Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

The mushrooms were cut into small pieces and the wild vegetables were cleaned. Xu Damao looked at the earthen stove, then turned his head to look at Xiaofeng who was looking at him, meaning that there was only one stove?

Xiaofeng was very smart and understood the doubt in Xu Damao's eyes.

"There is only one stove. The steamed bread will be ready soon. Then we can take it off and cook the fish."

Xiao Feng said a little embarrassedly.

"That's fine. I think your fire starter is quite unique. Can I have a look at it?"

Xu Damao's face was full of curiosity. He had only seen this thing in TV dramas in his previous life. This was the first time he saw the real thing and he was very curious.

"Here, you don't use such backward things in the city, do you? You all use matches, right?"

"Indeed."

Xu Damao replied to Lu Xiaofeng casually, and then carefully observed the fire starter in his hand.

The brown-yellow bamboo tube shines with a deep, dull luster, and you can tell at a glance that it is an old item that has been used for a long time.

Xu Damao opened the lid, looked at the black tinder inside, blew gently, and the black tinder immediately turned red, and a small blue flame ignited at the same time.

When Xu Damao saw this, a satisfied smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

"If you like it, I'll give it to you. It's not worth much anyway."

"What do you use to give it to me?"

"I still have a few at home. They were all made by my father in his spare time. Oh, and I'll give you a few tinder sticks as well."

Xiaofeng said this as she trotted back into the house, took out a few flaxen tinder sticks and handed them to Xu Damao.

"I can't take your things for free, you keep this, it's called reciprocity."

Xu Damao took out a full box of Pegasus matches from his pocket and handed it to Lu Xiaofeng, who took it happily and put it carefully into his pocket.

At this time, the steamed steamed bread had been cooked. Xiaofeng deftly took it out with chopsticks, and then used a ladle to scoop the hot water into a wooden basin.

"Is there any oil?"

"No……"

"It's okay, I'll find a way."

Xu Damao took out a few pieces of fatty fish belly meat from the pile of chopped fish pieces on the chopping board and put them into the pot that had already dried up.

A "sizzling" sound was heard, accompanied by a rich aroma that made people's appetites whetted after smelling it.

Seeing this, Xu Damao simply put all the fish pieces into the pan and started frying them.

Two minutes later, Xu Damao picked up the ladle and added water to the pot, and at the same time put the chopped fresh mushrooms into the pot.

Xu Damao cut the fish bladder with a knife to deflate it, and threw it into the pot. The fish roe would appear fresher and more delicious if it was put in a few minutes before serving.

The water boiled quickly and simmered for about twenty minutes. Xu Damao opened the lid of the pot to take a look and found that the fish soup had been boiled like milk, with a rich aroma wafting to his face.

“Just wait a few minutes and you can eat!”

As Xu Damao spoke, he poured the fish roe and wild vegetables in the bowl into the pot, and threw some salt into the pot.

Xiaofeng sat next to the earthen stove, adding a few firewood into the furnace from time to time, smelling the fragrance from the pot and swallowing her saliva.

This cute gesture made Xu Damao laugh several times.

"It's ready to eat!"

Xu Damao came over with two empty bowls, opened the wooden pot lid, and a puff of white smoke accompanied by bursts of aroma came out.

Xu Damao served himself a bowl, took a steamed bun without hesitation, found a wooden stool, sat down and started eating.

"Scoop it yourself. There's no way the two of us can finish this fish."

Xu Damao took a sip of the delicious fish soup and smiled at Xiaofeng.

Xiaofeng picked up the spoon, scooped up half a fish head, two or three pieces of fish meat, wild vegetables and mushrooms, and a lot of soup, and brought it over to sit next to Xu Damao.

First, she opened her cherry-like mouth and took a sip of the fish soup. Xiaofeng's eyes immediately lit up. Then she broke the steamed corn bread into small pieces, put them in the bowl to soak, and then began to eat them in big mouthfuls.

Xu Damao was not satisfied with just one bowl, so he went for another. After finishing two bowls of fish soup and two steamed buns, he ate until he was sweating all over and felt very satisfied.

"Why don't you eat it? There's still a lot in the pot."

"I'm stuffed."

"You feel full even though there's nothing in your bowl? You're welcome. Eat when you can."

"I want my dad and sister to come back and have some too..."

Li Xiaofeng lowered her head and spoke softly, the little hand that was not holding the chopsticks pinching the corner of her clothes nervously.

The smile on Xu Damao's face and the hand holding the bowl froze for a moment, then returned to normal.

"Okay, thank you for your hospitality. I ate very well. If you want anything, I'll bring it to you next time I come over."

"Isn't this bad?"

"What's wrong with that? You have ten dollars now. What do you need to buy? I'll buy it for you and bring it back. You can pay me later. Don't worry, I'll pay you at cost price and I won't make any money from you."

"Then please help me buy some clothes."

Li Xiaofeng looked at the clean clothes Xu Damao was wearing, and then looked at her own clothes full of patches, feeling a little longing.

“This is a bit difficult.”

Xu Damao was a little embarrassed.

"Why? Is it hard to buy clothes in the city? I don't want any special clothes, just something like what you have."

"These are men's clothes. They won't look good on you. What I mean by difficult is that I don't know your size. So even if I buy clothes for you, they won't fit you well. Wouldn't it be a waste then?"

"Well, what should we do then?"

"I happened to have a measuring tape with me, a 555 brand one. How about this, I'll measure you first and then write it down. That way, when we go back, I can buy clothes that fit you according to your body size."

Xu Damao said sanctimoniously.

"Well, let's measure it. My sister and I's clothes were bought from the village by my father using the meat he got from hunting. They are already quite worn out, so we want to buy new clothes."

"If it's not too much trouble for you, big brother, please buy a set of clothes for my sister as well. We are both about the same height."

"Just being the same height isn't enough. There are other factors as well. Forget it. You won't understand even if I tell you. I'll measure you first."

"Come on, let's go inside. There are so many people outside, it might cause some misunderstandings."

Xu Damao took out a tape measure from his bicycle, walked directly into the room, turned around and waved to Lu Xiaofeng.

Li Xiaofeng inexplicably felt an ominous premonition, but he also felt that the handsome big brother in front of him had no ill will towards him. He walked into the room slowly with small steps, feeling a little nervous.