When Li Xiangdong heard from Liu Junbo that Zhang Yancun had invited him to his home for dumplings, he jokingly teased him, "Wow, Junbo, you've got some nerve!"
Those who can come to your home for dinner are people you have a very special relationship with.
Liu Junbo seemed troubled. He leaned close to Li Xiangdong's ear and whispered a few words.
"I just blurted out Old Chen's name without thinking."
Li Xiangdong thought for a moment, then laughed and said, "I've already said it. Old Chen is in the Ninth Heaven, and your senior brother can't reach him, so he can't ask him whether he knows me or not!"
"Besides, I do know Old Chen. He even drank two cans of my tea!"
Liu Junbo whispered a few more words to him.
Li Xiangdong's eyes widened; he had no idea about this.
"Those things from Uncle Liu were all for..."
As Li Xiangdong spoke, he pointed upwards with his finger.
Liu Junbo nodded.
Li Xiangdong breathed a sigh of relief, "Amitabha Buddha, Holy Mother Mary, then I'll have to find more good things for Uncle Liu in the future."
————
Zhang Yancun's wife, Wei Ru, works at the district personnel bureau as the head of the finance department. She is 35 years old, has a fashionable perm, a slim figure, and a capable demeanor.
Both of them are busy with work and rarely eat at home. Their eight-year-old son lives with his grandparents in Haidian District, so they hardly ever cook.
As a result, when her husband came home last night, he specifically told her to leave work early today and to go to the market to buy some fresh chives and shrimp so she could make dumplings with a three-ingredient filling.
From what her husband said, it seemed that important guests were coming over for dinner.
Wei Ru finished work at four o'clock today, rushed to the vegetable market to buy groceries, and went home to put on her apron and start making dumplings.
After she finished making a batch of dumplings, she heard a bicycle bell outside, followed by familiar footsteps, "tap-tap," which she knew meant her husband was coming home.
Zhang Yancun turned down three appointments today and went home on time to wait for Liu Junbo and Li Xiangdong to come to his door.
The appointment time was 5:30.
When the clock struck 5:30, there was a rhythmic knocking on the door.
Wei Ru wiped the flour off her hands with her apron and went to open the door.
Zhang Yancun stopped her, "You keep wrapping your things, I'll go open the door!"
Upon opening the gate, one could see Liu Junbo in front of him, followed by a handsome young man who was over 1.8 meters tall, with fair skin, fine eyebrows, and delicate features. He was carrying two bottles of Moutai and a package of unknown contents.
"Senior brother! We're here. Let me introduce you. This is Li Xiangdong. You can just call him Dongzi!"
Li Xiangdong immediately greeted him politely, "Hello, Director Zhang!"
Zhang Yancun smiled warmly, "Hello, hello! Don't call me Director Zhang, that's too polite! Just call me Senior Brother, like your Brother Junbo does!"
Li Xiangdong readily agreed and immediately greeted him loudly, "Hello, senior brother!"
"Hey! Alright, come inside, let's not stand outside!"
The three entered the house, and Liu Junbo and Li Xiangdong greeted Wei Ru again.
Wei Ru liked the young man at first glance; he was tall, handsome, and quite polite.
She clasped her hands together and said with a smile, "Hurry up and follow your senior brother inside. The dumplings will be ready in a little while. There are cold dishes inside, so you can eat and drink first."
The three entered the room and sat down according to the order of guest and host. Zhang Yancun sat in the host's seat, Liu Junbo sat to Zhang Yancun's left, and Li Xiangdong sat to Zhang Yancun's right.
Li Xiangdong placed the two bottles of Moutai on the table. "Senior brother, I didn't know what you liked to drink, so I took the liberty of bringing two bottles of Moutai."
Zhang Yancun smiled broadly, "Oh, Moutai is great. We have it at home, why are you spending so much more!"
Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "Family matters are family matters. This is just my way of showing my appreciation. Besides, you treated me to dumplings, which is a priceless gesture. What are two bottles of Moutai compared to that?"
After listening to him, Zhang Yancun couldn't help but make a judgment in his heart. Although this young man looked young, his ability to handle situations and his composure in the face of adversity were in no way inferior to many middle-aged people.
And that humble yet confident demeanor also earns him a good impression.
"By the way, senior brother, this is some red ginseng that we got ourselves. We used only the best quality, and we dried and steamed it ourselves, so it's absolutely clean and hygienic. The main thing is that this stuff isn't as drying as ginseng. You and your wife are both busy with work, so it's good to have some red ginseng to make soup or soak in water to nourish your body. It's better than other things."
Li Xiangdong opened the paper package, inside were twelve neatly arranged red ginseng roots, each with a rich, reddish color, clearly top-quality.
Of course, Zhang Yancun, as the deputy director of the branch in the capital, had seen good things before, so he wouldn't be so surprised to see two bottles of Moutai and twelve red ginseng roots.
But neither of these items is cheap.
Li Xiangdong took it, and his conversation was just like a normal exchange between relatives and friends, making people feel comfortable as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
Just then, Wei Ruzheng came in carrying a plate of stir-fried vegetables. She immediately noticed the red ginseng on the table and exclaimed in surprise, "Where did this red ginseng come from? The quality is really good!"
Zhang Yancun said with a smile, "Dongzi brought it, saying it's for you to improve your health."
Wei Ru smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Oh, that's great. Recently, Sister Zhao from our department said that red ginseng is hard to buy. Not only has the price gone up, but you also have to ask someone for help to get it."
Li Xiangdong's heart skipped a beat. "Sister-in-law, where did this Sister Zhao buy her red ginseng?"
"It's just the medicinal herb company in our district! Many older women are used to drinking red ginseng infused water, and they're all complaining that it's hard to buy red ginseng lately!"
"Sister-in-law, you don't need to buy it anymore. I supply red ginseng to several medicinal herb companies in Changping and Mentougou districts. I'll bring you some fresh ginseng when I have it."
Wei Ru didn't immediately agree, but instead glanced at her husband.
Zhang Yancun chuckled and didn't reply, but instead said with a smile, "With just this much red ginseng, your sister-in-law will be drinking it for two or three years!"
Everyone laughed, and the topic was dropped.
Dumplings and wine go hand in hand; the more you drink, the better.
Zhang Yancun was testing the waters, Li Xiangdong was sincerely trying to befriend him, and Liu Junbo was also there to crack jokes, so the room was filled with harmony and the atmosphere was particularly pleasant.
I made a dumpling with a three-ingredient filling. The chives weren't very tender, but they had a strong chive flavor. They must have been the last batch of chives harvested in autumn. If you want to eat them again, you'll have to wait for the plump, tender chives grown in greenhouses.
The flavor is a bit too strong, it's like... like the salt seller has been beaten to death.
Li Xiangdong swallowed the dumpling with difficulty, when he heard Zhang Yancun ask seemingly unintentionally, "Dongzi, I heard you're quite familiar with Old Chen?"
Liu Junbo choked, "Well, he didn't say that Dongzi and Old Chen were very close!"
Li Xiangdong took a sip of dumpling soup to clear his mouth before slowly saying, "Familiar? I wouldn't say. Old Chen is extremely busy, and I'm just a nobody, how could I possibly have time to be familiar with anything?"
Zhang Yancun glanced at Liu Junbo suspiciously, his meaning clear: You kid actually lied to me!
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