Linxia

Chapter 75, Treat

Today, because Liu Hongwen was there, it was his wife Liu Ding who cooked. Tonight, Fang Lin and the other two did not have to revisit the coarse salt rice and just fried a dish.

This dish is the cheapest lettuce nowadays. Liu Ding’s cooking skills are not very good. The only taste of this dish is salty, and nothing else can be tasted. It is tasteless.

At this time, Huang Di also came back from his day off and had dinner in the restaurant.

The three of them were eating in the kitchen. Chai Yiwei talked about what happened during the day. Manager Liu praised Fang Lin's handwriting and said that Manager Liu took the initiative to provide pens, ink, paper and inkstone so that Fang Lin could copy books, which could be sold in the store after they were finished.

To be honest, Chai Yiwei was genuinely happy for Fang Lin, but Huang Di was a little more thoughtful. It was true that she was happy for Fang Lin after hearing what he said, and it was also true that she felt a little jealous in her heart, but that was also human emotion.

"Linzi, congratulations. Remember to help your brother when you become successful in the future." Huang Di suppressed the complicated feelings in his heart and still gave his blessings.

"When a dog becomes rich and powerful, it will never forget its partner." Fang Lin joked with a smile.

……

After dinner, Fang Lin went out and took a stroll to the teahouse. He bought some things on the way, including a bag of crispy pork strips and a bag of fried kidneys.

When he came back, Huang Di and Chai Yiwei were playing chess. He opened the oil-paper bag and the fragrance filled the room immediately: "Yiwei, Dizi, both of you are here! Today I have made some progress in my literacy, and the shopkeeper has agreed to let me use the store's pens, ink, paper and inkstone to copy books. It's a double happiness, so I bought some food for us to eat together to celebrate."

What worries us is not the lack of benefits but the inequality of benefits. If you get benefits, you can share a little bit with others and avoid many unnecessary things. This way, you can improve your interpersonal relationships and feel better and more comfortable every day.

Of course, strictly speaking, neither Chai Yiwei nor Huang Di have bad intentions, which is an important reason why he is willing to maintain the relationship.

"Wow, it smells so good, Linzi is so generous!" Huang Di was so moved that tears flowed from the corners of his mouth. The dinner was really tasteless. At this moment, the little bit of jealousy in his heart really disappeared, and all he could feel was sincere praise.

Chai Yiwei felt even more embarrassed and was thinking about what to get next time to repay the favor.

"Eat, eat, don't be polite." Fang Lin asked the two to sit down, and smiled as he talked about what he saw when buying food: "I bought it on the street, watching people make it, it's quite clean, and the most interesting thing is that they explained the method while they were making it."

"Take this crispy pork strip for example."

He picked up a strip of crispy pork and imitated the intonation of others, performing a live version of "A Bite of China": "Cut the pork into two-finger-long strips, then mix sesame oil, sweet sauce, pepper and fennel. After a while, put a bowl of lard, a bowl of sesame oil, a large bowl of water and a small bowl of wine in the pot until it is soaked. Add one or two ounces of garlic, cover with a lid, and serve the crispy pork."

The last sentence was the most enticing, as if one could smell the meat, making the three of them feel that the food tasted even better.

"It's really good! Brother Fang, I can't really explain it, but I just felt it tasted better while listening and eating." Chai Yiwei said.

"Yeah, Linzi, what about the fried kidneys? You should try some too." Huang Di cheered.

“Is this fried kidney?”

Fang Lin smiled and said, "Remove the white membrane and tendons from the pork kidneys, blanch them in boiling water, take them out, put them into a frying pan, add the chopped green onions, garlic, pepper, ginger, sauce, wine, and vinegar, and serve as soon as they are cooked."

Huang Di and Chai Yiwei listened with satisfaction, ate the meat with big mouthfuls, and felt extremely happy.

If we say that the food that Cheng Shiliang brought back in the past was exquisite and expensive, then the two things Fang Lin brought back were affordable and the portions were large enough.

After a while, Huang Di and Chai Yiwei patted their bellies and went back to play chess. Fang Linwan declined the invitation and started copying books.

Soon, he discovered that copying books was a very correct choice. It not only allowed him to practice and learn calligraphy, but also enhanced his sense of classical Chinese.

Here, Huang Di and Chai Yiwei finished two plates of food, stood up to digest the food, and came to Fang Lin and asked enviously: "Linzi, you are amazing, what do you think about me starting to study now?"

"Of course, it's never too late to learn." Fang Lin said with a smile. Encouraged, Huang Di actually took a copy of "Hundred Family Names" and started to study hard, but after a while he felt dizzy and put it down.

"Forget it, forget it. I've finally seen clearly that if this thing works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't work. There's no point in envying it!" He completely gave up the idea.

Fang Lin smiled when he heard this, and said nothing more, continuing to copy carefully.

When he copied books, he did not just do it with his hands without thinking. He only pursued speed, and his priority was to practice calligraphy and make money by copying books, and secondly.

On this side, Huang Di went back and chatted quietly with Chai Yiwei.

"Yiwei, tomorrow is your turn to rest. Why do you look so sad?"

"I... I don't want to go back. I'm wondering whether I should go back or not!" Chai Yiwei said with a grunt.

"Is there any need to think about it? Of course I will go back. As the saying goes, there is no place like home. No matter what happens at home or how difficult it is, when I go back home, I will feel at ease. Otherwise, I will feel like I am floating when I am alone." Huang Di said with deep emotion.

After hearing this, Chai Yiwei lowered his head with dim eyes.

When Fang Lin heard this, he looked up and noticed the expressions of the two people, and seemed to be thinking about something.

……

The next day, it was Chai Yiwei's turn to rest. After Chai Yiwei's rest, Liu Hongwen also left, taking his wife Liu Ding with him. Old lady Liu Min came back to take over and cook, so that Fang Lin and the other two could eat a little better.

Another ten days passed quickly, and when Manager Liu conscripted Liu Hongwen into the army again, Fang Lin was able to take a rest again.

That evening, Fang Lin returned home. He actually came back earlier than his father today. Tian Xuan was cooking in the kitchen and Fang's mother was watching and learning from her.

"This dish is called stir-fried pork. I heard it from Guihua. Xiaoxuan cooked it well. I'm learning from her!" said Fang's mother.

Fang Lin looked over and saw that Tian Xuan had her hair tied up behind her head, with her sleeves rolled up. She looked elegant and decisive.

At this time, she cut the lean meat into thin slices, washed it with soy sauce, poured it into a red-hot iron pan and stir-fried it. After a sizzling moment, when the blood was gone and the water turned slightly white, she took it out and cut it into shreds. She then added pickled cucumbers, pickled radishes, garlic, peppercorns, shredded oranges, and sesame oil and stir-fried them evenly. A fresh and tender aroma wafted into the air.

The Man family next door was being "tortured" again. Soon, there was the voice of Man Gensheng asking for money to go out for dinner, followed by the curses of Man's grandmother.

"Auntie Man, you spoil your son too much." Fang's mother shook her head and said this, but she didn't realize that she was no less spoiled than Fang Lin.

She and Fang Lin came out of the kitchen, and she asked Fang Lin if he was happy in the store over the past ten days, whether he had eaten well and slept well. After Fang Lin answered her questions one by one, she started chattering about the neighbors' daily life in recent days.

"The Qiu family has so many relatives. There are weddings this month and funerals that month... At Old Master Xin's house, matchmakers have started to come to propose marriage to Xin You..."

When Fang Lin asked what happened, he was a little amused. It turned out that Mr. Xin spent one or two taels of silver to have the fortune teller Ma Yi tell his fortune. The reputation of this "sucker" spread out and attracted many matchmakers.

It has to be said that the cause and effect of this are quite dramatic.

Speak of the devil, here comes the devil. We were talking about the Xin family. At this moment, at the door of the Fang family, Xin You poked his head out and looked around.

……

(End of this chapter)