Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Plates of plump dumplings jumped into the steaming iron pot one by one like divers, tumbling happily in the boiling water, as if showing off their graceful figures.

At this moment, a group of children could no longer hold back their eagerness, and they all held up their small bowls, gathered around the iron pot, and waited eagerly for the delicious dumplings to come out of the pot. Among them, Bang Geng was the most conspicuous, holding the super large bowl that Jia's ancestors had passed down, with a trace of crystal clear saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth, staring at the dumplings rolling in the pot with his eyes, looking salivating.

After all, it was the second year of the three-year natural disaster, and everyone had to tighten their belts and live a hard life. On weekdays, it was rare for a family to fill their stomachs. Even adults could hardly resist this tempting aroma, let alone these innocent children?

However, what was different was that Xu Damao had exchanged some fresh and delicious beef and mutton through the mysterious space channel in advance. In addition, he also bought some pork and cleverly matched it with the cabbage and juicy radish that he had carefully stored before winter, thus making a variety of mouth-watering fillings. These dumplings were made by the women in the compound together, while the men were responsible for chopping the fillings. The dumplings made by themselves were particularly fragrant.

As time went by, the dumplings in the pot were cooked. Liu Haizhong asked Zhang's sister-in-law in the backyard to take a bowl of dumplings to the new house. Zhang's sister-in-law had both her parents and parents-in-law and a son and a daughter. According to the old saying, she was a blessed person.

At this time, Lou Xiao'e was sitting cross-legged on the kang, holding a big red apple in her hand, and there was a red cushion with the word "Fu" embroidered on it, but it was hidden by her clothes and could not be seen by outsiders. Her sister Yingzi was sitting next to her, talking to her sister-in-law, while Xu's mother was walking back and forth, taking care of various things.

Mrs. Zhang opened the door curtain and entered the bedroom, followed by Xu's mother. Mrs. Zhang came to Lou Xiao'e with a bowl in her hand, picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks and put it to Lou Xiao'e's mouth.

Lou Xiao'e slowly opened her mouth and took a small bite. Mrs. Zhang beside her asked, "Are you going to have the baby?"

"Born." Lou Xiao'e answered in a low voice, then turned her head away with blushing cheeks.

Seeing this scene, Xu's mother was overjoyed. She had long wanted to hold a big fat grandson, and this word "new" really touched her heart. She and Lou's mother were the main forces to promote this marriage, and now she likes Lou Xiao'e even more.

Xu Xiaoying was also laughing so hard that she bent over. She also liked this generous sister-in-law. Lou Xiaoe often took her shopping when she was free. The new clothes she was wearing were bought by her sister-in-law. Now she wanted to make fun of her sister-in-law because she was shy.

Not to mention the excitement in the house, outside the house, under the management of Xu's father and the second and third uncles, dumplings were coming out of the pot one after another. They decided to let the impatient children eat first, and the adults would have to wait for the next batch of dumplings to come out of the pot.

As for the uncle Yi Zhonghai, he had a dark face throughout the whole process. Father Xu assigned him the task of receiving guests, saying that he was the uncle of the courtyard with a long history and a high status as an eighth-level worker in the factory, so he was the only one who could receive guests. But who knew that these were all people in the courtyard, and there was no outsider, so how could he receive guests?

Yi Zhonghai disliked Xu Damao very much. This person repeatedly ruined his good deeds, which reduced his prestige a lot. He originally wanted not to participate, but Old Xu put a big hat on his head, saying that this was not only his son's wedding, but also a happy event for the whole hospital to have a dinner together. If he didn't come, he would be ununited with the neighbors, and people who were separated from the collective were not worthy of being the boss. In the end, he had to agree to help.

Children of all ages sat neatly on the edge of the central courtyard corridor, holding their bowls, blowing air into the dumplings as they ate them whole. This was the most delicious dumpling they had eaten since the famine of 1959. Occasionally, a child would find a two-cent coin in his or her food, and would cheer with joy.

The idea of ​​putting coins in dumplings was proposed by Jia Zhang. Whoever eats the dumplings with coins hidden in them will have good luck. Marriage is a big happy event and everyone in the compound should also share in the joy. When Xu's father and mother heard this, they readily agreed and asked Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiekuang to exchange a lot of two-cent coins.

When everyone was making dumplings together, Jia Zhang put a lot of coins in the dumplings she made. Later, while everyone's attention was focused on Xu Damao and his wife, she took all the more than 30 dumplings she had made back home. There were more than 60 cents in total.

Uncle Yi Zhonghai knew he was being fooled, but he couldn't just walk away. He went back to the middle courtyard and found Xu Fugui, "Old Xu, have you delivered the dumplings to the old lady?"

Xu Fugui slapped his head and said, "Oh, if it wasn't for you, Lao Yi, I would have forgotten. When this pot of dumplings is out of the pot, serve a bowl to the old lady first."

Yi Zhonghai couldn't wait to take this opportunity to leave here, so he nodded and took an empty bowl to wait by the pot. Soon, the dumplings in the pot floated up one by one, and Yi Zhonghai couldn't wait to pick up a spoon and scoop a large bowl full of dumplings, and took it to the deaf old lady's house in the backyard.

Fortunately, there were enough dumplings this time, and almost everyone in the compound got a bowl. Everyone happily sat on the stools beside the table, eating and chatting, occasionally biting garlic or dipping it in vinegar; some rough guys simply squatted on the ground to eat, and after finishing the dumplings, they didn't forget to scoop a bowl of dumpling soup from the pot and gulp it down.

However, the person who was serving the dumpling soup was driven away by the second and third aunties. They had not eaten yet and were cooking the last batch of dumplings with a few women in the yard.

About half an hour later, the last batch of dumplings was cooked. The women in the yard worked hard for a long time before they could eat the hot dumplings. The men had big appetites but they knew how to be polite. They waited until the women had finished eating before serving the remaining dumplings.

But Jia Zhang was of course the exception. She started eating from the children's batch and continued eating until the end. Her belly was bulging and she had long since thrown away the cloth tied on her pants. Jia Zhang held her pants with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, as if the dumplings would jump out of her throat if she opened her mouth.

The people around looked at her as if she were a clown, but Jia Zhang didn't care at all. Jia Dongxu thought she was embarrassing, so he ate half a bowl of dumplings and then took Qin Huairu home to eat with the bowl.

At this moment, a cry of pain was heard from the backyard. Everyone rushed over and found out that the deaf old lady was eating dumplings too anxiously and bit a coin, which knocked out two of her front teeth.