Su Yun looked up from her book and noticed that the sun was already tilting westward. It was probably around four in the afternoon.
She closed the book, stood up, stretched her neck, and prepared to go out and cook.
The moment she opened the door, the rich aroma of stewed chicken wafted toward her. The roast chicken from the state-run restaurant was originally seasoned with five-spice powder, and now that He Hua had added water to stew it, the fragrance had spread throughout the entire courtyard.
An idea immediately struck Su Yun. She stepped into her family's makeshift kitchen, opened the system supermarket, found the poultry section, and decisively spent three yuan on a chicken.
Instantly, a plucked black-boned chicken appeared on the kitchen cutting board, weighing about five or six pounds.
Su Yun quickly picked it up, washed it thoroughly, removed the innards, chopped it into large pieces, and placed them into a clay pot. She added slices of old ginger and scallions, lit the stove, and began simmering chicken soup.
She had originally worried that although she had the system supermarket, she wouldn't dare take out its good items for her family to eat. Fortunately, He Hua had brought back roast chicken today. Now the entire courtyard knew that the He family was stewing chicken, so no one would suspect her.
Su Yun moved the stove with the soup to a hidden corner. After thinking for a moment, she opened the system supermarket again and, gritting her teeth, spent twelve yuan to buy twenty jin of rice.
The rice appeared suddenly, packaged in a thick plastic bag just like the twenty-jin bags of rice from later years, except the packaging was completely plain, without any words or symbols.
Su Yun quickly slit open the sturdy plastic with a kitchen knife, poured the rice into the rice jar, and then stuffed the plastic bag into the stove to burn it.
As she finished, she heard a pleasant female voice outside: "Aunt He, your family is eating well today! I could smell the fragrance before I even entered the courtyard."
Su Yun stood up and peeked out through a crack in the kitchen. She saw a well-dressed young woman with short hair standing in the yard, pushing a bicycle and sniffing the air as she spoke to Widow He.
At that moment, He Hua was stewing chicken in the kitchen outside the west wing room. Widow He had deliberately brought out a stool and was sitting in the courtyard with one leg crossed over the other, barely able to conceal her pride.
Hearing the woman's remark, Widow He raised her voice. "Oh, Doctor Jiang is back! You don't know yet, do you? Today my He Hua went on a blind date. The man took one look at her and was smitten. When he left, he insisted on giving her two boxes of roast chicken from the state-run restaurant. Hahaha… I thought to myself, we can't eat both boxes in one meal. What family could afford to be so extravagant, right?"
"So tonight I had He Hua stew half a box. We'll stew the other half in a few days. Two boxes of roast chicken—we'll stretch them out over several meals!"
The implication was clear: she was both showing off and discouraging anyone from trying to mooch.
The young woman called Doctor Jiang had not intended to ask for any. She had merely made a casual comment. After hearing Widow He's response, she politely excused herself and returned to the east wing room of her own home.
At that moment, Su Yun recalled who this Doctor Jiang was.
Her name was Jiang Yuling, a gynecologist and the newlywed wife of Chen Jie, an accountant at the steel factory. The young couple had moved into the east wing of the courtyard just a month ago.
It was no small feat that Su Yun, after more than twenty years away from this courtyard, could still remember a neighbor she had only known for a month.
Widow He had clearly lied. She had definitely stewed both boxes of roast chicken tonight. The aroma was far too strong—almost the entire hutong was discussing which household was cooking chicken.
As evening approached, factories finished their shifts and schools let out. The lively ringing of bicycle bells filled the streets as people headed home one after another.
In the kitchen, Su Yun estimated that the chicken soup and rice were ready. She extinguished the stove, covered the clay pot with a worn cloth, and carried it into the main room.
Then she casually tore up a cabbage, chopped some pickled vegetables, stir-fried them, and placed the dishes on the table. Just as she finished, Su Baoguo burst in, carrying his army-green shoulder bag and dripping with sweat.
"Second Sister, is Mom back yet?" he asked immediately.
Su Yun shook her head. Before she could reply, Su Baoguo tossed his bag onto the kang and said quickly, "Second Sister, I don't know what's gotten into Widow He's family—they're stewing chicken! I've got to hurry and find a good spot to smell it. When Mom gets back, call me…"
Before he even finished speaking, the short boy had already dashed out the door.
Su Yun walked to the doorway and saw that Widow He's door was tightly shut. Outside it, seven or eight children of various ages—including Su Baoguo—were crouched there, desperately inhaling the scent of the stewing chicken.
Inside, Widow He's deliberately loud voice rang out, "Son, you must eat more of this roast chicken. It was sent by He Hua's suitor. You're the future brother-in-law—this drumstick is for you…"
Hearing this, the children outside nearly drooled.
Just then, Su Wenshan and Chen Xiu'e entered the courtyard.
Chen Xiu'e walked ahead with a dark expression, while the tall Su Wenshan followed obediently behind her, barely daring to breathe.
Seeing this, Su Yun quickly went to fetch bowls and chopsticks.
As soon as they entered, Chen Xiu'e threw the cloth bag in her hand onto the kang and sat down heavily at its edge. Her eyes suddenly reddened as she bit out in a low growl, "They've gone too far! And they still have the nerve to say we're proper relatives. When it comes to setting up her niece, she's more ruthless than anyone!"
Before she could finish, tears streamed down her face.
Su Yun immediately looked at her father in alarm. Su Wenshan looked back at her helplessly.
Father and daughter exchanged glances, both at a loss.
After a moment, Su Yun finally remembered this incident.
Chen Xiu'e wiped away her tears and glared at Su Wenshan, warning him, "Su Wenshan, I'm telling you—if you ever associate with your second brother's family again, we're getting a divorce! I'll take the children, and you can pack your bedding and get out!"
Su Wenshan opened his mouth timidly. "Xiu'e, what exactly happened? You've been giving me the cold shoulder all the way back without saying a word. I'm worried sick!"
Chen Xiu'e glared at him again, her anger boiling over. Forgetting that Su Yun was present, she blurted out, "What else could it be? Your precious sister-in-law!"
"She suddenly came to me earlier and said she wanted to introduce a match for Xiao Yun. Good heavens, that second sister-in-law has quite a silver tongue. She praised the man to the skies—said he was the son of the supply and marketing cooperative director, an only child, living in a detached house, and that Xiao Yun would take charge of the household the moment she married in. She even said that if her own daughter Su Xiu weren't planning to take in a live-in son-in-law, she would never have recommended such a fine family to our Xiao Yun."
At this point, Chen Xiu'e's face was twisted with fury. "I actually believed her nonsense! I didn't even eat lunch today—I secretly went to see this so-called only son of the cooperative director. And do you know what the neighbors told me? That son was born a fool! He's over twenty years old and still has to be chased around and fed by others! That's the 'good match' your precious sister-in-law arranged for our Xiao Yun!"