Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

On the afternoon of the third day, the entire courtyard became lively.

Aside from Tang Dashan and his wife, He Yuzhu and Er Mao, there are more than a dozen other neighbors in the courtyard who work at Dongjun Restaurant.

Although they were all low-level waiters and kitchen helpers, they could still earn seventy or eighty yuan a month.

This afternoon, everyone carried a burlap sack full of New Year's supplies home.

Looking across the entire courtyard, no state-owned factory could match the welfare benefits of Dongjun Hotel.

Faced with New Year's goods worth tens of yuan, both the employees working at Dongjun Hotel and their families were all beaming with smiles, genuinely happy.

Many people even went directly to Wang Dong's house to express their gratitude in person.

Madam Jia thought that her husband Banggeng and Xu Damao had made a lot of money doing foreign trade outside, and that she could finally hold her head high in the courtyard and become the envy of her neighbors.

Seeing that most of the residents in the courtyard received New Year's gifts worth tens of yuan, including beef and mutton that I couldn't even buy myself, I felt an indescribable jealousy.

Seeing the neighbors gathered in the yard discussing how much New Year's benefits this family received and how much New Year's benefits that family received, I felt a surge of anger and wished I could find something to plug my ears.

Of course, these are things to follow.

Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. Since most people prefer to have a reunion dinner at home during the Spring Festival, restaurants have almost no business.

In addition, he and his employees also needed to go home for the Chinese New Year. Unlike in later years, when restaurant business would be better during the Chinese New Year, there was no such thing as making reservations for New Year's Eve dinner.

With a wave of his hand, Wang Dong gave all the restaurant staff an eight-day holiday, with work resuming on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

The couple, who had been working hard all year, could finally take a break.

But Wang Dong is a man who can't sit still, and he starts preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner before dawn.

Now the family is no longer just five people; with the addition of two teenage boys, there are seven people in total.

Since he owns a restaurant and has no shortage of ingredients, Wang Dong decided to cook a different kind of New Year's Eve dinner for everyone.

Preparations began before dawn.

Dried abalone bought from the seaside at great expense must be soaked and stewed for a long time to fully absorb the flavor.

At this very moment, Wang Dong is simmering chicken soup by the stove, preparing for tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner.

Pork bones, old hen, pig's feet... all simmered together in a pot to make soup, and soon the whole room was filled with a very strong aroma.

The eldest son followed the aroma to the kitchen: "Dad... what are you making? It smells so good..."

"A dish you've never eaten before?" Wang Dong asked his son with a broad smile.

Standing behind Wang Dong, his wife Chen Jun asked as she looked around, "What kind of dish is this? Why is it so complicated... You've been busy in the kitchen for hours, and you're still not done?"

Wang Dong shook his head: "This is nothing..."

"Don't be fooled by how busy I've been this morning. If you want to eat this dish, you'll have to wait until tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner."

The wife immediately widened her eyes and asked, "So complicated... How come I didn't know there was such a complicated dish in Beijing?"

Wang Dong replied with a smile, "This dish isn't from Beijing..."

"I learned it from someone else. It's a famous Fujian dish... called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. It's made by stewing dozens of ingredients together... I heard it's so delicious you can swallow your tongue."

His wife immediately looked skeptical: "Is it really that exaggerated?" Wang Dong shook his head and replied, "I don't know exactly what it tastes like. You'll know when I make it tomorrow and everyone can try it."

"If it tastes good, we'll make it our restaurant's signature dish in the future."

Hearing that they wouldn't be able to eat the big meal Wang Dong was cooking until tomorrow noon, the son protested and immediately asked, "Dad..."

"So what are we having for lunch today?"

"The aroma alone makes my mouth water..."

After saying that, she deliberately swallowed twice in front of Wang Dong, giving him a pitiful look, which left Wang Dong stunned.

"How about the mutton?" Wang Dong asked, pinching his son's nose.

"The restaurant bought a batch of lamb from Inner Mongolia today. It's very fresh and perfect for hot pot. How about we have lamb hot pot for lunch today?"

No one in old Beijing dislikes hot pot with mutton. Simply blanch it in clear broth, dip it in a pre-made sesame sauce, and one bite is pure bliss…

Now the son really started drooling, his mouth practically watering. After receiving Wang Dong's affirmative answer, he happily rushed out of the kitchen and headed straight for his parents-in-law, shouting as he ran.

"Very good……"

"Grandpa and Grandma...we're having lamb hot pot for lunch today, and it's my favorite dish..."

Watching her son quickly leave, Wang Dong's wife couldn't help but glare at him and say, "Look how spoiled he is! All he thinks about all day is food!"

Wang Dong laughed and replied, "He's my own son, who else would I spoil if not him..."

"And my son wasn't spoiled by me... If I remember correctly, he got first place in the class again this semester, which is better than me, his father."

At this point, Wang Dong suddenly remembered something else and continued, "By the way, honey... I need to discuss something with you..."

"After the New Year, when our third child is born, I'll send our second child to the hotel's daycare..."

"I'll be starting primary school in less than two years."

“The after-school program has teachers who teach them some basic knowledge, which will definitely be very useful for them when they go to primary school.”

"Moreover, the teachers I hired are all retired teachers with very rich teaching experience. Having them give my second child an early education for a year will definitely make things much easier when he starts primary school."

If a modern person heard Wang Dong say this, they wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Decades later, as societal competition intensifies, not only are adults becoming increasingly competitive at work, but children are also becoming increasingly competitive in their studies.

Some more demanding parents start early childhood education when their children are two or three years old, hoping that their children will learn more knowledge and avoid taking detours compared to others.

Nowadays, no parents are interfering with their children's studies. If I just put in a little extra effort, my two sons' academic performance will definitely improve dramatically in the future.

Although Wang Dong will certainly not lack money in the future, even if his two sons do not do well in their studies and achieve nothing, the money he leaves behind will be enough for them to live a carefree life.

But Wang Dong didn't want the saying "wealth doesn't last three generations" to come true for his own children.

If they want to preserve and further develop the business they left behind, they will definitely need to possess very strong abilities.

Otherwise, no matter how much wealth I leave them, I won't be able to protect it. (End of Chapter)