Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

Li Weidong grinned and patted his chest: "I made this myself! It only cost ten yuan in total, all scraps I picked up. Everyone in the house will have one, and I'll get a ceiling fan to hang in the living room later."

As he spoke, he reached out and plugged the power cord into the socket, the fan blades whirring.

As you spin it around, a cool breeze hits you in the face. The stifling heat dissipates in the blink of an eye.

"Brother, it's so cool here!"

Xiao Xi's eyes widened, and she held the can tightly in her arms, refusing to let go.

Li Weidong nodded, then turned and called out, "Xiaorou, what are we having for lunch?"

He then discovered that the three girls had all moved their small stools and squeezed under the fan to sit.

Lin Yurou's face flushed slightly; she had been so focused on enjoying the breeze that she had almost forgotten about cooking. She whispered, "Dong-ge, go buy some cornmeal; let's make a two-in-one noodle dish."

"Why buy cornmeal? Just use wheat flour—no, I have ready-made noodles here."

Li Weidong slapped his forehead, remembering the hundred boxes of instant noodles in the system's warehouse.

"Noodles?"

Lin Yurou blinked at him.

"I'll go get it."

Li Weidong turned and went into the bedroom.

Yesterday, he'd haphazardly stuffed all his luggage into the old closet. He went in, casually rummaged through it, and came out clutching eight packets of instant noodles. They were sealed in plastic bags with "Spicy Beef Noodles" handwritten on them.

Shrimp and Fish Cake Noodles

There was also a bag labeled "Lao Tan's Pickled Cabbage and Beef Noodles".

—No, it's pickled cabbage in an old-fashioned jar.

Lin Yurou took it and examined it from all angles: "Why does this look like this? And there are these little bags inside..."

"Boil some water and bring four large bowls."

Li Weidong instructed, "These noodles can be eaten simply by soaking them in boiling water."

He Yushui stared at the exquisite flatbreads, swallowed hard, and whispered, "Dong-ge, Xiaorou, I'll go back to eat first and come back later."

"Rainwater? Do you think I'd be short of your water?"

Li Weidong waved his hand, "Your brother is a bit dim-witted; it's no wonder he'd never cook lunch for you."

"But this thing looks expensive!"

He Yushui's eyes darted around. "How about I bring my own food rations to use instead?"

"Forget it, your Dong-ge isn't short of that."

Li Weidong smiled, turned to Lin Yurou, and said, "Yurou, guess how much I earn in a month?"

"An apprentice gets 18.5 yuan... Does that mean you'll be a permanent employee right away, Dong-ge?"

Lin Yurou's eyes lit up immediately. "That's twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents!"

"What?! Twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents!"

Li Weidong straightened his back. "I make 260 yuan a month, and I'll get a raise after three months. I'm the head of the medical department, an attending physician, and I also get the salary of an eighth-level engineer."

"Two...two hundred and sixty?"

Lin Yurou and He Yushui were both dumbfounded, their mouths agape.

Xiao Xi tugged at Li Weidong's sleeve: "Brother, how much is 260? Can we buy lots of delicious food with that?"

"Of course, our Xiaoxi can eat meat every day without any problem."

Li Weidong reached out and pinched Xiaoxi's chubby cheeks.

"I want to eat this! Bro, can you open it for me?"

Xiao Xi held up the can of yellow peaches in her hand, her eyes sparkling.

In the past, can lids were very difficult to open. You couldn't just tap them open; you had to use pliers to pry them open, or even cut a hole in the lid with a knife.

"We're about to eat; we'll talk about the canned food later."

Lin Yurou said to Xiaoxi.

"All right……"

Xiao Xi lowered her head sullenly, her little face full of grievance. Even the two little braids on her head looked wilted, making one feel as if it was about to rain.

"Dong-ge, you're awesome! I'll definitely study hard and get into university!"

He Yushui clenched her fists.

"No matter how much money Dong Ge earns, he still has to be careful with his spending."

Lin Yurou said softly to Li Weidong, "These noodles don't look cheap."

"Never mind that, take this fifty yuan for spending money."

Li Weidong stuffed five dark ten-yuan bills into Lin Yurou's hand, saying, "Don't worry about the family's food, clothing, and daily necessities."

Lin Yurou was taken aback: "Then I don't need any money at all?"

"You're such a grown woman, why don't you need money?"

Li Weidong shook his head, "Don't be stingy, I'll give you more when you've spent it all."

"Oh, right, I'm going to buy fabric this afternoon. Make yourself a few more clothes. Someone just gave me a sewing machine—oh, I forgot to ask, do you know how to sew?"

Lin Yurou nodded excitedly, "Yes! I can do it! Besides, Yushui and I have already figured out that sewing machine thoroughly, and we can use it very smoothly."

"That's fine then. What flavor of instant noodles do you guys eat?"

Li Weidong asked, "Can you handle spicy food?"

"Okay, spicy beef noodles? There's actually beef in it?"

He Yushui swallowed hard.

"There's only a tiny bit; you can't even find it."

Li Weidong said with a smile, "Go and cut up the rest of the pig's head, pig's ears, and pig's tongue."

"Um... all that's left are the ears and the tongue."

He Yushui was a little embarrassed. The three of them had eaten quite a bit of meat that morning.

"That's perfect, enough for the four of us."

Li Weidong nodded, "Heat it up, boil the old brine and scald it."

"It's too hot this morning, I'll go cut it!"

He Yushui went into the kitchen. Lin Yurou brought in four large earthenware bowls, which were quite rough.

"Brother, what should I do if I can't eat spicy food?"

Xiao Xi asked pitifully.

"It tastes like shrimp, but it's not spicy at all."

Li Weidong rubbed Xiaoxi's head, "I'll open a can of food for you after you finish eating."

"Brother, you're so kind."

Xiao Xi's eyes darted around, sparkling.

Lin Yurou went to boil water. He Yushui brought over a large plate with sliced ​​pig ears and pig snouts on it. Half of the pig ears were left uncut—local pig ears are not very big to begin with.

"There's a bit too much, so I won't cut this half."

He Yushui said, "I'll save it to stir-fry with chili peppers tonight..."

Xiao Xi stared longingly at the pig's ear, her fingers in her mouth. Li Weidong reached out and picked up the piece of pig's ear.

"Xiao Xi, here, have some."

Li Weidong said.

Xiao Xi's voice trembled noticeably: "Thank you, brother!"

The only thought running through her mind was—it's so good to have a brother. At least she doesn't have to eat those bitter, unpalatable wild vegetables anymore, and she doesn't have to suffer from a rumbling stomach from hunger. It's just a little regrettable; if only Dad could be here too, the whole family could sit down and eat together.

Xiao Xi grabbed a pig's ear, took a bite, and the crunchy texture made her grin. She turned and saw two little girls in the yard, then immediately ran outside with the pig's ear in her hand.

Li Weidong looked in the direction she was running and saw a child of about five years old leading a little girl of about three years old.

The two little ones were dressed in tattered clothes, and their faces were as dirty as kittens.

He Yushui sighed and said with a wry smile, "Those are Jia Dongxu's family's. The older one is called Xiao Dang, and the younger one is called Huaihua. Old Mrs. Jia doesn't treat them like human beings at all. They're lucky if they get a meal from her."

"Little Sister Dang, Huaihua, you two wait!"

Xiao Xi turned her head to look at the pig's ear in her hand, then ran back to He Yushui and called out, "Sister Yushui, please cut it into three pieces for me."

Seeing the two children staring longingly at them under the scorching sun, Li Weidong sighed, "Xiao Xi, are they your friends?"

The sun in the yard was too strong; the leaves of the paulownia tree were all wilted and drooping, and only the cicadas on the tree were still desperately chirping.

"Yes, Sister Xiaodang even gave me three peanuts."

Xiao Xi said this with a hint of pride.

"Go and call them in."

Li Weidong patted Xiaoxi's head.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua followed behind, timidly entering the house.

"Aunt Rainwater".

The two little ones greeted each other quietly.

"Ahem, just call me 'sister' from now on. This is Brother Weidong."

He Yushui gave another bitter smile.

"Brother Weidong."

The two girls, one big and one small, shouted in unison, their eyes fixed on the plate on the table. The plate contained fragrant pig ears and pig tongue.

"One piece each, come on, sit on the mat and enjoy the fan."

He Yushui shared the pig's ears with them.

"My brother bought this!"

Xiao Xi puffed out her little chest, showing off to Xiao Dang and Huaihua.

The two little ones looked at Xiaoxi with envy in their eyes, envying her for having such a good older brother.

The three little girls sat on a mat, the fan whirring, and they nibbled on pig ears in their hands, their faces full of satisfaction, which made Li Weidong smile.

He sighed inwardly, "Alas, these two children were born into the wrong family. They're destined for hardship in Old Lady Jia's hands, and they'll surely grow up to be two ungrateful wretches."

But then he felt something was off—wasn't Huaihua a posthumous child in the TV series? How come Huaihua is so big now, while Jia Dongxu is still alive and well?

Lin Yurou walked over carrying an aluminum pot: "Brother Dong, the water's boiled. What's next?"

"Get two more bowls and make a bowl of fresh shrimp and fish cake noodles for each of them."

Li Weidong casually gave the order.

He Yushui and Lin Yurou exchanged a glance, both thinking to themselves – doesn't this person know how tight life is? These days, it's good enough to be able to eat a decent meal, how can you just offer food to outsiders?

Not long after the three years of famine, although no one in Beijing had starved to death, it was common for every household to run out of food and rice.

Lin Yurou didn't say much and obediently went to get two bowls.

Li Weidong turned and went into the inner room. When he came out, he had a package in his hand.

The three little girls each got a bag, which was just enough.

He opened the pickled cabbage and beef noodles himself, while He Yushui and Lin Yurou got the spicy beef noodles.

Place the flatbread in a large bowl, tear open the seasoning packet and sprinkle it in, pour boiling water over it, and then turn the plate upside down.

The moment the hot water was poured in, a strong aroma burst forth.

"Brother, I want noodles!"

Xiao Xi was still chewing on the last bit of pig's ear, making indistinct noises.

"What's the rush? It'll be ready to eat in three minutes."

Li Weidong reached out and pinched her little cheek.

When the time was up, the plate was lifted.

That domineering yet rich aroma filled the entire courtyard.

Several people gathered around the table, chopsticks in hand. Xiao Xi's eyes lit up as she stared at the noodles in her bowl: "Wow, it looks so good, but it's too hot!"

Xiao Dang and Huaihua picked up a few strands of noodles, blew on them a couple of times, and then stuffed them into their mouths.

The two little girls' eyes lit up immediately, their faces beaming with surprise.

Xiao Xi followed suit and started eating as well.

Lin Yurou and He Yushui remained silent, focusing only on shoveling noodles into their mouths.

Li Weidong looked at them with a smile. He knew in his heart that these people would eventually get tired of eating those hundred boxes of instant noodles.