Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Seeing her uneasy look, Xu Huizhen smiled and said, "I'm glad you have this intention. As long as you do well, I won't treat you unfairly."

Mr. Hu also said, "My daughter, you are spending too much money."

Xu Huizhen: "Godfather, this is your first time coming to my house, isn't this what I should do?"

The two of them lowered their heads and devoured the food without leaving even a drop of soup in their bowls. Hu Yingzi went to play with the bowl with a tactful look. Hu Lao stood up, touched his full stomach, and went back to tidying up the vegetable garden.

"Girl, you want to grow vegetables in the yard, right?"

Xu Huizhen nodded: "Yeah, the yard is quite big, it would be a waste to leave it empty, grow some vegetables and eat them conveniently."

Father Hu: "The quality of this soil is not very good. You'd better go outside the city and dig some good soil so that the vegetables can grow well."

Xu Huizhen: "Okay, let Cai Quanwu ride his tricycle to the suburbs to dig some tomorrow."

The tavern was about to serve customers. Xu Huizhen took out the ingredients and asked Hu Yingzi, "Can you cook?"

Hu Yingzi quickly said, "Yes, how can a girl from our countryside not know how to cook?"

Xu Huizhen: "Okay, I'll go to the tavern in front and take a look. You cook the rice first. It's enough for four people. We'll cook four dishes tonight. The ingredients are in the kitchen. You can cook them. If you don't know how to cook fish and shrimp, wait for me to come back and cook them."

Not long after, Cai Quanwu came back and handed the money for the goods to Xu Huizhen, saying, "I still owe you 50 yuan. He said he would send it over in the evening."

Xu Huizhen nodded, "I have guests at home today, my godfather and godsister are here. I'll cook a few more dishes, and you can eat here tonight."

As they were talking, Cai Quanwu saw Qian Jinlai enter the tavern. He hurried over, and the two of them went out one after the other.

Qian came in and took out five big black tens and said, "Brother, the goods are all sold out. Here is the remaining payment. Please count some. Will there be any goods tomorrow?"

Cai Quanwu: "Tomorrow we will have dried seafood, kelp, salted fish, dried shrimp, and dried shrimp. Do you want any?"

Qian came in: "Yes, of course I don't want it? Give me 400 kilograms of kelp and dried fish each, and 100 kilograms of dried shrimp and dried shrimp first." Then he took out another 30 yuan from his pocket and said, "This is a yuan deposit. For the rest of the money, you have to give me a few days. I'm short of money."

Cai Quanwu: "Okay, tomorrow morning, at the same time, I'll go deliver the goods." The two of them whispered for a while before returning to the tavern.

Qian came in and ordered himself two taels of Niulanshan Erguotou and a plate of cold kelp shreds. He sat in the corner, sipped it, and felt so happy. After a busy day, he earned more than 90 yuan, which was equivalent to three months' salary for an ordinary worker, excluding the money he gave to his brother. Alas, it would be great if there was such business every day.

With Cai Quanwu taking care of the tavern, Xu Huizhen went to the kitchen. She and Hu Yingzi prepared dinner in a short time.

The staple food is white rice. The dishes include fish, shrimp, eggs and meat. Shrimp, conch and scallops are steamed directly in the pot, which is simple and convenient.

She sent Cai Quanwu's copy to the front. The social atmosphere of that era was still very strict. As a widow, or more precisely a single woman, she still had to pay attention to the separation between men and women.

When the food was served, Father Hu was stunned. His family didn't have such good food during the Spring Festival. He asked, "My daughter, your family's life is really good!"

Xu Huizhen: "Godfather, you don't get to eat food like this every day. Take seafood for example. You can't buy it even if you have money. It's just a coincidence today, and you're lucky enough to have it. Meat and eggs must be purchased with coupons, and there's a fixed amount every month. You can't buy them even if you have money. Today is the first time you and Yingzi have come to my house, so we're having a lavish meal."

Hu Yingzi pursed her lips tightly to prevent saliva from flowing out from the corners of her mouth. Since just now in the kitchen, her saliva has been overflowing and she can't help but drool. She is also a grown-up girl and knows that this is too embarrassing.

Xu Huizhen picked up the bowls and asked everyone to start eating. Hu Yingzi took a mouthful of rice and took a bite of vegetables from the plate in front of her. This was not her own home, so she didn't dare to act freely and eat with relish.

Even at home, she dared not use her chopsticks to pick up food casually, as some dishes were reserved for men. If she dared to use her chopsticks, Hu Lao Niang's chopsticks would immediately hit the back of her hand.

Her two big eyes sparkled as she stole a glance at Xu Huizhen. Seeing that Xu Huizhen didn't react, she boldly took another piece of fish. Xu Huizhen saw her expression with the corner of her eye. She laughed secretly in her heart: "Little guy, where did the energy you had in beating and scolding me in your last life go? Don't you know that things change? Just wait and see how I will discipline you in the future!"

Father Hu had a fried egg in the afternoon, so he wasn't too hungry. But when he saw such delicious food, he felt hungry again. He tried to control his eating speed and acted leisurely. After putting down his bowl, he ate some seafood until his stomach was full.

Hu Yingzi only ate until she was 80% full. She was afraid that if she ate too much, Xu Hui would dislike her and send her back home. She couldn't miss such a good opportunity.

After dinner, Xu Huizhen asked Hu Yingzi to clean up the dishes. Hu Yingzi brought the leftovers into the kitchen, and when Xu Huizhen wasn't paying attention, she stuffed two mouthfuls of the leftovers into her mouth, not even wasting the soup at the bottom of the plate, and added some rice, wiped it, and ate it all. She was secretly happy in her heart: "As long as I can go into the kitchen, I won't be hungry. Anyway, my sister doesn't know how many grains of rice are left, hehe."

Xu Huizhen chatted with Old Man Hu. She said, "Godfather, tomorrow I will ask Cai Quanwu, the waiter at the tavern, to take you around the city. Have fun for two days and then go back."

Father Hu waved his hand quickly: "No, no. The fields are busy with spring planting, and the family can't do without me. I will go back tomorrow."

Xu Huizhen did not force him to stay. Being too enthusiastic would make Old Man Hu uncomfortable. She felt that Old Man Hu was a good person, much better than Old Lady Hu. With him at the helm, the Hu family might not be torn apart like in the previous life.

The next day after breakfast, Xu Huizhen prepared four boiled eggs and two steamed buns for him to eat on the road. She also packed some kelp, dried shrimps, dried fish, etc., and asked Cai Quanwu to take the old man to the station.

In this way, Hu Yingzi settled down in the city. While taking care of Li'er, she also took care of all the housework, like a hardworking little bee, busying around. Xu Huizhen was secretly happy to see her hardworking appearance.

Xu Huizhen deliberately said with a straight face: "Yingzi, have you ever been to school?"

Hu Yingzi: "I went to school for four years and I know a few words." In Xu Huizhen's memory, the Hu family was considered to be well-off in the village before liberation. After liberation, they were classified as middle peasants, so Hu Yingzi had the opportunity to go to school. Girls from very poor families had no chance to go to school.