Unfortunately, some people just don't understand romance. As soon as Yi Zhonghai saw her, he scolded, "Lou Xiao'e, you've come at the perfect time! Look at the despicable things your Xu Damao has done!"
Then, right in front of Lou Xiao'e, he actually revealed that Xu Damao had played the fool.
Bringing this up in front of Lou Xiao'e would be like a desecration of her. Besides, doesn't Sha Zhu have any pride?
Sure enough, Lou Xiao'e was left speechless, both amused and exasperated, after hearing about Xu Damao's absurd actions.
He went up to Xu Damao and, with a look of exasperation, grabbed his ear and dragged him home.
As for an apology, that's out of the question! Sha Zhu deserved it; why didn't he apologize when he hit Xu Damao?
It wasn't until Lou Xiao'e left that the fat man thought to himself, "Good heavens, no wonder everyone who moves into a courtyard house wants to cause trouble first..."
What man could resist a woman who is always thinking of him and is as gentle and tolerant as an older sister?
Having met Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e, Fatty had now met all the main people in the courtyard.
No, there's still a deaf old lady we haven't met, but Fatty doesn't want to see her either.
This old lady is practically a carbon copy of Sha Zhu. The scene he remembers most clearly is from a TV drama where He Yushui comes home and hasn't eaten yet, so he goes to the backyard to look for her. It turns out the old lady clearly has some noodles, but she's hidden them...
※※※※※※
The next day, Fatty got up very early. Today he was going on a picnic—no, he was going to work.
While I was at it, I heated up the herbal tea I had brewed yesterday on the stove, then poured it into the aluminum pot for soup, and carried it to the Red Star Factory.
As we entered the factory gate, the security guards curiously came up, lifted the lid, and sniffed it again and again: "What is this?"
"This herbal tea is for the employees to quench their thirst today."
As soon as this guy heard that, he was about to go back to the duty room to get a tea mug to taste the saltiness; the fat man quickly stopped him: "You can't drink it yet, it's bitter! You have to add water."
Of the five flavors—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty—only bitterness is truly daunting.
For example, right now, as soon as the fat guy says something is bitter, the security guards immediately let him through; otherwise, if he says something is spicy, there's bound to be someone who doesn't believe him who comes up and says, "Really? I love spicy food the most," and then almost breathes fire...
Once inside the kitchen, the fat man poured the herbal tea into the kitchen soup pot, added a pot of water, and then sat down in a chair, smoking and spacing out.
Before long, everyone had arrived. Except for Sha Zhu, who was still lying in bed, the canteen staff, led by two experienced cooks, began working in an orderly manner.
As it turns out, the No. 3 canteen at the Red Star Factory could still function perfectly well without Sha Zhu.
Although we don't need to cook for the employees today, the fire in the stove must not be put out.
Master Wang lacks authority and doesn't give much command to the MCA group involved in the earthquake; he simply does the work of adding fuel to the fire himself.
Seeing that something was still cooking in the soup pot, Aunt Pang asked curiously, "Who did this?"
The fat man hurried over: "Auntie, this is some herbal tea I brewed. I'll load it onto the truck later so the workers can drink it when they're thirsty."
Upon hearing this, Master Wang took a spoon, scooped some out, and tasted it. As he smacked his lips, he said, "Honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, licorice... Fatty, do you have any Cantonese people in your family?"
There are no Cantonese people there, but the fat guy is a true Sichuanese in another world.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Master Wang explained, "This is how Cantonese herbal tea is made. Although the name has the word 'cool' in it, you have to be careful when drinking it. It's not cool at all, and if you drink it too fast, it can easily burn your throat."
Liu Lan asked playfully, "Then it's still called herbal tea? Shouldn't herbal tea be like Arctic Ocean soda, preferably chilled in cold water, so that it's incredibly refreshing to drink it when it's ice-cold!"
Master Wang shook his head with a smile: "You call this cold water, but that's not called herbal tea."
"..."
So what exactly is herbal tea?
Around 10 a.m., the workers had been working in the fields for over an hour and were getting a little thirsty, so they came to the truck.
He took the half-full jug of herbal tea from Liu Lan and gulped it down in one go. Soon after, he broke out in a thin layer of sweat.
Some people were so hot that they took off their shirts, leaving only a tank top underneath; many more were constantly wiping away sweat with their sleeves.
What is this? It tastes weird. The fat guy came over and had a little too. Hmm, it tastes like a small packet of instant coffee mixed with double the amount of water, plus a bottle of sunflower seed extract. This tastes just right!
However, it's not unpleasant to drink; on the contrary, it has a very layered flavor and feels warm when you drink it.
But after a short while, a cool sensation seemed to appear out of nowhere, rushing out of their bodies!
The dryness in my mouth from working was instantly and decisively relieved by this cool sensation! It not only quenched my thirst but also soothed my internal heat!
Meanwhile, Fatty and his team also delivered the herbal tea to the factory leaders.
Deputy Factory Director Li knew his skills. After hearing him explain the effects, he took a small sip and found it wasn't bad. He quickly finished the whole bowl.
After finishing one bowl, he wiped his mouth and, as if still not satisfied, said to the fat man, "Another bowl, please."
The fat man served him another bowl, but after taking a couple of sips, Deputy Factory Director Li put the bowl down and asked with a puzzled look, "Why don't I suddenly feel thirsty anymore? I can't drink anymore?"
The fat man explained, "Drinking a cup of this during the hottest days of summer can keep you going for half a day; that's why it's called herbal tea."
Deputy Factory Director Li nodded in satisfaction: "What a wonderful herbal tea! Fatty, you really put your heart into it."
After saying that, he lowered his voice again: "Show your true skills tonight. Do you still have that windbreak grass from last time?"
"Everything is ready."
"..."
The herbal tea I brought from the third canteen today was a great success.
Thanks to Aunt Pang's deliberate promotion, the employees soon learned that it was Fatty's cooking.
Ma Hua was very jealous, thinking that the fat man had started showing off just two days after his mentor left.
What's the big deal? It's just a bowl of cheap herbal tea. Just wait, I'll go complain to the master when I get back today.
At this juncture, the nation was learning from Dazhai, prioritizing grain production above all else, but there were a few exceptions.
For example, the commune that Fatty and his friends came to today has a fishery brigade that specifically raises fish.
Their commune was next to a large river, with numerous tributaries crisscrossing the various production teams. The fishing brigade would raise silver carp in the tributaries, and then catch them at the end of the year to distribute to the members of each production team for the New Year, a practice known as "sharing the New Year fish."
One of the biggest advantages of silver carp is that they only eat aquatic plants and plankton, so there is no need to feed them.
At most, they'd dump some pig manure into the river; that would be considered animal feed.
During this era, the supply of non-staple foods was relatively tight, and meat was rarely seen on ordinary people's tables.
People usually have a bland palate but also a craving for food, so bold individuals often come to steal fish.
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