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

Chapter 144 Demons and Monsters

Around 3 p.m., the courtyard of Shazhu was filled with the rich aroma of meat and bone marrow.

Before lunch, Sha Zhu had already chopped up the soaked lamb bones and thrown them into the large pot.

Right there on the stove in the courtyard, add water and simmer slowly.

After lunch, I gave some instructions to the children who came to play with the rain.

After paying attention to the heat, I went inside to continue my afternoon nap.

By this time, a dozen or so children, around seven or eight years old, had gathered around the stove in the courtyard.

He stared intently at the large iron pot on the stove, swallowing hard.

In front of the stove, a little boy of eight or nine years old was adding firewood to the stove every now and then.

"He Yushui, it's been cooking for almost four hours, isn't it ready yet? The yard is filled with the aroma of meat. The smell is even wafting outside!"

"Yes, I could smell the fragrance from outside when I came from the street corner," said a little girl of about seven or eight years old whose shirt was covered in patches.

"That's right, I didn't even have lunch. The two cornbread buns I brought from home are completely cold now."

A little boy pulled two hardened cornbread buns out of his dirty shirt and said...

He Yushui opened her big, innocent eyes and said, "This isn't my fault."

Xiaoxue didn't tell you that my family only makes mutton soup this afternoon? My brother says the longer the mutton soup simmers, the more fragrant it becomes.

Last time, my brother got up in the middle of the night to make mutton soup, and it simmered for ten hours straight.

"Huh? Last time, even though I came, I didn't get any. Didn't your brother go out to set up a stall?"

The little boy was so hungry he couldn't stand it. He tried to bite into the cornbread he had brought with him, but he couldn't bite it at all.

"Look, I can only chew on my cornbread now. I should have eaten it first."

"It's alright, we can soak it in mutton soup later," suggested the little girl in the patched shirt.

He also took a hardened cornbread out of his shirt pocket and showed it to the little boy.

"He Yushui, where did Hu Xiaoxue go? She's gone out three or four times already,"

"I know, she went to inform her friends. I was the one Xiaoqiang came looking for."

Xiaoqiang said that Xiaoxue notified him, and that he also went to tell the other friends to come over.

"Rainwater, why don't you call your brother out so we can have a taste first?"

Raindrop's eyes lit up. Smelling the aroma, she said, "How about we secretly each drink a spoonful and then add some water?"

My brother said it won't be ready to drink until at least 5 p.m.

“Yes, yes,” the waiting friends nodded in unison.

Just as the group was about to make their move, several more children rushed in from outside the courtyard.

"Rain, I've come to play with you," a voice rang out.

Xu Xiaoqin, accompanied by Wang Erya and Zhang Sanni, and followed by Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang, entered the courtyard.

The people who came in smelled the aroma of meat and immediately ran to the stove and gathered around it.

“Rain, why don’t you come play with me?” Xu Xiaoqin, Xu Damao’s younger sister, asked, pulling Rain.

Rain glanced towards the main house and whispered,

“My brother told me that there were demons and monsters in the courtyard where I used to live, and he wouldn’t let me go back to play with you guys. So how did you end up here?”

“We were playing at the entrance of the alley when Hu Xiaoxue passed by and saw me. She said your family was making mutton soup, so we came over to play with you.”

"But what you said about demons and monsters, I also feel is a bit strange. A lot of things have happened in our courtyard."

For the past few months, my mother wouldn't let me leave the house. When the Jia family got married, all the residents in the courtyard lost money, and I couldn't even get enough to eat at home with just cornbread.

"He Yushui, are we still going to drink now?" A little boy holding two hard cornbread buns interrupted the two of them.

"Drink up, I'll go to the kitchen to get some bowls. We've added a few more people, so we don't have enough bowls here."

After saying that, she ran towards the kitchen. Seeing this, Xu Xiaoqin followed with Erni and Sanya.

Several little girls came out of the kitchen carrying bowls, and Liu Guangtian stepped forward and said...

"Let me do it, let me do it. You're all too young, don't knock the bowl over."

Since the beginning of winter, Liu Guangtian had not been to Qianmen Street for a long time, and memories of practicing martial arts and enjoying delicious food came to mind.

I've been staying home every day eating cornbread and corn porridge lately, and seeing my older brother occasionally get to eat an egg is making me really impatient.

The money that Sha Zhu gave him had long been spent, and he couldn't bring himself to ask for more, so Sha Zhu had long forgotten about it.

Today, while playing at the entrance of the alley, I heard that Yushui's family was making mutton soup again, so I immediately ran over.

Liu Guangtian ladled a spoonful of mutton soup for each child, and the dozen or so children drank it in the yard. Those who brought their own cornbread even soaked it in the soup.

Liu Guangtian picked up the bowl, took a small sip, and frowned slightly, feeling that it didn't taste as good as the drink he had when he set up his stall a few days ago.

"Rainwater, is it because your brother hasn't added the spices yet?"

He Yushui frowned as well, "I don't know, maybe we forgot to add seasoning?"

It smells nice, but the taste isn't that great.

Why don't you try adding some salt and vinegar? There are still some chive blossoms in the kitchen.

Xu Xiaoqin took a bite and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"It tastes pretty good,"

"Yes, it tastes really good. I've had mutton soup before, and this is the same flavor. It's very fragrant." The other friends also agreed.

Cai Quanwu returned from shopping at this time. Upon seeing the rain, he hurriedly asked his second uncle to taste it.

Cai Quanwu took a sip and said, "It's alright. Didn't your brother say we should wait until after five o'clock to drink it? Why are you drinking it now?"

He Yushui said shyly, "I'll just try it and see how it tastes."

After the group finished drinking, they quickly discussed adding half a bucket of water to the large iron pot on the stove.

A few children would occasionally wander into the courtyard.

……

Around 5 PM, a commotion erupted in the courtyard. Sha Zhu finally woke up from his bed.

I slept all afternoon, and my head was a little groggy. Listening to the children making noise outside, I checked the time and it was already past five o'clock.

Stepping outside, Sha Zhu was startled to see fifty or sixty children in the yard.

They might wear old clothes or patched-up garments.

Some children were gathered around the stove, while others were playing in the yard.

Sha Zhu stared wide-eyed. There were actually several three- or four-year-old children in the yard, sniffling and running around in open-crotch pants.

Rain and a group of friends gathered together, chatting and laughing.

Three middle-aged women sat in the corner knitting, chatting as they occasionally glanced at several three- or four-year-old children.

Two children who had been hospitalized due to rain were playing in the yard at that time.

This is outrageous! The mutton soup is so tempting, even though it's free, everyone's trying to take advantage.

I originally thought that attracting the children near the alley entrance would be enough.

Unexpectedly, children from Yu'er Hutong and Yandaixie Street all came over to play.

Yesterday, several middle-aged women looked down on Sha Zhu, but today they were chatting and laughing in Sha Zhu's yard.

So what if there are a lot of people? They're all kids. Anyway, there's a big pot of mutton soup, enough for everyone. We can just add more water and cook it over high heat for a while longer.

Smelling the aroma in the courtyard, Sha Zhu felt that the mutton soup was almost ready, and he was about to go over to the stove.

At this moment, Director Wang walked in with several people from the street office. Looking at the children in the yard, Director Wang's veins bulged.

Suppressing his temper, he waved to Sha Zhu at the doorway.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu quickly weaved past the children in the yard.

At the same time, his mind raced, trying to figure out how to respond. He quickly came up with an idea.

Sha Zhu walked up to Director Wang with a grin and said, "Director Wang, what brings you here?"