The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

West courtyard, living room.

On the solid wood round table, there is a pot of braised chicken, a bowl of braised pork, a plate of steamed sausage, a pot of stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli, and a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes.

"Uncle's cooking is even better than that bastard Sha Zhu's; it looks, smells, and tastes amazing."

Xu Damao swallowed hard and gave Liu Hao, who was wearing an apron and carrying a bowl of white steamed buns, a thumbs up.

"Come on, this is just a home-style cooking method. There's a big difference between it and what a chef makes. It's fine for home cooking, but it's not suitable for formal occasions."

Lou Xiao'e said with a smile, "Uncle is too modest. I think it looks better than what restaurant chefs make."

Ye Juan, carrying a bowl of rice, pulled out a chair and sat down, saying proudly, "Don't you all know whose man this is? My Liu Hao is a man who can grace a formal occasion, cook a delicious meal, and even beat up hooligans."

Xu Damao raised an eyebrow: "Hey, that rhymes pretty well!"

"Liu Hao taught me that, haha, let's eat."

Ye Juan pushed the rice towards Liu Hao and muttered, "I'm starting to doubt if you're a real northerner. Why do you love eating rice so much?"

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e looked over, also with puzzled expressions.

In the capital at that time, the staple food was mainly noodles, and rice was not considered a common food.

Because rice is not widely grown in the north, rice is a relatively scarce refined grain that needs to be purchased in rations with a grain ration coupon. Ordinary families usually only cook a pot of rice during festivals, when guests come to visit, or when they want to improve their meals.

They usually eat mostly steamed buns, cornbread, flatbread, cornmeal porridge, and other wheat-based foods and whole grains.

Liu Hao said he didn't like noodles, so Ye Juan had to cook some rice instead.

"What's so strange about that? Everyone's constitution is different."

Liu Hao offered a casual explanation, and the others didn't think much of it, picking up their chopsticks and starting to eat.

Xu Damao opened a 550ml bottle of Earth Fen and poured four glasses.

This Earth Fenjiu tastes better than Moutai. It is fermented in solid-state earthen vats, with sorghum and peas used for making the koji. The liquor is clear, pure, and has a smooth, sweet, and refreshing taste. It is a mid-to-high-end product that is sold both domestically and exported, and is available in limited quantities with grain coupons and liquor coupons.

Xu Damao raised his glass and said with a smile, "Aunt and Uncle, this is a toast to you both. May you respect and love each other and grow old together."

Lou Xiao'e also raised her glass: "Congratulations to my aunt and uncle on their happy marriage."

Liu Hao and Ye Juan exchanged a smile, and Ye Juan said, "Thank you for your kind words. May our lives all become more and more prosperous!"

"Cheers!"

The four of them downed a drink and began to eat.

Liu Hao's cooking skills are indeed excellent; Ye Juan was completely captivated by the aroma, praising him as she ate heartily.

Xu Damao raised his glass and clinked it against Liu Hao's, then asked with great interest, "Old Liu... uh, should I call him Uncle?"

Liu Hao and Ye Juan got married too quickly; Xu Damao hasn't fully adjusted yet.

However, he felt that Liu Hao and his aunt were a match made in heaven, and he did not look down on Liu Hao because he was an orphan.

Of course, the main reason was that Liu Hao protected him on his first day in the hospital and beat up Sha Zhu.

He had made up his mind about this uncle.

A good uncle is one who can give Sha Zhu a good beating.

"Actually, I'm not really used to having an aunt who's younger than me; it always feels a bit strange."

Ye Juan glared at Xu Damao and said irritably, "It's not like I want you as my nephew. From now on, don't say I'm your aunt when you're out, and I won't say you're my nephew either, okay?"

"..."

Xu Damao gave an awkward laugh and quickly apologized.

"Oh dear, Auntie, don't be angry. It's my honor to have such a beautiful aunt like you! It's like my ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke."

Ye Juan rolled her eyes, ignored Xu Damao, and focused on eating.

"By the way, Aunt and Uncle, I heard you made 2000 yuan in a bet with Yi Zhonghai today?"

When the topic of the bet came up, Ye Juan got excited, swallowed the braised pork in her mouth, and recounted the whole story.

"Yi Zhonghai is such a good person. I'll be the first to object to anyone who dares to speak ill of him."

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e stared in disbelief, exchanging bewildered glances, feeling as if their minds were blank.

The Jia family, including the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, had saved four thousand yuan. The family of five, except for young Huaihua, Banggeng and Xiaodang, all had their own savings.

Lou Xiao'e said angrily, "This is shameless! Making poor people donate money to rich people? Is this something a human being would do?"

Xu Damao shook his head and sighed, "Is Yi Zhonghai even human? Are the Jia family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law even human?"

dong dong dong~

There was a knock on the door outside. Liu Hao got up and went out to open the small door connecting to courtyard number 95.

It was Dong Zhengshan from the backyard.

"Master Dong, please come in and have a seat!"

As Liu Hao spoke, he reached into his pocket, took out a packet of Peony tea from his storage space, tore it open, and handed one to Dong Zhengshan.

"Oh, Accountant Liu, you're too kind. I'm just here to deliver money to you, so I won't come in."

Dong Zhengshan took the cigarette and handed the 60 yuan in his hand to Liu Hao.

"Is Da Mao at your house? This money is the donation returned by the Jia family, Da Mao's 55 yuan and Accountant Liu's 5 yuan that you donated the night before last."

"So you really withdrew? At least you have some shame."

Anger flashed across Dong Zhengshan's honest face as he said in a deep voice, "My family has such a heavy burden, and I never thought of relying on others for help. This Jia family has saved several thousand yuan, yet they still have the nerve to complain about being poor. They are utterly shameless."

"I saw that she was a widow and her child, and she donated 7 yuan in total. What kind of thing is that!"

Liu Hao had learned about Dong Zhengshan's family situation and admired this upright and honest man.

"Alas, the Jia family is just wicked and has done too many immoral things, which is why the old Jia and the middle Jia died so young."

Dong Zhengshan asked in confusion, "Who is Zhongjia?"

"Jia Dongxu, Old Jia is Jia Youfu, Middle Jia is Jia Dongxu, and Young Jia is Banggeng. That makes it easy to distinguish them."

"Uh...that makes sense!" Dong Zhengshan thought there was nothing wrong with this way of addressing it.

"Master Dong, we're slaughtering a chicken today. Neither Ye Juan nor I eat chicken giblets. Could you take them home and cook them for the children?"

Liu Hao thought that neither he nor Ye Juan ate chicken giblets, so instead of throwing them away, he might as well give them to Dong Zhengshan, a poor household.

"Oh, no, no, I can't accept this, I can't accept it."

Dong Zhengshan refused without hesitation. Though poor, he was determined and didn't want to owe anyone a favor.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Your house collapsed last night, and the whole family was crammed into the east wing. Take it and make some hot soup to warm yourselves up."

After Liu Hao finished speaking, without giving Dong Zhengshan a chance to refuse, he quickly went back into the house, took out the chicken giblets from the bamboo basket, handed them to Dong Zhengshan, and said with a smile, "Give me back the basket tomorrow. It's cold outside, hurry back."

Dong Zhengshan looked at the chicken giblets in the bamboo basket, which clearly contained the remains of two chickens, and his eyes reddened slightly.

"Thank you, Accountant Liu!"

"No need to thank me, we're neighbors, it's only right to help each other out."

Dong Zhengshan felt a warmth in his heart. He had heard Yi Zhonghai say these words countless times, but hearing them from Liu Hao's mouth made it a completely different story.

Yi Zhonghai's words were disgusting, while Liu Hao's were touching and heartwarming...