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

When Huang Weiguo's mother, Liu Juhua, returned home from get off work.

Five plates of dumplings were already laid out on the Huang family's dining table.

The three children and Yang Dalin were sitting around the table, waiting for her to come back.

When Yang Dalin saw Liu Juhua return, he quickly stood up and said, "Auntie, you're off work. I was passing by on a business trip and just wanted to come and see you."

These are dumplings that Weiguo and I made.

Auntie, please sit down and eat.

Liu Juhua was very happy to see Yang Dalin, and when her eldest son told her that Yang Dalin had brought a lot of things again.

He also made dumplings with the meat and flour he brought.

He then scolded Yang Dalin: "Dalinzi, you can come whenever you want, but you're not allowed to bring anything anymore."

There's no shortage of food at home, so you need to save money for yourself. Your family needs to live its own life, so don't waste money in the future.

Yang Dalin didn't argue, but repeated the same explanation he had given Huang Weiguo, adding, "Auntie, hurry up and eat, don't let it get cold. Eat first, Xiaoying is really craving it."

Liu Juhua quickly washed her hands and sat down at the dining table.

Yang Dalin removed the bowls covering the plates.

Liu Juhua picked up a dumpling and took a bite: "Wow, this dumpling has filling made by Dalinzi, it smells so good."

It's delicious! You're a grown man, and the dumplings you make are even better than mine.

"Once I get married, my wife will definitely be living a life of luxury."

Yang Dalin thought to himself, "Auntie, your dumplings taste better when you add more oil to the filling." But he still humbly said, "Auntie, this is nothing. I just learned a few tricks from a chef in our courtyard."

While eating, Liu Juhua asked, "Then the chef in your hospital is really good."

Why is Dalinzi away on a business trip at the end of the year?

Isn't the Lunar New Year just around the corner?

Yang Dalin replied, "There's nothing we can do. We have to go when this mission comes up, but we can take three days off when we get back."

It's alright, Auntie, it's normal.

Does your guesthouse have holidays? Does someone have to be on duty during the Spring Festival?

"How's work, Auntie? Are you getting used to it?"

Yang Dalin and Liu Juhua chatted about everyday things.

To encourage Yang Dalin to eat more, Liu Juhua would also give him extra dumplings.

As a result, in order for his family to eat more, Yang Dalin lied and said that he was full after eating just one plate.

You don't need to eat much.

Actually, Yang Dalin didn't use much meat or dough for these dumplings, so he didn't make many.

He'd be about right after eating two more plates.

However, after eating a couple more plates, the Huang family ate less.

Yang Dalin could only eat until he was about three-tenths full, pretending that he had a small appetite.

Knowing that Aunt Liu and the others are doing alright is good enough.

Aunt Liu received a salary and all the things Yang Dalin brought.

Their family doesn't lack meat, which is already much better than many people.

Last time, Yang Dalin gave us a whole sheep.

After chatting with Aunt Liu and the others until after eight o'clock, Yang Dalin prepared to go back to the guesthouse to rest.

Huang Weiguo wanted Yang Dalin to stay there for another night.

That evening, the two brothers wanted to chat with Yang Dalin some more.

Yang Dalin said, "That won't do. I have to set off before dawn tomorrow. Time is too tight."

When I get back, I'll come stay at your place if I have the chance.

Yang Dalin left amidst the reluctant gazes of the Huang family children.

On the way, Yang Dalin found a secluded spot and ate some cooked beef. He hadn't eaten enough at Huang's house and didn't dare to eat much. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he didn't eat some meat.

They didn't dare give the beef to the Huang family, just like with cooking oil, which Yang Dalin had plenty of in his space, but he didn't dare give it away.

I gave them a jar last time, and there are still many left in the Huang family's kitchen. The pork I brought today also has a lot of fat, so they can render some more oil.

If I give too much, it won't be good for the Huang family, who are new to the area.

So Yang Dalin didn't dare to give them any, and besides, the dumplings didn't smell much, so the neighbors couldn't smell them.

Aunt Liu is a thoughtful person; she must know the importance of keeping a low profile.

Just like the sheep in their family, Huang Weiguo said that most of the time they just boil it and eat it, they never dare to stir-fry it.

Otherwise, it would attract too much hatred.

The Huang family, adults and children alike, all know how to live a low-key life, which is good enough.

That way, Yang Dalin wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Back at the guesthouse where the team was staying, the team leader and Brother Tian were still awake.

Upon seeing Yang Dalin return, the team leader went back to his room to rest.

The convoy set off before dawn the next day.

This trip took us deep into Northeast China.

It didn't snow in Beijing, but many places in Northeast China still experienced heavy snowfall.

To avoid slippery roads, the convoy did not travel fast.

Fortunately, the snow didn't melt.

Otherwise, it will be even colder when the snow melts, and the roads will be even more difficult to walk on when the snow melts.

Along the way, Yang Dalin also took the opportunity to catch some wild rabbits and pheasants, and added some food for everyone several times.

Therefore, Yang Dalin was very popular in the team.

There are many towns in Northeast China, so most people didn't spend the night outdoors, and the journey was relatively peaceful.

After all, the disaster lasted for three years, but the Northeast was less affected than the rest of China.

Along the way, you may encounter many starving people who want to rob or steal.

Overall, the journey went relatively smoothly.

On the third day of the convoy's journey, which was New Year's Eve, Yang Dalin cooked the dumplings he had brought for everyone.

Everyone tried a few. Other colleagues also brought dumplings, but not many. After all, there are so many colleagues, it's enough for each person to taste a little of someone else's food.

Everyone put the delicious food they had brought together and bought some wild game from a state-run restaurant near their hotel.

It's like everyone's celebrating the Lunar New Year.

The next day, which was the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Dalin signed in with the largest amount of supplies he had collected in all the time he had been there.

There were a total of 1,000 jin (500 kg) of dumplings with various fillings.

Well, this system knows I'm celebrating Chinese New Year and that I love eating dumplings.

They didn't give us anything else, just dumplings.

They gave back so much.

Moreover, there are many kinds of fillings, such as pork and cabbage, pork and scallion, pork and sauerkraut, pork and chives, chives and eggs, three-delicacy dumplings, mutton and scallion, beef and scallion, etc.

There were even dumplings made with roe deer meat, venison, and finally, horse meat, all of which I had eaten before.

Yang Dalin was also impressed.

That depends on how long you eat it.

Yang Dalin estimates that he can make enough dumplings for the Qi family for the next year.

Sigh, I just don't dare to take out too much.

I'll take it later.

You can either keep it for yourself and eat it slowly.

It's fine as long as you boil it in water; the flavor is mild and it doesn't attract much attention.

On the evening of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Dalin and his group finally drove to a large farm located between the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, near the border.

This farm was only built a few years ago, and many of the people working there were demobilized soldiers.

Moreover, the workers still receive wages.

So this farm is very large, divided into one farm headquarters, three regimental headquarters, and nine battalion headquarters and twenty-seven companies.

This is a division-level farm.

It's quite like a construction corps.

However, the first production and construction corps in Northeast China was not established until 1968.

At most, it's a large farm now.

Later, in order to defend against the Russians, the first production and construction corps in Northeast China was formed by absorbing educated youth and demobilized soldiers from the original farms of Northeast State Farm and Longjiang State Farm.

That was a military unit that could fight and do farm work.