Abandoned the Immortal Cultivator, returned to his hometown to farm and sing

Chapter 1315, Section 1303: Birthday Banquet
It doesn't matter how much it costs.

At least young people don't care. They have money, they dare to spend it, and they're willing to try anything good.

For example, little Zhang Yufei.

When she first appeared, she was a high school sophomore who was a fangirl, and at that time, mulberries had just come into season.

Now, she has been admitted to a second-tier university in the capital, and she is almost finished with her first year.

She lived the life of a free-spirited fangirl who could go home whenever she wanted, live on campus whenever she wanted, sleep in until she naturally woke up in the morning, and stay up late at night to do data.

However, this Saturday, Zhang Yufei unusually didn't sleep in and got up at 8:30.

I sneaked out of bed, secretly put on my clothes, and groped my way into the bathroom in the dark.

As a result, the sound of washing up still woke up my roommates.

"Who is it... Feifei, are you going to get breakfast? I want an egg pancake~~" Roommate A squinted one eye and started muttering.

Roommates B and C didn't even open their eyes, subconsciously repeating, "Steamed buns from the second cafeteria~~", "Pancake, two eggs, no cilantro~~"

A group of foodies.

Zhang Yufei poked her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth and mumbled, "Ugh!"

"Mommy! Mommy!" "Please, Aunt Zhang!" "Mom~~~"

It's amazing that they could understand it.

Sigh, these young people nowadays.

Where is dignity? Where is morality? Where is the bottom line?
They even called on their mothers who stuttered.

Zhang Yufei rinsed her mouth, spat out the toothpaste foam, and poked her head out again, "I'm going to my maternal grandfather's house. It's his birthday today."

"Ugh, my breakfast is gone~~"

"Sigh, I won't starve if I skip a meal, time for bed~~"

"Oh, please, someone have some mercy and give me a bite to eat!"

After three long, lingering sighs with a reverberating accompaniment, the dormitory fell silent once more.

Zhang Yufei wiped her face and muttered under her breath, "A bunch of idiots."

She slowly closed the bathroom door, then groped her way back to her bedside in the dark, put on her shoes, and slung her small bag over her shoulder.

I'm off to work...

When the door opens.

A few more voices came from behind: "Happy birthday to our grandpa," "Go and come back soon," and "Be careful."

Zhang Yufei's lips curled up slightly, just as she thought her "daughters" were quite considerate.

Then another voice rang out, "Remember to pack it up and bring it back. Don't be ashamed, we don't care about saving face!"

His lips immediately drooped; he shouldn't have had any expectations, you idiot!
Zhang Yufei's school is quite far from her maternal grandfather's house; it requires two subway transfers and one bus ride.

Her mother originally wanted her to go home yesterday, and today they would go to her maternal grandfather's house together.

But Zhang Yufei disliked her mother's nagging, so she made up a lie about participating in a school activity and didn't go back.

I regret it today.

I'll just grumble a bit. If I had gone home yesterday, I could have hitched a ride today.

Why is it so far from the East Fifth Ring Road to the North Fourth Ring Road?
After a leisurely two-hour journey, Zhang Yufei finally arrived at her maternal grandfather's house.

She was the last one to arrive.

Upon entering, the first thing to do is to nod and greet everyone: "Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt, Aunt and Uncle, Mom and Dad, and the two little ones~~"

This was met with a flurry of comments like "Feifei's here!", "Feifei's grown up so much!", and "Our Feifei is so pretty!", along with two calls of "Sister Feifei~~"

Zhang Yufei's maternal grandfather is named Lu Jingcheng. He is 69 years old this year. According to the customs of the capital, one should celebrate his 70th birthday today, which is a big day.

The whole family is here.

The old man, Lu Jingcheng, has three children: one son and two daughters. Zhang Yufei's mother, Lu Jiaying, is the second child.

The third generation also consists of one man and two women. Zhang Yufei is the eldest in this generation, and she also has a younger cousin and a younger cousin.

After calling out to everyone.

Zhang Yufei's father, Zhang Bowen, quietly leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you say you were bringing a gift for your grandfather? Where is it? Why did you come empty-handed?"

Zhang Yufei waved her phone, "What era are we living in? Why do we still carry things ourselves? I ordered it on the way here, and it will be delivered soon."

“Okay, okay, Dad’s old-fashioned.” Zhang Bowen wasn’t angry at being teased by his daughter again; he was used to it. However, he still added, “Don’t order a cake, your grandpa has diabetes and can’t eat sweets.”

"Of course, you can trust me to handle things. I guarantee I'll take good care of you. Grandpa will be so happy, he'll probably fall out of his dentures from laughing." Zhang Yufei patted her chest loudly, full of pride.

"Always so talkative," Zhang Bowen chuckled, relieved. He rejoined the group of adults and continued his conversation with his brother-in-law, "This trade war..."

Zhang Yufei naturally mingled with the group of children.

The three of them sat in a row on small stools, playing on their phones.

As for the younger generation, there's not much to talk about. We can't exactly talk about studies, can we? Zhang Yufei is a terrible student; she only got into a second-tier university despite being a Beijing resident.

The elders, on the other hand, split into several groups, eating melon seeds, drinking tea, and chatting.

The brother-in-law and his two brothers-in-law were having a passionate discussion about the international situation.

The second-generation women unanimously condemned the hair salon for not refunding the membership cards they had purchased when it moved.

The elderly couple couldn't get a word in edgewise, so they sat on the sofa and chatted about everyday things.

"That old Qi, he went to another city and never came back. Is there anything better outside than the capital?"

"That's right, Old Qi is practically a cement block standing by the river, and Sister-in-law Qi doesn't do anything about it."

"Didn't you see Sister Qi's WeChat Moments? The old lady is busy; those chickens are huge."

"We don't want to kill them when they're grown up. We even cultivate two vegetable plots specifically to feed them. We only have a few chickens, and they eat fresh food every day, even better than what you buy in the supermarket."

"They're willing to do it, and they're living a comfortable life. When people get old, they have to do something. Staying indoors all day will make them stupid."

"I'm locking you up. If you want to leave, then go ahead."

"I was just saying. Hey, is Xiao Qi not coming back either, and just settling down in Hainan?"

"Xiao Qi's wife and children have all moved there, so they've settled down. Sigh, there are fewer and fewer old neighbors these days."

"Look at the way you're talking, it's like someone's gone..."

The elderly couple argued their whole lives; even their casual conversations sounded like they were arguing.

It doesn't matter what else we talk about, but let's talk about the legendary Uncle Qi and Grandpa Qi.

Zhang Yufei's ears perked up immediately.

Baba chimed in, "Uncle Qi isn't not coming back! He's working on a huge project in Hainan, a national-level project. It's so successful it's on the 7 PM news, winning awards everywhere, giving lectures all over the place. Maybe when Lu Ruicong's kid starts school, he'll have to study the text 'Qi Ruomu Turns Waste into Treasure,' doing reading comprehension and memorizing the whole thing. His kid can't memorize it and he's crying his eyes out..."

"Huh?" Zhang Yufei's cousin, Lu Ruicong, looked up in confusion when he heard that he was being talked about.

My head is full of question marks.

What's going on? He's only a high school sophomore, and his kid is memorizing texts?
It's a bit far from Xue Wei...

"You brat, all you do is talk nonsense." Zhang Yufei's mother, Lu Jiaying, was also watching this.

Hearing her daughter rambling on again, her eyebrows shot up.

Before Zhang Yufei could even respond, her maternal grandmother, Grandma Ni, became displeased, saying, "Feifei is talking to her grandmother, don't pay attention to your mother."

Turning to her face, she said gently, "Our Feifei knows so much! The Qi family's child is so amazing!"

The intonation is so convoluted, perfectly illustrating the food chain within this family.

Zhang Yufei is being stubborn again, even raising her eyebrows at her mother in a provocative manner.

Then he proudly told his grandmother, "Of course, Uncle Qi is famous, even we college students know him."

After saying that, I got carried away. I remembered she was the first to taste fragrant mulberries, and I remembered she had beef sent from Hainan in her fridge. I casually mentioned it at school, "Hey, that's our old neighbor, I call him Uncle. He always sends things to our house. You haven't tried them yet? I'll bring some over when I go home this weekend."

Oh my, that's quite an achievement!

With a quick glance, she continued her tale to her grandparents, "Grandpa Qi and Grandma Qi aren't in some other place, they're in Tianhan. That place is wonderful, with plenty to eat and play, so they don't want to come back."

"They celebrate festivals all year round there, non-stop, and they're always so lively. I want to go."

"By the way, Grandma and Grandpa, I asked my dad for some money during the National Day holiday. I'll take you there too, to see Grandpa Qi, and we can also visit the Harvest Festival. Oh, it's so much fun, so lively, we could go for a week and not have the same thing twice."

"A new restaurant called Jiweilou has opened over there. The chef is a master chef who has served state banquets. I heard he can even make boiled cabbage in clear broth."

"I'll ask my dad for more money and take you two to try it out. Let's experience what a state banquet is like..."

That little mouth of hers, it chattered away like a machine gun, never stopping.

Her elaborate outfit attracted the attention of the whole family.

First up was her father, Zhang Bowen, who jokingly scolded, "So you go out to play without me, and I have to pay for everything, and even more?"

Again, Zhang Yufei didn't react. This time, it was Zhang Yufei's maternal grandfather, Lu Jingcheng, who was unhappy first. "What, you don't want to pay? It's okay, Feifei, Grandpa's pension is enough to live on, we don't need his."

Zhang Bowen instantly shuddered.

When he married Lu Jiaying, his father was against it.

He looked down on the pig who stole his little cabbage, finding fault with him every time they met.

Their attitude only improved after Zhang Yufei was born.

When Zhang Bowen was young, he was terrified of this father-in-law.

I'm traumatized now.

He immediately put on a shameless act and quickly explained, "I just wanted to tag along. Can you bring my wife and me along for the National Day holiday? It'll be convenient for us to run errands and order food. We can even rent a car and I can be the driver."

This at least makes sense.

The old man felt relieved.

But the two little ones have their ears standing up.

Lu Ruicong, a second-year high school student, and Zhu Lanlan, a third-year junior high school student, raised their hands at the same time, shouting, "I want to go too!" and "I want to go too!"

Their parents laughed when they heard this. "You two never liked to go out, so what? You know about the holidays over there?"

The two younger ones nodded together.

Zhu Lanlan raised her hand high, "I want to see Cat Qiqi! Cat Qiqi is so, so cute~~"

It's so sweet it's like a sugar level of eight pluses; just listening to a few sentences will send your blood sugar soaring.

Cat Seven-Seven is invincible and unbeatable.

Lu Rui Cong raised his hand not that high, but he said in a serious tone, "I want to try thousands of snacks, watch the fire dragon dance, see the glow of the Han River, and also see the Milky Way on the Han River, to see the stars in the sky and the Han River on the ground, and to see the starlight reflected on the water."

This child is a top student; he speaks eloquently and fluently.

There are quite a few things I'd like to see.

You've probably been tempted to buy it already.

Zhang Yufei had no idea that her younger brother and sister knew so much.

But I was the one who started it, so why are you stealing the spotlight?

He turned his head and said with a sinister smile, "I brought you two bundles of reeds. Do you want some stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork?"

Upon hearing this, the two younger children shuddered and trembled.

My cousin is scary.

Zhang Yufei was shocked by their reactions. Holy crap, they even knew that.
-
The younger generation's jokes were misunderstood by the older generation.

I only understood the phrase "bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork".

"Feifei, we're having hot pot today, so we don't need to cook," Lu Jingcheng said cheerfully.

Today is his birthday, so he spoke up in advance.

This year, we won't go on a big fuss. We'll just prepare a few cold dishes and have hot pot for the main meal.

Put two slices of ginger and a piece of scallion in a pot of water, and nothing else.

Once the fire was boiling, add sliced ​​mutton, fatty beef, and tripe.

The chopsticks never leave the meat, moving it up and down seven or eight times.

Once cooked, roll it in a small bowl of seasoning and stuff it into your mouth.

The sesame paste for the condiments should be a 2:8 ratio, with 20% sesame paste and 80% peanut butter for the best flavor.

The flavorful chive blossoms must be from the first batch of chive blossoms in early autumn, picked just before they bloom, and carefully chopped and pickled at home.

The fermented bean curd had to be the kind that Wang Zhihe brought in large jars of.

Add plenty of chopped green onions and cilantro.

This is how you make authentic dipping sauce, and it's perfect for hot pot.

They ate meat and drank alcohol with gusto.

If you're tired of the usual food, have a couple of cloves of pickled garlic to refresh your palate.

We cooked a batch of meat, then a batch of vegetables, but the only vegetable we had was Chinese cabbage.

The popular dish these days, pea shoots, isn't available at the old man's place.

People in the old capital city don't recognize that.

After cooking all the meat and vegetables, we used the broth to cook tofu.

This dish is called "Cabbage and Tofu for Peace and Safety".

Finally, wipe the bottom of the bowl with the vermicelli.

I had two sesame seed cakes with the rice noodles, and I was full.

The old man really enjoys this kind of thing.

You could eat this your whole life and never get tired of it.

When the old man speaks, you have to listen to him.

The eldest son specially went to Tianfuhao to buy braised pork knuckle, and Yueshengzhai bought roast pork, to make up the two old men's must-have goodies to go with their drinks.

Zhang Yufei's father, Zhang Bowen, went to Niujie this morning to buy lamb and beef, and queued for half an hour to buy tripe.

The little girl's family was still sulking because they hadn't made any money, so they made pork skin jelly and mustard greens, and also fried a pot of meatballs to bring over, making a table full of cold dishes.

The old lady bought twenty sesame seed cakes at the entrance of the residential area.

We have tofu, glass noodles, and Chinese cabbage at home.

As for 80% sauce, chive blossom sauce, and fermented bean curd, the refrigerator is full of them, with bottles and jars taking up a whole floor.

So, we chatted and ate sunflower seeds today, without rushing to cook.

off the shelf.

but.

This time, the old man's words had no effect.

Zhang Yufei waved her hand, then tugged at her grandfather's arm and said sweetly, "Grandpa~~ I know we're having your favorite hot pot today. I've been looking forward to it for months, but Dad has always refused to make it..."

Zhang Bowen: ...

A huge black pot was placed on his head.

Didn't you say you didn't want to eat because you smelled bad after eating hot pot...?

Regardless, the birthday celebrant is the most important person today, and the birthday celebrant is happy to hear this.

"But you know, hot pot and cooking don't conflict, so you don't need to interfere. Today I'll show you my skills and let you taste my cooking. It's the best I can do, even my parents don't get to try it, but I'll make it for you~~"

The old man can't handle this.

He was so happy that his forehead wrinkles appeared.

Although he knew perfectly well that his granddaughter was a pampered girl who couldn't do anything and never lifted a finger, she was the kind of girl who could boil water until the pot was dry.

But I'm happy about that too.

With this kind of dedication, even cooking a pot of charcoal would be a good thing.

Just talking.

ding dong~~
Doorbell rang.

Zhang Yufei hurriedly raised her hand, "Mine, mine."

Before he finished speaking, he dashed to the door.

The door opened, and sure enough, there was the delivery guy outside.

"Excuse me, are you Zhang Yufei...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Yufei reached out her hand and said, "It's me."

After taking the bag, I noticed the delivery guy hadn't left.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lu..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Another one jumped out of the house, shouting, "Mine, mine!"

The deliveryman also had a bag in his hand...

(End of this chapter)