Courtyard House: Drunk and barging into the Xu family's house, I woke up numb.

Qin Huairu stood up and said.

"Then I'll divide the dumplings and send some to the He family and the Yi family, so they can cook and eat them themselves."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi slammed her hand on the table.

"Qin Huairu, are you stupid?"

"These things are all mixed in the same pot, why are you still taking them out?"

"It's good that they're not coming. The five of us can enjoy these dumplings to our hearts' content."

"If they want to eat, they can make their own!"

The stick-shaped stalk beside him nodded in agreement.

"That's right, Grandma is right."

"Mom, there are over two hundred dumplings. We can eat our fill for two meals."

Qin Huairu thought for a moment and said.

"Alright then, I won't deliver the dumplings."

"But even if we cook it tonight, we still need to send some over to the He and Yi families. It's the same idea after all."

Jia Zhangshi nodded.

Send a small portion, just enough to make it look like the real thing.

“They’re too ashamed to ask for it, so they’ll definitely make more themselves. Giving too many away would be a waste. One bowl per family is enough.”

The dumplings were for ten people. The He and Yi families provided the meat filling and flour, while the Jia family provided the cabbage and manpower.

The final result was that the Jia family received eight portions of dumplings, while sending out two portions was considered a waste in Jia Zhangshi's eyes.

The Xu family's backyard.

The door to Xu Damao's house was locked, so Xu Damao grabbed a few changes of clothes and ran to his mother's place.

He dared not stay in the courtyard, at least not today.

A teacup woke him up; he was afraid that if he slept in the yard, He Daqing and his son might beat him up in the middle of the night.

So for safety's sake, he ran away under the pretense of his mother going out for the Chinese New Year.

As for his fat wife, she went back to her parents' home early this morning to celebrate the New Year, and she has no manners at all.

Xu Damao had decided that he would divorce her after the New Year; he didn't want to live like this anymore.

It's not like I married a wife; it's like I married a tyrant. He may have all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, but money is more important.

Cao Xu sat alone in the room reading a book. The Lou family had invited him to celebrate the New Year, but he didn't go.

It's fine on ordinary days, but it's not appropriate to go to someone else's house to spend the Lunar New Year.

After reading for a while, Cao Xu couldn't continue reading either.

He put down the book he was reading, put a piece of coal into the stove to simmer, put on his coat, and went out.

..................................................................

bang bang bang...

Xia Jie, who was dozing in her room, was awakened by a knock on the door in the yard. She got up and went outside.

After opening the gate, I saw a woman in her thirties standing at the door.

"Excuse me, is this Comrade Cao Xu's home?"

Xia Jie initially thought it was Cao Xu knocking on the door, but when she realized it was someone looking for Cao Xu, she answered.

"That's right, but he's not home. He went out early this morning."

The woman laughed upon hearing this.

"Then I suppose you must be Comrade Xia Jie."

Xia Jie asked in confusion.

"I am Xia Jie, and you are?"

The woman took out a cloth bag and handed it over.

"I work at the clothing store on West Street. Comrade Cao Xu asked me to deliver these clothes."

"Since you are Xia Jie, then I'll entrust this to you."

As they were talking, the woman took out a slip of paper and handed it to Xia Jie.

"Could you please sign your name for me? I need to hand it in to the counter when I get back."

Xia Jie signed her name, took the clothes, and went back to the main room. After entering the room, she opened the bag and saw that it contained a complete set of women's clothing.

"Did you buy this for me?"

As she spoke, Xia Jie picked up the top and held it up in front of her to check the size; it was a pretty good fit.

How did he know my clothing size?

Xia Jie couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. Since the child had been brought to the yard and knew her name, she decided to stop thinking about it.

I suppose this outfit was bought for myself, so I'll try it on.

No sooner said than done, Xia Jie picked up her clothes and went back to her study to change. In no time, she was wearing the new clothes.

Xia Jie looked herself up and down at her clothes. The size was right, and she thought the style and color were nice.

"You have a good eye for clothes, but I wonder how much this outfit costs?"

"Never mind, I was going to buy clothes anyway, I can't keep wearing my military uniform forever."

"Once he comes back and we find out how much it cost, and his luggage is recovered, I'll return the money to him and treat him to a meal to express my gratitude."

After changing her clothes, Xia Jie felt like going out for a stroll.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and even though I'm all alone, I still have to celebrate the New Year, right?

Xia Jie went to the desk Cao Xu had mentioned, opened the drawer, and saw several bills inside.

"Seven months' rent receivable totals four yuan, August's rent receivable is also four yuan..."

The slip of paper with the money inside was a rent receipt, totaling 28 yuan for seven months from July 1965 to January 1966.

(bieg) She learned this last night when she was chatting with Cao Xu: the four side rooms on the east and west sides are where the Wu family lives.

Four rooms in this location only cost four yuan in rent, a price you can't even find in eastern Shandong, let alone the capital.

"Cao Xu is really generous. He said it was rent, but it was just a token amount."

Xia Jie guessed correctly. The Cao family rented the house to the Wu family simply to appease the neighborhood committee and prevent other residents from moving in.

In Hufangqiao, even a room in a tenement courtyard costs two yuan in rent, let alone a detached house like this.

Xia Jie took out ten yuan from the drawer, took a piece of paper from the side, wrote an IOU for ten yuan, and put it back in the drawer.

"Buy some vegetables, some noodles, and some eggs, that should be enough. Making some vegetarian dumplings with three kinds of seafood would be nice."

Xia Jie wanted to buy some meat, but he didn't have any meat coupons, so he could only eat vegetarian food.

However, Xia Jie is not picky. Now she has a place to shelter from the wind and snow, and she can eat a bowl of hot dumplings that she made herself. It's wonderful to think about.

..............................................................................

Ding Qiunan arrived at the security department.

"Team Leader Cheng, has Cao Xu returned?"

Cheng Yuan stood up and greeted him.

"Dr. Ding."

"Cao Xu should have returned last night, but he asked the factory for leave, so he hasn't been scheduled for any shifts these past few days."

"What, do you need to see him?"

Ding Qiunan said.

"His bicycle is still with me. I'm going home today, and this bike..."

Cheng Yuandao.

"That's easy. Just park your car downstairs and give me the keys."

"I'll hand it over to him when he comes back."

Ding Qiunan could have gone home last night, but she wanted to see Cao Xu before leaving, so she delayed until now.

Now, Cheng Yuan says that Cao Xu returned last night, but he hasn't come to see him yet.

Thinking about all this, Ding Qiunan felt a little lost and empty inside.

Cheng Yuan, who had been holding out his hand for half a minute, noticed Ding Qiunan's unusual behavior.

"Dr. Ding, are you alright?"

Ding Qiunan came to her senses and smiled.

"I am fine."