Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

54

Yang Jun was about to tell the truth about the amount, but when he saw Yang Liu and Yang Yu's nervous expressions, he immediately changed his strategy: "... Sanmao."

Yang Jun didn't dare to tell the truth. If Wang Yuying knew that he gave his sister 30 yuan as a New Year's gift, they would probably only be able to keep a few cents.

"Only give them three cents?!" Wang Yuying looked at her son in surprise, finding it hard to believe that a guy who loved his sister so much would only give them so little.

Facing his mother's suspicious look, Yang Jun was a little embarrassed and said with a silly grin, "Actually, it's three yuan."

When Wang Yuying heard that it was only three dollars, she felt it was reasonable, but deep down she still thought it was a little too much.

"Old Four, keep these two pieces. I'll keep them for you, and the rest is pocket money.

The fifth child is still young and doesn't need pocket money." After saying this, she glanced at Yangmei and Yangliu again.

"And you guys, decide for yourselves how to deal with it."

At this moment, the youngest daughter, Yang Laosi, had her mouth full of bulging dumplings and was looking at her mother with tears in her eyes, looking aggrieved.

Why is there such a big difference in treatment between biological daughters?

"I...I don't accept it!"

Before she could finish, Yang Liu covered her mouth with her hand and kept winking at her, implying that if she continued to make trouble, the thirty yuan might be lost, and she would be lucky to get two yuan at the moment.

Although Yang Laosi had delicious food in his mouth, his throat was full and he couldn't speak. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

She couldn't go against the adults' wishes and could only accept her grievances silently.

As for the 30 yuan New Year's money for her little brother Yang Huai, Yang Mei had already quietly put it away.

As for whether it would be "handed in" as she said, even she herself was unsure.

By dinner time, a group of helpers had gathered at the door. They were the army that came to help prepare for tomorrow's wedding, and many things had to be prepared in advance today.

For the arduous task of setting up the stove and building the furnace, my uncle had long ago asked Liu Guangfu to fetch a cartload of soil and bricks from somewhere.

Following Sha Zhu's command, several strong men in the yard began to build the stove in an orderly manner, and then lit the fire, hoping that the stove could be dried quickly before it was officially used.

A total of four stoves were built, which are used for making soup, stewing, stir-frying and providing warm water.

In Sha Zhu's eyes, these small kitchens have clear division of labor and operate in a coordinated manner.

Ma Hua, Liu Lan, and Chef Wang, the canteen staff who used to cook with Sha Zhu, were all present, as well as Liu Hongchang, the famous chef from the second canteen of the guesthouse, who was specially invited by Sha Zhu.

He is quite famous in Beijing, and is known as one of the "Four Famous Chefs" along with Sha Zhu and Nan Yi from the Machinery Factory.

Now that two top chefs have appeared at the same time, the scale of today's wedding banquet is comparable to a national celebration.

[Seeing everyone busy preparing for his wedding, Yang Jun couldn't just stand by and watch.

So he went back into the house and took out six packs of Daqianmen cigarettes.

"Uncle, you've worked hard. Let's share these cigarettes."

There is an unspoken custom in the capital that helping others is not free labor.

At the very least, there should be enough cigarettes to entertain smokers. A pack of cigarettes per person may seem a little shabby, but even one cigarette per person cannot be ignored.

"One pack per person?" said my second uncle in surprise as he looked at the six boxes of Daqianmen.

"Yeah." Yang Jun nodded in confirmation.

Hearing this answer, my uncle's eyes twitched.

This Yang is really rich and generous. He can even give away 35 cents per pack of Daqianmen.

A pack costs 35 cents, a box costs 75 cents, and six packs together cost 21 yuan.

Moreover, today is morning, and there will be another round in the afternoon, so a pack per person will cost more than 40 yuan in total.

The wedding will last for two days, and the helpers will also accompany them for two days.

The money for cigarettes alone is equivalent to his entire month's salary.

I remember that when my Liu Guanghui got married, our family used Hezuo brand cigarettes which cost eight cents per pack, which was considered a relatively good choice.

However, the Yang family actually gave each person 35 cents for a Daqianmen, a level of luxury that makes people envious.

In comparison, if it is not too conspicuous, Yang Jun actually doesn't mind using the internally supplied Zhonghua cigarettes.

But he hasn't reached such a high profile yet.

After taking the six packs of Daqianmen, my second uncle began to distribute tobacco.

Regardless of gender, anyone who helps out can get a box.

The preparations were completed at two in the afternoon.

Afterwards, a light dinner will be left to entertain those who helped.

A casual banquet is different from a formal meal. It mainly consists of simple home-cooked dishes. At least it will not include simple dishes such as pickled radish and cabbage.

Including the people who help and the chef, we need to open at least five or six tables.

This is a considerable expense for an ordinary family.

Smart families will serve their guests "three hard bowls" (a hometown custom, usually including pork, chicken and fish), while more sincere families will ask the chef to separate some of the ingredients for the formal banquet and process them, so that they can have a decent simple meal.

Yang Jun's lunch was extremely rich, with a total of eight dishes, including five hot dishes and three cold dishes, four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes. This size of lunch even exceeded the level of a full meal and was particularly sumptuous.

The menu includes stewed pork with potatoes, cold cucumber salad, dried bean sprouts, drunkard peanuts, braised pork, pickled fish, lamb with melon seeds and braised eggplant.

Sha Zhu had obtained Yang Jun's permission in advance, so he reserved a large amount of ingredients for the next day's main meal and used the rest to prepare light meals.

There was also a light meal the next morning for the helpers, and a final meal was arranged to entertain everyone until the bride arrived.

Yang Jun warmly entertained all guests in the yard, whether they were busy guests or not. As for the children and the elderly who could not sit alone, he asked them to squeeze in and enjoy the meal together.

People were scrambling to taste the steamed corn bread made from a mixture of corn flour and white flour. These ordinary foods, which were rarely eaten at other times, seemed particularly precious in today's delicious meals, and they were eager to eat them for several days in a row.

Jia Zhang's absence made the dining scene more tidy and beautiful, because the people in the courtyard present were embarrassed to pack up the leftovers because they lived in the same courtyard.

As for tomorrow's formal wedding banquet, since there will be many strangers coming, it is expected that everyone will not be as reserved as they are now.

Yang Jun did not dine with everyone, but went home and took out six packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, which he distributed to the second uncle for everyone to smoke.

After the meal, looking at the clean dishes on the table, Yang Jun felt neither amused nor helpless, as if everyone had been starving for many days and deliberately saved the food for today's feast to enjoy.

The second uncle licked the grease on the corner of his mouth, puffed up his belly and gave orders: "After dinner, don't be idle, come and help clean up."

Everyone obeyed the order and immediately became busy. Some were responsible for cleaning up the tables and chairs, some were sweeping the floor, and others were helping the kitchen staff to deliver the sorted ingredients back to the new house.

Soon, everyone finished the cleaning work, and several chefs said hello to Sha Zhu and left.

The other people in the yard had nothing to do, so they formed several groups and started playing with small amounts of money. The New Year's money in the children's hands made them feel very proud.

"You bastard, you are so useless that you gamble with a bunch of kids. Doesn't your conscience feel hurt?" Sha Zhu couldn't help scolding when he saw Xu Damao playing dice with Banggeng and some almost adult children.

Others thought that Xu Damao not only did not feel ashamed but was proud of it, and they condemned him one after another.

Qin Huairu said, "Da Mao, it took a lot of effort to win the child, so I'll just give it to you." Then she handed him a dime and said, "I'll give you some New Year's money."

The whole crowd burst into laughter.

Seeing Qin Huairu teasing Xu Damao like this, Lou Xiaoe also felt embarrassed. Her face turned red and she pulled Xu Damao up and said, "Hurry up and return the money to them. Your family really doesn't need so much money."

However, Xu Damao insisted on winning justice and remained stubborn.

After repeated pleading and pulling in vain, Lou Xiao'e finally had to send him home, leaving two yuan to share with several children before leaving.

In fact, Xu Damao was not a poor man. He had an income of more than 40 yuan a month. Lou Xiao'e was quite wealthy, so their family did not have to worry about money at all.

The reason why he made a bet with the children was simply because he truly loved children and was willing to be with them.

People of the same age around him are married and have children. Although Jia Dongxu has passed away, he left behind three children; Yan Jiecheng and Sha Zhu both have their own families; and Yang Jun is also about to get married.

This contrast made Xu Damao feel a sense of urgency: he had been married for three or four years, but his wife was still pregnant, which made him a little anxious.

Yang Jun glanced at the two of them. Their faces were really similar. Liu Lan was handsome and his brother was also quite good-looking. They really seemed to be from the same family.

"Is this your brother?"

Liu Lan smiled and replied: "It's my brother. I asked him to come over and help because we were too busy."

Yang Jun nodded after listening, and understood the habits of their circle: when there are not enough people, they always like to ask their relatives and friends for help, and when the banquet is over, they can also clean up and pack up the leftover food to earn some pocket money to supplement the family income.

He looked at Liu Zhi, put his hands down, and told him:

"Come to me after work after the New Year and we'll talk in depth."

"Okay, Director Yang..." Liu Zhi agreed.

Today is a good day for Yang Jun. He doesn't want to spoil his mood because of Liu Zhi. Now that he knows that he is his younger brother, he can always find a solution after the New Year.

As for the previous conflicts, they need to be thoroughly understood after the new year anyway.

Yang Jun glared at him as a warning, then walked into the yard.

"Epilepsy," he thought to himself with a laugh.

As soon as we walked out of the gate, Li Tiezhu got out of the car to greet us, followed by seven cars.

Nearly thirty comrades including Ji Deming, Li Lixin, and Wang Dezhi also gathered here.

"Hey, Gangtou Li, don't forget to give me a red envelope of a few hundred yuan.

"

Even on Yang Jun's wedding day, Li Tiezhu and he continued to bicker and insult each other as usual, without any mercy.

Li Tiezhu rolled his eyes and patted his bulging wallet, indicating that he had been prepared and that Yang Jun didn't need to worry.

When the comrades saw their long-lost face, they sent their blessings and interacted closely with Yang Jun.

Seeing his comrades driving seven or eight cars to show their support, Yang Jun felt grateful, as these were brothers who had shared hardships with him.

Those who are better off contribute money to add to the lively scene, and those who cannot afford a car also try their best to show their support.

Everyone came together to support their friend. Even though the bride's family was powerful, the soldiers still hoped to give face to Yang Jun.

Together with Yang Jun’s own jeep, there are eight cars in total, which means good things come in pairs.

Then, Yang Jun proposed to invite his old comrades to his home for tea, but was politely declined.

They explained that they came to help rather than to be guests, and did not enter the house for fear of causing more trouble.

Just as Yang Jun was talking to them at the door, he suddenly saw a familiar Red Flag sedan driving into the alley. This was the car often ridden by his superiors, and he felt vaguely uneasy.

As soon as Jiang Haitao got off the car, he hurried to Yang Jun's side:

"Brother Yang, the situation has changed..."

"Due to an unexpected incident, the woman's side has decided to cancel the banquet. The senior leader asked me to inform you that you need to prepare five more banquet tables. They will come to attend your wedding."

When Yang Jun heard this, his eyelids twitched wildly. He was almost scared to death by Jiang Haitao just now and thought the wedding was cancelled. Now he found out that the other party just didn't want to hold a banquet.

Fortunately, he had reserved five extra tables of seats in advance, otherwise it would have been too late to deal with it.

Even though he had plenty of food in his space, the wedding was just around the corner, and he was afraid it would be too late to prepare for it.

"Brother Haitao, why aren't you holding the banquet for no reason?" Yang Jun asked in confusion.

Jiang Haitao looked around vigilantly and whispered to Yang Jun:

"Something happened in the north of the city. The leader considered the worst-case scenario and temporarily changed the banquet plan."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun knew that Jiang Haitao was referring to the sudden food problem.

This issue involves secret operations, and except for a few people at the top, most citizens are still in the dark.

He didn't dare to ask for more details, and only told Jiang Haitao: "It's okay, brother, don't worry, I will act according to the plan when I go to pick up Qiu Shui."

"Got it, Brother Yang.

Then you go and do your thing, I'll take my leave now."

Chapter 20 Jiang Haitao saw that Yang Jun's side was progressing smoothly, so he did not stay too long and hurried back to report the mission.

To ensure that everything went well, he asked Yu Zhu again about the ingredients. Yu Zhu patted his chest confidently and assured him that he could prepare twenty-five tables for the banquet, so he could put his worries aside.

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