No conflict
On the table were braised fish, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, and steamed pork with rice flour and ice jelly made by Li Guorong.
Li Xiangxi sat between the two men. The atmosphere between Li Guorong and Lin Shaocheng was strange. Li Xiangxi picked up a piece of steamed pork with rice flour, took a bite, and found it soft, tender, and glutinous. The taste was first salty and fragrant, the fatty part was not greasy, the lean part was not dry, and the skin was chewy with a slight numbing sensation. The salty and sweet flavors intertwined, making it irresistible.
Li Xiangxi's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, your cooking skills are truly superb!" He gave her a thumbs up.
Li Guorong forced a smile, his mind not on the meal.
Li Xiangxi's hands danced in a blur, and half of the steamed pork ended up in his stomach. Li Guorong's eyes widened; this kid really had no sense of propriety.
Li Guorong hurriedly picked up a large chopstick of steamed pork and placed it in Lin Shaocheng's bowl. Lin Shaocheng was originally eating sweet potatoes in peace, but when he saw Li Guorong trying so hard to get him food, he couldn't help but smile.
Li Xiangxi seemed oblivious to Li Guorong's glare and even tried to take meat from Lin Shaocheng's bowl, which made Li Guorong furious. He stood between Lin Shaocheng and Li Xiangxi, gritting his teeth and smiling as he said, "Xiangxi, you go eat over there. I need to talk to your brother."
Li Xiangxi wiped his mouth, stood up, and said, "I'm full, let's go out for a walk to digest."
The atmosphere inside the room was less tense than before. Lin Shaocheng held Li Guorong's hand tightly and said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't concentrate on my studies at home, so I came out to study with Xiang Xi."
The wisdom of life lies in saving face for each other. The Lin family has always operated in this way, and Lin Shaocheng has decided to apply it to his own family as well.
Li Guocai dared not look Lin Shaocheng in the eye. She felt irritable whenever she saw a book. In her previous life, when her daughter was at home, she would watch TV and play on her phone. Wasn't her daughter also learning something? Back then, she thought her daughter could support herself after graduating from university. Now, however, she felt vaguely uneasy while Lin Shaocheng was studying.
"Business is good right now, I'm quite busy," Li Guorong said in a low voice, lacking his usual energy.
Lin Shaocheng's eyes flashed with understanding. "Then let's ask someone to help."
Li Guorong shook his head, "It's a small business; you can't make much money by hiring people."
Lin Shaocheng sighed, "One cannot only look at what is in front of them."
They both remained silent, knowing what the other was thinking.
Lin Shaocheng suddenly remembered something, “There’s an apartment building for sale, 300 yuan per square meter, the price is quite reasonable, why don’t we buy one, it would be convenient to live in.”
Li Guorong settled down and owned an apartment, something she had struggled for a long time in her later life before daring to even dream of. "How much would that cost?"
When two people own a house, they feel at ease.
"A 70-square-meter apartment with two bedrooms and one living room would probably cost 21,000 yuan. We could borrow some money from someone and buy it. The family that lives in our courtyard house is selling it, and we won't be able to stay there for long."
Li Guorong stopped eating. 21,000 yuan. They only had 18,000 yuan. She had saved 1,000 yuan in the past few months, but was still short 3,000 yuan. Most workers only earn a little over 700 yuan a year. Who could she borrow from?
Lin Shaocheng noticed Li Guorong's hesitation. "Wait until spring, I'll assemble a car fleet to go south, buy some trendy goods, and earn it back quickly."
That's not what Li Guorong is worried about. This building is comfortable to live in, but its value appreciation is slow. When it's demolished in the future, the value of the bungalows will definitely be higher. "Has that courtyard house been sold? How much did it cost?"
She remembered that in the future, only the central courtyards in Beijing were not allowed to be demolished; those in the suburbs became rich overnight through demolition compensation.
Lin Shaocheng is a little confused about his wife. She clearly loves living in an apartment building, but now she wants to buy a courtyard house. "Not yet. Something happened to her family, and they want to sell it for 11,000 yuan. Their courtyard is big, so it's more valuable."
“Buy, buy as many as you can.” Li Guorong gritted his teeth. “Keep the money you have for your business. There are more and more people in Beijing, and more and more buildings will definitely be built. Only land is valuable. Don’t buy apartments.”
After careful consideration, Lin Shaocheng realized that this was indeed the case. He hadn't expected Li Guorong to think so deeply and far ahead. "Don't you want to live in a small villa?"
Li Guorong certainly thought so. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, with convenient water and sewage systems. Nowadays, there are few households with ten thousand yuan. In the future, money will depreciate, and the rich will have millions or tens of millions in assets. Of course, he should take advantage of the money he can afford now and buy it quickly. "Didn't you say that people can't just look at what's in front of them?"
Li Guorong has become more assertive, and the future trend still depends on her. No matter how cultured Lin Shaocheng is, she is no less capable.
Lin Shaocheng couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was more familiar with Li Guorong's strong and confident demeanor. "Of course, I listen to my wife in everything."
Li Guorong buried her face in Lin Shaocheng's chest, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed herself tightly against his broad chest. She should trust the man in front of her more.
Lin Shaocheng embraced Li Guorong because he hadn't been able to give his wife enough security, and he wanted to give her more love.
As the year draws to a close, before the housing management office staff go on holiday, Li Guorong finally received her own property certificates. One is for the large courtyard house they are currently renting, and the other is for a small courtyard house. The cost was 2,000 yuan. She doesn't have much money on hand, but fortunately, the colder the weather, the better her snack business becomes.
Li Guorong is preparing the sesame sauce. Now, her stall's "Bo Bo Chicken" has completely transformed into "Skewer Hot Pot," offering both spicy and non-spicy options. If you find the non-spicy pot lacking in flavor, you can add her own sesame sauce, chive blossoms, and fermented bean curd.
This idea was actually proposed by Lin Shaocheng, and it better suits the tastes of Beijingers. Now, her main business is selling Bobo Chicken. She no longer sells fried potatoes; potatoes are cheap now, and people don't think it's worth buying them outside.
Lin Shaocheng also makes two buckets of sour plum drink every day using his family's secret recipe, which sells very quickly when paired with Bo Bo Chicken. It's both labor-saving and profitable.
Lin Shaocheng, holding the book, asked, "When are you going to prepare gifts for Chongchuan? The state-run stores will be closing in a few days."
Li Guorong checked the items on the tricycle. "Tomorrow, isn't the ticket for three days from now?"
Lin Shaocheng nodded, took out chili sauce from the cupboard, and three more cans, putting them all in his bag.
Li Guorong asked, "Why are you taking so much?"
Lin Shaocheng's gaze shifted. "Xiangxi likes to eat this, I'll take it to him."
In the woods behind the Beijing Library, two men and a woman were holding large steamed buns. Lin Shaocheng and Zhao Wanyin were dipping them in oily fermented black bean sauce and chili oil, their faces showing satisfaction.
Li Xiangxi could only eat steamed buns with stinky tofu, and he could only eat a little bit of spice. He stared longingly at the chili oil, "Wanyin, is it really that delicious?"
Zhao Wanyin raised her eyebrows, "It's delicious, it's okay to eat a little."
Li Xiangxi quickly shook his head; he didn't want to get into trouble.
Zhao Wanyin took out the test papers from the past few days from her bag and instructed Lin Shaocheng, "These are the test papers for the first and second years of high school. I made them for you based on the question types. Aren't you going to Chongchuan for half a month? This should be enough for you to do."
Li Xiangxi hurriedly went to look, "Don't I have it?" A pair of puppy eyes blinked as they stared at Zhao Wanyin.
Zhao Wanyin tapped Li Xiangxi's forehead with her slender hand, "If you study with me, what other test papers do you need?"
Li Xiangxi was finally satisfied. He took out the remaining two bottles of chili sauce from Lin Shaocheng's backpack and offered them as a gift, saying, "Take this chili sauce. My brother will need to bring some more when he goes to Chongchuan."
Lin Shaocheng chuckled, and Li Xiangxi quickly glared at his brother, asking what he was doing and whether he could see he was busy.
Zhao Wanyin quickly declined, saying, "I can't accept this."
Lin Shaocheng said, "You've already taken advantage of us by giving us two teachers for free."
Hearing this, Zhao Wanyin put the chili oil in her bag. She touched the chili sauce bottle, feeling a little disappointed.
As a considerate little dog, Li Xiangxi would definitely ask when he saw that his goddess was unhappy, "What's wrong, Sister Wanyin?"
Zhao Wanyin said, "After you finish your college entrance exams next year, I will be going abroad as an exchange student. I've heard that the food abroad is terrible. You know me, I've cooked four meals and ended up in the hospital each time."
She still feels lingering fear when she thinks about it. She studied chemistry, but she never intended to poison herself.
Li Xiangxi felt a sense of unease; just when there was a glimmer of hope, the person was about to leave. "Can I go?"
Zhao Wanyin laughed out loud, "Government-funded overseas studies require being among the top students, and the subject must be practical. You can talk about it when you catch up with your brother."
Li Xiangxi was getting anxious, like a puppy whose owner was about to go on a long trip. "Can't I go by myself?"
Lin Shaocheng said somewhat seriously, "It would cost tens of thousands if you paid for it yourself. Do you have that kind of money? Besides, it's not like Wanyin isn't coming back."
Li Xiangxi was really anxious. There's an old saying that even a virtuous woman can be swayed by a persistent suitor. Back then, his brother and Zhao Wanyin studied together every day, and he thought they were a couple. Li Xiangxi could only secretly admire them. But he didn't expect that the two of them were just studying and both wanted to be number one. They were like oil and water.
Later, Zhao Wanyin became a college student, while the two of them became truck drivers. They dared not have any more hopes. They never expected to have the opportunity to be together again. They originally wanted to get into college to shorten the gap between them.
Lin Shaocheng asked, "Is Yu Chen going too? Doesn't he know how to cook?"
Zhao Wanyin snorted coldly. Yu Chen was no longer the same person he used to be. Since starting university, his confidence had inflated. He spent his days either associating with rich people or chasing after beauties from the neighboring college, and his grades were barely passing.
"He has fallen from grace and is no longer the man who spoke of building the motherland."
Previously, Lin Shaocheng, Yu Chen, and Zhao Wanyin were good friends. The three of them were determined to contribute to China's industrialization. Yu Chen liked Zhao Wanyin and even warned Lin Shaocheng that he wanted to dedicate himself to the industrialization of the country with Zhao Wanyin, but he imagined that in the end, only Wanyin would be left on this path.
Li Xiangxi's dog eyes sparkled with excitement. "I won't fall into depravity; I will study hard."
Lin Shaocheng was truly helpless; he seemed to be everywhere.
Zhao Wanyin nodded, "Then you must work hard. I see that you have a talent for physics, and you can develop in the fields of physics and mechanics."
Li Xiangxi nodded firmly, "Wanyin, don't worry, I will definitely live up to my mission. If you're not used to being abroad, I can mail you some chili sauce."
Jiang Wanyin shook her head. "The control over mailed goods is strict now. These kinds of things are not allowed to be mailed. There are still half a year left. It's too early to think about these things now." She gave a self-deprecating smile.
The three of them fell silent. There were only half a year left before the college entrance examination and their separation.
At the factory gate, Lin Shaocheng handed his book to Li Xiangxi, saying, "I'm lending you this book. Read it carefully and return it to me after the New Year."
Li Jiaoniang was about to go out with her coworkers to the state-run store to buy new fabric when she saw this scene, and a dark glint flashed in her eyes.
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