Lu Haici called Qin Ming and Ji Yang, and the three children dragged themselves to the canteen of the third company's kitchen team around 7:30.
"Aunt, we're here for breakfast." Qin Ming was the most enthusiastic and greeted Lin Qingqing first.
The breakfast of the third company's kitchen team was ready a long time ago, and everyone was eating. The little boy came and he saw it at a glance.
Lin Qingqing had already prepared three bowls of mung bean soup and was leaving them to cool, fearing that they would be too hot when they arrived. Now that they arrived, the temperature was just right.
In addition to the mung bean soup, she also made a few corn buns. She put some thought into the buns. The buns had patterns on them. Some were round, some were square, some were star-shaped, and some were rectangular. Each one was small and could be eaten in two bites. Even this simple pattern was very interesting in the eyes of the children.
"You're here? The meal is ready, come and eat." Lin gently pointed to the seat next to him. There were three small bowls of mung bean soup and a large plate with steamed buns.
"Wow..." The children's eyes lit up when they saw the corn buns in different shapes.
"Mom, I've never eaten this steamed bun." Lu Haici said first.
Lin Qingqing was in the kitchen of the third company every day. When she had one day off a week, she was too lazy to do anything, so she really didn't bother to cook for Lu Haici. Except before work, Lu Haici had eaten the delicious food she made.
"These are steamed buns." Lin Qingqing said, "This one is round, this one is rectangular, and this one is..."
"This is a five-pointed star, I know." Qin Ming saw the five-pointed star-shaped bun and said proudly, "There are five-pointed stars on our hats and school bags, and I have also seen five-pointed stars on the national flag."
Not to mention Qin Ming, even Lu Haici and Ji Yang knew about the five-pointed star. If it were in other remote places, children of this age might not know about the five-pointed star, but as children of soldiers, they definitely knew about it, because their fathers also had five-pointed stars on their military uniforms.
"I've seen it too." Ji Yang followed.
"And me, I've seen it too." Lu Haici was not to be outdone.
"You are really smart." Lin praised with a smile, "Okay, let's eat."
The children held a steamed bun in each hand and a spoon in the other, taking a bite and drinking a sip at a time, eating with relish. The children ate slowly, and sometimes it took them half an hour to finish a breakfast. So when the comrades from the third company came to eat breakfast, they were all excited to see the food on their table.
“Shall we have mung bean soup today?”
"There are also steamed buns. Why don't I see any steamed buns in the window?"
Qi Shao rolled his eyes at them and said, "Are you all dreaming?" He never mentioned the mung bean soup he had given them at noon. If he had mentioned it, there would have been no surprise.
However, when Lu Cheng came to get food, Qi Shao gave him green bean soup and corn buns. Needless to say, everyone knew that this was specially prepared by Comrade Lin for Deputy Commander Lu.
It's a pity that they are not modern people. If they were modern people, they would definitely know that this is a "love breakfast."
Over the past month, Lu Cheng has gotten used to the special care Lin Qingqing gives him. However, even though he's used to it, every time he sees the way his comrades look at him, he feels secretly happy and proud.
After breakfast, Lin Qingqing, who could have taken a rest, had to be busy because everyone's mung bean soup was ready and had to be put in the freezer. To be honest, the mung bean soup for a hundred people couldn't fit in the freezer because the freezer wasn't big enough. Fortunately, they had prepared in advance. The decision to cook mung bean soup was made yesterday, so they put a lot of ice cubes in the freezer from yesterday. The mung bean soup that couldn't fit in the freezer was kept cold with ice cubes.
After the mung bean soup was ready, the six of them sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally ready.
"I wonder how the mung bean soup of other companies is going?" Lin Bao asked. Originally, they planned to make it themselves, but it was too much trouble, so they simply took the mung beans away and asked the kitchen staff of other companies to make it themselves.
Lin Qingqing: "Anyway, everything is fine now, you might as well go and take a look."
Qi Shao: "He just wants to go to other companies to show off."
Lin Bao didn't feel guilty: "Why are you showing off? I'm just taking a look. I'm leaving now." As he said this, he waved his hand.
Lin Qingqing thought that Lin Bao had a good personality, he was cheerful and enthusiastic, and such a person could easily integrate into the group. Seeing that she had nothing to do at the moment, she also planned to go back to the family compound to check the sand. If the sand was good, she could fry the sweet potato chips.
When they got home, the three kids played at their house. Lu Haici also took out some dried sweet potatoes to treat everyone.
"Mom, you're back."
"Aunt, you're back."
"Aunt, your dried sweet potatoes are so delicious and sweet." Qin Ming's flattery always comes first.
Lin Qingqing: "Even if it tastes good, you can't eat too much. Eating too many sweet potatoes is not good for you. You can only eat five slices a day."
Qin Ming: "Well, I've only eaten two tablets now, and I can still eat three more. That's great."
Seeing sweat on their foreheads, Lin Qingqing plugged in the electric fan for them. Usually when Lu Haici was alone at home, she would put the electric fan on the cabinet, where Lu Haici could not reach, to avoid accidents when he cleaned the fan himself.
As soon as the electric fan was turned on, the wind blew in, and the three children who were suffering from the heat sighed with relief.
Seeing them eating and reading comic books, Lin Qingqing ignored them. She looked at the sand and turned it over with her hands. The sand was dry. Since she had nothing to do, Lin Qingqing simply fried some dried sweet potatoes.
It is actually very simple to fry dried sweet potatoes with sand, but it requires patience and wrist strength. Lin Qingqing's wrist strength is naturally not enough, but it doesn't matter if you take it slowly.
First, heat the pan, then pour the sand in, and then fry the sand. After the sand is fried, add the dried sweet potatoes, but don't add too much at a time. After the dried sweet potatoes are added, start frying. At the beginning, you don't have to keep frying, because the dried sweet potatoes don't cook that fast, so you can take your time. When the dried sweet potatoes turn golden brown, you need to fry them a few more times.
The fried sweet potato chips are very crispy, just like potato chips. If some white sesame seeds are added to the sweet potato chips, they will be even more fragrant. Thinking of this, Lin Qingqing thought that when she has time, she can make sweet potato chips herself, so that she doesn't have to send them to the Lin family, which costs a lot of postage.
"Aunt, what are you doing?" Qin Ming came out to use the toilet and saw Lin Qingqing busy in the kitchen. He came over to see her. In Qin Ming's mind, Lu Haici's mother = delicious food, so why not come over
There happened to be some dried sweet potatoes that had already been fried, so Lin gently waved at him: "Come here, these are sweet potato chips, I'll put them in a bowl, you bring it in and eat with everyone."
"Yeah." When Qin Ming heard there was food, he was willing to do it.
Lin Qingqing put the sweet potato chips on the plate. These were picked out from the sand and were clean. She put half of the plate, not too much, because they had already eaten breakfast. If they ate too much now, they would not be able to eat later.
Qin Ming entered the house carrying sweet potato chips, and every once in a while, cheerful voices could be heard from inside.
Lin Qingqing couldn't help but shook her head. She then fried the remaining dried sweet potatoes and put them in two bowls, waiting for Ji Yang and Qin Ming to go home and bring them to them. She put the rest into empty milk powder cans and tin cans, because if the sweet potato chips are not sealed, they will get damp and have the same properties as potato chips.
"Ji Yang, Qin Ming, auntie has put two bowls of sweet potato chips on the table. Remember to take them away when you go home later." It was almost time for her to go to the cafeteria.
"Got it, thank you auntie."
"Aunt, you are so nice. You are the best person I have ever met."
Lin Qingqing wanted to ask Qin Ming, how many people have you met? But before she left, she put the fan away again. Even if she believed that Lu Haici would not touch anything, she didn't dare to bet. What if something happened
After Lin Qingqing left, Qin Ming went to the dining table and saw two large bowls of sweet potato chips. Qin Ming said, "Lu Haici, your mother is so nice."
Lu Haici is a brainless boast of his mother: "My mother is the best."
"It would be nice if your mother was my mother." Qin Ming sighed. Actually, his mother was very kind to him, but maybe because they didn't live together, he didn't feel close to Qian Yuelan.
"That won't work." Lu Haici immediately became defensive. "My mother can only be my mother, my mother alone. When I have younger brothers and sisters, she will be the mother of me and them. She can't be your mother."
"You can ask your father to marry a stepmother." Ji Yang gave Qin Ming some advice.
Qin Ming blinked, not knowing whether he had heard it or not.
"Yes, you can ask your father to marry a stepmother." Lu Haici thought it was feasible.
"Oh, do you know? Chen Zhou is also going to have a stepmother." Qin Ming suddenly remembered Chen Zhou.
"Wow?"
"Really?"
Ji Yang and Lu Haici were both stunned.
"Why does Chen Zhou have a stepmother? Doesn't he have his own mother?" Lu Haici asked in confusion.
Qin Ming shook his head. "I don't know either. Yesterday... or the day before yesterday... oh, I don't know which day it was, I saw Chen Zhou crying. Chen Zhou said that his father said he wanted to find him a stepmother, but he didn't want one."
"Stepmother is the best." In Ji Yang's heart, stepmother is the same as biological mother, so he cannot understand the rejection of stepmother by children with biological mothers.
"Yes, stepmother is the best." Lu Haici and Ji Yang were the same. In their hearts, stepmother was their biological mother. Although they also knew that stepmother was different from biological mother, and biological mother was the mother who gave birth to them. But they had no impression of their biological mother, so they all regarded stepmother as their biological mother.
"Ah..." Qin Ming sighed like a little adult, "Let's play with Chen Zhou again when he has a stepmother."
Ji Yang didn't want to agree at first, but thinking that everyone had a stepmother's child, he agreed: "Okay."
The three children started reading comic books again until Zhang Hongping came to call them.
"Xiao Ming... Is Xiao Ming here?" Seeing that it was almost time for lunch and her grandson had not come back yet, Zhang Hongping had no choice but to come to the Lu family to check on him.
"Grandma..." Qin Ming ran out of the house.
Zhang Hongping: "It's time to go home and eat. Lu Haici and Ji Yang, you should also go to the cafeteria to eat. If you don't go now, the food will be snatched up."
The three children were having so much fun that they forgot the time. If Zhang Hongping hadn’t come, they might have continued playing.
Lu Haici hurriedly put on his small schoolbag: "I'm going to eat." The handkerchief he must carry with him every day is placed in the small schoolbag, so he has to carry the small schoolbag every day.
Qin Ming: "Grandma, I want to bring some sweet potato chips. My aunt gave them to me. They are delicious." Before he left, he did not forget to pick up the bowl of sweet potato chips on the dining table.
Ji Yang had forgotten about it, but only remembered it after hearing Qin Ming's words. So he also picked up the sweet potato chips and put them back home.
Sweet potato chips
Zhang Hongping looked at the golden fried sweet potato chips and ate one: "It's quite delicious, sweet and crispy." This thing is much better than dried sweet potatoes. Comrade Lin really knows how to eat.
"It's just delicious. Auntie is the best." Qin Ming held the bowl tightly to prevent his grandmother from continuing to eat.
"Look how stingy you are." Zhang Hongping knew her little thoughts, "This thing should be easy to learn. It's sweet potatoes and sugar, and there's nothing else to eat. I'll ask your aunt to teach me later."
"Really?" Qin Ming looked at his grandmother expectantly.
"Of course it's true." Of course, she was too embarrassed to let Comrade Lin teach her in vain.
The grandparents walked and talked as they returned home. Lu Haici also ran madly to the kitchen of the third company with his small schoolbag on his back. Halfway through, he met Lu Cheng who was off work.
"Lu Haici..." Lu Cheng called out to him, "Why are you running? Didn't your mother tell you not to run and to walk slowly?"
Lu Haici stopped when he heard his father's call, and then said anxiously: "I'm afraid that if I go too late, the food in the cafeteria will be gone."
Lu Cheng: “…”
Puff, many people who were walking heard it and couldn't help but tease: "Lu Haici, you run so slowly, by the time you get there, the food will have been snatched away."
"That's right, Lu Haici, you have to let your father run, your father runs fast."
When Lu Haici heard this, he thought what everyone said made sense, so he looked at Lu Cheng expectantly: "Dad, you run, I'll run slowly behind you."
"Why are you running? Would your mother let you starve?" Lu Cheng felt that his son's IQ was not high.
Lu Haici was stunned: "That's right, mom won't let me go hungry."
Lu Cheng shook his head: "Why are you going so late today?"
"Qin Ming, Ji Yang and I are reading at home." Lu Haici said, "Mom made us potato chips, made with the dried sweet potatoes that grandma sent us. They are delicious." He remembered that he had some in his pocket, so he took it out and gave it to Lu Cheng, "Dad, do you want some?"
When Lu Cheng saw the golden potato chips, he took all of them from his son's hand without hesitation. In fact, there were only three chips, because Lu Haici's hands were small. This time, Lu Haici was very generous and did not feel wronged because his father took all the potato chips away, because he had eaten enough in the morning and there were still a lot of chips at home.
Lu Cheng took a bite and a crisp sound was heard.
"Dad, is it delicious?" Lu Haici asked, raising his head.
"Yeah." Carrying Lin Qingqing on his back, Lu Cheng boasted without any reservation, "Of course your mother's cooking is delicious."
Mom Chui Lu Haici nodded: "Dad, I heard from Qin Ming that Chen Zhou's father is going to find a stepmother for him."
"What?" Lu Cheng suspected that he had heard it wrong. What he doubted even more was that these five-year-old brats were actually so gossipy
"Dad, if Chen Zhou has a stepmother, Ji Yang said that we should reconcile with him, because we all have stepmothers." Lu Haici said again.
Lu Cheng: "..." What kind of logic is this. "Okay, let's talk about it after dinner. Save your saliva now."
Lu Haici felt that his father didn't understand him, so he shook his head and said, "Okay."
When they arrived at the third company's kitchen, many comrades were already having lunch.
"Come on, come on, let's have some mung bean soup for lunch. Iced mung bean soup is so refreshing."
"Wow, what day is this today? They're giving us iced mung bean soup."
"It's really good to have Comrade Lin here..."
"Squad Leader Qi is such a jerk. He didn't even remind us to drink mung bean soup at noon. What if we come too late and it's all gone?"
Lu Haici heard it and said with a smile: "Dad, we had mung bean soup this morning."
Lu Cheng didn't know what he was laughing at.
At noon today, all the comrades in the independent regiment were very happy because they drank iced green bean soup. So… all the comrades in the regiment mentioned this matter after the meal, and it spread quickly.
"Have you heard? The Independence Group had iced mung bean soup for lunch today."
"No way? The treatment of the independent group is so good?"
"I haven't had mung bean soup for several years."
"Tell our kitchen staff about it later and ask them to prepare green bean soup for us as well."
"That's right. We are all from the same unit. If the independent regiment can drink, why can't we?"
So at dinner time that day, the kitchen teams of several companies received reports that the independent regiment had drunk iced mung bean soup at noon and they wanted to drink it too.
The squad leaders of the company's kitchen squad didn't care about them at all. They just replied: It's good enough to have food to fill your stomach. You still want to drink mung bean soup? That's useless.
As a result, the next day, the independent regiment had new food. The comrades of the independent regiment drank hot soy milk for breakfast. If the sugar-free mung bean soup is not so delicious, then the sugar-free soy milk is definitely better than the sugar-free mung bean soup.
Of course, Lu Cheng and Lu Haici drank soy milk with sugar.
The comrades of the independent regiment had some bad intentions. After drinking the unsweetened soy milk, they went to other places to brag about it. Some comrades even went to other teams with their enamel cups filled with soy milk before they finished drinking it.
As a result, at noon, the kitchen of another team was bombarded by comrades again.
"Why can the independent group drink mung bean soup and soy milk, but we can't?"
"That's right, can't you learn from the Independent Regiment?"
"It's free to buy mung beans? It's free to buy soybeans? If you buy mung beans and soybeans with money, you can still fill your stomachs?" Another comrade from the kitchen team answered.
"The independent regiment's kitchen team can do it, why can't you?"
"Could it be that the independent regiment's kitchen team has more funding than us?"
"That's right, why should the independent group be treated differently from us?"
The kitchen staff of those companies were annoyed by the noise, so they came to the independent regiment.
Lin Qingqing, Qi Shao and others were chatting when they saw six unfamiliar comrades walk into the kitchen.
"Qi Shao, what's going on with your independent regiment? Why was it mung bean soup yesterday and soy milk today? You've even arranged snacks. Is it because of too much funding?"
"That's right. You can't do that. If you guys start to cause trouble, our comrades will start to quarrel. What should we do?"
"Qi Shao, tell me, is this what you did as a human being?"
"All whistles..."
Qi Shao didn't understand at first, but gradually understood. He was immediately unhappy: "What did you say? Our independent regiment drinks mung bean soup and soy milk, what does this have to do with your company? How can you come here to talk about this?"
"Do you think we are willing to come? It's because the soldiers down there are making a lot of noise. They also want to drink mung bean soup and soy milk. But you also know that our funds are limited. They usually use the extra money to buy food, fearing that there won't be enough food for them to eat. How can they have the spare money to do this?"
"Yes, if your independent regiment has any spare money, you might as well use it to buy food instead of doing these things, and these soldiers won't make trouble."
"We treat everyone equally, what else can they say?"
"It's good enough for us to fill our stomachs. Let's save the mung bean soup and soy milk."
"Why should we save money?" Lin Bao said, "We just have some spare money to spend on these. And even if we don't have any spare money, the budget for each company's kitchen is the same. How we arrange the funds is also our business."
"Go, go, go, I'm talking to your squad leader, just listen quietly."
Lin Bao was dissatisfied: "I am also a member of the kitchen team. I have a say in matters concerning our kitchen team."
Qi Shao: "What Lin Bao said makes sense. Everyone has the same funding. How we arrange the funding is our business. I have never asked you how you arrange the funding."
"Brother Qi, please be kind and stop doing all these things. It's annoying for us to have hundreds of people cooking in the kitchen."
Qi Shao waved his hand: "There is nothing to discuss about this matter. You can figure it out on your own."
"Qi Shao, why don't you listen to my advice?"
Qi Shao: "Okay, we have to do something, if you have nothing to do, just leave, don't make me chase you away with a broom."
When the comrades who came saw that Qi Shao would not listen, they left angrily. As soon as they left, Qi Shao said, "Let them be jealous. They have no other options, so they come to exploit our welfare. It's wishful thinking."
"That's right." Lin Bao agreed, "We don't steal or rob, so why can't we drink mung bean soup?"
Lin Qingqing was also the one who listened to the whole process. She said, "The funding for each kitchen team is limited. Even if there is one cent more, everyone wants to buy more food so that the comrades can fill their stomachs. If everyone can save some money on food, then the extra funds will have other uses."
"That won't work." Qi Shao said, "We can't save on food. If everyone doesn't have enough food, they won't have the energy to train. This is a serious matter."
Lin Qingqing naturally understood this truth: "Look, there are wasteland and wasteland outside our army. Can't we make use of them?" This is the suburbs, and there are really a lot of wasteland and wasteland. "If these wasteland and wasteland are developed, then we can grow a lot of food, right? When we have food, the extra funds can be used to buy other things."
Qi Shao: "But no one is developing it? How can anyone have the time?"