Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Chapter 434 Yan Bugui's Family Meal
"Hey, Brother Lang, you're a rare guest! What wind has blown such a busy man like you here! Please come in, please come in!"

Teacher Yan, who was distributing dumplings one by one, heard the noise, looked up, and saw that it was indeed Ximen Lang, who hadn't been back to the courtyard for a long time.

Teacher Yan quickly stood up and, together with Aunt Yang, hurriedly welcomed the uninvited Ximen Lang and Bai Ling inside.

Upon hearing that Ximen Lang was going to have dinner at their house, they didn't complain at all about him coming over during mealtime.

All that remained was regret, and nothing but regret. He stood there slapping his thighs and stamping his feet in frustration.

"If I had known you two were coming, I would have just ordered a whole table of food from outside. I haven't prepared anything, how could I possibly accept this!"

Before entering, Ximen Lang had considered the possible reactions of Teacher Yan's family to his uninvited arrival, especially since he had chosen to come during mealtime.

But he never expected that Teacher Yan would have this attitude.

I also want to go outside and order a separate table for myself.
"Really? Ordering a whole table of food separately isn't cheap! Can you afford it?"

"Look at what you're saying! I might be reluctant to spend money on others, but how could I be reluctant to spend money on you? As long as you're willing to do me the honor, let alone just ordering a table, it's just a matter of you saying the word! Even if it's just a casual meal at Taifeng Restaurant, it's just a matter of you saying the word!"

"It's just a matter of a word from me?"

Yan Bugui's attitude was truly beyond Ximen Lang's expectations.

Seeing how much he was willing to spend on her, and the way he was gritting his teeth and stomping his feet, she realized he wasn't joking; he really wanted to treat her.

He even started urging Aunt Yang to hurry up and order a table full of food for him at the restaurant near the entrance.

Seeing that he was actually serious.

Ximen Lang quickly stopped Yan Bugui and his family, who were being overly generous and enthusiastic.

After much persuasion, he finally managed to dissuade Yan Bugui's family from their insistence on treating him to a meal to properly thank him.

This left Yan Bugui with a great sense of regret.

After this back and forth, Ximen Lang felt utterly helpless.

"Alright, Teacher Yan, let's not be so polite. I know you want to thank me, but it's really not necessary. The friendship between us doesn't need to be shown through this meal. So, I appreciate your sentiment, but let's skip eating out."

Ximen Lang glanced down at the several plates of dumplings laid out on the table and continued.

"But what's going on here? So many dumplings, that must have taken a lot of flour. I usually see you carefully counting the portions when you eat a cornbread. What's wrong today? Why are you being so generous? What's wrong, are you having a hard time?"

What Ximen Lang said was indeed an exaggeration, but it was also the truth.

A fleeting flush crossed Teacher Yan's face as she explained.

"How can we not make ends meet? My wife gets a salary too, a full 30 yuan! Plus my 27.5 yuan."

As they were talking, Ximen Lang's gaze swept over them like a knife.

Teacher Yan quickly changed her tune and apologized to Ximen Lang.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I've gotten used to saying this all the time. I really didn't mean to hide it from you, my mouth just wouldn't listen to me."

Then, Teacher Yan quickly told the truth.

"Well, my wife earned a little over 40 yuan this month, plus my 50-odd yuan, plus the orchids I grow, and the benefits I received from you."

"This month's income has jumped to a hundred or two! Luckily, the flour supply has also improved. As for Jiefang, his grades have improved by several places."

"My wife and I discussed it and decided, 'Okay, let's splurge today! All-you-can-eat dumplings! We'll eat our fill and give the kids a good boost!'"

At this point, Yan Bugui added.

"Of course, the main reason is that there is too much flour on the market now! Before, there was only a few kilograms of flour in total per month. Because it was scarce, it was expensive."

"But look at things now, everyone wants to replace half of their food rations with rice and wheat flour! Good heavens, every household is eating dozens of kilograms of it!"

"There's no shortage of it on the market, and the price has naturally plummeted! Before, a pound of wheat flour could be traded for several pounds of coarse grains! Now, people won't even trade two or three pounds for it!" "Well, I guess I'll just keep it for myself!"

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's words, Ximen Lang and Bai Ling promptly glanced at Yan Bugui's flour sack.

Sure enough, the flour in his house was indeed brought from the future.

It was snow-white, completely different from the dark, unremarkable flour of this era.

I understand. Now, Ximen Lang understands everything.

No wonder Yan Bugui is so willing to spend money; he's even willing to eat white flour.

It turns out that white flour is no longer scarce.

Oh, I see. It's alright then.

But did Yan Bugui suddenly become so generous?

With these questions in mind, Ximen Lang, after taking his seat, readily accepted Yan Bugui's invitation and decided to try one of Old Yan's dumplings.

Then, Ximen Lang encountered problems after eating it.

The first issue is vinegar.

Eating dumplings without vinegar? What kind of dumplings are we even eating?!
Another issue is the filling.

It has absolutely no meat flavor, just pure pickled cabbage. What's the point of eating this?!

Why don't you just add a few eggs to neutralize it?

There's nothing here, what's the point of eating this!

Sure enough, Yan Bugui was still the same Yan Bugui, still as stingy as ever.

We finally managed to improve our lives, but it wasn't a complete improvement. There's scheming and calculation everywhere.

Ximen Lang was speechless.

But overall, it's definitely much better than before when we couldn't even afford to eat wheat flour.

Furthermore, since Ximen Lang was a guest, even if he had a big face, he couldn't possibly speak ill of Yan Bugui at this critical juncture.

So, I only tried one or two of them symbolically.

Ximen Lang immediately put down his chopsticks, turned his head, and said to the two younger ones.
"Open your mouth."

One candy pill for each of them; Ximen Lang stuffed both pills directly into the mouths of the two little ones.

The cool, refreshing, and sweet taste made the two children exclaim how delicious it was.

He then fed another one to Yan Jiefang, who was only half a child.

Ximen Lang then explained to Yan Bugui's family what he had just fed the two little ones and what their effects were.

Upon learning that the item was so precious, Ximen Lang gave it away without hesitation, ensuring that none of the three children were left behind.

Yan Bugui was about to express his gratitude to Ximen Lang with tears in his eyes.

One sentence.
"Alright, it's not like it's anything precious. Besides, it's for the child, so why are you crying and making a fuss?"

He immediately helped Yan Bugui up, whose knees kept bending downwards.

Ximen Lang, who genuinely felt that the food at Yan Bugui's house was really not very tasty and not to his liking, decisively used the excuse that he still had to feed other children sugar pills to leave with Bai Ling.

(End of this chapter)