Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Dongxu, wash some more potatoes, wash more, and then cut them into big pieces." After washing the goose, Jia Dongxu went to wash the potatoes. Zhang Dabao chopped the goose into 7 cm square pieces; then he put cooked lard and peanut oil into a large iron pot, both full of a spoonful, and put them into the pot.

"Seventh Uncle, did you add too much oil?" Jia Dongxu asked.

"Dongxu, goose meat has a relatively low fat content and is mostly lean meat. It will not taste good if you put too little oil. Also, you should put more oil when cooking rabbit, because rabbit is almost entirely lean meat, and it will not taste good without oil," Zhang Dabao instructed Jia Dongxu.

Zhang Dabiao saw smoke coming out of the wok, so he put in the goose pieces, added a little strong liquor, and started to stir-fry. He then added seasonings and water and began to stew.

Half an hour later, the whole backyard of No. 95 Courtyard was filled with fragrance, and the smell was still wafting outside. After an hour, Zhang Dabao poked the stew with chopsticks and found it was still not quite done, so he added some water and continued to stew it.

"Seventh Uncle" Banggeng took the lead and came to the backyard.

"Bang Geng, this is the goose stewed in an iron pot, but you have to wait a while before you can eat it," said Zhang Dabao.

"That's perfect. I still have to go cut grass for the geese." Banggeng put down his schoolbag, took out a basket from the cross-yard and put it on his back, then went to the front yard with a sickle, called Yan Jiedi and Niu Xiaozheng, and the three of them went out of the yard.

After waiting for a while, everyone who got off work came back. Zhang Dabao asked Jia Dongxu to call Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu. The two brothers had once given a big goose to Huang Xinsheng. Wouldn't they remember the gifter when eating the goose? He also called Xu Damao and his wife, and together with the He brothers and sisters, there was another large table of people.

Fortunately, there were enough potatoes, and Jia Dongxu also steamed two pots of pancakes made from 20 grams of flour.

After Banggeng and his two partners came back, Zhang Dabao specially kept the three partners to have dinner together. Yan Jiedi was so happy that she said that she would work hard and cut more grass. Then she ate three bowls of vegetables and two pancakes. Niu Xiaozheng also had two bowls of vegetables and two pancakes.

"Sister-in-law, Huairu, these are the walnuts I collected from the countryside. I heard that eating them is especially good for the baby in your belly." After dinner, Zhang Dabao gave each of them a bag of walnuts.

"Da Biao is right. Eating walnuts is especially good for pregnant women. Children born after eating walnuts will be very smart, and it is a good way to nourish the brain. When Huairu gave birth to Banggeng, Dayang sent some walnuts. After giving birth to Banggeng, she was smart since childhood. When I was pregnant with Dongxu, I didn't eat good food, so I gave birth to a fool," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Mom, how am I stupid?" Jia Dongxu said unhappily.

"You are not stupid. I have been working in the steel rolling mill for more than seven years, but I still haven't passed the second level exam. Now people are laughing at me. You are really smart," said Zhang Cuihua.

"My seventh uncle said that I am not good at locksmithing. But I learned to cook very quickly, and when the chef certification comes, I will also take one. My seventh uncle said that I am almost at level ten," Jia Dongxu said proudly.

"Dongxu, isn't level ten chef the lowest level? What's the difference between it and a level one fitter?" Zhang Cuihua asked.

"I got level 10 this time, and I'll get level 9 next time. I'm definitely better than Sha Zhu, no, better than my uncle-in-law," Jia Dongxu said proudly.

Zhang Cuihua couldn't stand it anymore, so she said "huh" and left.

"Whether you believe it or not, I believe Dongxu has the ability. Not for anything else, but for Dongxu's self-confidence," said Zhang Dabao.

"Dongxu is indeed quite confident" He Yuzhu laughed so hard.

"Shazhu, what do you mean? You don't believe it, right?" Jia Dongxu got angry when he saw He Yuzhu making fun of him.

"I believe it, of course I believe it." He Yuzhu smiled and walked away.

"Seventh Uncle, Sha Zhu doesn't believe it?" Jia Dongxu said to Zhang Dabao angrily.

"Dongxu, if you want people to believe in your strength, you must show something. It's not good to just talk big." Zhang Dabao also laughed.

"I can definitely do it," Jia Dongxu walked away with a confident step.

After He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu left, the rest of the people chatted for a while, and when it was almost nine o'clock, they all went home.

"Brother, I contacted eight comrades-in-arms, all of whom are in our company. I wrote them letters. If they are willing to go, I asked them to send a telegram back and I will send the money over." Huang Xinsheng followed Zhang Dabao into the room.

"Eight will be fine. When they arrive, ask if they have the contact information of other comrades, especially those in rural areas whose families are not well off. We have the ability now, so we will take care of these people first," Zhang Dabao said to Huang Xinsheng.

"Brother, is Hong Kong really that chaotic?" Huang Xinsheng asked.

"Just like Shanghai in the old society, there are lights and wine everywhere and it looks prosperous, but gangs, theft, robbery, corruption and bribery by the authorities are all in the dark. If you want to make a career there, you can't do it without the ability to protect yourself," said Zhang Dabao.

"Should we fight them?" Huang Xinsheng asked again.

"It's not a matter of whether we want to or not, but we must fight. You may not know how greedy capitalists are. For example, if there is a big enough cake, he can't finish it all by himself, and it's okay for a few more people to eat it, but he just won't let others eat it. He would rather leave the cake there and let it go bad. In the past, we did things like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. There must be a battle between us and them, and it will be a life-and-death battle," said Zhang Dabao.

"Are there any weapons?" Huang Xinsheng was a little worried.

"Of course we have pistols, Hanyang-made, Zhongzheng, semi-automatic, and two Pheasant Necks, as well as grenades and 60 mortars. After all our brothers go there, we can get some Type infantry guns and submachine guns, and then we will have everything," said Zhang Dabao with a smile.

"There are heavy weapons? Are we going to have a skirmish?" Huang Xinsheng was a little surprised.

"It's better to have it than not to have it. Only when you are strong enough will others be afraid of you. You can choose not to use it if you have it, but you cannot do without it. In today's society, if you go out with two knives, who will be afraid of you?" Zhang Dabao explained.

"That's right, we should also get some of that bulletproof vest." Huang Xinsheng has become much more cautious since he was shot last time.

"Just go there and do it. It's not a complicated thing. You can go through normal procedures, but the other brothers can't. I will go there in a few days. When they come, you and them will go to Bao'an County. There are black ships there. Let's agree on a time, and I will wait for you on the other side," said Zhang Dabao.

"Of course. Can you really give each brother 300 yuan?" Huang Xinsheng agreed and then raised a question.

"Three hundred yuan is a normal salary there. Do you think it's a lot?" Zhang Dabao laughed.

"The factory director now only makes a little over 100 yuan, and our unit is at the deputy-department level. Is he not as good as a worker over there?" Huang Xinsheng didn't quite believe it.

"The factory managers over there usually make 2,000 yuan a month, and the manager I hired makes 2,000 yuan a month. It's cost-effective to earn money there and spend it back home," Zhang Dabao smiled and patted Huang Xinsheng on the shoulder.