Siheyuan: Becoming a cadre after graduating from technical secondary school

Sizzle, splash...

Today is Sunday. Except for Lin's mother, no one in the Lin family is going to work, so everyone decided to deal with the big carp.

The Lin family has a chef who works as a cook in a state-owned enterprise, so the family must have all the seasonings available. After a little thought, Lin's father immediately decided to steam one and make soup with the other.

Get the pan ready, heat the oil, sauté the scallions, ginger and garlic until fragrant, then push the cut carp into the big iron pan. It will soon become charred and fragrant.

While turning the big carp over, Father Lin said to Lin Zongxuan who was helping him, "Our family has been cooking Shandong cuisine for three generations, and it's no worse than the He family next door."

"If you hadn't been admitted to the technical secondary school, I would have sent you to Zefeng Garden as an apprentice, and when I got older, I would have left the job to you."

After saying that, he glanced at Lin Keke, who was drinking from a cup with foam in her mouth, and added helplessly, "Now I can only pass it on to your stupid sister. Let's see if she can become smarter after drinking such a precious thing as malted milk."

"Maltese isn't a magic medicine."

Lin Zongxuan was a little amused and confused. Ever since he brought home a small can of malted milk a few days ago, Lin Keke has been surrounding the can like a little bee, drinking it in the morning and in the evening, and even making a bowl of it before going to bed.

In fact, he did try some, and it tasted just like the low-fat milk powder of later generations, sweet and fragrant. It might be just what children like, and it made the neighbor's son drool.

Speaking of culinary inheritance, Lin Zongxuan suddenly remembered a minor bug in the original drama. Seeing that the kitchen door was closed, he couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Dad, does the He family really have the Tan family cuisine legacy?"

"Can you believe this?"

Father Lin curled his lips in disdain and stretched out his fingers to count one by one.

"That idiot Zhuzi keeps saying that he has been employed for three generations. Tan's cuisine is official cuisine, not something that ordinary people can eat. In the past, apart from the descendants of the Tan family and those few masters who had entered the sect, who else could cook it?"

"The Quyuan Restaurant is almost out of customers now, and the menu is kept secret. How could the He family learn the Tan family's dishes?"

"Chef Peng (red dishes), Master Cui (white dishes), Scholar Wu (cold dishes), among these, which member of the He family dares to go and pay respect to them?"

Lin Zongxuan carefully recalled the plot of the original drama and immediately nodded in conviction.

While the father and son were chatting, there was a sound of footsteps at the door. The voice came before the person arrived: "Hey, Chef Lin's family is serving meat again today? Hey, braised carp, it smells delicious."

After a while, I saw a figure wearing glasses peeking out of the kitchen window.

This envious expression, this eager look, this shamelessness, only Uncle Yan Bugui can do it.

"Uncle, didn't you go fishing in Houhu today? Then you lost a few dollars of extra money that day, didn't you?"

Lin Zongxuan opened the door and brought a small stool for the third uncle, and the two of them started chatting while eating fish.

These three uncles can indeed be considered to be good at managing the household.

Teachers have a lot of free time. Once they are free, they either go fishing to earn some extra money or help people with their studies to get some food. When they have accumulated a certain amount, they sell it on the black market or at the steel mill. In this way, they support a family of six by themselves.

It’s just a pity for the four children of the Yan family. They smell fish every day but can’t eat fish, and they can’t see meat all year round.

"I went there early in the morning. There were too many people there today, all of them were young couples dating. I fished for the whole morning and only brought back two small black fish."

The uncle gestured with his fingers and asked jokingly, "Your family has plenty of food and clothing now, and you and your father can bring home some good things every now and then, so why aren't you in a hurry to find a partner?"

"Brother Jie Cheng is not in a hurry, so why should I be in a hurry?"

Yan Xiecheng is the eldest son of the Yan family. He is in his 20s this year. He has been working as a temporary worker on the street since graduating from high school. His personal conditions are neither high nor low, and the Yan family is reluctant to find a matchmaker. In the original drama, he did not find a wife until around 65.

The two chatted for a while, and Yan Bugui suddenly said mysteriously: "A few days ago, I was riding my bike on the street and passed by the old 'Yanzhi Hutong' and saw an acquaintance. Guess who it was?"

"Can you tell me more about this?"

Lin Zongxuan suddenly became interested. The Eight Great Hutongs had not been a place for good people to go since before the founding of the People's Republic of China. In his heart, he was secretly guessing who the third uncle was talking about.

Xu Damao must have been there, but he is still in the hospital. Could it be that Sha Zhu couldn't hold it anymore?

But the third uncle stopped talking halfway through his words and just looked at the kitchen with his mouth closed. Lin Zongxuan immediately understood.

"Come on, let Auntie bring the bowl over and I'll get you a bowl to try."

After achieving his goal, the third uncle opened his mouth contentedly:

"You would never guess this person is Dongxu."

After the third uncle left, Lin Zongxuan and Lin Shuming could not help but look at each other.

Jia Dongxu? Leaving such a beautiful wife behind and going to the Bada Hutong?

No wonder Lin Zongxuan had dark circles under his eyes when he saw him at the factory a few times recently. He must have gone out to "eat something" after get off work.

Qin Huairu's belly is already exposed, and she can hardly do the daily dishes and cooking. Her mother at home is a lazy person, so how can Jia Dongxu have the time to do this?

Lin Zongxuan vaguely remembered that the third child of the Jia family, Huaihua, seemed to be a posthumous child. It seemed that the day when Jia Dongxu would be hanged on the wall would not last long.

While Comrade Kobayashi was thinking, the sound of a cane tapping the ground gradually became louder, and a trembling figure walked towards him from a distance.

It turned out to be an old lady with silver hair and kind eyes who came over from the backyard following the smell.

"What a delicious smell! The Lin family boy is the best. He knows that the old lady has bad teeth and likes to eat soft food."

The deaf old lady looked at Lin Zongxuan at the door and said with a smile: "Third child, help grandma into the house quickly and go talk to your grandpa."

Not to mention, he looks even worse than a beggar. At least beggars can cry miserably, but not like this old lady, who looks so bossy. People who don’t know him would really think Lin Zongxuan is her grandson.

"Grandma, my grandpa is out for a walk. He's watching people play chess at the door. You should get up early tomorrow."

Lin Zongxuan was really furious. He had two older brothers who died young. The third child was what his family called him. Outsiders were the eldest son of the Lin family. Who would dare to call him the third child? Wouldn't that be a poke at someone's feelings?

"What did you say?"

The deaf old lady pretended to cover her ears and said in surprise: "You said the fish is almost ready, and I am the only one missing? My dear grandson, help me in quickly."

Lin Zongxuan sneered, went into the kitchen and closed the door tightly.

He finally understood that this old lady might be trying to show off her presence because of what happened with the Jia family last time.

(The "Eight Great Hutongs" were once synonymous with red-light districts and are located to the north of Zhushikou Street and to the south of Tieshuxie Street in the west of the old city.

From west to east, they are: Baishun Hutong, Yanzhi Hutong, Hanjia Hutong, Shaanxi Lane, Shitou Hutong, Wangguangfu Diagonal Street, Zhujia Hutong, and Lishamao Hutong.

In fact, the "Eight Great Hutongs" mentioned by the old man do not refer specifically to these eight streets and alleys, but to the Dashilan area outside Qianmen, because there are nearly a hundred jiuyuans of all sizes distributed in the hutongs outside these eight streets and alleys.