Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 707 Chapter 706 Young Man Travel

"Third brother, I'm so happy that you're here, what else do you need?" After mixing the shepherd's purse, Zhang Guifang drove the two brothers to the side room, saying it was quiet there and asked them to sit down and have a drink.

Mark Jian brought four lunch boxes, three boxes of vegetables, and a box of applesauce. Mark Jian picked up the applesauce from the factory yesterday, saying it was a reward from the factory for those who participated in research and development.

The two of them have been friends since they were young and grew up together. In the past, even if Ma Kejian carried a bag of flour to his home, Tang Zhitong would not say much, but things are different now.

"You are the only one who can take things from me? I am not the only one who can bring things here?" Ma Kejian was not convinced. He opened the wine, poured two glasses, and raised his glass to himself, saying, "Eanzi, I'm happy! After many improvements to the applesauce, the formula has been officially finalized. The unit has recommended me to join the organization. This time, I am benefiting from you. I won't say anything else. It's all in the wine."

"That's indeed worth a drink. Come on, let's go and wish Third Brother to show his skills and achieve great things!" Tang Zhitong also raised his glass when he heard that Ma Kejian had joined the organization.

At this moment, joining an organization is by no means a talisman, but has special significance, is a recognition, and is also a responsibility.

Ma Kejian had been thinking about it for a long time. He had applied before but was never approved. This time he finally got what he wanted.

"Hehe, I wish you good luck." Ma Kejian took a sip of wine, wiped his mouth, and his face was full of smiles.

"Third brother, these dishes are good. I'm offering you some thanks. Come, eat!" Tang Zhitong picked up the chopsticks and made way for him.

Of the three dishes that Ma Kejian brought, he gave half to Zhang Guifang and the others, and took the rest into the side room to serve as appetizers for the two brothers.

"The shepherd's purse you mixed is good." Ma Kejian picked up the shepherd's purse with his first chopsticks, tasted it and said.

"Hehe, let's make do with it. It can't compare with the dishes brought by third brother." Tang Zhitong was just the opposite of Ma Kejian. He started with the meat slices in the dishes that Ma Kejian brought.

The meat slices are layered with five different kinds of fat and less lean meat. Even in the past, it would have been considered a top-quality dish to entertain guests, let alone now.

There are a lot of such stuff lying in Tang Zhitong's space, but he seldom eats alone. Even though the supplementary food has been reduced recently, he tries not to take the space as much as possible. It is a restraint and also a kind of protection.

"If you like it, eat more. I'll bring you more when I have the chance." Ma Kejian promised.

"No need. I'm living OK here. Third brother, just take care of yourself." Tang Zhitong shook his head. For the three dishes tonight, it was unknown whether Mark Jian had taken advantage of several colleagues. All of this must be paid back.

Although the family eats less side dishes after the Spring Festival, they still have the animal oil refined during the Spring Festival.

Zhang Guifang loves her children very much. Every three to five days, she would make a pot of hand-rolled noodles in the morning. She would pour some soy sauce on a bowl of noodles, add a little animal oil, pour some noodle soup on it, and stir it to create a rare delicacy.

"Okay, feel free to ask for help." Ma Kejian didn't force it. He also realized that although the supply was tight, they were drinking Fenzi today, and there were pine nuts and dates on the table as side dishes. These would be good things if they were placed outside.

"Of course, I'm not polite to Third Brother. If Third Brother encounters any difficulties, don't forget that I'm here for you." Tang Zhitong raised his wine glass and gestured to Ma Kejian.

"Compared to the outside world, our unit is not bad. We often have some leftovers, so we won't go hungry inside. A while ago, the unit set up a farm outside, and they said that the employees must share a share, so everyone is very motivated." After saying this, Ma Jian took another big sip, his smile showing a hint of helplessness.

"What a coincidence. Our unit has also set up a farm with the help of the higher-ups. I guess we will be able to take care of the employees then. Everyone is quite supportive of it." Tang Zhitong continued the conversation as if he didn't notice Ma Kejian's helplessness.

Tang Zhitong still remembers the self-mockery on Ma Kejian's face when he walked out of the dim sum factory before the Mid-Autumn Festival last year.

Compared with that time, this time it has been much less intense. This is due to his own change of mind, but it is also inseparable from the influence of the environment. He can eat some scarce food that is not available outside from the company every now and then, and he also has the output of the farm hanging in the balance. How many people would not change?

"I have to support it. How many people want to starve? Not to mention humans, animals are the same. You don't know, at your sister-in-law's side, the animals are starving to the point of skin and bones. Some animals even tear their own cubs apart." The helplessness on Ma Kejian's face flashed away. In the face of cruel reality, survival is more important than anything else.

"Wow! No one was hurt, right?" Tang Zhitong didn't know what the situation was like in zoos these days, but he had heard about dolphins in oceanariums drowning their own cubs.

Reproduction is the instinct of animals. If even the desire to reproduce disappears, it means that the environment is really terrible.

"It is said that there was a bear that wanted to attack people, but it was dealt with." Ma Kejian picked up some food with chopsticks. He just treated this matter as a casual chat. It had nothing to do with him. After all, he didn't get to eat bear meat.

"It's good that no one was hurt. Beasts are beasts. Once they have tasted human flesh, they will try every means to eat humans again. At this time, you can't lock them up in a cage. The best way is to 'bang', physical salvation." Tang Zhitong made an aiming gesture and laughed. It seems that only beasts prey on the weak, and it's not only beasts.

"Who said it wasn't? But the tiger park is the best. The three little tigers you brought back have grown up now. They earn money for food by taking photos with tourists, so they don't starve." Ma Kejian thought of the tiger who was living the most comfortable life in the zoo, and said to his good brother.

"That's right. If the zoo gives the tigers less food, they will probably count the amount of food given by the tourists taking photos as their own meals. Then the zoo will be in big trouble." Tang Zhitong laughed and made a joke.

The three tigers did not "die of illness" and were even able to eat enough. It was simply because the profits from the photo-taking far exceeded their food expenses.

"Are you already drinking? I'll add another dish for you." Classmate Xiao Wang pushed the door open at the right time, holding a bowl with eight boiled eggs in it.

"I'm sorry to have you spend money again. You can eat here with us. There are a lot of dishes and we can't finish them all." Mark Jian said.

"This is cooked by my mother. I just wanted to ask about your sister-in-law's recent situation. You guys chat first, I'll go get some dry food." Xiao Wang agreed readily. Except for eggs and dried fruits, the dishes on both sides are similar. If he eats a few bites here, he can let his mother-in-law and sister-in-law eat a few more bites.

"Come, third brother, try this salted egg. It still tastes like the one we had when we were kids." Tang Zhitong picked up a piece as big as the egg yolk and handed it to Ma Kejian. Although an egg has eight cloves, only two were used, so one egg was cut into four cloves.

Ma Kejian didn't hesitate. He took the egg and ate the yolk first. He licked the yolk carefully with his tongue a few times, and his eyes narrowed in enjoyment. "I've been thinking about this for a long time. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I even dreamed a while ago that I was a kid again and we stole eggs together."

"No, if you want to steal, just steal, but don't take me with you." Tang Zhitong laughed when he heard this. Eggs are scarce now, and the two brothers were no less scarce when they were young.

"What did you steal? Why are you laughing so happily?" Classmate Xiao Wang went out quickly and came back quickly, carrying a plate into the room with four big steamed buns on it.

"Hehe, we were just talking about the time when we were kids and stole eggs together." Ma Kejian was very cunning and was determined to drag Tang Zhitong along.

"Did you steal eggs when you were a child?" Student Wang put down the plate and asked Tang Zhitong with shining eyes, as if he had discovered a new world.

"How could I do that? How could a child as honest as me do that?" Tang Zhitong refused to admit it, waving his hands in a helpless manner. "Hey, just tell me whether you got beaten or not?" Ma Kejian said, adding fuel to the fire.

"Third brother, you have to be an honest person." Seeing that his underwear was almost taken off, Tang Zhitong said with a smile.

"Come on, tell me in detail." Student Wang was in high spirits. She didn't even eat the steamed bun in her hand, waiting for her husband to continue.

Tang Zhitong picked up a piece of salted egg and gave it to Xiao Wang before he started talking: "One year on my birthday, my grandma cooked me a salted egg early in the morning."

"You know, although this egg is called a salted egg, it's not that salty, so I didn't eat it at the time. I pretended to eat it and thought I would try it with my third brother later."

"As a kid, I always feel that food tastes less delicious when I eat alone than when I eat with someone else."

"The egg at that time was not even as big as the one in the bowl. We shared one egg between us. After finishing it, we both felt unsatisfied, so we discussed having another one."

"So you stole it? Whose house did you steal from?" After saying this, Xiao Wang took a bite of the steamed bun and chewed it slowly.

"Whose salted eggs can be as delicious as ours? Naturally, we started with our ancestral jar of salted eggs. When no one was home, we went into the house. I took a pair of chopsticks at the time, but I couldn't pick them up no matter how hard I tried." Tang Zhitong continued to speak, while Ma Kejian listened happily at the side.

"You are so stupid." Classmate Xiao Wang also laughed.

"Well, you don't know how strict my grandmother was with me at the time. She didn't let me get into the habit of stealing." Tang Zhitong sighed and continued, "I was scared and nervous at the time. I tried several times but failed. My third brother thought I was stupid, so he took a spoon from the side, pushed me away, and he fished it out in one scoop."

"And then what? Was he discovered and beaten?" Wang didn't expect her husband to have such a past and listened with great interest.

Ma Kejian also became interested and continued:

"No. We were guilty, so we took the salted egg and ran away. We didn't dare go home to cook it, so we gathered some hay near the White Bridge, lit it, and put the egg in it.

Unexpectedly, the egg exploded with a bang just a few moments after it was put in. Neither of us could eat it and the food was splattered all over us.

There was no way to explain if we went back covered in egg white, egg yolk and grass ash, so my brother and I spent a long time rubbing the dirt off, and only went back reluctantly after it got dark.

My clothes were dirty and I got beaten when I got home, but I didn't dare say that I had stolen eggs. I just said that I had got sparrow eggs.

Anzi was beaten one day later than me, on the next day. "

"Is it possible that grandma didn't notice?" Xiao Wang looked at her husband again.

"How is that possible? Not to mention that our clothes are dirty, we both feel guilty. The lid of the salted egg jar was not even closed, and the chopsticks and spoon were placed aside. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell what's going on." Tang Zhitong smiled and shook his head. Not only did the old lady discover it, but she also arranged her own meal very thoughtfully.

"Is it because grandma loves you so much that she can't bear to hit you?" classmate Xiao Wang guessed.

"It really hurts, but I'm definitely not reluctant to do it. If I really didn't want to do it, I wouldn't wait until the next day. Grandma always said that a young tree won't grow straight if it's not pruned. She was the one who beat me the most."

"Then why did I have to wait until the next day to beat you?" Xiao Wang was confused. As the saying goes, you can beat a child on a rainy day. If you have nothing to do, do you need a reason to beat a child? Do you need to pick a day?
"Hey, third brother, I'm really going to tell you this." Tang Zhitong did not answer Xiao Wang, but turned his gaze to Ma Kejian.

"Just say it, it's not me you're going to beat up anyway." Ma Kejian had no idea what the problem was and was waiting for Tang Zhitong to expose his ugly mistake.

"My grandmother knew everything. When I got home that day, she noticed that my clothes were dirty. My mother wanted to hit me, but my grandmother stopped her.

Third brother, you don’t think the old lady didn’t see that you have a part in this, do you?

The next day, I beat you in front of me, but I was actually talking about you as well." It's been many years, but when I think back, many things are still vivid in my mind.

"I remember that my grandmother asked you if you stole it, and you took the blame and got beaten.

Our grandmother beat you and said that if you steal needles when you are young, you will steal gold when you grow up. You should not steal or rob as a person.

At that time, I was thinking that our grandma had a lot of energy and a really loud voice.

After beating you, I cooked two salted eggs, one for each of us.

Now that you put it like that, hiss… Not only did our grandma already know about it, but she also had something else in her words.”

Ma Kejian recalled the past and thought it was true. He asked curiously, "Why didn't you say it at the time?"

"What? Give you up? At that time, I thought of righteousness first and that beating me would be enough. I didn't think of anything else at all. I figured these out later." Thinking of his childhood, Tang Zhitong felt that he was not only dull, but also stubborn and opinionated.

"Now that you put it that way, I feel not only sorry for you, but also for our grandma." Tang Zhitong broke the window paper, and Ma Kejian felt embarrassed.

"Well, who hasn't had a time when they were ignorant? Besides, neither of us has gone astray. This was exactly what our grandmother wanted at the time." Tang Zhitong saw that Ma Kejian was a little embarrassed, so he took the initiative to pick up the wine glass.

"It's not like that. After so many years, I have to be honest with you. In fact, I didn't eat enough at that time, so I instigated you to steal with me." Ma Kejian suddenly confessed.

"Third brother, how can you be blamed for this? It's my fault that I didn't know how to behave. I only needed to take one look at the pomegranates in your house and you stole one for me. There's nothing else to say, it's all in the wine, a toast to our friendship!" Tang Zhitong pushed the wine glass forward and clinked it with Ma Kejian's.

"Let's cheer for our grandma!" Ma Kejian drank very happily this time. He tilted his head back and drank it all.

Since this glass of wine was drunk standing up, when he sat down, Mark Jian saw the photo hanging on the wall. He couldn't believe his eyes for a moment. After rubbing his eyes and confirming again and again, he pointed at it and was so excited that he couldn't speak...

(End of this chapter)