Chen Ming laughed happily, "This brother Jin, although he didn't go to college, is very talented. Some of the renovations in that courtyard are very thoughtful, and some of the technology is not even behind that of foreign countries.
I go to his place every day to learn from him. I'll have to live in that yard in the future, so if I could learn from Brother Jin's plan and renovate it, I think it would be great."
After hearing what Chen Ming said, Xu Manman breathed a sigh of relief. Her cousin was not what she thought. However, she had to let Xiao Jin keep a good social distance when interacting with her cousin in the future. It would be even better if she could find a way to break up with her cousin.
The two of them rode their bikes out of the school gate, but instead of going directly to the Tsinghua and Peking University courtyard, Chen Ming turned the bike around and went to the butcher shop first, where he bought a pig's trotter and a piece of pork belly.
Xu Manman pretended not to know and asked, "Cousin, are you going to take it back over there to start a fire? I wonder if there is firewood in the kitchen, but there is a pot."
"No, I've already made an agreement with Brother Jin. We'll provide the ingredients, and he'll provide the cooking skills and venue. We'll have lunch at his place today."
It seems that Xiao Jin's cooking skills last time still conquered his cousin.
The two of them rode their bikes to the North Courtyard. Chen Ming pushed the door open with familiarity and walked in. "Brother Jin, I'm here."
When I entered the room, Xiao Jin was reading a book under the grape trellis. When the door was opened, a breeze blew by, and the hair on her forehead fluttered. It was a natural and harmonious picture. Even though she was wearing a pair of big black-framed glasses, it did not affect her beauty at all.
Glancing at the smile on Chen Ming's face, Xu Manman secretly snorted.
"Here, there's a pig's trotter left at the butcher shop today. Let's braise it with the peanuts. And this pork belly was chosen by my cousin."
Xiao Jin—Jin Zichu stepped forward and took the dish from Chen Ming's hand. "I bought a grass carp at the market this morning. I made fish balls with it and will make a meatball soup later."
"I'll do as you say. I'll help you."
"Yes." Before entering the kitchen, Xiao Jin did not forget to greet the "guest" outside. "Student Xu, please have some tea and snacks first. The food will be ready soon."
Xu Manman, the freeloader, was also polite in the right way. "Okay, thank you, Mr. Jin."
There were two grown men in the kitchen, and she was just a young woman whom she didn't know very well, so she shouldn't get close to them.
She sat down under the jujube tree, picked up a piece of millet candy from the dessert plate, and poured herself a cup of chrysanthemum tea, feeling very comfortable and leisurely.
Half an hour later, the rich aroma of meat wafted from the yard, and the food was served: braised pork trotters with peanuts, twice-cooked pork, fish ball and tofu soup, pumpkin pancakes, perilla cucumber, shredded potatoes, and garlic eggplant.
Basically, they are all dishes that Xu Manman likes to eat, otherwise it can be said that Tongzi understands her.
The pig's trotters are soft and tasty, and the peanuts inside have just the right texture. The twice-cooked pork with fermented black bean paste is crispy and not greasy. The hand-made fish balls are very chewy, and the soup base is made with fish bones, which is fresh and rich. The remaining vegetarian dishes taste very good as well.
After dinner, the three of them each rode a bicycle and headed towards Xu’s yard.
After riding for more than half an hour, they arrived at their destination. Xu Manman took out the key ring given by her uncle and opened the door.
This time, the yard looked more tidy. Compared to the past two days, my uncle came to clean it up every day.
After pushing the bicycle in and placing it beside the corridor in the front yard, the three of them came to the yard of the second room.
Xu Manman asked Xiao Jin to take Chen Ming to visit the yard first and look at the overall layout. She came to the main room in the east wing. Before leaving, her uncle said that he had left something there for her.
When I opened the door, I saw the familiar layout. The room was very clean and there were many things added to it, such as a large wardrobe, a dressing table, a wooden box, and even curtains.
A mosquito net was hung on the bunk bed, the mattress had been replaced, and the quilt had not been laid out yet. However, there were two folded quilts placed in the corner of the bed.
Xu Manman looked at the wooden box with a note on it next to the wardrobe, walked over and opened it. There were a lot of daily necessities inside, such as soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, facial oil, towel, enamel pot... Anyway, all the daily necessities were here. If she came to live here, she would just need to bring some spare clothes.
Xu Manman took out the things one by one and sorted them out. She found an envelope and a radio packed in a cardboard box at the bottom.
When the envelope was opened, there were 10 more Great Unity coupons inside, as well as various bills such as grain coupons, industrial coupons, sugar coupons, etc.
Alas, it’s the love from the elders again. Now she can’t even seem to spend the money she earns.
Xu Manman came out of her room and looked at the remaining two rooms in the east wing. In the study room, there were desks, chairs and bookshelves. The sundries that were originally inside had been cleared out and moved to the storage room.
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