Gao Shujing has been here for a few days and has already memorized Yu Rujia's habits. She is a promising student, and Yu Rujia is increasingly satisfied with him. Once he has figured them out, she will have much less to do.
Despite her thoughts, Yu Rujia added more firewood to the stove and tidied up the stove door, keeping the firewood away from it to prevent any sparks from flying out and igniting the firewood, which could easily burn down the house and people.
Gao Shujing peeked out as he placed the porridge on the table: "Duofu, help your younger brothers wash their hands, it's time to eat."
Duofu responded loudly, "I'll wash it right away."
Duofu nudged Duoxi toward the twins, then got up, took a basin, scooped water from the bucket, and brought it to his younger brothers: "Duolu, come wash your hands. After you wash your hands, you can eat some delicious porridge."
Duolu, who was playing with his two younger brothers, didn't care about them when he heard there was food. He immediately abandoned his two brothers, quickly got up from the mat, walked over to Duofu, and stretched out his little hands as if he was willing to let Duofu do whatever he wanted.
Duofu pressed his little hand into the water, rubbed it carefully a few times, shook it to make sure no water dripped out, then released him and pointed to a spot: "Stand here and wait for a while."
Duolu obediently stood aside, and Duofu followed suit and helped Duoshou and Duoxi wash their hands.
The group played for a long time, and after washing themselves, the water turned black.
Duofu poured out the dirty water, filled a basin with clean water, and brought it to his three younger brothers, washing them one by one.
While Duofu was washing the three children's hands, Yu Rujia took out the bowls and spoons and scooped out the porridge for each child to cool.
Duofu's voice came from outside: "Auntie, I'm done washing."
Yu Rujia put down the last bowl of porridge and came out: "Duofu is indeed the most reliable. Auntie likes Duofu the most."
Duofu's mature demeanor from just moments ago has instantly transformed into that of a shy little boy. Oh dear, it's such a sweet dilemma that his aunt adores Duofu so much.
Gao Shujing, who had just cleaned the kitchen, came over and picked up Duoxi, while Duofu held the twins' hands. The family of six began to eat porridge.
Everyone who has tried Yu Rujia's cooking has praised it.
The twins have been using spoons for more than half a month and are now quite steady with them. With Duofu's help, they still manage to eat quickly, though some food still falls onto the table and their clothes, but it's much better than before when they made a mess everywhere.
Gao Shujing was willing to spend money, and the house was completed in less than ten days. He invited several familiar people to have a hot meal, including Yu Rujia's family of five.
Chen Manman came over as soon as she finished work in the afternoon, carrying a pound of meat and some steamed egg cakes. It was clear that she had gone to great lengths to prepare this gift.
Gao Shujing raised his eyelids slightly: "I only prepared a simple meal. I feel unworthy to receive such a generous gift from Chen Zhiqing. You can leave the chicken cake here, but take the meat back."
Chen Manman had a smug look on her face. A pound of meat cost 0.78 yuan, and she needed five meat coupons. The money was easy to get; her family would give her a subsidy of several tens of yuan every year.
However, meat coupons were hard to come by, and even her family could only eat meat a limited number of times. She had saved up five meat coupons over a year.
Previously, she used her meat coupons one by one, but this time, in order to make a deeper impression on Gao Shujing, she specially used five meat coupons to buy a pound of pork.
With the addition of the sponge cake, she believed no one would give her a more substantial gift.
Chen Manman said casually, "I brought the meat over to add a dish, Gao Zhiqing, please don't be shy."
Gao Shujing brought over a basin from the side: "I only invited a dozen or so people to dinner. I've prepared two jin of meat, a chicken, and eggs. That should be enough."
Chen Manman looked at the meat in the bowl, then at the meat she had brought. Gao Shujing had prepared a very generous amount of meat for this hot meal, so there was really no need for the meat she had brought.
Chen Manman changed her tone: "If we don't need it today, we can save it for later."
Gao Shujing: "In this kind of weather, it will spoil if left overnight. Chen Zhiqing should take it back and store it properly to avoid waste."
Seeing that he insisted on not accepting the meat, Chen Manman had no choice but to take it back to the educated youth compound.
The other three educated youths, who were about to leave, couldn't help but drool when they saw the large piece of meat she was carrying. It's no wonder they were so unambitious; they simply ate meat far too infrequently.
Lu Kuohai: "Chen Zhiqing, why did you buy so much meat? Didn't we agree to eat at Gao Zhiqing's place tonight?"
Chen Manman calmly said, "I just happened to run into it in town today, so I bought it. I'll take care of it when I get back, and we'll have an extra meal at our courtyard tomorrow or the day after."
Zhang Zhaodi: "This piece of meat must weigh about a pound, right?"
Chen Manman: "Just one jin (500g)."
Zhang Zhaodi: "Since we're eating together in the courtyard, we can't let you pay for everything by yourself. How about we split the cost?"
Even the most frugal Zhang Zhaodi was willing to spend money on meat, so Lu Kuohai and Zhou Beifa were even more in favor.
Chen Manman did not refuse their kindness. They were all in the same educated youth compound, eating and living together. If they hadn't run into each other, she could have just eaten alone. But since they had already bumped into each other, it wouldn't be good to eat alone anymore.
Besides, she didn't feel bad about eating a pound of meat in just a few days. She used it on people she liked before, but now it really hurts her to eat it all by herself. It would be good if the others could share the burden.
Apart from Chen Manman, the other three educated youths brought gifts of two eggs and a bunch of green vegetables, which was obviously pre-arranged.
Chen Manman had other ideas, which is why she didn't prepare the same gifts as them, but she didn't expect to waste all her efforts.
Both Captain Huang and Party Secretary Li brought two eggs and a few bunches of green vegetables.
Eggs are a valuable commodity in the countryside and can be used as money elsewhere, making them a top choice for gifts.
Seeing the feast prepared by Gao Shujing, Captain Huang said with a smile, "We're in for a treat today. Such large pieces of meat are a rare treat, only a few times a year."
Even the two bigwigs of Shangfen Brigade, Captain Huang and Party Secretary Li, had to be careful with their meat consumption. They could only eat it a few times a month, and each time the whole family would only get half a pound or a pound, which was considered a lot. Divided among the family, each person would only get a bite or two of meat.
Gao Shujing's pork and chicken together weighed several kilograms, and everyone could get a bowl of meat, which was quite a feast.
Now that they've officially moved into their new home, and will be able to take care of the little ones more often, Gao Shujing felt a bit more relaxed. She said cheerfully, "Moving a house might only happen once in a lifetime, shouldn't it be a bit more grand?"
Secretary Li tucked his pipe into his waistband and sat down: "You know what, everyone gets married once, or two or three times, but not everyone has the chance to live in a new house, so it should be a grand affair."
Yu Rujia brought in four children, and everyone's eyes fell on them.
Captain Huang waved to Duofu and the others: "Come here to your uncle, your uncle has prepared some delicious food for you."
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