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

"Brother Dong, we're out of cornmeal at home. We can't just eat meat tonight."

Lin Yurou whispered from the side.

"We have plenty of wheat flour and rice. You can boil a pot of rice porridge and make flatbread with wheat flour."

Li Weidong waved his hand and said in a boastful tone, "Make more, even if it rains, you can still eat it."

The flatbread is thin and is a type of unleavened bread commonly eaten in northern China during the summer. It's easy to make, and you can just roll it up with vegetables and eat it. Of course, this was fine in the late 1970s when food supplies were plentiful, but now it's simply not possible.

"What is a single-layer cake?"

Lin Yurou and He Yushui were both completely bewildered.

"Scald the flour with boiling water, roll it out into a thin sheet about the size of a small pot lid, and then bake it in a pan."

Li Weidong explained.

"Using only wheat flour? That's such a waste of food."

He Yushui hesitated for a moment, "Mix in some cornmeal..."

"I don't have any cornmeal at home. Do as I say."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "Once the pancakes are ready, the pig's head meat will be almost done too. Roll the pig's head meat in a pancake, and have a bowl of rice porridge..."

"Are we done with this life?"

He Yushui frowned.

Lin Yurou nodded vigorously beside her, but she dared not say those words aloud.

"I'm the one who calls the shots!"

Li Weidong waved his hand and said, "Make more pancakes, that'll cover breakfast tomorrow."

Just then, Jia Dongxu pushed his bicycle over. On the slightly worn bicycle's rear rack sat a well-maintained sewing machine.

Jia Dongxu's face looked like his mother had died.

He realized that if he didn't do as Li Weidong said, he would definitely have to go to jail for several years, five or six years would be considered short. He would lose his job and have to pay for the bicycle.

Yi Zhonghai had a gloomy face, holding a clock in his arms and clutching five large black ten-yuan bills in his hand. It was 1962, and ten-yuan bills were still the large black ten-yuan bills; the Great Unity bills wouldn't be issued until January 10, 1966.

Liu Haizhong's face was ashen, and he held ten large black ten bills in his hand.

As soon as Li Weidong put the car down, Jia Dongxu turned around and left without saying a word.

Liu Haizhong handed over the stack of banknotes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

The weather had cooled down, and a gentle evening breeze was blowing. Many people had brought out benches to cool off outside in the courtyard.

"The clock is here, and there are fifty dollars left."

Yi Zhonghai placed the items on the small table.

Li Weidong pulled out a table and sat down next to him. Xiao Xi's eyes were fixed on his pocket, her fingers were in her mouth, and saliva was almost dripping down her cheeks.

The little girl wondered if her brother had hidden something delicious in his pocket.

"Alright, let's put the past behind us."

Li Weidong stood up. Lin Yurou and He Yushui excitedly unloaded the sewing machine from the car.

"Weidong, I've watched you grow up, how did you change like this?"

Yi Zhonghai looked pained, "Living in the same compound, as neighbors, you still have to get along well..."

It was as if he had never had any conflict with Li Weidong.

Li Weidong glanced at Yan Bugui, who was scurrying over like a big rat, and said to Yi Zhonghai, "Master Yi, we're all old foxes, let's not act out a ghost story."

These were jokes made on the streets in later generations. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were taken aback when they heard them. They knew about Liaozhai, but they didn't understand the meaning.

Seeing the two of them looking stunned, Li Weidong shook his head and called into the house, "Xiaorou, hurry up and make the pancakes, or what will we eat for dinner? We can work on the sewing machine later."

At this point, the aroma of the braised pig's head grew stronger and stronger. Back then, pigs weren't like they are now; they were raised for a year before being sold, and the aroma was so strong that it made people's mouths water.

Not to mention the braising liquid Li Weidong used, which was a later improved formula, so fragrant it could penetrate to the very bone.

"Brother, the meat smells so good, Xiaoxi's mouth is watering!"

Xiao Xi stared at Li Weidong with her two big, clear black and white eyes, looking pitiful.

"Old Yan, what did he mean by that?"

Liu Haizhong leaned over and asked. Yi Zhonghai also looked over.

Yan Bugui rolled his eyes: "So you guys are all level eight fitters, stop bragging about how to use pliers. Tsk, that's a witty remark, you need to be a bit cultured to understand it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Yurou brought out an earthenware basin, and He Yushui carried a kettle. The two of them worked together to scald the noodles.

An irresistible aroma wafted through the air.

"Wow, this flour! It's as white as snow, and as fine as powder!"

Yi Zhonghai watched, swallowing hard. Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui weren't much better off.

Having just endured three years of hardship, who had ever seen white flour? Even if they did, it was the yellowish and coarse kind.

They had never seen such a snow-white, fine powder before in their lives.

"Brought back from the South."

Liu Haizhong spoke with absolute certainty.

"How much could there be? Why not mix in some cornmeal...?"

Yan Bugui muttered to himself, clutching a large tea mug in his hand.

Li Weidong carefully put the money away, cleaned the clock, and carried it into the main room, placing it on the altar.

As soon as Li Weidong came out, Yi Zhonghai and his men were still standing at the old deaf woman's door, none of them had left. The old woman sat in the yard, staring intently at them as if they were thieves.

Lin Yurou and He Yushui were making pancakes around the coal stove. Xiao Xi held two hawthorns in her hand, smelled them, and drooled.

Li Weidong moved a large wooden basin, poured all the braised ingredients into it, and placed it on a small table in the yard.

The moment the bowl was brought out, the aroma exploded. Yi Zhonghai and the others stared wide-eyed, as if their eyes were glued to their flesh.

"Where did he get the hostage?"

Liu Haizhong frowned. "This looks like speculation and profiteering..."

"Old Liu, give me a break. He just got home this morning, what kind of speculation would he be doing?"

Yan Bugui counted on his fingers, "Didn't the factory issue meat ration coupons...?"

"Yes, ten catties of meat coupons can be exchanged for a pig's head."

Liu Haizhong slapped his forehead and clicked his tongue, "At this rate, he'll squander all the tickets he has!"

One pound of meat coupons can buy three pounds of pig's head!

Suddenly, a pig-like scream came from the backyard. Although it was a child's voice, its sharpness pierced straight into people's ears.

"I want meat! I want meat! Get it for me right now!"

The child's cries were intermittent.

"It's a joke from the Jia family!"

He Yushui looked disgusted, and spun the rolling pin in her hand very fast.

"Brother, I want to eat meat!"

Xiao Xi called out in her childish voice.

"Okay, here's the pig snout for you."

Li Weidong cut off a piece of meat the size of a duck egg and stuffed it into Xiao Xi's hand.

Then, he deftly removed the bones and threw them into the broken basin on the ground.

"Sister, take a bite! Raindrop, take a bite too!"

Xiao Xi held up a piece of meat and brought it to Lin Yurou's mouth, her little face beaming with joy: "Sister, we have so much meat!"

Lin Yurou and He Yushui each took a bite. Yan Bugui's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his mouth moved as if he were really chewing meat.

"Zhonghai, get me some fat meat! This kid doesn't even know how to curry favor with me."

The deaf old woman was also swallowing her saliva.

"I'll ask him to buy some. He can't eat that much, and it's hot outside, so it won't keep."

Yi Zhonghai spoke with great confidence. If it were anyone else, he would have already had it brought directly to the deaf old woman as a token of his respect.

But Yi Zhonghai knew in his heart that this person was Li Weidong, and that was impossible.

As soon as Jia Dongxu entered the house, he saw his son Banggeng tugging at Jia Zhangshi's trouser leg and making a fuss.

"Grandma, I want to eat meat! I want to eat a big pig's head!"

"I want meat! I want meat! Get it for me right now!"

Banggeng sat down on the ground and grabbed Jia Zhangshi's baggy trousers, refusing to let go. The problem was that the trousers had an elastic waistband, and Jia Zhangshi panicked, clutching the waistband tightly with one hand.

"Stop fooling around, let go when your father gets back. My dear grandson, let go now."

Feeling embarrassed, Jia Zhangshi turned and shouted into the house, "Qin Huairu, why don't you do something about this!"

"I won't get up unless you give me meat!"

Banggeng rolled around on the ground, just like his grandma.

Qin Huairu poked her head out from the kitchen, her hands covered in cornmeal as she busied herself steaming cornbread: "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Your son's craving meat, hurry up and go to that kid's house and ask him for some. Look how skinny he's gotten."

Jia Zhangshi's triangular eyes gleamed with a sharp light, and the flesh on her cheeks trembled as she spoke.

Ultimately, it's because she's greedy. Most of the good stuff she got using this trick ended up in her mouth.

"Qin Huairu, hurry up and cook."

Jia Dongxu stepped across the threshold with a dark face. "Trying to get something for nothing from that kid? No way."

"I refuse to believe this! He took our sewing machine, what's wrong with wanting some meat? My grandson is growing!"

Jia Zhangshi yelled at the top of her lungs, sounding like a sullen old sow, "Bang Geng, grab your bowl and come with Grandma!"

The way Jia Zhangshi was acting was exactly like she was going to the battlefield.

"Yes, I'm still growing, so I should eat meat."

Bang Geng's triangular eyes are exactly like his grandmother's, his fat face trembles when he talks, and his curly hair makes him look like he deserves a beating.

The mother and son strode out the door with great pride, while Qin Huairu stood there, stunned.

The two little girls, who had been silent the whole time, quietly slipped out as well.

Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu were heartbroken – the bicycle and sewing machine had become someone else's, but in their hearts, they still considered them their own.

Li Weidong chopped up the fat from the pig's cheeks, mixed it with chopped green onions, and rolled it up in a flatbread.

"Xiao Rou, this is for you. The rainwater is for you."

Li Weidong handed over the rolled pancake: "Help yourself if you want garlic."

Lin Yurou and He Yushui took the cakes, thanked them, and began to eat them heartily.

"Brother, what about me!"

Xiao Xi got anxious, stuffed half of the pig's snout into her mouth, and stretched out her greasy little hand towards Li Weidong.

"You still have room to eat? I'll share half with you."

Li Weidong worried, "Don't eat too much and get a stomachache."

"Then...then give me a piece of meat!"

Xiao Xi only cares about meat now; she doesn't even care about white flour.

Li Weidong had no choice but to cut a small piece of pig snout for her before he could roll up a pancake and eat it himself.

"Dong-ge, have some rice porridge."

Lin Yurou brought over a bowl of rice soup, which was thick and the aroma of rice wafted far and wide.

The deaf old woman smacked her lips and muttered under her breath, "Unfilial, so unfilial. So much delicious food, and they don't even bring some for their ancestor..."

These words were meant for Yi Zhonghai's ears, to tell him to hurry up and get the meat.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned ashen, and he cursed the deaf old woman in his heart.

Does this old woman really think she's some kind of ancestor?

Li Weidong took a bite of the rolled pancake, then drank some rice porridge, and closed his eyes in comfort.

Xiao Xi nestled in his arms, munching on meat and drinking soup, her little face full of satisfaction.

Lin Yurou and He Yushui went to the main room for dinner.

"Weidong, you can't finish this pig's head meat. Bring a bowl to your old lady."

Yi Zhonghai then adopted his elder-like demeanor, saying, "In our compound, respecting the elderly and caring for the young is the rule—"