Siheyuan: A Family of Loyal and Brave People

You get what you pay for. The oily chickens raised by Old Man Liu are of excellent quality, so they are naturally not cheap. One chicken costs fifteen thousand, which is several times more expensive than ordinary chicken. This is the discounted price since Cheng Hao asked for more.

After paying the money, Cheng Hao and He Yuzhu tied the chicken up with a rope and hung it on the bicycle, then set out on the road back to the city.

Ten chickens weighing several dozen kilograms were not a big burden for Cheng Hao, but they took up a lot of space after all. With He Yuzhu sitting on the back seat, the bicycle seemed a bit crowded and cramped, and the speed inevitably slowed down.

The return journey took more than two hours, and it was already noon when we returned to Xining Street.

After the snow, the sky cleared up, the clouds dispersed, and the warm sunshine shone into the earth, bringing warmth.

"Zhu Zi, this time it's all thanks to you.

Take this chicken back and use it to nourish your sister-in-law and help her give birth to a big fat boy as soon as possible."

Cheng Hao took a fried chicken off the handlebars and handed it to He Yuzhu.

"Thank you, Brother Hao."

He Yuzhu did not refuse. He took the chicken with a smile and thought about how to cook it when he got home in the evening, whether to stir-fry it, braise it, or stew it. It would be delicious no matter how it was cooked.

“It’s getting late, I should go back and cook.

Let’s talk next time when we are free.”

Patting He Yuzhu on the shoulder, Cheng Hao said goodbye and went home.

When Cheng Hao got home and greeted them, he saw Xu Yun busy in the kitchen.

Cheng Hao parked the car and rushed over without even bothering to unhook his wife, holding her cold hands that had been soaked in cold water, and said distressedly, "Didn't I tell you to rest well in the house?

I'll take care of this kind of thing, you go back to the house first, don't catch a cold."

Xu Yun shook her head. Perhaps because the temperature rose at noon, her face looked a little rosy and she felt much better than in the morning.

"It's okay. I'm not that delicate. I'm just three months pregnant. I'm not too pregnant to work in the fields."

Life is not easy. In this era, many women who are about to give birth still have to do heavy labor.

Especially in remote rural areas where conditions are difficult, some women give birth in the morning and continue working in the afternoon without even having time to catch their breath.

"The doctor said you need to rest, you should listen to the doctor's advice and go back to your room to rest.

I'm here outside, so take a good rest today."

Cheng Hao's attitude was very firm, and he even wanted to carry Xu Yun back into the house directly.

Xu Yun is still a little weak, and it would be troublesome if she caught a cold again.

Xu Yun could not persuade her husband and could only go back to the house, wipe her hands and lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her bright eyes. It was her first time to be a mother and she had no experience, so she was inevitably flustered. Fortunately, she had her husband by her side and she finally calmed down.

Cheng Hao took over the kitchen chores, turned around, untied a fried chicken from the bicycle, and prepared it neatly.

Put the whole chicken into a casserole, add various side dishes and a finger-thick ginseng and stew.

High-end ingredients often only require the simplest method to cook. Apart from a handful of salt, Cheng Hao did not add any other seasonings.

As the water in the casserole boiled, a fresh aroma from the mountains slowly wafted out from the kitchen.

Cheng Hao felt more excited when he smelled the fragrance. This ginseng chicken was indeed nourishing. After a bowl of chicken soup, he was so fragrant that he felt dizzy.

It would take some time for the soup to cook, so Cheng Hao turned down the heat, turned to the yard, and started to deal with the remaining chicken on the bicycle.

I don’t know if it was because they were frightened by the cruel scene of their own kind being slaughtered, but the remaining chickens became much quieter, no longer flapping their wings on the road trying to break free from the restraints.

Cheng Hao did not relax his vigilance even though the chickens had quieted down. These chickens were very fierce and could leap onto the roof with a single leap.

It would be difficult to catch them if they escape.

Cheng Hao untied them from the bicycle one by one, tied one leg with a rope, and tied it to the wooden rack beside the courtyard wall.

After the restraints were released, the originally quiet chickens immediately flapped their wings and flew into the sky. Unfortunately, their feet were tied with ropes, and they could not escape no matter how they struggled.

No matter how strong and powerful it is, it is just a broiler after all. Once it falls into Cheng Hao's hands, it will be slaughtered.

They were only tied to the wooden frame temporarily. Cheng Hao was going to go out in the afternoon to buy a few proper chicken coops and stuff all the chickens in there. Otherwise, it would be bad if they kept running around outside from time to time.

Moreover, chickens are not as sensible and clean as humans. After being tied up for a short time, a lot of dirt appeared on the ground, making the yard dirty, and Cheng Hao had to trouble to clean it up.

After the chicken soup was ready, Cheng Hao went back to the house and called his wife to come for dinner.

A basket of hot steamed buns, a pot of steaming ginseng chicken soup, and a few side dishes make a hearty lunch.

Cheng Hao first served Xu Yun a bowl of chicken soup and said expectantly, "I bought this chicken outside the city this morning. Come and taste it and see how it tastes."

The snow outside had not melted yet and the weather was very cold. The steaming chicken soup looked particularly tempting.

"Whoo~"

Xu Yun carefully blew away the floating oil on the surface of the chicken soup, took a light sip, and then her eyes lit up, and she quickly drank the whole bowl of chicken soup.

"Hmm~"

Exhaling a breath of satisfaction, Xu Yun's face became even rosier and she looked much more energetic.

It can be seen that delicious food is indeed a good medicine to heal people's hearts.

"Delicious."

Xu Yun expressed her feelings in the simplest language. When she looked into the casserole, she picked up a piece of light yellow medicinal material with chopsticks and asked, "What is this?"

"Ginseng stewed with chicken is very nourishing. Drink a few more bowls."

Cheng Hao did not hide anything and told the truth directly.

"Korean ginseng? Where did you get it?"

Xu Yun let go of the chopsticks, and half of the Korean ginseng she picked up sank into the casserole again, and then half floated on the soup.

Many people out there don’t have enough food to eat and can only eat meat a few times a year. Unexpectedly, Cheng Hao made a pot of Korean ginseng stewed chicken.

“Of course I bought it.

You forgot that I was stationed in Korea for two years."

The Korean War was still going on and people's lives were still difficult. Cheng Hao had engaged in trade, exchanging grain for Korean ginseng, sable fur and other specialties, which was beneficial to both sides.

"Well, you are really a hidden talent."

Xu Yun looked at her husband and joked.

"But why didn't you think of taking it out before?"

“No one would eat ginseng for a meal if they have nothing to do.

It was only after the doctor reminded me that I remembered it.

We still have dozens of Korean ginseng at home. If you like, I will slowly stew it for you to eat."

In Cheng Hao's opinion, ginseng is a tonic and healthy people don't need to take it, so he just keeps it in the space.

If Xu Yun hadn't been pregnant, it would have taken who knows how many years for these ginsengs to see the light of day again.

"Dozens?"

Xu Yun was so shocked that she almost couldn't hold the chopsticks. It turned out that Cheng Hao really planned to eat ginseng as a meal.

"Why did you buy so much? Will anything go wrong?"

Xu Yun found that she didn't understand her husband well enough.

“When I was in North Korea, I bought more because they were cheap.

Over the course of two years, I bought a few from time to time, and now I have dozens of them.

The problem is there is no problem.

This ginseng was not stolen or robbed, it came from a clean source, there is nothing wrong with it.

Besides, you and I are the only ones who know about this, so it will be fine."