After entering the family compound, Lin Qingqing said to Lu Cheng, "Lu Cheng, take Hai Ci home first. I'm going to go to Sister Xiu Yao's house. She brought about 200 kilograms of food today. I'll go take a look."
"Then you will take it home and braise it later?" Lu Cheng asked, "I'll go with you." It's not that he underestimated her, she couldn't even carry 20 kilograms of winter melon, let alone 200 kilograms of pig intestines.
Lin Qingqing: "Don't bring all of them back. I'll distribute them evenly. I'll see how many people washed them and send them to their homes for braising. I'll come back to mix the marinade. If I can't carry it, I'll call you again."
When Lu Cheng heard this, he thought it was fine: "Okay then."
When Lin Qingqing arrived at Yu Xiuyao's house, Yu Xiuyao was chatting with a few military wives. Lin Qingqing came here after finishing her work in the cafeteria, so she was naturally later than them. However, it was estimated that they were here to wait for Lin Qingqing.
"Lu Cheng's wife is here."
"Here comes gently."
"Deputy Colonel Lu's wife is here."
Everyone greeted Lin Qingqing.
"Hello, sisters-in-law." Lin Qingqing said with a smile. Including Yu Xiuyao, there were four people here, and they were the ones who sent her to the hospital that day. Therefore, Yu Xiuyao also made appropriate arrangements and called the people who sent her to the hospital.
Yu Xiuyao said: "You are finally here. I was just wondering whether I should go and call you."
"I just finished working in the cafeteria and came right over." Lin Qingqing said, "Have you arranged things for your sister-in-law?"
Yu Xiuyao: "It's all arranged. We divided it into four parts, 50 kilograms each. I asked Dawang to write it down. I told them that cleaning, firewood, and making stewed food are all done at their house, and each person gets 1 cent per kilogram. The Cui family has a bicycle, and the Cui girl and I will deliver the goods together, and we will give them an additional 2 yuan per month."
Lin Qingqing said: "Then do as my sister-in-law says. I'll go home to get the ingredients." In this way, her family won't have to make braised food anymore.
…
When Lin Qingqing returned home, Lu Cheng was standing in the yard. He saw Lin Qingqing carrying the seasonings but no ingredients. Lu Cheng said, "Is it too heavy? I'll go with you to get it."
Lin Qingqing said, "No, I'll prepare the seasoning. We're not cooking at our house today. Sister Xiuyao called the three sisters-in-law who sent me to the hospital last time to cook together. With her words, the four families will share the work, so we'll also cook at their houses. I'm not worried about anything else, but I'm afraid they won't be able to clean it. But I think Sister Xiuyao should be reliable. If they can call them, they must also pay attention to hygiene."
Lu Cheng said: "They are all good people. When I was on a mission before, they often took care of Hai Ci. I... On the day I came back, they told me that you had a conflict with the aunt of Commander Qin. They also told me to treat you well and said..." At this point, Lu Cheng paused. He said that they were an old man and a young wife. Lu Cheng couldn't say this. He didn't admit that he was old at all.
"What did you say?" Lin Qingqing asked curiously when she saw that he had stopped talking.
"You are a good comrade." Lu Cheng changed his words without blushing or breathing heavily. But because he felt guilty, he did not dare to look at Lin Qingqing.
Lin Qingqing didn't doubt his words. How could she know that the serious-looking Lu Cheng would lie? So she was quite happy to hear Lu Cheng's words. Who doesn't like to be praised? "You go take a nap. I'll go prepare the ingredients."
Lu Cheng naturally did not go, but stood at the kitchen door, watching her prepare the ingredients. Fortunately, soy sauce, salt and sugar were all provided by the supply and marketing cooperative, and no tickets were required to buy star anise and other condiments. Otherwise, there would not be so many soy sauce tickets just to buy soy sauce.
The most consumed ingredient in making braised food is soy sauce. Because of the presence of soy sauce, less salt is used, and sugar is not used much either, just to enhance the flavor.
"Doesn't this require oil?" Lu Cheng saw that Lin Qingqing didn't add oil, but the supply and marketing cooperative sent several kilograms of oil over.
Lin Qingqing said, "No oil is needed, but I told the supply and marketing cooperative that I needed oil. I just didn't want the supply and marketing cooperative to figure out the recipe. But even though oil is not needed, bean paste is needed, so the money for the oil is used to offset the money for the bean paste."
Lu Cheng: "Then we won't be short of oil."
"I have agreed with the carpenter's wife that if I need anything, I can exchange it for oil... Oh, I remember that I forgot the sesame powder. I have to go to the carpenter's house later." Lin Qingqing remembered the sesame powder.
"I'll go." Lu Cheng said, "I'll go to the county town to buy your high school books."
Lin Qingqing listened and thought it was possible: "But will you be able to come back in time this afternoon?"
Lu Cheng: "It's still in time."
Lin Qingqing: "Thank you, Lu Cheng." Her tone was grateful, and her bright eyes looked at him as if they could speak.
She is different, at least in Lu Cheng's heart. Not only because she is his wife, but she is different in her personality. She is good at getting along with people, but sometimes she is like a child.
"You..." Lu Cheng wanted to ask, he was on a business trip for half a month and she didn't ask for a wedding night. Was she angry? But after thinking about it, he decided to ask her in the evening. "Then I'll leave first."
"Goodbye!" Lin Qingqing watched him walk away from the kitchen door. When she looked away, she was stunned by the seasoning on the ground.
What should I do
She is alone in this world. If there is a man around her who is good in all aspects, especially has a good personality, and is also a handsome and warm man, she cannot say that she is very moved, but her heart will be touched.
Maybe a person is a little nervous and afraid in this world, so he wants to have someone to rely on.
Maybe after her grandma passed away, she felt lonely, so she wanted someone to accompany her like her grandma did.
But this person cannot be Lu Cheng, she is someone else's husband.
But it also seemed that this person could not be anyone else, because in terms of identity, she was Lu Cheng's wife.
This contradictory relationship made Lin Qingqing very helpless.
She thought about it and realized that she really couldn't just keep running away, nor could she just keep getting along with Lu Cheng like this. If she used this marriage to live comfortably for a few years, it would be unfair to Lu Cheng. But if she happily accepted Lu Cheng, what if the original owner came back
Lin Qingqing was not a hesitant or indecisive person. After thinking for a while, she made a decision. Since she had made the decision, she stopped thinking about it and went to stew the pig intestines with the prepared seasonings.
Four families, each family put pig intestines into the pot with seasonings. Lin Qingqing told them the heat and time, and everyone started waiting for the stewed food to come out of the pot.
Everyone took this job of making money very seriously, and Yu Xiuyao also knew their personalities, so they did not do anything that would disgust Lin Qingqing. For example, Lin Qingqing went to see the kitchens of their homes and found that they were very clean. When making food, hygiene is the most important thing.
Lu Cheng came back before the stew was ready. When Lu Cheng came back and saw that no one was at home, he went to Qin's house and saw Lin Qingqing sitting there chatting with Yu Xiuyao.
"You're back." Lin Qingqing saw Lu Cheng appear, said hello to Yu Xiuyao and left.
Lu Cheng waited for her to come out at the gate of the yard, and then left with her. "I brought the sesame powder and books. I also asked the high school you mentioned. The teacher there said that you can take the exam at the end of each semester. As long as you pass each subject, you will be given a high school diploma after the final exam of your senior year."
Lin Qingqing was relieved after hearing him say that. "That's great. Thank you for your hard work today."
This sentence made Lu Cheng feel a little strange. Or rather, he felt that Lin Qingqing made him feel strange at this moment. Lu Cheng was a sensitive person, due to his profession. Once he had this feeling, he began to look for the reason. But... he couldn't find the reason.
When the two returned home, Lu Cheng decided to ask directly: "Have you been angry with me recently?"
"No." Lin Qingqing was somewhat puzzled by the question. There was nothing about Lu Cheng that could make her angry. He did all the housework, washed his own clothes, and used to wash the dishes, but now he eats in the cafeteria, so he doesn't have to wash the dishes. But because he can wash clothes, Lin Qingqing thinks this person has many advantages.
"Then you..." Lu Cheng hesitated, his handsome face flushed slightly, and he was a little embarrassed to ask.
Lin Qingqing: "What?" Seeing Lu Cheng's expression, Lin Qingqing was curious, "Why do you think I'm angry?" Does she act angry every day? No, she lives happily every day and feels that she lives a fulfilling life. It's different from the days when she was a host before. When she was a host before, she talked to herself in front of the dull camera. Although she was interacting with fans, it was actually the same as talking to herself through the network cable.
However, now, she seems to have found another kind of fun in life. She wakes up every day when the reveille sounds, and then goes to work with the comrades in the kitchen of the third company, researching the daily meals with the limited ingredients, and trying to make the comrades in the third company eat more deliciously.
She would use her free time to make stewed food and play with her baby. Her life had never been so leisurely, nor so brilliant.
"You... Then why did you..." Why didn't you mention the wedding night to me? Lu Cheng couldn't hold back this sentence. Lu Cheng thought, let's not say it. Just take action tonight. He is a gay, he should be more proactive in such matters, and can't wait for female comrades to take the initiative. After thinking it through, he said, "It's okay, maybe I misunderstood, I'm going to the army, the book is here, you can take a look first, and I'll arrange time to teach you when I come back tonight."
Lin Qingqing felt that he was inexplicable, and wasn't it a bit too fast for him to leave as soon as he said he would
Lin Qingqing shook her head. She picked up the high school books. Did Lu Cheng overestimate her? He actually bought all the books from the first to the third year of high school. Lin Qingqing flipped through a few pages. Her grades were not good in junior high school, mainly because she was biased in her subjects. She had good grades in math and Chinese, but poor grades in English, physics and chemistry. If she took 100 points, her math was basically above 90 points, and her Chinese was also above 80 points, but her English was only around 50 points, and her physics and chemistry were only around 60 points.
She couldn't understand the English language except for the 26 letters, so she took the exam for a technical secondary school.
Lin sighed softly and put down the book. She felt that she was asking for trouble. Why did she mention going to high school
Lin Qingqing put the book in the room, closed the door and went to the cafeteria.
Yu Xiuyao brought back 200 kilograms of food today, and there may be more tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. In this case, the wood ash in the canteen of the third company's kitchen is obviously not enough. At that time, I have to discuss it with Qi Shao and ask him to ask other canteens. However, as the food increases, the money she earns will definitely increase. Even if the money for the wood ash is deducted and given to the canteen, there will probably be a lot left. Lin Qingqing didn't want to give people a chance to talk about it. If the money she earned was too conspicuous, she would have to take out a part of it, just like donating money to show love in later generations.
The canteen of the third company's cooking class
When Lin Qingqing arrived, Qi Shao and the others had not started work yet. When Lin Qingqing saw Qi Shao, she remembered the matter of wood ash, so she asked, "Squad Leader Qi, can you help me contact the squad leaders of other kitchen squads? Because the amount of pig intestines here has increased, I am worried that the wood ash from the third company's kitchen squad alone is not enough for me."
Qi Shao said without thinking: "What's the problem? The other eight companies have nowhere to use the wood ash."
Seeing Qi Shao agreed so readily, Lin Qingqing thought it was not a big deal, so she felt relieved. "Really? Thank you so much, Squad Leader Qi. Then I will subsidize the canteens of other companies according to the subsidy given to our canteen."
Qi Shao: "No need for subsidies, right? To us, wood ash is just something we throw away. Now that someone needs it, it can be considered... it can be considered useful. As the saying goes... it's a worthy death."
"..." Lin Qingqing was amused by his description, "That won't work. If I don't give them subsidies, it will be bad if people gossip about them." Lin Qingqing also expressed his opinion frankly, "Besides, I can use my subsidies to buy some things for the soldiers in several companies to replenish their bodies. Now that the weather is hot, I can buy some mung beans and make mung bean soup for them. If it is winter, I can buy some soybeans and grind them into soy milk."
Qi Shao was stunned when he heard this: "Is this possible?"
Lin Qingqing: "Of course, do we have a stone mill here?"
Qi Shao: "We do have a stone mill, but no one here knows how to make soy milk."
Lin Qingqing pointed at herself and said, "I can do it." The process of making soy milk with a stone mill is the same as the principle of using a soy milk machine to squeeze soy milk. As a food blogger, Lin Qingqing would naturally not miss such an eye-catching thing as making soy milk with a stone mill, because modern people like simple things more and more as the times change.
Qi Shao didn't expect that Lin Qingqing could also make soy milk: "That's great." Their troops don't need tickets to purchase food. The troops will give them a sum of money. As long as the specified money is used to purchase something, it is up to their kitchen team to decide. Of course, they won't just buy anything casually, after all, the funds and materials are limited. But if Lin Qingqing gives the kitchen team some subsidies for wood ash, then it is also possible to use these subsidies to provide some benefits to the soldiers in the company. "Then Comrade Lin will decide when the time comes."
Seeing that Qi Shao did not object, Lin Qingqing was also happy: "Okay." Speaking of which, if someone said that she was taking up military resources, it would definitely have a bad impact on Lu Cheng. So it was great that Qi Shao could understand. "By the way, Squad Leader Qi, can the people in our family compound use the millstone here?"
Qi Shao said: "Anything that is universal can be used."
Lin Qingqing thought to herself that next time she would go to the carpenter's wife to exchange some soybeans so that she could grind soy milk to drink.
The two chatted for a while, and then it was time to prepare dinner. Today's dishes were shredded potatoes with vinegar and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. It was another happy day for the soldiers.
The soldiers of the third company rushed to the cafeteria again, which naturally attracted the attention of other companies. They were all from the independent regiment and many of them knew each other, so once one company had some movement, the other companies would know it immediately.
After dinner, Lin Qingqing arranged for Qi Shao and others to prepare breakfast for tomorrow.
Hearing Lin Qingqing's arrangement, Qi Shao opened his eyes wide: "Then they will be very happy tomorrow morning." Fortunately, they can eat first.
Lin smiled gently and said, "Then don't tell them."
"I definitely won't tell you, let them guess. They've been acting like they're in heaven while eating these past two days, and tomorrow they'll definitely go to other companies to show off." Not to mention the soldiers, even Qi Shao himself wanted to show off.
Lin Bao said: "I have boasted about it a long time ago, but those guys didn't believe me. They said who hasn't eaten cucumber and eggplant? It's like eating braised pork."
Phew… Lin Qingqing listened to Lin Bao's imitative tone, which sounded like a crosstalk. "Isn't there a saying that goes 'make a fortune in silence'? We'll just eat delicious food in silence, regardless of whether they believe it or not." She originally wanted to say 'eat a feast in silence', but this really wasn't a feast.
"That's right..."
After preparing the materials for tomorrow morning, Lin Qingqing went home with Lu Cheng and Lu Haici who had been waiting for a long time.
On the way, Lin Qingqing said to the father and son: "You don't have to wait for me in the future. You can come back and take a shower first."
Lu Haici pulled Lin Qingqing's clothes and said first: "I want to be with my mother." His voice was so soft and he was really the best at pleasing others.
Lu Cheng, who was one step behind, wanted to sew his mouth shut. He felt that it was very likely that Lin Qingqing was angry with him recently. The reason was that he did not ask for a wedding night like on the wedding day, so Lu Cheng also wanted to show off so that Lin Qingqing would not be angry anymore. But every time he looked at his son, he felt that Lin Qingqing would only get more and more angry with him because this little bastard was too good at pleasing others.
"Hai Ci is right. We are fine anyway." Lu Cheng said. He actually wanted to say that he wanted to wait and he was willing to wait. But... he couldn't say it.
Lin Qingqing glanced at him. Since she had thought carefully about her relationship with Lu Cheng at noon, she could hear different meanings in every word Lu Cheng said. How a man feels about a woman can be detected from his words, actions and eyes. In the past, because Lin Qingqing had the memory of this body, she never thought that Lu Cheng would be interested in her. Therefore, she was more relaxed and casual when getting along with Lu Cheng. But since she realized that Lu Cheng had a good impression of her, she was not relaxed at all.
Because she has the biggest secret in her heart.
"That's what you want to wait for. Don't ask me for a reward afterwards." Lin teased gently.
"I definitely don't want it." Lu Haici acted like a loyal kid, "I don't want anything, I just want my mother."
Lu Cheng: “…” How should he respond to this
"So you don't want your father either?" Lin teased him gently.
Lu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lin Qingqing spoke up, otherwise he would have been killed by his son's words.
"Hmm..." Lu Haici thought about it, fortunately he didn't sacrifice his own family for the sake of justice, "Dad wants it too, but I want mom the most." He used three "mosts", which is more powerful than double "mosts". But... "What about mom? Do you want dad or me?" He asked a question that touched his soul.
Hearing this, Lu Cheng subconsciously stood up straight. Oh, he was already standing straight, and now he stood even straighter. But he didn't dare to look at Lin Qingqing, so he could only look at her secretly with his peripheral vision.
Lin Qingqing gave the little boy face and answered without hesitation: "Of course I like little friend Lu Haici the most."
“Hehehe…” Lu Haici laughed brilliantly.
Lu Cheng: “…” This laughter was not bright at all.
"Then mommy doesn't want daddy either?" Lu Haici asked again. This was the question Lin Qingqing asked him just now. The little boy was very good at applying what he had learned.
Lin Qingqing felt her face getting hot, and she couldn't answer either yes or no. "Then tell me, do I want your dad?" She pushed the question to Lu Haici.
Suddenly, Lu Cheng's eyes swept towards Lu Haici like bullets from a gun. He felt that this kid would most likely say no. Lu Cheng no longer had any hope for his son's answer, and he began to think about how to deal with him that night.
"Of course." Lu Haici expressed his most desired wish in a childish voice, "Children need to be with their parents. They cannot live without their father and their mother." This is his greatest wish in his life.
Lin Qingqing, who was originally in a teasing mood, suddenly fell silent after hearing Lu Haici's words. She touched Lu Haici's head with her not-so-large and not-so-generous hands. This was once her greatest wish.
Children need to be with their parents. This is not only Lu Haici's wish, nor is it just her wish. It should be said that this is the wish of every child.
Lu Cheng's hand involuntarily covered Lin Qingqing's hand that was touching Lu Haici's head. Unlike Lin Qingqing's soft hands, his hands were very large, thick, and even rough. However, Lin Qingqing looked at him. He met Lin Qingqing's gaze: "We will always be together." He, her, and Lu Haici, and perhaps their future children.
Lu Haici originally held his mother's clothes with one hand, and now he held his father's clothes with the other hand. On one side of him was his mother, and on the other side was his father. It was great! The little kid was laughing and jumping.
Lin Qingqing did not answer. Although she was silent, she did not withdraw her hand.
However, Lu Cheng's eyes darkened... As expected, she was still angry with him.