On the way home, Lin Zhaoxi was thinking about how to bring Pei Zhi to appear so as to scare Lao Lin better.
But when we got to the door, the courtyard door was opened, and Comrade Lao Lin, who was pulling the wire for the electric hot pot, raised his head.
She and Pei Zhitong Lao Lin faced each other across the courtyard. So the premeditated plan came to naught, and no one thought that Lao Lin would still have this trick.
"Are you back?" Comrade Lao Lin stood in the golden light of the setting sun and greeted him first.
Pei Zhi nodded, stepped over the threshold, and said solemnly: "Master, I'm back."
"Have you gone grocery shopping?"
"yes."
Pei Zhi carried the plastic bag and walked forward. Lao Lin was still very calm, as if three years had passed in a flash, without any influence.
Lin Zhaoxi coughed softly, "Dad, don't shake your hands."
"Heavy." Lao Lin quickly put down the electric hot pot, lowered his head and began to study, as if he didn't know why the hot pot suddenly changed.
Pei Zhi put down the plastic bag, walked around the stone table, and stood in front of Lao Lin.
Lao Lin raised his head with a smile, and stretched out his hand to Pei Zhi, who honestly put his hand on it and shook hands with him.
Lao Lin: "Student Pei Zhi, I haven't seen you for many years. Your attitude is inappropriate."
Pei Zhi was at a loss.
Lin Zhaoxi smiled, she trotted over, put her hand on Pei Zhi's vest, and pushed him forward. Pei Zhi staggered, Lao Lin opened his arms and hugged the child.
Lao Lin hugged him, and patted the boy's back with his palm-like hands, his tone full of relief, surprise and emotion.
"That's right," he said
The wind was soft and gentle. Under the grape trellis, Lin Zhaoxi couldn't help laughing as she looked at the two hugging. Not too dramatic, normal and good.
After hugging for a few seconds, Lao Lin let go. Pei Zhi probably had never been hugged so suddenly before, and it took him a while to react.
But Lao Lin had already picked up the plastic bag and turned to the kitchen to check the shopping work.
She and classmate Pei Zhi looked at each other under the grape trellis, looking at the youthful and slightly dazed eyes of the young man—
"Look at me, do you want me to hug you too?" Suddenly, she said what was in her heart again.
—
Hanajuan and Lu Zhihao went home early and greeted their parents. When the bottom of the pot was boiling, they stepped into the courtyard on time.
As the sky was dim, Lin Zhaoxi walked out of the kitchen with egg dumplings, saw two more young men in the yard, and turned on the light in the yard with one hand.
"You check the points accurately." Lin Zhaoxi said.
"I brought sauced beef to Brother Pei, and my sister asked me to bring champagne, but I refused, so she might deliver it later." Huajuan raised her hand.
"Your brother Pei is too miserable. After eating beef for three years, I don't want to eat any more. I can only do it for you." Lin Zhaoxi said this and looked at Lu Zhihao, what do you mean
"I brought my stomach!" Lu Zhihao said naturally, "I can also do the beef."
"Hey, I don't have a share of what I brought, and why didn't you say to share with Master?" Hanamaki asked.
Lao Lin was walking out of the kitchen with the washed vegetables: "What should I order?"
"No master." Hanamaki changed his words in a second.
Lao Lin was dubious, put down the vegetables, and started to preside over the work.
The red oil soup base is bubbling, gurgling, and full of aroma.
Lao Lin first scooped it up with chopsticks to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom; then he fished out a few pieces of meat from the bottom of the pot and put them in his own bowl; finally he put mushrooms into the hot pot, covered it, and started to eat from the bowl by himself. sliced meat.
His series of movements were smooth and flowing, as if there was no one else around, and the four children were all dumbfounded.
"What's the matter?" Lao Lin chewed the sliced meat twice, then raised his head, "They all eat vegetables."
The dishes on the table are all raw, and the only cooked one has been taken away by you...
Lin Zhaoxi thought silently.
Lu Zhihao pointed to Lao Lin's bowl: "Master, the meat..."
"I managed to marinate yesterday." Lao Lin picked up another piece of meat, "Fortunately, I remembered to order it in advance, otherwise I would almost be eaten by you."
As he spoke, he began to eat by himself again, wheezing and wheezing, exhilarated.
Under the stone table, Huajuan secretly stuffed the sauced beef into her hand, meaning: hide it secretly, but never give it to the master.
Lin Zhaoxi took it and nodded solemnly.
The four of them rested their chins, watching Lao Lin happily eating sliced meat, while waiting for the hot pot to boil again.
For a while, the courtyard was quiet, with insects chirping softly.
In the center of the stone table, the electric hot pot made a sizzling sound, the twilight merged, the air had an indigo color, and made people feel foggy.
The five people around Shi Zhuo stared at the hot pot that was cooking. Although everything seemed to be still, it was vivid and vivid.
The water vapor puffed and hit the lid of the pot. After the pot opened, Lao Lin made another wave of mutton rolls.
He put the lid on the pot again, looked around, and felt that he should say something: "It's not easy today, let's sit together, let's welcome Pei Zhi..."
Probably brainwashed by the news of the xx Congress, Lao Lin got stuck at this point.
"Everyone knows what it means, and everyone applauds to welcome Pei Zhi."
"Papa papa" Hanamaki and Lu Zhihao clapped their hands with dignity.
Lao Lin picked up a large bottle of Coca-Cola from under the table and handed it over. Lin Zhaoxi took it, holding the bottle cap with one hand and twisting the cap with the other. With a thud, she unscrewed the cap directly.
"I'll come." Pei Zhi said.
Lin Zhaoxi was kind and generous, and handed him both hands of Coke.
Pei Zhi stood up.
After all, they hadn't seen each other for three years. After realizing that Brother Pei poured them a Coke, Hanamaki and Lu Zhihao felt embarrassed, stood up one after another, and asked to come by themselves.
Taking advantage of this moment, Lao Lin put down the bowl and lifted the lid of the hot pot with a snap.
When it was too late, Lin Zhaoxi knew that there was a conspiracy in his speech when he had nothing to say, so he grabbed the chopsticks in advance, scooped up before Lao Lin, and scooped up most of all the fat lamb rolls on the surface.
The hot pot was steaming, and the three boys who were still pouring coke were shocked.
She dipped the mutton roll into the seasoning: "Comrade Lao Lin has bad intentions, and I discovered it in advance. I will protect the mutton for you first."
Lu Zhihao blinked, a little suspicious of life.
Lin Zhaoxi smiled, and put the dipped mutton slices in front of them.
Hanamaki: "No, I don't eat dipped mutton."
Lu Zhihao: "Me too."
Lin Zhaoxi: ...
With the previous warm-up round, everyone finally knew the cruel fact that there were no brothers at the dinner table.
The mutton rolls disappeared soon, and the meatballs and crab sticks became popular. For a while, the bamboo chopsticks in the red soup were flying and smashed into a ball.
"My, my, my!" Lin Zhaoxi shouted.
"Old Lu, don't grab my beef balls, you just ate one!"
"Respect the elders, pay attention to respecting the elders!" Lao Lin shouted, and was shocked by the crab stick that he got.
He slammed down his chopsticks, but...
"Who wants cabbage?" Hanamaki asked.
"Here!" Lin Zhaoxi handed over the bowl.
Lu Zhihao told Pei Zhi to quickly pick up the overcooked and scattered meat scraps. Everyone was eating hotly, and no one had time to talk to Lao Lin.
Lao Lin was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, stood up and walked to the kitchen.
None of the four of them chased after him. After a while, Pei Zhicai suddenly said, "Master..."
"Don't worry about him, hurry up and finish the meat before he comes." Lu Zhihao said rebelliously.
"There's no more meat, it's all been taken away." Pei Zhi pointed to the empty shelf and said.
"Dad, you're here again!" Lin Zhaoxi shouted.
Finally, they begged and asked, and Lao Lin made an exception and opened the door, and brought out the meat, himself, and a bamboo leek that he didn't know where to find.
With the bamboo leek in his hand, Lao Lin was invincible in grabbing the meat. He scooped a large spoonful of meat into his bowl.
Around the stone table, fell into silence again.
Lin Zhaoxi: "Dad?"
"What's wrong?"
"You colander, didn't you want to use it for us?"
"I bought this." Lao Lin held it up happily. "The history of human evolution is the history of using tools. Do you feel the flash of human civilization when you look at it?"
The four of them looked at each other, always feeling that they only felt the flash of hunger.
The moment the next pot boiled and Lao Lin reached into the bamboo drain, Lin Zhaoxi quickly poked his bamboo drain with sharp eyes and hands.
Hanamaki and Lu Zhihao started frantically scooping up things with their chopsticks, and within five seconds they scooped up the most delicious prawns in the pot.
Lao Lin couldn't move the tools, so he couldn't help shouting: "Nie Zi!"
"Pei Zhi." Lao Lin looked at his favorite student, "Master treats you well, did you follow my teachings and study hard after you went abroad?"
Pei Zhi took out his chopsticks silently, and Lao Lin quietly stretched out the chopsticks in the pot, and he held them down.
"Evil!" Lao Lin was furious.
Finally, in this scrambling atmosphere, the meat products are about to be wiped out successfully.
The last pot of chicken wings is tumbling in the soup, red and white are bright.
"It's a bit boring for you to rob so much?" Lao Lin said, "We teach while having fun. If I make a debut question, whoever makes it first will eat it?"
"So the person who wrote the question can't eat it..." Lin Zhaoxi bit the side of the mushroom, thinking how Comrade Old Lin would dig his own grave.
"Forget it." Lao Lin quickly changed his words.
"Or rock-paper-scissors?" Hanamaki suggested.
"I don't want to play with you." Lu Zhihao was very disgusted.
"21 o'clock?" Lin Zhaoxi asked.
Before they finished speaking, they looked at Pei Zhi, including Lao Lin, at the same time.
"What?" Pei Zhi was puzzled
Looking at Pei Zhi, the four of them waved their chopsticks and decided to give up.
It was completely dark, and in the small courtyard there was only a yellowish light from the light bulbs on the grape trellis.
The steam from the hot pot was fluttering, with the smell of spicy red soup. The moment the pot lid was opened, five pairs of chopsticks were inserted into it at the same time.
Lin Zhaoxi was sweating profusely after eating. At a certain moment, she sniffed and stopped suddenly.
Lao Lin's chopsticks are flying like flying, one against three, Lu Zhihao sees the stitches, and Pei Zhi is extremely accurate.
Those are her relatives, her friends, people she has liked for a long time...
If she didn't do it all over again, she would not know that she missed so many interesting things and interesting friends before.
Or to put it another way, in fact, life is really full of infinite possibilities, and you who are moving forward, because you can't see the future, often think that those possibilities will never come to you.
But the possibility has always existed.
Lao Lin laughed: "The last chicken wings, do you think it is possible, respect the master?"
"No~yes~" They drawled their tunes and said in unison.