It's the 27th day of the lunar year, and it's only three days away from the Chinese New Year. No matter whether you are at work or not, no one has any mood to work.
You say you have something to do now? Why can't you wait until after the Chinese New Year
After a whole year of hard work, the Chinese New Year is a rare time to relax and every household starts preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
After a winter of restricted diet, although Chen Dong didn't lose weight as fast as a bolt of lightning, he at least lost several dozen pounds and his belly shrank a lot.
After taking Master Chen's pulse, Wang Ying was very satisfied and prescribed a few days of restriction for him.
Chen Dong enthusiastically invited Master Ma to have a drink together.
Master Ma was surprised and asked, "You're not preparing New Year's goods this year?"
In previous years, this old man would prepare some fruits and melon seeds for the occasion, waiting to give them to the children who came to visit during the Chinese New Year. In addition to food, Chen Dong also bought two pots of kumquats to put at home...
Master Ma has been accustomed to Chen Dong's poverty and particularity over the years, so he is very curious.
Chen Dongzhi snorted: "Isn't it that my apprentice is here? Do I have to prepare everything myself?"
Even though Xu Shuang didn't seem to respect him much and Wang Ying restricted his diet, it was different after all when he had younger people taking care of him.
The clothes Chen Dong wore this year were bought by Wang Ying, and some of the fruits at home were also distributed to him by Wang Ying. It was Xu Shuang who helped him grab fish and vegetables a while ago...
Chen Dong said to his old friend awkwardly, "I told them I didn't need it, but they still prepared it for me. My apprentice fried some chestnuts and various peanuts. My apprentice's wife said they were called fish skin peanuts and sugar-frosted peanuts. They tasted just average to me, but they're not sold outside, so they're okay. And the yellow croaker, I told him I could cook it myself, but he still made me a homemade yellow croaker. It's better than the one Lao Luo cooks in our restaurant..."
Master Ma: …
Shut up, your Versailles vibe is getting to me!
Master Ma was not to be outdone: "My apprentice is also quite good. He recently sent me some red pine nuts from his hometown. I heard that picking them is quite troublesome."
Chen Dong: "Your apprentice? Ma Yongjun?"
Master Ma frowned and said, "... You want to quarrel, right?"
Ma Yongjun is a troublesome guy. Don’t you have any idea whether he is your apprentice or not
The two old men were talking to each other while drinking wine with boiled pork. They had the most peaceful days of the year. The children had taken their money to go out and have fun, the old women were busy preparing New Year's goods, and they were free from work. They got together to drink a little wine. Oh, such a good day, even a god wouldn't change it.
Chen Dong was drinking happily when he saw a man walking in through the door curtain of the Ma family.
"Oh, our Master Chen is having a wonderful life."
Chen Dong was also amused, and he picked up an empty wine glass and filled it up: "How did you find time to come?"
The person who came was the old brother with a very large face that he was looking for. This brother looked to be about the same age as him, but his eyes were half-closed and one of his hands was a little clumsy.
But if you think this guy is just an ordinary old man, you are wrong. This old man's surname is Song. In the old society, he was a rickshaw driver. At first, he worked hard on his own, and later he connected a group of brothers, who were a mixed group of people and helped each other. No one knows how deep this big brother is. What's rare is that after the new society, old man Song directly disbanded his brothers on the spot, and everyone lived well after they scattered.
Old man Song works as a bicycle repairman. If he feeds his family, they will not be hungry.
"Don't you know why I'm here?" Old Man Song drank a glass of wine and raised his chin to let Chen Dong pour him another glass: "The thing you mentioned has a clue!"
Chen Dong: "Any clues? No way, it's only been a short time, how could someone come here so quickly?"
Old Man Song: "Believe it or not, there were seven or eight people on the train this morning."
Chen Dong suddenly became energetic. After filling up Old Man Song's glass, he asked, "So, old brother, what do you think we should do about this?"
Even though he knew a lot of people, he didn't know what to do when he ran into this kind of scum. He could arrest them and send them to the police station, but it would be difficult to convict them if he couldn't catch them at the scene. Chen Dong thought it would be best to catch this kind of kidnapper and send him to prison forever, so that he could feel at ease.
Otherwise, my apprentice’s wife is pregnant. What if these people are still determined to do this and, since I can’t do anything about it to an old man like me, they try to touch my apprentice’s baby
Old Man Song took a sip of his drink, narrowed his eyes and whispered, "I don't think you need to go to such lengths. This group of people were targeted as soon as they got off the bus, and we're not the only ones being targeted. I saw some plainclothes officers were also checking."
Chen Dong was overjoyed at first, then thought about it carefully and shook his head: "Those who come here are easy to deal with. I'm just worried about the one in our compound. That guy is a steamed bun that falls to the ground and is stepped on - not a good person. I'm afraid he will do something desperate. There are a lot of children in our compound."
Old Man Song laughed: "Isn't this simple?"
He picked up the chopsticks beside him and scooped up a large piece of white meat stained with red oil. "If you are worried, just find something for him to do. Let him get involved in family and outside affairs and make him irritable. I have checked that rotten garlic. He has a lot of small braids, but he is cruel and calm. If I don't mess with him, he will dare to abandon everyone and run away in the end."
Chen Dong slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! I think this guy is cruel. He doesn't care about his wife, children or mother. Maybe he really wants to run away."
Old Man Song gestured with his hands: "This kid is not decent. Not only does he live off his wife, he also has a few mistresses outside... Not only are there two of them who are half-closed, but he also hooked up with a decent girl."
Chen Dong looked disgusted: "How can that little chicken of his hook up with someone else? Who is as blind as his wife?"
Old Man Song: "Or maybe the girl is just too good to be true. This idiot even lied to people that he was a cadre and usually treated the girl to dinner and movies. He deceived people."
Chen Dong: "So what do you mean?"
"Shall we expose this to him?"
Old Man Song glanced at Master Ma, who looked dumbfounded, and pointed over, "Why don't you ask the cousin who pursued you to go and sue him? After all, the two families have a grudge, so it makes sense."
Chen Dong: "... Can you please stop talking about pursuit?"
Master Ma said weakly: "I can't say anything either. My cousin fell out with me before she could catch up with Lao Chen."
Chen Dong: "… I already told you not to pursue her."
Old Man Song: "That's not the point. Anyway, let your cousin's brainless apprentice, Master Ma's apprentice... His name is Ma Yongjun, right? Ask him to do it."
Master Ma: "... He is not actually my apprentice anymore."
Master Ma hesitated for a while before he made a proposal: "Forget it. Even if we try to find a solution, it's not good to let the younger generation get involved. Yongjun's family still has several children. If Xu Lei really holds a grudge against them, what will happen to the children?"
Old Man Song: "That's true. Then I'll find someone here."
"This is the new society. If it were the old society, I would have wanted to burn a kidnapper to death if I caught him. What a nasty bastard! He deserves to be put in jail and eat free meals this year."
Old Man Song was really just helping Chen Dong at first, but he got really angry as he investigated.
Xu Lei is really a person with all the five vices. He is a grown man who eats gigolos and still finds ways to cheat. He spends money on himself and doesn't give it to his family. He kidnaps children of his colleagues and usually pretends to be a decent person to deceive people...
Old Man Song felt that he needed to torment the man before sending him in, otherwise if Ping Ping was caught, Xu Lei, that bastard, would probably just sigh inwardly that he had bad luck.
This kind of person is like this, blaming the heavens, the earth, and their ancestors, blaming their bad luck and the country, blaming their parents for not being cadres, blaming their wives for not being rich enough, blaming their children for not making up for themselves, and blaming the injustice of society. They complain all the time but never blame themselves, which makes them feel like they are exonerating themselves!
Old Song snorted, he would not be done until this kid was given a hard time!
Xu Lei had a stern face and was in a bad mood.
Scarface touched his nose and said with a wry smile, "Isn't this just because we really have no other options? Don't blame me, our brothers almost died in a nearby commune."
They were originally taking the kidnapped child with them, but who knew that they were alerted by members of a certain commune as soon as they left the city. They panicked and left the child behind and ran away. They could not go anywhere else, so they could only come here to avoid the limelight.
Xu Lei still didn't say anything, which made the people who came with Scarface feel uncomfortable.
We are all in this business, and we all work with our heads on the line. Why do you just ignore the problem
However, two female traffickers tried to smooth things over in a friendly manner: "Brother Xu, your worry is justified. After all, the fourth brother caused alarm here a while ago. But don't worry, brother Xu, we will leave after the New Year. You just need to arrange a place for us to stay."
Of course, they would pick up a few more when they left after the New Year. They were really unlucky this year and earned much less money than in previous years.
Xu Lei's complexion finally looked better. He glanced at the group of people unhappily and waved his hand: "Let's go."
Now that people are here, does he still have the right to say no
Xu Lei dispersed and settled the people. The good thing was that they didn't bring any goods this time. There were just a group of adults, so it was relatively smooth whether they were stuffed into the shabby house or put somewhere else.
After Xu Lei finished making the arrangements, he felt extremely exhausted.
He now felt a little tricky.
It used to be okay when he just looked for targets to take money, but now that a large number of people are involved, he’s always afraid.
Xu Lei's annoyance was not shown on his face. His complexion was normal. He did not go home, but turned around to buy two roasted sweet potatoes and went to the staff dormitory of the fertilizer factory.
Someone in the staff dormitory called Sun Mei's name: "Your boyfriend is here to see you!"
Sun Mei quickly looked at herself in the mirror, took the red paper and pursed her lips before flying out like a little bird.
Behind me were the sounds of my fellow workers talking.
"Xiaomei has found a really good partner. He looks very bright."
"I heard that he has a good job. He is said to be a cadre of our county party committee."
"You are a cadre at such a young age?"
"It is said that his parents were soldiers in the armed forces department, and he was a deputy section chief when he first joined."
"Wow, Xiaomei has found a treasure!"
"That's right. Her mother is such a pushover. She has been pressuring her for years to find a man who can help her brother. I thought Xiaomei might not be so lucky, but who knew she actually found one. It's not in vain that I have been waiting until now, over 20 years old."
…
Sun Mei ran to Xu Lei and said coquettishly, "Why are you here at this time? I thought you would wait until I get off work before coming."
Xu Lei said with a doting look: "I thought you guys would get off work early during the Chinese New Year, so I just came here to try my luck. It seems I'm lucky."
Sun Mei blushed. She glanced around quietly and put her arm around Xu Lei's: "Are you tired today? Is the work of the county committee very busy?"
Xu Lei remained calm: "It's okay. Because of my dad, he didn't assign me too much work. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have been able to sneak away and come to see you, right?"
Sun Mei was full of admiration and respect: "You are amazing!"
Xu Lei immediately felt very proud: "It's just so-so. Here, I bought this for you."
The hot roasted sweet potatoes made Sun Mei feel no cold wind outside. She held the paper bag and said eagerly: "The New Year is coming soon, do you want to come to my house..."
Sun Mei thought, she had boasted a lot in front of her mother, and they had been dating for half a year, so it was time for them to meet each other, right
Xu Lei touched her hair: "It's not time yet."
"I have just joined the county committee, and my work is not on track yet. Besides, I think I should take you to meet my parents first... My parents have been arranging a blind date for me with the daughter of an old comrade in the armed forces..."
Sun Mei immediately tightened her grip, her heart feeling confused.
She knew that she was not worthy of Xu Lei. Even though Xu Lei was several years older than her, with a working family like Xu Lei's, he could undoubtedly find a good family in the county.
So no matter how much Sun Mei wanted Xu Lei to come home, she could only agree reluctantly.
"Okay then, everything is up to you."
Xu Lei: "Then I'll go first. Here, this is for you too."
Xu Lei secretly slipped a letter to Sun Mei and whispered, "I'll come see you after the Chinese New Year."
Sun Mei's heart, which had just sunk, suddenly floated up again.
She felt dizzy as if in a dream, and returned to the dormitory with the letter and roasted sweet potatoes.
Everyone got their share of the roasted sweet potatoes, but she kept the letter like a treasure. She opened it and read it over and over again, until it had a rough edge.
A sharp-eyed colleague took a quick look and spoke faster than his brain.
"Sun Mei, your boyfriend still writes you letters in English?"
Those strings of characters don't look like Chinese characters.
Sun Mei blushed: "It's not English... it's pinyin."
Sun Mei put the letter away and didn't show it to anyone.
Speaking of this, Sun Mei felt that this man was really outrageous. After eating her sweet potatoes, he still had the nerve to find fault with her boyfriend.
Xu Lei said that he was a decent high school graduate, but he was busy with work in recent years and couldn't remember some commonly used characters, so he used pinyin.
What’s wrong with using pinyin
Sun Mei didn't think there was anything wrong at all!
Nowadays, people are not very familiar with reading. Everyone is used to using pinyin for words they don't know.
As soon as Sun Mei took the letter, the colleague who had asked the question just now realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately kept silent.
It was not until Sun Mei packed up her things and left that several colleagues began to whisper.
"Isn't Sun Mei's boyfriend a cadre? How can a cadre not be able to write?"
“That’s what I mean.”
"But you shouldn't have said that. Just watch, you'll get Sun Mei mad."
…
Xu Lei gave sweet potatoes to Sun Mei. Although it cost money, he was happy.
This kind of happiness is not the kind of happiness that comes from spending money to please your loved one. Xu Lei himself knows that he has no good feelings towards Sun Mei at all!
But he was very happy every time he saw Sun Mei.
Xu Lei hummed a song, immersed in his own fabricated dream.
He felt that the most ruined thing in his life was investing in the Xu family.
If he had not married into a poor family, he would have certainly lived the life he had imagined.
Powerful parents, a promising future, the ability to convince women at will, and endless money.
Xu Lei looked for Sun Mei not because of the relationship between men and women, nor because he wanted Sun Mei to love him a lot. He just wanted to find a stupid woman to fulfill his fantasy.
The person who had previously taken on this fantasy was Zhang Yun, but women are like that, they are no longer attractive after being married home.
It had to be outside, before they got married, the feeling of making the other party trust him completely allowed Xu Lei to release all his inner pressure at once.
Xu Lei didn't visit Sun Mei very often, and every time he did, he would go there when he was upset. Pretending to be a kid from a wealthy family in front of Sun Mei and showing off his "perfect life" was enough to make Xu Lei more determined.
I firmly believe that my life has been ruined by my parents.
In Xu Lei's heart, he is a talented person who is envied by God.
If it weren't for his parents, if it weren't for this damn era, he would have been a superior person long ago!
Xu Lei has been saving money very hard these years in order to move to Hong Kong Island in the future. He heard that life there is easy and like a paradise.
He has saved a thousand yuan now, and he will be able to become a superior person if he goes there!
Xu Lei relieved himself of the stress and slowly went home.
As soon as I entered the door, I smelled a sweet fragrance. I knew without looking that the fragrance was coming from Wang Ying's house.
Xu Lei's eyes flickered. It was a pity. If they didn't live in the same compound, he really wanted to seduce Wang Ying.
Not only is Wang Ying pretty, but more importantly, he feels that Xu Shuang, as a cook, is no match for him.
Will Xu Shuang write love poems like herself
Can Xu Shuang make money like me
Will Xu Shuang be as smart as myself
Damn, how lucky is this guy to marry a beautiful wife.
Xu Lei entered the house with envy for Xu Shuang and her husband.
Zhang Yun was kneading dough. She added a lot of corn flour into the white flour. It was difficult for the dough to rise, so Zhang Yun threw the dough in anger.
Xu Lei shook his head. How could he possibly spend his whole life with this woman
Zhang Yun cursed: "It's Chinese New Year, and you're still feeding her four meals a day. If you don't know, you'd think she's pregnant with the Jade Emperor!"
Although she didn't mention anyone by name, Xu Lei knew that she was scolding Wang Ying.
Wang Ying's life was so good that the young wives in the surrounding compounds were all amazed. And today, she made something so sweet that Xu Dabao cried and asked for it. He only stopped after being slapped twice.
"Eat, eat, eat. Why are you so greedy?"
…
Wang Ying stared at the white steam on the pot and asked for the Nth time: "Is it ready?"
Xu Shuang: "Not even close."
There was a sizzling sound in the oil pan, and the golden milk cake turned over in the pan, and finally fell into the plate with a hint of hot milk aroma.
"Try it."
Wang Ying took a bite and gave a thumbs up: "Delicious!"
“It has a strong milky flavor but is not greasy, and it is warm and soft and tender.”
Fried milk. When Xu Shuang asked someone to get a bottle of milk again, Wang Ying started thinking about it.
Her family doesn't have a refrigerator, so if she doesn't make it in the winter when it's cold, she'll have to wait another year for the next time.
Wang Ying and Xu Shuang described in detail the process of adding some starch to milk, stirring and heating it, turning it into a paste, freezing it, then cutting it into strips, coating it with starch and eggs, and frying it in a pan.
Xu Shuang had never heard that milk could be fried, but since Wang Ying told him so, he was willing to try it.
Even the flour crumbs wrapped on the outside were made by Xu Shuang by peeling the skin of the steamed buns and chopping the inside into pieces.
The crispy and golden shell contains soft and tender semi-solid milk. Xu Shuang tasted it herself and found it delicious.
Wang Ying: "Send some to Master."
Recently, the two families have been eating together, and Chen Dong even moved all his New Year's goods over and comes to eat at the appointed time.
"What do you want to eat for lunch?"
Wang Ying started thinking while holding the milk cake in her mouth.
"Shall we have braised pork with pork for lunch?"
There was already a lot of meat at home, and with the one sent by Chen Dong, there were more than ten pounds of meat.
Xu Shuang made the decision: "Okay, let's make taro braised pork and lotus root braised pork."
Wang Ying nodded frantically and swallowed unconsciously.
The taro is soft and glutinous, the lotus root is sweet, and they are interspersed between the large pieces of braised pork. The taste is amazing.