Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 948 947 Bull Socket
Jingmin was a lucky catcher. Although he only managed to catch one fish by skill, he caught fish quickly, which laid the theoretical foundation for Tang Zhitong's ability to catch so many fish.

To solidify his theoretical foundation, Tang Zhitong baited three more fish for him over the next half hour. Regardless of who caught them, the main purpose was to show Xiao Wang that catching fish wasn't difficult, laying the groundwork for him to bring money home reasonably in the future.

Jingmin was fishing for grass carp, and Tang Zhitong was also fishing for grass carp, because Tang Zhitong had decided to make boiled fish for them the next day.

"Look, fishing isn't hard, is it?" The three younger sisters, who weren't paying attention to their studies, came over to join in the fun when the three of them hadn't returned yet. Tang Zhitong arranged for each of them to carry a fish, and Jingmin would carry the biggest one later.

"It doesn't seem too difficult. But compared to how many fish you caught at once, this is still a bit small." With his younger brother setting an example, Xiao Wang was completely relieved.

"It was dark today, and I couldn't see the float clearly. Several times I could feel fish floating on the surface, but I pulled the rod too late. Otherwise, I could have caught more!" Hearing what the older sister said, Jingmin was unconvinced. He sat on the stone wall and spoke very stubbornly.

Tang Zhitong laughed from the side, "Bullshit! There are indeed fish in the Tongzi River, but their density and size can't compare to Shichahai or Beihai."

The water system within the inner city of Beijing consists of Shichahai, Beihai, Zhonghai, Nanhai, the Tongzi River, and the Jinshui River.

Beihai is a pivotal location, connecting Shichahai upstream to the north and supplying water to Haizi and Tongzi River to the south.

For safety reasons, there are iron railings under the Jin'ao Yufeng Bridge, and the entrance to the moat that connects to the Tongzi River is no exception.

With the gate locked up, only small fish could swim across; the large ones that Jingmin caught were extremely rare.

There are fish in Shichahai Lake, but because it's free, many people go fishing, and the fish population is gradually decreasing.

The real big fish are in Beihai. A few fishing enthusiasts occasionally come here to fish for leisure, usually along the riverbank southeast of Qiongzhou Island.

At this time, there are always security personnel on guard around the perimeter, but they do not drive away tourists. They simply ask tourists to be quiet and not disturb the fishermen.

"That's enough, let's go home." After waiting for Jingmin for another ten minutes or so and casting three rods without any luck, Tang Zhitong suggested.

"Brother-in-law, I can still fish. I'm sure I'll catch some fish later." Although Jingmin's posture on the stone wall was awkward, he was unwilling to give up this rare fishing opportunity.

"Come again when you have the chance. This biggest fish is still waiting for you to take it home." Tang Zhitong kicked the grass carp on the ground. There was a stone wall blocking it, so there was no need to worry about the fish jumping up and escaping into the moat.

"Give me the fishing rod, let's go home." There were many mosquitoes near the water, and Xiao Wang heard them buzzing several times. If it weren't for the need to determine the difficulty of the fishing, she would have wanted to go back long ago. Seeing that her younger brother was unwilling to leave, she went up to him, twisted Jingmin's ear, and made him hand over the fishing rod.

"That tigress is really fierce, only your brother-in-law doesn't mind you!" Jingmin thought he was the biggest hero today. With four grass carp as a backup, his courage surged. After being carried off the stone wall by Tang Zhitong, he began to verbally provoke Xiao Wang.

After saying that, Jingmin turned back to Tang Zhitong and said with sympathy, "Brother-in-law, you're so pitiful to have married such a wife."

"You're just a kid, what do you know? I'll save the biggest one for you to take home." Tang Zhitong grabbed Xiao Wang's hand, stopping her from lecturing her younger brother on the street. There were people at the checkpoint across the street 24 hours a day, and they knew Jingmin. They couldn't let them see their family make a fool of themselves.

If a fisherman catches a big fish and doesn't show it off, what's the difference between that and wearing fine clothes in the dark?
However, there were few pedestrians tonight, and no moonlight, so it wasn't much different from traveling in fine clothes at night.

Fortunately, Jingmin didn't mind. He enthusiastically tossed the grass carp onto his back and strode confidently toward Dashizuo Hutong like a victorious general.

The cheeky child was only happy on the way home, and was scolded by Jingying for getting his clothes dirty when he got there.

It was probably Xiao Wang's idea, because Tang Zhitong saw her whispering to her sister-in-law.

After being lectured, it wasn't over yet. Jingying then made him squat under the tap to wash her clothes.

Tang Zhitong felt that Jingmin would find it hard to forget this night, after all, it was his first time night fishing.

Sunday, May 7.

The young couple is off work today, and the music academy and Xiao Gu's classmates are also off, so the children are on holiday.

Early in the morning, Fengzhen and Jingying thought they could take advantage of Sunday to have their younger siblings sell more popsicles, so they went to Xuechi Hutong to wholesale popsicles without even having breakfast.

After breakfast, Zhang Guifang and her daughter-in-law, Xiao Wang, were busy cleaning. Jingmin seemed to have forgotten the slap he received last night and was helping Zhang Guifang as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Guifang genuinely liked Jingmin, praising him incessantly. The more she praised him, the more enthusiastic Jingmin became, as if a nuclear-powered ox and horse had formed a closed loop.

As Fengzhen and Jingying returned from wholesaling popsicles, the nuclear-powered ox-horse put down its work and eagerly went off to busy itself with its "business."

Tang Zhitong didn't get involved in any of this. After setting up the earthen stove in the yard, he went to chop firewood.

The firepower of the 58 stove was a bit weak, so Tang Zhitong planned to use the earthen stove to stir-fry the dishes later.

After chopping firewood and lighting the stove, Tang Zhitong heated the pan, intending to fry pine nuts first.

"Mom, let's fry some pine nuts. If we wait any longer, they'll probably go bad before we even get to eat them." These raw pine nuts were brought back from the trip to Northeast China and have been sitting for almost half a year. Although they eat them regularly, Zhang Guifang keeps a close eye on them and hasn't let the children eat as much as they want. There are still quite a few left.

Raw pine nuts have a shelf life of about eight months, so to avoid waste, we'll stir-fry them while guests are coming over.

"Sigh, eat it, eat it." Zhang Guifang sighed. It wasn't that she was reluctant to eat it, but she was worried that she wouldn't have any to eat in the future. But she couldn't let the pine nuts go bad just because she was worried.

"Don't worry, I'll go to Northeast China again in a while and buy more," Tang Zhitong reassured her as she ladled pine nuts into the pot.

“Everything is expensive these days, so we should prioritize buying grain. Grain can be stored for two or three years,” Zhang Guifang said while washing peaches.

“Buy them all. Our family will never lack money in the future. I’m really good at fishing now. I can catch at least ten fish in half a day, and each one can sell for two yuan and fifty cents.” Tang Zhitong “conservatively” told his mother the good news.

Elderly people tend to have rigid thinking, and if they are also a bit stubborn, their children will suffer.

Zhang Guifang was showing this tendency, so Tang Zhitong drastically reduced the price of his fishing catch, not daring to say that he had made more than a hundred yuan in half a day.

"You're so capable," Zhang Guifang glanced at her son, not believing him at all.

"If you don't believe me, ask Wenwen. Last night, Jingmin caught four fish in no time. My skills are much better than Jingmin's." Tang Zhitong ladled out half a pot of pine nuts and was about to go out to stir-fry them.

“That’s because Jingmin was lucky. One mistake doesn’t count. It’s still more reliable to work honestly.” Zhang Guifang disagreed with her son’s statement, and her words carried a warning tone.

"Look at what you're saying, I'm very conscientious at work. I can't talk to you anymore, I have to hurry up and cook, or I won't have time to entertain the guests." Tang Zhitong was prepared for his mother's stubbornness and wasn't in a hurry, planning to persuade her slowly later. "Don't forget to send some over to Wenwen's mother after you're done cooking." Zhang Guifang reminded her son as he left.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong readily agreed. He had been busy moving and fishing these past few days and hadn't gone to Chunshu Hutong. He didn't know if Director Ye had been eating on time lately. It would be best to let Xiao Wang follow up on this matter.

While Tang Zhitong was roasting pine nuts at home, he was also drawing the aroma into his space. Meanwhile, Yan Xiongfei had already arrived at the south entrance of Dashizuo Hutong along the central axis.

“Uncle Jingmin!” Yan Ningning, sitting on the back of the bicycle, spotted the popsicle box at the entrance of the alley at a glance. Looking further back, she saw Wang Jingmin, a little girl, and two older sisters.

"Huh?" Jingmin was taken aback at first, but when he saw that it was Yan Ningning, he beamed and generously opened the popsicle box, took out four small red bean popsicles and greeted her: "Big brother, sister-in-law, hello. Please have some popsicles!"

Jingying stared blankly from behind the stall. When did Jingmin get a brother and sister-in-law?

"Jingmin is very generous. We won't eat, you can have it." Yan Xiongfei stopped his car, got off his bicycle, and greeted Jingmin cheerfully. His impression of Jingmin improved even more. He was young, but very polite.

"Here, Uncle will treat you to one!" Even though the adults didn't want one, Jingmin didn't insist. He not only gave one to Yan Ningning, but also offered one to the second son of the Yan family who was sitting in front of Wang Huiru's bicycle.

The second son of the Yan family, Yan Zhiyuan, was sitting in the first-generation child seat, drooling over the little red bean popsicle, but since his mother didn't speak, he couldn't respond.

"Xiaoyuan, quickly thank your uncle." Faced with Wang Jingmin's kindness, Wang Huiru chose to accept it, helped her son take the bag, and told Yan Zhiyuan to call him uncle.

"Thank you, Susu." Little Yan Zhiyuan's pronunciation wasn't very clear, but he spoke very earnestly.

"It's nothing, it's what elders should do!" Jingmin's mature demeanor made Yan Xiongfei and Wang Huiru laugh heartily.

Although the atmosphere was harmonious, Jingying, as the older sister, was still a little worried. Although her brother-in-law said that some friends were coming over for a home-cooking dinner, he didn't mention that Jingmin knew them. So, while asking Fengzhen to go back and inform them, she went to greet them: "Jingmin, who are these two?"

"Oh, we are friends of Comrade Tang Zhitong. You must be Jingmin's older sister?" Wang Huiru smiled and looked Jingying up and down, noticing the slight resemblance between her and Jingmin, and asked guessingly.

"Yes, my name is Wang Jingying. Hello, sister-in-law and brother." Upon hearing that he was her brother-in-law's friend, Wang Jingying felt relieved and greeted him in the same way Jingmin addressed her.

"Good, good, what a good girl. Ningning, come here, call her aunt." Wang Huiru waved to her eldest son, who was eating an ice pop.

"Ningning?" Jingying suddenly remembered that her younger brother had come home recently to brag about having adopted a nephew, but unfortunately, they had to treat each other as their own, so he had fallen from being an uncle to a younger brother. So she quickly waved her hand: "Sister-in-law, this is not appropriate. I heard Jingmin say that they should treat each other as their own, right?"

"The order of seniority cannot be confused," Wang Huiru said firmly.

The idea of ​​each person addressing their own issue was proposed by Tang Zhitong, out of consideration for Ningning. However, in order to show respect for Tang Zhitong, we cannot address him incorrectly.

Tang Zhitong received the news from his sister, put down what he was doing and came out to greet them. He immediately noticed the canned goods and liquor hanging on Yan Xiongfei's handlebars: "Brother Yan, sister-in-law, welcome, welcome. You've come all this way, but you brought so many things. You're being too polite."

"It wouldn't be right to come empty-handed on my first visit. Hope I haven't bothered you?" Yan Xiongfei shook hands with Tang Zhitong and pushed his bicycle toward the Tang family's house.

"We're not bothering you. Your presence is an honor to our humble abode!" Tang Zhitong politely gave directions to Yan Xiongfei and his wife.

Yan Ningning, standing to the side, looked conflicted. She took two steps forward, then stopped and asked her father, "Dad, I want to play with Uncle Jingmin here."

"Play, play!" Yan Zhiyuan, sitting in the first-generation child seat, was not to be outdone, waving his little arms and looking up at Wang Huiru.

"Fengzhen, keep an eye on Xiaoyuan." Seeing that Wang Huiru was somewhat interested, Tang Zhitong took the initiative to hand over the task of taking care of the child to his younger sister, and did not forget to explain to Wang Huiru: "This is my younger sister. She has taken care of the second child a lot since he was a child. She is very good at taking care of children. You can rest assured to leave Xiaoyuan here."

"Don't worry, don't worry. Fengzhen, I'll leave Xiaoyuan to you." Wang Huiru had no worries. Her second son had been going to daycare since he was little. There were more children than teachers there, and her second son had gotten used to it. There were several teenagers here taking care of Xiaoyuan.

As soon as they put Yan Zhiyuan down, Jingmin was already chatting with Yan Ningning, showing off his fishing results from the night before: "Nephew, I caught four big fish in the Tongzi River last night. My brother-in-law is a great cook, you're in for a treat today."

The adults smiled, told the children not to fight, and followed Tang Zhitong into the Tang family's gate.

Since it was Zhang Guifang's first time visiting the Tang family, and Xiao Wang's first time meeting Yan Xiongfei and his wife, they exchanged pleasantries.

Zhang Guifang was only about ten years older than Yan Xiongfei, but Yan Xiongfei and his wife called her "Auntie" all the time.

Tang Zhitong watched from the side, feeling somewhat emotional. This situation was quite common nowadays; poor people could somehow manage to have a high seniority, let alone be a generation older, many three-year-old toddlers could even be grandfathers.

However, in the coming years, the gap between peers in this regard will become increasingly larger.

Both being born in the 80s, some people become grandparents at 40, while others have children starting kindergarten at 40.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tang Zhitong led Yan Xiongfei and his wife to the east wing to sit down. The two were shocked to see the couple's two photos together for the first time, just like everyone else, and it took them a while to recover.

The two were drinking tea, eating roasted pine nuts, dates, and fried peaches, listening to the young couple reminisce about their glorious past, when they heard a hearty laugh from outside: "Is Xiao Tang home?"

"Manager Meng Qingfeng from the chemical raw materials company." Tang Zhitong recognized Meng Qingfeng's voice and informed Yan Xiongfei and his wife of his identity before getting up to leave.

As Tang Zhitong came out of the east wing to greet him, he saw Meng Qingfeng carrying a string of meat in his hand.

Without saying a word, Meng Qingfeng shoved the meat into Tang Zhitong's hand: "A friend gave me a set of beef jerky. I heard you're a good cook, so I'll have to try your cooking today."

"Oh, Brother Meng, you're too kind!" Tang Zhitong shook hands with Meng Qingfeng and introduced him to Yan Xiongfei and his wife, who had come with her.

Although he was all smiles, Tang Zhitong had some doubts in his heart.

The "cow's 'happy organ'" brought by Meng Qingfeng is very authentic. It is an organ from a female cow and is a favorite among people from Guangdong and Guangxi. Netizens affectionately call it the "bull socket".

In the countryside of Guangdong and Guangxi, beef brisket has a very high status, and only people of high status are qualified to enjoy it. Moreover, fresh meat is now extremely rare in Beijing, so Meng Qingfeng must have gone to great lengths to bring fresh beef brisket over.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was all Meng Qingfeng's good intention, and Tang Zhitong didn't mind, but there was one problem in front of him.

I'd only ever heard of this thing before, never actually made it myself. How do you even eat it? I can't just let Jingmin brag about it, can I?

(End of this chapter)