I am in the courtyard, animals are just vegetables!

On October 3150, Cao Dongfang assembled the bicycle, handed it to Hou Jie, and took the yuan he earned home.

The money was earned very quickly, more than 3000 yuan in less than 50 days, which was Yi Zhonghai's salary for months. After entering the factory, the salary of the workers was really not enough.

Because Chen Xueru is still in confinement after giving birth, I didn't say goodbye to her when I returned to the courtyard. Everything will be fine starting tomorrow until January 17th, when the students have their holiday.

"Mom, I'm going to the south for some work during the holiday and will be back before the Spring Festival." Cao Dongfang said to his mother after He Yushui fell asleep.

"Is the matter important? Is it unsafe to go south now?" asked Cao's mother.

"This is very important. I will go there by train. I also have a letter of introduction. You can tell others that I am going to visit relatives in the south to look for your relatives!

It's fine to come back before the Spring Festival. It won't be unsafe to go by train." Cao Dongfang said.

"Then go ahead. Be careful on the road and come back early. You shouldn't have let your father take you with him to the war. You are too wild." Cao's mother said.

"Haha, fighting is a small matter. I'll put some meat in the cellar before I leave. You can cook it and I'll come back to have a good meal." Cao Dongfang said.

"Okay, half a month is not long. Just be careful when you go out." said Cao's mother.

"Tomorrow when you get off work, we'll go to Chen Xueru's place to make two new sets of clothes for the New Year, and then go to Donglaishun for hot pot.

No need to go home, I will wait for you at Chen Xueru's shop with Yu Shui." Cao Dongfang said.

"Okay, I know the place and can be there at 5:." Cao's mother agreed.

......

I've grown taller and my clothes are too small.

After school, he took He Yushui to Chen Xueru's place to make clothes. He Yushui couldn't stand Cao Dongfang, so he had to agree to make clothes together.

Cao's mother and Cao Jiajia arrived, and each of the four people had two sets of clothes, both cotton-padded jackets and overcoats.

Cao's mother and Cao Dongfang didn't care. He Yushui felt a little embarrassed, but Cao Jiajia was happy because she had new clothes to wear.

Clapping his hands happily.

When she made her own clothes, she chose the fabrics herself and asked for the styles she liked. Cao's mother did not stop her and even let He Yushui choose the fabrics herself.

Fabrics from the 50s, women's can still be selected, but men's really don't need to be selected, there are only three colors for winter, only three colors -

Gray, blue, black!

Cao Dongfang chose blue and black!

Cao Dongfang doesn't like gray.

The tailor in the shop measured each person's size, made them in 7 days, and sent them home. Cao Dongfang was familiar with the people in the shop, and the money for the clothes would be paid later.

It’s okay, let’s go to Donglaishun Hotpot. After eating at Cao Jiajia half a month ago, I really want to eat it again. Let’s eat it. I can eat it every day without getting tired of it.

The mutton here is really great, and Donglaishun has strict regulations on the quality of mutton.

The sheep are selected from sheep that have been castrated for one to one and a half years in Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia. The sheep here have sweet water and tender grass, which are rich in minerals, so the mutton is tender and has no smell.

Only five parts of the sheep are used: "upper brain", "small three forks", "big three forks", "cucumber strips" and "grinding", which accounts for less than 40% of the whole sheep.

This spirit of striving for excellence ensures the unique taste of the mutton at Donglaishun Shabu Shabu.

Candied garlic and seasonings are also a major feature of Donglaishun shabu-shabu mutton. The candied garlic must be made from the fine variety of large six-clove garlic from Daqing River in Bazhou City, Hebei Province. After being made, it is sweet and sour, crisp and appetizing, and very greasy.

The seasoning is also carefully prepared, with a variety of spices blended together, which not only highlights the deliciousness of the mutton, but also adds a rich sense of layering.

After the public-private partnership in 1955, the quality of the centrally purchased mutton declined, and diners felt that the Donglaishun mutton hotpot was not as delicious as before.

This great debate on "socialist mutton is not as delicious as capitalist mutton" caused a sensation, and the central government even sent a working group to investigate.

After the improvements, Donglaishun finally won the hearts of diners again.

No matter what, the mutton hotpot nowadays is really delicious. Cao Dongfang and his three friends directly ordered four pounds of mutton, which the chef cut into pieces right away. The size, thickness and thickness all looked the same.

Once put into the pot, the mutton is delicious, tender and easy to chew!

Even Cao Jiajia liked it. She could chew it well and thought it tasted good. She also ordered four vegetarian dishes: cabbage, vermicelli, tofu and radish.

Four pounds of mutton filled four large plates, and the four vegetarian dishes were also sufficient. The cabbage and radish looked very fresh.

Vermicelli and tofu are Cao Dongfang's favorite dishes, while Cao's mother and her two children eat cabbage and radish.

The last time we came, four of us ate this much. Let’s start eating. It’s so comfortable to have a pot of steaming mutton hotpot in the middle of winter!

Last time I finished eating there it cost less than 15 bucks in total. Money is really valuable nowadays.

They ate and talked for an hour and a half. As soon as Cao Jiajia finished her meal, she asked when we could eat again.

"If you like to eat it, you can come anytime. It's a pity that the hot pot smells strong, otherwise we could eat it at home and not have to go out in the middle of winter." Cao Dongfang said with a little regret.

"We have a mutton hotpot at home, but it hasn't been used for two years. The Spring Festival is coming soon, so we can have it once in a while," said Cao's mother.

"It's too much trouble. If you want to eat, just come here. The mutton here is specially selected!

Other mutton may not taste good in hot pot. It’s not far away, so I can walk home as a walk. "Cao Dongfang said.

"Yes, we can eat more mutton in winter. Jiajia wants to come again. We can eat here once every three days. We have vegetables. The food here is delicious and cheap." said Cao's mother.

It's hard to understand what my mother means by "cheap". A meal costs 15 yuan, and her salary is only enough for two meals. But I have money, so it's enough for every day.

He Yushui also stared at Cao's mother and Cao Dongfang with wide eyes, thinking that this mother and son were not very good at settling accounts.

It takes her father three months to send her 15 yuan, which covers all her expenses, including food and school.

However, after eating at Cao's house for four months, He Yushui also understood that Brother Dongfang was really rich. If he was not afraid of the jealousy of others, the food would be better and everything about Brother Dongfang would be good.

I just don’t know how to save money to live!

If Cao Dongfang knew what He Yushui was thinking, he would definitely tell her - money is earned, not saved!

Cao Jiajia didn’t understand anything and was happy just thinking about eating once every three days.

The four of them talked as they walked, taking a walk to digest their food, as mutton is easier to digest.

......

After returning home, He Yushui shoveled a shovel of burning coal from the stove and returned to her cabin.

Cao Dongfang took out 3000 yuan and gave it to Cao's mother.

"Mom, keep this money. You can use it to buy things when I'm not around for a few days."

"I can't spend so much money. I have hardly spent any of my salary in the past few months. You are going out in a few days, so bring more money with you," said Cao's mother.

"Please keep it. This is the money I earned from installing a radio and a bicycle for Chen Xueru a few days ago. I still have more than 4,000 yuan, which is enough for me. I will still make money after the New Year." Cao Dongfang said.

"Then I'll take it and deposit it in the bank. The 500 yuan left will be enough to buy some things for the New Year," said Cao's mother.

"Look at you, I bought it early when I came back. I bought things that can be stored but are not food these days." Cao Dongfang said.

"That's fine."

......

On New Year's Day in 1954, Cao Dongfang made braised pork at home again. New Year's Day is also a holiday, but it is far less important than the Spring Festival in China.

There was only one fire on the stove. Cao Dongfang originally wanted to cook a chicken stew with mushrooms, but then he thought better of it.

Make some Beijing-style shredded pork, some mutton soup, some shredded potatoes with vinegar, and some scrambled eggs.

Four dishes and one soup are complete.

"Yushui, take these two lunch boxes of braised pork to Grandma Wang and Sister Chen's homes.

At half past five, only He Yushui and Cao Dongfang were at home. Cao's mother worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, and she worked all day, so people had staggered breaks!

Things got better after the public-private partnership in 55, when many places were able to have normal holidays.

Grandma Wang and Widow Chen’s family now basically provide food once every two weeks.

There are roast duck, roast chicken and big meat buns. This time, everyone in the hospital can smell the braised pork, so they sent some as well.

After a while, He Yushui came back and said that the two families thanked Cao Dongfang and Cao's mother, etc. They asked the Cao family to have enough food and not to save money for them...etc.

Ten minutes later, Cao's mother brought Cao Jiajia back, and the four of them prepared to eat.

"Dongfang, have you delivered the braised pork to Grandma Wang and Xiao Chen?" asked Cao's mother.

"I asked Yu Shui to deliver it at 5:30. Have some mutton soup to warm yourself up first." Cao Dongfang said.

"I like braised pork, and mutton soup is also delicious." Cao Jiajia said with a laugh.

"It's delicious, eat more. We made a lot today and can eat it tomorrow. Cao Jiajia, you've gained weight. You need to lose weight and eat more vegetarian food." Cao Dongfang teased Cao Jiajia.

"Humph, bad brother, I don't want to eat vegetarian food. I want to eat braised pork and mutton soup." Cao Jiajia knows a lot about food now.

"Dongfang, don't tease Jiajia. Jiajia should eat some vegetables after eating meat, which will help digestion." said Cao's mother.

"Okay, Mom."