Chapter 448: Old Lin, harming him again!

Elder Pei took a calendar, and Elder Lin, Elder Li, and the others each took one.

Because several new buildings had been constructed at the cadre sanatorium, there were single, double, triple, quadruple, and sextuple rooms to choose from.

The ten of them had quite good relationships, so they chose the quadruple and sextuple rooms; taking two copies back was enough, there was no need to take so many.

After distributing the calendars, Shen Man then divided up the pastries, one bag for each elder, fair and square.

"This 'rolling donkey' (lüdagun)—ever since I left the Capital, I haven't had an authentic one in a long time. The mung bean cakes are the same."

"Let's put ours away first, let's open Old Lu's first."

It had to be said, Elder Lin was always the quickest thinker in the group.

The others took the hint immediately, putting their own things away and staring intently at Elder Lu, with an expression that said if you don't open yours, we won't get to eat, and if we don't get to eat, we won't go on living.

Elder Lu was so angry his beard twitched. Good, Old Lin was harming him again!

Last night, when he was craving the last bottle of fruit wine under his bed, he suddenly discovered the bottle was gone!

The only people who had come to his house to find him recently were Section Commander Duan, Old Lin, and Brother Pei; it had to be one of them.

Amei was impossible; that child was honest, hardworking, and simple—how would she dare go into his room to steal wine?

There must be a mole between Section Commander Duan and Old Lin!

Because Section Commander Duan always gave him the feeling of being very upright and magnanimous, he hadn't thought much of it and had ruled him out.

Now, his only suspect was Old Lin—this old fellow was greedy for drink and food, and loved to team up with others to pressure him, just to swindle food and drink from his hands!

While Elder Lu was analyzing Elder Lin, Shen Man had already sensibly opened a bag of 'rolling donkey' and a bag of mung bean and red bean cakes, telling the elders to help themselves to whatever suited their tastes, and that if it wasn't enough, she would open more.

Then, she went to brew a pot of tea for the elders to cleanse their palates and ease the atmosphere.

Knowing Shen Man was going to boil water for tea, the elders stopped their bickering, assuming a lighthearted and peaceful air, waiting for the tea to be served.

As for the roast ducks on the table, the elders had eaten them for many years and didn't feel much about them, so they had no intention of dividing them up.

When Shen Man returned, while pouring tea for each elder, she asked if they should carve up the roast ducks for dinner.

"No, that's too much, we can't eat that much. I see Amei processed a lot of seafood this afternoon; the dishes for tonight are enough."

"Just carve one, or rather, just carve one is enough, let the children and Li-ge eat more.

As for the rest of the roast ducks and pastries, you pick through them and distribute them to the families you, your husband Jiang Ye, your brother, and your sister-in-law have good relations with, so they can also taste the good things from the Capital and remember your kindness."

"That's right, we all have very picky palates; roast duck isn't considered rare in our eyes.

But for those who haven't eaten it, it's still quite rare. It really wasn't easy for you to bring the ducks back.

Regardless, the ducks are fine; just carve half, or carve them into pieces and plate them, and send a portion to a few families you're close with—that works too."

"Mm, good tea."

"No, what I mean is, hmm, Old Li and Old Zao both make a lot of sense; let's do it that way."

"Alright, then I'll listen to the elders. Hmm, I'll carve one duck tonight, and as for the other four, I'll help them divide them up with A-Ye later and see which families to send them to."

If you don't listen to the elders, you'll suffer the consequences.

Having an elder in the house is like having a treasure.

She didn't find their chatter annoying; she only felt these were the heartfelt words of elders teaching her the principles of conduct, and she was willing to listen.

She didn't divide the other things in the parcel; they were some children's items and candies, gifts from Father and Mother Qin for the children.

Mentioning the Qin family, the few politically sensitive elders all looked up, exchanged glances, and asked directly:

"Is the 'Uncle Qin' you mentioned the one from that Qin family?"

Shen Man paused for a second, then reacted and replied:

"Yes, it's the parents of a friend of A-Ye's."

The few of them exchanged information like they were speaking in riddles; for those who couldn't reach that core level, being kept in the dark was actually a good thing.

Elder Lin was a bit jealous of Old Lu; how did his granddaughter-in-law manage to establish such a connection?

Although that person from the Qin family had retired, one shouldn't underestimate them.

That was someone who could speak directly to the leaders; perhaps some policy decisions even required consulting them.

Sigh, why wasn't he so lucky to have such an outstanding grandson or beautiful granddaughter!

The living room, which had been piled high with things, looked much neater after the simple division.

Shen Man glanced at the clock on the wall, turned on the television, and signaled for the elders to continue drinking tea, tasting the pastries, and chatting slowly in the living room.

She went to the kitchen to cook dinner with Amei.

Although she had paid Amei accordingly, one shouldn't be too high and mighty or treat people like servants.

Because a ventilation pipe and exhaust port had been added to the kitchen, there was no need to stand behind the stove to tend the fire, and the heat was much reduced.

Amei was now completely familiar with using the gas stove.

Processing seafood was the same; she had caught up to the speed of the locals.

"Shen Man-yi, you go out first. The oil and smoke in this kitchen are still a bit much, and it's stuffy. You just washed your hair this afternoon, don't stay in here.

I can handle the cooking by myself; it won't delay anything."

Amei hurried to get her to leave after seeing her come in.

"What are you afraid of? If it gets oily, I'll just wash it again. Anyway, we have plenty of water at home."

Shen Man didn't believe for a second that Amei could handle it all by herself, and even if she could, she would be exhausted.

If Amei got worn out, that would be a real loss.

"Amei, what are you thinking?

I mean, how many dishes are we making for dinner?

What dishes are we making?

Look at what I can help with; two people working is always faster than one, and everyone is probably waiting to eat, right?"

Having not cooked for over half a month, Shen Man knew her own culinary limits.

It was better to let Amei take the lead while she assisted.

"Hmm, as for the seafood, there's a steamed sea bass; I'm making that as a special dish for Sister-in-law Pei. She's still in confinement and can't eat anything too spicy, let alone raw or cold seafood, so only the sea bass is suitable for her.

Then for Sister-in-law Pei's dinner, I'll heat up a portion of chicken soup; I stewed it this morning, and there's still some in the clay pot.

Then I'll stir-fry a tomato and egg dish for her; two dishes and one soup, and that's complete."

"For the dozen or so people on this side, the table will have 12 dishes: stir-fried razor clams, spicy crab, steamed crab, large yellow croaker, pan-fried pork chops, stir-fried shredded pork, dry-pot mushrooms, tomato and egg stir-fry, sour and spicy shredded potatoes, lard-fried cabbage, smashed cucumber, and seaweed soup."

The bowls and plates at this time weren't as delicate and small as in later generations; they were practical, wear-resistant, and drop-resistant, shaped like large bowls.

In short, when the family ate, the portions were definitely generous...