Siheyuan: God rewards hard work and makes life better

Chapter 24 New Neighbors

When I arrived at the tailor shop, there were not many customers in the store. A beautiful middle-aged woman was busy at the counter.

Pei Guang walked up and knocked on the counter, stating his purpose.

The young woman smiled happily when she heard this. Two shirts and a pair of pants for each person was a huge sum of money.

After measuring the brother and sister, he enthusiastically led them to a pile of fabrics.

Pei Guang didn't care about the small amount of money. He chose better cotton cloth and ordered two shirts and a pair of pants.

Pei Liyun ordered a skirt, a shirt and a pair of pants.

A few pieces of clothing require 30 feet of cloth, which costs 14 cents per foot, plus labor costs, a total of yuan.

After paying the deposit and cloth coupons, I agreed to pick up the clothes at the weekend.

......

The brother and sister returned to the yard talking and laughing, and suddenly found several carts parked at the gate, loaded with various furniture and daily necessities.

Walking into the front yard, the originally vacant room was already opened. Several strong men were moving furniture into it, and a beautiful young woman was directing them from the side.

"Brother, are there new neighbors in our yard?"

"It should be!"

The current situation is obvious, but I don’t know what the origin is. I hope it’s not another troublemaker.

When I got home and was about to cook dinner, Xu Damao came and knocked on the door with a big grass carp in his hand.

"Xiao Guang, no one is home today, would it be convenient for you to come over for a meal?"

Ever since I tasted the big pot rice made by Pei Guang last time, the flavor has been lingering in my mind, and I can’t wait to have a good taste of it.

Although he didn't understand why, Pei Guang didn't refuse. At least the other person brought something to his door.

"Sure, I'll make a new dish for Brother Damao today."

Xu Damao was overjoyed when he heard this. He believed that Pei Guang's cooking skills would never let him down, and he was full of expectations for the new dishes.

Half an hour later, a large pot of boiled fish was served on the table, exuding an enticing aroma.

People in Sijiucheng don’t have the habit of eating spicy food, so Pei Guang used pickled cabbage and added a little chili, which made the taste equally delicious and tender.

Sniffing the fragrance wafting from his nose, Xu Damao swallowed hard. It was indeed a new dish he had never heard of before.

Pei Liyun was pleasantly surprised: "Brother, this fish looks delicious!"

Pei Guang smiled slightly, "Let's eat. I have removed all the fish bones, so you can eat it without worry."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish and taste it. The meat was tender, sour and spicy. He then took a bite of the steamed bun and it was so delicious.

After picking up another piece of steamed egg and tasting it, Xu Damao thought that this meal was worth it!

Pei Liyun was also pleasantly surprised after tasting it: "Brother, this fish is really delicious. Can you teach me how to cook it next time?"

"Okay, next time you can just follow along and learn from me."

Xu Damao was envious, and he was craving for such delicious food. With such a chef brother, his sister's cooking skills must be good. It would be great if she could marry him directly when he was a few years older.

Considering that this kind of skill is generally not passed on to outsiders, it seems that I will have to prepare more good things in the future in order to eat for free.

"Brother Damao, do you have any information about the background of the new neighbor in the front yard?" Pei Guang asked casually.

Xu Damao's eyes sparkled, and he said excitedly, "I have heard of this."

"I heard she is a widow with four children. She has been transferred to our factory to work as a welder."

Pei Liyun's heart was filled with ripples. It was hard enough for Pei's mother to raise two children alone, and what about the life of that family... Thinking of this, she inexplicably admired the widow.

Pei Guang sighed, "Another miserable family!"

"Who said it wasn't!" Xu Damao said with a lewd smile on his face. He had just noticed the pretty widow, with her graceful figure, pretty face, and the charm of a young woman.

He believed that he could easily win over a family like this with a little inducement.

Tsk tsk! Thinking of the exhilarating feeling of doing that, he got a little hard to show respect.

......

At the He family in the middle courtyard, brother and sister Sha Zhu were also having dinner.

He Yushui smelled the fragrance with envy. He wished that Pei Guang was his brother. He wouldn't have to just stand there and watch.

Sha Zhu frowned and thought, this kind of fragrance was unheard of, where did Pei Guang learn it from?

"Yushui, you and Pei Liyun have a good relationship, right? Have you heard who his brother learned cooking from?"

He Yushui was stunned at first, then he understood his brother's thoughts.

"I've never heard of him. I guess he's worshipping a master outside!"

"Find a chance to find out. I don't want to be outdone by that guy."

He Yushui nodded. If her brother could learn from a famous teacher, she would also be able to taste those delicious foods.

......

On this weekend, Pei Guang got up, washed, and pushed his bicycle out of the yard.

When we arrived at a courtyard house near the street office, Sun Shaokang was already waiting at the door.

The two men greeted each other, met the host, and went into the kitchen to work.

This time the speed was much faster than last time. Pei Guang knew at a glance that Sun Shaokang had practiced knife skills a lot and had gradually become a qualified kitchen helper.

The wedding banquet went very smoothly, and with his current skills, the guests all applauded and praised him.

Speaking of which, the host made a fortune this time, which means he is still known as an eighth-level chef, otherwise he would not be able to hire anyone for five dollars.

After leaving the courtyard, Pei Guang also gave Sun Shaokang fifty cents.

Sun Shaokang pushed his hand and gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Guang, can I become your disciple and learn cooking from you?"

Pei Guang's fame has spread throughout the steel rolling mill in the past few days. Now everyone knows that a new chef has come to the third canteen and his meals are so delicious.

In order to eat the dishes he cooked, many people came from distant workshops to eat, which caused the third canteen to be crowded every day.

Seeing Pei Guang's fame growing, he was worried that someone would get there first one day, and he would have nowhere to cry.

Pei Guang liked this friend very much. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Xiaokang, don't talk about becoming my disciple. I don't have any intention of accepting a disciple for the time being."

"How about this, I'll talk to the director and ask him to transfer you to the third canteen. It's not a problem to teach you how to make a big pot meal."

Sun Shaokang had originally been in despair, but he didn't expect that there would be light at the end of the tunnel and such a big surprise.

The grading of the steel mill was originally assessed on the basis of the big pot meal, and he was already very satisfied to be able to learn the skill of making meals.

"Thank you, Brother Guang. I will study hard!" Sun Shaokang said excitedly.

Pei Guang patted him on the shoulder, stuffed fifty cents into his pocket, and rode away on his bicycle.

Sun Shaokang clenched his fists. Sometimes he felt that he was quite lucky to have a good friend like Pei Guang.

You have to know how many apprentices there are in the factory who are unable to get the job. How could Sun Shaokang deserve this opportunity? He will definitely live up to this sincere friendship.

Then he walked quickly towards home, bringing two more lunch boxes today. He couldn't wait to share such good news with his family.

.............

Chapter 25: The Widow Liang

When I walked into the front yard, I saw the eldest son of Widow Liang fetching water from the pool.

Although her clothes were patched, her face was rosy and plump, which showed that her meals were pretty good.

After two days, everyone had figured out Widow Liang's background.

Widow Liang's original name was Liang Ladi. She was 25 years old this year and had just been transferred from a machine repair factory to a third-level welder in a steel rolling mill. She had three sons and one daughter: Da Mao was 6 years old, Er Mao was 4 years old, San Mao was 2 years old, and Xiu'er was just two months old.

With her monthly salary of 45 yuan, supporting a family is not a problem.

On weekdays, several children would be taken to the nursery of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill for care, and then taken home after get off work, so life was manageable.

Pei Guang was surprised when he first heard this name. Isn't this the heroine of another TV series? But why has he never heard of the name of Nan Yi, the successor of the imperial chef?

For this purpose, he made some special inquiries and found out that there was indeed no such person as Nan Yi. Ding Qiunan and Cui Dake also did not exist.

If you can't figure it out, just forget about it. Even the time travel thing has happened, so what's the big deal about having one more person like this.

After getting to know her, it turned out that Liang Ladi's personality had not changed. She was well-known in the machine repair factory for her bad reputation as a hot-tempered person.

So far, she hasn't caused any trouble, but there are still many workers who covet her, but they haven't taken any action yet.

Liang Ladi's income actually ranked third in the hospital, only behind Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong. Many men in the hospital were ashamed after hearing about it. They felt that they couldn't even compare to a woman, which was really a disgrace to men.

Whenever Jia Dongxu met Liang Ladi, he would avoid her. It was a pity that he was four years older than Liang Ladi, but his work rank was not as high as hers. He felt very depressed.

The female neighbors were gossiping bitterly, and Jia Zhang was the most indignant. She used words like slut, half-open door, and boss' mistress to slander Liang Ladi in private, and the aunts thought she was justified.

How can a woman earn so much money? She must have an affair with her boss and got the job position through connections.

Liang Ladi didn't care about these rumors at all and just went about her own business, as long as no one gossiped about her in front of her.

Pei Guang had watched the TV series and he really admired this widow. She was daring and became a third-level welder through her own efforts, and she accomplished things that many men could not do.

Although the method was not very glorious, it was understandable for the sake of the child. Who is not a selfish person? At least after marrying Nan Yi, she gave birth to a son for him and devoted herself to the family.

What did Qin Huairu do? She planned to make Sha Zhu unable to marry in order to have her own children. She had an IUD inserted directly after giving birth to Huaihua. She planned to make Sha Zhu extinct from the beginning to the end so that Bang Geng could inherit Sha Zhu's property.

Although the TV series does not have any scenes of Qin Huairu having an affair, it is still disgusting enough.

In comparison, Liang Ladi seems to be bold in love and hate, and is a million times better than that ungrateful family.

At this time, Liang Ladi came out with a diaper. It seemed that another child had wet his pants.

She has short hair with flat bangs, big round eyes, and a heroic look between her eyebrows, giving people a sense of competence and straightforwardness. Although her appearance is not as good as Qin Huairu, it is also not something that ordinary women can achieve.

"Oh! Master Pei, you just came back from preparing the banquet!" Liang Ladi noticed the lunch box in his hand.

Liang Ladi has basically figured out the situation in the courtyard. There are only a few wealthy families, the Pei family, the He family, the Yi family, the Xu family, and the Liu family, and they live a very comfortable life.

Among them, Pei Guang and He Yuzhu are chefs of the steel rolling mill. They can bring some meals from the factory from time to time, and they also bring some food from the banquets they usually go out with. The food is considered top-notch in the compound.

The welding workshop where she worked was relatively close to the second canteen. After hearing about Pei Guang's name these two days, she went to the third canteen to taste the food.

It is true that there is no false reputation. The taste is so delicious that I can’t help but eat more than usual.

After that, she decided to eat in the third canteen and even took a few extra lunch boxes home. Seeing the children eat with satisfaction made her feel that it was all worth it.

It is true that she has a high salary, but the food ration is there. In order to provide nutrition for the children, she can only spend more money to buy some meat that does not require receipts, and there is not much left from her salary every month.

Ever since her husband passed away a few months ago, she has realized the fickleness of human nature in this society. Many men try to get close to her just to get their hands on her flesh.

In order to get some delicious food, she began to wander among all kinds of men, touching their hands and hugging their waists, which she could bear with.

But she has her own bottom line. These men are just playing around. If they want to have real sex with her, they have to ask her if the welding gun in her hand agrees.

After moving to the courtyard, after some observation, the Pei family became her primary target. She didn't believe that she couldn't win over this cucumber egg with her own charm.

Pei Guang smiled slightly, "Yeah! I just got back from work, I'm going home to eat first."

Liang Ladi walked up to him and asked softly, "Master Pei, I heard that you had a few clothes custom-made at the tailor shop. Is that true?"

A few black lines appeared on Pei Guang's forehead. He knew without asking that his sister had not kept her mouth shut and someone had overheard her.

"That's what happened. Is there anything wrong with it?"

Liang Ladi's eyes turned, "Master Pei, I'm actually good at making clothes, and I have a sewing machine at home. Next time you need something like this, just come to me."

Pei Guang recalled that Liang Ladi was indeed good at making clothes, and many people specifically asked her to make clothes for them.

"Okay! I'll ask Sister Liang to make clothes next time."

Liang Ladi was delighted. Didn't it mean that they were now related? It would be easier to talk about anything next time.

Liang Ladi is determined to eat this big fat pig!

......

As soon as the brother and sister finished lunch, Pei Liyun urged her brother to go to the tailor shop. She couldn't wait to wear new clothes.

The ambient temperature has gradually increased recently, and is basically above 20 degrees during the day. Many people have already changed into cool summer clothes.

Pei Guang rested for a while and then prepared to go out to get his clothes.