When things got out of hand, the first to return were Fatty and Chen Mengqi.

Chen Mengqi asked with a puzzled look, "Dad, why won't Grandpa Yan let He Sui and his mother come into our yard?"

This girl is incredibly cunning at such a young age.

The fat man went along with her, saying, "Because he was catching mice, and he forgot that I plucked all the old men in this courtyard back in '78!"

The third uncle was so angry he was practically fuming, his teeth grinding together. He tried to stop Sha Zhu while simultaneously retorting to the fat man: "You, you're talking nonsense!"

"You're talking nonsense! The child respects you and calls you Grandpa Yan, how can you swear in front of the child?"

The old man was lucky he hadn't had his blood pressure checked yet, otherwise the mercury column would have exploded: "Fatty, Fatty, let me tell you, your factory has no say in what happens in our compound! You're the one who's trying to take advantage of us. Besides, you're just a laid-off worker and a small vendor now, what are you so smug about?"

Just then, Yan Jiecheng heard the commotion and came out from inside. The fat man shouted as soon as he saw him, "Hey, you little vendor, I'm calling you! Your father is asking you something, what are you so smug about?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng turned around and went back, which infuriated the Third Uncle even more!

They've all rebelled!

Does anyone still respect him, this old man? Sha Zhu cursed him, Fatty called him a dog, and his own son just walked away!

The third uncle was completely at a disadvantage, and Sha Zhu almost pushed him into the public toilet with his shoulder. After clearing a path, Sha Zhu, carrying two boxes, grinned at Ran Qiuye and said, "Madam, please."

Ran Qiuye had been observing coldly the whole time, especially paying attention to He Sui's reaction.

Contrary to her expectations, He Sui did not feel disgusted by her father's rude and domineering side; instead, her eyes revealed an eager impulse!

Ran Qiuye suddenly realized that this child had never had such an experience before, and that "father's protection" was exactly what he lacked and longed for the most!

Just now, Sha Zhu was so tough and reckless. In He Sui's eyes, his behavior was precisely a manifestation of passion.

That's so manly, so heroic. In He Sui's mind, Sha Zhu's image suddenly became much more imposing.

"..."

The third uncle watched as Sha Zhu led Ran Qiuye and his son swaggered into the courtyard.

Then he remembered that all the people in the courtyard earlier had come out to peek at the commotion, just like his eldest brother, and then all of them went back inside.

It's as if this has nothing to do with them at all!

What the third uncle didn't know was that Li Xianying was discussing with the fat man: "What does it have to do with him? He just jumped out and blocked us from coming in."

The fat man glanced disdainfully towards the courtyard gate and said, "People, when they're extremely insecure, they become arrogant. Take the security guards hired by the clothing market across the street, for example; they come from a beautiful, spring-like place—Tongxian!"

Before coming to Beijing, he'd never even eaten braised pork offal. He worked as a security guard at the market for a few days, and guess what? He got cocky! He acted like he owned the place, yelling at stall owners, cursing customers—he'd do anything shameless. Relying on a few fellow villagers, he started acting like a bully!

Li Xianying looked utterly incredulous: "Has this guy gone mad? He's just a security guard!"

"That's right, so someone soon made him see reality clearly. He got a beating, and I never saw him again after that. Maybe he went back to Tongxian."

Their conversation was overheard by the three aunties and the old man who came out from the courtyard after hearing the commotion.

Isn't this just beating around the bush? Is the third uncle a security guard? Are you calling him a bully who abuses his power and acts like he has the final say?

The three women, trembling, pointed at Li Xianying and the fat man and cursed, "How immoral! How utterly immoral!"

Li Xianying retorted, "Yes, yes, you're not immoral. If you're not immoral, then your third uncle always acts like a detective. You should buy him a silk shirt and a straw hat, then he can go door to door checking our good citizen certificates."

The three women nearly vomited blood: "You!"

Why did you blurt out that rumor circulating in the yard?

It was all spread by the fat guy in the courtyard! He said his old man was in the detective squad, and even gave him a nickname, no longer calling him Yan Bugui, but "Jia Gui"!

Listen to this! Is this even human language? His old man's surname is now Jia! What does that mean?!

"..."

The reason why the people in this courtyard are still called "Third Uncle" is simply because it's become a habit, and they can't change it.

Since 1978, who still cares about these three old guys?

If you're so capable, why didn't you fart when the fat guy was masturbating them in front of the whole hospital?

On the contrary, it received unanimous approval from all the men and women in the courtyard, except for the Jia family, since Bang Geng was already in jail.

The old man was very shrewd and never spoke unless he was sure of what was going on. He just gave Li Xianying and the fat man a cold look before going back into the house.

Auntie was anxious about Uncle, and for a moment she didn't care about making a scene. She just glared at them both and hurriedly went to the courtyard gate.

Fatty took Chen Mengqi home and started preparing a meal. He opened the refrigerator, looked around, and said to Chen Mengqi, "Honey, how about Dad makes you a stir-fried shrimp and loofah dish?"

Summer is here, and it's the season for eating loofah.

Chen Mengqi tilted her head and thought for a moment: "The restaurant doesn't have this dish. Dad, are you researching a new dish again?"

Seeing his daughter's excited expression, the fat man said with a smile, "That's right. I've been researching stew lately. It's quick, easy, and low-cost, making it perfect for promoting in the store."

Chen Mengqi didn't mind the heat and followed her father into the kitchen.

Nowadays, Fatty's kitchen is just like Xu Damao's, integrated into the house. There's only one door, so you can go directly from the house to the kitchen, unlike before when you had to go outside every time you wanted to use the kitchen.

Everyone knows what a loofah is, but what is double shrimp? It's peeled shrimp meat and dried shrimp.

Rinse the dried shrimp and soak them in warm water beforehand. Fatty instructed Chen Mengqi, "Don't throw away the water used to soak the dried shrimp. It's very fresh. Pour it into the pot later."

Then, the shrimp were cut: "To make the shrimp look better and absorb the flavor more easily, cut them in half horizontally from the back, like this."

Chen Mengqi wrote everything down, and then heard her father say, "In our restaurant, we'll serve some pre-soaked wood ear mushrooms as a substitute, but we don't need to when we make them at home."

Even Chen Mengqi knows how to cut loofah: cut it into rolling pieces, making the shape as long as possible so it cooks faster and absorbs flavor better.

Seeing that his daughter didn't resist cooking at all, but instead enjoyed the way he cooked, the fat man couldn't help but feel gratified.

Chen Mengqi started watching him cook when she was 7 or 8 years old. When the fat man saw that she was interested, he started by cooking simple dishes and gradually cultivated her interest.