The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Master Bai originally didn't want to take money from a young man, and even argued with Yang Dalin for a while.

Yang Dalin said, "Master Bai, I'm still young and not married yet. I don't have that much of a burden. I can't afford to give more than this much. You two brothers, please try to provide them with some food. It doesn't have to be fancy, just enough to keep them fed for a while."

Master Bai and his colleagues then accepted it.

The team leader and several drivers saw Yang Dalin arguing with two restaurant staff members.

He quietly walked up behind Yang Dalin. Yang Dalin had actually noticed him long ago, but he pretended not to.

The team leader and his team heard the reason.

Without saying a word, they each took out a pound of national grain coupons from their pockets and put them in Master Bai's hand.

The team leader also said apologetically, "Many of our families also have relatives who need our help, so we don't have much more. Please accept this small token of our appreciation, chef."

The other drivers also smiled and looked at Yang Dalin.

Some patted Yang Dalin on the shoulder approvingly.

Seeing that Master Bai had accepted the money, the team leader spoke to him briefly before leaving. A short while later, he returned with seven national grain coupons, each worth one jin (500 grams), and handed them to Master Bai, saying, "These were collected by the other drivers; please accept them."

Master Bai said gratefully, "On behalf of the children, thank you all."

The team leader quickly helped the hunched-over Master Bai up, saying, "Master, you're too kind. It's nothing. You go ahead with your work; we'll be on our way now."

Yang Dalin and the other drivers took their water bottles and exchanged them for hot water here.

After collecting their belongings, they prepared to set off.

Before getting on the bus, Yang Dalin took out two steamed buns from his bag and, through the wall, wrapped one for each of the two children with the canteen's oil paper.

Make them finish eating in front of you.

The little boy was probably very hungry, so he took the food and ate it. The little girl, being more sensible, even said, "Thank you, big brother."

But she hesitated, smelling the aroma of the steamed buns, and didn't take a bite for a long time.

Yang Dalin said, "Eat up, I'll pack two for you later to take back to your grandpa. There are more, so don't worry about eating."

The little girl then happily began to eat the steamed bun.

The steamed buns were filled with pork cracklings and cabbage; they smelled delicious. Aunt Qi made them early this morning.

This season there are plenty of cabbages and radishes.

And don't ask why I always eat cabbage.

Fortunately, Brother Tian didn't ask why the steamed buns weren't cold.

Perhaps Brother Tian didn't even notice this detail.

However, Yang Dalin had already thought it through. When asked, he would say that he had always wrapped it in thick clothes and kept it in his large backpack.

It's not completely cold.

There were two children, so I didn't dare let them eat too much. Each steamed bun was already quite big, and Aunt Qi made them rather large.

After everyone finished eating, Yang Dalin gave them some warm water to drink.

He told them to come over whenever they were hungry, and that Master Bai would also provide them with food.

Before they left, Yang Dalin gave them two more steamed buns.

Master Zhang and Brother Tian also wanted to bring their own dry rations, but Yang Dalin didn't let them.

After all, it wouldn't be good if the two children carried a lot of food back and something happened to them on the way.

Yang Dalin wrapped the two buns in oil paper, told them to hide them in their clothes, and hurried home.

They will pass through here again tomorrow, and we will meet again if we have the chance.

Yang Dalin also asked the names of the two children, one named Xiao Cui and the other Xiao Yuan.

……

……

Even after the car had driven quite a distance, Yang Dalin could still see two children chasing after the car and seeing him off in the rearview mirror.

Yang Dalin stretched his hand out of the driver's seat and waved to them.

Tell them to go back immediately.

The car speed will pick up in the afternoon, so everyone should get to a factory by the sea in Tianjin as soon as possible.

We set off at 9 a.m. and ate lunch at 11:30 a.m., so we need to get there as early as possible this afternoon.

This way, everyone can have some time to stroll around Tianjin and buy some things.

The car didn't stop once during the journey except for one stop to use the restroom.

This meant that none of the picnic tools Yang Dalin had prepared were used.

Pity.

The main reason is that people have hot meals at restaurants, so why would they eat outdoors?

If we don't need it this time, we don't need it. We'll try again next time we go somewhere further away.

We arrived at a factory not far from the Tianjin seaside around 3 p.m.

After the goods were handed over, someone from the factory unloaded them.

The team leader and two drivers stayed behind.

The others went together to visit the seaside village.

Yang Dalin also promised Qi Xiaoning that he would buy her Goubuli steamed buns and twisted dough sticks.

This has put me in the suburbs by the sea, quite far from the city. How am I supposed to buy a place here?

In addition, following the main group makes it difficult to operate in one's own space.

Yang Dalin then suggested that he go to the city to buy some other things and come back to find everyone later.

If they can't find it, they'll meet at the factory.

However, when it came to going to the city to buy some things, several other drivers said they also wanted to go, and that other colleagues could bring the seafood.

Well, seeing that it wasn't a good idea to act alone, Yang Dalin had no choice but to go with the flow for the time being.

They borrowed several bicycles from the factory workers, and with the help of a local office worker, they went to the city.

Tian Ge and Yang Dalin parted ways; he went to the beach first.

The cycling speed was acceptable, and it took more than half an hour to get into the city.

Fortunately, they had national food coupons, so it was easy for them to buy some local specialties.

Otherwise, they might not have sold it to him.

Yang Dalin bought ten Goubuli steamed buns.

If there are purchase restrictions, they won't sell to you.

It wasn't from an authentic steamed bun shop; it was from a small restaurant.

I went to a long-established shop that sells fried dough twists and bought a lot of them.

In his previous life, when Yang Dalin had plenty of food, he didn't like to eat this stuff.

I tried it this time, and it tasted pretty good.

Yang Dalin had to use a lot of national grain coupons to get him to buy ten jin.

After making their purchases, everyone stopped shopping and went straight back to the factory by the sea.

People still find seafood appealing.

I guess the other chefs have come here so often that they don't have that much demand for Goubuli steamed buns or fried dough twists anymore.

People buy these things for their children.

This place is close to the sea, so seafood is cheap. This is a great local specialty. Whether you're giving it as a gift or taking it back to eat, this is a real bargain.

When Yang Dalin and his group arrived at the factory, they first put the things they had bought into the driver's cab.

Then the comrades from that factory took them to the beach to find Brother Tian and the others.

There are many villages here, all of which have followed the path of collectivization.

Yang Dalin suggested that they go to a village in another direction.

He was afraid that Tian Ge and his group would buy up everything in that village.

Because it was a communized society, most of the sea fish caught were handed over to the commune.

Each household could only hide a little seafood.

There aren't necessarily many.

Don't buy everything at the same time; you won't be able to buy much.

The factory worker who came with Yang Dalin smiled and said, "Comrade Yang is right. That other village is my home, and I'm familiar with that area."

Everyone wanted to buy more, and they all said they would.

What are we talking about? Let's go.

Yang Dalin and the colleague from the factory walked at the front, and Yang Dalin offered him a cigarette.

Yang Dalin planned to get to know him better and see if he could secretly buy more.

This person should take a look first before making a decision.