My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 35: A Birthday Celebration

When he saw his mother and wife walk in, Xu Dong hurried forward to take the burlap sack from Yang Lina’s hands. The sack looked heavy just by looking at it, and sure enough, it felt very heavy as soon as he picked it up. He couldn’t help but ask curiously: “What’s in there? Why is it so heavy?” “They’re potatoes. I bought twenty jin,” Yang Lina replied casually. “W-why did you buy so many at once?” Xu’s mom turned around and explained, “Vegetable prices have been rising sharply lately. Potatoes keep well, so buying more actually saves us some money.” “You really know how to manage a household!” Xu Dong said with a wry smile. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were foods he never wanted to touch again in his life—after all, in his previous life, he’d eaten them for nearly ten years, not just every day, but at every meal. At the time, he hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with it—after all, just being able to eat his fill was a blessing. But after being reborn, perhaps because extremes tend to reverse themselves, the mere sight of them now made him feel nauseous. Xu’s mother shot her youngest son a fierce glare. What kind of person was he? If he couldn’t speak properly, he should just keep his mouth shut. Xu Dong quickly bowed his head in apology. Yang Lina seized the opportunity to hold up the grocery bag in her hand and come to her husband’s rescue: “We also bought a turbot. We’ll braise it tonight—it’s sure to taste great.” Dinner was a feast, with both fish and meat. Mrs. Xu even chopped up an entire air-dried goose to make a hot pot; though the goose meat was a bit fatty, it tasted absolutely fantastic. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Xu Dong suddenly tapped the dining table, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. “Ahem, Dad, Mom, Nana, I have an idea I’d like to discuss with you all,” Xu Dong said, looking at them. “Spit it out!” Mrs. Xu was as assertive as ever. “Well, isn’t it Ke Ke and Le Le’s birthday the day after tomorrow? I’d like to throw a party for them at home.” “What… kind of party?” Mom Xu didn’t quite catch what he meant. Yang Lina explained, “Mom, Dongzi means a birthday party.” The Ke Ke sisters were overjoyed. Many of their classmates had thrown parties, and they’d attended a few thrown by their close friends, so naturally they wanted a party of their own. “Is that really necessary?” After all, Mrs. Xu was used to living frugally and had always been dismissive of such flashy, frivolous things. The twins’ faces fell. Xu Dong immediately interceded, “Mom, many of Ke Ke’s classmates have thrown birthday parties. If we’re the only ones who don’t, won’t that embarrass your granddaughters? Plus, they might even get left out by their classmates because of it.” “Is that even a thing?” Mrs. Xu was taken aback. Yang Lina chimed in, “Mom, it’s definitely possible. Besides, throwing a party won’t cost much. Why don’t we just go ahead and do it?” “Grandma…” Le Le clung to Mrs. Xu’s arm and pleaded sweetly. Ke Ke followed suit, grabbing Mr. Xu’s arm: “Grandpa’s the best! Grandpa…” Dad Xu immediately gave in, smiling as he said, “All right, stop shaking my arm. Grandpa’s in favor—is that good enough?” Seeing that the whole family agreed, Mom Xu went along with it, and the birthday party was set for the evening of April 10. Before they knew it, April 10th had arrived. Starting at 2:00 p. m. , Mrs. Xu and Yang Lina began preparing the ingredients needed for the birthday party. Xu Dong went out of his way to find streamers and balloons to decorate the Siheyuan a bit, which really set the mood. After school, just before 5:00 p. m. , the two Ke Ke sisters returned with three close friends. The three classmates consisted of one boy and two girls; one of the girls had visited the Siheyuan a few times before and was already acquainted with Mrs. Xu and the others. In addition to the three classmates, Mrs. Xu had also invited Wang Xiujuan’s family, though they hadn’t arrived yet. Since it was his granddaughters’ birthday, Xu Dad had made the rare move of leaving work early, and he’d even prepared birthday gifts for them—two identical smartwatches. “Welcome to our home, everyone,” Xu Dong said with a smile as he stood in the courtyard to greet them. “Hello, Uncle!” the students replied politely. Xu Dong led everyone into the living room, turned on the TV, and then turned and left—after all, as an adult, he didn’t need to mingle with the children. No sooner had Xu Dong left than Ke Ke picked up the snack box on the table and began handing out treats to her classmates. “These are delicious—I guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like them.” Everyone who tried them agreed they were delicious. One of the boys mentioned he hadn’t had any snacks in two months, which resonated with the other two girls. “Does your family not have enough money to buy snacks?” Le Le asked curiously. The boy pouted: “It’s not that we don’t have money—it’s that even if we did, we couldn’t buy any. They’ve been sold out at the supermarket for ages.” “Le Le, where did your family get these snacks?” one of the girls asked right away. Le Le thought for a moment and explained, “My family used to run a convenience store—maybe these are leftovers from the store!” In fact, Xu Dong had stocked up on all the snacks in advance—over a thousand boxes in total, a truly impressive amount. Before long, Wang Xiujuan arrived, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Zheng Yan and her grandchildren—the entire family was there except for the head of the household. At 5:30 p. m. , the birthday party officially began. The banquet was served buffet-style under the grapevine arbor. Xu’s mother and Yang Lina prepared a total of ten dishes: potato and chicken chunks, braised rabbit, braised goose, braised pomfret, stir-fried donkey meat, steamed ham, tomatoes tossed in sugar, green peppers stir-fried with cured pork, stir-fried napa cabbage, and kelp and ham soup. Beverages included red wine, beer, Coke, and orange juice. The main staples were rice and steamed dumplings. This spread left not only the students but even Wang Xiujuan speechless; with meat so hard to come by on the market these days, she never expected the meal to be so lavish. Even with their family’s inside connections, they could only have meat once every couple of days—and the total amount was less than half a jin. “Old Zhang, your family really has hidden depths!” Mrs. Xu explained with a smile, “This is all we have left at home. Didn’t I sell some air-dried chicken before? These are the leftovers from that.” Only then did Wang Xiujuan suddenly recall that the other woman had indeed sold dried goods before—apparently, they were quite popular at nearby restaurants. “No wonder! I was wondering how your family had so much meat!” Wang Xiujuan had actually wanted to take the opportunity to ask if she could buy some meat to take home, but on second thought, she decided against it. She was a person who valued her reputation, and she just wasn’t thick-skinned enough. Seeing that the children, holding their trays, could hardly wait any longer, Xu Dong quickly announced, “Enough talk—let’s dig in right away, or it’ll get cold and won’t taste as good.” “Wow…” The buffet lasted over an hour, and every last bit of food was devoured. Both adults and children were stuffed to the brim, each holding a cup of tea. Fifteen minutes later, Xu Dong personally drove the three classmates home one by one, giving each of them a large bag of snacks. When he got home, Xu’s mom was seeing off Wang Xiujuan’s family and seemed to be insistently stuffing something into their hands. Once the guests had all left, Xu Dong immediately asked, “Mom, what did you give Aunt Wang just now? That huge bag—it’s not all meat, is it?” “None of your business. Mom gave her that for your sake. Just wait and see,” Xu’s mom replied vaguely. Xu Dong was completely baffled. How did this suddenly have anything to do with him?