Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Master."

This was originally Jia Dongxu's goal, but it was just said by Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai was even more satisfied when he saw this, and he wanted to adopt Jia Dongxu as his adopted son on the spot.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Sha Zhu later. During the Chinese New Year, each of our families should provide some dishes and meat, and let Sha Zhu be the chef. We can have a good time."

Yi Zhonghai made the decision, deciding how the two fatherless children in the Intermediate Court would celebrate the New Year. As for whether Sha Zhu would refuse, Yi Zhonghai had never considered it; it didn't exist.

After Jia Dongxu left, Yi Zhonghai sat there in a daze, "How great it would be if this was my son, Old Jia, Old Jia, how could you be so lucky to have such a good son?"

"Lao Yi, what's wrong with you?"

Aunt Wu (a big aunt) pushed Yi Zhonghai hard, waking him up from his thoughts.

"Ah? I'm fine. I'm just wondering how to tell Shazhu."

"That's fine. You scared me to death. I thought you were hysterical again and wanted to find Sha Zhu."

Aunt Wu breathed a sigh of relief and continued to wash vegetables and cook.

When Yi Zhonghai heard his wife talk about hysteria, he remembered the two slaps Sha Zhu had given him, and the corners of his mouth twitched unnaturally. He thought to himself, "This time I have to make Sha Zhu bleed."

"I went to talk to Sha Zhu about the New Year."

Yi Zhonghai put on a cotton jacket and went to Sha Zhu's house.

Chapter 38 Eating Dumplings on New Year's Eve

Yi Zhonghai came to Sha Zhu's house, pushed the door open and went straight in.

"Zhu Zi, have you eaten yet?"

"Hey, uncle, you're eating right now, would you like to have some with me?"

Sha Zhu didn't care about Yi Zhonghai's rude behavior and invited Yi Zhonghai to sit down and eat.

He Yushui didn't say anything, but just quickened his eating pace.

"My family is cooking, so I came to talk to you about something." Yi Zhonghai glanced at the radishes and cabbages on the table and lost his appetite to eat because he had meat prepared at home.

"What is it?"

"It's about the New Year. I was thinking about you, the old lady, and your brother Dongxu's family celebrating the New Year together. Each family can contribute something, and you can cook, and let your aunt and Sister Qin help you. What do you think?"

Yi Zhonghai still played a little trick and told Qin Huairu to help Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu's thoughts on Qin Huairu could be hidden from others, but not from Yi Zhonghai.

Not to mention Sha Zhu, when Qin Huairu entered the courtyard for a blind date, every young man in the courtyard was completely fascinated by her. Even Yi Zhonghai, who had been through many battles, almost lost his grasp.

"Sure, that's great. Uncle, I can't say much about other things, but cooking is my forte, so just watch me perform."

When Sha Zhu heard that Sister Qin wanted to help him, he smiled so hard that his face was full of wrinkles. He looked old to begin with, and with that smile, he looked as wretched as he could be.

"Okay, we'll see how you perform then. And, ah Shazhu, bring out some more dishes.

You know how your brother Dongxu's family lives. They just had a new baby this year and their life is quite tight.

Qin Huairu was reluctant to eat or drink, and gave all the food to Banggeng. What a kind person she is."

After this call, Sha Zhu was almost heartbroken and cried.

"Uncle, I get it. Sister Qin is kind-hearted. All the delicious food at home goes into Aunt Jia's stomach."

"Good boy, Zhuzi, I was not wrong about you."

Yi Zhonghai was very pleased. If only everyone in the courtyard was as easy to control as Zhuzi. If so, under the leadership of Yi Zhonghai, No. 95 Siheyuan will surely become the best Siheyuan in the entire city.

Yi Zhonghai left happily.

And Sha Zhu still felt sorry for Qin Huairu, and only regretted that he was born a few years later, otherwise how could Sister Qin marry Jia Dongxu.

He Yushui finished his meal and looked at Sha Zhu, "Brother, you are 22 years old this year (Sha Zhu was born in 35). It's time to find a wife for yourself."

"You're eating well, but you're still worrying about me. I'm a handsome man with three houses and I'm a chef at a steel mill. How can I not find a partner?"

Sha Zhu always has a mysterious confidence in himself and often talks about his qualifications. In front of his colleagues in the cafeteria, he feels that he is the successor of Tan family cuisine and always has a sense of superiority.

His foul mouth had offended many people, and almost no one in the cafeteria got along with him. Naturally, no one would introduce him to a date.

As for finding a matchmaker, Sha Zhu also looked for one, and the matchmaker asked him if he had any requirements for the woman.

He said, "He must be as good-looking and fit as Sister Qin, and he must be able to manage the housework like Sister Qin. He must also have a city hukou and a high level of education."

The matchmaker was speechless, not even considering her own character.

A man in his twenties has a face of a man in his thirties or forties. He is sloppy, smoky, and reeks of oil smoke. His monthly salary of more than 30 yuan is not high.

Although having three rooms is an advantage, it cannot cover up so many disadvantages.

And when the matchmaker brought the person over, Sha Zhu started to find fault again, saying that she was not pretty enough, not educated, and in short, she was not as good as Sister Qin and not worthy of me.

After a few times like this, no matchmaker came to the house anymore.

At night, Sha Zhu lay in bed, thinking about Qin Huairu.

I can't help but...

After finishing, Sha Zhu poured water from the thermos and washed his hands.

"Oh, it seems like I really should find a woman. It's not going to work if I keep going like this."

……

New Year's Eve.

The city was filled with red flags waving, joy, loud gongs and drums, and firecrackers.

The same thing happened in the courtyards, where every household was busy pasting Spring Festival couplets. Uncle San was the one writing the couplets and the Chinese character for "Fu" (meaning "blessing") on red paper, and the neighbors would give him handfuls of sunflower seeds and peanuts as a reward.

The Jiang family posted couplets bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.

After pasting the couplets, we started making dumplings.

It’s Chinese New Year, so no matter whether it’s meat or vegetarian, you have to eat dumplings.

There are five people in the Jiang family. Shen Yue is kneading the dough, Jiang Ping'an is chopping the stuffing, Jiang Yu is peeling garlic, Jiang Daniu and Jiang Fan are holding rolling pins and ready to go. The whole family is ready.

Last night, Jiang Fan's friend brought him a bag of seafood, including prawns, crabs, conch, and hairtail. His family didn't ask how it came from, they just knew it was from Jiang Fan's friend.

At the same time, a dark shadow flashed by on the beam of Yi Zhonghai's house in the middle courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were rolling out the dough, while Sha Zhu, Qin Huairu, and Aunt Wu were making dumplings.

He Yushui was peeling garlic, while Jia Zhangshi was standing beside him, swallowing her saliva with a stick.

Looking at Jia Zhang's big yellow teeth, He Yushui felt nauseous.

Not to mention the things the Jia family brought to make dumplings today. There was only one cabbage and two radishes, and that was it, not even any meat.

It was the same at an old man's house. There were only a few pounds of meat, but Sha Zhu, like a real fool, used all the meat coupons at home to buy meat and brought it all over.

When He Yushui thought of this, he felt sad.

At noon, they had dumplings. After serving a bowl to the old lady, Jia Zhang couldn't wait to take the colander and fill a large bowl with dumplings, and also scooped a bowl for Jia Dongxu and Bang Geng.

There were originally enough dumplings for eight people, but she finished them all in just a few moves.

She didn't mind the heat and started eating with a grunt.

"Eat, everyone, eat, don't worry about me. The food this silly pig cooks is delicious. Dongxu, you and Banggeng, eat too!"

Jia Dongxu lowered his head, not even having the face to look at Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu were already unhappy that they only had vegetables for lunch.

Now that Jia Zhang has done this, he feels even more embarrassed.

"Zhang Xiaohua! I think you want to be beaten!"

The deaf old lady was not happy either, so she only gave her a small bowl of dumplings and told her to wait until she finished eating before serving more. Now, what's the point of serving more?

"Old lady, how can you say that? I just ate a little more. I'm not in good health and need to nourish myself more."

Jia Zhang didn't care at all. Now that the deaf old lady was no longer the ancestor of the courtyard, she was no longer afraid.

"Mom, go home and eat."

Jia Dongxu, with a dark face, invited Jia Zhang back home. Jia Zhang, holding a bowl full of dumplings, stopped making trouble and went home. For her, face was not important, eating dumplings was what mattered.

"Forget it. It's New Year's Day. Don't make yourself unhappy because of Jia Zhang. Silly Zhu, we still have dumplings prepared for dinner. Cook another pot. Eat less at night and have more vegetables."

Yi Zhonghai put the remaining two bowls of dumplings on the table and invited everyone to eat together.

Jia Dongxu felt embarrassed and stopped eating after two bites. Banggeng only ate the filling and not the skin, and was taught a lesson by Jia Dongxu, who was in a bad mood.

The deaf old lady was the same. She ate a small bowl and then stopped.

The lunch on New Year’s Eve ended just like that.

Chapter 39: Jia Zhang's Trouble Again

In the evening, every household began to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner, and every chef used all his strength on this day.

The most attractive smell is naturally from Sha Zhu of the Yi family in the middle courtyard. After all, he is a chef and is a master at cooking Sichuan cuisine.

Chef Sha Zhu, Qin Huairu and Aunt Wu were helping out, Jia Dongxu was taking care of Xiao Dang, and Jia Zhang was waiting for dinner at the Jia family's house.

Because of Jia Zhang's behavior at noon, Yi Zhonghai gave Jia Dongxu a strict order, asking him to keep an eye on Jia Zhang and not let her out before the meal was ready, for fear that she would eat secretly.

Jia Zhang expressed strong dissatisfaction with this and took advantage of Jia Dongxu's absence to curse Yi Zhonghai.

"Yi Zhonghai, you old bastard! What do you want to do? Why don't you let me help you cook? I tell you, you are giving me face by having me cook."

"Jia Zhang! What were you like at noon? Do you need me to tell you again? You can help with cooking, but will there be food for us?"

"I don't care! Anyway, my family provided the vegetables and meat. If you don't let me have a full meal, I will stay in front of your house and won't leave."

Jia Dongxu felt embarrassed about what happened at noon, so he brought the meat and vegetables over in the afternoon, which made Jia Zhang feel distressed.

According to Jia Zhangshi, being able to celebrate the New Year with Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu was a gift to them. There was no reason for them to produce anything else.

So she thought of taking advantage of Sha Zhu's cooking time to sneak in some food, so as to make up for her losses. But Yi Zhonghai refused to agree, and she didn't care what her son said at this time, and started arguing with Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Jia! Open your eyes and take a look. Your old brother Yi Zhonghai is bullying your wife. I just ate a little more at noon, and he won't let me eat the New Year's Eve dinner! Come down quickly..."

"Mom! What on earth are you going to do? Don't you think I'm embarrassing enough?"

Jia Dongxu's timely appearance prevented Jia Zhang from saying those words.

"Dongxu, you came just in time. Look at that old bastard Yi Zhonghai. I, your mother, wanted to help with the cooking out of good intentions, but he didn't appreciate it and told me to stay home. He said if I helped, they would have nothing to eat. What kind of logic is that!"

Without noticing Jia Dongxu's face which had turned as black as coal, Jia Zhang kept cursing.

"Mom! Have you said enough? It was my idea to let you stay at home. It has nothing to do with my master."

"Did you hear that, Yi...son, what did you just say? Say it again."

Jia Zhang couldn't believe her ears. What did she hear? Was this her good son's idea?

"I said, you should go home now. I will bring you dinner in the evening."

Jia Dongxu tried hard to restrain himself. If the person in front of him wasn't his own mother, he would have slapped her.

It is afternoon now and everyone is cooking. Neighbors who heard the noise rushed out to watch the fun.

After pulling the distraught Jia Zhang back home, Jia Dongxu prepared to close the door.

"Mom, just stay home. I'll bring you dinner at night so you won't go hungry. After the New Year, you can go back to your uncle's house and stay for a while. I'm tired of you doing this every day."

Before closing the door, Jia Dongxu said to Jia Zhang with a tired face that he was really tired.

At the Jiang family's house in the front yard, Shen Yue had been following the recipes that Jiang Fan brought back for her. There were also enough ingredients at home for her to practice, plus she had a talent for cooking.

Shen Yue's cooking skills were now no worse than Sha Zhu's. If anything, they were only lacking the secret seasonings passed down by He Daqing. Even now, Shen Yue's meals were even more delicious than Sha Zhu's.

Jiang Fan said, "No matter how strong your secret seasoning is, I can just use a packet of MSG, chicken essence, technology and hard work! I don't know how you will respond."

Sha Zhu smelled the aroma in the air, and as a chef, he keenly noticed that the aroma of rice was not simple.

"Strange, when did Aunt Shen become such a good cook? And these ingredients and seafood, they should have been obtained by Jiang Fan, they are all good things."

Sha Zhu had only seen and eaten seafood when he was an apprentice. He Daqing rarely brought it home.