at Donglaishun Restaurant by bicycle. The red traditional Chinese characters and the long queue in front of the door could be seen from a distance. Li Weidong said in a tone with a bit of a strange Beijing accent, "Hey, second brother, how long is the wait?"

After parking their bicycles, the two brothers walked to the entrance, where a small black sign with gold lettering hung. There were people at the entrance maintaining order.

"Weidong, Zhezi, over there." Wang Jianjun waved from inside the door.

"Excuse me, could you please let me through?" Li Zhe and his brother bypassed the crowd and followed Li Weidong into the restaurant.

Steam rose from the hall, and the aroma of meat wafted through the air. The hall was already full of people; Li Zhe estimated there were at least twenty tables, mostly round tables covered with white tablecloths, and two tables with round iron plates set up for people to stand and eat barbecue.

Zhao Tiezhu sat at a table against the wall, his burly body huddled together, his expression clearly uneasy. It wasn't that he was timid; he was simply uncomfortable in this environment.

Li Zhe noticed his unease, sat down next to him, and patted him on the shoulder. "Zhu Zi, order whatever you want to eat, it's on me." Not to mention in this era, even in later generations, many people would be reluctant to eat at Donglaishun. In this era, those who could afford hot pot and barbecue were either rich or noble.

Once you start making money, you'll get used to it after a few more times.

Zhao Tiezhu chuckled, "Brother, you can order whatever you want."

Li Zhe waved to the waiter, "Comrade, we'd like to order some dishes."

A waiter in a white uniform and hat came over and asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like to eat?"

"Can you recommend some hot pot meats?"

"Top brain, small three-pronged fork, large three-pronged fork, cucumber strip, and crotch—different parts, different textures. I suggest you order one of each."

Wang Jianjun, preoccupied with something on his mind, asked, "You have cucumbers here too? And can we cook them in hot pot?"

The waiter forced a smile. "Comrade, where are you going to find cucumbers in the dead of winter? I'm talking about the lamb cut, which is shaped like a cucumber."

Li Zhe took the menu and ordered directly, "One serving of each type of mutton, one serving of tofu, one serving of vermicelli, two servings of pickled garlic, four sesame seed cakes, two jin of noodles, three bottles of Yanjing beer, and one bottle of Beibingyang soda. Let's start with these and order more after we finish eating."

The waiter remembered quickly and casually asked, "We also have cold dishes, would you like some?"

Li Zhe asked, "Do you have any green vegetables here?"

"Would cabbage be okay?"

"Stop teasing me. If I wanted cabbage, I wouldn't have come here." Li Zhe smiled and gave his cousin a wink.

Wang Jianjun bent down, opened the bag, and took out a bunch of bright green spinach. "Comrade, you don't have any here. We brought our own. Could you please cut it into a plate for us?"

The waiter was dumbfounded; he didn't know whether to accept the offer or not. He had never seen anything like it before.

Li Zhe thought she was unhappy, so he added, "Comrade, you've worked hard. I'll give you an extra service fee later."

The spinach plot from the previous chapter has been changed! The commission-based sales model has been removed.



(End of this chapter)