Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

A little while later, Zhang Dabiao brought over another dish: a whole plate of Sichuan peppercorn grilled fish! This portion was quite large!

There was also a small bowl of spicy cabbage, two pre-made dishes—stir-fried pork with farm-style sauce and braised lion's head meatballs (large meatballs), a bowl of spicy peanuts, and a serving of Zhou Hei Ya duck necks.

Only then did Zhang Dabiao clap his hands and say, "This is the right amount of food!"

This isn't a lie; how much does a pre-made meal kit cost? It's just a small bowl's worth, and he can easily finish three dishes with rice by himself.

There are 5 people at this table, 3 teenagers, and 4 people eating pre-made food. What's the difference between this and raising fish?

Luckily, there were volcanic stone sausages, a marinated whole roasted chicken, and frozen roasted fish in the refrigerator.

The refrigerator is packed full of food, all purchased from Bermuda Fresh Supermarket and Taobao.

It can be prepared in no time using an air fryer or microwave.

I steamed the steamed buns in a Thermomix, and used a full 4 cups of rice, almost filling the rice cooker to the brim.

How can you be stingy when entertaining friends for a meal?

It's just a little troublesome; you have to remove the plastic packaging when you take it out and change the plates. Luckily, I have plenty of dishes and utensils in my cupboard.

In addition, Zhang Dabiao still felt a little guilty. If he was going to treat someone to a meal, he should at least go to a state-run restaurant, not Quanjude.

Honestly, if this were in later times, you'd be inviting someone to dinner and then giving them a pre-made meal kit...

Believe it or not, if someone turns around and walks away, you have to block that friend.

How much did this meal cost? Around 100 yuan? Online meal kits are all wholesale prices!

I'd feel more comfortable if you treated four people to a meal, even if it was just a pre-made meal kit. I'd be more at ease if you ordered takeout.

Even eating pre-made meals should have a bit of a ritual, right?

"I apologize for the poor hospitality. I was in a rush today and didn't prepare anything special. Next time, I'll prepare something better."

Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and Guang Tianguangfu were all stunned...

This is considered poor hospitality?

If you're going to offer a truly lavish meal—would you prefer dragon meat or a Manchu Han Imperial Feast?

So much food scared Guang Tianfu that he didn't dare touch it!

Is this the kind of food I deserve?

Xu Damao didn't rush to pick up any food. Instead, he served himself a bowl of rice. After eating it, he exclaimed repeatedly, "Holy crap, Da Biao, this is all high-quality rice! It's not 92% rice!"

Liu Guangqi took a bite of the steamed bun and exclaimed, "This steamed bun is made with all refined flour, not 81 flour..."

Zhang Dabiao was completely bewildered. This was not his fault; his predecessor had intellectual disabilities and poor memory, and could not remember as much as ordinary people.

"What 92 meters? What 81 meters?"

"92-kilogram rice means that 100 kilograms of brown rice can be milled into 92 kilograms of white rice; 81-kilogram flour means that 100 kilograms of wheat can be milled into 81 kilograms of flour. This way, more of the aleurone layer and germ of the grain can be retained, resulting in relatively better nutritional value."

"Simply put, it's brown rice and brown flour—as opposed to your regular rice and flour."

The group stared intently at Zhang Dabiao, thinking, "Damn, what kind of family do you come from?"

Can you afford to eat this?

"Oh, I don't know either. My dad's friends gave it to me. I heard it's some kind of long-grain fragrant rice or Wuchang rice?"

"Who cares, as long as it tastes good, that's all that matters!"

"This rice paired with this broth is absolutely divine!"

Before he could explain further, Guangtian and Guangfu started mixing the soup with their rice, quite self-consciously.

Moreover, the two of them only dared to touch the minced meat and eggplant dish because it looked the cheapest.

Inside the deaf old woman's room, the three of them were peeking out the window. Because there was an electric light inside, their shadows were projected onto the window, and the curtains were useless in blocking them.

The three of them had already finished their food, and there were only a few pieces of braised pork left in the small portion.

They're all drooling over there!

At first, they were able to resist the temptation when they saw that there were only four small portions of pre-made dishes outside.

But then refined rice and flour, grilled sausages, whole roasted chicken, grilled fish, and peanut duck necks came out...

That's because I really can't stand it anymore, the smell is making me hungrier and hungrier!

This is exactly the effect Zhang Dabiao wanted—to make you all drool!

This wasn't stir-fried first, so the aroma wasn't as strong. That's why Zhang Dabiao deliberately wanted to eat it right in front of the old deaf man's door!

There's no snail rice noodles, canned herring, or stinky tofu in his little nest, or even durian, otherwise he could play on an even bigger scale!

The Xu and Liu families would never compete with young people for food; they still had some sense of propriety.

The other neighbors in the backyard also closed their doors; it's impolite to stare at people while they're eating.

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi were stunned for a moment, then solemnly asked Zhang Dabiao, "Dabiao, this table isn't cheap, and it's not easy to get."

"If you eat all of this today, how are you going to survive tomorrow?"

Liu Guangfu wanted to grab a piece of roast chicken, but Liu Guangqi slapped his hand with his chopsticks.

"No manners! The master hasn't even touched it yet!"

"Da Biao, listen to your brothers' advice. Take the untouched roast chicken, roast fish, roast sausage, stir-fried pork, lion's head meatballs, and steamed buns back with you."

"The weather is cold now, so we can leave it for a few more days."

"We have enough of the rest."

No matter how much they disliked and looked down on each other on a daily basis, this was a matter concerning Zhang Dabiao's future life, not a matter of taking advantage of others.

It wasn't that Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi couldn't afford it, but rather that they couldn't eat it with a clear conscience.

If Zhang Dabiao were to starve or even die a few days later because of this meal, then their sins would be enormous.

Zhang Dabiao didn't know how to explain it, so he simply took a spoon and added a spoonful of each dish to Guangtian Guangfu's bowl, and then picked off the chicken wings and gave one to each person.

Then he said with a grin, "Hey, it's not easy to keep it like this. Eat up, do you want me to feed you?"

Guangtian and Guangfu were stunned for a moment. Guangtian was also 16 years old this year, actually a few months older than Zhang Dabiao, but this feeling of picking up food for him was like an elder caring for his nephew, and his eyes immediately welled up with tears.

[You scoundrel Zhang Dabiao, you're a few months younger than me! How am I supposed to repay this meal?!]

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi were getting anxious, but Zhang Dabiao stopped their complaints with a gesture.

"Don't worry, I haven't touched any of the money or notes my father left behind."

"I basically don't spend any money on these meals. My dad has met a lot of people over the years, and the food is just a gift from those uncles and elders."

Seeing that the two still didn't believe him, Zhang Dabiao had no choice but to take out his Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes with blue and gold packaging.

"See that? It's an internal cigarette, with a filter, not the special-edition Zhonghua brand."

"But if my uncles and elders can give me this, why would they care about this food?"

"You can eat without worry, I won't go hungry."

Zhang Dabiao offered a cigarette to each of the two men, then, after thinking for a moment, offered one to Liu Guangtian as well.

Xu Damao picked up the cigarette box and the cigarettes and looked at them for a long time. There wasn't a single word on them, so he nodded.

"It must be internal smoking!"

Although Xu Damao didn't recognize it either, he knew that these days, cigarette filters were only available to high-ranking officials and foreign affairs agencies. If you didn't have the right status, you couldn't get your hands on them, and even if you had the money, you couldn't buy them.

According to Zhang Dabiao, if he could be given cigarettes so easily, then the friends that Uncle Zhang knew, the uncles and elders that Biaozi referred to, must have had incredibly high social status.

It's just a little food, nothing serious.

The "value" of this pack of cigarettes far exceeds the value of the food on this table.

"Internal smoke" is the best proof.

"Well then, Da Biao, we won't stand on ceremony with you."

"Come on, guys, let's have a drink!"

Apart from Liu Guangfu, the four of them drank a toast.

"So, let's just forget about that fight?" Zhang Dabiao said with a smile.

In truth, Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi were somewhat resentful, but they endured it for the sake of the sumptuous feast.

The sincerity shown at this table is absolutely top-notch!

"Alright!"

"It's no big deal, just guys fooling around. I forgot about it by the afternoon!"

But Xu Damao suddenly paused, looked at the table full of delicious food, and then looked back at his home.

"Da Biao, can I bring another bottle of Moutai and bring my sister Xiao Ling over for a meal?"

Zhang Dabiao waved his hand dismissively: "What are you saying? Your sister is my sister. Hurry up and call our sister over for dinner!"

Xu Damao, beaming, gave Zhang Dabiao a thumbs-up and said, "Biaozi, you're awesome! You're a real man!"

Zhang Dabiao patted his chest: "Absolutely!"

Then Xu Damao hurriedly went back inside to get wine and call people.

Just then, the deaf old woman's curtain moved slightly, indicating that Sha Zhu was about to come out.

What are you doing out here?

He's out begging for food.

Zhang Dabiao then deliberately said loudly, "Guangqi, did you see that? Now that's what a proper older brother should be like!"

He will never forget his sister!

Then the deaf old woman closed the curtain again.

Not to mention Sha Zhu, even Liu Guangqi is a little embarrassed now.

It was late at night, and he held a glass of wine in his left hand, a chicken leg in his right, and a cigarette in his mouth. He sipped his wine, smacked his lips on a couple of bites of food, and puffed out two more puffs of his cigarette. Ask yourself honestly, are you against all the vulgarities?

It's a crossover.

Liu Guangqi said helplessly, "Da Biao, I'm going to have something to say to you from the bottom of my heart today."

"You don't understand my family. I want to be a good older brother, but when my dad gets angry, he's absolutely ruthless!"

"He didn't just beat the three of us brothers, he even beat my mother. I was just beaten relatively less."

"To be honest, I was scared and wanted to run away. I was willing to abandon my two younger brothers and my mother. I really wanted to run away."

"I don't want my future children to see their grandfather beating people at home all day long, like a madman."

At this point, Liu Guangqi looked a little dejected, and Guangtian Guangfu slowed down his eating pace.

"I was thinking that if I went out, I could earn some money and help my two younger brothers out so they could find jobs sooner and escape from this family."

"But now that you've exposed my secrets, I can't even run away anymore! My dad has hidden my household registration book, and he's going to my fiancé's house to break off the engagement."

"What can I do? I'm desperate too."