The third brother's lips turned purple from the cold, and he wrapped himself in a thick cotton quilt and warmed himself by the stove for a long time before he recovered.

Ge Qiuqin cooked ginger soup and poured a bowl for each of the people.

"Drink this soup to ward off the cold."

After entering the house, Zhang Xin sat on the sofa with his legs crossed.

He showed no intention of helping at all; he was in a very bad mood today, having wasted an entire afternoon taking the children out to play.

I didn't accomplish anything. If Chen Yan finds out, she'll definitely scold me for being useless again.

Zhang Zhicheng took off his clothes, put on thermal underwear, and hid in the kitchen.

Ge Qiuqin noticed the injury on his hand and asked him what happened. She learned that he had fallen on the ice and scraped his skin.

She really didn't know how Zhang Xin had managed to take the children out to play in such a disheveled state after only half a day.

Xia Enruo spent the entire afternoon working on communications, and the female soldiers quickly mastered the singing of the two songs.

She helped with the rehearsal several more times to ensure that everyone's pitch was in harmony and that no one was off-key before leaving satisfied.

Gu Shaoxuan had been waiting in the corridor for a long time, worried that Xia Enruo might get lost in the army camp because it was getting late.

I came here specifically to accompany her back, even though the communications unit would definitely send someone to take my wife back to the guesthouse.

But he still wanted to pick them up and drop them off himself.

"Shaoxuan, it's so late. Let's go straight to the mess hall. Squad Leader Wu and the others are definitely waiting for me."

Xia Enruo got dressed and asked Gu Shaoxuan to lead the way.

"Enruo, there's no need to rush. Go back to the guesthouse and rest first. It's okay to go later."

Gu Shaoxuan was worried that his wife would get too tired, so she practiced one song after another almost all afternoon without taking a break.

Watching her play the accordion through the window, I felt a pang of heartache.

"I'm not that delicate. You've made me sound like a sickly person. I'm fine. I'm happy this afternoon."

The girls in the communications company are truly outstanding; they're serious and fast at everything they do. They learned both songs in just one day.

This saved me a lot of effort. I can say that I successfully completed the task assigned to me by the Lu Group.

Xia Enruo breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that she would not do well and would displease her superiors, which would ultimately tarnish Gu Shaoxuan's image.

"Okay then, I'll take you home tomorrow, and we can finally spend a Spring Festival just the two of us."

"Are you free tomorrow? You can go home now?"

Xia Enruo remembered that he stayed behind because of something that happened in the army.

"It's alright, it's just some combat skills assessment. But I think the training mission needs to be changed. It needs to be changed to be more realistic and scientific to meet the needs of actual combat."

These matters will need to be addressed after the New Year. I will go to the regimental headquarters to discuss them with Regiment Commander Lu and several deputy chiefs of staff before we come up with a plan. Let's not put the officers and soldiers through unnecessary hardship during the New Year holidays.”

When the two arrived at the mess hall, Wu Daqiang and the entire squad of soldiers were already waiting for them.

"Chief of Staff, Sister-in-law, welcome to our cooking squad for guidance."

A group of people stood in a row, saluted, and shouted.

"Squad Leader Wu, you're making it all so formal, I'm almost embarrassed."

Xia Enruo felt quite uncomfortable when she saw the room full of soldiers staring at her and shouting slogans.

"Alright, you're always up to all this fancy stuff. Your sister-in-law and I are here to help you, not to inspect your work. Just make yourselves at home."

Gu Shaoxuan returned the greeting and began to speak.

"Chief of Staff, you're right. Everyone, get back to your own work and do your jobs well."

Wu Daqiang shouted.

Xiao Wu was incredibly excited to see Xia Enruo come to the cooking squad; last time, he had personally cooked with his sister-in-law.

He was the first person to be amazed by Xia Enruo's cooking skills.

He ran out and saluted Xia Enruo.

"Sister-in-law, welcome to our cooking squad! We've all missed you."

"This kid is always looking forward to your arrival, like he's been waiting for you to come. Ever since you came to help out in our kitchen last time, he's been praising you to everyone he meets."

Wu Daqiang explained with a smile.

"Xiao Wu, long time no see. You seem to have gained weight recently. It looks like the food in the mess hall is pretty good."

"Sister-in-law, the spicy mixed salad you made last time was so delicious. The squad leader asked me to make it several times, but I just couldn't make it right. The squad leader even complained that I was clumsy."

Perhaps it's from worry; her weight is increasing rapidly.

"You little rascal, you haven't missed a single meal even though I've been worrying you. You've clearly eaten too much, and you're blaming me for putting pressure on you."

Wu Daqiang cursed, but since he hadn't made the dishes that Lu Tuan liked, the whole class was really worried. Not to mention the people below him, he himself was worried enough. Every day his face looked like he was on emergency drills, with a bitter look on his face.

"Alright, I'll teach you today, Squad Leader Wu. Let's get started. First, let's pick out some ingredients, and then I'll teach my comrades how to cook."

"Sister-in-law, we've prepared all the ingredients. Just follow us and see if we need anything else."

Wu Daqiang asked Xiao Wu to lead the way, and the group followed him into the kitchen.

Xia Enruo saw a large basin of vegetables on the ground, almost as big as the basin she used for washing clothes.

"That's enough, that's more than enough. The key to a good Mala Ban (a type of spicy stir-fry) isn't the ingredients, but how you season it."

The last dish I made was also made with leftover vegetable scraps; your vegetables are already very good.

Xia Enru put on her apron and chef's hat and got to work.

She first heated the oil in a wok and fried the peanuts in it.

"Adding peanuts is mainly to enhance the aroma of the oil, making the oil smell better and the stir-fries more fragrant."

Then she asked Xiao Wu to bring over the fermented soybean paste and chili sauce.

"When making Mala Ban (a type of spicy mixed vegetable dish), first stir-fry the fermented bean paste and chili sauce in oil until you can smell the aroma of the sauce. Xiao Wu, could you blanch the vegetables in hot water for me?"

Xia Enruo started stir-frying fermented soybean paste and chili sauce. The aroma was incredibly delicious. Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with the fragrance of the sauce and a hint of chili. This flavor was different from the usual stir-fried soybean paste, probably because of the peanuts.

Wu Daqiang was writing down the order in a small notebook.

Xia Enruo then added the seasonings one by one, deliberately slowing down her movements so that Wu Daqiang could remember them all.

Then she scooped up a ladle of water and poured it into the pot.

"Don't add too much water, just a little bit. Once the broth has reduced, you can start stir-frying the vegetables."

Xiao Wu took out the vegetables that had been blanched in hot water and placed them aside.

After Xia Enruo saw that there was no more broth in the pot, she poured all the vegetables in.

The oil ignited instantly upon contact with a drop of water, and the bright red flames leaped high, illuminating the stovetop in a fiery red glow.

Standing on the outside and seeing this scene, Gu Shaoxuan couldn't have been more impressed with his wife. Her cooking skills were unmatched, even by the head chefs of state-run restaurants.

Moreover, if Xia En were a woman, she would be a graceful lady.

Judging from her appearance alone, who would have guessed that she could cook such a good meal?