Siheyuan: The happy life of a little chef

Liang Ladi didn't have much stuff, so with everyone's help she finished moving it quickly.

Xu Damao came back covered in sweat.

"Jianjun, Liang Ladi gave birth to four children, and one of them is watching over things outside. That's amazing. Ezi, we must have five. It will be so much fun!"

Lou Xiao'e said unhappily.

"I can give birth to five children, but can you take care of them? I don't have that much energy."

Xu Damao patted his chest and said.

"As long as you can give birth, I will be able to take care of you."

Lou Xiao'e did not discuss the matter with him any further. No matter what he said, he would be like this and in the end he would only suffer.

"Where's Chunyan'er? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

Seeing that Lou Xiao'e stopped talking about the child, Xu Damao also consciously stopped talking about it. Lou Xiao'e couldn't get angry now.

"Chun Yan'er helped put everything in order and will be back soon."

Doudou looked at Liang Ladi's child with eyes wide open, full of curiosity.

After a while, Han Chunyaner and Qin Huairu came back.

"Jianjun, Liang Ladi's children are very obedient, well-behaved and sensible. I hope Doudou will be as well-behaved in the future."

Li Jianjun said confidently.

"Don't worry, my Doudou will definitely be the most well-behaved. Oh, go get the rattle."

Han Chunyan knew that Li Jianjun was going out to get something, so she went straight into the house without saying anything.

Then he came back with a rattle that jingled when you shook it. It was Doudou’s favorite toy.

After hearing the sound, Doudou stared at the bell. Han Chunyan took the opportunity to hug her and put the bell in her hand. Li Jianjun ran away.

This is a common tactic used at home. There is no other way because Doudou is too attached to Li Jianjun.

When Li Jianjun went out, he happened to meet Liang Ladi who was shopping.

"Liang Ladi, are all the things ready?"

Liang Ladi expressed her gratitude when she saw Li Jianjun.

"Thank you, Comrade Li. If it weren't for the neighbors' help, we would still be moving things now."

Li Jianjun waved his hand.

"It's only natural for neighbors to help each other. You're welcome."

Li Jianjun continued to ask.

"Why did you transfer to the steel mill?"

Liang Ladi explained.

"Isn't this because the steel mill is in need of skilled personnel to improve production efficiency? I was recruited here as a level 5 welder."

Li Jianjun nodded. In order to improve production efficiency, study groups alone are not enough. This is normal. However, Li Jianjun couldn't understand why even if Liang Ladi came to the steel rolling mill, she shouldn't be divided into two rooms.

"Then how did you get assigned to our courtyard? And two rooms at that."

Liang Ladi looked around and said in a low voice.

"Comrade Li, I won't hide it from you. It was Nan Yi who helped."

Li Jianjun was a little surprised. One worked in a machine repair factory, and the other in a steel rolling mill. How could they have an intersection? Li Jianjun didn't know whether it was fate or a correction from destiny, but he didn't ask too much.

"Liang Ladi, turn over there and walk a few minutes to the supply and marketing cooperative. I want to go to the other side."

Liang Ladi thanked him and left, while Li Jianjun found an empty corner, took out the crayfish, and walked back leisurely.

When he got home, Li Jianjun poured the crayfish into a large basin. He really didn't want to wash them.

"Sister-in-law, you and Brother Damao can help wash it. I'll go prepare the secret seasoning."

Qin Huairu said while looking at the crayfish in the basin.

"We have this thing in our village, but I've never seen anyone eat it."

Li Jianjun said.

"This thing requires a lot of oil, most people can't afford it. If there is not enough oil, it will have a fishy smell. Plus, it's hard to make seasoning, so no one eats it."

Qin Huairu nodded, and then she and Xu Damao followed Li Jianjun's instructions and started to brush them one by one, and then pulled out the shrimp threads at the tails.

Li Jianjun took out a large pot and poured half of it with oil, then put the processed lobsters into the pan and fried them.

After a while, the overbearing aroma of garlic lobster came out. This time the smell was quite strong and attracted many children.

Li Jianjun looked at the children gathered at the door of his house and asked with a smile.

"Want to eat?"

The children had all been warned by their families not to provoke Li Jianjun, and no one dared to answer for a moment, but their eyes were full of desire.

Li Jianjun didn't care and said with a smile.

"Go home now and bring a small bowl. I'll give you three each. Go!"

When the children heard this, they all ran home to get bowls. Among them was a little girl, Liang Ladi’s youngest daughter.

She was close, so she ran home first.

"Mom, Uncle Li next door said he would give me some delicious food and asked me to come back and get a bowl. Many children have gone back to get bowls."

Li Jianjun's voice just now was quite loud, she heard it, and without saying anything, she handed Xiu'er a small bowl.

Xiu'er's three brothers, Damao, Ermao, and Sanmao also wanted to take the bowl, but were stopped by Liang Ladi's eyes.

Soon the children gathered again at the door of Li Jianjun's house.

Li Jianjun gave each child three lobsters and taught them how to eat them while he prepared them.

"After you take it back, ask your parents to help you peel off the outer shell and eat the meat inside the tail. Do you understand?"

This time the answers were straightforward and unified.

When it was Xiu'er's turn, Li Jianjun asked.

"Where are your brothers?"

Xiu'er answered in a soft voice.

"Uncle, my mother won't let my brother come."

Li Jianjun admires Liang Ladi very much for her ability to teach children.

"Be careful. After you take it back, ask your brothers to come over. You can't eat it alone. Your brothers have to watch over you, right?"

Xiu'er came home with the small bowl and said happily.

"Mom, Uncle Li said to let my brother take a small bowl as well."

Liang Ladi looked at her three sons drooling and said with heartache.

"Go ahead, but be polite and call people first, okay?"

Damao and the others couldn't wait any longer, so they picked up their bowls and talked as they walked.

"Got it, Mom. I'll call someone."

Han Chunyan watched Li Jianjun distribute lobsters to the children. She did not feel distressed, but only infinite tenderness. This man had great love in his heart.

Da Mao and his friends, who arrived late, were at the end of the line and did not push forward.

Finally, only Da Mao and his friends were left.

"Da Mao, I'll give you three more. Take them back and eat with your mother."

The three children were very polite and thanked together.

Some of the children said thank you just now, and some did not. It’s not that Li Jianjun cares about who says thank you, but Li Jianjun prefers children who say thank you.

The distribution was completed quickly and Li Jianjun himself was hungry.

"Let's eat too. Are you all hungry?"

Xu Damao said.

"Just smelling this, I'm already hungry. Let's eat. I've already brought it out."

Li Jianjun sat down holding Doudou, and everyone started eating as Li Jianjun said.

Qin Huairu ate one and sighed.

"I didn't expect this to be so delicious. It's a pity that we don't have that much oil at home, otherwise this would be a good thing to improve our meals."

Li Jianjun suddenly thought of something.

"Sister-in-law, you said there are a lot of these things in your village, how many are there?"

Qin Huairu thought about it.

"I don't know the exact number, but in June and July, these things are crawling everywhere in the fields. Some people catch them and break them up to feed chickens, ducks and geese."

Li Jianjun took a little bit and put it into Doudou's mouth, then continued.

"Sister-in-law, what if we let Qinjia Village catch lobsters and sell them to the steel mill? The workers can have more meat, and Qinjia Village can have more income."

Qin Huairu said excitedly.

"Yes, the villagers are reluctant to release the oil, but our factory is willing to do so. It can also bring income to Qinjia Village and make life better for Qinjia Village."