Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 22 Efficiency
When he went out in the morning, Xu Qing deliberately covered the briquettes piled at the door of the house with a torn felt.

I'm afraid it will happen again, what happened last night when my second brother Xu Aiguo couldn't make a stove.

But even so, when Xu Qing saw that it was snowing all day, he still couldn't help but fear that San Xiaozhi would be freezing in the house, so he hurried back to the backyard.

After all, his parents were away, so Xu Qing, as the eldest brother, had to take on the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings.

Fortunately, as soon as Xu Qing entered the backyard and returned to the house, what he was worried about did not happen.

Because the briquettes were covered with broken felt, Xu Aiguo had already successfully lit the stove in the house, making the front room warm.

At the same time, the fire on the kitchen stove was also lit. As for the large iron pot on the stove, water was scooped out, a cage was placed, and steamed buns mixed with cornmeal were placed.

Xu Qing saw that the three little ones were sitting quietly on the bench as usual, lying on the edge of the kang doing homework.

After Xu Qing warmed up in the front room, he walked into the kitchen to prepare meals.

As a result, as soon as he entered the kitchen, Xu Qing saw that the fire in the stove was booming, and the steamed buns in the pot were also put in, and suddenly felt in his heart that the second brother really grew up more and more sensible.

Squatting down, he stuffed two more briquettes into the stove, Xu Qing washed his hands, grabbed a cabbage, cut it in half with a knife, put one half on the cutting board, and put the other half back in the cupboard, saving it for tomorrow.

In the winter, there are not many vegetables, and they turn around, not radishes, cabbage, potatoes, and the only food that is commonly eaten, vermicelli.

After all, vermicelli is easy to store and not afraid of going bad.

But today Xu Qing is going to make a dish of hot and sour cabbage. The weather is cold, so eating some chili will help to relieve the chill.

There are also some dried chili peppers in the house, which my mother threaded with thread to dry in the summer.

Xu Qing cut the cabbage, washed it twice, and then prepared onions, ginger, and garlic.

As soon as the three little ones finished their homework, Xu Qing started cooking.

After a while, a plate of hot and sour cabbage came out of the pot.

This dish is simple to make and easy to use. The key is the seasoning, one spicy and one sour.

If it’s spicy, use chili pepper; if it’s sour, use vinegar. There are many types of domestic vinegar, including white vinegar, rice vinegar, mature vinegar, and balsamic vinegar, all of which have hundreds of thousands of years of history.

Of course, rice vinegar is the best, but due to the shortage of supplies, I don’t pay much attention to it, and I can use whatever vinegar is available.

Fortunately, the prices of supplies are very affordable. For just [-] cents, it can feed four people for nearly a month.

When the vegetables were stir-fried, the little girl obediently helped pass the plate. Xu Qing used a shovel to put it into the plate, then opened the lid of the pot, grabbed a steamed bun, and wiped away the oily and vegetable juices in the pot.

These days, oil is extremely scarce. It was better five or six years ago, but in the past two or three years, even blended oils have become in short supply.

Last month, Xu Qing went to the supply and marketing cooperative three times without buying anything. In the end, he went to a state-owned store and finally missed the last bottle.

There is no way, everyone is having a hard time, and there is no fat or water in their stomachs. When buying meat, there is a limit. Secondly, when I went there, I saw meat for sale, but when I waited in line, even the pork rinds were gone. If you can't buy it anymore, the price of oil is not high and anyone can afford it. Although it is limited, it is not as competitive as meat, but it is still scarce.

Xu Qing brought dinner to the pit in the front room with the three little ones. Just as he was about to eat, he heard a knock on the door outside the house.

"Who?"

Xu Qing yelled, and then saw Xu Damao staring at the snowflake on his head, pushing open the door, poking his head in and saying:

"Hey, it's time to eat. Xu Qing, please come out first. I'll see you if I need anything."

Xu Qing knew what Xu Damao was talking about, so he put down the chopsticks he had just held in his hand, and told the three little ones to eat while it was hot, without waiting for him, then got up and slipped off the kang, put on cotton shoes and walked out of the house.

It's still cold outside, and the snow is still falling. It's a completely different world from the warmth inside.

Crystal snowflakes fell from the dark night without stopping, seemingly endless.

As soon as Xu Qing came out, he felt a chill hit his body, shivered suddenly, and quickly closed the door.

Turning around and seeing Xu Damao standing beside him, Xu Qing hurriedly said:

"Brother Da Mao, have you just come back?"

"Ah."

Seeing that Xu Damao nodded, Xu Qing hurriedly said: "Brother Damao, if you find it inconvenient to talk in the room, let's go to your room. It's very cold, don't catch a cold outside."

While talking, the two entered Xu Damao's house.

One day, when no one was around, Xu Damao’s house was cold and deserted. Xu Qing went to the stove and took a look. Feeling a little warm, he grabbed the fire hook and fiddled with it twice. Sure enough, under the ashes, there were still unburned coal balls glowing red. .It wasn't too bright, but it wasn't completely extinguished either.

Xu Qing grabbed the briquettes in front of him, threw two of them, and asked him to wait. Then he put down the fire hook, looked at Xu Damao, who was beating the snowflakes on his head, and asked:
"Brother Da Mao, have you found someone who wants it?"

"Of course, brother, I always come back victorious when I go out!"

Xu Qing heard that Xu Damao was putting a high hat on himself again, so he didn't say anything.

Xu Qing knew that he was just such a person, not the same as Sha Zhu, but he liked to do things that could put money on his face.

However, Xu Qing did not ignore the important information, that is, Xu Damao found out that someone wanted it.

This efficiency is quite high, worthy of being a second-hand dealer, who knows all kinds of ghosts and snakes, and has all kinds of skills.

But what Xu Qing knows better is that even though Xu Damao has great hands and eyes, he is not serving him or running errands for him today.

"Brother, I helped you run from work in the afternoon to now, and finally found out someone. There is a son of a senior official in our Xizhimen area of ​​Sijiu City. For the past five or six days, I have been secretly trying to find him. The price of a bicycle ticket per person was originally 53 yuan, but it is said that people are in urgent need, and in the past few days, it has increased by 40 yuan, and now it is 93 yuan."

Xu Qing was overjoyed when he heard this.

Secretly said: For this price, I really need it very urgently.

However, Xu Qing looked at Xu Damao and did not speak, but continued to listen to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao sat on the edge of the Kang, shook his shoulders, took out a cigarette, threw one to Xu Qing, yawned and said:

"I haven't seen this person, but I've managed to get in touch with him." Xu Damao seemed to pause on purpose. After taking a puff of cigarette, he picked up the thermos bottle and poured two cups of hot water, while saying to Xu Qing: "By the way, My good brother, dear brother, what's going on with your vote? Don't worry, it's only a matter of these two days, so you can make your own decision."

Xu Qing knew that Xu Damao was talking to him.

The meaning is that only Xu Damao can contact people who want bicycle tickets. On the other hand, he tells himself that this is an excellent opportunity to make a move. If he misses this village, he will never have this shop again.

Xu Qing also understood the reason why Xu Damao did this. After all, he was working as a second-hand dealer, and what he earned was the price difference. He didn't want such a good deal to slip away from his hands and be taken away by others.

Besides, the price is really not lazy, 93 yuan, almost half a bicycle.

But the other party is a son of a senior official, and presumably he is not too short on money.

After Xu Qing thought about it for a while, he felt that he really couldn't miss this wonderful opportunity.

(End of this chapter)