Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Chapter 119 Shrimp

Seeing this, Sha Zhu quickly said, "Isn't this what I do at the steel rolling mill?"

My younger sister is on winter break and didn't want to go to the factory with me. I didn't supervise her properly, and that's how this happened.

"I've heard of your father and your master; they're both renowned chefs."

Especially your father, I've met him before. I lived in Nanluoguxiang for thirty or forty years.

"I've never heard that his son liked drawing since he was little. You're lying without even thinking." Old Mr. Qi said slowly, looking at Sha Zhu.

"Sir, you're mistaken. How was I supposed to know you lived in Nanluoguxiang?"

Besides, you know my family background. You think my dad wouldn't let me learn to cook from a young age?

"Changing to study something else is unrealistic. Although I have a heart that yearns for painting, my family won't allow it," Sha Zhu argued.

"Oh, really? Then I'll test your knowledge of painting a little." Mr. Qi Baishi said with a sly smile in his eyes.

"Brother Zhu, Brother Zhu," came the voices of Xu Damao and Liu Guangtian from outside the stall.

Sha Zhu was overjoyed; this was a voice of salvation! Sha Zhu quickly said...

"Sir, please try my family's traditional recipe. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. I'll go and greet my friends first."

Sha Zhu turned around, walked to the stall, looked at the two of them, and said, "What are you doing here?"

Xu Damao said, "I heard you had a stall selling steamed buns and mutton soup here, so I came to visit you."

Liu Guangtian quickly replied, "I was playing at the entrance of the alley when I heard Brother Da Mao coming, so I followed him."

"Quickly, give me a bowl of mutton soup and two big meat buns, Brother Zhu," Xu Damao said hurriedly.

"You wish! Pay up first. A big meat bun is five cents, and a bowl of mutton soup is seven cents. Pay me seven cents first, and then I'll bring it to your table," Sha Zhu said expressionlessly.

Mr. Qi, who was drinking mutton soup inside, almost burst out laughing when he heard what Sha Zhu said. He shook his head and continued to enjoy his food.

Xu Damao said disappointedly, "You still want money, Brother Zhu?"

"Nonsense, would I let you eat for free? This isn't like you're a guest in my house."

When doing business outside, no matter who it is, you have to pay me, or else when I close up shop...

"See how much is left, come to my house for a drink, it's free," Sha Zhu said bluntly.

Xu Damao was dumbfounded. He felt his pocket, pulled out two cents, then reluctantly put them back. Seeing this, Sha Zhu said...

"Here's what we'll do: there are some unwashed dishes and chopsticks on the table and in the basin next to it. You two can go and help with that. Once you're done, you'll get something to eat."

Two young girls who were chatting with Yu Shui stepped forward and said, "Brother Zhu, you don't need those two to do it, this is our job."

Seeing this, Liu Guangtian ignored what the two girls were saying and hurriedly went over to clean up the empty bowls on the table and wash them.

Xu Damao reluctantly went to help. Sha Zhu quickly stopped Xu Damao.

"Da Mao, the water in that wooden bucket is almost gone. Here's the key, go to my house and get another bucket of water."

Xu Damao was incredibly frustrated. He had come here to enjoy the food.

Every time I visit your home, I get to enjoy delicious food, which is something I can't do outside.

He took the key from Sha Zhu and reluctantly walked towards Sha Zhu's house, carrying an empty bucket.

"Xiao He," Mr. Qi, who was enjoying his meal, called out to Sha Zhu as he watched Xu Damao walk away.

Upon hearing the sound, Sha Zhu hurried over and said, "Old sir, what's wrong? Shall I add two more spoonfuls of mutton soup for you?"

Old Mr. Qi pointed to Xu Damao, who had turned into the alley, and said, "You live over here, right?"

Sha Zhu looked in the direction the old man was pointing and nodded quickly.

"Yes, my dad used to live in No. 95 Nanluoguxiang. He moved here a few months ago, and the second house in the alley is where I live now."

"The old gentleman would like to visit my home sometime." Sha Zhu glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, only Mr. Qi and his family, and continued in a low voice,

"Sir, I come from a family of chefs, specializing in the Tan family cuisine. I also learned Shandong and Sichuan cuisine from my elders."

At Fengzeyuan, I learned some other cuisines from other chefs. If my master hadn't been holding me back from graduating, my reputation in the culinary world would be renowned throughout China.

If you ever want to enjoy some delicious food, just send someone to let me know. I promise I won't let you down. I've heard that your shrimp paintings are exceptional, incredibly lifelike and vivid.

Coincidentally, the dishes I make with shrimp are also exceptional.

Garlic shrimp, boiled shrimp, braised shrimp, dry pot shrimp, spicy and sour lemon shrimp, shrimp and scrambled eggs, spicy shrimp, shrimp and vermicelli.

There are dozens of ways to cook shrimp, such as salt and pepper shrimp. If you've ever tried them, you'll definitely give them a thumbs up.

Sha Zhu wanted to continue talking about all sorts of delicious shrimp dishes when, just then, Aunt Hu's shouts came from not far away.

"Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi," Sha Zhu turned his head to look, and at this moment, Aunt Hu walked to Sha Zhu's side.

He said, "Zhuzi, can I borrow your bicycle? My son wants to take his wife back to her parents' house. It's a bit far, so they want to go and come back today. What do you think?"

Sha Zhu quickly pulled out his bicycle keys from his pocket and handed them to Aunt Hu, saying, "My door is open, someone's home, and the bicycle's in the yard. Go get it quickly."

“I know, I saw a young man carrying a bucket come into your house,” said Aunt Hu, taking the keys from Sha Zhu and turning to leave. Before Sha Zhu could continue, Old Mr. Qi spoke first.

"You little rascal, since you know I like to draw shrimp and have talked so much about shrimp dishes, you must come visit me at my house sometime."

I've been home most of the time these past few days. I'm currently renting a place in a courtyard house at No. 13 Yu'er Hutong, and I also raise shrimp there.

Your sister definitely knows my address. The fight happened right outside my building's gate. Have her lead the way; you can't go wrong.

After saying that, he prepared to have his granddaughter pay the bill.

Sha Zhu quickly stopped him, remembering that the old man wasn't having an easy time these days either.

He hurriedly said, "Forget about the money, I'll definitely visit the old gentleman's house in the next few days."

If the old gentleman feels embarrassed, he can add the cost of the meal to the painting; it's not much, just a few cents.

The old man couldn't refuse and turned to leave, but Sha Zhu quickly took a few more buns from the steamer, wrapped them up, and handed them over, saying...

"Sir, my steamed buns taste pretty good, don't they? I used to have a nickname, 'Silly Pillar,' which came about on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China."

Those wounded soldiers, drawn by the aroma of my family's steamed buns, chased me across half of Beijing, but never got to eat them. That's how I earned that nickname.

"Take these home for your family to try." Old Mr. Qi couldn't refuse Sha Zhu's enthusiasm, so he had his granddaughter take them, and told Sha Zhu to come over and visit before leaving.

After Mr. Qi walked away, Yu Shui said unhappily, "Brother, why didn't you take the money? Buy me a fried cake to eat." Yu Shui pouted as she finished speaking.

"Why wouldn't I take the money? It's because you went to someone's doorstep and started a fight. Didn't you go to Yu'er Alley last week and beat up the kids in the alley?" Sha Zhu said, trying to scare Yu Shui.

"Brother, you're lying! I heard everything. You wanted to buy a painting, and you even offered to pay for it with your meal money. You said you've loved painting since you were little, but I had no idea you liked painting!"

Sha Zhu blushed when Yu Shui asked him a question. He took out some change from his pocket and handed it to Yu Shui, saying, "Here, go buy some fried cakes over there. I can't do anything with you, so get away from me."

Yu Shui cheered happily, grabbed the money, and ran to Old Zhang's stall next door.