The ups and downs of life in the Siheyuan

When he got off work in the evening, Lao Songtou gave Li Yuan a wink. Li Yuan understood it and left the ink at the end.

"Here, I promise you will drink it at night, and the flesh will be created at noon. This is my promise."

Li Yuan took a wine bottle. Judging from the weight, it should be more than 2 taels.

"You're so angry! See you later!"

Back home, Li Yuan cut a potato, two cabbage leaves, took out the chicken legs, cut them into fifths, then chopped them into pieces and put them in the pot.

I didn't dare to fry it in oil for fear of getting the aroma, so I boiled it directly in water, added salt, a spoonful of lard, covered the pot, and simmered slowly on the stove.

Take out a pound of flour, mix it three times, divide five by two, and place it next to the stove to rest.

Fan the pot lid with your hands, and the rich aroma of lard wafts out.

Li Yuan was so frightened that he ran to the door, opened the door, and sealed the crack tightly with towels and rag strips.

He took a few steps back to see if there was anything wrong, and then returned to the stove nervously. Look at the dough and roll it out directly without waiting for it to wake up.

Soon a steaming pot of lard, chicken, and noodle soup came out of the pot.

Li Yuan was not afraid of being burned, so he slurped it up and finished it quickly.

Look at the sky, it's completely dark. There were no books to read at home, and the dim light of the kerosene lamp was not good for my eyes if I read for a long time, so I simply changed my clothes and went to bed.

The next morning, Li Yuan was awakened by the sound outside the house.

I got up with difficulty and noticed that the check-in button was dim and I knew it was not 7 o'clock.

Shivering, I lit the stove, and the red flame illuminated the whole room, adding a warm color.

Yesterday, I had pork chops, chicken legs, stewed vegetables, and steamed buns, and the environment in my belly has improved.

I chose roasted sweet potatoes for breakfast.

Two sweet potatoes, which add up to a pound, are put under the stove and stirred while roasting.

The sweet potatoes were already ripe when I heard the sound of someone getting up early to pour night fragrance outside the door.

Take it out and place it on the table. While it is hot, pat the surface with your hands to remove dust. Then wipe it with a towel, and a thin layer of crispy skin will fall off the surface, revealing the golden meat roasted inside.

Strips of slightly brown sugar are spread vertically and horizontally across the mesh, which greatly increases appetite.

Recalling the past, the original owner would burn the sweet potatoes every time, and the rest of the moisture would be lost, resulting in a huge difference in taste.

In the mouth, the fragrance is touching, and the taste is much better than that of later generations.

Two sweet potatoes were wiped out in a few mouthfuls. The acid reflux in his stomach did not appear in the past. Maybe he didn't have enough time, so Li Yuan didn't bother to care.

Hearing the sound of shoveling snow outside the door, Li Yuan, fully dressed, walked out of the warm nest with a shovel.

As soon as he went out, the cold air made Li Yuan's nose sore and tears tended to fall.

He tightened his gloves, pulled down the cotton hat, and held the mask with both hands through the gloves.

It has cleared up today, and the gloominess of yesterday seems to have never appeared.

"Good morning, Xiao Li".

"Third uncle, brother Jie Cheng, Jiefang is early. Hey, Jie Kuang is out today too."

"Good morning, Brother Chen."

. . . . . .

Li Yuan's departure brought another wave of greetings.

Everyone started shoveling the snow from the door of their house, and then concentrated all the snow in the flower bed in the courtyard. Young people like Xie Kuang had already started building snowmen in it.

After chatting for a while, the people in the middle courtyard and backyard came out under the leadership of the first and second uncles.

Each family consciously sent out an adult, walked out of the courtyard, came to the entrance of the alley, and began to clear the snow in the alley.

At this time, people in the alley had already begun to clean the snow in front of their respective yards, especially the courtyards near the alley entrance.

Each compound only has a small alley, and each person carries the snow in a basket and throws it into the toilet septic tank. After a while, it piles up high.

In the past, there would be disputes every spring and winter. Everyone would pile snow on both sides of the alley, leaving an aisle in the middle. In the end, the residents in the front and back yards of each courtyard would not do it.

All the snow accumulated in one winter is piled at the base of the wall, followed by the cold, which will also cause damage to the base of the wall for a long time.

In the end, the streets unanimously requested that the snow in the alley should not be discharged from the hospital, and the snow in the alley should be poured into the septic tank. Only then could the harmony between the compounds be restored.

"Xiao Yuan, the scrap iron quota required by my street has not been completed yet. Can you help me a little bit?"

Qi Aiguo in the backyard smiled at Li Yuan.

There is a family in the backyard, a family of five, including his parents, him, and his two younger brothers. They live on the east side of the back yard, next to the second uncle.

"All the scrap metal companies in our scrap station have arrangements. I, a small soldier, do not have the right to make arrangements."

Li Yuan looked embarrassed.

Starting from the beginning of the year, the streets responded to the call and began to collect scrap iron and send it to the nearest steel rolling mill. Each household has a quota, starting with 5 pounds per household and 10 pounds in the second round.

As the saying goes, relying on the mountain to eat the mountain, relying on the steel rolling mill to eat the factory, some brave people carry a screw with a small metal corner every day, which is too small to be easily noticed by the guard.

Even if you find out, you can lie and claim that you were negligent at work and did not pick out your pocket before leaving get off work.

Under normal circumstances, the security guards would not care about these gadgets, so-called turning a blind eye.

Qi's father and Qi Aiguo both work in the steel rolling mill, so it's a bit strange that they haven't raised their share.

"Forget it, I have no choice but to hand over the cooking pot." Qi Aiguo picked up the shovel and walked back to the compound lonely.

"Hey, Mr. Qi offended someone he couldn't afford to offend and was targeted." Silly Zhu leaned over and muttered secretly.

"However, your kid has been hanging out with people from the work lately, and I haven't invited my brother to drink for a long time." Silly Zhu dragged the shovel backwards and put his arm around Li Yuan's shoulders.

"Next time, I'll wait for the rainy weekend and let's have a holiday. I'll prepare some delicious food and sit down together then."

"Okay, I'll make some good food then."

He Yuzhu is the younger sister of Shazhu (He Yuzhu). She has just entered junior high school and actually chooses to live on campus.

Maybe it was because Li Yuan was a kind person, but Yu Yu had problems with his studies, so he was willing to go to Li Yuan for advice.

There are many people in the courtyard who insist on studying, but few study well. Among them, Li Yuan is an alternative. I can't say he is number one in school, but he is definitely number one in the courtyard.

In fact, we can’t blame the children. Nowadays, life is difficult for every family. Children have been taught to reduce the burden on the family since they were young. After school, they have to pick up rags to supplement the family income.

Coupled with the various labor classes in school, most children are at the age where they love to play, and most children are not motivated enough to learn.

Parents work hard every day, and most of them are illiterate, even if they want to be tutored, so it is easy for their children to herd sheep.

After going back and forth, Yu Yu and Li Yuan became closer.

"Brother Zhuzi, what time is it?" Li Yuan asked.

Silly Zhu lifted up his sleeves, stretched out the dial in front of Li Yuan and said, "7:35".

Silly Zhu's watch was left by He Daqing. There is also an alarm clock at home, which is relatively complete.

At that time, He Daqing directly bought the main house in the middle courtyard, the two main rooms and the east side room, which totaled 50 square meters.

After Yu Yu entered junior high school, he couldn't stand Si Zhu's snoring, so he moved to the penthouse.

According to memory, He Daqing is the heir to the authentic Tan family cuisine. He worked as a cook at Qinghetang before liberation, and later became a chef at Lou's Steel Company (Red Star Steel Rolling Plant) for unknown reasons.

After many years of operation, I have accumulated considerable savings.

Six years ago, it was said that for the sake of a widow, he left his brother and sister Si Zhu and ran away to Baoding.

Aunt Ma often criticized He Daqing for being irresponsible. Si Zhu and his sister would have starved to death long ago if they were not taken care of by the people in the hospital.

As a later person, Li Yuan felt that this matter was strange. The tiger's poison could not eat its seeds, and the fact that he left so much property to his brothers and sisters showed that He Daqing had no choice but to flee Kyoto in a hurry.