Chapter 53: Living.

He Susu slept until she woke up naturally, and she stood up and looked out the window. The sunlight was very bright. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, then went to the kitchen to open the pot and make breakfast.

She got up too late, and the bowl of porridge and fried pickles that Cheng Shi had left for her had already gone cold. He Susu simply turned on the coal stove to reheat them.

The water in the thermos was slightly warm. He Susu poured it into a cup and drank the whole cup, and she became completely sober.

After the breakfast in the pot was heated, she took it to the dining table, put it down, and sat down to eat breakfast. In the past, when she was at her third brother's house, her third sister-in-law would sit beside her and talk to her for a few words, or her eldest and second children would play with her.

He Susu didn't feel lonely eating alone now, but she couldn't help but think of the time when she was in her hometown, when her parents went to work and she also ate breakfast alone.

After that, Cheng Shi went to the army for training every day, and stayed at home alone most of the time, just like he did in his hometown before. He Susu thought about it and felt quite happy.

After breakfast, she took the dishes into the kitchen and put them in the wash basin, then washed them and put them away. After finishing her work, He Susu opened the shopping system screen, and the diligence column had increased by 1 point as expected.

Not long ago, I spent most of the diligence points accumulated in the shopping system to buy things for my home. Recently, I have been doing laundry every day to earn 1 diligence point. I also earned some by helping to prepare meals and cook on the wedding day, so I have saved more diligence points now.

If you want to exchange something, you don’t have to worry about not having enough diligence points.

He Susu simply looked at it and found that half a pound of seaweed had ten round rolls. There was a discount. If you bought half a pound of seaweed, you would get three taels of dried shrimp for free. It only required 1 point of diligence.

She had never eaten seaweed, but when she came here she heard from Mrs. Chen that seaweed is only available in the neighboring county near the sea. Occasionally, some goods are sent to the supply and marketing cooperative. It is very popular and cannot be bought at other times.

This seaweed can be used to make egg drops and cook soup, or it can be roasted in a pan and eaten directly, or it can be roasted, crushed and mixed with meat filling to make dumplings. It is so delicious.

When she heard Chen's wife talk about it before, He Susu wanted to eat it, but she didn't see it when she searched in the shopping system. Now that she came across it, she directly spent 2 points of diligence to exchange for a pound of seaweed and 6 taels of dried shrimp.

I'll wait until I get back to the county town and find an opportunity to bring it back home.

He Susu looked at the other products in the shopping mall again, but there was nothing she wanted to buy for the time being, so she simply turned off the screen.

She walked out of the room and saw that the vegetable patch in the yard was moist, and she knew that Cheng Shi had watered it in the morning. Looking up, she could see the blue sky and white clouds, and looking down, she could see the green and tender leaves of the vegetables in the vegetable patch. It was very comfortable to breathe in the fresh air.

This is the advantage of living in a house with a yard. You can breathe fresh air and see the scenery above and below the ground as soon as you step out of the door without going downstairs.

At this time in the morning, the front yard had not been exposed to the sun yet, and it was very cool. The wind blew past, blowing He Susu's hair that was scattered on her shoulders. She stood at the door for a long time before returning to the house.

Originally thinking it was okay to wear pajamas at home, He Susu thought about it and went back to her room to change into a white shirt and blue pants.

She had just changed her clothes when she heard someone outside shouting, "Is Cheng Shijia here?"

"Yes." He Susu responded and walked out to open the yard door.

Seeing that they all looked familiar, she smiled and greeted them, "Hello, Sister Wu, Sister Fang, Sister Ye, please come in and sit down."

These three were neighbors living in the same residential compound. She had run into them before while taking a walk with Cheng Shi, and they were acquaintances.

Mrs. Wu and the other two greeted them with a smile and followed them into the house.

Mrs. Wu greeted: "Mrs. Cheng, we didn't come to bother you for the past three days because we thought you were busy as you just got married. Today, we thought of coming to say hello to you."

Mrs. Fang nodded: "Yes, let's get to know each other, and we can call on each other for help in the future."

Mrs. Ye was relatively quiet. She just smiled and nodded to indicate that she meant the same thing.

He Susu smiled and said, "Thank you, sisters-in-law. I was planning to come to your house, but I didn't expect you to come first. My name is He Susu, you can just call me Susu."

Mrs. Wu readily agreed: "Okay, then we won't be polite and will just call you Susu."

He Susu asked them to sit down in the living room, then went to get a freshly boiled pot of water from the kitchen, and took out some tea leaves and teacups to make tea for them.

Seeing this, Mrs. Fang smiled and said, "Susu, you are so polite. You even treated us with tea."

The other two sisters-in-law couldn't help but nod their heads, secretly praising the new neighbor for being a magnanimous and generous person who was willing to treat them with tea.

He Susu smiled and said, "Since this is your first visit, I should treat you with tea."

She sat down and started chatting while making tea.

Mrs. Wu started a topic: "I heard that a beautiful girl came to the Second Family Quarters before, and I also ran into you a few times when I went to the county town. I didn't expect that we were so lucky to be neighbors."

Her house is right next to He Susu's.

Mrs. Fang nodded: "Yes, I met you on the day you followed your sister-in-law to the army. At that time, I thought this girl was very pretty. Later, I ran into you taking your two children downstairs to play. You smiled very kindly."

At that time, the wives of the soldiers talked about it privately. They all guessed that this girl followed her sister-in-law to the army to find an officer as her partner. She was pretty, took good care of children, and was gentle and considerate. Many young men were interested in her. Someone from her family's men's group came to her and asked her to help introduce them to someone.

Mrs. Wu also said, "Later, I heard that you and Captain Cheng were dating, so we thought that if we applied for family housing, we might be able to get one given Captain Cheng's rank. We didn't expect it to be the case."

After they learned the news, they couldn't help but sigh that it was fate.

After listening to them, He Susu couldn't help but sigh: "It turns out that we have met several times before I didn't know. Today I really got to know you sisters-in-law. From now on, we will be neighbors. Let's visit each other more often."

Mrs. Wu smiled and agreed: "Of course."

Then the three of them talked enthusiastically about the situation in the family quarters, about the dozen or so households in total, who were the people living there, which family was easy to get along with, which family was greedy, and which family was harsh on their daughters.

He Susu nodded and responded from time to time, secretly taking note of the news. Although they might not necessarily get along in the future, it would always be good to know more.

She also learned that Mrs. Shao also lived in a family area. Instructor Li and Captain Song were assigned to another family area because their families came to accompany the army earlier.

The reason why the First Family Quarter is called the First Family Quarter is not because it is the first house built in the area, but because it is located closest to the entrance to the military area and is ranked first when counting from the entrance to the family quarters.

After the three sisters-in-law finished speaking, He Susu also picked some topics to talk about, and the atmosphere was lively and lively.

Mrs. Wu had a great time chatting with He Susu and had a better impression of her. She thought this girl was a good person. She looked up at the clock on the wall and said hurriedly, "It's getting late. We have to go back to make lunch. I'll go back first."

Sister Fang and Sister Ye also stood up and said goodbye.

He Susu stood up and saw them off: "Then sisters-in-law, take care. Come and sit down when you have time."

Mrs. Fang agreed: "Okay, I'll find a chance to take you to our house to get acquainted with us later."

He Susu smiled and agreed.

After seeing them off, He Susu was not idle either. She went into the kitchen to prepare food.

They had agreed to have stir-fried pork with green peppers and stir-fried choy sum with garlic for lunch last night. She took out the leftover pork from home and used a kitchen knife to cut enough pork for lunch, and put the remaining pork back into the small water-tight basin.

Fortunately, I asked the cook to buy the pork on the wedding day, and it has been kept in water for the past few days, otherwise it would have gone bad in such a hot day. The remaining pork is enough for two more meals.

After washing the cut pork, He Susu took the kitchen knife and started to cut it on the chopping board. She had cut pork several times before, so the slices were still thicker than usual, but it was hard to tell unless you looked closely. Then she cut the two green peppers into pieces and set them aside.

The vegetables in the yard are not edible yet. These days, Cheng Shi bought all the vegetables from Mrs. Shao, and they were freshly picked from her vegetable garden that morning.

He Susu simply picked out a few old leaves or leaves that were bitten by insects, then washed them with water and put them aside.

She nodded secretly, it wasn't difficult to prepare food for two people.

"Susu, I'm back." Cheng Shixiaxun hurried home. His comrades on the way teased him that he was different after getting married. When he entered the house and saw Susu, it seemed that all his fatigue was relieved.

Seeing that his cheeks were still sweaty, He Susu hurriedly said, "You're back. Go wash your face and cool it down."

Cheng Shiying felt better, went to the bathroom, washed his face and wiped it with a towel, and felt much better. He went directly to the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves to prepare cooking.

He Susu followed him in: "I have prepared the meat and vegetables, just take your pick."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Cheng Shi smiled and looked at the plate of sliced ​​meat. "Your knife skills are pretty good. These slices of meat look just the right thickness."

He Susu smiled and said, "Maybe if I cut more, I'll make progress."

After the meat and vegetables are prepared, it is much easier to stir-fry. Cheng Shi poured some oil into the pot, poured the meat slices into the pot and stir-fried until they changed color, then added the chopped green peppers and stir-fried them. Instantly, the spicy and fragrant taste was all stimulated, which was a bit choking.

He Susu couldn't help but yawn and silently took a few steps back to heat the bowl.

Cheng Shi fried the green pepper and pork slices, then poured the cabbage heart into the pot and stir-fried it, then added the minced garlic and stir-fried it until fragrant, and the two dishes were ready. He served them on a plate and put them on the dining table: "Susu, you eat first, I'm going to take a shower and change clothes first."

He Susu thought that he, like her third brother, had been training in the army, and must have sweated a lot. He had even kept a distance from her since he returned home, fearing that the smell of his sweat would bother her. It was normal for him to take a shower at noon.

She nodded: "Go ahead."

Cheng Shi went to take a shower, and He Susu didn't eat first. Anyway, she had breakfast late and wasn't that hungry. There were only two people at home, and if she ate first and was full, it would be meaningless to sit aside and watch Cheng Shi eat.

Soon Cheng Shi came out of the shower, feeling refreshed. Seeing that Su Su hadn't even touched her chopsticks, he quickly came over to sit at the table and said with a smile, "Eat quickly."

He Susu agreed, picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started eating.

The pork slices fried with green peppers are a little spicy, salty and fragrant, and go well with rice. She doesn't like green peppers, so she only eats the pork slices and occasionally eats the cabbage. The cabbage fried with garlic is very flavorful. Cheng Shi didn't fry it for a long time, just simply simmered it with water, and it was crisp and delicious.

Cheng Shi had been training all morning and was very hungry, so he ate very quickly. Seeing that Susu didn't like green peppers, he ate the whole plate of green peppers. The spiciness was nothing to him.

The two dishes were quickly eaten up. He Susu put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands and took the initiative to say: "Put the bowl and chopsticks in the vegetable washing basin to soak for a while. I will wash them when I wake up. You should also take some time to rest."

Cheng Shi had just finished eating: "No, there aren't many dishes for two people, I washed them right away."

He stood up and put the dishes into the kitchen, and quickly washed them with a loofah. He came out and looked at the clock on the wall and smiled, "Since you prepared the dishes in advance, I will come back to cook and eat and then wash the dishes. It's not much later than before when I came back to rest after eating in the cafeteria."

After all, you still have to queue up to get food in the canteen.

He Susu looked at the time and said with a smile, "As long as it doesn't disturb your rest."

"No." Cheng Shi came over and held his wife in his arms, lowered his head slightly and put it on her shoulder, "Hold me for a while."

The feeling was still different after marriage, especially after spending three days together during the wedding leave. In the morning, he trained at the training ground, and during the break, he couldn't help but think about what Susu was doing at home. After returning home, he was worried about the strong smell of sweat on his body, so he resisted getting close to her.

He Susu let him hold her, took the initiative to put her arms around his strong waist, and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard." Cheng Shi felt the warm embrace and all his fatigue was swept away. He let go of Su Su and held her hand instead, "Come on, take a nap with me."

When He Susu woke up from her nap, she reached out and touched the place next to her, but it was no longer warm. Cheng Shi had been training for quite some time.

She got up and made herself a cup of chrysanthemum water, then went to the bathroom to wash her face, and she became completely sober.

There was nothing to do in the afternoon and He Susu didn't want to go out, so she simply went back to her room and sat at the desk. She took out the paper and pen that she hadn't touched for a long time and began to conceive a new long story.

After she finished writing the second story, she took a long break under the pretext of preparing for her wedding. Of course, she would also write down the outline of the story that occasionally popped up in her mind in a separate notebook.

She would flip through her notebook and pick out suitable outlines to associate with. Whichever outline gave her the most sparks, she would casually sketch out the keywords on the letter paper, and continue to expand on it, finally settling on the core outline of the story.

This time, she plans to tell the story about a young man who has just graduated from high school. By chance, he enters a steel plant, learns mechanical knowledge while conducting practical training. By improving the existing equipment in the factory, he is upgraded step by step from a workshop mechanic to the factory's research institute, increasing the efficiency of the factory and contributing his strength to the country's industry.

Of course, as a long story, it also includes the neighborhood customs of the slum where the young man lives, the appearance of the workers in the steel plant, and the different treatments among leaders.

When He Susu was in high school, a friend of hers had a father who worked in a steel factory and was a relatively rare level 6 worker.

The friend admired her father very much and often shared things about his work. Most of He Susu's knowledge about the inner workings of the steel plant came from this friend.

Of course, to create this story in detail, you need to know more about steel mills and current mechanical equipment. After all, even if a fictional story is higher than reality, it still requires some real knowledge as a foundation.

He Susu decided that when she returned to the county town, she would go to the library and borrow some books about mechanical equipment.

Putting aside this blind spot in knowledge, she took out a new piece of letter paper and began to construct the personality, growth background, character and development line of the protagonist of the new story.

Perhaps she had some inspiration, as her thoughts flowed smoothly while she was writing. He Susu wrote down each item without stopping, as if she was getting to know the protagonist of the new story step by step and having an in-depth communication with him.

She also has a certain grasp of the protagonist's speaking habits, behavior style, etc.

Originally, He Susu wanted to start writing the background of the story and the important points of introduction, development, turning point and ending, but when she looked at her watch and saw that it was getting late, she simply put away her paper and pen and decided to continue writing tomorrow.

Don't be impatient in the early preparation stages of the story. The more detailed and safe the better.

After working at her desk for a long time, her waist and shoulders would become numb and sore. He Susu stood up and walked to the door of her room, looking at the sky to relax her eyes, while moving her shoulders and neck to relax her body. Anyway, the gate to the yard was closed, so people outside didn't know what she was doing.

After the activities, I felt a lot more relaxed.

He Susu went to the room to get the empty cup and refilled it with hot water. The chrysanthemums that had sunk to the bottom floated up again. They still tasted good after being soaked again, but not as sweet as the first time.

She took a few bites and went into the kitchen to prepare food.

A few days passed like this, and after all the meat and vegetables in the kitchen were consumed, it was time for the family quarters to go to the county town on the tenth day.

He Susu got up a little earlier that day, had breakfast with Cheng Shi, and then saw him out.

Cheng Shi was worried and said, "When you go to the county town later, go with your sister-in-law so that you can take care of each other. Remember to bring the money and tickets."

He Susu smiled and said, "Don't worry. My sister-in-law and I have been to the county town many times. Buying some things won't be a problem. Just go and train with peace of mind."

"Okay, then I'll leave." Cheng Shi smiled with a little relief.

"Go." He Susu smiled and waved, watching him walk towards the troops.

She went back to the house and sat for a while, changed her clothes, and counted the money and put it in her pockets. Her sister-in-law also asked her to bring the bamboo basket she had carried with her, which was just right for her to carry to the county town to buy things. She also brought a package with her.

Because the boarding points for the first and second family quarters are different, Su Yu did not come here on purpose. The aunt and sister-in-law had said before that they would always meet on the same bus anyway.

The second family quarters area got on the bus first, and He Susu asked her sister-in-law to help save a seat next to her.

At this time, He Susu was carrying a backpack on her back and walking to the boarding point. She happened to run into Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Fang. She smiled and greeted them, "Good morning, Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Fang."

Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "Good morning, Susu. You are also going to the county town to buy things. If there are any places you are not familiar with, just ask me later."

Mrs. Fang couldn't help but joked, "Why do you need to teach me? Susu has been in the army for quite some time. She often goes to the county town with her sister-in-law to buy things. She is familiar with all this."

He Susu smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Wu. I will go shopping with my sister-in-law later. We agreed on this earlier. We will go with you guys next time."

Mrs. Wu was straightforward. She patted her head and said, "Look at my brain. I thought you were new to the army. You two should take care of each other. Anyway, we just go to those places to buy things. It's very simple."

He Susu smiled and responded, then noticed something and asked, "Why don't I see Sister Ye?"

Mrs. Fang explained: "Her second child had a fever yesterday and was sent to the military hospital overnight. She came back in the morning and asked us to buy meat and vegetables. She still had to stay at the hospital."

He Susu nodded to show that she understood.

After talking for a while, a car drove up from the front and everyone lined up to get on.

Because the first family quarters was the last of the five family quarters to get on the bus, there were already quite a few military wives on the bus, and it was really hard to find a seat if you didn't look carefully.

After He Susu got in the car, she looked around for a moment and saw Su Yu. She quickly walked over and called out with a smile, "Third sister-in-law."

Su Yu waved: "Come and sit down."

After He Susu sat down, she looked up and saw that some military wives had no seats and had to stand. She couldn't help but sigh: "Fortunately, you, sister-in-law, helped to save a seat."

She used to get on the bus at the second family quarters and never encountered a situation where she couldn't find a seat.

I just heard from Wu's wife that some military wives in the first family quarters would go to the second family quarters to wait for the bus in order to have a seat. Anyway, it doesn't take long to get to the county town, so Wu's wife and Fang's wife are not afraid of standing, so they don't go along with it.

Su Yu smiled lightly: "It's okay, it's just helping me save a seat, why be polite."

The two sisters-in-law hadn't seen each other for a few days, so they started chatting right away. When they got off the bus in the county town, they went straight to the grocery store.

In the past, Su Yu was the one who picked out the various meats and vegetables, and He Susu watched from the side and occasionally added some things. Now it was her turn to be responsible for the main purchases.

The aunt and sister-in-law wanted to buy different things, so they chose their own.

He Susu took two carrots, two pieces of tofu, two crucian carps, a handful of green peppers, three tomatoes, a four-pound chicken, a loofah, two eggplants, a handful of pickled vegetables, and two pounds of sweet potatoes.

Su Yu came over and saw them but didn't say much. She had told her younger sister not to buy pork and would take her to the slaughterhouse to buy it later. There were only two people in her family, so she could ask someone in the army to buy vegetables. These were enough to last for a while.

The two men lined up, paid their tickets, left the grocery store and walked towards the slaughterhouse.

Su Yu said, "I'll introduce you to Brother Fang later. If you come here alone, you can buy meat from him. He looks smart and honest. He makes some money from the pork he sells, but he only chooses the best parts of the pork to sell. It's very cost-effective without the meat ticket."

He Susu smiled and agreed.

After walking for a long way to the slaughterhouse, Su Yu led her to a stall with familiarity, and He Susu also met the so-called Brother Fang.

The man looked to be in his thirties and was quite stout, with a clever look in his eyes. Perhaps this was what my sister-in-law meant by shrewdness.

She also saw many familiar sisters-in-law buying meat here. It seemed that this was a way known to most people in the family compound.

Brother Fang saw them and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

Su Yu hurriedly reported: "I want two pounds of hind leg meat, a two-pound pork belly, and a pig's trotter. Thank you, Brother Fang."

After hearing this, Brother Fang wielded his knife and started chopping the pork, then weighed it and quoted the price in a few seconds. Su Yu paid promptly.

It was He Susu's turn: "Hello, Brother Fang. I want two ribs, three pounds of pork belly, and two pounds of hind leg meat."

Brother Fang glanced at her.

Su Yu introduced with a smile: "This is my little sister. I have never brought her here before. She is also a military wife in the family compound. She will come to you, Brother Fang, to buy meat in the future. Please take good care of her."

Brother Fang then withdrew his gaze and said, "Okay, guests are welcome." After saying that, he began to cut the meat with a knife. The two ribs weighed three and a half pounds and had a lot of meat.

He Susu paid the money.

After they walked out of the slaughterhouse with their meat, Su Yu couldn't help but remind them, "Su Su, there are only two of you and Cheng Shi, so you don't need to buy so much meat."

She was afraid that Susu would not be able to control herself properly when she first started taking care of the household.

He Susu explained: "The quantity is not too much. The spareribs can be stewed first or cooked into soup. The pork belly can be dried and saved for later. Cheng Shi is tired from training, so I thought of cooking more meat to replenish his fat and water."

"Just keep it in mind." Su Yu said. Anyway, my younger sister's family is just a couple now, so they don't have to raise children, so they don't have to worry about eating better.

He Susu said, "Sister-in-law, I need to learn some knowledge to write a new story recently. I need to go to the library to borrow books, so I won't go with you for now."

Su Yu nodded: "Okay, I'll go buy something else too, see you at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative later."

He Susu separated from her sister-in-law, asked a passerby for the direction of the library, and walked in the direction the other person pointed.