Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

Xiaodang slurped a cup of boiling water, and with the warmth of the stove, his body gradually became less numb. However, he began to ache. His hands, feet, and whole body ached.

"Auntie, what's wrong with me? I feel pain all over my body, especially my hands and feet?"

Ma Dongmei looked at Xiaodang's hands, but couldn't tell anything, mainly because they were too dark. "It's just frozen, maybe frostbite. Wash it after dinner, and put some oil on it before going to bed."

Sha Zhu kneaded the dough quickly and had boiling water ready. Sha Zhu had planned to stir-fry a dish while the dough was resting.

"Uncle Silly, just put it down directly, don't stir-fry, just mix it with oil, I'm really too hungry to bear it."

Soon Sha Zhu put the noodles in the pot. After the noodles were out of the pot, Sha Zhu mixed some lard into them.

Xiaodang took it and stuffed it into his mouth without caring about how hot it was, eating it ravenously.

Ma Dongmei looked at the way Xiaodang was eating and quickly advised him, "Xiaodang, be careful of the heat, eat slowly, at least chew it before swallowing."

Xiaodang turned a deaf ear to him. He was so hungry that he didn't care whether the food was hot or not. He only cared about the food after it entered his stomach.

Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei watched Xiao Dang eating and felt hungry themselves because he looked so appetizing.

Xiao Dang finished a big bowl of hot noodles in less than a minute, "Uncle Silly, is there any more?"

"Yes, wait a minute, it's just been put into the pot and it's not cooked yet. Noodles cook slowly in winter."

The noodles were just out of the pot and mixed with lard. However, Xiaodang ate the noodles much slower this time than the first bowl, and he even blew on it while eating.

Slowly, I mean slower than the first bowl, but also much faster than a normal person. Soon the second bowl of noodles was finished. Ma Dongmei wondered how Xiaodang could fit two big bowls of noodles. Who knew that Xiaodang asked again, "Uncle Sha, do you have any more?"

"That's all. This is already two big bowls. It's not that I'm stingy and don't let you eat more. It's already two big bowls. If you eat more, you'll feel better later. If you still feel hungry, just have a bowl of soup."

"Row"

Sha Zhu shook another bowl of soup for Xiao Dang, who slowly blew on it and drank it, burping.

Xiao Dang started crying immediately

Ma Dongmei asked, "What happened to Xiaodang? Why are you crying?"

"Silly uncle, aunt, this is how a human being should live. You don't know how I have been living these past six months. I didn't have enough to eat or wear warm clothes. I had to hide every day, and sometimes I even snatched dog food. It's simply not a human life."

"Xiao Dang, what's going on? Aren't you a teaching teacher?"

"Uncle Silly, don't you know that at the end of last year, after my brother and I had a falling out, I quit the company and went to the south to do business."

Sha Zhu shook his head, "I really don't know why you quit your job and went into business and ended up like this?"

Xiao Dang started to cry, "Silly uncle, you don't know, we don't know the market, the goods we bought are more expensive than others, and we can't sell them. In addition, we have to rent a house, rent a stall, eat and drink, and soon all our savings are gone."

"Later, we met a big brother who said he couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to lead us to do business. At first, we didn't believe that there was such a thing as pie in the sky."

"But he had a car, a pager, good clothes, and a thick gold chain. Then he got angry, said it was okay if he didn't believe it, and then he turned around and left."

"After seeing his behavior and the fact that we had spent all our savings, we believed him and approached him. He told us that we must be sincere in doing business and show our sincerity if we want to make money."

"He introduced us to a loan shark and told us not to be afraid. Not only can we pay back the money in a few months, but we can also make a lot of money. Now it depends on our sincerity."

"Then we borrowed 2,000 yuan and gave him the money, but when we looked for him the next day, he was nowhere to be found. When the loan period was up, the loan sharks came to demand repayment again."

"My son said he would pay us back when he made money. We used our food money to pay back a little bit, and the things we bought at home were also taken away. Then we were targeted by that group of people, and we started to hide from place to place."

"We later learned that the police had arrested that group of people, so we dared to come out. Who knew that the loan sharks and the people who cheated us were all in the same group. They were just gangsters in society who specifically cheated outsiders like us."

"The gold chain was an iron chain that had been dyed, the clothes were high-end imitations, and the pager was broken. They used it to show off. Everything was fake. But the money we were cheated of was a loan, so we got the interest back and bought two tickets."

"I didn't have enough money to get to Sijiucheng, and then I was kicked out at the station. I begged all the way back to Sijiucheng. I had planned to come back and live a good life, but his family didn't want me anymore. They thought it was us who made his son like this, so they kicked me out."

"I went looking for a job again, but they didn't want me because I looked like a beggar. I went to where my mom and her family lived, but someone else was living in that house now. I didn't know where my mom and her family were now, so I thought I'd come back here to ask you guys."

"Thank you, silly uncle,"

"What are you talking about, kid? It's just a meal. You grew up under your uncle's watch."

"Now that you're back, don't mess around anymore. Business isn't as simple as you think. Otherwise, everyone would go into business and make a fortune. Why is it that only your uncle's family is able to make a fortune? You're still young, so go back and live a down-to-earth life."

"Well, silly uncle, I understand. I will never do business again."

Ma Dongmei said, "Xiaodang, I'll boil some hot water for you to wash up, and then I'll find you some clothes. You can stay here tonight."

"Yeah, thank you, auntie."

"Uncle Silly, how come you're driving a car now? That car is worth hundreds of thousands. Are you rich?"

Sha Zhu scratched his head. "How can I get rich? I'm just a cook. How can I afford a car worth hundreds of thousands? This is the betrothal gift from your uncle. My He Hua is engaged to your cousin An Huan."

"Ah, He Hua and An Huan are not that old, right? They got engaged so soon, when did it happen?"

"It was this year. After our two children graduated, we fell in love with each other and decided to get married."

Sha Zhu took out his phone from his pocket again and said, "The Shanhe family is very generous. They gave me a car and a phone just for my engagement. Now I have everything I need."

"Uncle Silly, you will enjoy a happy life in the future. He Hua also married well. I was kicked out by my husband's family."

"You are still young, and you have a long life ahead of you. You are not even thirty yet, and your silly uncle is still unmarried at the age of thirty. I believe you will have a good life in the future."

"Well, I hope so."

After boiling several thermoses of water, Ma Dongmei asked Sha Zhu to wash his feet first, otherwise Sha Zhu's sweaty feet would keep people awake at night.

After Shazhu finished washing his feet, he was driven into the inner room and asked Xiaodang to wash his feet properly.