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

Ordinary people can't even afford to eat roast duck, let alone roast duck bones.

If you want to satisfy your craving, you can only go to the entrance of "Quanjude" to smell the aroma and feast your eyes.

Cao Xu and his companion entered Quanjude, and before they could even sit down, a waiter brought them a pot of tea.

After the two sat down, Cao Xu handed the menu to Ding Qiunan, who was somewhat taken aback by the prices of the dishes.

"Why is it so expensive, Cao Xu? We'll just have roast duck."

Seeing this, Cao Xu didn't say much. He took back the menu and, in addition to the main dish of roast duck, ordered three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes to make a lucky number.

"Since we're already here, let's eat to our hearts' content."

"Look how thin you are now. If you don't start taking care of yourself now, it will be too late to raise you when you grow up."

Cao Xu was not short of money. A few days ago, when he went to the pigeon market to exchange for bicycle tickets, he had already exchanged a lot of meat and grain tickets.

While he doesn't eat lavish meals every day, he would never resort to eating cornbread and pickled vegetables to torture his stomach.

He still needs to eat white flour steamed buns, noodles, porridge, and a moderate amount of meat. If he can't afford it, that's fine, but if he can afford it and doesn't eat it, wouldn't that be incredibly foolish?

Of course, this caused a lot of gossip in the courtyard, with people saying that Cao Xu was a spendthrift who ate white flour buns every day and cooked vegetables with oil all the time.

However, they also knew Cao Xu had money, but given Yi Zhonghai's example, no one dared to make a move against him.

As for picking a fight and filing a complaint, forget it. Cao Xu works in the security department, and even the three old men give him some leeway. Going to complain about him is probably crazy.

Moreover, everyone in the pigeon market has been to buy and sell grain coupons and exchange them for meat coupons; as long as they aren't caught by the authorities, they've been there.

Ordinary people wouldn't bother with things that don't concern them, and would go to the neighborhood committee or workplace to report someone, as that would incur public wrath.

Before long, Cao Xu's dishes were slowly served, along with a glass of wine.

"Would you like some?"

Ding Qiunan shook her head.

"I don't drink baijiu (Chinese liquor), I get drunk as soon as I drink it."

Cao Xu said.

"Then you'll have to make do with this tea. I'll treat you to some red wine another day."

Cao Xu ordered two liang of shao daozi, which is actually Erguotou.

Cao Xu had stopped drinking, but later, when he worked the night shift and it was cold, he felt he couldn't stand it without a little alcohol.

So sometimes when he came back from an inspection, he would have a couple of drinks in his office to warm himself up.

Today, the most famous Erguotou in Beijing is Red Star, a popular liquor that remains famous even after more than fifty years.

Especially today, after spending the whole morning with Cao Xu, I did feel a chill, so drinking some wine helped to ward off the cold.

Cao Xu's alcohol tolerance is neither high nor low, a little over a pound.

However, ever since that incident, he hasn't dared to drink much; he only drinks a small amount, about two ounces.

Once the food and wine were served, the two began to eat. Cao Xu picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, took a sip of wine, and went straight to the point.

"How about it? A man like me, who's rich and good-looking, is a good match for you, isn't he?"

Ding Qiunan blushed slightly as she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and placed it on the plate in front of Cao Xu.

"Eat some food. It seems that just drinking won't shut you up."

After putting away her chopsticks, Ding Qiunan muttered to herself again.

"How can such a beautiful face have such an infuriating mouth?"

Before long, the roast duck was served.

Smelling the aroma of roast duck, Cao Xu turned to the waiter serving the food and asked.

"Isn't Chef Sun in charge of the stove today?"

The waiter smiled.

Are you asking about the stove master?

"Master Sun isn't here today; it's Master Li's shift."

Cao Xu said.

"Is that the young apprentice who stood behind Master Sun when I came last time?"

"His skills are decent, but he's still far from matching his master's level."

The waiter smiled, said nothing, refilled his tea, and then turned and left.

Cao Xu said to Ding Qiunan.

"Here it is, don't just look at it, start eating."

"Use less sauce, add more meat, and roll the pancake tightly."

The two enjoyed the meal, as Quanjude's dishes weren't like the large portions and unlimited portions found in state-run restaurants elsewhere.

Instead, they were all small, delicate portions, so there wasn't much left.

The two of them didn't finish the roast duck, so they packed up the duck carcass along with the rest, which hadn't been used to make soup.

A duck carcass is simply the skeleton of a duck.

In the 21st century, when Cao Xu went to a roast duck restaurant, he mostly ate only the duck meat and discarded the duck carcass – a rather unconventional practice.

Sometimes people will ask if you want duck carcass to make soup, and sometimes they'll just serve you a bowl of soup as a token of their appreciation, regardless of whether you want it or not.

In this day and age, of course, we won't abandon everything. Although there isn't much meat close to the bone on the duck carcass, that meat is the most delicious.

Take it home and add it to soup; it's especially warming in the dead of winter.

On the way back, Ding Qiunan had relaxed a lot, at least she knew to hold his waist when they encountered bumpy roads.

Cao Xu rode his bicycle to take the person back to the steel rolling mill, and as soon as he entered the factory compound, he ran into Cheng Yuan, who was on patrol.

"Cao Xu, that's great, looks like I'm going to be attending a wedding."

"Dr. Ding, when did you two get together?"

Cao Xu parked the car, Ding Qiunan jumped out, picked up her things hanging on the car, greeted Cao Xu, and ran off. She didn't even mention Cheng Yuan.

Cheng Yuan watched Ding Qiunan run away and walked up to Cao Xu, patting him on the shoulder.

"Good job, bro, you were quick."

“This girl only started working at the factory the day before yesterday, and you’ve already taken her out shopping today.”

"So, is there some truth to this?"

Cao Xu said.

"Anyway, there's no way they can escape."

Cheng Yuan gave Cao Xu a thumbs up.

"Okay, I support you."

"Although this girl is a bit thin, she has a good appearance and a good foundation."

"Several people in our security department had inquired about it, but it seems they were all lying."

"You haven't even gotten all the information over there yet, and you've already lured them away."

"Come on, since we're already here, have some tea with me."

Cao Xu parked the car in the shed next to him and locked it.

"Let's go, let's see what good tea you've smuggled from Old Wang this time."

Cheng Yuan whispered.

"You know what, I actually have a packet of good tea."

"Zhao Dong gave it to me when he left. He said it was a high-grade tea that his uncle had taken from Deputy Factory Director Zhao."

"I haven't opened the package yet. Come on, let's have a taste."

Upon arriving at Cheng Yuan's office, Cheng Yuan immediately took out tea leaves and brewed some tea.

"Cao Xu, what exactly is the situation with Yi Zhonghai?"

"I heard from Zhao Dong that Group One suppressed the matter, saying it was just hearsay and had no evidence, and that it was a misunderstanding."

Cao Xu took the tea.

"It's hard to say. Like you just said, only one person was arrested."

Cao Xu always felt that Yi Zhonghai was just a hypocrite who liked to use moral blackmail and was somewhat sanctimonious.

Cao Xu was genuinely a little skeptical about his relationship with Qin Huairu.

It's possible that Yi Zhonghai is after Qin Huairu, but how could Qin Huairu possibly be interested in Yi Zhonghai, who is 23 years older than her?

"Then tell me, could there be something between Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai...?"

Cao Xu put his teacup aside and looked at Cheng Yuandao, who had pulled up a chair to come closer.

"Hey Yuan, when did you become interested in this stuff?"