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

When Yan Bugui said this, his back was straight and he spoke with great confidence.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, who were standing nearby, overheard this and exchanged a glance.

Could there be a trap here?

But then I thought about it, and the two meals only cost about ten yuan, so what's the big deal?

So I just left it at that.

Yan Bugui had a clear plan in mind—Yu Li wouldn't get pregnant for at least two or three years, and by then the harvest would be good and prices would be stable, so four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes wouldn't cost much.

Let's eat Xu Damao's meal first!

Yan Jiecheng stood to the side, feeling somewhat awkward.

His father made the decision for him; what could he do? Turn against him in person? No. Deny it later? Absolutely not; it was said in front of the whole hospital, there's no going back on it.

But then I thought—

I got a free meal from Xu Damao, and I'll treat my dad to a meal from now on without having to pay.

It seems like... it's not a bad deal, is it?

Yu Li heard this whole drama from inside the house, and with a helpless smirk, she thought, "These sons and fathers are all no good, always scheming..." So she slammed the window shut.

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

Xu Damao made the decision on the spot.

"Alright! With Professor Yan's words as a guarantee, I'll treat the entire college—two tables!"

He turned to Sha Zhu: "Zhu Zi, you take charge of the cooking. I'll pay for the ingredients. We won't make too much, six cold dishes, six hot dishes, and one soup. Is that enough?"

Sha Zhu straightened up from the wall, unusually agreeable: "Fine, I'll do it. I'll draft the menu and give it to you tomorrow."

Xu Damao was stunned for a moment—he originally thought that Shazhu would hesitate a bit before agreeing, but he didn't expect him to be so decisive.

Sha Zhu added, "Since you have a happy occasion, I'll host a banquet for you, so you won't need to give any money as a gift. From now on..."

He didn't finish what he was saying, but Xu Damao understood.

From now on, let's consider our past relationship a thing of the past.

The two looked at each other again.

This time, Xu Damao looked away first, hummed in agreement, put his hands back in his pockets, and turned to leave.

Zhang Dabiao watched this scene from the corner and thought it was quite good.

But he always felt that things wouldn't just fall into place so easily.

The meals held in the courtyard were never just about eating.

The banquet is scheduled for the evening of the day after tomorrow.

Xu Damao acted quickly, returning home to hand over the money for the food to Sha Zhu—a full twenty yuan, including Sha Zhu's wages, two yuan per table, a rule set by Sha Zhu's master. In those days, this was enough for an ordinary family to eat for a month.

Sha Zhu took the money, put it in his pocket, and left.

He had a plan. Six cold dishes, six hot dishes, and a soup; the cost of two tables' meals plus labor would be more than twenty yuan. Xu Damao was generous, and He Yuzhu's culinary skills couldn't be lacking either. This meal had to be so memorable that everyone in the courtyard would remember it—not that Xu Damao was rich, but that He Yuzhu's dishes were top-notch.

That afternoon, Sha Zhu borrowed a bicycle and went to Pigeon City.

These days, buying things with ration coupons is the norm, but there are always some channels in the pigeon market that don't require coupons. The prices are a bit higher, but the variety is much wider. Sha Zhu is familiar with several stall owners, so once he tells them the names of the dishes, they know he's preparing a banquet.

"Zhu Zi, you've taken on another job?"

"It's not like I'm taking on a job; it's a celebration in the neighborhood, and I'm cooking it myself."

"Alright, you can have the best."

Chicken, duck, fish, meat, dried goods, and ingredients were loaded into the car in large and small bags.

After entering the courtyard, he moved all his belongings into the kitchen, closed the door, and began preparing the food.

As Liu Guangqi passed by the kitchen, he took a sniff through the crack in the door—the aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and star anise wafted out.

"Silly Zhu, should we prepare the ingredients in advance?"

"What do you know? The marinade needs to be soaked in the sauce a day in advance; there's no time to make it on the same day."

Liu Guangqi gave a thumbs up and tactfully left.

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

The next day, the weather cooperated, and the temperature was acceptable.

Around 6 p.m., two square tables were set up in the courtyard of No. 95. The benches were borrowed from various households and were of different heights. Hu Zi and Liu Gen ran back and forth and used several bricks to level the height.

Sha Zhu left the factory at 3 o'clock, went back to the yard to prepare, and spent more than three hours fussing in the kitchen.

At 6:30, the first cold dish was served.

These peanuts are fried until crispy, each one the same color—a deep brownish-red, glossy but not greasy. The vinegar sauce is perfectly seasoned, sweet and sour with a hint of garlic. A few thinly sliced ​​onions, white and shiny, sit atop the peanuts.

The second dish is a cold salad of shredded three ingredients.

Shredded potatoes, carrots, and green peppers—three colors, three textures—are arranged neatly on a plate, as if measured with a ruler. The seasoning is sesame oil and a touch of sugar, which doesn't overpower the natural flavors.

The third dish is pork belly with minced garlic.

The moment this dish was served, the air in the courtyard seemed to change.

The pork belly was sliced ​​so thinly it was almost translucent, with each slice being almost the same width. It was arranged in a layer on the bottom of the plate, topped with minced garlic and soy sauce, and garnished with a couple of drops of chili oil—just enough to bring out the aroma.

Yan Bugui stood at his own doorway and sniffed three times.

He didn't walk over, but his body had already leaned slightly forward, his center of gravity shifting towards the octagonal table.

Yang Ruihua grabbed his sleeve and whispered, "What's the rush? The dishes haven't all been served yet."

Yan Bugui pulled his sleeves back and remained silent, but his eyes didn't leave the plate of garlic-infused pork belly.

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

The hot dishes began to be served around 7 p.m.

Sha Zhu really showed his skills today.

The braised pork ribs are colored using a caramel coloring method, not the dark red color achieved by pressing soy sauce. Instead, they are amber in color, with the meat and bone slightly tightened at the joints. The meat can be easily separated from the bone with chopsticks, yet it doesn't fall apart.

Steamed sea bass—sea bass are hard to come by these days, and Xu Damao only managed to get two through connections. Sha Zhu made some diagonal cuts on the fish, laid out scallions and ginger at the bottom, and steamed it over high heat for a full eight minutes. When it was served, the fish's eyes were slightly bulging, the flesh was snow-white, and the steamed fish soy sauce poured on top flowed from the fish's back to the bottom of the plate. Just by looking at the color, you could tell that it was cooked perfectly.

Sweet and sour pork tenderloin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the perfect balance of sweet and sour.

Stir-fried chicken cubes with soy sauce: the chicken is tender and not dry, and the peanuts are crispy but not crumbly.

Stir-fried green beans until they develop tiger-skin patterns, with minced meat and dried chili peppers peeking out from inside.

The Mu Shu Pork was cooked with golden, fluffy eggs, and the amount of daylily and wood ear mushrooms was generous; it wasn't the kind of dish where side dishes were used to fill the space.

A tomato and egg drop soup may look ordinary, but the soup is bright red, the egg drop is even and not broken, and you can tell from one sip that it has been seasoned.

Six cold dishes, six hot dishes, and one soup were served on both tables, laid out to the brim.

When Sha Zhu came out of the kitchen, his apron was splattered with oil, and his face was sweaty, but his eyes were very bright.

He glanced at the two tables, nodded, and said something to Xu Damao—

"All done."

Xu Damao stood up, looked around, and cleared his throat.

"Dear neighbors! Today's meal isn't for any other reason than to celebrate that I, Xu Damao, am going to be a father! I'm treating everyone to a joyous occasion!"

A commotion erupted in the courtyard, with some clapping and others whistling.

Lou Xiao'e sat next to Xu Damao, wearing a dark blue jacket, her hair tucked behind her ears, and a faint smile on her face. She was less than three months pregnant, her belly wasn't showing yet, but her complexion was much better than before.

"Please don't be shy, everyone, eat more." Lou Xiao'e's voice wasn't loud, but her tone was sincere.

The seating was allocated to one person per family, and both tables were packed full.

But just as she was about to eat, Yu Li suddenly turned her head away—

Yue!

I vomited!