Chapter 77: Eat tonic food in autumn, fight tigers next year

Seeing him coming, Fatty Guo greeted him warmly.

His attitude towards other people just now was completely different from that of two different people.

"Come buy some meat and help me cut half a pound of pork belly." Wang Mengde said with a smile.

"Okay." Fatty Guo deftly turned out a piece of top-quality pork belly from the bottom, and with one cut along the fattier part, he cut off about half a pound.

While he was busy, he said, "Meng De, I heard your wife is about to give birth. When is it? I'll save some pig's trotters and good meat for you in advance."

"About the middle of next month, I'll let you know in advance and save a few pig's trotters, ribs, and pork belly for me." Wang Mengde thanked him and handed him the money.

Meat coupons had not yet been issued, so meat could be purchased with just money.

Of course, it is not easy to buy good meat. After a while, there were often people getting up in the middle of the night to queue up in grocery stores and vegetable markets just to buy good meat.

In order to buy fatter ones, many people use their connections to get what is commonly known as "backdoor meat."

"By the way, please save a pound of pork belly and a front elbow for me next Sunday morning, and I will come to get them then." Wang Mengde said again.

"No problem, you can come to me anytime." Fatty Guo patted his chest and promised.

This was a piece of cake for him. The two of them were not only childhood friends, but also had a close relationship.

After the work was done, Wang Mengde returned to Yard 95 carrying half a pound of meat and a bottle of wine. He did not go home, but went straight into Sha Zhu's house.

"Silly Zhu, you haven't gotten up yet, the sun is shining on your butt."

In the living room of Lao He's house, Wang Mengde was sitting on a chair. He stretched his head and looked into the bedroom. He saw Sha Zhu lying on the bed, squinting his eyes and yawning.

"The hotel was too busy yesterday and I came back a little late." Shaking his head, Sha Zhu casually picked up a piece of clothing from the bed and put it on, explaining.

When he came to the living room, he saw half a pound of pork belly and a bottle of Erguotou on the table. He knew that Wang Mengde would not come to visit for no reason, so he asked, "Mengde, what's the meaning of bringing a piece of meat here today?"

"Let's have a drink together at noon today. I happen to need your help with something." Wang Mengde said briefly.

"No problem, come see me next Sunday morning. Anyway, Hongbinlou is not very busy at noon, so it doesn't matter whether I go or not." Sha Zhu filled a basin of water and said while washing his face.

In 1955, in order to receive foreign guests, under the instruction of President Zhou, Hongbinlou moved from Tianjin to Beijing.

At the beginning of this year, Sha Zhu, through the relationship with his first master, got a job as a chef at Hongbinlou and learned how to cook halal dishes.

"Silly Zhu, you don't brush your teeth in the morning?" Wang Mengde asked in surprise when he saw him just wash his face with water.

"Hey, didn't I lose my toothbrush a few days ago? I guess Banggeng took it to play with it. I won't brush my toothbrush today. I'll go to the store to buy a new one tomorrow." Shazhu said nonchalantly.

Hearing that he hadn't brushed his teeth for several days, Wang Mengde said with a look of disgust: "Wait a minute, I just bought a new toothbrush a few days ago, you can use it first."

As he said this, he went back home and took out a bone toothbrush from the drawer.

To prevent dust from sticking to the toothbrush, the newly bought toothbrush has the bristle end wrapped in cellophane.

In that era, the chemical industry was not yet developed, and most toothbrushes used had handles made of bone or bamboo, and the bristles were mostly made of pig hair.

And if the bristles of a toothbrush fall off, they won't be thrown away. In the past, there were often hawkers walking around the alleys shouting, "Toothbrush bristles need to be replaced. Do you have old toothbrushes to replace?"

The bristles of an old toothbrush have fallen out or are not tied tightly, so they fall apart after a few days and become unusable. Ask the vendor to replace the bristles with new ones and the toothbrush will look like new again and can be used for a while longer.

Speaking of brushing teeth, not every family in the courtyard uses toothbrushes. The third uncle in the front yard and the deaf old lady in the back yard use tooth ash. Tooth ash is made from rice husks and broken rice. It is grayish white in color. When using it, wet a finger with clean water, then put the finger into the tooth ash, dip a little bit of the tooth ash on the fingertip, and then put it in your mouth to brush your teeth.

For five cents you could buy a full cup of toothpaste that was larger than a wine glass, enough for a family to use for several months.

According to the fashionable saying of later generations, toothpaste is made from natural materials, the production process is pollution-free, and it does not contain any additives such as aromatic, sweet, and preservatives. It can be considered a green and environmentally friendly product.

On the dinner table, there was a plate of stir-fried pork, a plate of peanuts and smashed cucumbers, and He Yushui and the other three were chatting while eating.

After drinking a glass of wine and eating a peanut, Sha Zhu began to brag, “Meng De, I have been in Hongbinlou for only half a year, and I am about to graduate.

When I finish my apprenticeship, I will find a good company to work for. With my skills, big companies will be eager to hire me. If I work in the canteen kitchen, I will definitely do it."

As he said this, he raised his thumb and shook it towards himself.

"Indeed, Shazhu, your cooking skills are impeccable." Wang Mengde picked up a piece of stir-fried pork with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, then said sincerely.

This guy Shazhu has a real talent for cooking, one can't help but admire him.

"Hehe." Seeing Wang Mengde also praising him, he suddenly felt a little proud and said:

"In two months, I'll bring back some mutton. As the saying goes, 'Eat tonic in autumn, and you'll be able to fight tigers next year' and 'If you don't eat tonic in autumn, your hard work for the year will be in vain'. Let's eat some good tonic, brothers."

In fact, these two common sayings were often repeated by his father He Daqing.

"Okay, I'll get two bottles of Fenjiu then." Wang Mengde said with a smile.

Wang Hao has saved several bottles of Fenjiu, all of which he bought a few years ago when the country was just liberated. He has been craving for them for a long time.

As they chatted, Sha Zhu started to speak without restraint: "When I get a job, I will ask an aunt to introduce me to a boyfriend. Then, I will give birth to several sons, and they will inherit my cooking skills."

"A lady wants to introduce you to someone?"

"Well, a few days ago, the old lady found an aunt and asked her to help me look for one. After I finish learning cooking and get a job, I will start blind dates." Sha Zhu said proudly.

Although he seemed to be indifferent on the surface, Wang Mengde, who was the same age as him and was already married and had a child, he was actually a little anxious.

It turned out that it was the deaf old lady who was urging them, and Wang Mengde suddenly realized.

At present, Sha Zhu is not the person chosen by the old man for retirement. At first, he was wondering why the old lady cared so much about Sha Zhu.

"That's right, find a wife and live a stable life with a wife and children." Wang Mengde also responded with a smile.

He was a little uncertain. With him in the courtyard, he didn't know whether Sha Zhu's fate would be different from that in the original drama. Of course, he would not interfere in Sha Zhu's blind date. After all, everyone has his own destiny.

"By the way, Meng De, is your teacher really a famous Chinese medicine expert?"

"Nonsense, is there any need to lie to you? My teacher is known as a genius of traditional Chinese medicine. Let me put it this way, for some diseases, if my teacher says there is no way, then you should just go back and wait for the funeral." Wang Mengde explained.

"So powerful?" Sha Zhu said in surprise.

Wang Mengde nodded, and at the same time he thought to himself: How could Dean Zhou's health doctor not be amazing?

He learned the news by accident and was extremely excited when he heard it.

(End of this chapter)