Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"Go, go, go." Sha Zhu chased him away like he was chasing a fly: "You still think you know something? Okay, I admit defeat."

Sha Zhu poured out all the melon seeds from his pocket and put them on the plate.

The third uncle wrote the Spring Festival couplets contentedly. After handing them over, Sha Zhu left with his wife.

"Hey, Dad, what's going on? I saw there were only a dozen or so." Yan Jiecheng asked curiously.

"Hey, who told you that Shazhu was the first one to get up?"

"Huh? Look, you added some more in there?"

"Hehe, you don't know, Cao Wei took Qin Jingru out early in the morning, and they also took away a lot of things. I saw it just after I got up. Qin Jingru stuffed a handful of melon seeds into my hand, and I put it in my pocket. I just listened and got a general idea. Your father has good eyesight, and I know what those little bastards do under the podium on weekdays. So..."

"So you took advantage of Shazhu not noticing and quietly filled it in."

"What do you mean you didn't notice it? I saw it a long time ago." The third uncle rolled his eyes at his son and said, "I'm not some Buddha. My hands aren't that fast. I can still see it clearly."

"Dad, are you telling a story?" Yan Jiecheng said in disbelief, "If Shazhu sees this, with his bad temper, how can he not get angry?"

"You don't understand. A good wife brings less trouble to her husband. Qi Su is a good wife. Haven't you noticed? Since Qi Su got married, Sha Zhu hasn't lost his temper for a long time. Now, when he brings lunch boxes home, he does it secretly and never shows off."

"Hey, now that you mention it, it's true." Yan Jiecheng scratched his chin.

"If you want to marry a wife, you should marry Qi Su."

"Dad, when will you help me find a wife?"

"Go, go, go, go find it yourself."

"Then I'll go ask Director Wang."

"Then go ahead. But I remind you that when you go to ask, it's best to mention something."

"So you don't want to carry things..." Yan Jiecheng suddenly realized.

The third uncle looked at him as if he were a fool: "What else?"

"Wife, how's it going? My acting is pretty good, isn't it?" Sha Zhu boasted to his wife proudly, "That old stingy Yan thought I didn't see her little moves. He doesn't know that I was rewarding him because I was in a good mood today."

"You, you." Qi Su nodded at Sha Zhu and didn't say anything. As long as he could change, it would be good. Just change slowly. Besides, a person can't be carved in the same image. He must have his own temperament. She thinks her husband is good enough.

The two of them returned home with the Spring Festival couplets, and He Yushui then walked out of the house, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Brother, sister-in-law, happy new year."

"happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Master and Madam." Qin Jingru greeted Liu Sandao and Yang Menglan obediently.

"Okay, okay, come on, good boy." Yang Menglan smiled from ear to ear. Although she knew Cao Wei would come, she always waited until Cao Wei arrived before she felt relieved.

While accepting the blessings, he gave a red envelope.

Qin Jingru accepted it happily.

Her smile is always inexplicably contagious, it looks silly, but very innocent.

If you look at her a few more times, you can't help but laugh with her.

Yang Menglan liked Cao Wei's daughter-in-law very much.

In her words, being cheerful is good.

"Here we are." Liu Sandao also nodded: "Let's go, let's go to the kitchen."

This is the rule of their family. During the Chinese New Year, Liu Sandao and Cao Wei are responsible for the meals. In the past, Liu Sandao and Cao Wei's brothers were responsible for the meals. Later, some of the brothers left and some of them dispersed, leaving only Cao Wei in Sijiu City. Since then, Cao Wei has always spent the New Year at Liu Sandao's house.

Speaking of which, Liu Sandao was also a little nervous. After all, this year was the first year that Cao Wei had married. Although he knew in his heart that this was impossible, he still couldn't help worrying whether Cao Wei would not come.

"I brought some good stuff." Cao Wei lifted the bag in his hand.

"Okay, let's go?!"

"Let's go!"

The two men entered the kitchen.

"Let's go and help."

"Okay, I'll come after I put my things away." Qin Jingru responded. When she came to Liu Sandao's house, it was like going home.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Mr. Yang lying on a recliner, exactly the same as he lay in the yard in summer, except that this recliner seemed a little too big and out of place in the house.

"Grandpa, you are here too. Happy New Year." Qin Jingru greeted him.

“Okay, okay.” Old Master Yang knew who was coming without even opening his eyes: “Here, the red envelopes are on the table, take them yourself, and give one to that brat as well. It’s rude of you to come over and say hello when I’m home.”

"Hehe. Grandpa, he doesn't know you're here. He went to cook first. He has been talking about wanting to make nine-turn large intestine for several days."

"Oh? Nine-turn large intestine? That's okay, let him do it. Let him do another one after he's done." When Grandpa Yang heard about food, he was no longer angry. In fact, he wasn't angry at first, he just thought it was a joke.

While Qin Jingru was tidying up her things, she took out a plate and put some cakes, melon seeds and other things on it.

"Grandpa, I put some cakes and melon seeds here. If you want to eat, just take some. I'll go and help you." After saying that, she skipped to the kitchen without waiting for the old man to reply.

The courtyard house during the Chinese New Year is different from before.

In the past, Siheyuan dumplings were bland and tasteless. When the New Year came, no matter how poor the family was, they would always make dumplings. It didn't matter how much meat there was. Even if there was only one or two taels of meat, they would still make dumplings, and at most there would be more vegetarian dishes.

The two men in the family were busy making the nine-turn large intestine, while the two women were rolling out the dough.

Prepare to make dumplings.

"If it were in the past, we would have had all kinds of food, chicken, duck, and fish, during Chinese New Year. We wouldn't have been worried about not being able to finish them all," Yang Menglan sighed as she mixed the stuffing.

"Were there so many people at home before?" Qin Jingru was like a curious baby, very supportive.

"Of course not. His eldest brother, second brother, and third sister... Since your grandfather's generation, there have always been people in our area, but even now, they have all dispersed. There are not many opportunities to gather together during the New Year. This city is big and small. Let's not talk about these during the New Year. Let's talk about Cao Wei."

"Okay, okay, what was Wei like as a child?"

"He started learning cooking from our family when he was very young. That was before the liberation." Yang Menglan recalled the past while making the stuffing.

That was a long, long time ago.

Every family has different topics for the New Year, but they all seem the same. Every family has its own joy, which radiates from the warm house, adding a bit of warmth to this cold city.