After the snow, the whole yard was covered with a layer of silvery white snow.
The cold weather did not stop everyone from celebrating the Spring Festival enthusiastically, because winter nights come earlier and everyone starts preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner early.
After Wen Nuan and her family finished making dumplings, she asked Gu Qinghan and Grandpa to help prepare them: "Grandpa, Qinghan, come and help me kill the fish. We have to cook another fish tonight, so that we can have more every year."
"I'll be right there." Commander Lu had finally waited for his granddaughter to come over, so naturally he did whatever she said. He rolled up his sleeves and picked up the knife.
Seeing Commander Lu holding a knife, Gu Qinghan took out the fish from the basin and put it on the chopping board.
Commander Lu knocked the fish unconscious with a knife, then deftly removed the scales. In a short while, he had cleaned the fish and placed it on the chopping board.
Commander Lu cleaned the fish and then said to Wen Nuan, "Grandpa has already sorted the fish. Is there anything else you can help me with?"
Wen Nuan saw that the fish had been served on a plate, so she said, "Let me take care of the rest. Grandpa, you go and have a rest."
"Grandpa is not tired. If there is anything I can do in the kitchen, just tell me." Commander Lu suddenly felt a great sense of accomplishment in killing a fish.
Wen Nuan glanced at the dishes in the kitchen. They had all been prepared. All that was left was to prepare the ingredients for the hot pot.
Because the weather was quite cold, the guard brought back two kilograms of mutton slices in the afternoon, so Wen Nuan planned to have some mutton hotpot tonight to warm herself up without having to worry about the food getting cold easily.
Wen Nuan said, "It's nothing. The rice is almost ready. I'll steam a fish and we can eat later."
Commander Lu was free again, and seeing Wen Nuan making some meatballs, he asked, "Xiao Nuan, did you make all this yourself?"
Wen Nuan heard Commander Lu's question and smiled, "Yes, these are meatballs, including fish balls, pork balls, beef balls, and vegetarian meatballs. These meatballs are good for hot pot. Grandpa, you can try them."
The little girl Lele's favorite thing to eat is meatballs. She can eat several of them every time. Sometimes she will put a few meatballs into the noodles when cooking.
Commander Lu smiled and said, "Then Grandpa will have to taste it tonight."
Wen Nuan was just about to ask Commander Lu to go back and rest, but the phone in the living room rang. Commander Lu said, "It should be New Year's greetings. Grandpa will go answer the phone."
Wen Nuan smiled and said, "Then Grandpa, you go and do your work. We will be here to take care of it."
After a while, Wen Nuan heard Commander Lu talking on the phone, "Yes, my granddaughter and her family are coming over here, so I won't be going over tonight..."
Not long after hanging up, the phone rang again, and Commander Lu repeated what he had just said.
Wen Nuan peeked into the living room from the kitchen door. Commander Lu was still on the phone, so she said to Gu Qinghan, "Grandpa is very busy."
Gu Qinghan didn't intend to hide it from his wife, so he said, "Well, he must be busy. In the past, during this time of the Spring Festival, Grandpa was either in meetings with leaders or visiting soldiers in the army. Grandpa must have been planning for a long time."
For someone at Commander Lu's level, all holidays have to give way to work. If they hadn't just met, Commander Lu should have gone to air force bases in various places to celebrate the New Year with other soldiers.
Wen Nuan stopped what she was doing and said softly, "Then I have to prepare a good New Year's Eve dinner for Grandpa to repay him."
Gu Qinghan looked at the dishes in the kitchen, pinched his wife's fair face, and said with a smile: "It's already very good, Grandpa just wants to see you, don't think so."
Wen Nuan felt a chill on her face. When she saw the processed fish, she suddenly thought of something and frowned at him: "Did you not wash your hands?"
Gu Qinghan scratched the tip of her nose with his finger and smiled: "Wash it."
Wen Nuan wiped her face with her arm and muttered, "Why do I smell something?"
"It's a psychological effect." This time, Gu Qinghan lowered his head and kissed her.
Wen Nuan subconsciously glanced in the direction of the living room and nudged the smirking man with her elbow: "Deputy Captain Gu, pay attention to your image!"
Lele, who was squatting on the side picking vegetables, watched his parents kissing each other and cried out "Ah", then covered his eyes with his hands: "Shame on you."
Gu Qinghan raised his eyebrows, "Why should I be ashamed? We are a legal couple recognized by the country."
Then he walked over to see what the little guy was doing. It would have been better if he hadn't looked, but he saw that the little guy was tearing a cabbage into pieces with his hands.
Wen Nuan also saw it and patted Gu Qinghan's arm, "You are so smart, why did you give her a cabbage?"
Just now, Lele also clamored for help. Gu Qinghan was busy, so he stuffed a cabbage into her hand and asked her to help pick the vegetables...
Gu Qinghan squatted beside Lele, took a basket, and said, "I heard your mother would scold you, pick up the cabbage and wash it."
Lele started picking vegetable leaves with a smile. Although they were broken into pieces by the children, they were just right for hot pot.
When washing vegetables, Lele also came over to "help", but Wen Nuan saw that the child got his clothes wet in a short time, so she scolded both of them again.
*
This New Year’s Eve dinner was prepared very sumptuously.
In addition to hot pot, there are also braised pork trotters, pork belly, abalone and chicken soup, steamed fish, stir-fried squid tentacles, stir-fried clams with celery, hot pot and dumplings. The portion of each dish is very large. Even if you don't eat the staple food, you can be full just by eating the meat and vegetables.
After the hot pot soup boiled, Commander Lu took out a bottle of Moutai from the cupboard and three cups, which he gave to Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan.
Wen Nuan actually doesn’t drink much, and Gu Qinghan is even worse. The flight mission is so heavy that he only drinks once or twice.
But tonight was a rare happy night, and even though Wen Nuan didn't drink much, she planned to have a couple of drinks with grandpa.
Little Lele thought she didn't have a share, so she protested, "Grandpa, I don't have any!"
"This is white wine, Lele can't drink it."
Just when the little girl was about to get angry, Commander Lu took out a bottle of soda that he had prepared long ago from under the table, placed the whole bottle in front of her bowl, and said, "Children can only drink this."
Lele clapped his hands happily and said excitedly: "Soda, thank you, Grandpa!"
Before the meal, Commander Lu raised his glass first, "We are all family, so I won't say polite words. Otherwise, you will go hungry."
After Commander Lu said this, Wen Nuan couldn't help but laugh.
Commander Lu continued, "Grandpa is very happy today to celebrate the New Year with you. Let's raise our glasses together and wish you all a happy Spring Festival, good health, and all the best."
Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan also stood up, held up their glasses, and said, "Then we also wish you good health and happiness as vast as the East Sea."
The little one followed suit. Seeing the adults all holding up their glasses, he also said, "I wish great grandfather good health!"
"Okay, okay, thank you." Commander Lu raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.
The little guy seemed to find toasts very interesting and clamored to toast with Wen Nuan: "Mom, mom, come on."
Wen Nuan drank a glass of white wine and her face turned red. When she saw the child wanted to toast with her, she smiled and said, "Then what are you going to say to mom when you toast?"
The little guy turned his head and said with a smile: "Congratulations on your prosperity."
Wen Nuan had taught her some words to say during the Chinese New Year, and she didn't expect Lele to remember them. Wen Nuan smiled and clinked glasses with her, saying, "Then Mom also wishes Lele good health and happiness."
Lele was just thinking about drinking the soda in the cup, so he gulped down a big gulp after finishing the cup.
"We'll have a toast later. Let's eat first." Wen Nuan took the glass in front of Lele away, and helped her move the chair closer.
When he had eaten most of the food, Commander Lu looked at the tiny pieces of vegetable leaves beside him and asked who picked them.
Lele immediately stood up to take credit and said, "Grandpa, this was picked by Lele."
When Commander Lu heard the child say that, he didn't care at all. He directly carried the child to a chair next to him and praised him: "Le Le is great. Grandpa will eat more of this cabbage later!"
Lele even looked proudly at Wen Nuan who had just scolded her, and said, "Look, Mom, Grandpa praised me."
The little girl is very proud now, because no matter what she does, her great-grandfather will cover her back.
Wen Nuan picked up a few pieces of vegetable leaves from the soup pot and gave them to her. She smiled and said, "Then Lele should eat more vegetables. Eating more vegetables will help you grow taller."
"Yes, yes, yes, Lele picked them herself, so she should eat more." Commander Lu picked up two more leaves for her.
Lele looked at the vegetable leaves in the bowl and for the first time did not make a fuss. Instead, he asked Wen Nuan beside him: "Mom, scoop."
Wen Nuan smiled, handed her the spoon, and then whispered to Gu Qinghan beside her: "Why is your daughter so self-conscious today? Is she waiting for the New Year's money?"
Gu Qinghan blanched two pieces of mutton, dipped them in some sauce and put them in the warm bowl, smiling: "Probably not, he was thinking about going out to set off firecrackers."
Because every family has a different time for New Year's Eve dinner, there were already many children having fun in the yard. You could also hear the sound of firecrackers. I guess Lele was attracted by the crackling sound.
Gu Qinghan really came right. Lele quickly finished the rice in the bowl and then clamored to go downstairs.
Then she ran to the bathroom to wash her hands. When she came back, she asked Wen Nuan to check on her: "Mom, do you think I washed them clean?"
Wen Nuan took a look and although the child was not very clean, she still praised him for being so self-conscious. "Very good, next time you can rub your hands a few times and it will be cleaner."
Wen Nuan wet the handkerchief again and wiped her face.
Lele was probably very full, and she didn't ask for a drink from the half bottle of soda she had left. Instead, she ran to a cabinet and took out the firecrackers that Commander Lu bought for her.
She took those things, walked to Commander Lu's side, and said with a smile: "Grandpa, light the firecrackers."
Commander Lu had also finished eating most of the food and was very happy at the moment, so he put down his chopsticks and said, "Okay, wait for Grandpa to wash his hands, and then I will take you out to set off firecrackers."
Wen Nuan pulled the child over and said, "Le Le, Grandpa hasn't had enough food yet. You can't do this. You have to wait until Grandpa finishes his meal before letting him play with you."
Commander Lu smiled and said, "I've already eaten a lot. It's okay. I'm so full, so I can play with Lele for a while. It's like taking a walk."
Wen Nuan saw that Commander Lu had washed his hands and came out, so she said, "Then I'll come to see you after dinner."
Then Wen Nuan looked at Gu Qinghan who was standing beside her and said, "Thank you for washing the dishes tonight."
Gu Qinghan's voice was hoarse: "No problem, I'll wash it, you go and play."
Gu Qinghan and Commander Lu had drunk several glasses of wine, so nothing could be seen at the moment, but Wen Nuan could sense from the speed at which he spoke that Gu Qinghan might be a little drunk.
Commander Lu was relieved to hear Gu Qinghan's answer. He had also been investigating whether Gu Qinghan was a super chauvinist.
It's okay to pretend once or twice, but after observing her a few times, he thinks she is still a good person and won't let his granddaughter do all the housework.
Although Wen Nuan married him, if Gu Qinghan dared to abuse her power, he would not let Wen Nuan be with him, no matter what means he used.
However, we cannot draw conclusions so quickly now and we must continue to observe for a while.
Anyway, as long as he is around, no one can bully his granddaughter.
*
Wen Nuan followed Commander Lu and Lele out to set off firecrackers. There was originally a movie showing in the compound, but Lele was having so much fun that he didn't want to watch it.
Moreover, Commander Lu has a TV at home, and Lele can turn it on by herself.
When they went out to set off firecrackers, Wen Nuan met several of Commander Lu's old comrades, one of whom was Shen Chuanshan. When he met her, he even chatted with her for a while.
After chatting about family matters, Shen Chuanshan asked her, "I heard that you can make down jackets?"
Shen Chuanshan was the deputy commander of the Northwest Frontier Army Base. That afternoon, Commander Lu happened to tell him that he wanted to make some down jackets and asked him if it was possible.
Shen Chuanshan also tried it on. The down jacket made by Wen Nuan was indeed very light, and most importantly, it had a good warmth-retaining effect. For those of them stationed on the border, such a military jacket would be much more useful.
Although the cost is a bit high, it is not impossible for a unit to prepare dozens of pieces. The most important thing is that it can be worn by soldiers on duty during normal times, especially at night, so it is still a good choice.
When Wen Nuan heard Shen Chuanshan's question, she immediately said, "I will do it. If Deputy Commander Shen needs it, I will write down the production process within two days and make it into a booklet and give it to you."
Then, Wen Nuan thought for a moment and said, "If necessary, I can also go to the garment factory and teach everyone how to do it."
When Shen Chuanshan heard Wen Nuan say this, he smiled and said, "It hasn't been decided yet. If there is a need, I may have to trouble you then."
Wen Nuan: "It's no trouble. I'm even happier to be able to contribute to the army."
"That's good." Shen Chuanshan thought for a moment and said, "But you can write a copy of the booklet you mentioned first. I'll have someone follow and try it out. If there's anything they don't know, they can ask you for help."
Shen Chuanshan knew that Wen Nuan would go back to North City soon, and it would be inconvenient for her to travel as she was alone with the child.
Even if it is convenient, given Lu Mingfei's personality, he probably wouldn't let Wen Nuan go to the northwest to help.
But it's almost the same as having a production method, and it's not a difficult technical job.
Wen Nuan smiled after hearing this and said, "Okay, I understand. I will write the booklet for you as soon as possible."
Shen Chuanshan said, "Don't worry, it's New Year's Day, just have some fun with your grandfather."
Lu Mingfei had been sending off his old friends for so many years. He was only in his early forties when his two sons died. He had been living with his wife for more than twenty years. Since his wife passed away a few years ago, he has been alone.
The family was finally reunited, and Shen Chuanshan also wanted his good comrade to enjoy some family happiness.
Commander Lu came over at some point, and then snorted, "You old man, are you so embarrassed to ask for someone's things? Shen Chuanshan, are you bullying my granddaughter, a little girl?"
Shen Chuanshan sneered: "What are you talking about? How can our troops take other people's things for free?"
"Don't worry, as long as this down jacket is made, our army will definitely give Comrade Wen Nuan a technical bonus, and it will be given to Comrade Wen Nuan in due time!"
Wen Nuan really didn't know that there was actually money
This is really great!
Little Lele’s words “Congratulations on your prosperity” actually worked!
Commander Lu raised his head slightly, looked at Shen Chuanshan, and said with some distrust: "That's good, you must keep your word!"
Shen Chuanshan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Of course it counts. I'm not you, who can break your promise."
"You're talking nonsense! What did I do to you? I always keep my word, stop slandering me!"
"Last time you lost a bottle of Wuliangye to me, who didn't give it to me? You old fool."
"You lost the chess game last time and you owe me a bottle..."
The two of them are over a hundred years old in total, but when they argue, they are still like children, their faces red and their necks thick.
The people in the compound seemed to be used to it. Seeing them quarreling like elementary school students, they joked, "Why don't you call a truce during the New Year?"
However, even though Commander Lu and Shen Chuanshan quarreled, it did not affect their drinking together after the quarrel.
They went back to Commander Lu's yard together. Gu Qinghan had already washed all the dishes, but because they didn't eat much, the food on the table had not been tidied up and was still there.
Shen Chuanshan looked at the large table of dishes and almost drooled: "I should have come to your side to eat earlier. Why didn't you call me?"
It must be that Lu Mingfei deliberately didn't call him!
Commander Lu glanced at him and said, "You came to my house for dinner on New Year's Eve. Does that count?"
Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, Wen Nuan asked Gu Qinghan to go to the kitchen to get two bowls. She then reheated the hot pot for them and asked, "Grandpa, do you want me to bring a bottle of wine for you and Deputy Commander Shen?"
It seemed that her grandfather loved drinking and had been wanting to drink with her, but her alcohol tolerance was really not that good, and she had to look after the little boy Lele, so she didn't dare to drink too much.
Now that he has old comrades as his companions, it's okay to drink once in a while. Uncle Zhao said that there's nothing wrong with grandpa's health, but he should drink in moderation.
When Shen Chuanshan heard Wen Nuan say this, he immediately smiled and said, "Old Lu, your granddaughter is much better at dealing with people than you are. I admire young people like her."
"Come on, Comrade Wen Nuan, take out your grandfather's Maotai for me, and see where he's going to hide it this time!"
Although Commander Lu loved to compete with the old war queen, he was in a good mood this time, so he motioned for Wen Nuan to get some wine, but he still snorted, "Old Shen, I'm just giving my granddaughter a chance tonight, but there won't be a next time."
"Okay, okay, I'm just taking advantage of Comrade Wen Nuan."
"What do you think?"
Just as Wen Nuan came over with the wine, Gu Qinghan also came out with two bowls. He placed the bowls in front of the two elders: "Grandpa, Commander Lu, do you want to have some snacks?"
Shen Chuanshan looked up at Gu Qinghan, his sharp eyes quickly took in the other person, and then said: "The most outstanding pilot in the entire Air Force, he is indeed a handsome man."
Gu Qinghan nodded to the other party: "Deputy Commander Shen."
"Sit down." Shen Chuanshan motioned him to sit down. Although he was from the Army Operations Department, he also knew some news about the Air Force. Then he asked, "I heard that you have started to test the latest fighter jets?"
Gu Qinghan then pulled out a chair and sat down, then poured a glass of wine for each of the two commanders before saying, "Yes, the test flight has already begun, but the situation is not optimistic."
Commander Lu placed his fingers on the edge of the glass, tapped it, and said, "After all, this is our first independently researched fighter, so let's wait a little longer."
Shen Chuanshan nodded: "That's right, I have confidence in the researchers in our organization, let's take our time."
Shen Chuanshan poured a glass of wine for Gu Qinghan and asked, "Come on, tell me, what happened to your plane crash last time?"
*
Seeing that they were talking about serious matters, Wen Nuan took Lele back to the second floor, washed her feet and butt, and prepared to go to bed.
The child played all day and didn't even take a nap. He felt sleepy while brushing his teeth and almost fell to the ground.
Wen Nuan saw that she was so tired and must be unable to bear it, so she took out a red envelope and gave it to her, "Le Le, this is the New Year's money your mother gave you. Put it under your little pillow and don't open it yet, okay?"
The little guy took the red envelope, and he had no energy left. He grabbed the red envelope and fell directly on the bed, mumbling, "Go to sleep."
"Mom, stay with me."
Wen Nuan could vaguely hear voices coming from downstairs, and it seemed that the sex would not end soon, so she hugged the child and lay down on the bed together.
Wen Nuan reached out and brushed the child's hair, saying, "Le Le must be tired, right? Happy New Year."
The little guy was obviously very tired and said incoherently: "Mom is happy too..."
The little girl fell asleep almost immediately, and she never let go of the red envelope in her hand. Wen Nuan helped her put the red envelope under the pillow and lay down with her in her arms.
Maybe she was too tired and had drunk some wine, so Wen Nuan fell asleep without knowing how.
When he woke up, Gu Qinghan was quietly turning the doorknob. Seeing Wen Nuan wake up, he said, "Did I wake you up?"
Wen Nuan rubbed her eyes and asked the man: "Well, what time is it now?"
"It's around half past eleven. Grandpa came up just now, but he said you fell asleep, so he asked me to give you the red envelope." Gu Qinghan said as he walked towards her, taking off his coat and putting it on a chair beside him.
Gu Qinghan got on the bed from Wen Nuan's side, handed her the red envelope, and said, "This is from Grandpa."
Wen Nuan took it: "What about yours?"
Gu Qinghan lay on his side, put his arms around his wife's waist, and said in a hoarse voice, "Mine is in my pocket."
Wen Nuan was not fully awake, but she could smell a strong smell of alcohol when Gu Qinghan spoke.
She frowned and said "hmm", then asked, "How much did you drink?"
"Not much." Gu Qinghan rested his chin on her warm shoulder and smelled the sweet fragrance of her hair.
Wen Nuan paused, slowly stuffed the red envelope under the pillow, then slowly took out another red envelope and handed it to Gu Qinghan: "This is for you."
"Me too?" Gu Qinghan took the red envelope handed to him by his wife, and the smile on his face became more obvious.
She rested her head on his strong arms, yawned, and said slowly, "Well, Happy New Year."
Gu Qinghan looked at the red envelope in his hand, and after a long while he put it under the pillow. Then he reached out and held his wife close to him, whispering in her ear, "Wife, happy New Year to you too."
Gu Qinghan had a high temperature, and he felt very comfortable nestling in his warm arms. He began to feel drowsy again and uttered "hmm" in a daze.
But before she could fall asleep again, Gu Qinghan pressed on her, and the smell of alcohol became stronger, making Wen Nuan almost think she was drunk.
"Wife, I'm really happy to be with you."
Wen Nuan met the man's dark and deep eyes, and before she could react, she felt a dark shadow pressing down on her.