Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

As soon as Lao Yi said this, Yan Bugui's face on the opposite side changed instantly. Old Yan, who usually couldn't walk when he saw something cheap, stood up and said.

"Yi Zhonghai, uncle, it seems I won't have the chance to eat this meal at your house.

If you want to plot against Section Chief Zhao, don't drag me into this. My small family and business cannot afford to be tossed around by others. Also, for the sake of our long-term neighbors, I advise you that if you want Dongxu to take care of you in your old age, it doesn't matter if he takes sides. But if you insist on looking for trouble, Lao Liu and I will not accompany you. After all, since ancient times, the people should not fight against the officials."

After saying that, he pushed the door open and left without waiting for Lao Yi to reply.

Yi Zhonghai was left puzzled. I just started talking and you guessed what I wanted to say. How are you so smart?

How could he know that Yan Jiecheng told his father about the wild boar that Zhao Shanhe had brought to the factory when he got home from get off work, and kept praising Brother Zhao for being so amazing that he could get a wild boar at this time.

So as soon as Old Yan heard what Yi Zhonghai said, he guessed what he was going to do. Although there was basically no one in charge of Pigeon City at that time, if someone really reported it, the police would still come down to investigate. This is what is called "the officials will not correct the mistakes if the people do not report them."

Although Yan Bugui is not very narrow-minded, loves to calculate, is stingy, and has all the shortcomings at first glance, he still has some character of a scholar. This is also a unique quality of the teachers before liberation. The experts and scholars in later generations have thrown this quality into the stinking ditch long ago. Otherwise, how come there have been no cultural giants like Lu Xun, Lao She, and Ba Jin in more than 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China?

However, Old Yan would not tell Zhao Shanhe about this. He was not a talkative person. If Yi Zhonghai really wanted to deal with Zhao Shanhe, he would just laugh and watch how the other party got into trouble. He had tried to persuade him, and the rest of the way depended on Old Yi himself.

When Zhao Shanhe got off work, he took two kilograms of wild boar meat home. This was a special reward from the factory. He certainly would not miss the opportunity to eat meat openly. He went home and cut it into thick slices to make braised pork, which was really delicious.

That night, the long-lost smell of meat wafted through the yard, making Jia Zhang in the middle courtyard drool. This old woman actually ate a lot of meat that day. She ate almost all of the wild boar meat that Sha Zhu brought back in half a lunch box.

But she still felt very hungry when she smelled the food, so she called Qin Huairu who was busy in the kitchen.

"Go see who's cooking meat? Ask for a bowl for me. The meat is so delicious. I can't sleep if I can't eat it."

As soon as Qin Huairu smelled the aroma of meat, she knew this was going to happen, and thought to herself, you just ate, why do you want me to ask for meat again?

But she could only persuade her mother-in-law calmly.

"Mom, it's hard to buy meat in the city now. Even in the pigeon market, there's no one selling meat. Even if I go to their house and ask for it, they won't give it to me. After all, you know the people in the yard. They are all very selfish."

After hearing what Qin Huairu said, Jia Zhang became unhappy and slammed the table.

"You are a rebel. I told you to go, so you should go. Why are you talking so much nonsense? In our courtyard, we value unity among neighbors and mutual assistance. If someone eats meat and doesn't share some with us, you can go find the uncle. Don't forget that the uncle is Dongxu's master."

The 4-year-old Bang Geng also became excited and rolled around on the ground, shouting.

"I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat. I haven't had enough just now. If you don't give me meat, I won't get up."

Qin Huairu took a last look at Jia Dongxu who was sitting next to her. Seeing that he was silent and seemed to be thinking about something, she had no choice but to take the bowl, open the door and go out.

Following the smell, I came to the front yard. I knew without a doubt that it was Zhao Shanhe's family that was eating meat. There was no way the old Yan family and the old Peng family would be willing to buy meat, not to mention the residents of the back house.

He walked to Zhao Shanhe's door and knocked.

"Bang bang bang."

"Who is it? I wonder if you won't come over at dinner time?"

Zhao Shanhe yelled angrily, opened the door and saw that it was Qin Huairu. He saw that she was holding an empty bowl in her hand, and he knew what this woman was going to do without having to guess.

Without waiting for the other party to speak, he shut him up with words.

"Qin Huairu, you are late. We have just finished eating the meat at home. Come earlier next time if you want to eat."

After saying that, he turned sideways to let the other person see the shiny empty bowls on the dining table behind him. If it were someone else who encountered such humiliation, they would have left long ago, but Qin Huairu was not an ordinary person. Although his expression looked grim, he still replied with a smile.

"Shanhe, Xueru, I'm sorry to disturb you while you're eating. The kids at home are making a fuss and I can't do anything about it. It's alright, I'll leave now."

After Qin Huairu disappeared, Chen Xueru spoke to Zhao Shanhe.

"I really did what you said. There really is such a shameless person. I've never seen such a shameless person in my life."

Zhao Shanhe took out the bowl of braised pork from the inner room, placed it on the dining table and replied with a smile.

“You have lived in this courtyard for a short time and don’t understand the nature of these people.

This is much better than before. If it was this time last year, we wouldn’t have been able to eat a single bite of this little meat, and the deaf old lady in the backyard hadn’t even come out yet.”

Chen Xueru picked up a piece of braised pork for Zhao Shanhe and also picked up a piece for Hou Kui before speaking.

"You are the best, okay? Didn't you fool Qin Huairu away?"

"That's right. Look who I am. I knew something like this would happen, so I prepared an empty bowl just to pretend. I just wanted to see who would come to my house to get scolded."

"I told you you're fat and you're still panting. Let me eat your meat."

Qin Huairu returned to the Jia family with an empty bowl. When Jia Zhang saw that she came back empty-handed, her face was full of displeasure.

"Where's the meat? Why didn't you get it?"

"Mom, I've finished eating. I can't make it for you, right?"

Qin Huairu was also convinced. This old woman wanted to eat good food all day long. Why don’t you go buy some cooked food yourself? You have money too.

After hearing what Qin Huairu said, Jia Zhang was at a loss, but she still didn't want to lose face.

"Why are you standing there with an empty bowl? Go to work."

Qin Huairu sighed and went to the kitchen to continue cleaning up, ignoring Banggeng who was still rolling on the ground. The little guy was still struggling on the ground when Jia Dongxu kicked him.

"Get out of here! Are you done yet? It's so noisy!"

Banggeng was most afraid of Jia Dongxu. Seeing his father angry, he immediately got up from the ground and sat on the stool. His bullying and cowardly attitude was exactly the same as Jia Zhang's upon closer inspection. He was worthy of being Jia Zhang's grandson.

The deaf old lady in the backyard also smelled the meat, but no one made any noise. She also knew that in this difficult period, only a few families could openly cook meat like this.

If Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu were to cook meat, she would definitely have a share. As for the others, it would be better for them not to get into this bad luck.

November 11th is Sunday, the beginning of winter.

Zhao Shanhe had another fight with Chen Xueru last night. As today was Sunday, he was not in a hurry to get up. When he got up, it was already bright and almost 9 o'clock.

After washing up, he took out some white corn and made breakfast. He waited for Hou Kui and Chen Xueru to finish eating before taking them out of the house. He planned to go to Xinhua Bookstore today.

As soon as I walked out of the house, I saw Sha Zhu leading an older woman and a very beautiful girl into the yard. The middle-aged woman Zhao Shanhe didn't even look at them, but why did this young female comrade look so much like Yu Li?