Siheyuan: Starting with one acre and three fen of land

In the city after the beginning of winter, the daytime sunshine has lost its summer heat and spreads a bit of warmth to the streets.

From time to time, gusts of cold wind blew through the alleys, bringing coldness and dryness, making people feel a little chilly.

He Yuzhu was riding a bicycle with Chen Xueru on the back seat, and the prepared gifts were hung on the front handlebars.

Chen Xueru held her scarf tightly, trying to block the cold wind.

She huddled behind He Yuzhu and asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhuzi, how far is it?"

Her voice came out muffled through the thick scarf.

He Yuzhu pedaled the bike continuously and answered loudly, "Xueru, we'll be there soon."

They walked along the alley for a while and soon arrived in front of a small courtyard. He Yuzhu braked and parked the bicycle steadily at the gate of the courtyard.

Chen Xueru noticed that the car had stopped. She raised her head and looked around curiously: "Brother Zhuzi, is this the place?"

"Yes, we're here." He Yuzhui supported himself on the ground with one foot and stepped on the pedal with the other foot, then turned around and responded.

Chen Xueru got out of the back seat, reached out and patted her beige wool coat, and cast her eyes towards the gate in front of her.

He Yuzhu skillfully propped up his bicycle, walked quickly to the gate, stretched out his hand and knocked on the door, shouting, "Master, we are here! Open the door quickly."

His shouts echoed in the yard, accompanied by the sound of knocking on the door.

Hearing the noise, Li Aizi hurriedly walked towards the courtyard gate.

With the sound of the bolt being pulled, the gate was slowly opened.

Li Aizhi looked at the two people standing outside the door with a smile on her face and greeted them warmly: "Zhu Zi, please come in."

He Yuzhu smiled and replied, "Okay, Master's Wife."

Chen Xueru walked up to Li Aizhi and bowed slightly: "Master's wife, hello. My name is Chen Xueru. It's our first meeting. I wish you good health and longevity."

Li Aizhi looked at Chen Xueru kindly and took her hand. She felt her hand was a little cold and held it tightly: "Xueru, follow Master's wife into the house. Zhuzi, close the gate."

"Okay! Master's wife, please come in first." Seeing this, He Yuzhu nodded in agreement.

Li Aizhi and Chen Xueru walked into the yard first.

At the gate of the courtyard, He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle, stepped over the threshold and entered the yard.

He closed the gate, took the gift from the handlebars, and walked towards the living room.

Walking into the living room, He Yuzhu saw that only the two of them were sitting on chairs chatting.

He placed the gift in his hand on the coffee table next to Chen Xueru's seat: "Master's Wife, where is my Master?"

"He'll be here soon." Li Aizi looked up and replied.

Chen Xueru reached out and took the gift box, handed it to her, and smiled sweetly: "Master's wife, this is a gift from me. Please accept it."

"Oh, you are so polite, kid." Li Aizi reached out to take it, smiling from ear to ear.

At this time, Wu Zhaoxiong walked into the living room holding tea.

He Yuzhu heard footsteps, turned around and saw this scene, then stepped forward and took the tray from his hand.

"Master, I'll do it. Please take a seat first."

When Chen Xueru heard the voice, she stopped talking to Li Aizhi, stood up, bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."

Wu Zhaoxiong glanced at Chen Xueru in front of him and nodded with satisfaction: "Xueru, get up."

"Xue Ru, get up." Li Aizi helped her up.

"Master, Master's Wife, this is your first time here and you didn't know what to prepare. I've prepared some good tea for you." Chen Xueru turned her head and looked at Li Aizhi, "Master's Wife, I've brought you bird's nest and silk."

When Li Aizhi heard that silk and satin were brought, her eyes lit up: "Xue Ru, you just talked to me about making clothes. Please help me think about it."

As she spoke, she turned around and shouted to Wu Zhaoxiong, "Head, I'm going to take Xueru to the room first. You and Zhuzi go ahead and do your work."

He Yuzhu poured tea for Wu Zhaoxiong, and then he saw Li Aizi pulling Chen Xueru out in a hurry.

Seeing this, Wu Zhaoxiong calmly picked up the teacup, took a sip, and showed a look of enjoyment.

"Master, I'll go to the kitchen first." He Yuzhu scratched his head and said when he saw that there were only two of them left.

Wu Zhaoxiong waved his hand, indicating that he could do as he pleased.

The sun is at its zenith, and the sunlight shines into the house through the windows, bringing warmth to the entire room.

At this time, He Yuzhu had already started busying himself in the kitchen.

He was wearing an apron and skillfully stir-frying the dishes in the pot. The aroma soon wafted out of the kitchen.

After a while, He Yuzhu walked into the living room carrying a plate of twice-cooked pork and placed it on the table.

The twice-cooked pork in the plate is fat and lean, exuding an enticing aroma.

"Master, the dishes are ready! I'll go get the dishes and chopsticks." He Yuzhu said, turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

Wu Zhaoxiong glanced at the sumptuous dishes on the table and nodded with satisfaction.

He looked up and watched He Yuzhu leave. Suddenly he remembered something and stood up. He walked to the bedroom door and shouted inside: "Wife, the food is ready. Come out and eat."

"Coming, coming!" Li Aizi's response was immediately heard in the room.

Soon, Li Aizhi and Chen Xueru came out. Their faces were filled with happy smiles, and they were obviously satisfied with today's meeting.

As she walked, she said, "Xue Ru, you really opened my eyes. You should come here more often and chat with me!"

Chen Xueru looked at the kind-looking woman in front of her, thought of her mother far away in Suzhou, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.

She smiled and replied, "Okay, Master's Wife. When I get good materials from Suzhou in the future, I will keep a portion for you."

Li Aizhi smiled brightly and patted her hand gently: "Thank you very much, Xueru. Just leave it to me. Your master has money anyway."

While chatting and laughing, the two of them had already come to the table. The rich aroma hit them in the face, attracting their attention to the table.

Li Aizhi looked at the sumptuous dishes on the table, then turned to look at He Yuzhu who had just entered the room: "Zhuzi, your cooking skills are no worse than your master's."

"Master's wife, you are so kind. I still need to learn more from my master." He Yuzhu put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands and replied with a smile.

Chen Xueru walked forward, took the dishes and chopsticks, and helped to set them aside.

Li Aizhi looked at the perfect couple in front of her and smiled brightly: "Zhu Zi, Xueru is my dear daughter. You must not let her down in the future."

"Master's wife, look at what you said. Am I that kind of person?" He Yuzhu kept adding more rice, turned his head and looked at Li Aizi and replied.

Wu Zhaoxiong watched from the side with a smile and said, "Happy birthday, please sit down!"

Li Aizhi realized that what she had just said was a bit too much, but she kept smiling: "Okay, okay! Let's all sit down and eat!"

Li Aizhi took a bite and immediately praised it, "Mm, delicious! Zhuzi, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

"Thank you for the compliment, Master's wife." He Yuzhu smiled and picked up some dishes for Chen Xueru.

Chen Xueru felt extremely happy when she saw He Yuzhu's gentle and considerate appearance.

Lunch was held in a pleasant atmosphere, with everyone chatting and laughing while enjoying the food.