When serving the dishes, the fat man deliberately put the lion's head meatballs in small bowls, shook them carefully, and then put them on the table.
The lion's head meatballs in the bowl trembled slightly, as if the lion's head were shaking off water...
The deputy factory director and his family were amazed by what they saw.
As a token of gratitude, in addition to the agreed-upon ten yuan, Deputy Factory Director Li also gave the fat man two packs of cigarettes and a handful of candy.
Once outside the courtyard, Fatty said to Zhao Lao Er, "We'll split this money 30/70, and you can keep this pack of cigarettes too."
Zhao Lao Er had no choice but to accept it, which strengthened his resolve to work diligently for Fatty from now on.
The fat man found him extremely useful. The kitchen never tolerates idlers; those who can hold their own under Sha Zhu's tutelage are truly skilled.
There was also Aunt Fatty, the master chef at the white dough stall. Fatty had seen her sculpt Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie from dough, their appearances incredibly lifelike, far surpassing the dough figurines from the commercial streets of another world.
Take Liu Lan, for example. She is the perfect link between the kitchen and the front of house. She is versatile and capable, and no one can find fault with her.
These people were all people he had pre-booked.
The following day, the third day of the Lunar New Year, people visited relatives and friends.
The fat man was dragged out of bed early by Chen Fang, and his three older sisters joined forces to help him get dressed.
The fat man, who was half asleep, didn't fully wake up until Chen Yan was about to apply blush to his face. He shouted "No!" and broke free from their grasp.
He looked at himself in a small mirror, and wow! A Zhongshan suit, slicked-back hair—he looked like a martial arts hero! Was he going to get engaged or to cause trouble at a martial arts school?
What surprised the fat man even more was yet to come. Old Chen borrowed a bicycle from someone, hung all the things he had prepared at home on the handlebars, and the whole family set off for Yu Li's house in a grand procession.
The dowry prepared by the fat man's family consisted of two fat chickens, a bag of candy, and a pound of peanuts.
Don't think it's shabby; these things are worth far more than 4 yuan. In this era, the dowry was 4 yuan, and nothing else could be given.
By the way, that bag of candy was given to me by Deputy Factory Director Li yesterday. Fatty originally intended to share it with his three older sisters, but... it ended up being included in the deluxe betrothal gift package.
The arrival of the fat man's family of six instantly filled Yu Li's house to capacity.
As expected, Yu Li's parents were stunned by the family's "generous gifts." Without setting any obstacles, they accepted the betrothal gifts directly, saying that once they started working, they would have the two girls get introduction letters and then register their marriage.
With the betrothal gifts accepted, Yu Li was now Fatty's woman.
In this day and age, breaking off an engagement is something that will make you a target of gossip and criticism.
What the fat man never expected was that when he left Yu Li's house, she had a bundle on her shoulder, and looked back at the place where she had lived with reluctance, and was kicked out of the house just like that.
Chen Yan stood up for her, saying, "What a joke! Yu Li, you're part of our family now. Live a stable life with your brother. As long as our family has food to eat, you'll definitely have it too!"
Zhou Haiqin also held her daughter-in-law's hand and said with satisfaction, "From now on, you are my daughter. You can tell me if you have any grievances. If those three bully you, tell me too, and I will stand up for you."
Although they were just polite words, the attitude of the fat man's family still warmed Yu Li's heart.
After returning home, following Yu Li, Fatty was also "kicked out" by his family.
"Go, go back to your courtyard house. Yu Li will stay in your room for now, and you can move in together after the wedding."
Soon, Zhou Haiqin kicked the three daughters of the Chen family out, creating space for the young couple.
The fat man grasped Yu Li's hand. Her skin was rough, and there were cracks on the back of her hand. Yu Li subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but the fat man held it firmly. She tried a couple of times and then stopped.
Looking into her eyes, the fat man said earnestly, "Meeting someone takes only a moment, but falling in love with someone often lasts a lifetime. Yu Li, please believe that I will love you for a lifetime."
Yu Li had never heard such explicit words before. She wanted to cover her face, but the fat man was holding both her hands, so she could only close her eyes, blushing.
The fat man released one of her hands and scratched his head in confusion: "That sentence was said by Lin Huiyin, you didn't know that?"
Yu Li stopped closing her eyes and lowered her head, deeply hurt. He... he thinks I'm uncultured...
The fat man rubbed his forehead and said softly to her, "Don't be like that. I've only read a few more books than you. We'll have plenty of time to understand each other in the future."
Yu Li trembled slightly as she said, "But in front of you, I feel like a joke."
The fat man sighed and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Yu Li trembled like a leaf for a long time before she calmed down.
The fat man whispered in her ear, "And now?"
"..."
Just as the atmosphere had reached this point, the fat man was about to lift her chin and then make a move when he heard a loud bang from the door.
Then Chen Yan came in, covering her forehead.
The two stared at each other, then Chen Yan pointed to the door and said, "It was my older sister who pushed me."
Looking at Yu Li again, she was indeed already covering her face and lying on her own lap. How did she manage that? It's not ergonomic at all!
Exhausted, the fat man grabbed Chen Yan's arm and pushed her into the house, saying, "Second sister, talk to her." After saying that, he considerately closed the door for the two of them.
On the evening of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Fatty finally returned to the courtyard house.
As always, the third uncle stood guard at the door.
Upon seeing the fat man, he handed him 5 yuan: "This is what Sha Zhu is giving you in return. I wanted to give it to you before the New Year, but I couldn't find you anywhere."
A serious "knife attack" incident was turned into a childish game by them; does the fat man really need his 5 yuan?
If I actually accepted it, wouldn't I be a fool?
The fat man refused the money: "Uncle, how can this matter be treated so lightly? You tell Sha Zhu for me that I have the guarantee, and I reserve the right to pursue him."
Fatty had already decided that if Sha Zhu or their little group in the yard dared to cause trouble again, he would go find the police.
Tell him all these things, and then Sha Zhu will see!
While pondering the fat man's words, "I reserve the right to pursue this matter," the old man comfortably stuffed the money into his pocket, put his hands behind his back, and hummed a song as he walked home.
We headed towards the central courtyard, where everyone was at home because of the Lunar New Year. Several children were running around wildly in the yard.
The three children from the Jia family also mingled with them. When they saw Fatty, Bang Geng ignored him completely, but Xiao Dang was quite polite: "Uncle Fatty, Happy New Year."
The fat man had just patted Xiao Dang's head when Bang Geng pulled Huai Hua over. He had been ignoring everyone, but now he was suddenly all excited. How could the fat man let this little brat have his way?
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