Chapter 21: Warm Pot 2.0

At nine-thirty, Zhang Ping'an's group of relatives and friends arrived, all carrying things; there was fish, meat, and even pots, bowls, plates, and basins.

"Hmm, not bad, it looks like something now."

Zhang Laohan looked at the leveled ground and the neatly tidied edges and corners, feeling more satisfied the more he looked.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, these two rooms here are prepared for you. I'll live on the west side, and Si Jie will live here too; the East Wing Room and West Wing Room can be kept as guest rooms."

"Let Lanhua live in the East Wing Room. We only come to stay occasionally, so we'll all just stay in the wing rooms," said Zhang Dadan.

"Dad, that won't do. You are the pillar of the Zhang family, so let's just do as Ping'an says."

"Ping'an, I'd better stay in the East Wing Room; it's more convenient for cooking and going out."

"Fine, let's do it that way then," Zhang Dadan said, making the final decision.

At this time, it was normal to favor boys over girls, and it was hard for Zhang Ping'an to change the old folks' way of thinking, but in his view, it was about the same wherever one lived, so he simply stopped worrying about it.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't get into the kitchen at all; it had already been occupied by his mother and three older sisters, so he just sat and waited for the meal to be served.

"The seasonings here at Ping'an's place are really complete, they have everything."

"Yeah, the food cooked with these must be fragrant."

"Sister, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, I've prepared quite a bit of oil; take two bottles each when you leave later." Zhang Ping'an had prepared quite a few wine bottles in his space, so he just needed to fill two bottles for each person.

"Thank you, Uncle. My mom doesn't use any oil when she stir-fries, it's all dry."

"Thank you, younger brother."

"If it's dry, why do you eat so much?"

"Uncle said I'm growing, so I need to eat more oily food," eleven-year-old Li Mei said with a straight face.

"Hahahaha."

The four of them busied themselves and soon finished cooking the meal: large chunks of Braised Pork, Braised Fish, Braised Chicken Chunks, beef with sauce, scrambled eggs, shredded potatoes, smashed cucumber, peanuts, and fish head tofu soup.

"Alright, let's eat."

The two tables could barely seat everyone; six or seven grown men sat at one table, eating until they were sweating, and the liquor was even Zhang Ping'an's own home-brewed stuff.

"This liquor is good, better than the loose liquor I buy. Ping'an, which shop did you buy this at?"

"Uh, I happened to buy it from an old man in the countryside when I was selling fish."

"Oh, if it's not expensive, you can buy more next time you run into him."

"Okay."

At three in the afternoon, the group of relatives and friends left. Zhang Ping'an's family gave each of them a bottle of soybean oil, and then he took Zhang Lanhua to Yan Bugui's house.

"Teacher Yan, this is my fourth sister, Zhang Lanhua. Fourth Sister, this is the Teacher Yan I told you about."

"Hello, Teacher Yan."

"Hmm~ How about this: I wrote two test papers each for the first and second grades this morning. Take them back and try to write them; I want to see your foundation."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Yan."

"Hmm."

You have to say, this old guy is actually quite reliable; what he promised yesterday afternoon was already prepared this morning.

"Fourth Sister, you go back first to do the test papers. I'll chat with Teacher Yan for a bit."

"Okay."

"Kid, your fourth sister is much more polite than you."

"......"

"Look at what you're saying. Every time I see you, I call you Teacher Yan, and I haven't called you an old guy. I was even planning to take you out to cast a few lines this afternoon."

"Hey~ you kid, then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Let's go, let's go, don't just stand there, hurry back and get the gear."

When Zhang Ping'an brought the three of them out, Yan Bugui was already waiting outside the courtyard.

"Hey, old guy, you're going fishing too?"

"Shazhu has graduated and is being arrogant, but I still have two years before I graduate, sigh," Damao sighed.

"Zhuzi, I won't lower myself to your level, you little brat. I'll slap your face later when we're fishing." Yan Bugui was full of confidence, having Zhang Ping'an's promise.

"Pfft, a competition is a competition, I'm not afraid of you."

"Greenhorn."

"It's getting late, let's go," said Zhang Ping'an.

By the time everyone reached Shichahai and finished digging up the earthworms, it was already three-thirty; they could still fish for about three hours.

"Watch closely," Zhang Ping'an took out a small bottle and dripped one drop onto everyone's earthworms.

"Ping'an, what is this?"

"A secret recipe my master gave me." In reality, it was Space Spiritual Water that Zhang Ping'an had diluted himself.

"So magical?"

"Otherwise, where do you think my daily catch comes from?"

"That's true, that's true." Yan Bugui had previously thought Zhang Ping'an was good at finding schools of fish; he hadn't expected there to be a secret recipe.

"This stuff isn't easy to make; my master only has one bottle left, and it will be lost once it's used up. This bottle of mine should last another year or two. Alright, don't tell outsiders, let's start fishing."

"Deal."

Yan Bugui finally experienced the pleasure of continuous catches; it was great, better than anything else, and he couldn't stop smiling all afternoon.

Seeing the sky gradually darkening, Zhang Ping'an prepared to reel in his line.

"Alright, let's deliver the goods. Teacher Yan, how are you going to handle your fish?" Everyone had caught about eighty or a hundred catties, adding up to nearly four hundred catties.

"Yes, yes, yes, hmm, let's do it together." With so many fish, he, a person with no strength to truss a chicken, couldn't carry them back.

"That works, let's go."

This tricycle is still a bit too small; aside from the fish belonging to Zhang Ping'an and Jia Dongxu being placed in the cargo bed, the three of them each have a sack, and by the time they reach the Rolling Mill, quite a few will probably be dead.

"Yo, Ping'an, your team has grown in size again."

"Hahaha, Brother Tan Jun is joking; it's just to earn some pocket money during summer vacation."

"You, really." Tan Jun knew that the amount of fish Zhang Ping'an delivered every day was not small; the uncle and nephew could each earn three or four hundred thousand 【currency units】 from their share.

Except for the uncle and nephew, the other three were weighed separately; and it must be said, when it comes to fishing, the old comrade still reigns supreme—Yan Bugui really did catch over ten jin more than Shazhu and the other fool.

"How about it, Zhuzi, are you convinced?"

"Tch, what does one time prove?"

"Fine, fine, fine, we'll continue tomorrow; I, Yan Bugui, specialize in curing all kinds of defiance."

"..."

Upon returning home, Zhang Ping'an first showed the test paper to Si Jie; it was alright, she had managed to solve most of the second-grade problems.

"Si Jie, your foundation is quite good; tomorrow at San Jie's place, let Teacher Yan tutor you."

"Okay."

"I'm going to the kitchen to cook; look through this once, and from now on, follow this standard."

"Deal."

Half an hour later.

"Ping'an, you used too much oil for this stir-fry."

"How could it be delicious without enough oil?"

"..." That makes so much sense; I actually have no way to refute it.

After eating, Zhang Ping'an took Si Jie to the Jia Family's home.

"San Jie, let Si Jie have her tutoring here tomorrow morning, or you can come to my place to keep Si Jie company."

"Tutoring?"

"Yes, it's Teacher Yan from the Front Courtyard; she'll have lessons for a morning every day, and after summer vacation, Si Jie will go to school too."

"Oh, okay, Little Sister, you must study hard."

"Yes, San Jie, I will definitely study hard."

Zhang Ping'an went to the Front Courtyard again to have a word with Yan Bugui.

"Teacher Yan, my fourth sister got most of her second-grade test paper right."

"Got it, I understand; tomorrow I'll start from the second-grade material and go step by step."

"Good."

Having witnessed the power of Zhang Ping'an's secret recipe this afternoon, Yan Bugui had to teach his fourth sister well; that way, he could have an income of two or three hundred thousand a day, which would be seven or eight million a month.

Yan Bugui didn't realize it until he calculated it, and he was truly startled by the result; good heavens, is money really that easy to earn? He must not let his spendthrift wife know, otherwise the whole courtyard would find out.

Yan Bugui secretly hid the money from selling the fish in an iron box in the cracks of the bricks under his bed; this was his private stash.

"Head of the house, what are you doing?" Yang Ruihua's voice suddenly popped up, and Yan Bugui was nearly scared to death.

"I'm looking for some old wine; isn't it that Ping'an wants to buy some?"

"Oh, oh, oh." Yang Ruihua didn't suspect anything; Zhang Ping'an had indeed bought some from Lao Yan a few times.

Zhang Ping'an went back, took a quick shower, and returned to his room; the weather was still too hot, so Zhang Ping'an simply locked the door and slipped into his space.