Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

The best local pork ribs, boiled in plain water with just a pinch of salt the size of a fingernail, retain their original flavor and are incredibly delicious.

As Jia Zhangshi picked at the green beans in her bowl, she muttered, "The three little ones ran off to the riverbank again today."

"That's ridiculous! How many times have I told you?!" Qin Huairu's voice turned stern.

"Mom, the water is ankle-deep where I'm squatting, and Xiaodang and Huaihua are eating steamed buns on the embankment. I can see them right away!" Jia Geng said, his head down and his voice muffled.

Qin Huairu unscrewed a bottle of baijiu, poured more than half a glass, and pushed it to Lin Quan's side.

In the past, He Yuzhu often delivered leftover food to the Jia family, and Qin Huairu would always remember to bring He Yuzhu a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) every few days.

Although the price of a bottle of wine is far less than that of leftovers, it also depends on how well-off a family is.

For those with deep pockets, a few thousand or tens of thousands of dollars is nothing more than a blink of an eye; for those with tight budgets, even a few dollars have to be carefully budgeted.

If people only focus on gains and losses, they can simply understand each other without saying a word and go their separate ways.

"Uncle, can you take us to buy chicken this afternoon?" Jia Geng asked, tilting his little face up.

"Okay." Lin Quan nodded in agreement.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, he led his three children and drove out of the courtyard house.

"Uncle-in-law, where are we going to buy chicken?" Jia Geng asked again.

"By this time, there were no live poultry left in the city, so we had to go to the countryside," Lin Quan sighed.

In the morning, you might still find chickens, ducks, and geese at street stalls and markets, but now it's almost one o'clock, and you can hardly find even a chicken feather in the city.

"Go to my maternal grandfather's village?" Jia Geng's eyes lit up.

"Mm," Lin Quan replied briefly.

As soon as the car entered Qinjiacun and the purpose of the visit was explained, the neighbors gathered around with their chickens, ducks, and geese.

"Ah Quan, the harvest is good this year, you can take this to eat, but we can't accept money!"

"Yeah, you always give us half of the wild boars you hunt!"

"Two chickens are nothing! Take them home and make soup, don't mention money!"

High-yield wheat and high-yield rice seeds are precious and have not yet been widely distributed.

However, in Qin Family Village, every single acre of land was planted.

"Uncles and aunts, I'll take the items at the price. You're not exactly well-off either; you rely on this little bit of money to buy medicine when you have a headache or fever..." Lin Quan patiently persuaded them, and finally got them to accept the money.

In the end, I bought ten hens, ten ducks, and ten geese.

Chickens and ducks are five yuan each, geese are ten yuan each.

The live poultry were loaded onto the car, and Jia Geng and the other two were invited to get in. They drove back to the courtyard house.

After a moment's thought, Lin Quan slaughtered four hens.

He has practiced martial arts for many years and has an appetite two to three times that of an average person.

These free-range chickens are not raised on feed; each one weighs only three or four pounds.

Boil water to scald the chicken, remove the feathers and scrape off the skin, then set up a fire to singe off all the fine down.

The chicken giblets were rinsed clean and placed in a bowl, waiting for He Yuzhu to return and prepare them.

Next, chop the chicken into pieces, blanch it to remove the blood, and sauté it in a pan for a few moments.

A rich, fresh aroma immediately rose up, seeping out through the cracks in the window and filling the entire courtyard.

As Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Huaihua smelled the aroma, their throats bobbed, and they secretly swallowed their saliva.

"Don't rush, the chicken is still stewing, and your aunt and uncle haven't come in yet." Lin Quan turned around, went into the house, grabbed a handful of peanuts, and handed them over. "Have some peanuts to tide you over, and we'll start cooking once everyone's here."

"Yes!" The three children nodded in unison.

It is ten times harder to raise a child to be a decent person than to raise him to be a bad one.

Why is Liu Haizhong's son so unfilial? It's because he's biased and always kicks his second son and scolds his third son.

Yan Bugui's children are all shrewd and calculating. What's wrong with them? They all learned it from him.

Parents are a mirror for their children, and teachers are a role model for their students.

The winds of change will blow for a few more years, but Lin Quan thinks it would be interesting to use his spare time to train Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Huaihua into down-to-earth and well-mannered young men; even if it doesn't work out, he won't lose anything.

It's so easy to corrupt children; you can easily lead them astray and damage their moral character without even realizing it.

Seeing the chicken fat sizzling in the pot, Lin Quan added water, brought it to a boil over high heat, threw in slices of old ginger and a few peppercorns, and then simmered it over low heat.

When Qin Jingru and the others came in after get off work, he sprinkled in a handful of scallion segments.

He Yuzhu braised three fish, and also stir-fried two plates of chicken giblets and two plates of green vegetables.

They called over Mr. and Mrs. Yi Zhonghai, and the whole family sat down for dinner.

"Uncle, your stewed chicken smells so good!" Jia Huaihua kept eating with her chopsticks, her mouth still slick with oil.

"Huaihua, can't you even stomach the dishes your godfather makes?" He Yuzhu teased her with a smile.

Seven-year-old Jia Huaihua blurted out, "Chicken giblets are too pungent, and fish bones prick my mouth."

He Yuzhu was taken aback, then picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Yi Zhonghai saw this and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

After the meal, an older woman took out two bankbooks from her cloth bag and said cheerfully, "Huai Ru, you can keep these two for safekeeping."

"Auntie, you two keep these for yourselves, I don't need them," Qin Huairu quickly declined.

"Your uncle and I have made up our minds. From now on, we'll eat at your house every day. We'll be counting on you for our retirement!" the aunt said with a smile.

Qin Huairu declined several times, but seeing that she couldn't refuse, she had no choice but to accept the passbook, her fingertips feeling a slight warmth.

Yi Zhonghai is fifty-seven years old this year. If he can hold on for another three years, he will get his retirement certificate from the factory.

The woman is fifty-six years old. She can only work at the spice factory for another three to five years at most. Her fingers can barely hold a grain of salt anymore.

"Huai Ru, after we're gone, that old house will belong to you too," the old woman added, her voice as light as dust.

"Auntie, you and Uncle are both in good health. You're only sixty and that's just the beginning. You can easily live comfortably for another thirty years!" Qin Huairu replied with a smile.

The room that the deaf old lady lived in had long been in the hands of He Yuzhu, whom she loved most.

Of all the properties in the courtyard, He Yuzhu's was the most extravagant—it owned three houses in total.

After He Yushui got married, the house was naturally transferred to He Yuzhu's name.

These days, once a girl gets married, the beams and tiles of her old home have absolutely no connection to her anymore.

"You're just saying sweet things to flatter us! If we can live another ten years peacefully, we'll be burning incense in gratitude." The old woman waved her hand with a smile.

"Uncle, Yuzhu, let's have a drink!" Lin Quan raised his glass, the wine clear and bright.

After downing his drink in one gulp, Yi Zhonghai picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with his chopsticks and casually asked, "Yuzhu, you really don't plan to find another companion?"

"I'm waiting for Xiao'e to come back." He Yuzhu said, stirring the soup in his bowl.

"It's been more than two years since she left, and she hasn't sent a single letter. I'm afraid... she doesn't plan to come back." Yi Zhonghai's voice softened.

"In my opinion, Luo Xiao'e will most likely come back," Lin Quan said with a smile, his tone confident.

"It would be great if I could make a trip to Hong Kong." He Yuzhu frowned slightly.

"It's not difficult—you're the head of the condiment factory now. Under the guise of expanding into overseas markets, just fly to Hong Kong, and the factory will approve it, the bureau will stamp it, and everything will go smoothly." Lin Quan thought for a moment and then agreed.