Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

After chatting with Master Miao for a while, it was almost noon. He Yuzhu and his sister declined Master Miao's offer to stay for lunch and went back.

The brother and sister began their journey into the street food scene.

In Tianqiao Xiejie, you can find douzhi (fermented mung bean juice), baodu (tripe), jianbao (fried buns), roubing (meat pie), doufunao (tofu pudding), zhagao (fried cake), aiwowo (glutinous rice cake), and more.

It's noon now, which would have been perfect time to sample some snacks, but damn it, these snacks are served in such large portions that both siblings could eat their fill.

After finishing the braised sausage and stewed buns at Guo Ji's restaurant in Tianqiao, He Yushui was completely full. With a mournful little face, she said, "Brother, I'm so full. I can't eat any more delicious food."

"If we can't eat anymore, we can come back to eat next time, or we can go buy some New Year's goods first and come back when we're hungry." He Yuzhu felt that he was full too.

"Brother, let's go buy New Year's goods."

After He Yuzhu paid, the brother and sister went to buy New Year's goods.

The items to prepare are decorations such as the character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune), Spring Festival couplets, window decorations, and New Year pictures.

The ingredients to buy include meat (such as pork and chicken), tofu, noodles (such as steamed buns, jujube cakes, and New Year's cakes), pickled cucumbers, fried dough sticks, melon seeds, Laba garlic, and five-colored dried fruits.

He Yuzhu had no intention of buying these things, nor was he going to do them on a fixed day. The key issue was the limited time available.

Purchase the goods from the system store, then go out for a break in the afternoon. Don't take He Yushui with you; just pretend you bought New Year's goods.

I bought these New Year pictures because I was taking her out to play, and I bought them on the way to bring them home, so that the New Year would feel like the New Year.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The most important thing is to experience the New Year's atmosphere of Yanjing (Beijing). There are some things you have to do to fit in. He Yuzhu doesn't intend to be a lonely person.

He Yushui was very excited about buying New Year's goods. She even bargained. The decorations such as the "Fu" character, Spring Festival couplets, window decorations, and New Year pictures were all bought by He Yuzhu after she bargained.

Watching He Yushui skipping and hopping ahead, I felt happy too.

In less than an hour, I bought all the New Year's goods I needed, and I didn't eat any more snacks; my stomach was still not digested.

Let's go back to the house near Zhengyangmen for dinner.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, He Yuzhu received a reply from He Daqing at the restaurant. It was thirteen days later, and it was unclear whether the reply was fast or slow.

The letter was also a way of letting them know they were safe and sound, wishing them a happy new year, and sending them 200,000 yuan to use during the New Year.

He Yuzhu received He Daqing's reply, but he wasn't particularly moved. After all, He Daqing was just his "cash cow," and he didn't have much of a feeling for him.

He Yushui was indeed very happy. She still had feelings for He Daqing and remembered her 'father' to some extent.

Her father kept writing to her, perhaps as a form of comfort, to reassure her that he hadn't abandoned her.

Seeing He Yushui happy, I didn't interrupt her excitement. It's almost Chinese New Year, so whether to study or play doesn't matter; it's only a few days.

For He Yushui, having a happy childhood is better than her previous life.

January 26, 1952, was Lunar New Year's Eve. The restaurant officially closed for the holiday, which lasted for six days.

At 8:30 a.m., the two siblings ate breakfast and started cleaning the room. They finished cleaning the room in about half an hour and had no clothes to wash.

The clothes had already been washed at the restaurant. Before nine o'clock, He Yuzhu saw that the housework was finished and told He Yushui to go out and play while he steamed buns at home.

At this time, "steaming buns" still uses "dough starter," not the alkali used later. When making the dough, set aside some for making dumplings in the afternoon.

For lunch, He Yuzhu had already decided: small wontons, with both dough and meat filling. Buying them from the mall would be the same. It's easy to explain.

In the morning, I'll prepare the chicken stew with mushrooms and the mutton soup. If you want to eat it with wontons, that's fine too. Both dishes can be made in less than three hours.

In the afternoon, I made braised pork, steamed buns, steamed sea bass, sweet and sour pork, and steamed dumplings—four dishes and a soup, enough for the siblings to eat at their New Year's Eve dinner.

After preparing the chicken and mushroom stew, He Yuzhu began teaching He Yushui traditional Chinese medicine. Whether she learned it or not is unknown, but He Yushui studied very diligently.

At 10 a.m., mutton soup was being stewed. The mutton soup still smelled very strong. He Yushui took firecrackers and went out to play.

The aroma of mutton soup filled the air, a testament to He Yuzhu's excellent culinary skills. The delicious fragrance of mutton soup wafted for dozens of meters.

People in Yanjing (Beijing) like to eat mutton and drink mutton soup in the dead of winter. Jia Zhangshi, that lazy bum, was the first to run out of her house to see who was making mutton soup.

She seemed to have something to say again, perhaps wanting Qin Huairu to bring a huge bowl to 'borrow meat'.

When Jia Zhangshi saw He Yuzhu standing at her door, looking at her with a half-smile, she felt a cold wind blowing on her neck.

The song "The North Wind Howls, the Snowflakes Flutter" echoed in my ears.

He shrank back, muttered a few words in frustration, and reluctantly returned home, still thinking about the mutton soup and craving it.

"Mom, where did you go? What's going on at the compound?" Jia Dongxu asked, seeing his mother's unwilling expression.

"That idiot Zhu is making mutton soup, it smells so good. There are only two little bastards in the family, it's a waste to eat mutton soup, they don't even know how to be filial to me..." Jia Zhangshi began to mutter.

"Mom, He Yuzhu is a cook, how could he not cook well? You want to drink mutton soup, we'll go buy some this afternoon. There's mutton at the market, it's a bit more expensive during the New Year."

"Don't provoke him. It's the New Year, and if he throws a tantrum, we'll be in trouble. Isn't it better not to mess with him?" Jia Dongxu said to his mother with a hint of helplessness.

"Don't worry, I won't provoke him. I remember everything you said." Madam Jia was also afraid, afraid of being beaten to death; she was terrified of dying.

"Dongxu, he made chicken stew with mushrooms and mutton soup this morning, and he'll make other things in the afternoon. He works at a restaurant, so he has a lot of ingredients." Qin Huairu had already smelled the aroma and was swallowing her saliva.

"Working at a restaurant, with plenty of ingredients, it's only natural that you need to be a good cook. He hasn't rested for the past six months; he's been working himself to the bone to earn money." Jia Dongxu felt a little envious. He also wanted to eat meat.

"They have braised pork and meat dumplings for dinner, which is pretty good. We don't work at the restaurant, so we don't have his kind of treatment."

"We'll make braised pork this afternoon too," Jia Dongxu said, trying to save face for himself.

backyard!

The deaf old lady was sighing all by herself at home, her mouth watering at the aroma of mutton soup. She was a greedy old woman.

In her heart, she began to blame Yi Zhonghai again. After offending He Yuzhu, he didn't even want her to enter his own home, let alone ask for mutton soup.

If I were to swallow my pride and ask for it myself, I would definitely be rejected, which would be very embarrassing. I should try to build a good relationship with He Yuzhu.

However, as she gets older, finding someone to take care of her in her old age becomes an urgent matter. He Yuzhu is too busy with work to take care of her, and Tan Cuilan has divorced Yi Zhonghai.

It's estimated that we can only wait for Yi Zhonghai to remarry, and we'll have to see what kind of woman that is.

I still need to keep a backup plan; I can't completely offend He Yuzhu and Tan Cuilan yet. For the sake of the next few years, the deaf old lady could only grit her teeth and endure it.