Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"It's time to eat," He Yuzhu shouted.

"Haha..." Jia Dongxu came over after changing his clothes.

"Dad, I told you not to catch fish last time, and look, you fell into the water again. It cost fifty cents to see a doctor last time, and our family didn't have much money to begin with. Now you have to spend money again because you caught a cold, and you just won't listen." Banggeng first criticized Jia Dongxu.

"Get out!" Jia Dongxu said to his son angrily.

"Banggeng is right. Dongxu, don't go fishing in the future. Not only do you not catch any fish, but your clothes get wet every time." Zhang Cuihua immediately supported her grandson.

"I caught a lot this time. Look how much is in the bucket?" Jia Dongxu said unhappily.

"Don't say that. We all heard you asking your seventh uncle to catch him. You are an adult, but you just like to lie. I never lie." Bang Geng said again and almost sent Jia Dongxu away.

"Jia Geng" Jia Dongxu stood up angrily.

Banggeng was not afraid of Jia Dongxu at all because his grandmother was by his side. When faced with Jia Dongxu's loud scolding, he looked up and then continued to eat.

"Dongxu, eat something quickly and drink some hot soup. Don't catch a cold." Zhang Lianhua served a bowl of fish soup to her nephew and asked him to drink it.

"It tastes good, sour and spicy." After drinking it, Jia Dongxu praised He Yuzhu and then served another bowl.

The longer the break between work, the less willing you are to work. It was the same for everyone today. After dinner, we saw that the baskets were almost full, so we didn't want to go up the mountain anymore and went back home.

They were in high spirits when leaving the city, but listless when returning. Zhang Cuihua even fell asleep leaning against the carriage.

They returned to Compound No. 95 at around three o'clock. "Doesn't Dongxu want to eat shepherd's purse and fatty meat dumplings? You guys wash the shepherd's purse, and I'll get some pork belly," Zhang Dabia said to his two sisters after parking the car.

"Seventh Uncle, I like meat dumplings too," Banggeng replied.

"If you like it, eat more. But don't let your father eat them all," said Zhang Dabao, touching Bang Geng's head.

Everyone had no objection to eating dumplings, or dumplings with meat. Then everyone walked towards the yard with today's harvest.

"Sister-in-law, you have dug so many wild vegetables. I and several children have also gone out of the city, but how come we haven't dug up anything?" When Yan Bugui saw the wild vegetables in the hands of Zhang Cuihua and others, his eyes almost grew bigger.

"Old Yan, how far can you go next? Dongxu's seventh uncle has a tricycle. We have been out for at least thirty miles. No one goes there. There are so many things on the mountain. We dug for the whole morning and the baskets are full. We can't dig all the way, we can't dig all the way," said Zhang Cuihua with a sigh.

"Damn it." Zhang Cuihua's words almost pissed Yan Bugui off to death. We can't dig up the gold here, and you can't dig it all up there. It's because your brother has a car that can take you far away. This Zhang Cuihua is really nothing.

"Sister-in-law, please call me next time you go. Shepherd's purse in spring is so delicious. It tastes amazing when made into dumplings. I love it," Yan Bugui said to Zhang Cuihua, hoping that he could go out with her next time. It would be such a wonderful thing to dig endless wild vegetables.

"Mom, give some shepherd's purse to the third uncle." Seeing that the two were arguing endlessly, Jia Dongxu grabbed a handful of shepherd's purse from the basket and gave it to Yan Bugui.

"Dongxu, I'm not..." Yan Bugui took the shepherd's purse and wanted to explain.

"Uncle, we're going to make shepherd's purse dumplings tonight. Uncle Seventh went out to buy pork belly. Banggeng likes to eat fatty meat and shepherd's purse dumplings. He has been greedy for it since he was a child, and I can't help it. You can make a few today. Next time we go, I'll call you along so we can dig more." Jia Dongxu explained and pulled Banggeng towards the central courtyard.

"Dad, don't you want to eat fatty meat and shepherd's purse dumplings? I mean meat dumplings," Banggeng asked as he walked.

"I just want to ask you, do you want to eat shepherd's purse with fat?" Jia Dongxu asked his son.

"Of course I'll eat it. I'm not stupid. What doesn't taste good with fat on it? I'm going to eat a hundred of them tonight, and I can't let you eat them all." Bang Geng broke free from Jia Dongxu's hand and jumped straight to the backyard.

"Fat meat and shepherd's purse dumplings, I like them too. I don't use white flour when making dumplings, but I put fat meat in them. It's really ridiculous. A child can eat a hundred of them. Do you know how much a hundred is? It's almost enough for two of us to eat together." Yan Bugui muttered softly when he saw them leaving.

"Old Yan, didn't you dig up any wild vegetables today? Where did this come from?" Third Aunt Yang Ruihua came out and saw the shepherd's purse in her husband's hand.

"Dongxu gave it to me. Today, Zhang Dabao took his family, including Shazhu's brother and sister, to a faraway place. They dug up four or five baskets of wild vegetables and a bucket of small fish," Yan Bugui said sourly.

"If we had known they were going to Yuannian today, we would not have left so early in the morning and would have just followed them," Yang Ruihua said regretfully.

"It's not possible to follow them. Zhang Dabao's car can't fit all the cargo. I told Zhang Cuihua that next time they go, just take me with them. I'm sure I can do the digging as well as several of them alone," said Yan Bugui.

"That's fine. I just heard you say you wanted to eat dumplings because you have no white flour at home," said Yang Ruihua.

"Are dumplings something we eat at home? That's what Zhang Cuihua and her family eat, and they're made with fatty meat and shepherd's purse. It's really infuriating. Why don't you have a brother like this?" Yan Bugui let out another long sigh.

"My brother? He is poorer than us. He came to borrow money and grain last year, and we had a big fight with him, didn't we? None of his children came to visit during the Chinese New Year this year," said Yang Ruihua.

"Yes, we can't compete. Tonight, I'll add some garlic to the shepherd's purse, and it will be a nice dish." Yan Bugui has a good attitude and recovers quickly.

Zhang Dabao came back in less than half an hour, with four or five pounds of pork belly, more fat and less lean meat, which made Yan Bugui, who was watching through the window, swallow his saliva.

"The meat is coming" Bang Geng saw it first.

There were two professionals, the He brothers and sisters, in the backyard. The vegetables had been cut long ago, and even a lot of big buns with wild leek and eggs had been made, because there were eggs at home. After the meat arrived, He Yuzhu cut the meat, Jia Dongxu chopped the meat, and He Yushui kneaded the dough. Everyone made dumplings together. The buns were cooked at five in the afternoon. Zhang Dabao also sent a bowl of dumplings to Xu Damao, who was resting at home next door due to injury, and Xu Fugui thanked him again and again.

Jia Dongxu was not in the mood to eat tonight. After eating about ten pieces, he didn't want to eat anymore. This was unlike his usual self.

"Dongxu, are you feeling unwell?" Zhang Dabao asked him.

"Seventh Uncle has a headache, maybe he caught a cold today," Jia Dongxu said, raising his head.

"Your face is so red, let me touch it." Zhang Dabao reached out and tried the ingredients Jia Dongxu used, and found that he had a fever.

"Let me take you to the hospital. You've caught a cold and your fever is quite high." Zhang Dabao said as he put on his clothes and wanted to leave.