Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 733 Huang Limei's Versailles!
After finishing his work at the security office in the morning and inspecting all the duty posts, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle away from the steel rolling mill and headed towards Lin Qiuyue's parents' home.

"Isn't this Qiuyue's boyfriend? Look at all these bags you're carrying, are you here to give your mother-in-law a holiday gift?" Jia Dongming was carrying two bags when he entered the courtyard where Lin Qiuyue's parents lived. An older woman in the courtyard saw the bags Jia Dongming was carrying and her face showed a mixture of envy and surprise. She quickly and warmly greeted Jia Dongming.

When Jia Dongming saw the middle-aged woman walking towards him, he immediately remembered her identity and hurriedly greeted her politely, "Aunt Shen! Hello! I should have come a couple of days ago, but I was too busy with work, so I delayed until now, making you all laugh at me."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, Aunt Shen immediately recalled the gossipy women in the courtyard who had been talking behind her back these past two days because Lin Qiuyue and her husband hadn't come to deliver their holiday gifts.

Seeing the bag Jia Dongming was carrying, and thinking about the holiday gifts that the sons-in-law of those gossipy women had given her, Aunt Shen immediately shouted loudly in the direction of Lin Qiuyue's house, "Limei! Come out quickly, your son-in-law has come to give you a holiday gift."

Huang Limei, who was preparing lunch inside, heard Aunt Shen's call and learned that Jia Dongming had come to deliver holiday gifts. She immediately put down what she was doing and hurried out of the house. When she saw the two bags Jia Dongming was carrying, a happy smile appeared on her face, and she greeted Jia Dongming, "Dongming! You've come all this way, why did you bring so many things?"

Jia Dongming had no idea that because his holiday gift was delivered a day or two late, several people in the courtyard, out of jealousy because he was a leader, deliberately made things difficult for Huang Limei.

In response to Huang Limei's greeting, Jia Dongming smiled and explained to her, "Mom! This is the first year of my marriage with Qiuyue. In principle, we should have sent you a holiday gift a few days ago, but because of a major case at the Municipal Bureau, and the seafood I asked a friend to buy only arrived in Beijing today, the holiday gift has been delayed until today."

Huang Limei was not a boastful housewife, but because a few jealous women in the courtyard said behind her back that her son-in-law was a cadre and therefore couldn't see their family clearly because Jia Dongming hadn't delivered the holiday gifts, Huang Limei had been holding a grudge.

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's explanation and learning why he had delivered the holiday gift so late, Huang Limei's face immediately lit up with joy. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the courtyard and saw the neighbors watching the commotion from a corner. She quickly asked Jia Dongming, "Sea fish? What kind of sea fish? Is it the salted ribbonfish that Qiuyue mentioned last time that goes so well with rice? Quickly, bring it out so I can see it."

Huang Limei's behavior surprised Jia Dongming. However, he also saw the neighbors watching the commotion from the sidelines. He then opened the cloth bag he had brought and introduced it to Huang Limei with a smile: "Mom! You guessed right, it's salted ribbonfish. In addition to salted ribbonfish, I also brought you salted cucumber, shark, and some kelp and dried shrimp."

When Huang Limei saw the various salted fish that Jia Dongming took out of the bag and noticed the envious looks from the neighbors, a smug smile immediately appeared on her face. She quickly asked Jia Dongming, "Dongming! I've never cooked these seafood fish before. How am I supposed to eat so many?"

When Jia Dongming heard Huang Limei's question and saw her smug expression, he was quite puzzled. However, he attributed it to the fact that women nowadays like to show off in front of their neighbors, so he didn't take it too seriously. He quickly explained to Huang Limei, "Mom! This salted ribbonfish can be cut into sections, and after the water boils, you can steam it in a pot for five minutes and it's ready to eat!"

"Limei! Qiuyue has found you a good son-in-law. Look at all this! It's only the Mid-Autumn Festival, and she's already given you so much seafood that we've never even tasted before. Unlike some people's sons-in-law who just gave them a little bit of noodles and half a pound of pork and then showed it off in the yard for days." After seeing Jia Dongming take out all the things from the two bags, Aunt Shen's face showed an envious expression. She didn't forget to take the opportunity to sarcastically mock the person who had been talking about Huang Limei behind her back a few days ago.

Jia Dongming, who was puzzled by Huang Limei's behavior, immediately understood why his mother-in-law was acting out of character today and publicly displaying the holiday gifts he had sent in front of everyone in the courtyard when he heard Aunt Shen's sarcastic remarks.

After understanding the reason, Jia Dongming simply untied another cloth bag and took out a large piece of pork fat, three feet thick, followed by two catties of pork belly and two bags of refined grains. He then said to Huang Limei, "Mom! This is five catties of top-quality pork fat. You can render it into oil this afternoon when you have nothing to do, and save it for cooking." "In addition, there are ten catties of wheat flour and ten catties of rice in this bag. Qiuyue said that your stomach is not good, so you should eat more refined grains in the future, and try to eat less of these coarse grains."

Huang Limei, who was showing off in front of everyone in the courtyard, was immediately impressed when Jia Dongming took out a piece of pork fat that was three feet thick from his cloth bag. Jia Dongming's words made her feel particularly proud, and she asked him happily, "Dongming! Where did you buy this pork fat? Judging from the thickness of this pork fat, this pig must have weighed at least 300 jin."

Although seafood was scarce, pork fat was the most prized commodity for people of that era. When the neighbors saw the three-foot-thick layer of pork fat in Jia Dongming's hand, their eyes lit up, and they all stared at the pork fat in Jia Dongming's hand with envy.

Upon hearing Huang Limei's words, Jia Dongming readily agreed and replied, "Mom! One of my comrades works at a slaughterhouse. If you enjoy this pork fat, have Qiuyu come and give me a message, and I'll send you some more."

The reason Huang Limei made Jia Dongming take out the things he brought one by one in front of the neighbors was not because she liked to show off, but because the gossip of the neighbors in the courtyard these past few days had made her feel resentful.

Seeing the envious looks from her neighbors, Huang Limei, having achieved her goal, deliberately complained to Jia Dongming, "Dongming! When Qiuyue came back a while ago, I told her that holiday gifts are just a custom, and there's no need to send anything too expensive. Look at you two, why didn't you listen to me? You actually sent so many things over. Isn't this a waste of money?"

Hearing Huang Limei's words and seeing the envious expressions on the faces of the neighbors, Jia Dongming decided to play along. He pretended to take something out of the bag and pulled out two packets of mooncakes. He smiled and introduced them to Huang Limei, saying, "Mom! These are mooncakes from the South. There are pork fillings and jujube fillings. After you finish dinner tonight, take some out and cut some for Qiuhua and Qiuyu to try."

Huang Limei, who was showing off, saw the mooncakes that Jia Dongming took out from the bottom of the bag and heard Jia Dongming's explanation. Her smile became even brighter. She glanced at her neighbor, with whom she didn't usually get along, and happily told Jia Dongming, "Dongming! This is the first festival this year, so Mom won't say anything to you. But you're not allowed to send so many things in the future."

Upon hearing Huang Limei's instructions and seeing her busy at Versailles, Jia Dongming quickly replied, "Mom! I've got it all. When Qiuhua comes home from get off work for dinner, please set aside two ribbonfish and a box of mooncakes for her to deliver to her boyfriend's family."

When Huang Limei saw that Jia Dongming had brought back so many things, she was thinking that when her son came back, she would take a small portion of the holiday gifts that Jia Dongming had brought and have Lin Qiuhua send them to his girlfriend's family.

Seeing that Jia Dongming's thoughts coincided with hers made Huang Limei even happier. She glanced smugly at her neighbor, whom she usually didn't get along with, and complained to Jia Dongming with a smile, "Dongming! Let Qiuhua handle his own affairs. How can you, as his brother-in-law, even consider his affairs for him?"

Hearing Huang Limei's complaint, Jia Dongming replied in agreement, "Mom! Qiuyue and I only have one younger brother, Qiuhua. If we don't care about him, who will?"

(End of this chapter)