I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 15 Enjoyment

The original drama did not reveal the name of the deaf old lady. Judging from her appearance, she was very beautiful when she was young. The old lady was clean and tidy, and her hair was combed neatly, which showed that she was well-mannered.

The deaf old lady was enjoying her meal, showing no signs of hearing loss, but her deep eyes made her someone not to be underestimated.

"Dongjin, my eldest grandson told me that besides this fish, you can cook another dish?"

Seeing Jia Dongjin looking her over, the deaf old lady swallowed the fish and gave him a friendly response.

Jia Dongjin was stunned for a while before realizing that his eldest grandson was referring to He Yuzhu. He quickly replied, "Madam, that dish is boiled sliced ​​pork. I came up with this meat dish by chance a few years ago when I was drinking with friends. But I don't have the money or ration coupons to buy meat, and Shazhu doesn't have any meat today either. We have to wait for him to buy some before we can make it. However, this dish must be made with pure lean meat, preferably tenderloin. Fatty meat won't do."

"It's settled then. I'll get started as soon as I get the lean meat." He Yuzhu nodded. He knew that Jia Dongjin was poor and could only find a way to get meat himself.

As a chef, He Yuzhu knew that buying a recipe for 10 yuan was a bargain, so "buying meat" was naturally his duty.

Many hands make light work. Gao Cuilan, an older woman, never expected that Sha Zhu would bring the deaf old lady on his back. Soon, only two sausages remained. Yi Zhonghai glanced at his wife, and Gao Cuilan immediately got up to add more dishes.

"The pickled fish is delicious. Dongjin, try my cooking too." Gao Cuilan smiled and served a small plate of cured meat. She personally picked out a thick slice for Jia Dongjin.

"Auntie, this is your cooking skill!" Jia Dongjin took a bite and immediately gave the auntie a thumbs up. The cured meat tasted really good. His body was severely lacking in oil and fat, and he wanted to eat cured meat with a good balance of fat and lean meat.

After finishing this meal, Jia Dongjin believed that the rust stains in his intestines would fade a bit.

"Eat more if you like it. It's a pity we didn't smoke enough last year, so there's only a little left. If you like it, I'll smoke a few more pounds this year." In those days, meat was extremely precious. An average family only had a few ounces of meat coupons a month. The old lady's casual remark about smoking a few more pounds inadvertently revealed Yi Zhonghai's family's little secret.

Everyone in the courtyard knew that Yi Zhonghai lived a simple life, rarely ate meat, and rarely smelled the aroma of meat coming from his house. At this moment, Jia Dongjin couldn't help but have a bit of a perverse sense of humor. He guessed that Yi Zhonghai's family probably supplemented their nutritional needs with cooked foods, such as cured meat and sausages.

"If the Yi family can do it, then my Jia family can too." As he ate the fragrant cured meat, a smile appeared in Jia Dongjin's eyes.

Seeing Jia Dongjin eating with a beaming smile, the older woman couldn't resist putting another piece on his plate. When she noticed Yi Zhonghai glancing at her again, she trembled slightly and quickly put away her chopsticks and sat down properly.

There certainly wasn't enough food for everyone at the Yi family's restaurant, but since there was a surplus of pickled fish, Jia Zhangshi had Qin Huairu bring over a large bowl of pickled fish.

As instructed by Jia Dongjin, Qin Huairu threw all the fish that wouldn't keep well, except for the small catfish that could be baked, into the leftover sauerkraut fish and cooked a huge pot of it, which was far too much to eat.

It's hot and vegetables spoil easily, so Jia Zhangshi took a large bowl and went to the house of Aunt Wang in the backyard, with whom she had a good relationship.

This was also Jia Zhangshi's habit; she rarely came to Yi Zhonghai's house unless there was something important. As before, she had Qin Huairu bring a large bowl of pickled fish to the Yi family.

This pot contains fish of medium size, which are not suitable for slicing into fillets, so they don't look very appealing, but they still taste delicious.

These days, nobody dislikes meat. Qin Huairu placed the fish on the table, and the atmosphere in the room became lively again.

"Madam, elders, please try the fish. It's tender and fragrant, and not fishy at all," Qin Huairu said, standing beside the dining table, warmly urging the three elderly people to eat.

At this moment, Jia Dongjin was eating a steamed bun made from two kinds of flour with relish. Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment. When she saw Jia Dongjin finish eating and pick up another steamed bun to eat, Qin Huairu smiled and turned around to go back to the Jia family.

He Yuzhu ate his fill, and Jia Dongjin didn't stand on ceremony either, eating the steamed buns and fish in big mouthfuls. He had a skill in eating fish; he would use his chopsticks to gently pull the fish meat off the bones, eating quickly and cleanly. It was clear that he knew how to eat fish.

In contrast, the deaf old lady had a refined diet. She especially liked to eat the meat on the fish's gills and the fish's eyes, saying that those were the essence of the fish.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, and everyone ate happily. It was a very normal banquet. Both bottles of wine were finished. When the banquet ended, Jia Dongjin staggered and went home with He Yuzhu.

While Yi Zhonghai's family was enjoying their meal, the house of Yan Fugui, the third uncle in the front yard, was shrouded in gloom and despair.

"Dad, you've really messed with Jia Dongjin. That kid's pretty cunning, he's made you look really bad. Honestly, you're a neighbor, why did you have to go through his bag? We were hoping he could help us get a bicycle, but now, that's definitely out of the question. Jia Dongjin's a street thug, you'd better watch out lately, in case he gets his cronies to retaliate against us." Yan Jiecheng took a big bite of his cornbread and complained irritably.

Frustrated, he had spent a long time negotiating and finally managed to clarify the number of times the bicycle could be used in the bicycle agreement. Not only did he offend his father, Yan Fugui, but he also unjustly gave his younger brother, Yan Jiefang, a penny.

"I'm used to it. I can't control my temper when I see cowards. I was thinking of getting something to improve your meals. But Dongjin is as slippery as an eel. I didn't even get to join the feast today. What a loss. Also, Jia Dongjin's gang of thugs got into trouble. It's all over the school. The leader was hit with peanuts, and seven or eight of them were sent to prison. We don't need to be afraid of him." Yan Fugui took a sip of corn porridge and explained slowly.

Yan Fugui didn't care about losing face. Face couldn't be eaten or drunk. In order to raise his four children, Yan Fugui had long since given up all sense of shame.

He knew perfectly well that being a doorman could give him an advantage over his neighbors and support his children, but it wouldn't save face.

Only after learning that Jia Dongjin's gang of street thugs had gotten into trouble did Yan Fugui dare to search for Jia Dongjin. This was Yan Fugui's habit; he never fought an unprepared battle, otherwise he would have been afraid of street thugs who were not easy to mess with.

Sure enough, faced with his difficult demands, Jia Dongjin felt guilty and didn't dare to utter a single word.

"It's all that idiot Sha Zhu's fault. He steals vegetables from our lunchboxes every day and never shares any with us. We're stuck with nothing but porridge and pickled vegetables every day. I'm going to report that bastard sooner or later. If we can't eat, he can't either."

Looking at the five pickled vegetables in the bowl, Yan Jiecheng felt that the world was too unfair. Why could He Yuzhu, a deformed man, eat well and drink well, while he, a delicate young man, could only eat pickled vegetables and cornbread?

Smelling the aroma of fish in the air, Yan Jiecheng suddenly found that even the pickled vegetables he usually loved didn't taste good anymore.

This is a common problem. People hate bad behavior, but in reality, they just hate that they don't have the opportunity to do bad things, which is no different from thousands of years ago or decades later.

For example, Yan Jiecheng's words are typical. He hates He Yuzhu, but dreams of replacing him and stealing meat and vegetables from the cafeteria to take home.

"Brother, if you don't like it, give it to me. Mom only gave me four pieces of pickled vegetables. That's not fair."

The Yan family has four children: three brothers and their youngest sister, Yan Jiedi. The second brother, Yan Jiefang, is 14 years old and is at the age where he is growing. He always feels hungry, no matter how much he eats.

Yan Fugui claimed to earn 27.5 yuan a month, but in reality, he earned 47 yuan. He had to support a family of six and save money every month. Life was indeed difficult for the Yan family.

Therefore, Yan Fugui shamelessly schemed to gain some benefits by taking advantage of his position as the gatekeeper, while his third aunt, Yang Ruihua, was also a thrifty housekeeper, meticulously allocating even the daily pickled vegetables by the root.

"Jiecheng, don't do anything reckless. What's the relationship between Shazhu and Yi Zhonghai? We can't afford to mess with them right now. Besides, I'm still counting on Yi Zhonghai to find you a job. As for Jia Dongjin, he's just as soft-hearted as his brother Jia Dongxu, and seems easy to manipulate. That kid got lucky today, actually catching two big fish." Yan Fugui thought about his own record and attributed Jia Dongjin's big catch to luck, which made him feel a little better.

"What's so great about him? If you buy me a fishing net, I can catch big fish too. I know Jia Dongjin well; he gets out of breath just carrying a big bag. I could take on two of him by myself." Yan Jiecheng rolled up his sleeves, bent his arms, and showed off his small muscles.

"Buy my ass! Do you even know how much fishing nets cost? That old hag Jia Zhangshi is really generous; she probably emptied her coffin savings." Third Aunt Yang Ruihua was a meticulous person and knew that fishing nets couldn't be cheap.

"I already asked. Three nets would cost at least 45 yuan, and a pound of fish only sells for 2 cents. How many fish would Jia Dongjin have to catch to earn back the cost of the nets? And he'd waste his time too. Carrying a big bag all day and only earning 5 cents is a waste of money. Jia Dongjin is definitely squandering his money. We should just watch from the sidelines." Yan Fugui took a sip of porridge and felt sorry for the Jia family.

"Dad, I just heard Banggeng say that Dongjin caught more than just two big fish, he also caught a lot of small fish. Banggeng said he filled a whole basin with them and he'll be stealing dried small fish for me to eat tomorrow." Yan Jiedi chimed in, truthfully reporting the Jia family's intelligence that Banggeng had revealed.

"Could it be that the street thugs have set up an ambush?" Yan Jiefang frowned.