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Liu Guizhen is seventy years old. Her birthday is on May 23. She told her son and daughter to come and eat together. She bought meat, she bought fish, she bought all kinds of vegetables. Meat is half of the stew, skin and fat in the pot out of the oil, and then use star anise and cooking wine slowly braised into the flavor, the skin is fried, braised to have a finger thick, red translucent. The other half of the meat is lean, frozen in the refrigerator so that it can be cut and ready to be fried. The fish began to simmer in the morning. Liu Guizhen says the fish needs to be stewed thousands of stews to taste good. The children always like her fish, too. Fish before the pot also put some coriander, so that the taste of the fish is more fragrant.

Liu Guizhen got up early that day to pick up. The first son, the second son, the third son, and the daughter, six or seven in all. She told them to come early and help her with the little work she could do herself. She wanted them to come for fun. Liu Guizhen's two rooms, is the first floor, the light is a little dark. Liu Guizhen lives in an old house. The pattern is that once you enter the corridor the door is a long, thin corridor. On the left hand is the kitchen, and next to the kitchen is the toilet. After the toilet facing north is a room, facing south is another room. The houses were not big, but they were the best ones given to the city cadres. Liu Guizhen's children grew up in this house.

Liu Guizhen total good, a total of eight cold and eight hot. Fish is one, braised meat is another, braised beef is cooked beef in two, half cut cool plate, half cut block to braised. Liu Guizhen has cut the vegetables, green peppers, garlic shoots, cauliflower. Eggplant is the very thin, finger-thin southern eggplant, torn by hand and fried with snow vegetables. The cold dishes were all cut and placed on the big round table, covered with newspaper. Nearly ten o 'clock, Liu Guizhen went to the door to listen to, as expected, the big daughter-in-law and daughter came, to the kitchen to help Liu Guizhen do. But the second wife did not come. It was almost noon when the eldest son and the third wife arrived, but the second son was not seen. Thinking of the second couple, Liu Guizhen looked out and looked again. That's when the door was knocked.

Outside the door stood a bunch of people, apparently from the countryside, Liu Guizhen suddenly do not understand how there are so many people in their own door. The four grown-ups -- a man, three women, and three children -- were all heavily dressed, and their clothes made it clear that they were not from the city, that they must be from the country, and not from the country, and they were carrying luggage and bulging snakeskin bags in their arms. Liu Guizhen stared in the door. The guest standing outside, the man, the nose is very straight, but the eyes are small, not small, but slender. As he spoke, one could see a protruding tiger's tooth in his mouth. He said shyly that they had come down from Henan Township to look for his cousin, and that there was no one at his cousin's house, so they had to come here. He blushed before he could finish his sentence, Liu Guizhen understood that the guest standing outside the door was a rural relative of the second brother's daughter-in-law. Come on in, come on in. Liu Guizhen suddenly a little panic, busy four small let into the house.

When Liu Guizhen's second daughter-in-law's relatives in rural Henan province entered the room, the room became lively and suddenly much smaller, as if no one had room to stand. The large bags and tightly packed luggage they had brought with them were at first placed in the narrow corridors, piled and stacked, trying to make them smaller, but it was difficult to pass through. Liu Guizhen to the old third those bags and luggage are moved to the hut. Put it on the bed. Where are the guests? Move them to the back room. It was time for dinner. These guests in Henan countryside are stunned, they all seem to be taken aback, see so many good dishes on the table, do not know what the cousin's mother-in-law home is doing? It's like, they don't know how to stand, they don't know how to sit. These three women, they all seem to be in their twenties, thirties or even forties, and the reason why they are so unpredictable may have something to do with the clothes they wear. It is almost June, how can they wear so thick, like, inside are still cotton clothes, bulge out, outside the color of the indistinguishable coverings are also short, is the kind of floral fabric, pouted. They were silent, as if, in a room like this in the city, they were all in a panic and helpless. What could they choose? Liu Guizhen said ": sit down." Then they all sat down on the bed, one next to the other, in the room facing south. As soon as they sat down, the bed was filled with them. The three children, push over, push on top of them. It's already noon. The smell in the kitchen whetted the children's appetites. They kept looking up at grown-ups, as if their grown-ups could give an order for them to rush to the kitchen and eat. The man, who was standing there, blushing and sweating, took a cigarette that the third man handed him and smoked without saying a word, because it was the time to eat, which made him a little embarrassed. Liu Guizhen let the elder son out to make a phone call, to the second, second home no one answer, that is to say, second home no one.

Liu Guizhen's eldest son came back again, said to wait, maybe soon to enter the door, on the way. Liu Guizhen's eldest son who went out and came back from outside shrugged his nose, the taste of the room, how can it suddenly change? Mixed with a strange, let Liu Guizhen family are not used to smell, is not, is fishy, is not, is a kind of people have never understood the strange taste, impact the room. The smell came from the seven men, large and small, who had come in from outside. It was faint at first, but soon it was so strong that it threatened to overwhelm the aroma coming from the kitchen. The man, still very young, when he spoke, it was clear that he was in his thirties. He is the kind of man who is strong, capable, healthy, eats a lot, and has great muscles. He finished his cigarette and crouched down against the wall, as if, trying to say something, but unable to think. The three women sitting on the bed did not speak. What to do? It was more than half past twelve, and the second brother and his daughter-in-law did not come. Liu Guizhen's eldest brother went out to see him again. Look at it. It's almost one o 'clock. Everything in the kitchen is cold where it should be, and cold where it shouldn't be. Since it is the second daughter-in-law's relatives, Liu Guizhen in the kitchen and the elder brother three whispered: let them eat together. What to do then? Liu Guizhen is to discuss the tone, eyes looking at his son. We can't turn them away. Let them eat. They are guests and relatives of the second wife, said the third.

This stinking dick! What the hell is going on? "Said the eldest.

Liu Guizhen excited, think of their second daughter-in-law to entertain relatives in the countryside, she could not help but be excited.

The big round table in red paint was brought up and placed against the bed in the great room, so that three people could sit on the bed, for there were not enough stools. Liu Guizhen means: the children might as well go to another room, sit on the small table to eat. But once the table was set, Liu Guizhen told her second daughter-in-law's relatives to sit down and make themselves at home. The three women stood up clumsily because the table had been set, and the three children all seemed about to put their heads in their crotches. Liu Guizhen said this, the three women all sat down, they are not used to some, some stunned, do not know what the city family is doing? Why do you cook so much good food? Is it just to entertain them? They sat down, and their children followed them. The man, who was standing there, was instructed by Liu Guizhen to sit down, too. They were all heavily dressed and were sweating now. As they perspired, the smell of the room deepened. Like a soup with white pepper and an extra dose of MSG. Liu Guizhen's daughter and daughter-in-law, nose felt, holding their breath, put the dish one by one to the end. The aroma of the dishes makes the sweat glands of these guests even more developed. Liu Guizhen said to them, the room is hot, take off your clothes. When Liu Guizhen said so, the three women and the man took off their coats. Not only adults but also children began to take them off. Where can I put my coat when I take it off? Just pile it all on the bed. This makes the house even messier. It doesn't look like a home. It looks more like a junk shop. Adults' clothes, children's clothes, piled together, but the color is the same, that is no longer fresh, all old can not see the original color. They all smell funny. There is some kind of conflict with the owner of the house. First, Liu Guizhen's daughter whispered in the kitchen: What smell? It smells bad. Otherwise, I'm not going in. Liu Guizhen's daughter means: she just take a bite in the kitchen, the table is too crowded. She also whispered a complaint: my second - in - law, she did not come, but sent so many representatives. As she said this, she began to giggle. Liu Guizhen's daughter-in-law also expressed dissatisfaction, said: I also eat a bite in the kitchen. This is actually a kind of demarcation line with those rural people from Henan.

Dinner was beginning at the round table in the room. Liu Guizhen and her eldest son and three sons just sat down together. With all these guests, the eldest and the third could not tell the country guests that it was their mother's birthday. At first, Liu Guizhen returned vegetables to the villagers, but she soon realized that it was not necessary. The guests seemed to be starving, and the chopsticks were stretched out with precision and ruthlessness. The three children, sweating on their heads, were small but did not need to be taken care of. They would rise up on the stool, lean forward, look at it, and grab a chopstick. Once the food gets in the way, the guests in the country have nothing to say. The man, and Liu Guizhen eldest and third but drink beer, wine seems to be no effect on him, it seems, he still can't think of what to say. Explain what they were doing in the city? What are they doing, traveling two days and one night from the countryside of Henan? For this one meal? If there were no children, the situation at the round table might have been quite the same, for with these three children rushing to eat, the appetite of the adults was stimulated as never before. For Liu Guizhen's family, the food on the table was not attractive, but they were outraged. The attitude of those three kids, and the attitude of their adults. As if they should drink their children, but the attitude they display is to silently encourage their children, as if they are afraid that they will not eat, and this makes people quietly change the mood. In these country people, however, it is true that if you are invited to eat, you will eat. If you do not taste good, it is more like the food is not good. The three women, eating to gradually relax the nerves, a full stomach, people's nerves can not relax. At the end of the meal, one of them, the fat one, smiled and stood up. She asked for a drink. She was probably too full, and with a full stomach, she got up and went to the kitchen. A woman will always know where the kitchen is, no matter where she goes, it's just nature. She took her own bowl in one hand, chopsticks in the other hand, two hands open into eight, went to the kitchen, went to the kitchen she saw in the kitchen to eat people, she smiled, is a greeting. She poured water in her bowl and came back. When she was so loose, the others were so loose, and rushed to the kitchen to pour water.

This brings us to the end of the meal. The man, since full, and Liu Guizhen's boss and old three talk again, say what? It's the house, it's the yard. Liu Guizhen's old third smiled politely, this smile is purely courtesy, in fact, he did not want to laugh, but the cultivation of city people let him feel that he should show some smiling face to these country people. The third said that the city where there will be any yard, the land is gold bars. The country man said that it was good to have a yard where he could put a lot of things, and that visitors could put an extra table in the yard. It seems. The man apologized for their presence. It would be nice to have a yard. There would be an extra table and there would be no crowding in the house. The man said again, laughing. Liu Guizhen's third brother did not smile and did not know what to say.

There are two results of inviting people to dinner and having dinner and drinking with others. One is closeness, and they become friends with each meal and drink. The other is boredom, which makes them feel even more bored after eating and drinking. Liu Guizhen's third brother felt bored in his heart. He stood up and said he would call again, that my brother should come, but he didn't say that you should go, too. The third said so, but did not go out at once. He waited for the country people to act, and the third felt that he had spoken and hinted that it was time for them to act. The man crouched down again and felt for a cigarette.

Now that dinner was over, the three women from the country knew what they had to do, and, blushing, they all rushed to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

They crowded into the kitchen, Liu Guizhen's daughter and big daughter-in-law three daughter-in-law immediately retreated from the kitchen, let the three rural women in the kitchen to do things. The three rural women of Henan, with their country experience against the city kitchen, that is, should not be thrown out, should not be thrown out together. There is a kind of dish in Henan is "slag dish", that is, all kinds of dishes are gathered in a pot, even to cover them to let them ferment together, so that the taste of all kinds of dishes are mixed together, this is delicious. And so they did, putting all the soup in one place. They've been doing it since they were kids. Soon they had the kitchen out. Clean and tidy. The floor was also swept, but the effect was the opposite. It was dirtier. They finished the kitchen, and came in again, where two of their children lay asleep, sleepy after their long journey and their passionate flight of food and drink. Country people are frank. The country woman smoothed her child on the bed. The man, who had been sitting there, was suddenly struck by an unstoppable drowsiness, and in his sleep he threw himself over and lay down along the bed.

All this, let Liu Guizhen and her daughter, son and daughter-in-law are a little off-guard, they looked at each other, and could not say what. Liu Guizhen's third immediately went out, to make a phone call, he is really angry son, to his second sister-in-law, want her to come immediately, to settle their relatives, take them away immediately, no matter where to go, is no longer in the mother's home to stay. This house, by now, could not be more messy. It should be over, the smell of otherness and the clothes and bags lying around.

But the third came back soon, disappointed and angry. No one answered the phone at the second brother's house! "He whispered to the eldest in the kitchen.

Soon it was close to dinner time again. Liu Guizhen's third brother went out again to make a phone call, second home or no one. At this time, Liu Guizhen's home is chaotic. The children, refreshed from their sleep, began to stir, and the adults, refreshed from their sleep, began to talk. In the middle of this, Liu Guizhen's daughter left, she suddenly angry, angry with her second sister-in-law. She didn't even see anyone on her mother's birthday, and she had so many relatives to trouble people.

And at night? What to eat? Liu Guizhen first went to the kitchen and whispered to her daughter: If they