Siheyuan: Cooking journey

The days pass by, just like the sun and the moon taking turns.

The peaceful days seemed to speed up.

The sweet potatoes grown in the steel plant had a good harvest. The big ones were as big as coconuts, and the small ones were as big as bowls.

These sweet potatoes are growing well, and seem to be heralding the arrival of good luck.

The entire steel plant was filled with a festive and joyful atmosphere.

Sweet potatoes are also grown in the cafeteria.

Although there were not many people, when divided equally, each person actually got more than the workers in the workshop.

After harvesting sweet potatoes, the first thing to do is to cook them and enjoy them.

Because they are freshly unearthed, they contain a lot of moisture and the sugar has not yet settled, so the sweet potatoes are not very sweet, but at this time, they are already a rare delicacy.

He Yuzhu thought the sweet potato tasted just average.

He was busy preparing a banquet for Director Yang in the afternoon. When he had some free time, he made a dish of candied sweet potato.

A sweet aroma wafted through the entire kitchen.

Lou Xiao'e's eyes curved into crescents as she ate so much. She shared the food with Yu Li and Liu Lan without any hesitation. The three of them all had beaming smiles on their faces.

Eating desserts always brings happiness to people.

In this atmosphere, even though He Yuzhu didn't like Qin Huairu very much, he didn't deliberately do anything against her.

But when he saw Qin Huairu carefully eating only half a bite, leaving the rest, he couldn't help feeling mixed emotions and shifted his gaze elsewhere.

In the blink of an eye, he noticed a little girl about ten years old standing at the corridor leading from the kitchen to the private room.

He was wearing a small military uniform, had fair skin, and his eyes showed both curiosity and a bit of timidity. He looked over here with his little nose twitching, which was very adorable.

"Liu Lan, is that a guest at Director Yang's banquet?"

He Yuzhu shouted.

The dishes were delivered by Liu Lan before. If they were true, she should recognize them; if not, then they must have run in by themselves from outside.

"What's the matter..."

Liu Lan turned around subconsciously and saw the little girl. She understood what He Yuzhu meant and immediately said, "It's Director Yang's guest."

This shout drew everyone's attention to the little girl.

Seeing how cute the little girl was, Lou Xiao'e smiled sweetly and waved, "Come here, there are delicious foods here."

Unexpectedly, after this greeting, the little girl took a few steps back and seemed even more shy.

"Why don't you come over..."

Lou Xiao'e wrinkled her small nose, looking a little disappointed.

at this time,

There were hurried footsteps from the corridor, accompanied by shouts:

"Xiaoxue, Xiaobai...!"

"Uncle Wang, I'm here." The little girl responded crisply.

"noob..."

A fully armed young soldier ran over from the other end of the corridor. Judging from his attire, he should be a guard.

He first glanced at the people in the kitchen, then half-knelt down and said in a gentle tone:

"Xiaobai, why are you here? We should go back."

"But, but..."

The little girl was obviously unhappy, and her clear eyes stared at the plate of candied sweet potatoes.

The young soldier followed her gaze and understood Xiaobai's thoughts. He hesitated slightly, then straightened his back and saluted.

"Guard Wang Deqing reporting in, may I ask that..."

Wang Deqing?

He Yuzhu couldn't help but look at him a few more times, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar.

But when I think about it carefully, I can't remember where I have seen it.

Look at his handsome appearance.

He Yuzhu understood a little bit. Handsome people always look alike, so it's normal to feel somewhat familiar.

"Comrade, this is He Yuzhu, the head of our cafeteria, Director He."

Liu Lan had seen Wang Deqing before when she was delivering food, so she walked up and helped introduce him.

"Hello, Director He."

Wang Deqing stood up straight again, raised his hand to salute, and asked seriously: "Excuse me, that..."

He Yuzhu was about to answer.

Lou Xiao'e was unwilling to give up. She smiled sweetly and waved to the little girl again.

"Xiao Bai, right? Do you want to eat some? My sweet potato with sugar is not for sale. It's really delicious. If you want to eat it, come over here."

Perhaps because there was a young soldier next to her, the little girl was no longer so scared. After hesitating for a moment, she ran over happily.

Lou Xiao'e picked up a piece of sweet potato mischievously, and long sugar threads were pulled out with the movement, which made the little girl look admiring. She twisted it around a few times and handed it to the little girl's mouth. The little girl took a bite and immediately squinted her eyes, making her even more adorable.

Seeing this, Lou Xiao'e was pleased and couldn't help but rub the little girl's head and patiently guided her.

"Do you want more? Call me Sister E and I'll give you another piece."

"Sister E, Sister E, I called you twice, can you give me two pieces?"

The little girl's eyes were bright and full of anticipation.

"..."

Wang Deqing had a serious face and looked straight ahead, as if he didn't see anything.

Soon, all the sweet potatoes were eaten up, but the little girl was still reluctant to eat more.

Wang Deqing quickly pulled the little girl away, fearing that if he was any later, the little girl would be abducted by someone else.

He Yuzhu pondered the little girl's name and felt it was a little strange.

He knew that the person Director Yang had invited today was his comrade-in-arms Zhou Zhennan from last time.

The little girl is called Xiaobai. Is this a nickname or a nickname?

If your surname is Zhou, then you would be called Zhou Xiaobai, which sounds really familiar.

After this little episode,

The kitchen returned to its usual busy state.

Lou Xiao'e's cheeks turned slightly red. She came over quietly and whispered:

"In the future, let's also give birth to such a cute little girl, okay?"

"We'll go home and try to have a baby."

He Yuzhu gave an affirmative answer with a serious expression.

"Humph..."

Lou Xiao'e blushed, gave him a blank look, turned around and ran towards the office.

He Yuzhu was in a very good mood and inexplicably felt that having a lovely daughter seemed not a bad thing.

As a result, he looked forward to getting off work even more.

Inside the courtyard.

An old man was drinking tea leisurely.

At this time, the aunt came in with a bag of flour she had ground herself.

The old man took a casual look and asked, "She still refuses to accept it?"

"Yes, still the same."

As the aunt spoke, she sighed, "Huai Ru has a strong sense of self-esteem and she refused to accept it. She said that her salary is enough to support the whole family and she doesn't expect anything from us. She just hopes that someone will take care of her child here. She will prepare food in advance.

The old man then asked: "How many times have you sent it there?"

"Well... maybe five or six times." The aunt estimated.

The old man thought about it and explained seriously:

"When you have time, go to the grain store and pick out some good rice, and make some rice soup for Xiao Huaihua. Since she has accepted us as her grandparents, she should not be treated badly in terms of food and drink while she is in our home."

The aunt nodded and said, "Okay, tomorrow I will ask the old lady to help look after the child for a while, and I will go to the grain store myself.

Speaking of which, the old lady also likes these two little guys very much. She didn't know where she hid the wedding candy that Zhuzi distributed last time, and it hasn't melted yet. Today she took it out and gave it to Xiaodang to eat. She also rubbed the candy on Xiao Huaihua's mouth, making Xiao Huaihua so greedy that she kept clapping her hands. The old lady is really funny.

“When people get old, their hearts are like those of children. They love to play with children.”