"Huh? No way? Everyone who competed with Shen Huaichuan has returned to the team?"
Zhou Qiqi's hand holding the kitchen knife was suspended in mid-air, and fresh tofu residue was still stuck to the bamboo cutting board.
Deng Cuixiang placed the kneaded dough heavily on the stove, and stirred the egg liquid in the porcelain bowl with an iron spoon, making a crisp "ding-ding" sound.
"Yes, I ran into the wife of the head of the military training department when I went to the market this morning. She bought a whole bunch of things like pig's trotters and ribs. Her husband must be coming home soon. She's usually so stingy. She only eats porridge and pickled vegetables all the time. Her child looks like a little bean sprout."
Zhou Qiqi was caught off guard by Deng Cuixiang's words and accidentally cut her hand.
"Hiss~"
The pain made her gasp.
"Ouch!"
Zhu Yingying quickly put down the vegetables she was picking and took out a piece of paper from her pocket to press down on her index finger.
"With so much blood, what are we going to do? Our compound's clinic doesn't have a doctor, and it's locked up..."
Zhu Yingying was extremely anxious, but Deng Cuixiang was much calmer. She turned around and took out a medicine box from the top shelf of the cabinet.
"It's okay, I have gauze and medical tape at home!"
Xiangyang is always climbing up and down, and gets injured easily, so she has to be prepared.
As Deng Cuixiang wrapped the bandage, she raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Qiqi, what's wrong with you? Are you too excited because you heard that Huaichuan is coming back? Are you missing men?"
Zhou Qiqi blushed and quickly denied it.
"Sister Cuixiang, what are you saying? How could I possibly be thinking about men?"
"He called me this morning to say that he would be back in a few days and might not be back until next week."
Zhu Yingying suddenly realized.
"Oh, no wonder you were drawing design sketches one after another this morning, saying you were a genius. You went to the phone booth to answer a call, and when you came back you just kept throwing away crumpled pieces of paper..."
Zhou Qiqi quickly explained.
"Yingying, don't talk nonsense. My train of thought was just interrupted..."
Seeing the thin layer of sweat on her nose, Deng Cuixiang finally softened and reached out to straighten the crooked blue apron strap for her.
"Silly girl, just say you're worried. Which of us military wives isn't living on tenterhooks? Your Huaichuan is a well-known model soldier in the whole regiment, maybe he's staying behind to demonstrate tactics to the new recruits."
Zhu Yingying also offered words of comfort.
"Yes, didn't he stay a few more days before because of his timely disaster relief efforts? Don't worry too much."
Zhou Qiqi bit her lip.
"Oh dear, I wasn't worried at all~ Let's hurry back and make dumplings, we haven't even finished preparing the filling yet, we'll be late!"
Deng Cuixiang covered her mouth and chuckled behind her back.
"This little girl is really stubborn~"
Zhu Yingying spoke up for Qiqi, saying, "She's just very strong-willed."
The dumpling filling for lunch included pork and bean sprout filling that Deng Cuixiang had mixed, as well as shepherd's purse that the three of them had just picked in the wild.
The tender green shepherd's purse is blanched and chopped, then paired with slightly browned tofu cubes, golden egg scrambled pieces, chewy dried shiitake mushroom cubes after soaking, and the salty and savory flavor of dried shrimp. The red, yellow, and green colors against the backdrop of the enamel white bowl create a vibrant and colorful dish.
Then, a spoonful of hot scallion oil is poured into a rough earthenware oil jar, sizzling and smelling so good that it makes your mouth water.
When the children returned, the pork and bean sprout filling wasn't cooked yet, so the vegetarian filling was served first.
Zhou Qiqi wrapped it into a crescent shape, making it incredibly exquisite.
Just a second ago, Jiang Xiangyang said he would only eat meat filling, but the next second, seeing Zhouzhou eating with a smile on his face, he immediately picked up his chopsticks and "stole" one from Zhouzhou's bowl, stuffing it whole into his mouth.
"It smells so good! It's so delicious!"
Battalion Commander Jiang, who loves meat, couldn't resist trying one and immediately praised it highly.
"Mmm! It smells so good! This combination is incredibly delicious. Cui Xiang, you're amazing! You actually thought of making the filling this way!"
The dumplings in the iron pot were tumbling in the boiling water. Deng Cuixiang poked at them with bamboo chopsticks and suddenly winked at Zhou Qiqi.
"This isn't my idea; it's Qiqi who has all sorts of clever ideas!"
No, no~
Zhou Qiqi quickly waved her hand in denial, saying she didn't have any ideas; she had just learned from the master chef while working at a restaurant.
"Don't be modest."
As Deng Cuixiang spoke, she casually asked her husband a question.
"By the way, when you went to the military region this morning, did you hear about Huaichuan? Why hasn't he come back? Have you heard anything from him?"
Her intention was to have her husband comfort Zhou Qiqi, but she didn't expect him to choke on his words.
"Cough cough..."
He coughed and mumbled incoherently.
"No, there's no news. I didn't go, so what news could I possibly have?"
"It would be strange if I heard anything, but there's really no news."
Brother Jiang doesn't usually talk like this, Zhou Qiqi sensed something was off.
Just as he was about to ask further questions, a clumsy little girl, as thin as a bean sprout, ran in through the door, carrying a stewed pork rib, and excitedly approached Jiang Xiangyang.
"Brother Xiangyang, we're having pork ribs at home today. What are you having for dinner? I don't like them. I'll switch with you!"
Jiang Xiangyang was enjoying his shepherd's purse dumplings so much that he couldn't even look at the spare ribs anymore, and he frowned and backed away.
"I won't trade with you! My dumplings are delicious! Even better than meat!"
The little girl pouted, tears streaming down her face, and cried as she went home.
Jiang Xiangyang, with a stern face, said in a deep voice.
"Little girls are such a hassle!"
Deng Cuixiang immediately slapped him on the forehead.
"You little brat, you don't know what's good for you?!"
As she spoke, she laughed and said to Zhou Qiqi and Zhu Yingying.
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