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

The steamed cake was made by Qin Jingru, while the buttercream and cream sauce made with butter, milk, and sugar were made by Zhang Dabiao.

The recipe is a secret that can't be seen by others. All the preliminary work and proportions are done in the kitchen, while the mechanical tasks like whipping butter and kneading dough—

They were all handed over to other people.

After Li Huaide spoke briefly, Liu Pangpang, Xu Damao, Shazhu and others gathered around, along with Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangqi, and several young people from the steel rolling mill.

They were stirring it like madmen!

For this purpose, Li Huaide prepared a lot of flour, eggs, milk, and sugar, and also made some butter. Zhang Dabiao could provide some of the other ingredients if needed.

I also borrowed a few watches or alarm clocks, and a thermometer.

Xu Xiaoling, He Yushui, Yu Haitang, and Guangqi's wife You Hongjuan all came over to help with timing and supervision.

Midway through, Mu Wanqing came over to give Da Biao some of the pickled vegetables her mother had just made, and then she was conscripted into the army.

Zhang Dabiao took the funds provided by Li Huaide to the pigeon market to find an "acquaintance" to get chocolates.

After working for several hours, the hands of the young people were practically broken from shaking so much that they couldn't even lift them. In the end, it was Sha Zhu, who was half-crippled, and Xu Damao who succeeded.

One butter frosting, one English cream sauce.

These two are risking their lives to stir things up, because their opponent is Xu Damao (Shazhu)!

Qin Jingru, on the other hand, made four 8-inch steamed cakes.

Zhang Dabiao spread more butter, added chocolate chips, Oreo chips, grapes and almond slices, and two portions of pancake crumbs and walnut chips.

There were four cakes. Two of the people who worked on the project shared them with each other to taste. Sha Zhu only took one bite. The rest of the cakes were divided up by Qin Huairu and Bang Geng. The deaf old lady was so hungry but didn't get a single piece.

This was Sha Zhu's wages, which Zhang Dabiao ignored.

Mu Wanqing naturally wanted to take it back for her aunt to eat together.

The other two were carefully packaged by Li Huaide and taken back to the factory.

The remaining ingredients, flour, eggs, etc., were all given to Zhang Dabiao, and he was also given a 50 yuan red envelope, because Xu Damao had boasted that the cost was 25 yuan per piece.

This means Zhang Dabiao made a pure profit.

Li Huaide first planned to see if it met the experts' tastes. If it did, he would then talk to Zhang Dabiao again.

Finally, Zhang Dabiao also gave Li Huaide the "remaining" 5 chocolates, which were Alyoka Big Head Doll chocolates (Ailian Chocolate), and 3 large loaves of bread. They were originally bought from Tmall Da Mao Imported Food Store. Tell me, are they authentic or not?

Anyway, the Russian tourists who come to Heilongjiang to visit the early market all say it's authentic!

You tell me, is it saliva-free or not?

There are three flavors of Big Head Doll chocolate in Zhang Dabiao's refrigerator:

First, it's 90% dark chocolate. I bought it because I heard it could help with weight loss, but after one bite, I just left it there untouched—it's so damn bitter! Of the five pieces I gave to Li Huaide, three were dark chocolate.

Second, milk chocolate, the kind that's sickeningly sweet. Zhang Dabiao ate one piece and put the remaining four large pieces in the refrigerator. It's also a major ingredient for making cakes.

3. Hazelnut Almond Milk Chocolate - Zhang Dabiao's favorite, so there was only half a piece left.

In addition, there was a bag of Maltesers and three Ferrero Rocher chocolates in the house. I also found a Dove chocolate bar, half a box of Snickers, three Crispy Shark chocolates, and some loose candies that I don't know if they were wedding favors or Chinese New Year treats. They included alcoholic chocolates and gold coin chocolates.

Da Mao also has purple-wrapped candy...

Zhang Dabiao still hasn't completely sorted out the supplies in his small 82-square-meter apartment. There's always something in this corner, or something hidden in that box... It's a complete mess.

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Li Huaide delivered the cake, chocolate, and rye bread to the steel mill's expert building that very night.

In the dead of night, the Russians cried out in alarm, tears welling in their eyes—

"This tastes like mom's cooking!"

Li Huaide clenched his fist and waved it.

It's safe!

(The Alyoka Big Head Doll Chocolate was produced in 1965 and is a national brand of Russia, so it naturally suits the tastes of Russian experts. Moreover, Russians have no resistance to high-sugar foods.)

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February 21st, the 2th day of the first lunar month, a Sunday.

Everyone's on holiday at home, nothing special.

Zhang Dabiao felt nauseous as soon as he woke up in the morning; he had been eating nothing but sweets for the past two days.

I want to eat salty and spicy food, I want to eat meat!

So Zhang Dabiao released the poison early in the morning—

Pickled cabbage and beef noodles!

Five packs!

Then I specially used a pan to fry the meat patties!

Beef patties, whether they're processed meat or pure meat, let's eat them first!

Fry 5 pieces!

Fry five more eggs!

Holy crap! The whole courtyard was woken up by this smell first thing in the morning!

The instant noodles had an incredibly strong flavor, while the fried meat and eggs were cooked in the courtyard using a stove lit over a fire. Otherwise, the smoke would be too much. Zhang Dabiao's kitchen had a chimney, so steaming and boiling were easy, but frying and stir-frying still required bringing the stove to the courtyard.

Because there is no exhaust fan, this problem cannot be solved in the short term.

Firstly, Zhang Dabiao's small apartment only had a range hood, a wall-mounted fan, a computer case fan, and the exhaust components of a bathroom heater.

Even if you want to modify it, you should first go to the junkyard and get an old electric fan to make it look like a real fan, right?

So this can't be solved for now, and he wants to wait until the house is built to completely renovate the kitchen—at the very least, he wants to build the entire countertop of the stove with cement, right?

Then, the aroma lured out a group of gourmets.

"Da Biao, what's this new gadget?" Xu Damao came running over shamelessly. What's face? Can it be exchanged for something delicious?

"Old-fashioned pickled cabbage and beef noodles!"

"Is there really beef?"

"Isn't that being fried? But I guess it's not pure beef, it's probably a combination of beef and pork. Anyway, as long as it tastes good."

"Give me one! No, two!"

"..."

"I won't let you eat for free, buddy. I'll go back and get you some flour and cured chicken!"

As he spoke, Xu Damao ran to the backyard and got Zhang Dabiao a pound of high-gluten flour, a cured chicken, and two eggs.

Does this count as bringing your own provisions? Did you lose money or make a profit?

Oh well, one more won't make a difference. I can use what he gives me to hand over to the factory later.

Zhang Dabiao went back and silently took out two packets of instant noodles.

Then Liu Guangqi came again.

"Biaozi, what delicious food are you cooking?"

"Old-fashioned pickled cabbage and beef noodles, plus a beef patty and a fried egg."

"Get me two portions too, so my wife can get some extra nutrition. I'll go get you the food."

One pound of high-gluten flour, one pound of vermicelli, half a pound of cured pork, two eggs...

Zhang Dabiao needs to order more noodles again.

Whether it's a loss or not is hard to say, but these two guys are straightforward and won't take advantage of you. Moreover, one brought his sister Xu Xiaoling along, and the other brought his wife.

Zhang Dabiao got along very well with them.

Then He Yushui also went out, very conscientiously.

"Brother Da Biao, could you give me two servings of noodles? I want to take one to my godmother too."

He Yushui didn't have eggs or meat, so she just gave him two jin of cornmeal and two yuan.

Zhang Dabiao's eyes widened: "Take the money back! How can you accept money like that?"

"You can give me more eggs and meat later. Sit down and wait to eat."

You suggested treating her to a meal; it's not that we can't afford it, but this kind of behavior shouldn't be allowed to continue.

Taking money? That's even more impossible. This isn't a breakfast shop.

Let's put it on credit first; it's easy to borrow again if you repay what you borrowed.

But in Yu Shui's eyes, his behavior was a form of "finding an excuse" to show concern, which made Yu Shui feel sweet inside.