My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 53 Dinner Party
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On National Day, Lin Ying set up her stall for half a day and packed up and returned home around noon.

Back home, the two busied themselves for a while, preparing Fang Manxia's lunch and dinner in advance, and even specially stewed chicken soup for her.

After finishing all that, they said goodbye to Fang Manxia and left with their things. Fang Manxia knew they were going out to eat with someone today, so she reminded them to be careful on the road and not to come back too late, and then watched them leave with a smile.

Zhou Jiye rode his bicycle with an old hen hanging from the handlebars and a net bag full of turtles. Lin Ying sat on the back rack, holding a few bottles of wine in one hand and her other arm around Zhou Jiye's waist. Zhou Jiye turned around and called out to her, then pushed off hard, taking Lin Ying towards the Black Stone Apartments.

Blackstone Apartments wasn't far from where they were currently living, and they arrived at the restaurant where Xu Guoqing worked without any problems.

The restaurant is closed today for National Day. The doors are locked and there's a notice posted on the main entrance.

Zhou Jiye and his group, who had made an appointment earlier, did not linger at the main gate. They rode their bikes directly to the back gate, parked and locked their bikes, and hadn't even had a chance to go inside when they heard Lao Wen's familiar voice behind them.

"I thought I was late, but I didn't expect you to have just arrived as well."

Looking up, I saw that Lao Wen had arrived, riding his bicycle from the other side.

"Brother Wen!"

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying greeted them with smiles. Old Wen got out of the car, pushed the cart forward a few steps, and locked the cart next to their car.

"Wow! Good heavens! There's even a turtle? This turtle is quite big." Old Wen spotted the turtle in Zhou Jiye's net bag at a glance and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Old hen and turtle - Farewell My Concubine, you're in for a treat today." Zhou Jiye chuckled, raising his hands to pick up the chicken and turtle. "But let's get this straight, I can't handle the turtle, you'll have to deal with it."

"No problem at all!" Old Wen nodded with a smile, took down the net bag hanging on the handlebars, and said to them, "I brought some eel shreds and hairy crabs. I'll just make a few simple vegetables later. By the way, did you bring any wine?"

"Brother Wen, look!" Lin Ying smiled and held up what she was holding. Old Wen's eyes lit up immediately. Fengjing rice wine, this is a good thing, it's hard to buy outside.

As autumn arrives, crabs become restless, and it's the season for hairy crabs. Add some old hen, soft-shelled turtle, and eel, along with a few side dishes, and this meal is quite delicious.

As for Fengjing Shaoxing wine, needless to say, how can you eat hairy crabs without a pot of Shaoxing wine? Zhou Jiye specially asked a scalper to get this two days ago, just to give them a surprise today.

"You're all here? Why aren't you coming in?"

Just then, the closed back door opened from the inside, and Xu Guoqing appeared before them. He must have heard their conversation outside and come out to check on them.

"National Day!"

"Brother Xu!"

Zhou Jiye and his wife, along with Lao Wen, greeted Xu Guoqing warmly. Xu Guoqing smiled and invited them in. The three of them carried their things inside, and Xu Guoqing closed the door after they went in.

Entering through the back door, you first enter a corridor, and continuing forward leads to the kitchen.

The kitchen is not small. Along the left wall is a row of high-powered stoves, in front of which is a large steamer. In the middle is a large stainless steel countertop with cutting boards, knives, and stainless steel buckets on it, as well as neatly stacked plates and other items.

To the right is the door leading to the restaurant. Near that door are two open windows, which are usually used for serving food.

"Look, this is the job I'm working so hard at." Seeing Zhou Jiye and the others looking at the kitchen with curiosity, Xu Guoqing smiled and pointed to the kitchen, jokingly.

The kitchen here is not much different from that of later generations, except that the equipment is not as advanced.

After glancing at it for a while, Zhou Jiye's gaze fell on some things placed on the table. They were green and should be some dishes that Xu Guoqing had prepared in advance.

"Brother Xu, thank you for your help today." Zhou Jiye put the things he was carrying on the table. At this moment, Lao Wen also brought over the things he had brought: "We're in for a treat today. Not only did Xiao Zhou bring a chicken, but there's also a big soft-shelled turtle."

"Soft-shelled turtle?" Xu Guoqing raised an eyebrow, walked over, glanced at it, and laughed: "This thing is a good thing. How do you plan to cook it? Stewed with rock sugar?"

"Brother Xu, do you know how to perform Farewell My Concubine?"

"Yes, but..." Xu Guoqing carefully examined the old hen and soft-shelled turtle that Zhou Jiye had brought, thought for a moment, and said, "Lao Wen brought some eel shreds, we'll make stir-fried eel shreds later. The hairy crabs, needless to say, can be steamed. The chicken and soft-shelled turtle can be used for a 'Farewell My Concubine' dish, but it takes a while, as it needs to simmer for quite a while. If you're not in a hurry, let's make that." Everyone laughed, saying there was still plenty of time, so of course there was no rush. They had nothing much to do today, so they wanted to have a good meal; otherwise, it would be a waste of good ingredients.

Now that it was settled, no one said a word. Xu Guoqing changed into his work clothes and tossed two aprons to Lao Wen and Zhou Jiye, asking them to help out.

As for Lin Ying, Xu Guoqing completely ignored her. According to him, what's the point of having a woman when there are three grown men around? He told Lin Ying to go to the front and make herself a pot of tea, and that there were newspapers at the counter so she could rest by herself.

Lin Ying, who was looking for an opportunity to slack off, would never refuse such a kind offer. She chuckled and said that she would leave the rest to the three men, then turned and went to the front.

The three of them busied themselves in the kitchen, and after more than half an hour, all the dishes were ready. Zhou Jiye's long-awaited Farewell My Concubine was also stewed on the stove. Only then did they leave the kitchen and go to the front, chatting and laughing.

"Is it going to be fine so soon?"

When they arrived at the front, Lin Ying was sitting and flipping through a newspaper she had found at the counter, leisurely cracking open a bag of sunflower seeds she had brought with her. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw that all three of them had come out, and asked with some surprise.

"It won't be that quick. The chicken and turtle need to be stewed, which will take at least two more hours. The other vegetables have also been cleaned. We can just put them into the pot to cook when the soup is almost ready."

"Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise!" Lin Ying gave Xu Guoqing a thumbs up.

Xu Guoqing laughed heartily and shook his head, saying that it was nothing, it was just the most basic operation for a chef.

She found a few cups, poured tea for them, and pushed the melon seeds she had brought to the middle, inviting everyone to crack some melon seeds.

Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen didn't stand on ceremony, and Zhou Jiye was even more so. They distributed cigarettes, lit them, and chatted while cracking sunflower seeds.

"Brother Xu, I haven't properly thanked you for what happened last time. Let me offer you a cup of tea instead of wine first, and we'll have a few more drinks later." Zhou Jiye picked up the tea in front of him and said to Xu Guoqing sincerely.

Xu Guoqing smiled and shook his head, then picked up his teacup and clinked it with Zhou Jiye's. He then clinked it with Lin Ying's teacup as well, took a sip, and said, "Actually, there's no need to thank me. To be frank, you paid for this, so helping you is the least I can do."

"Brother Xu, you can't say that. Money is money, and favors are favors. We would have been completely lost without your help. It's all thanks to you that we solved this big problem," Lin Ying said seriously.

Old Wen, who was standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, we're all family, why be so formal? But it's National Day, and since Xiao Zhou and his wife have said so, don't be shy. Besides, you did help out, so you should accept their thanks."

Xu Guoqing nodded, tilted his head back and drank the half-full cup of tea in one gulp, then smiled and showed them the bottom of his cup.

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying were pleased to see Xu Guoqing's attitude. They finished their tea and expressed their gratitude once again.

"By the way, speaking of this, there's something I need to remind you of." Putting down his teacup, Xu Guoqing said seriously to Zhou Jiye and the others.

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying listened attentively as Xu Guoqing said, "After the National Day holiday, take some time to go to the village and finalize the details of your private plots and homesteads. When it comes to the private plots, let the village know and go directly to this person..."

As he spoke, Xu Guoqing took out a prepared slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over. Zhou Jiye took it and glanced at it; a name was written on it.

“You used this person’s connections in the village to register your household registration. He’s an old man who has no descendants, and there’s no one else in his family. According to the household registration, he’s now considered Xiao Zhou’s uncle…” Xu Guoqing paused, then smiled meaningfully at Zhou Jiye. Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying exchanged a glance and nodded repeatedly, understanding what he meant.

“Since you don’t live in the village anyway, you can leave your private plot to him to manage. There’s an old house on the homestead. I’ve seen it; it’s in a terrible state. You can spend some money to have the village help you repair it. At least make sure it looks habitable. Then, you can entrust this person to take care of it on a regular basis.”

"Brother Xu means to show his face in the village, get to know the villagers, and then arrange his private plot and old house on the homestead, right?" Lin Ying asked after thinking for a moment.

Xu Guoqing nodded: "That's the idea. After all, you're considered villagers now. No one will have seen you before, and your private plots and homesteads will be completely abandoned. It will be troublesome if outsiders ask about it later. These loose ends need to be cleaned up."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it after the holiday." Lin Ying readily agreed, then thought for a moment and asked, "But how much do you think would be appropriate for repairing the old house?"

"Haha, you can go to the village and talk about it yourselves, or just have him handle it." Xu Guoqing pointed vaguely, referring to the note they had just given them, the so-called uncle of Zhou Jiye.

"How much could a dilapidated house in the village cost? It doesn't need bricks or tiles. Just a simple renovation will do, and it'll look passable. You won't be living there anyway. I estimate it will only cost a little over a hundred. Of course, it's fine if you want to spend more, but I don't recommend it. Don't flaunt your wealth. Even if you have money, don't spend too much to avoid trouble."

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying exchanged a glance and quickly thanked Xu Guoqing. They were so grateful for his guidance; otherwise, they might have gotten into trouble if they had made a mistake. Even in Shanghai, people's hearts are unpredictable in rural areas, and as "outsiders" in the village, they were naturally ostracized. If they were to flaunt their wealth, it was hard to guarantee that jealous people wouldn't cause trouble.

One should not harbor malicious intentions, but one must be wary of others. The lesson learned from Aunt Wang is still fresh in Zhou Jiye's mind; how could he forget?
(End of this chapter)