Volume 6: Summer Chapter 50 Pear Shape
Jiang You put the chess piece in his hand back into the chess box, stood up and stretched.
Mr. Xu looked at his body and said, "You've been running in the park for a long time, right? You don't seem to have lost much weight."
Jiang You touched his belly and said, "You've lost a lot of weight."
Mr. Xu said, "My daughter has really lost weight. You saw it just now, right?"
"I'm almost there too. I'll lose weight soon."
Old Xu looked at his face carefully again. "Why do I feel like you've gained weight? Your face used to be round, but now it looks pear-shaped."
"Don't start making personal attacks just because you're about to lose a game of chess."
“It’s true…”
"It's time to eat." Jiang You said as he walked out of the study and went to the dining room.
There were already five or six plates on the dining table.
Chen Nan came out of the kitchen with a plate of steamed fish in her hands. After putting the fish on the table, she sat down next to Yunyun and said to Jiang You, "You are in for a treat today. This steamed white shredded fish is Aunt Zhang's exclusive secret recipe."
"Really?"
Zhang Qiu closed the kitchen door and said with a smile, "There is no secret recipe. When the fish is about 70% cooked, take out the plate, pour out the water, pour the seasoning on it, and steam it over high heat for another five or six minutes. Add green onions after taking it out of the pot. The fish has tender meat, but if you steam it for too long, the meat will fall apart."
After Old Xu and Zhang Qiu sat down, Jiang You turned his head and looked at Chen Nan and said, "Have you learned it?"
"I have learned it."
Jiang You picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks, and it was indeed tender, fresh and fragrant.
He spat out the fish bone and said, "It would be better if this fish had fewer bones."
"The meat wouldn't be as tender without the bones," said Chen Nan.
"If you want to eat puffer fish," Old Xu took over the conversation, "you need a special chef to cook it. You can't cook it at home. Puffer fish is usually eaten during the Qingming Festival. After Qingming Festival, the spines become hard."
"There are more people eating it in Langzhou," Chen Nan put the fish meat with bones removed into Yunyun and Jiang's bowl, "I'm a little afraid to eat it."
" I wouldn't dare either." Xu Jiaqi echoed.
As they ate and chatted, the topic gradually turned to the Cultural Street Forum. Mr. Xu said, "Many celebrities have settled in Cultural Street in history. The great poet Wang Wenqing lived in Cultural Street in his later years, not far from Xiao Jiang's store..."
After listening to Mr. Xu talking about the history of Cultural Street for about ten minutes, Jiang You said, "Mr. Xu, why don't you talk about the history of Cultural Street in the first episode? Some of what you just said is the first time I have heard it."
"That's fine," Mr. Xu did not refuse. He said, "I have a friend who specializes in studying old buildings in Tangjiang City. I will invite him over when the time comes. I think that after this forum has been held for about ten sessions, if the effect is good, we can compile the lecture notes of each session into a book and publish it. This way, we can also have some results, right?"
Jiang You nodded, "Yes, yes, if it's the publishing house..."
"Find Lijun, he is familiar with this area." Old Xu pulled another person in.
"Dad, you're making use of the remaining energy of your twilight years." Xu Jiaqi's voice interrupted.
"It's pretty good. The number of people visiting the Cultural Street has increased this year, but it doesn't have any special features. What's sold here can also be found elsewhere and on Taobao. The best-selling item right now is still milk tea," Jiang You began to praise Mr. Xu. "These cultural projects have been launched, and the Cultural Street-themed postcards in my store are selling well."
After dinner, Jiang You and Old Xu played chess in the study. Chen Nan and Zhang Qiu and her daughter chatted in the living room. Yunyun played with Jiang Mo. When it was almost nine o'clock, Yunyun felt sleepy, so they said goodbye and left Old Xu's house.
They walked slowly down the street, the street lights lengthening their shadows.
"I think Mr. Xu can't wait to have you stay overnight." Chen Nan joked.
"He didn't beat me today," Jiang You rubbed his chin. He asked Chen Nan, "You see, I'm thinner than before, right?"
Chen Nan turned his head and glanced at him, "Yes, you have lost weight."
"That's what I told you. I just rested for a few days. There's no way I'll rebound..."
When they reached the gate of the community, Chen Nan stopped and said, "You should go back . It's getting late."
"I'll take you downstairs. It's only a few steps away."
After delivering it downstairs, it was delivered upstairs.
…
Jin Cheng was dreaming again.
He opened his eyes and looked at the dim ceiling. It took him a while to remember that he was in the house that Chang Lizhang rented. He threw back the quilt, got out of bed, and opened the bedroom door.
Chang Lizhang was sitting in the living room in his pajamas, holding a book. When he heard the voice, he looked up and asked, "Are you up? So early?"
Jin Cheng looked out the window. It was still grey and not yet fully light.
"Didn't you sleep last night?" Jin Cheng asked.
"If you can't sleep, get up and read for a while," Chang Lizhang put the book on the table and walked to Jin Cheng. "What's wrong with you?"
"I dreamed again," Jin Cheng looked at Chang Lizhang and said, "This time, there was nothing in the dream."
"Is it dark?" Chang Lizhang asked.
"No, there was not even darkness. I don't know how to describe it. It was just very empty," Jin Cheng tried to describe his dream. "There was no sound, no color, no objects, and no fear. Then I felt that I didn't exist either. That was the feeling."
Chang Lizhang thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go get two bowls of wontons. After you eat, can you sleep for a while?"
"good."
Chang Lizhang took out a box of frozen wontons from the refrigerator.
After the water boiled, he put the wontons in, then washed two large bowls and sprinkled the seasoning from the seasoning bag into them.
Jin Cheng walked into the kitchen.
"Uncle Chang."
"Hmm?" Chang Lizhang turned his head to look at Jin Cheng.
"I think that woman I saw at the Institute last week ..."
"Guan Qingtong?"
"Right." Jin Cheng walked forward a few steps to the stove. He looked at the wontons rolling in the pot. "I think she might know something."
"Maybe."
"Who is she? I see everyone in the institute respects her very much."
"She used to follow Zhuang Zekun and is proficient in divination. I have never met her before, and this is all I know."
"Should I tell her about my dream this time?" Jin Cheng asked.
"Don't worry about it for now. By the way, I have to go back to Chucheng on Monday." Chang Lizhang turned off the fire and scooped up the wontons with a slotted spoon. "When I'm not in Tangjiang, if you have anything to do, go find Jiang You."
"Jiang You?"
"Well, when it's noon, I'll send him a message to ask if he'll be in the store on Sunday. If he is, we'll go visit him." He tilted the pot and poured the soup into the bowl. "I think the current research institute is not what I thought it would be."
