Chapter 159: The Siheyuan Dinner Farce

On the evening the assessment ended, the three giants of the Siheyuan met again.

"Lao Liu, Lao Yan, how about we take advantage of everyone getting a raise and have a courtyard-wide dinner to celebrate together?"

Yi Zhonghai did this mainly for the Deaf Old Lady; he had adopted the children for three or four years now, yet the Deaf Old Lady still wouldn't give up, occasionally causing trouble for him and maintaining a lukewarm attitude toward the two children.

The children might not have noticed anything when they were younger, but now that they were in the second grade, the Deaf Old Lady's attitude remained cold, which left him feeling distressed, caught in the middle.

Furthermore, the relationship between the Deaf Old Lady and his wife was now almost that of familiar strangers; Tan Cuicui had to go to work every day, so the three daily meals were inevitably delayed, and Yi Zhonghai was the one who delivered the food once it was prepared.

In fact, the tea party he had proposed last time was also intended to help the Deaf Old Lady integrate into the courtyard so that someone would be there to keep her company and relieve her boredom, but unfortunately, the effect was minimal.

Over these years, Yi Zhonghai could be said to have been dutiful toward the Deaf Old Lady; he could understand her psychology, but that did not mean he agreed with some of her methods, and he was even afraid of some of her actions.

Therefore, he wanted this gloomy old lady to move on as soon as possible; on his days off, he would take his family of four to the Deaf Old Lady's room to cook and clean for her, but the Deaf Old Lady was like a stone in a latrine—stinking and hard—and remained completely unmoved by their good intentions.

"Godmother, I know you were dissatisfied that I kept the adoption of the children from you back then, but I was in such a state, and Xiaocui still stood by me without abandoning me; I cannot fail her again."

"And now you have seen those two children; they are both sensible and filial. Do you still insist on your opinion?"

"Zhonghai, I won't say much; at most ten years, those two children will definitely leave you," the Deaf Old Lady said when it was the year '53.

"..."

Yi Zhonghai knew the Deaf Old Lady said that to plant a thorn in his heart, but he was weak-willed, and he really did take this matter to heart.

The year he first heard this, he had spent a period of time worrying about gains and losses, but as time passed and he watched the sensible siblings, Yi Zhonghai stopped thinking about it.

Now, Yi Zhonghai mainly wanted to let the Deaf Old Lady integrate into the courtyard to dispel those messy thoughts of hers.

Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up after hearing this; he usually wanted to hold meetings to boost his sense of presence, and he certainly wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.

"Good, good, good, we should get together; the weather is also good, neither cold nor hot, just right for an outdoor meal."

Ever since Liu Guangqi lectured him, Liu Guangtian had started studying seriously, and Liu Guangfu was forced to join the grind as well; both of their grades had improved significantly, which left Liu Haizhong with no excuse to beat the children.

Liu Haizhong was originally a bit unhappy about being suppressed by Yi Zhonghai this time, but fortunately, he had Lao Jia and Lao Wu to keep him company.

He couldn't beat his children when he got home now, which made him feel restless, and this dinner would allow him to show off a bit and soothe his temper, so he naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

"Fine, since you all agree, I have no objections."

Thus, the following evening, the Siheyuan held a rare meeting once again.

"Ahem, I believe everyone has worked hard during this period and achieved the job ranks you wanted, so you must be thinking of rewarding yourselves."

"I discussed it with Lao Liu and Lao Yan yesterday; instead of celebrating at home individually, why don't we each prepare some ingredients and have a dinner right here in the courtyard on our day off?"

"Right, Lao Yi is correct, but I think that as the Second Uncle of the courtyard, a group leader at the factory, and the father of the Technical School Student Liu Guangqi, it is necessary for me to set an example for the courtyard; I will contribute ten yuan for this dinner."

The Liu family's crown prince, Liu Guangqi, had been admitted to a technical school last year, which made Liu Haizhong incredibly arrogant in the courtyard, and his hopes for his other two sons had also grown, so he would bring up the "Technical School Student" whenever he had the chance.

Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui's faces darkened; they hadn't agreed to this during their discussion yesterday, and now they were in a difficult position and could only follow along with gritted teeth.

"Ahem, Lao Liu is right; as the First Uncle of the courtyard and a Senior Worker at the factory, I will also contribute ten yuan."

"..."

Liu Haizhong felt as if he had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet; the words "Senior Worker" stabbed fiercely into Liu Dapang's fragile heart.

"Well, everyone knows I'm just a small teacher, my salary isn't high, and it's already difficult enough to support a whole family, so I'll contribute two yuan."

"Lao Yan, why is your contribution so precise? Why not just add two jiao and make it three yuan?"

"..."

"Since it has come to this, I might as well drag everyone into it," Yi Zhonghai thought to himself.

"That, Lao Liu is right; as the only Official Cadre in our courtyard, Ping'an, and also Lao He, Lao Wu, you are all families with four workers, and Brother, your family is about the same..." Yi Zhonghai pointed out every family in the Siheyuan that was doing well.

Liu Haizhong vaguely felt something was wrong; how did you, Yi Zhonghai, get to say all the good and bad things while I end up carrying the burden?

"That, actually, this, um..." Liu Haizhong choked for a long time but couldn't continue.

"Let me say a few words; let us old folks provide the dishes for the dinner, and each family just needs to prepare their own rations. Lao He, you don't need to contribute money, just trouble yourself and Zhuzi to stir-fry the dishes," Lao Jia said, seeing that the three old companions were a bit stuck, so he simply made a proposal.

In reality, when Yi Zhonghai proposed a self-funded dinner, everyone was reluctant, as everyone's economic conditions were different, but they were all concerned about "face," so they would definitely bring out good things when the time came.

But for the families behind, the burden might be a bit heavy, so everyone relatively accepted Liu Haizhong's proposal; if someone else paid the bulk of it and they could still eat well, that would be for the best.

However, the final proposal from San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, made everyone's eyes light up; if they only brought their own rations, how much could it cost? Even if it were all white flour Steamed Buns, it would at most be a yuan or two—how was that any different from a free meal?

The few old folks looked at each other and nodded silently; the final result was that Yi Zhonghai, Lao Jia, Xu Fugui, Liu Haizhong, and Lao Wu each contributed ten yuan, Yan Bugui contributed five yuan and was responsible for overall coordination, and Zhang Ping'an and Jia Dongxu contributed some meat coupons.

Zhang Ping'an had to give Lao Jia face, and the key was that he couldn't use those coupons anyway; He Daqing also quickly listed the menu.

The day off arrived quickly; at five o'clock in the morning, Yan Bugui took people to buy vegetables, and they were lucky enough to encounter someone from the countryside and bought forty-five jin of Wild Boar Meat without needing coupons, followed by chicken, duck, fish, and various side dishes.

At nine in the morning, He Daqing directed the women to start picking the vegetables, while he and Shazhu began the preparations for stir-frying.

With Braised Pork, stir-fried meat with chili, braised chicken, chopped chili fish, stewed tofu, shredded potatoes in sour and spicy sauce, stir-fried eggs with green onions, and stir-fried green beans—four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes were all served, and everyone began to feast.

Liu Haizhong picked up his wine glass and opened his mouth, wanting to give a pre-meal speech, but seeing everyone burying their heads in their food, he realized only their table was eating in a refined manner.

"Godmother, try Daqing's cooking."

"Mm, good." The Deaf Old Lady also revealed a rare smile.

This table not only had Yi Zhonghai and the other old folks, but also the Deaf Old Lady, Zhou Anguo, Han Qianjin, and Zhao Jiaguo; except for Yan Bugui, everyone was over forty years old.