"Come on, Lin Xu, let me hold that for you."

Shen Guofu's mood immediately brightened.

Heaven pity him; he had been eating mostly vegetables recently, so seeing meat transformed gloomy Mr. Shen into happy Mr. Shen. Well, as long as there's meat, even if my daughter scams me every day, I'm more than willing!

Taking the beef brisket from his son-in-law, the hefty weight in his hands made his heart leap again.

People who haven't eaten meat for several days, when they occasionally get to eat a meal, their biggest worry is that there won't be enough. This piece of meat is decent! Judging from my past experience vending at Xizhimen, it's at least four or five pounds, enough to stuff myself at lunchtime.

Thinking this, Shen Guofu once again felt that coming over to freeload was a wise decision.

If I hadn't been shameless enough to come here, I wouldn't have gotten a taste of these four or five pounds of meat, would I?

"What kind of meat is this, Uncle?" Chen Yan, who had taken the small glass jar from Lin Xu's hands, looked at the tomatoes in the bag and then at the meat in her Uncle Shen Guofu's hands, asking curiously.

What meat? Does it matter, niece? As long as it's meat, it's better than vegetables!

Shen Guofu muttered to himself, glanced at the bag he was holding, and then said, "Beef brisket, the kind with both tendons and meat."

Beef brisket?

Chen Yan looked again at the tomatoes in Lin Xu's hands, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Brother-in-law, are you making Tomato Stew Beef Brisket?"

"Yes, the beef brisket from Building Two looked good, so I cut a piece. Do you also like this dish, Sister Yan?"

"Love it, absolutely love it! I need to tell Grandma right away to steam more rice for lunch. I usually need at least two bowls of rice as a base when I eat this dish."

After speaking, she ran into the quadrangle with the glass jar containing cucumber slices, nearly tripping over her skirt in her haste.

After she went inside, Shen Guofu muttered under his breath, "Boasting about eating just two bowls of rice?"

Shen Baobao, carrying Dundun, walked beside Lin Xu and said somewhat sentimentally, "Xubao, this is where I grew up. It used to be a big messy courtyard. Later, when my dad made some money, he bought it and transformed it into a quadrangle."

In Beijing, although a messy courtyard and a quadrangle may seem similar, they are actually two different types of courtyards. A messy courtyard is simple, a place where the lower social classes lived in the past. It would house more than a dozen families, who used dry toilets and had only one water tap per family; it was all chaotic and unordered. In contrast, a quadrangle is neatly organized. Everything from the front gate to the courtyard layout, and the function of each room, is very particular.

Walking in from the southeast corner through the double courtyard doors and passing through the entryway, Lin Xu reached a screen wall at the end, which featured a huge, inverted "fortune" character. This symbolized "fortune has arrived."

Turning left in front of the screen wall, a spacious courtyard came into his view. The courtyard was not large but was very tidy. The ground was paved with grey-green bricks, surrounded by a circle of blue brick houses. In the middle of the courtyard stood a tall Chinese parasol tree, blocking most of the fierce sunlight.

"This tree was planted by my grandmother when my mom was pregnant. She said it would bring a phoenix to the family, and that phoenix turned out to be me," Shen Baobao explained, a touch of excitement in her voice as she returned to her childhood home.

Finally, Xubao can see where I spent my childhood! If only Xubao had been here back then, we could have gone from being childhood sweethearts to a married couple.

In the courtyard, Han Shuzhen had just come out of the kitchen with a basket of washed fruit. Faintly, Chen Yan's voice could be heard from inside, telling Grandma Shen to add more rice: "That's not enough! Just fill the rice cooker to its maximum capacity. Too little won't be enough. You know my uncle's appetite... even four bowls of rice might not be enough for him!"

TSK TSK TSK, did my sister-in-law skip breakfast?

Lin Xu greeted his mother-in-law and then carried the glass jar into the kitchen.

"Grandma, these are the pickled cucumbers I made for you. They'll be ready to eat in two weeks."

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful! My grandson-in-law is so thoughtful. Where's Dundun? I saw Spanish mackerel on sale at the supermarket this morning and bought a piece especially for Dundun. I was just about to steam it for it."

Chen Yan: "..."

I like Spanish mackerel too, especially in dumplings! I absolutely love them, but you've never bought Spanish mackerel for me, not once. BOO HOO HOO... Am I, an older single woman, no longer welcome at Grandma's?

After placing the jar in a corner of the kitchen, Lin Xu took the beef brisket his father-in-law handed him. He went to the sink, filled a basin with water, and placed the brisket in it to soak. "Grandma, you all go inside and cool off. Leave the kitchen to me. We'll keep it simple with just one main dish today."

Shen Guofu loved to hear that.

Simple is good. It's not like there are other options to choose from anyway.

Hearing there would only be one dish, Han Shuzhen, who was outside the kitchen, called out to Lin Xu, "Lin Xu, don't make it too greasy! Your dad's diet has just started showing results. Try to add some vegetables."

Shen Guofu quickly walked out of the kitchen, pulling Han Shuzhen toward the main house, which faced south. "There are vegetables, there are! That whole big bag of tomatoes, definitely enough vegetables... Let's go inside, quick! I'm about to die from this heat."

Exactly. I can't let my wife see that huge piece of beef brisket, or she'll definitely make our son-in-law save half of it.

Just as they were about to go inside, he called out to his daughter, who was carrying Dundun, "Baobao, come over quickly! Your mom has been missing Dundun so much she can barely eat."

To stop my wife from thinking about the meat in the kitchen, I have to distract her quickly. And the best way to do that is, naturally, little Dundun.

And just as he'd hoped, upon hearing Dundun had also come, Han Shuzhen instantly forgot about the meat in the kitchen. "Come here, my little darling! Let Grandma give you a hug."

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