After Zhao Nan ordered the dishes, he returned with a pot of hot tea and poured a cup for Zhang Xiaohua and Jiang Rui alone.
It was cold, so Jiang Rui held the teacup in her hand to warm her hand. This body had a good foundation from the beginning. Under the nourishment of her spiritual energy, the impurities in the body became less and less. Du Baoqin used to be white, but now it is a little clear. A few slender fingers are holding a white porcelain cup. The fingers are a little more delicate than the body of the cup.
Zhao Nan glanced at her, followed by a second and a third.
Jiang Rui noticed something, raised her eyes, and looked at him from the gap between her long eyelashes.
This time, Zhao Nan ducked first and took a sip from the teacup as if nothing had happened. But he forgot that the tea had just been brewed, and it was very hot. As soon as he entered it, his whole body froze, and after a while, he saw that his throat rolled and swallowed the tea.
Jiang Rui covered her mouth with a smile in her eyes.
Zhang Xiaohua looked at it and wanted to laugh a little, so he held it back and coughed dryly, afraid of the embarrassment of the scene, so he looked for something to talk about: "By the way, I heard Aunt Zhang say, Anan, you have joined the army for more than ten years. How old are you?"
"Sixteen years old." Zhao Nan put down the teacup and pushed it further away, intentionally or unintentionally.
"I'm still a half-year-old. It's not easy to be so far away from home. However, I see other people in the army, they can come back every year, and they live at home for half a month and a month. Why haven't I seen you back? "
"The military is different, and sometimes there are special tasks."
Zhang Xiaohua nodded half-understood, glanced at Jiang Rui, and said jokingly, "You are so busy, in the future, getting married and living in two places will have to work hard for both of you."
Zhao Nan seemed to follow her gaze and looked at Jiang Rui before saying, "My rank is enough, and my family can follow the army."
"That's good!" Zhang Xiaohua was surprised, she thought that if she married a soldier, she would have to live in two places, and she would endure like a widow.
What more did she want to say, and when the food came, she stopped temporarily.
Just now, Jiang Rui ordered a vegetarian dish, and Zhang Xiaohua ordered only half meat, but when the dishes came to the table, there were five full of them, three of which were large dishes, pork belly with plum vegetables, braised hoof, Jiuzhuan fat sausage , One after another, the fragrance is sprayed with oil, and people's eyes are straight.
At the end of the year, the Du family only has a few pounds of meat distributed by the commune at the end of the year, which can make the stomach feel a little meaty. As soon as the meat was brought to the house, it was marinated by Wang Tonghua with coarse salt and hung from the beam above the stove, cutting off a small piece of at most two fingers thick each time a dish was cooked. That little bit of meat had to be boiled from the twelfth lunar month until the beginning of the first lunar month.
I usually want to eat meat, unless it is raised by myself, otherwise there is no meat ticket, even if I have money, I can't buy it. To eat in a restaurant like this, you need food stamps for rice and noodles, meat stamps for meat, and half a tael of fine grains even if you eat a fried dough stick. So these days, people from the countryside don't dare to go out to restaurants, because you don't have a ticket, and they won't sell you at all.
Zhang Xiaohua only knew that Zhao Nan was a soldier and should have votes, but he didn't know he had so many. Just now in the supply and marketing cooperative, I bought scarves and candies, and I didn't blink when I saw him taking money and tickets.
Not long ago, she was still thinking in her heart that if she was given a choice, she would rather choose Du Baoqiang, a soldier like Zhao Nan who doesn't see each other several times a year, and a man like Du Baoqiang who can know the cold and the hot. But now under such a sugar-coated cannonball attack, she was shaken unsteadily: what do men need to do if they have food and drink
She looked at Zhao Nan again, only to think that his tall figure seemed to be taller, and his back was still shining with golden light.
She turned her head to look at Jiang Rui again, but saw that this little sister-in-law still had a subtle smile on the corner of her mouth, two pear vortexes were swirling, and the whole person was quiet and delicate.
She sighed secretly, how could she have thought this little girl was stupid before? Really smart and powerful people are never those who like to compete for petty profits.
When the rice was served, Zhang Xiaohua didn't have time to think so much. She almost exerted her strength to eat milk so as not to let herself gobble too much. Rao is so, after a meal, I didn't see her looking up very much, and the table was quiet for a while.
Jiang Rui ate rice in small bites, with only small rapeseed and radish, and occasionally a chopstick of plum vegetables.
Zhao Nan noticed her behavior and immediately asked, "Is it not to your taste?"
"No, it tastes good." Jiang Rui smiled, looked at him and said, "It's all delicious, but I don't like meat very much."
Seeing her, Zhao Nan only responded vaguely and took a few mouthfuls of rice. He seemed to feel that the response just now was not good, and added: "Not eating meat is not good for your health."
"Really?" Jiang Rui tilted her head.
Zhang Xiaohua was even more surprised: "Baoqin doesn't like eating meat? It's too bad to enjoy it, what else in the world is better than meat? Besides, Anan is right, he is always a vegetarian, and there is no oil and water in his body, how can he endure it? live?"
Usually at home, she can occasionally eat eggs, tricking her stomach as meat food. Looking back now, it seems that I have never seen Du Baoqin eat meat dishes, even eggs.
Zhang Xiaohua took the initiative to pick a piece of pork that was thinner and less fat and put it in her bowl, "If you don't like meat, then eat less fat and more lean."
The chef of the restaurant is very skilled, the pork is cooked with red and oily sauce, the soup is thick and mellow, and the taste is very good at a glance. Jiang Rui stared at it distressedly, her brows wrinkled slightly, and it took a while to pick it up and bite off a small piece. The mouth is salty and fragrant, the meat is soft and rotten, the thin is not wood, the fat is not greasy, it is much better than her mouth full of greasy.
The two of them stared intently. Seeing her eating, Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly asked, "How is it, is it delicious?"
"Well, it's delicious." Jiang Rui nodded.
"Tell me, how many good things have you missed in the past? Come and come, try this hoof, and you won't be able to stop eating it. We both can eat this today, and it's all thanks to Anan. "
Jiang Rui had meat in her mouth, and her cheeks were pink and tender. She heard that and looked at Zhao Nan. Seeing that he was also looking at her, she bent her eyes and smiled at him.
Zhao Nan didn't speak. He lowered his head to pick up the rice. After picking it twice, he realized that the rice bowl was empty. He went to pick up the rice again. When he got up, he moved so violently that he almost brought the chair over.
Seeing him walking away, Zhang Xiaohua snorted, patted Jiang Rui's hand and said, "I told you to smile more at others just now, but if you think about it now, if you don't smile, he'll be dizzy. If you smile again, I'm afraid to wait. I can't find my way home."
Jiang Rui sandwiched a piece of fat intestines for her, "So much to eat, it's not enough for my sister-in-law's mouth to be busy."
"Okay, I won't say it, I just eat it." Zhang Xiaohua said with a smile.
After eating, the three of them were about to leave when a young man ran out of the back kitchen, "Second brother, wait for me!"
It was Zhao Bei, the youngest son of the Zhao family, who was working as an apprentice in the restaurant. Even though he was just an apprentice, how many people were staring at this position. The reason why it was Zhao Bei's turn was because the chef of the restaurant was their uncle. The old man had no children and no daughters, so the grandfather of the Zhao family was the master, and he adopted the youngest grandson to his younger brother, inheriting his mantle, and in the future, he would also serve him in retirement.
The Zhao family's children are quite different in age, Zhao Bei is eight or nine years younger than Zhao Nan, and still looks like a teenager, wearing an apron, he caught up with a few steps, and patted Zhao Nan on the shoulder, " Didn't you say you can sit together when I'm done, why did you leave?" Before Zhao Nan could speak, he looked like Jiang Rui and smiled, "It's Sister Baoqin and sister-in-law, my name is Zhao Bei, Just call me Xiaobei."
He has a familiar temperament, not at all like his second brother who is taciturn. Besides, he is a few months older than Du Baoqin, but he is still a sister, and he screams smoothly.
Jiang Rui and Zhang Xiaohua also greeted him.
Zhao Bei pressed Zhao Nan's shoulders and pressed him back to his seat: "Sit all of them, sit down for a while, there are still melon seeds in my place, wait for me to bring them."
The three sat down again and watched him rush back to the back kitchen. After a while, he brought out a plate with apples, oranges, melon seeds and peanuts on it.
"Sister Baoqin and sister-in-law have something to eat. I just went out to buy it temporarily. I didn't buy anything good. Don't dislike it."
He invited him attentively, Jiang Rui took an orange and slowly peeled it in her hand, and Zhang Xiaohua also ate it.
"Did you come here in the morning? Did you take a look around? There is a park not far from here, or I will take a leave of absence and go shopping with you?"
"It's too much trouble for you." Jiang Rui shook her head.
Zhang Xiaohua also smiled and said, "We are both idlers, just hanging out and having fun, how can we delay your business?"
Zhao Bei smiled and said, "It doesn't matter to me, it's business to accompany sister Baoqin and sister-in-law."
Zhang Xiaohua added: "The main thing is that it's not too early. If it's too late, there will be no car back to the commune."
"That's true." Zhao Bei nodded, turned to look at Zhao Nan, and stabbed him in the chest with his elbow, "Brother why don't you talk? Next time you and Sister Baoqin come to play in the county, remember to come to me earlier. , I'll show you around."
"Anan also took us to the supply and marketing cooperative today, it was quite lively." Zhang Xiaohua said.
"That's good, sister Baoqin, sister-in-law, if you buy anything, just ask my brother to help you carry it. My mother talks there every day, saying that my brother was a gourd with a saw-mouthed gourd since he was a child, and he said no all the time. A few words won't make people happy, you only have strength, you two can do whatever you want. Also, don't look at my brother, he is dressed in military uniform and looks like he has nothing, but in fact his wallet is bigger than I've played a lot, what do you like, Sister Baoqin, don't be polite, just say it, give him a chance to be diligent, and don't suffocate him."
Zhao Nan didn't say a word, only glanced at Zhao Bei.
Zhao Bei shrank his neck, thinking that I worked so hard, but it was all for your lifelong happiness, brother, and you have to be careful.
In the morning, Zhang Xiaohua was in front of Zhao Nan, and he praised his sister-in-law openly and secretly. Now that the Zhao family is on the stage, they are taking the same route as her.
Zhao Bei said that his brother had a stupid mouth and wouldn't do anything. In fact, he just said that he had a great body, a great personality, and a great wallet.
Listening to Zhang Xiaohua, he secretly reflected that his skills were still insufficient, his mouth was not smooth enough, his cheeks were not thick enough, and he had to learn more.
In the end, Zhao Nan couldn't listen anymore, he took the man back to the kitchen with one hand, and left with Jiang Rui.
It was not early, they did not stay in the county, and took the car back to Chaoyang Commune.
After getting out of the car, Zhang Xiaohua grabbed Jiang Rui and said to Zhao Nan, "Anan, thank you for your hospitality today. If you are free, we will greet you again. Baoqin and I have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to get something, so we will not I went back all the way with you."
This is also to avoid gossip. The two met for the first time today. After going back tonight, the two have to discuss the situation today. On the road, it was seen that the Zhao family was a man, but Du Baoqin, a girl, would not suffer from gossip from others.
There are some black-hearted people who may have to spread the word everywhere, saying that it must be Du Baoqin's fault, otherwise why would the Zhao family dislike her
Zhao Nan looked at Jiang Rui, nodded, took out three scarves from the cloth bag in his hand, and handed the rest to her, "For you."
Inside the bag were the scarves and candy he bought in the county seat.
Jiang Rui and Zhang Xiaohua looked at each other. Zhang Xiaohua joked before that Zhao Nan must have her share in the scarves that he bought. Now it seems that not only has her share, but even Zhang Xiaohua, Wang Tonghua and Du Baozhen have a share.
Jiang Rui shook her head and took a small step back, "I can't take it, you can take it back."
"Don't you like it?" Zhao Nan frowned slightly.
"It's not that you don't like it. You should take it back and give it to your family. They must be happy."
Zhao Nan said in a muffled voice, "I bought it for you." He pointed to the three scarves in his hand, "These are for them."
Zhang Xiaohua glanced at the cloth bag. In addition to the four scarves, there were two large packets of fruit candy and toffee in it. Although she was a little coveted, she really couldn't accept it.
Think about it from another angle, if she is from Zhao's family, when they meet for the first time, her son will send things to the woman in large and small packages. If she has not married a daughter-in-law, she will forget her mother. Will she be happy? Besides, these things are not a small amount. Maybe the Zhao family has to wonder if she and Baoqin coaxed Zhao Nan. At that time, even if the Zhao family were satisfied with Du Baoqin, they would still have a pimple in their hearts.
Seeing that the two were deadlocked there, she was about to speak when she heard Jiang Rui say softly: "You take it home first, whether it's a scarf or candy, let Aunt Zhao and Qianqian choose first, and the rest, Zhao If Auntie asks you to give it to me, I will accept it, okay?"
Zhang Xiaohua listened and swallowed the words back in his stomach. It seems that there is no need to persuade her. She persuaded a hundred sentences, and there may not be one sentence that the little sister-in-law said softly. Did you not see that when Zhao Nan left, his feet were floating
They said that they went to the supply and marketing agency to get things, but it was just a pretext. After Zhao Nan was out of sight, the two began to walk home.
As soon as he got home, Wang Tonghua greeted him with a small hawthorn, "Are you back?"
"I'm back, I've worked so hard today." Zhang Xiaohua took his daughter.
"That's my eldest granddaughter, what's the hard work?" Wang Tonghua looked at the faces of the two and lowered her voice, "How is it, is it going well?"
Jiang Rui walked into the room with her head lowered, as if shy to talk about this issue, "Mom, I'll go back to the room and change my clothes first."
"Aren't you shy after seeing each other?" Wang Tonghua joked and asked Zhang Xiaohua, "Tell me now, but it makes me anxious."
Zhang Xiaohua shook the little hawthorn and said with a smile: "Bao Qin's appearance and personality, how could anyone not like it? You can rest assured, there is no problem with Zhao Nan, and now we will see what the Zhao family has to say. ."
"That's it!" Wang Tonghua clapped her palm with joy, "There must be no problem with the Zhao family, their family is even more anxious than our family. Your Aunt Zhang told me a long time ago that as long as the two children nodded, We'll discuss the wedding date right away."
After she finished speaking, she rubbed her hands and walked to the kitchen, preparing to make something delicious for the evening to celebrate.
In the room, Du Baozhen was reviewing his homework in front of the desk and window. When he saw Jiang Rui coming back, he threw the book away, "Sister, you're back, is the county town having fun?"
"It's alright, it's quite lively." Jiang Rui looked for clothes in the cabinet, put on the new clothes and put on the old padded jacket. When she bent over, she showed a little skin around her waist, which was fair and delicate.
Du Baozhen leaned over immediately, "Sister, when did you become so white? My eyes were shaken just now."
"How can it be so exaggerated? Maybe it's because of winter, I don't get much sun." Jiang Rui pushed away her hand that was about to lift the hem of her clothes, "How is your book reading? "
Du Baozhen rubbed her stomach and puffed out her mouth, "I'm always hungry when I look at it, and I can't concentrate at all."
She sniffed suddenly, sniffed Jiang Rui twice, closed her eyes for a while, opened her eyes and said firmly, "It's the smell of meat, it smells so good!"
Jiang Rui laughed and nodded her nose, "You're a dog's nose."
Du Baozhen took her hand and said, "Is it meat, is it meat? Sister, what did you eat today? Is it delicious?"
"It's meat. It's delicious to eat pork with plums and vegetables."
"I'll smell it again," Du Baozhen leaned on her, his face full of yearning for meat, "Is that Zhao Nan who invited you to eat? So he looks pretty good."
"Would it be nice to have a meal of meat from me?" Jiang Rui asked with a smile.
Du Baozhen nodded affirmatively: "It's better than not having a meal of meat."
"Okay, you are cannibalism, in which meat is paramount."
Du Baozhen admitted it hilariously, and then patted her belly and said to herself: "Pity my belly, it's been a long time since I saw meat, I wonder if the next time I see meat, will it recognize it?"
Jiang Rui changed her clothes and went out, "I'm afraid you don't remember your surname, and you won't recognize meat."
"Hahaha, sister, you really understand me!"
In the next room, Zhang Xiaohua was breastfeeding the child, and Du Baoqiang asked her, "How is Zhao Nan?"
"How about what? It's better than you." Zhang Xiaohua gave him a sideways glance.
Du Baoqiang was not angry, and said, "Didn't you say before that it is not good to be a soldier, I am worried about Baoqin..."
"Where does Baoqin need you to worry? Besides, it's too late to worry now."
Today's matter makes Zhang Xiaohua understand, marrying Zhao Nan is a relief for Du Baoqin. In the future, she will follow the army, and there are only two young couples outside. You don't have to wait for a big family, and you don't have to look at the faces of her in-laws. Then Zhao Nan is firmly in her hands. The rest of the family, I'm afraid they won't be able to match her.
On the other side, Zhao Nan returned to Zhao's house and was also surrounded by a group.
After Zhang Liyun gave an order, the others backed away, and she spoke for the interrogation.
She first looked up and down at Zhao Nan. She knew that her son, although his face had no expression, could tell whether he was happy or not. When he went out this morning, he was obviously a little reluctant and not very happy. When he came back just now, the sound of footsteps was different. Obviously, he went out for a walk, and after seeing the girl, he was willing.
"Tell me first, I didn't make the girl unhappy today, did I?"
Zhao Nan, dressed in a straight military uniform, sat on the small bench, thought about it, and shook his head.
Zhang Liyun put some snacks and said, "What have you done, let's hear it."
Zhao Nan said one by one, from meeting on the side of the road in the morning, to taking a car together, to shopping in the department store, and eating together.
Hearing him say going to the restaurant, Zhang Liyun asked, "Have you seen your brother? Has he come out to say hello?"
"Have."
"If your lips are half as clever, I don't have to worry about it."
Zhang Liyun shook her head, and even asked what dishes he ordered in the restaurant. Finally, she took the cloth bag he brought back, and took out the contents. When she found that the scarves she took out were all women's styles, and there were seven full of them. , she understood.
"Our family, your sister-in-law, and I, even Qian Qian, only need three. Who bought the other four?"
Zhao Nan was silent for a while, and finally said, "You pick three."
Zhang Liyun raised her eyebrows and looked at him, "I've finished choosing three items, are you going to send the rest to Du's house right away?"
Zhao Nan didn't answer, and turned out the two packets of candy, "Pick the candy too."
Zhang Liyun was angry.
Before her son didn't get married, she was anxious. Now that he finally has someone he likes, he has only met him once. Buying things for other girls is more than buying them back. When his daughter-in-law gets married in the future, will she still have the position of an old lady
Fortunately, he also knew that when he bought something, he had to take it home first, let his old mother choose, and then use the rest to please the girl.
But she thought about it again, with the pitiful sophistication in her son's mind, could he think of doing this? Shouldn't this be something that someone called
Zhang Liyun sighed helplessly, so she had to enlighten herself: Forget it, raising children and daughters is all about repaying the debt. When they are raised, the debt will not be repaid until they get married and have children. It's better to grow sweet potatoes if you expect them to return!
However, thinking about it this way, she still ruthlessly put away all the scarves and candy, met Zhao Nan's eyes, and sneered unceremoniously, "Look what I'm doing? You stinky boy can still use me. When is the time? Now you want to go to someone's house to show your hospitality. Maybe you don't have a date, and you have to see if they will give it to you. If I don't come to your house to talk for you, and I don't help you, you still want to marry a daughter-in-law. Son? Go dream."
Zhao Nan watched his mother take everything away, sat alone for a while, and silently got up to chop wood.
In the room, Zhao Qianqian, with toffee in her mouth, looked through the window to the yard for a while, then turned to Zhang Liyun and said, "Mom, second brother won't be angry, right?"
"Does he dare?" Zhang Liyun didn't lift her head, and flipped through the horoscopes of their birthdays in the cabinet, "It's said that feng shui takes turns, last night I tried my best to ask him to meet people, and today it's his turn to ask I am. If he dares to make me face, I will chill him for two more days to see if he is in a hurry or I am in a hurry. "
Zhao Qianqian stuck out her tongue and muttered in a low voice, "Jiang is still old and hot, and I can't afford it."
Zhang Liyun glanced over and said, "Don't think that your mother is blind and deaf, I'm not old yet. You little girl, too, which boy will you like in the future, come back home, and serve your mother politely tea, Squeeze your shoulders, slap your legs again, and you are happy to serve me, and I will consider whether or not to approve your marriage."
"Mom, you are an old lady in feudal society!" Zhao Qianqian was speechless.
"I'd rather be the old lady, and serve the family if anyone doesn't agree with her. Those who don't obey will be subdued one by one, and see who dares to make me look bad."
Zhao Qianqian patted her little chest and shook her head, feeling that her mother was a little crazy. She turned her head and saw that the second brother in the yard, who chops wood like tofu, shook his head again. It seems that the future second sister-in-law is not easy. Only one side has made both of their family enchanted.
Zhang Liyun finally found the eight characters, and when she saw her shaking her head and muttering, she came over and flicked on her forehead, "What are you mumbling about, go to the yard and tell your second brother to stop splitting, the ground of our house is not strong, I'm afraid he will give it to me Split."
When he turned around, he muttered again, "I hurt my hand, and I have to make my old mother feel bad. If you have the ability to play dumb in front of other girls, it is only the ability to make people feel bad."
She held the red paper and looked at it, planning to go to Du's house after dark. It's a big mistake to stay, and the one with the handle can't be retained, so people can hook it away.