The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 70 Croquettes

You know, Liu Hua's salary is not just 55 yuan. Li Huaide has tried his best to add various subsidies to him, which is almost 80 yuan. Others are so envious that their eyes are red.

After the wages have been paid, there are also year-end benefits. Most people get two kilograms of meat and a few kilograms of flour. Liu Hua also has canned fruit, canned meat, etc., which are all allocated from the steel rolling mill and other factories.

The most eye-catching thing was actually a roll of tweed cloth. There aren't many of these things nowadays. They are occasionally available for sale or in department stores. But before they are put on the shelves for sale, they are basically divided up by internal staff. Without some internal connections, it's simply a dream to want to wear one.

Back in the courtyard, Yan Fugui drooled at the sight of the meat and noodles carried by the steel mill employees who were leaving get off work. The school was a poor institution and the benefits it provided throughout the year could not be compared with those of the steel mill.

Yan Fugui's New Year's benefit this year is five catties of noodles and half a catty of meat. Even out of the five catties of noodles, Yan Fugui is prepared to take out four catties to exchange for some coarse grains at the market or the black market. He has made frugality a habit and is reluctant to spend money even if he has it, and is reluctant to enjoy delicious food.

"Hua Zi, your steel mill is still the best. It provides so many benefits."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Uncle San, to be honest, this is the nth time you have said this today. Do you have to say this to everyone who works in a steel mill?"

Yan Fugui smiled awkwardly: "Aren't I envious?"

"I envy you. You can ask someone to transfer you to the steel mill." Liu Hua said jokingly, "But by then, you can't say you are from a scholarly family. You see how you can choose between a good name and good benefits."

Being from a scholarly family was probably Yan Fugui's last stubbornness, and he was reluctant to give up the only remaining glory in his life.

"Look at Uncle San." Yan Fugui shook his arms and legs. "He has no flesh on his cheeks and his hands are weak. What can Uncle San do in your steel mill? I can hardly even push the door of your steel mill."

"You should continue to be a scholar." Liu Hua smiled and said, "Don't envy others for having more benefits. You can afford it."

Faced with Liu Hua's ridicule, Yan Fugui was not prepared to refute. Liu Hua was a smart man and knew everything about him.

But when Yan Fugui found that there were people watching the fun nearby, he had to refute him, because Yan Fugui believed that he and Liu Hua still had some tacit understanding.

"Your uncle only has a few dollars a month, how can he afford to buy flour and pork? You may enjoy your meal for a while, but you will have to starve for the rest of your life."

Liu Hua shook his head in tacit agreement: "Just go ahead and do it, you stingy old man Yan."

It doesn’t matter if you don’t get the advantage, as long as you don’t reveal yourself, you are a winner.

The end of the year is approaching. This is not the old society. In the old society, most people had a hard time every year. The new society at least guarantees the right to survival for most people. Maybe many people still have some financial difficulties, but at least they can eat dumplings.

Every household started preparing New Year's goods. Liu Hua also bought some candies, melon seeds, peanuts and the like. These are supplies before the New Year, and you won't have any left if you don't buy them.

Sha Zhu's family set up a large oil pan, and the cooking oil that they had saved on a daily basis finally came in handy, and they began to prepare for frying.

Ordinary families fry hairtail, crunchy boxes, tofu and the like, and of course, children’s favorite, fried meatballs.

In normal life, it is absolutely impossible for the mother to cook while the children sit beside and eat. The only exception is fried meatballs. The mother can fry them, pour them into the bowl, and the children can eat them when they are full.

Sha Zhu can fry food in many different ways, since he is a chef.

Liu Hua was awakened by the aroma in his sleep. When he got up, he saw Sha Zhu showing off his skills. After a simple wash, Liu Hua took a cup of jasmine and sat next to Sha Zhu. "Sha Zhu, do you know? Last year at this time, my mother was frying meatballs at home and I ate beside her. My mother prepared three pounds of meat, and I ate more than one pound that day."

Sha Zhu smiled and said, "It's okay. You can do it like you're at home today. I'll fry it here and you can eat it over there. It's fresh and hot."

"Get lost." Liu Hua scolded with a smile, "You treat me as your son."

Sha Zhu smiled and said, "If my son can be half as successful as you in the future, I will wake up laughing in my dreams. Hey, aren't you going to explode today?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "I'm going back to my parents' house in a while. Why should I fry meatballs? I'll go back and help my mom fry them in the afternoon."

"I envy you." Sha Zhu said sincerely, "If my mother could live till now, I don't know how happy she would be."

Liu Hua didn't continue the conversation. This was the pain point in Sha Zhu's heart, so he changed the subject: "No, it's been a while since you got married, but you didn't inform your father?"

Sha Zhu looked around and shook his head: "No, but I plan to take my wife and sister to Baoding in the third year of junior high school, but I didn't tell anyone about this in the yard. No one knows except my wife and you."

"Have you learned to be smart?"

Sha Zhu nodded: "I have discovered that if there is any disturbance in this yard, there will be people waiting to see you make a fool of yourself. Do it first and then talk about it after you are done, otherwise there will always be people causing trouble for you."

Liu Hua thought for a moment and said, "Your old leader, the former Director Yang, is now the director of the Baoding Machine Repair Factory. It stands to reason that he has a good impression of you. If you have any problems when you arrive in Baoding, you can ask him for help."

Sha Zhu smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much."

He was very quick in his movements. He picked up a dozen meatballs, poured them into the large bowl, and handed it to Liu Hua: "Okay, eat it while it's hot. If you eat it now, it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."

"Do you really regard me as your son?"

"No, that's not it." Sha Zhu said gratefully, "We are brothers. I can't get married without you. What's the big deal about eating a few meatballs?"

"You're being polite. How can we not get married? It's just a little later."

This statement was absolutely true. It was indeed a little late, more than ten years late, but it did not prevent him from having a son.

"Our factory was busy before the New Year." Sha Zhu asked curiously, "You were so busy that you didn't even have time to eat. We sent food to you from the canteen, but you were not allowed to enter the laboratory workshop. What on earth were you busy with?"

Liu Hua glanced at Sha Zhu and asked with a smile, "I heard that your master taught you to just focus on cooking and not ask who the guests are."

"This is the rule."

Liu Hua nodded: "This rule is very good. In a heavy industrial factory like ours, you should ask what you should ask and not ask anything you shouldn't ask. Why do we put a sentry at the door of the workshop? It's because we want to keep it confidential."

Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment: "Well, then I didn't say anything just now."

　Ask for monthly tickets and collection
　　
　
(End of this chapter)