In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 81 Let's make some Northeastern Chinese dishes
Old Yu sat at home without daring to leave the house. He just leaned against the window on the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked at the pedestrians on the street outside.

He had also heard about his eldest son going to Old Wang's house.

But he didn't choose to go and help. He knew his son's personality; although he was naive and lacked social skills, he was more filial than anyone else.

In his opinion, with his eldest son's current wealth, he would never be able to tempt Wang Ergouzi, especially with an antique dealer eyeing him covetously.

If he doesn't go, his son can at least leave unscathed with the family's wealth!

If he goes there, he might not be able to suppress his obsession any longer, and he might even go bankrupt to bring back the White Jade Guanyin!

That would mean the destruction of two families.

He absolutely could not allow this to happen, so he locked himself in his room and forced himself to accept the outcome that the white jade Guanyin had been taken away by the antique dealer.

Time ticked by, and Yu Lao Nian was in agony until a Santana drove past him on the street.

He slumped weakly against the windowsill, his fists clenching unconsciously. He lowered his head silently and gritted his teeth, saying, "Mom, forgive your son. It's my fault for being unfilial..."

He was the only one in the room. After some time, the room went from being completely silent to being filled with the sound of soft sobbing.

"Dad! Look what I brought you back!" Yu Dawei opened the door, followed by Er Yan and Han Jingfan. The spring-loaded door slammed shut with a "bang".

"What is it?" Old Yu heard the noise at the outer door, hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and looked up to see his eldest son holding a red cloth bundle in his arms.

"What a treasure!" Yu Dawei opened the red cloth wrapping and saw a white jade Guanyin with a thousand hands clasped together, sitting on a lotus platform with a compassionate expression. Each arm was carved with lifelike detail, and the magical artifacts in her hands were clearly discernible.

To the left and right of the lotus platform, slightly behind, stood a golden boy and a jade maiden. The golden boy wore a bellyband with his hands clasped together, on which the character "福" (fortune) was clearly carved. The jade maiden on the right was dressed in silk and brocade, holding a crystal-clear ruyi jewel.

"This, this is!" Old Man Yu's eyes widened, his heart pounding between great sorrow and joy. He reached out in disbelief and gently touched the lotus base.

Old Yu looked up at Yu Dawei in shock: "You bought it?"

"Yeah!" Yu Dawei chuckled, then picked up his eldest son from his wife's arms. "Look, we bought the white jade Guanyin. Muyu is so happy, giggling..."

Yu Dawei stretched out his index finger and touched Xiao Muyu's armpit. The little guy didn't have a ticklish spot, but he still giggled.

"I'll put it in the inner room." Old Yu put on his shoes, got out of bed, silently picked up the white jade Guanyin and went into the west room, then closed the door. The white curtain with red flowers behind the door swayed in the wind.

The three of them tacitly avoided disturbing the old man. Despite her small size, Er Yan was clever and mischievous from a young age, and the first thing she saw when she entered the door was that her father had been crying.

"Where did Mom go?" Yu Dawei looked outside, as if he hadn't seen her all morning.

With all this commotion this morning, Mom shouldn't be absent.

"I went to the supply and marketing cooperative with my second sister next door this morning. She said she wanted to buy some shoe soles to make some cloth shoes for you and Dad, and also for me and my sister-in-law." Er Yan climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and took out a thick stack of shoe patterns from a round winnowing basket. There were more black ones and fewer patterned ones.

"Oh." Yu Dawei nodded.

The family next door also has the surname Yu. They belong to one of the four branches of the Yu family. They have two children, a boy and a girl. The older girl is five or six years younger than Xiaofang.

As far as I can remember, after his little one grew up and got married, his wife ran away, leaving behind a crying baby girl.

At that time, there were very few young people left in the village. I guess no girl would be willing to stay in the countryside for the rest of her life. Who knows?

Before they knew it, it was noon. Yu Dawei helped Han Jingfan pick vegetables and cook. The pot was filled with a mixture of rice and millet, which was placed directly in a large iron pot with water. If possible, some red kidney beans with white spots could also be added.

Then place a lid rack or a crooked rice fork inside the iron pot, something that keeps the rice and water at a distance, and put some leftover food on it.

Han Jingfan felt that today was a good day, so she placed a plate of eggs on the lid of the steamer. There were eight eggs in total. She didn't stir them, but simply cracked them open and placed them on the plate, sprinkled them with salt and chopped green onions, and drizzled a few drops of soy sauce on the side.

Yu Dawei picked some small persimmons from the yard. The tomatoes in the Northeast garden are all lantern-shaped persimmons, which are shaped like light bulbs. There are also some persimmons that look like watermelon rinds. From a distance, their red skin has some fine green spots.

"Delicious." Yu Dawei picked a persimmon without washing it and threw it directly into his mouth. The fresh aroma of the persimmon filled his entire mouth as it entered his mouth with the air.

He also picked some cucumbers from the garden, planning to make a cucumber salad later. He also cut some chives. The eggplants are still quite small; they should be fully ripe by July or August.

Nowadays, there aren't many edible vegetables in the garden; most of them only ripen in July and August, which is when we can improve our meals.

These days, the most ordinary families can eat is potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes...

So basically every household had a potato cellar built at the foot of the inner room.

The potato cellar wasn't large, about five square meters, and between one and a half and two meters high. Every autumn harvest, the potatoes from the fields and gardens combined could fill the entire cellar.

The reason why older generations in Northeast China have the habit of stockpiling vegetables is because at a certain time, the variety of vegetables in Northeast China was limited, and there were many children in the family. If they didn't stockpile more, they would easily starve to death.

Yu Dawei did appear in the past when he was a child; wasn't Han Jingfan's little brother who starved to death after he was born?

Stir-fried shredded potatoes with chives, cucumber salad, poached eggs, chicken stew with mushrooms (leftovers), peanuts, vegetables with dipping sauce...

The soybean paste in the dipping sauce is a new one made by Yu Dawei's mother this year. She made the paste blocks in February, fermented them until April, and then started adding the paste to the sauce vat. She then stirs the paste with a sauce rake every day, focusing on stirring and keeping the dish entertained!

Do 100-200 repetitions every day, and then you can start eating it in June.

Rumor has it that when making soy sauce in the Northeast, one should not let others see their own sauce, especially people with twins. Yu Dawei didn't know what this rule was.

My mom's sauce is absolutely amazing! Every time Yu Dawei comes to the backyard in the summer, he has to eat vegetables dipped in the sauce.

Cut some radishes, some scallions, chili peppers, and cilantro from the garden, and some bok choy leaves, hehehe... *slurp* — Yu Dawei swallowed his saliva.

No rush, we should be able to eat them in about a month.

For now, I'll just have scallions and shallots to make do with for dipping sauce.

The meal was almost finished when Yu Dawei's mother, Zhang Yunqin, returned carrying two small packages.

As soon as she entered the village, she was surrounded by a group of women she usually chatted with, who kept asking her about Yu Dawei.

It was through chatting that she learned her seemingly simple-minded son was actually quite wealthy! He had even bought the white jade Guanyin statue from the Yu family. In an instant, Zhang Yunqin understood why her husband's mental state had been poor these past few days.

But when the women asked her about Yu Dawei, especially when they were all staring at her with envy, she didn't know what was going on.

The father and son only chat outside occasionally, and they never talk about anything in person. What could a woman like her possibly know?

He just made up some excuse to brush it off, and he was quite good at making up nonsense.

After dismissing a group of gossipy women, he hurried home and immediately began questioning Yu Dawei upon entering.

There were moments of anger, but mostly there was happiness.

She knew that her eldest son had snatched the white jade Guanyin back from the antique dealers.

She felt both relieved and heartbroken. You know, it's not easy to have a little money, and now it's probably all gone again.

Zhang Yunqin scolded Yu Dawei for a while, but in the end, she still felt sorry for him and cooked two more dishes for him.

As the food was served, Yu Dawei, Er Yan, and Han Jingfan all looked at their mother, their meaning clear: "At this time, you still have to go and call him."

Zhang Yunqin rolled her eyes at the group, put down her chopsticks, got off the kang (heated brick bed), and knocked twice on the door of the inner room: "Dinner's ready."

"I know," a deep voice came from the inner room.

When Old Man Yu came out of the inner room, he was holding a bottle of his treasured Jiannanchun liquor and two transparent wine cups. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his wrinkled face couldn't hide his smile: "I'm happy today, so let's drink less. This afternoon I'll buy some paper money to visit your grandmother's grave."

"Okay." Yu Dawei took the liquor and wine cup from the kang (heated brick bed). "Shall I drink with you?"

"Good!" Old Yu patted Yu Dawei's shoulder, his eyes full of satisfaction.

His eldest son, who used to cause him the most worry and trouble, unexpectedly became capable of standing on his own and even helping his father do things that his father couldn't do.

He's grown up, really grown up...

He actually felt that the burden on his shoulders had become much lighter!
Yu Laonian poured baijiu into two wine cups: "Come on, let's have a toast."

Yu Dawei picked up the wine cup and smiled slightly, gently touching it to the old man's. He knew that if the old man could take out his wine cup and drink seriously, it meant that something great had happened in the family.

"Clink!" The cups clinked together.

For a moment, Yu Laonian was in a daze, as if an invisible flag had been passed to his eldest son.

He hurriedly tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass. After a while, he slowly lowered his head and smiled at Yu Dawei: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

The rest of the family were also eating their meals with smiles on their faces. Today, Er Yan even received her mother's approval and was allowed to pour ice water into her cup.

Xiao Muyu has always been very sensible. He loves to laugh and never cries or makes a fuss. When his family puts him on the blanket during mealtimes, he lies on it, hugging his little rabbit and playing by himself. Occasionally, he turns his head and sees the adults laughing, and he giggles along with them.

The old man was drinking with Yu Dawei when they talked about the story of buying the white jade Guanyin. Er Yan had heard it before, but when she heard the part about not having enough money to bid, she was still a little nervous and excited. After all, if that antique dealer really had money, then her older brother wouldn't have had a chance.

When Yu Laonian realized that Han Jingfan had stepped forward to take the final crucial step, he was deeply moved and solemnly raised his wine cup to toast Han Jingfan on behalf of the Yu family.

Although they are family, some things cannot be viewed that way. Xiao Fan was able to bring out all the family's wealth and work together with Da Wei, which is a kind of vision that most daughters-in-law do not have.

Yu Laonian had also witnessed Xiao Fan's transformation over the past year, as had Yu Dawei. The elder brother had the demeanor of an elder brother, and the sister-in-law had the grace of a sister-in-law.

There was a hope that the family would be revived, and he excitedly drank another glass by himself.

After his drinking contest with the old man a few days ago, Yu Dawei's alcohol tolerance has increased slightly.

If you can finish at least half a bottle of Jiannanchun liquor by sharing it with the old man, that would be a significant improvement.

The only thing that hadn't changed was his rosy face, and Er Yan couldn't help but tease her older brother a few times.

After the meal, Yu Laonian called Zhang Yunqin into the inner room, gave her a few instructions, and then, carrying a black package on his back, left with Yu Dawei.

Along the way, many acquaintances from the villages praised Yu Laonian and Yu Dawei enthusiastically, saying things like how young and promising they were at only 23, and how they were truly worthy of being Uncle Jiu's offspring, ultimately achieving great things later in life...

Of course, there were also those with ulterior motives, who used various veiled questions to try and find out exactly what Yu Dawei had done to make his fortune.

No matter who he met, Yu Laonian would only offer a few simple words of help. If he really encountered someone like this, he would just make a joke about "moving bricks on a construction site" and then ignore them.

Yu Dawei followed behind his father. With his father around, he didn't bother with these people.

Previously, no one in the village respected him, including some members of the Yu family in the village. Those who took the initiative to talk to Yu Dawei were only doing so because of his father's influence.

How could he not know? He was just too lazy to care. Now, he knows perfectly well who is truly good to him and who is just putting on an act.

Upon arriving at the convenience store, Yu Dazhi saw Yu Laonian and his son, and his eyes lit up: "Uncle Jiu, what brings you two here?"

"You're amazing, Dawei! You've made so much money in town without making a sound." Yu Dazhi leaned closer and held out his hand. "Do you want to pay me back the money you owe me for the soy sauce and vinegar last time?"

"Get lost." Yu Dawei rolled his eyes and took a few bundles of paper from the north wall. "Put this in my books too."

"Uncle Jiu! Can you do something about Da Lanwei? He's bullying me again!" Yu Dazhi looked at Yu Dawei indignantly. "You're a father now, can't you be a little more civilized?"

Looking at the two men, Yu Laonian felt as if he had returned to the time when they were children and he was the one who judged their cases. He frowned deeply and gave Yu Dawei a sidelong glance, clearly annoyed.

Yu Dawei shrank back, thinking to himself, "I'm doomed, I got a little too cocky!"

"How much? I'll pay it all at once." Old Yu sat down at the counter, took out a handful of change from his pocket. Although he asked, he knew exactly how much it was. He counted out the amount and pushed it onto the counter.

"Oh, Uncle, I was just joking with him, don't take it seriously. This kid may be a bit of a blabbermouth, but he did something really good this time. I know what you're up to, so this money is on me." Yu Dazhi pretended to push the money back.

(End of this chapter)