Siheyuan, Me and the Yu Sisters

Zhang Renkang rode his bike around. The five canteens were about the same size. Each had ten employees, two chefs, four kitchen assistants, and four apprentices. They could accommodate less than two thousand people. Except for the second canteen, which had a sixth-level chef as the team leader, all the other chefs were eighth-level chefs. Zhang Renkang made a circle and didn't say anything about the adjustments. He just said that after the work was done at three o'clock in the afternoon, he would ask the ten chefs to go to the first canteen for a meeting to discuss the matter.

Zhang Renkang rode his bike back to the courtyard, planning to go back and buy some clothes and a watch at the department store. It was already past eleven when he arrived at the courtyard. When there was no one on the street, Zhang Renkang took out a two-pound piece of pork belly from the space and hung it on the handlebars and entered the courtyard. As soon as he entered the hanging flower gate, he was seen by Qin Jingru, who excitedly stepped forward and said,

"Brother Renkang, where did you go yesterday? Why didn't I see you come back?"

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"I came back late yesterday, so you might have gone to bed a long time ago. It's normal that you didn't see it."

Qin Jingru said

"This morning, the lady in the front yard wanted to take some wood from your house, but I stopped her."

Zhang Renkang knew it was Yan Bugui's wife as soon as he heard it. Third Aunt, if they could do this, they probably saw the discarded wood that Zhang Renkang's family had dismantled and wanted to take advantage of it. Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"Sister Jingru, have you had lunch?"

Qin Jingru shook her head and whispered

"That old woman just scolded me for being a freeloader."

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"Wait for a moment, I'll go back and tell the chefs, I'll take you out to eat later."

Then he pushed the cart to the backyard.

As soon as I arrived at the backyard, I saw Wang Jianlin and his team drawing the window opening. When they saw Zhang Renkang coming, they smiled and said,

"Ren Kang is back"

Zhang Renkang walked in and nodded. The two houses inside had been connected and the ground had been basically cleaned. Looking at the progress, they could build the planned windows today. Wang Jianlin brought more than a dozen apprentices and students with him. This efficiency was very high.

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"I just happened to have a piece of pork belly. I'll give it to you and cook it for lunch today."

Wang Jianlin smiled bitterly

"Renkang, don't be so polite. We have already received our wages, and you also gave us 10 yuan for food. I will feel embarrassed if you continue to be like this."

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"Captain Wang, don't worry about it. I just happened to have it and brought it here. It's not something you come across often."

The disciples were so greedy when they saw the pork belly in Zhang Renkang's hand that their mouths watered. In this day and age, they could only eat this kind of meat during festivals.

Zhang Renkang handed the pork belly to Er Gouzi with a smile and said to Wang Jianlin

"Then you guys continue, I'm leaving first, I have other things to do right now."

As he pushed the cart back, he saw Zhang Renkang leaving and said to his disciples:

"See? The boss is very generous and even gave us meat to eat. You must remember to do your job well and not let the boss look down on you."

Er Gouzi took the lead and said

"Master, don't worry. We will never embarrass you or let the boss look down on you."

Zhang Renkang pushed the cart to the middle courtyard, winked at Qin Jingru, and then pushed the cart away. When he reached the front yard, he ran into the third aunt who was going out. The third aunt looked at Zhang Renkang unkindly without saying a word. She was angry about Qin Jingru stopping him from taking the wood this morning, and also because Yan Jiecheng came back last time and said that his relationship with Yu Li had ended, so she hated Zhang Renkang.

Zhang Renkang was too lazy to pay attention to her. The Yan family was the kind of people who would suffer losses if they couldn't take advantage of them. It was not worth wasting energy to pay attention to them. As soon as Zhang Renkang walked out of the door, Qin Jingru ran out right after him. She looked at the third aunt at the door, and both of them snorted coldly without saying a word. As soon as Qin Jingru went out, she saw Zhang Renkang waiting at the intersection with a cart, and hurried over to ask

"Brother Renkang, you have been waiting for a long time."

Zhang Renkang smiled and said

"It's okay, what do you want to eat?"

Qin Jingru said shyly

"I can do whatever you say."

Zhang Renkang thought for a moment and said

"Let me take you to Bian Yi Fang to eat roast duck."

Qin Jingru had eaten roast duck before, but in their village, only the secretary's son had eaten it. When she got home, she boasted to everyone about it, saying that the roast duck was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and extremely fragrant and tender. It was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. When she saw that Zhang Renkang wanted to take her to eat roast duck, she was so happy that she didn't know what to say.

Zhang Renkang got on the bike and started riding. Qin Jingru quickly jumped and sat on the back seat with her legs to the left. The two of them came to Bianyifang. Zhang Renkang walked in and found a seat by the window. He asked Qin Jingru to sit down, took out the menu and shouted:

"Waiter, I want a roast duck, two bottles of Arctic Ocean soda, a plate of peanuts, a plate of cucumbers, and a plate of small cakes."

(Bianyifang roasts duck in a stewed oven, while Quanjude roasts duck in a hanging oven)

Tell Qin Jingru

"There are two roast duck restaurants in Sijiu City, one is Quanjude, and the other is Bianyifang. The roast duck at Bianyifang is stewed. The stewing oven has a door and uses sorghum stalks as fuel, while the hanging oven does not have a door and uses fruit wood such as jujube and pear as fuel. The traditional stewing oven is built directly from the ground with bricks, and the bricks are stacked in a "three on top, four on the bottom, and seven in the middle". There is a door under one wall, and 5-7 stuffed ducks can be roasted in the oven. The roast duck stewed in this way is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fat but not greasy."

Qin Jingru listened with great interest. After a while, the waiter brought up the whole duck. After checking it for the two of them, he began to slice it carefully. After finishing the slices, he asked what to do with the duck skeleton.

Zhang Renkang said

"Hang some soup"

As he spoke, he taught Qin Jingru to roll it up with cucumber and shallots, spread some sauce on it, and put a few pieces of duck meat in it before rolling it up. Qin Jingru took a bite and the aroma of duck meat and the fruity wood aroma wrapped in the fresh fragrance of cucumber burst out between her teeth. The shallots also relieved the greasy feeling, making Qin Jingru feel that this was the most delicious thing in the world.

In less than half an hour, the two of them had eaten more than half of the roast duck. At this time, the waiter also brought up the soup hanging from the duck rack. Zhang Renkang served a bowl to Qin Jingru and said,

"When eating roast duck, you have to use the duck bones to make soup. It is so delicious that even the gods in heaven would cry for it."

Qin Jingru drank the soup in small sips. The delicious duck soup made her fall in love with the good things of the city. She swore in her heart that she would never go back to that small village. She, Qin Jingru, wanted to stay in the capital and be a city dweller.

Qin Jingru burped after drinking a bowl of duck soup and rubbed her stomach contentedly. She looked at Zhang Renkang and thought to herself that she must not miss this person. Qin Jingru asked

"Brother Renkang, what do you think of me? Do you hate me because of my sister's family?"

Zhang Renkang finished eating a mouthful of duck roll and said with a smile

"Not bad, the Jia family is the Jia family, you are you, you are not from the Jia family, otherwise I would not bring you out for dinner."

Qin Jingru heard that Zhang Renkang didn't dislike her and asked

"Brother Renkang, are you willing to marry me? I'm very hardworking and can do anything."

"Don't worry, I will definitely listen to you."

Zhang Renkang smiled and said

"How old are you? You are not even 18 yet. Besides, you are the one who makes the decision."

Qin Jingru said quickly

"I will be 50 next year. Besides, everyone my age in our village is married and has children. I can handle it, Brother Renkang."

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"You are not old enough. The city does not issue marriage certificates. I don't plan to get married this year. Let's wait until next year."

"You are so anxious to get married?"

Qin Jingru said shyly

"Brother Renkang, that's not what I meant."

Zhang Renkang interrupted her and said

"Let's talk about it next year when you are an adult. I won't get married now, so we'll talk about it then."

Qin Jingru pouted and whispered

"You won't marry someone else, will you? Can you wait for me until next year?"

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"I will not consider blind dating and marriage before June next year"

Qin Jingru was relieved after hearing what Zhang Renkang said. She said

"Then it's settled. I'll be eighteen next May, and you won't be able to get married early then."

The two talked for a while before Zhang Renkang called the waiter to settle the bill. A roast duck cost eight yuan, two bottles of soda cost fifty cents, and a few side dishes and duck soup cost twelve yuan and eighty cents. Qin Jingru was stunned. A meal in the city cost them more money than their family could save in a year.