Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Back at Master Li's house, Sha Zhu cooked a few dishes.

After having dinner with my master, he went to the yard to stretch his legs.

Sha Zhu quickly stopped the master and discussed with him about building a larger, simple stove in the yard.

Sha Zhu's main concern was that he would have to cook every day for the next two months.

Some dishes that take a long time to cook still require a dedicated stove, like when making a rich broth.

Simmering lamb bones to make lamb soup can easily take ten or more hours.

If you combine it with the broth you've prepared in the space, using lamb bone soup as a cover, and occasionally make roast duck or beggar's chicken, it's much more convenient to do it in the yard.

Mr. Li didn't object after hearing this, and there happened to be some unused bricks in a corner of the yard against the wall.

All we need is some more clay; Sha Zhu has experience with that. Master Li helped Sha Zhu go outside to get the materials needed for the stove.

The two worked until around 11 p.m. before finally finishing. They experimented with it.

After confirming that there were no problems, the two washed up and went back to their rooms to rest.

The next morning, Sha Zhu went to Master Wang's house first.

Master Wang had already left for work early, having received the construction team's address from his wife.

Then I woke up Yushui and Lele, and took the two little girls to Master Li's house for breakfast.

I followed the two little girls and bought their favorite breakfasts from several breakfast shops before returning to Master Li's house.

At this moment, Liu Guangtian had already arrived and was listening to Master Li's martial arts instruction in the courtyard.

"Master, have breakfast first, then we'll practice later." Sha Zhu carried the breakfast and placed it on the table in the yard.

Yu Shui and Lele ran around preparing tableware and chairs, and together with Liu Guangtian, the five of them sat around and ate breakfast, chatting and laughing.

After breakfast, the master instructed the three children to continue practicing martial arts.

I'll pick them up later, in case they haven't been here before and won't be able to find their way.

Sha Zhu then rode his bicycle with a basket to the market to select some fresh ingredients.

Because today's guests are quite important, Sha Zhu decided to show off his skills.

Upon arriving at the market, without even asking the prices, they bought pork, beef, mutton, pork and mutton bones, mandarin fish, old hens, and ducks—all in a frenzy!

I even went to a high-end ingredient store and bought some Jinhua ham and dried scallops to make a boiled cabbage dish.

Sha Zhu's space contains boiled cabbage broth that he usually makes, which he bought from this shop before.

Buying it is just a cover when cooking; you can just switch it with the broth you've already prepared in your space later.

As for the timing, I can just give a lie if anyone asks.

Carrying the large amount of groceries they had bought, they returned to their master's house. Master Li had already gone out to greet the guests.

The three little ones, seeing Sha Zhu return, immediately stopped practicing their martial arts and came over to help.

Sha Zhu quickly shooed the three away; if he were to take action himself...

With several little ones watching nearby, Sha Zhu was having trouble operating it.

You clearly have the ability to process things with your mind, so aren't you getting in the way by being around me?

Sha Zhu carried all the ingredients to the kitchen. After seeing that the three little guys had gone back to continue practicing martial arts and hadn't paid attention to this place, he started doing some crazy things.

Sha Zhu is preparing boiled cabbage in clear broth, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and Dongpo pork for lunch.

Kung Pao Chicken, Lion's Head Meatballs, Wensi Tofu, Beef with Eggplant, Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce, Beggar's Chicken, plus a few cold dishes.

That's about it. It seems that the master's blind date likes to drink mutton soup, and there is also mutton soup cooked in the space.

The other dishes were simple; just wash the ingredients and leave them alone for now.

The only time-consuming dishes are boiled cabbage broth and simmered lamb bones.

The broth for boiled cabbage can be made in the kitchen.

There won't be anyone in the kitchen to make it easy to switch, and the mutton soup is in the yard, so it's not very convenient to switch.

We can only switch them when everyone is eating and no one is paying attention.

Sha Zhu first threw the cleaned meats and bones into several basins, added water, soaked them to remove the blood, and set them aside to wait while he began to process the other ingredients.

When Sha Zhu started simmering lamb bones on the stove in the yard...

The beggar's chicken was wrapped in yellow mud and thrown into the stove, while a rich broth of boiled cabbage was being simmered on a small stove in the kitchen.

Master Li led three people into the courtyard: two men and one woman.

Sha Zhu quickly came out and greeted them. Two of the men were wearing glasses.

An old man in his fifties, about 1.65 meters tall.

A middle-aged man, probably in his thirties. Both of them were wearing Zhongshan suits.

The woman is probably the master's blind date.

According to the master's introduction, the old man was a professor at a university, mainly teaching figure drawing and advanced painting techniques.

The middle-aged man was a reporter at a newspaper editorial department, and it was this reporter who contacted the elderly man.

The woman standing next to the master was dressed casually, with a serious expression, and looked like a martial arts expert.

After Sha Zhu went up and briefly greeted the group, the master led them off to drink tea and chat.

Sha Zhu returned to the kitchen, checked the time, and seeing it was almost time, began preparing lunch.

Shortly after, Sha Zhu came out of the kitchen and asked the chef to arrange for the three little ones to help set up tables and chairs in the yard.

The chef said that the food would cool down faster in the yard, so it would be better to move the tables and chairs directly to the living room.

Sha Zhu thought about it and agreed that this was a good idea. It would make it easier for him to prepare the mutton soup later, so he didn't object.

Because we were cooking a lot of dishes, and several of them were served on large platters, we put the two tables together in the living room.

They didn't care about adults or children, they ate together.

Sha Zhu originally planned to eat them separately, but then he thought that with his own cooking skills...

When we start eating, there's no need for so many formalities; we can just open our mouths wide and eat.

Then Sha Zhu called the chef to the kitchen to start serving the dishes. He turned up the heat and continued cooking.

As the chef brought dish after dish to the living room table, the entire hall was filled with the aroma of food.

The group stopped talking and chatting.

Everyone's attention was focused on the dishes on the table. The little ones didn't even leave the house; they just stood in the hall, gazing longingly at the food, reluctant to leave.

Wait for Sha Zhu to go to the yard and lure the beggar's chicken out of the stove.

They placed it in a basin and brought it to the living room table, where everyone looked curiously at the steaming clods of earth.

The painting professor, surnamed Wu, pointed to the clods of soil in the basin and said to Sha Zhu, "Could this be a beggar's chicken?"

Seeing everyone sitting there only smelling the delicious aroma, and no one daring to touch their chopsticks first, Sha Zhu said,

"Yes, everyone, start eating! You kids, come and eat too. Master, stop pouring tea there."

There are two more dishes later that are soups; if you drink too much tea, you won't be able to drink the soup.

The reporter's surname is Li, and his given name is Li Wei. The mentor's partner's surname is Wang, and neither of them gave Sha Zhu his full name.

"Professor Wu, Reporter Li, and this Ms. Wang, I'm sorry, but I think it's too much trouble to split into two tables."

Everyone ate together, adults and children alike, making it lively. Sha Zhu felt a little awkward that his blind date, whom he called "Master," was called "Sister Wang."

But I can't exactly call her "auntie." Seeing that her master glared at her but didn't say anything, she just let it go.

Then Sha Zhu said to Professor Wu, "Professor Wu, this beggar's chicken is a bit hot. Should we open it now, or should we eat other dishes first and open it later?"

Professor Wu looked at the table full of dishes and said, "Since they're all here, let's open them."