The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 360

After visiting the grave, Lao Tan and the fifth brother-in-law walked back, and they chatted about the old man in the car.

The old man left when Lao Tan was seven years old. About the old man's life, Lao Tan heard a lot from his mother and the elders in the family. Say.

The old man was sick when he was young and couldn't do physical work. At that time, he was in the production team. He recuperated at home all the year round and couldn't earn work points.

The old man is a pedant in the village, and he is good at writing calligraphy. He writes the couplets of every household in the village every Chinese New Year.

The old man has read a lot of books, has a good understanding of the past and the present, and is eloquent and upright. Although his family is poor, he does not lose his reputation.

"I heard from my mother that the director of the commune salutes my father when he sees him and calls him Mr." said the fifth brother-in-law.

"Well, the old man is in poor health and sick, or else the commune will be in the morning." Old Tan said.

"The eldest brother-in-law said that the old man is powerful, and he is not angry and arrogant, even the old uncle is afraid of him." The fifth brother-in-law said.

"Well, I'm afraid of him." Old Tan nodded.

"The old man died of stomach cancer——"

"Well, it was stomach cancer at first, and then he became ill, and his liver was not good—"

The scene of his father’s departure appeared in front of Lao Tan’s eyes: it was overcast in the middle of the night, the lights were on in the old house, and the sisters and family members were standing or standing around the kang.

Father was lying on the kang, the last flashes of light faded away, and then there was a heart-piercing cry——
His father was carried to the outside room by a door panel, his face was covered with yellow paper, he knelt in front of his father, holding a guiding stick in his hand, and followed Mr. Yin Yang to read the guiding words word by word.

Then, when the father was buried, the sound of nailing the coffin boards was like a night ghost knocking on the door——
He was seven years old at the time, and he still didn't fully understand death, but he knew that his father was gone forever.

From that night, to be precise, when he was showing his father the way, he felt that he was no longer a child, but an adult.

"I came back to see you taking medicine this time, what's wrong with Gada?" the fifth brother-in-law asked.

"Stomach." Old Tan said: "The stomach is not good. The Chinese medicine doctor I saw in Beijing prescribed medicine to regulate it." Old Tan said.

"Did you drink?" Fifth brother-in-law asked.

"It has something to do with drinking—"

"You've been drinking too much—if you want me to say, quit while taking medicine."

"It's not so easy to quit. I don't meet occasions. I still have to drink when I meet occasions. On some occasions, I still have to drink." Old Tan said.

The fifth brother-in-law said: "That's right, especially if you are in management, everything is pointed at you." Then he said: "Let's go to the eldest sister's house. The eldest brother-in-law didn't say that today the chicken is killed, and it is so lively at his place."

Old Tan said, "Okay, or else I plan to go."

So Lao Tan called Fifth Sister and said that he would not go back to eat at noon, but went to the eldest sister's house, and would go back at night.Fifth Sister told him on the phone not to drink alcohol, he was taking medicine.

When I arrived at the eldest sister's house, the eldest brother-in-law had already killed the new year's chickens. There were six chickens in total, including one for Lao Tan, one for his son and one for his daughter.

The eldest sister's family and her son Lan Jun's family live in the east and west courtyards, all of which are four newly built one-story houses in Beijing, with spacious courtyards where cars and motorcycles are parked.

Hearing people entering from this courtyard, Lan Jun from that courtyard came over from the small gate, saw that it was the old uncle and uncle who entered the room, hurried forward to greet them, lit cigarettes and poured water.

"Lan Jun, how is this year? Has it caught up with last year?" The fifth brother-in-law asked while smoking, taking off his shoes and getting on the kang.

"It's okay, about the same as last year, about twenty." Lan Jun replied.

"Twenty or so are fine. If you don't get sidetracked or angry, you'll be busy with the Taoist while curing tobacco, isn't it?" said the fifth brother-in-law.

"Well, I'm busy when flue-curing tobacco." Lan Jun said: "Actually, I'm not busy at all. Now flue-curing tobacco saves trouble, everything is programmed, everything is controlled by computer, and people can just watch it."

Flue-cured tobacco in Beipiao area has been used for 20 years, and many people have made a fortune from flue-cured tobacco.Lan Jun is a technician in the village. He owns 150,000 acres of tobacco land and can earn an average of [-] a year. He is a well-to-do household in the village.

The elder sister and elder brother-in-law and the old couple lived separately from their son and lived in two.

My eldest brother-in-law, an old Communist Party member, has been the head of the village for 18 years.When he was in office, there was no corruption. He only had more land than ordinary people, and the village gave some subsidies every year.

When the village head can be elected by sea, he will be re-elected for two consecutive terms. In the third term, there will be a show that spends money to win votes, so he will come down.

After coming down, he worked honestly as a farmer at home, and lived a prosperous life with his elder sister. Although he was not as rich as his son, he still had enough food and clothing.Later, people from the village came to talk to him twice and asked him to be the village head again, but he refused.

The old Communist Party has only one sentence - no money to win votes.

It can be heard that in the words, there is a grudge at being pulled down by someone spending money to win votes, and the lingering hatred has not disappeared.

Lao Tan and the fifth brother-in-law came, and the eldest sister started to cook without saying a word. Lan Jun went back and called his wife to cook together. The food will be ready soon.

At this time, Lan Jun drove the second sister, second brother-in-law, and fifth sister over. The eldest brother-in-law called his daughter Lanzhi and son-in-law Jianguo, and they all came.

"Should you call your third sister and the others?" The eldest brother-in-law asked Lao Tan for his opinion.

Lao Tan's eldest sister, second sister, fourth sister, and fifth sister are all in the same village, but they are not in the same villager group. They are three to five miles away from each other, which is very close.Only the third sister married to a foreign country and stayed far away.

Just as Lao Tan was about to speak, Lan Jun said, "Call my third aunt. She and my third uncle are not at home and have gone to Yu Temple."

In this way, she was not called Old Tan Third Sister.

As for the fourth sister and fourth brother-in-law, the couple guarded the mountain and lived a stingy life. They didn't go out easily all year round, and they didn't come on the phone.

More than a dozen people, men and women, sat at two tables. On the tables were small stupid chickens, butchered vegetables, pig intestines, stewed lamb haggis, roasted carp, meatballs, stir-fried ground vegetables with eggs, fried mountain mushrooms with meat, sauerkraut hearts, and dipped green radishes. Sauce--
It's all farm food, and the house is full of fragrance.

The eldest brother-in-law took out two altars of Moutai that had been treasured for many years and poured wine for everyone. When Lao Tan came here, Lao Tan said that he should not drink while taking medicine.

Lanzhi's son-in-law, Jianguo, is a barefoot doctor in the village and an ancestral doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. He said to Lao Tan: "Old uncle, drink less, and don't drink for three days after drinking, and don't delay taking medicine.

You listen to your niece and son-in-law, illness depends on your mood, if your heart is free from illness and external evils do not invade, sometimes alcohol can help medicine. "

When the nephew and son-in-law finished talking, his nephew Lan Jun said, "Drink some, old man, sir, everything is fine. You and my dad, my second uncle, my old uncle and your elder brother are not together a few times a year. Drink Come on, be happy."

Speaking of which, I will give Lao Tan a lot of money.

The fifth sister at that table saw her and stopped her and said, "Lan Jun, your old uncle is not in good health and is taking medicine, don't pour it for him."

"Do you understand the rule of not talking at the next table? Gentlemen are drinking and women are not allowed to interrupt." The eldest brother-in-law half-joked, glared at Fifth Sister, and secretly beckoned his son to pour the wine.

The fifth sister replied with a smile: "There are no seats in the room, you can drink with me if you have the ability."

The fifth sister has been the principal for the past few years, and she has an amazing capacity for drinking, but she just doesn't drink easily.

The eldest brother-in-law laughed and was speechless.

"It's busy today, just drink less, don't drink too much." The eldest sister opened her mouth.

Seeing what Eldest Sister said, Fifth Sister said, "Let's have some drink—"

"It looks like there is no fifth child, don't think you are the principal, but what you say at home doesn't count, you have to be your eldest sister." The eldest brother-in-law said loudly.

"I don't have time to talk to you, as if you don't belong to my eldest sister."

The room was filled with laughter.

Lan Jun poured wine for the old uncle, and Lao Tan did not stop drinking after half a month, so he broke his fast.

(End of this chapter)