Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

After wandering around for two hours, Zhang Dabiao finally bought some groceries and returned. He had gotten up late, and there weren't many good vegetables at the market.

Anyway, just buy whatever you see. Later, we went to Pigeon Market, a semi-official place where people could trade and exchange goods. Zhang Dabiao also came to see what was interesting, but after searching for a long time, he didn't find anything worthwhile.

He also noticed something else: pork, which was officially priced at 75 cents per pound, was being traded privately here for 6 yuan per pound.

The average price of rice, high-gluten flour, millet, and cornmeal has increased by about eight times...

And every time they appear, they're snatched up immediately; there aren't many left...

The shortage of supplies is extremely severe.

However, Zhang Dabiao still wouldn't deprive himself of food. Now that he was a purchasing agent, the supplies were sourced from somewhere, so he could eat and drink as he pleased. As long as he didn't resell them, there were no safety issues.

As for reporting himself for indulging in excessive eating and drinking?

I'm willing, I'm happy, I still have 900 yuan, I'll eat it all, as long as I don't waste it, no one can do anything to me!

------------

As soon as he returned to the courtyard house, Qin Jingru ran over to tell him that Lou Xiao'e had arrived, and that—

He was being chatted about everyday things by the old deaf man in the backyard.

Zhang Dabiao put down the grain bag and went to the backyard to take a look.

Sure enough, the old deaf man was holding Lou Xiao'e's hand and sitting at their doorstep, talking incessantly, looking like a kind elder. Next to him was Qu San, who was standing guard over Lou Xiao'e, and next to the deaf old woman was Sha Zhu, who was cooking in a small pot.

This wouldn't have been a big deal in itself, but the implied meaning behind the deaf old woman's words was a bit too much.

"Xiao'e, good child, let me tell you, our Shazhu is a good child too!"

"His cooking skills are so good that you can't find many young people in the whole of Beijing who can match them, not to mention that it's his family's Tan family cuisine."

"Do you know Tan Family Cuisine? It's official cuisine. By the way, you just said your mother's surname is also Tan? Is she a descendant of Tan Family Cuisine?"

"Isn't that a perfect coincidence? If you marry our silly Zhu, wouldn't that be a double blessing?"

Lou Xiao'e wore a fake smile; she was so embarrassed she was practically dying of embarrassment!

But it's impolite to just walk away.

Good heavens, it's only been a short while, and Lou Xiao'e is already being conquered by that old deaf man?

The old deaf man's incessant ramblings are terrifying!

"Lou Xiao'e!" Zhang Dabiao shouted.

"Hey, Zhang Dabiao, you're back?"

"I've been waiting for you for ages! Where have you been?"

Lou Xiao'e quickly pulled her hand back and then ran over to find Zhang Dabiao.

Zhang Dabiao glanced at the deaf old woman, said nothing, and then took Lou Xiao'e to the Intermediate People's Court.

The old deaf man didn't dare to confront Zhang Dabiao at this time, assuming that Lou Xiao'e had come to the courtyard to find Zhang Dabiao, and the old deaf man had no reason to keep her there.

All he could do was give Sha Zhu a few words of advice: "Sha Zhu, you young people should get to know each other better. One of you is a disciple of the Tan family's culinary tradition, and the other is the daughter of the authentic successor of the Tan family's cuisine. This is what you call fate."

"If you can marry Lou Xiao'e, you won't have to worry for the rest of your life."

What she actually meant was that one family had enough money to buy ingredients, and the other had cooking skills.

If Lou Xiao'e and Sha Zhu had become a couple, she would have lived a life of luxury for the rest of her days. How wonderful that would have been!

Sha Zhu is cooking for the deaf old lady. He mixes some fresh vegetable leaves with the leftovers from yesterday's meal, and the taste is absolutely amazing.

While cooking, he casually replied, "Don't bother, this girl will understand immediately; she doesn't even look at us."

"She just came to hang out with Zhang Dabiao. You're practically telling her she's here for a blind date. Is it really that serious?"

"Grandma, even if you're going to help me find someone, you have to find someone just like Sister Qin. That's the kind of girl I like."

"This Lou Xiao'e isn't my type."

As he spoke, he became smug—"Where can you find such a handsome and devoted man like me?"

"..." The deaf old woman wanted to hit Sha Zhu's wooden head with her cane...

"When they're eating later, you should join them," the deaf old woman ordered.

"what?"

------------

As they walked through the Intermediate People's Court, Zhang Dabiao kept asking Lou Xiao'e, "How did she know your mother's surname was Tan?"

"Oh, she asked me that when we were chatting just now, so I told her?"

"What else did you say?"

"I just answered whatever she asked. You wouldn't believe how enthusiastic this old lady was, I couldn't handle it..."

Zhang Dabiao sighed heavily: "You silly moth, can't you be a little more careful?"

"what?"

Then Lou Xiao'e puffed up in anger and turned into a little pufferfish.

Qu San, who was following behind, also gave a helpless, bitter smile.

Now he understands why Zhang Dabiao said Lou Xiao'e would marry Xu Damao, then divorce him, and have a child with Sha Zhu.

If Zhang Dabiao hadn't given her a heads-up, given Chen Ma's many years of service as a nanny in the Lou family, and considering her family's three generations of poor peasant background, things might have really gone the way they did...

I need to give Grandpa Lou a proper report when I get back.

The group arrived at Zhang Dabiao's house, bringing tables and chairs, and also a simple stainless steel barbecue grill—bought from Pinduoduo, the kind of cheap product with terrible welding, looking no different from other metal products of this era, and not too conspicuous—just an iron rack, after all. If he were to unleash a grill with a mortise and tenon joint, that would be a real problem.

Then we went to the storage shed in the backyard together and got a lot of charcoal.

Why not do it at Zhang Dabiao's house or in front of his house?

The smell is too strong.

Just to tempt the old deaf man a little, it's standard procedure.

"Xu Xiaoling, Xu Xiaoling, are you home?"

"Hey, Brother Da Biao, what's wrong?"

"Let me borrow a table and a few chairs. You can come and help out too. We'll have barbecue together for lunch."

Zhang Dabiao really didn't know what to make if he wanted to try something he hadn't eaten before.

She's from the Lou family, and her mother is a descendant of the Tan family cuisine lineage. What hasn't she eaten?

So Zhang Dabiao stopped arguing and just started grilling, taking it or leaving it to him.

"Oh, right, invite Jingru and Yushui too, and bring another table and two stools." We need to invite a few girls to keep us company, so the neighbors won't gossip.

When Xu Xiaoling saw Lou Xiao'e helping to wipe the table and tidy up the ingredients and seasonings in the shack, she immediately understood what was going on.

"Okay, I'm coming right away."

"Brother, Sister Xiao'e is here, come out and help quickly."

"What? Lou Xiao'e is here?"

And so, the backyard became a busy place.

Let's have some barbecue and a hot pot with concentrated broth cubes!

Condiments – minced garlic, Haidilao dipping sauce, sesame paste, scallions, green onions, oyster sauce, soy sauce, aged vinegar, vinaigrette, Hubang chili sauce, pepper, salt, sesame oil, sugar, honey, thirteen-spice powder, barbecue seasoning, cumin, soybean oil (mix to taste)...

Ingredients: lettuce, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, green peppers, pork, chicken breast, chicken legs, chicken wings, chicken cutlets, spicy duck necks, beef balls, seafood balls, stuffed fish balls, fish tofu, fish roe pouches, crab sticks, frozen tofu, bean curd sheets, eggs, vermicelli, dried noodles, braised beef, and a few instant noodle cakes.

The portions were only enough for two tables. Zhang Dabiao has a large appetite now. Each type of food was small in quantity but varied in type. Many of the items were bought from the market, grocery stores, and supply and marketing cooperatives.

The most amazing thing is that Zhang Dabiao managed to retrieve a giant deep-sea squid from Inner Mongolia dating back to 2000. After cutting it up, he simply put it there – it could be used for grilling or hot pot, it was all good.

Self-service!

I'll cook and serve you well, you capitalist's daughter?

No way! Make your own food.

Zhang Dabiao also made some caterpillar bread, tiger-skin rolls, sliced ​​rye bread, yogurt, Want Want pancakes, and a thermos of Pepsi (the sugary kind, he couldn't make the sugar-free kind, it has aspartame and erythritol), hot fruit juice, hot milk to relieve the spiciness, some grapes, and even found a few shriveled lemons in the kitchen—everything was ready.

Miniature hot pot and barbecue buffet!

You know what, Lou Xiao'e had never seen this kind of eating before. The last time she ate, either Chen Ma or the cooks would prepare the food and bring it to the table, and they would even pay a little attention to dining etiquette.

But Zhang Dabiao and his men stood up and started grilling meat over there, then adding meatballs over there, running around like they were in the kitchen.

Absolutely no sense of decorum!

but--

Why do I feel so happy?!