The booming era begins with the director of the Propaganda Department!

Chapter 303 Suffering a loss is a blessing!!
Zhang Shenfei has never been hungry for such a long time since he came to this world and started eating meat. Besides, the food at school is not as good as that at home.

Now back to the courtyard,

Seeing Tian Xiaozao, whom he had not seen for ten days, and the noodles he was used to eating on the chopping board, Zhang Shenfei felt that his body and stomach were sending hunger signals to his brain at the same time.

He is a man of great efficiency, in every respect.

After whispering something in Tian Xiaozao's ear, she didn't wait for a refusal...

The force increased, and the chopping board of that era was not very stable, with a large pile of pots and pans piled on it.
Outside the kitchen,

People were coming and going in the courtyard, and neighbors greeted each other when they met:

"Second uncle, are you off work???"

"Hmm, have you eaten yet?"

"No, you know what? Dafei is back."

"Hey, you're back? I'll have to go over and take a look around later..."

Outside the door, the chatter continued.

"So are you going to Zhang's house now?"

"If we don't go now, we have to wait until after dinner. According to the rules of our old city, it is not allowed to go to other people's houses during dinner time?" Liu Haizhong said.

The two chatted for a few more minutes and then parted.

I don’t know how long it was before the sound of dishes colliding finally stopped.

Tian Xiaozao went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and Zhang Shenfei rolled up his sleeves and started cooking.

He picked up the top quality piece of seven-story bricks, placed it on the chopping board and cut it into mahjong-sized pieces.

The so-called seven-story building,

It refers to the pork belly with alternating fat and lean parts, with a total of seven layers, and is the Hermes of pork belly.

Compared with ordinary pork belly, this kind of meat has less fat and is thinner, and tastes more tender and juicy, with distinct layers of lean meat and fat, and a more balanced taste. Therefore, it is more popular with most people and is more expensive.

of course,

This is relative to the taste of later generations like Zhang Shenfei.

For people of this generation, the best choice is obviously a big piece of fat.

After cutting the meat into mahjong-sized pieces, Zhang Shenfei put it in a pot with cold water and added onions, ginger and peppercorns to remove the fishy smell.

After the water boils, skim off the foam, take out the meat, wash it, and stir-fry it in a hot pan with cold oil.

When the pork belly is stir-fried, oil will be squeezed out. If Grandma Zhang and Tian Xiaozao are cooking, they will specially scoop out the oil and save it for the next cooking.

After all, the ration of cooking oil in that era was half a pound per person per month, which was really not enough for food. We could only make up for it by frying meat with oil.

However, Zhang Shenfei did not do so. Instead, he directly pushed the meat aside and added onions, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and other ingredients to stir-fry the meat.

The peppercorns at home were gone, so he took advantage of the fact that no one was in the yard and went to the windowsill of Old Yan's house opposite to steal, no, he took a few.

When the meat shrank and turned golden brown, Zhang Shenfei added boiling water and simmered it on low heat.

I saw a piece of dried kelp that I bought during the Chinese New Year last year hanging under the beam of my house.

He took it down, soaked it in boiling water, cut it into long strips as wide as a fingertip, and kept them for later use.

He was stewing kelp and braised pork.
Over there, Tian Xiaozao stood in front of the chopping board and continued to roll out the dough to make pancakes.

To make spring rolls, one needs to use a soft fire. Tian Xiaozao abandoned the hard firewood and chose the wheat straw that Zhang Fendou had selected in the rural commune before.

This thing can't be roasted or stewed, but it's perfect for making pancakes.

Tian Xiaozao has been an orphan since childhood and is good at work.

They light the fire, roll the dough, and bake the pancakes themselves. After a short while, a thick stack of pancakes is placed on the chopping board.

While Zhang Shenfei was stewing the braised pork, he also found time to stir-fry some green vegetables with garlic and a dish of stir-fried mung bean sprouts.

The thing about bok choy is very strange. If you use vegetable oil to stir-fry it, no matter what kind of oil it is, the vegetable will always stick up and be hard in the pan, and it will take a long time to stir-fry it before it becomes soft.

But if you use a lot of oil, just put the vegetables in and stir-fry them slightly, and they will immediately become soft.

Zhang Shenfei sighed as he worked, saying that this might be what Taoists call the law of mutual generation and mutual restraint.

People are actually pretty much the same.
When you can't see this person's weaknesses, you always feel that he is invincible and omnipotent. Even when he poops, he has an untarnished halo.

But if you discover his weakness, you will find that this person is just an ordinary person and you will be able to hit him with one blow.

Just like the jujube in the field,

In the past, he was always yelling in front of me, like a sharp-tongued little lion.

But ever since they got married and their vital points were strangled on the kang, hasn't he become as obedient as a kitten, doing whatever he is told to do?

Tian Xiaozao didn't know about Zhang Shenfei's insights into philosophy and sexology.
After she finished baking the pancakes, she served the braised pork that was stewed on the coal stove, and then brought the green vegetables and bean sprouts prepared by Zhang Shenfei to the table.

As soon as the food was served, Grandma Zhang came in at the right time.

She was not surprised to see her grandson. There were no secrets in the courtyard. She knew it the moment Zhang Shenfei entered the door.

He deliberately stayed at the deaf old lady's place and didn't go in, just to give the young couple some time to be alone together.

The family of three sat together. Grandma Zhang held her grandson's hand and asked him about his situation at school with concern.

Zhang Shenfei started to show off again, portraying himself as very awesome, as if Yenching University would fall apart without him.

Tian Xiaozao laughed when she heard it, but Grandma Zhang was extremely serious.

It’s not that she believed her grandson’s words, she was just old, not stupid.

I listened carefully, just to go to the deaf old lady at night and repeat it to her...

In the backyard, the deaf old lady suddenly sneezed and rubbed her nose: "Why do I suspect someone is behind me???"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Shenfei and his family were about to start eating when they heard a nonchalant voice coming from the door:

"Hey, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I just arrived and the food is already on the table. Isn't this a welcome for me?"

It's a fool!!!
Zhang Shenfei turned around and waved to Sha Zhu: "Since you are here, sit down and have a meal together."

"Of course I have to eat something. That's why I came here." Sha Zhu said as he walked into Zhang's house with his hands behind his back.

Looking at the braised pork on the table, he couldn't help but lean over and take a deep sniff: "The meat is good, but this top-notch seven-story dish should be stewed with quail eggs, or at worst a few eggs can be thrown in, why use kelp? Isn't this a waste of good things?"

"And how can you make braised pork without frying sugar color? How is this different from eating dumplings without dipping them in vinegar???
In my opinion, they should all be killed without mercy!! The head should be hung on the Dongzhimen Tower for three days and three nights!!!"

Sha Zhu kept talking non-stop, and Zhang Shenfei rolled his eyes at him speechlessly:
"What are you talking about? You're picking up food that's free for you."

It's like a beggar complaining about rotten food! ! Despicable! !

He glanced at Sha Zhu's hands, which had been behind his back since he greeted him: "Put your hands in front of me, let me see if you have anything good hidden?

Why do I smell like pig's trotters?

"Hey!! Let me tell you, Brother Dafei, you have a very sharp nose. You can tell anything." Sha Zhu chuckled and took out the two aluminum lunch boxes on his back and put them on the table. "Look, look, one portion of braised pig's trotters and one portion of braised beef."

"I am a particular person. I will never go out to eat empty-handed. I can't let you suffer a loss, right?" In the era of material scarcity, pig's trotters and braised beef were rare delicacies.

There was a reception at the factory today. Knowing that Dafei would be back today, he stole from the cafeteria.
Oh, no, it was taken, brought back.

In order to avoid being discovered by Qin Huairu when he entered the door, he put the two lunch boxes in his arms.

It is said that women are like siblings and brothers are like clothes.

Today, just for Zhang Shenfei's clothes, he cut off his arms and legs.

Thinking of sacrificing his beloved sister Qin for Zhang Shenfei, Sha Zhu felt a little uncomfortable, as if, as if he wanted to fall in love with Liu Lan and betrayed sister Qin...

Sha Zhu opened the two lunch boxes and placed them next to the braised pork.

Grandma Zhang put down the pipe in her hand and said, "Shazhu, now that you are here, please sit down and have some food and drink some wine."

After saying that, he motioned to Tian Xiaozao to get the wine.

Sha Zhu was not polite either. He sat down, picked up the chopsticks and put a large piece of braised pork into his mouth. After his mouth was full of oil, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and laughed:
“They say that old people become more intelligent, and I think this old saying is really true.

Take our courtyard for example, there are only two old ladies, one is you, Grandma Zhang, and the other is a deaf old lady, both of them are very smart. "

Grandma Zhang glanced at him sideways and took a puff of her pipe, knowing that the guy was holding his fart.

But for the sake of the braised beef and braised pig's trotters, he just kept silent.

really,

The next moment Sha Zhu said, "Take the deaf old lady in our backyard for example. She walks around the courtyard all day long. Who can hide their secrets from her?

But what about her? When she encountered something good, she would rush forward.

But if she encounters something that doesn't benefit her, or something that has nothing to do with her, she just says, 'What did you say? I can't hear you. '"

As Sha Zhu spoke, he pointed to his ears and then waved his hands, imitating the deaf old woman's behavior perfectly.

Seeing this, Tian Xiaozao couldn't help but laugh.

Zhang Shenfei couldn't help but sigh: "Shazhu, you are really a genius."

After the two of them laughed enough, Sha Zhu continued, "And you, Grandma Zhang, you are even more powerful than the deaf old lady.

Just now I said I wanted to come to your house for dinner, but you were smoking your pipe over there without saying a word. "

But when I took out the braised pig's trotter," he pointed at the pig's trotter, "and the braised beef.

You see, you immediately asked me to sit down to eat and drink with me.

Tell me, you are an old lady who is already over 70 years old. Why can't you afford to suffer a little loss?"

Grandma Zhang curled her lips and said: "Those who love to suffer losses are idiots!!!
If a person always thinks about suffering losses himself and helping others, then he has a problem with his brain.

A person who always teaches others to suffer losses, saying that suffering losses is a blessing, is a bad person who wants to take advantage of others.

I am old now. I have never suffered any loss in my life, nor will I teach others to suffer any loss. I have a clear conscience!!!"

"Silly Zhu, when you say this, are you trying to persuade me to suffer a loss? Or do you like to suffer a loss yourself? "

Hey, what you said... there is a pitfall!!!

Sha Zhu laughed: "Old lady, I can't beat you. You, you are this."

He gave a thumbs up and changed the subject: "Come on, come on, try this beef. I braised it myself. Try it and see if it's tender."

Zhang Shenfei picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to taste it. It was quite rotten, but it tasted pretty good.

In the era when agricultural mechanization was not yet popular, farming mainly relied on oxen.

But slaughtering oxen for work is illegal and anyone caught will go to jail.

Only sick and dead cows in the commune could be slaughtered and circulated in the market after being reported one level at a time.

Due to the small quantity, ordinary people can't buy it at all.

But then again,
Even if it is available, ordinary people, except for some specific ethnic groups, are not keen on buying it.

Beef has a low fat content and cannot be used to produce oil, so it is far less satisfying and less cost-effective than pork.

So even if the supply and marketing cooperative occasionally had diseased beef to sell, and it was two cents cheaper than pork, people were not willing to buy it.

After finishing the meal and seeing Sha Zhu off, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening, which was time to go to bed in that era.

Grandma Zhang was a sensible woman. After finishing her meal and smoking a pack of cigarettes, she said that the deaf old lady had nightmares all the time and she didn't know what was wrong with her recently, so she insisted that she go over and keep her company today.

"That deaf old lady is so old, but she still insists on listening to stories before going to bed. I have no choice but to tell her several times how Dafei was admitted to Yenching University."

"Don't mention it, she really likes listening to it. She falls asleep as soon as she hears it."

Grandma Zhang lamented that every time she just got up, the deaf old lady would start snoring loudly.

"Well, today, I will tell her again about how you, Dafei, became the secretary of the Youth League branch in school and how you are valued by the teacher... If she falls asleep early again, I will wake her up..."

After the old lady finished speaking, she put the foot-long brass pipe with a white jade mouthpiece into her belt, turned around and walked out.

As soon as she left, Zhang Shenfei locked the door from the inside, and a fierce battle was about to break out.

After clearing out half of the inventory, Tian Xiaozao fell into a deep sleep at around one o'clock in the morning.

He then ran to Qianmen Street again and found Elena to talk and learn from her.

Early the next morning,
After leaving Elena's house, he went to the silk shop to visit Chen Xueru and his unborn child.

After a few moments of tenderness, Chen Xueru packed her luggage and told Zhang Shenfei that she was going to leave Sijiu City for a while.

Now she is in the late stage of pregnancy and her belly can no longer be covered.

"I have already made an agreement with our relatives in the countryside that I will stay with her for a while, and then return to the city alone after the baby is born.

Then I will wait another three to five months, and then have my relative bring the child back, saying that they helped me find the child for adoption..."

"By the time,
If I adopt the child, I can legitimately register his household registration under my own name." Chen Xueru said while touching her belly.

Zhang Shenfei pulled Chen Xueru over, sat her on his knees, and stroked her belly: "You can arrange it. Anyway, I'm sorry to have wronged you..."

He pretended to take out a lot of national food coupons, meat coupons, cloth coupons, etc. from his pocket, but actually took them out from the system space, and stuffed them all into Chen Xueru.

"They say a poor family has a rich road, just take these...

I know you are a wealthy woman and you are not short of money, but these bills are not easy to get, and you may not be able to get them even if you have money..."

After all, she is the woman who will give birth to your child, so you can't treat her unfairly.

After Zhang Shenfei asked for the addresses of Chen Xueru's relatives, he agreed to take a leave of absence to accompany them for a few days after she gave birth.

"I'm afraid that if I don't go, the child won't recognize me as his father when he turns around." He chuckled.

"How could that be? Our child will always remember that you are his father. Even if we don't live together, he will never forget you." Chen Xueru looked at Zhang Shenfei and said seriously.

She just said it casually, but Zhang Shenfei thought about some things that would happen in a few years and sighed with emotion.

(End of this chapter)