Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Chapter Fifty...
Chapter 56
Having just returned from disaster relief, Lu Yuanqing took three days off to rest and recuperate.
Yao Anhui had prepared in advance to nourish Lu Yuanqing's body. She had bought pork belly, ribs, and pig's stomach. Yao Anhui planned to slaughter a chicken and make chicken and pig's stomach soup.
Then, Yao Anhui, who was too afraid to kill the chicken, was sent by Lu Yuanqing to Hua Fangling's house next door, and all her preparations were taken over by Lu Yuanqing.
It wasn't until Lu Yuanqing had killed, chopped, and cleaned the chicken, and also cleaned and blanched the pig's stomach, that Yao Anhui was allowed to return and take over.
Today, the food was cooked on the stove in the yard. It wasn't just Yao Anhui's family; many families had already started making soup.
After blanching the pork tripe, stir-fry it in a pot, then add chopped chicken pieces and various other ingredients. This soup is then simmered for two hours.
Meanwhile, Yao Anhui soaked the preserved mustard greens, and then Lu Yuanqing worked up a sweat under Yao Anhui's direction.
That noon, Yao Anhui's family had an especially lavish lunch: pork tripe and chicken soup, braised pork with preserved mustard greens, garlic ribs, braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots, Xingguo fish strips, cold shredded scallions, stir-fried bok choy, and a stir-fried pickled taro stem. Later, feeling that eight dishes didn't look good enough, they added a cucumber salad to make up the difference.
This time, Yao Anhui invited the Hua Fangling couple next door as well. Hua Fangling didn't like the smell of cooking oil after she became pregnant, so Yao Anhui would invite her over to eat whenever she cooked a big meal. However, there had never been such a sumptuous meal before, with eight dishes and a soup, a total of nine dishes. Hua Fangling was stunned and didn't know what a big day it was.
"Anhui, what day is it today? Why did you cook such a big meal?" Hua Fangling asked in surprise.
“It’s nothing special, it’s just that Lao Lu and the others look so thin, so we wanted to help him get some nourishment.” Yao Anhui wasn’t used to openly expressing her concern for Lu Yuanqing, so she changed the subject: “Don’t tell me you weren’t prepared, I don’t believe you.”
"Of course not, I also feel sorry for my man."
"Dinner's ready." Lu Yuanqing ladled a bowl of soup for Yao Anhui and placed it in front of her: "Try it and see if it tastes right."
Lu Yuanqing looked rather smug, feeling utterly triumphant that he had prepared a large table of dishes under Yao Anhui's direction. Men, after all, always have a strange competitive spirit.
Lu Yuanqing was a little concerned.
Before they got married, Shen Wenkang and Hua Fangling were a well-known loving couple in the family compound, and they were considered the perfect marriage partners by everyone.
Shen Wenkang is good-looking and has a clean reputation. He neither smokes nor drinks. He speaks gently to everyone and has a refined and scholarly air, yet he is also quite masculine. His professional skills are impeccable, and he will never back down if anyone crosses his bottom line.
He was known for his respect for Hua Fangling. Whenever he was home, he would stay with her. He would cook, do the fire, wash the dishes, and even wash her clothes together.
Hua Fangling hadn't gotten pregnant for several years after their marriage. When someone whispered behind her back, Shen Wenkang would immediately confront them, protecting her clearly and unequivocally.
Compared to other men who smoke, drink, brag, or even beat their wives, Shen Wenkang seemed like a pure white lotus flower. Many women in the family compound thought Shen Wenkang was the best husband candidate.
Hua Fangling was no less impressive. She was the perfect wife in the eyes of men: beautiful, straightforward and unpretentious, always smiling, efficient, and most importantly, famous throughout the entire residential compound for her delicious cooking.
It can be said that men envy Shen Wenkang for marrying a good wife, while women envy Hua Fangling for marrying a good man.
On the contrary, Lu Yuanqing was not well-known in the family compound because he was very quiet. When he met people, he would just greet them with "sister-in-law" and that would be it. In fact, Lu Yuanqing was not as popular as Shen Wenkang.
Of course, Lu Yuanqing didn't suddenly become concerned.
It was entirely because Lu Yuanqing overheard people talking about how close Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling were, and they even compared him to Shen Wenkang. The result of the comparison was that Lu Yuanqing was not as good as Shen Wenkang.
Lu Yuanqing wouldn't hold a grudge against Shen Wenkang over this matter. He had forgotten those words as soon as he heard them, but seeing Shen Wenkang today suddenly reminded him of them.
Lu Yuanqing felt a little smug. Shen Wenkang wasn't as difficult as him. Yao Anhui only gave verbal instructions, but he could easily cook eight dishes and a soup. He was much better than Shen Wenkang.
This smug man enthusiastically said to Shen Wenkang and Hua Fangling, "Braised pork with preserved mustard greens and shredded fish, braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots, cold shredded scallions, and pickled taro stems are all specialties from Anhui's hometown. You should try them too."
"Yes, try it quickly, Fangling, drink more of this pork tripe and chicken soup, it's good for pregnant women." Yao Anhui also urged everyone to eat.
As for Qi Mingzhe, he didn't need to be told anything; he was practically burying his face in his bowl while eating.
Hua Fangling herself was a foodie, and a foodie who had transmigrated from the future. She had eaten most of the dishes on the table before, so she reached for the dishes she hadn't tried.
There were eight dishes and a soup on the table. The only dishes I hadn't tried before were the cold pickled scallion salad and the fish salad. The cold pickled scallion salad, in particular, looked incredibly tempting with its red and green colors. The white pickled scallion strips were coated with red chili powder and green scallions, making my mouth water just looking at it.
"Wow!!!" Hua Fangling exclaimed, taking bite after bite. "This tastes amazing!!!"
Then there's the fish floss. How to describe it? It's tender, smooth, and chewy, with a wonderful fishy flavor. Hua Fangling had never tried this unique dish before, and it's so delicious that you can't stop eating it.
Moreover, it broke Hua Fangling's usual view that Jiang cuisine is all about saltiness, spiciness, and being good with rice, as if it wouldn't be Jiang cuisine without chili peppers. But this fish dish was still incredibly delicious even without chili peppers.
This made Hua Fangling have high expectations for the other dishes as well. The braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots was also delicious. This dish was red and green, and it looked very much like the dishes from Jiangxi Province.
The pork belly was stir-fried until very dry, rendering out all the fat. The dried bamboo shoots were soaked in the broth, but the pork belly was crispy and fragrant, not greasy at all. The dried bamboo shoots were very refreshing, and even the garlic sprouts and chili peppers tasted delicious. The only downside was that it was too good with rice. Hua Fangling, who had previously complained of having no appetite, ate a whole bowl of rice with this dish.
The Jiangsu version of braised pork with preserved mustard greens is also delicious. This is the first time Hua Fangling has tried the spicy version of braised pork with preserved mustard greens, but it doesn't stop her from eating it with rice.
She ate pickled taro stems, garlic-flavored pork ribs, and basically everything on the table except for stir-fried bok choy. She wished she had a second stomach.
Yao Anhui ate quite a bit, and perhaps because of her body, she accepted the cuisine of Jiangxi Province very well. Her ability to eat spicy food was beyond the reach of others. While Hua Fangling and others were gulping down water, Yao Anhui found it both delicious and satisfying.
Then they were once again shocked by the enormous appetites of Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang. They actually finished the entire table of food, eight dishes and a soup.
Yao Anhui was stunned. Good heavens, it turns out they hadn't been able to eat their fill before?
"...You weren't eating enough before, were you?" Yao Anhui was stunned for a while before she found her voice. This table of food could probably feed her for ten days.
"No, no." Seeing Yao Anhui's expression, Lu Yuanqing knew she had misunderstood, so he quickly explained, "I didn't eat well the previous few days, so I relaxed when I got home and ate a little more."
Actually, there was another reason they were too embarrassed to say: Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang were having an eating contest, and when they realized there wasn't much left, they habitually finished off the remaining food. This resulted in them being stuffed. Although Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang looked normal, as if they had a big appetite, they were actually both stuffed, but they just didn't say it.
After lunch, Yao Anhui went for her usual afternoon nap. Hua Fangling, who had become more sleepy during her pregnancy, had also developed the habit of taking afternoon naps.
Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang, who were both quite full, thought it over and went to the field with hoes. One of them peeled peanuts and the other dug potatoes, which helped them digest their food.
The military dependents in the family compound were all allocated a plot of land. Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling were not good at farming, but Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang both asked for a plot of land so that they could farm it themselves if their wives didn't want to.
Shen Wenkang didn't get a plot of land at first. It was when Lu Yuanqing and Yao Anhui got married and were dividing up the land that he got a plot of land. He planned to plant peanuts because he knew that Yao Anhui's hometown grew peanuts, and that Yao Anhui liked to eat dishes cooked with peanut oil.
Shen Wenkang allocated land mainly because he saw that Lu Yuanqing planned to farm it himself. He thought that Hua Fangling liked to eat French fries, potato chips, and stir-fried potato dishes, so she went with Lu Yuanqing. He planted potatoes.
So the two of them became oddities in the family compound. While other families grew vegetables in their gardens that could be stored for winter, the two of them only grew potatoes and peanuts.
Previously, when Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling were drying vegetables, they could only buy green beans and other similar vegetables to dry.
Furthermore, neither Lu Yuanqing nor Shen Wenkang had told Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling about it, meaning that Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling were unaware that their family owned land and had crops growing there.
When Yao Anhui woke up from her afternoon nap and didn't see Lu Yuanqing, she assumed he had gone out on something. Instead of looking for him, she leisurely went about her work, picking the ripe peppers from the yard, washing them, and drying them to make chopped peppers. She also picked the eggplants to make dried eggplant.
The cucumbers have been picked. Hua Fangling knows how to make Russian-style pickled cucumbers, which are said to taste very good. Yao Anhui decided to go and help her with the pressing.
Yao Anhui spent an hour mixing perfume and daydreaming for a while. By then it was already 5 p.m., and Qi Mingzhe had gone home after school. Yao Anhui then strolled out to prepare dinner.
What should we cook tonight? We only used about a third of the pork belly for lunch, so how about braised pork with the rest? Twice-cooked pork would also be good, it's one of her favorites…
Just as Yao Anhui was pondering what to have for dinner, Hua Fangling arrived, bringing with her a five- or six-pound silver carp.
"Such a big fish? Where did you buy it?" Several ways of cooking fish flashed through Yao Anhui's mind instantly.
"I bought it from the supply and marketing cooperative. A batch of fresh fish arrived at the cooperative this afternoon, but I arrived too late and only these big fish were left." Hua Fangling placed the fish in the pond in Yao Anhui's yard.
“It was so heavy, my hands are about to break from carrying it all the way back.” Hua Fangling even held out her hand to Yao Anhui to show her the red marks on her palm.
"Why did you bring it back yourself? Isn't your husband always inseparable from you? It's strange today, he's not sticking to you at all?" Yao Anhui teased her.
"I don't know either. I didn't see her when I woke up from my nap. She must have been busy with something," Hua Fangling said nonchalantly. She was even less bothered by Yao Anhui's teasing. She had encountered this kind of thing many times before, and her skin had become thick-skinned.
"That's strange. My family member also disappeared after waking up from their afternoon nap. Maybe they have something to do in their group?" Yao Anhui also thought of Lu Yuanqing, who hadn't been seen.
"I guess so. Okay, let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about how to cook this fish. An Hui, I'm having dinner at your house tonight too," Hua Fangling said without any politeness.
"Steamed fish head with chopped chili peppers, and then a stir-fried fish dish from our Jiang Province?" Yao Anhui thought for a moment and said. Actually, there are many ways to cook fish, but these two are the simplest methods, and she doesn't like anything too complicated.
"Sure, I'm waiting to eat anyway," Hua Fangling said in a cheeky manner, spreading her hands.
"Then how about chopped chili fish head, stir-fried fish, pork belly, or twice-cooked pork?" Yao Anhui asked again.
"How about twice-cooked pork, or maybe some eggplant with soy sauce?" Hua Fangling said, looking at the eggplants in the yard.
"I can't make that, I can only make braised eggplant," Yao Anhui said, indicating that she didn't know how.
"Auntie, I can make braised eggplant." Qi Mingzhe, who had taken out his homework to do his homework after returning home, quickly chimed in.
"Okay, you can tell me what to do later."
"Steamed fish head with chopped chili, stir-fried fish, twice-cooked pork, and eggplant with soy sauce—that's only four dishes! Look how much they can eat at lunchtime, shouldn't we order a few more?" Yao Anhui was exasperated. Having a big eater at home is a real headache for any chef.
"Isn't this enough? So many dishes! Who cooks four or five dishes for every meal?" Hua Fangling exclaimed in surprise. "Actually, I've been wanting to say this for a while now: don't you find it troublesome to prepare so many dishes for every meal?"
Hua Fangling was genuinely curious.
"Huh? Isn't this normal? Five people need at least four dishes and a soup, right? Otherwise, who would eat?" Not only was Hua Fangling surprised, but Yao Anhui was also surprised. Not to mention that when she was a concubine, she had more than a dozen dishes per person, which was normal. Even in the original owner's memories, the original owner and her mother had at least two dishes for every meal.
"Why isn't there enough food? Just make the portions bigger. Here, a family usually only has two or three dishes. Eight dishes and a soup like this for lunch today would be a New Year's feast."
While explaining the science to Yao Anhui, Hua Fangling also complained, "I feel like you do a lot of cooking, but the portions are too small. For example, I didn't get enough of the cold pickled scallions and fish strips at noon."
"Huh?" Yao Anhui was stunned. This is still not enough?
"Okay, I remember now, the differences between the North and the South." Hua Fangling slapped her forehead, recalling the North-South debates she often saw online.
"By the way, do you eat sweet or savory tofu pudding?" Hua Fangling asked curiously.
“It’s sweet,” Yao Anhui replied casually.
Just as Hua Fangling was about to say what was so delicious about sweet things, Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang returned, thus averting a potential conflict between the North and the South.
Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang both returned carrying loads on their shoulders. Shen Wenkang carried a basket filled with potatoes of all sizes, which looked freshly dug.
Lu Yuanqing was carrying a bulging sack, and it was unclear what was inside. After the two of them put their loads down in their yards, they went out again.
Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling stared in surprise, not even bothering to stop the man. Yao Anhui opened the sack and saw that it was filled with fresh peanuts. The two looked at each other, wondering what these two men were up to.
Soon Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang returned, each carrying peanuts and potatoes. They went out again and brought back a total of three loads.
"Brother Qing, where did these peanuts come from?" Yao Anhui asked curiously.
As Lu Yuanqing poured the peanuts into a basin to wash them, he replied, "The military families in the compound are all allocated three-tenths of an acre of land. I also got a plot and planted peanuts on it. Today is the perfect day to harvest them."
"Why did you decide to grow peanuts? And you didn't even tell me, I didn't even go to help." Yao Anhui puffed out her cheeks, slightly dissatisfied, and suddenly became a little concerned that Lu Yuanqing was hiding something from her.
"The land isn't big, only a third of an acre. I finished planting it all by myself in a day. Like today, I finished harvesting the peanuts in just one afternoon. I was just thinking that you're used to cooking with peanut oil, so I thought I'd plant some peanuts so we could press oil for ourselves," Lu Yuanqing quickly explained.
“I don’t like it when you keep things from me,” Yao Anhui said, lowering her eyes.
"Then I promise I won't hide anything from you next time. I'll tell you right away if anything happens, okay?" Lu Yuanqing noticed Yao Anhui's change in mood immediately and explained quickly, afraid that if he was too slow in expressing his loyalty this time, Yao Anhui would close the door to his heart that had been opened a crack.
"Okay." Perhaps it was because Lu Yuanqing was speaking so fast that he almost misspoke, which amused Yao Anhui, and in any case, she smiled again.
While Lu Yuanqing had appeased Yao Anhui, Shen Wenkang and Hua Fangling arrived together.
"Anhui, let's add some potato slices tonight. Freshly dug potato slices are the best." Hua Fangling brought over a basket of potatoes, not in Shen Wenkang's hands, of course.
"Okay, but I'll have to trouble your husband, Lao Shen, to clean the fish." Since everyone was already familiar with each other, and Lu Yuanqing was busy, Yao Anhui didn't hold back in ordering Shen Wenkang to do the work.
After Shen Wenkang finished cleaning the fish and preparing the head, Yao Anhui finished chopping all the vegetables. Then, Yao Anhui handed the knife, cutting board, and dried red chilies to Shen Wenkang, leaving him to chop the chilies.
"Old Lu, has your wife learned bad habits from you? She's so bossy." It was the first time Shen Wenkang had ever been ordered around by someone else's woman. He kept chopping chili peppers while talking.
"Stop talking nonsense, I'm keeping you from eating." Lu Yuanqing, who was washing peanuts, unceremoniously splashed water all over his head: "You eat more than anyone else."
"Hehe, I never expected you to be such a good cook, Captain..."
*
The next day, Lu Yuanqing, who rarely had free time, borrowed a car to take Yao Anhui to the city for shopping. He usually didn't have much time to spend with Yao Anhui, so he planned to take her to see a movie in the city today. Lu Yuanqing had noticed last time that Yao Anhui really liked watching movies.
However, this was another unusual day. Yao Anhui wondered if she had really been promoted to the leading lady, as she always seemed to encounter something whenever she went out.
I still didn't finish watching the movie that day.
Yao Anhui was also surprised that going to the cinema could lead to the discovery of a spy.
Yao Anhui and her companion didn't leave early; by the time they arrived in the city it was already past ten o'clock. So the two decided to go to the cinema first. A movie is two hours long, and after watching it, they would go to the state-run restaurant for lunch.
The movie that day was a spy film, telling the story of how our public security personnel cracked and intercepted codes for classified intelligence. The kind-looking, well-liked old lady who sold popsicles was actually a ruthless spy who had been lying low for over twenty years...
They had only seen the movie, but Yao Anhui had drunk too much water and needed to use the restroom. Lu Yuanqing accompanied her out of the screening room but noticed something was wrong. Inside the screening room, the spies in the movie were sending telegrams using a radio, but Lu Yuanqing and Yao Anhui heard the same beeping sound, but different from the one in the screening room.
Their hearts pounded.
After exchanging a glance, Yao Anhui said, "I think I might have an upset stomach. Brother, will you come with me to the hospital to get it checked out?"
"Could she be pregnant? Come on, let's go to the hospital right away. Mom's waiting to hold her grandson." The two walked out of the movie theater as if nothing had happened.
However, Yao Anhui noticed that Lu Yuanqing's entire posture had changed. Lu Yuanqing had always been upright, and experienced people could tell at a glance that he was a soldier. But at this moment, Lu Yuanqing was lazy and unsteady, walking with a swaying gait, clearly not a respectable person.
Yao Anhui felt her heart racing. Even though Lu Yuanqing's figure wasn't particularly attractive at this moment, why did she seem to have an aura about her? Why did she find this carefree Lu Yuanqing somewhat handsome?
Perhaps this is the halo effect that his work brings him?
After leaving the movie theater, Lu Yuanqing actually led Yao Anhui towards the hospital. Yao Anhui was puzzled but didn't say anything, and obediently followed along.
Lu Yuanqing took Yao Anhui to the hospital and they went to see a gynecologist together. However, only Yao Anhui went to see the doctor. Lu Yuanqing had already taken the opportunity to slip away, only telling Yao Anhui to wait for him to come back and pick her up at the hospital.
Lu Yuanqing was gone for three days, even exceeding the time his army had given him to take leave.
However, something happened to Yao Anhui. She had only come to the hospital for a check-up under a pretext, but the senior doctor took her pulse and found that she had a cold uterus. He said that if she didn't get treatment, it would affect her ability to have children.
This is outrageous! Yao Anhui originally wanted to have a child of her own before she even considered getting married. Now that the doctor says she has a cold uterus and needs treatment, she definitely has to get treatment.
Fortunately, the cold uterus was not severe and could be cured with three months of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, which relieved Yao Anhui.
Lu Yuanqing returned midway, and was immediately startled to see Yao Anhui's swollen double eyelids, as he had rarely seen Yao Anhui cry.
"What happened? What's wrong? Don't scare me, Huihui." Lu Yuanqing was extremely anxious.
"Waaah..." Yao Anhui's crying was a silent tear, the kind of heartache that made people's hearts clench.
"The doctor said I have a cold uterus, and that staying in the hospital for treatment will affect my ability to have children." Yao Anhui was really in pain. She had been holding it in, as she was strong-willed and kept many things to herself. But now, seeing Lu Yuanqing, she inexplicably wanted to vent and seek comfort from him.
To be honest, Lu Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Yao Anhui had uterine cold. When he saw her so sad and upset before, Lu Yuanqing's first reaction was that Yao Anhui had some terminal illness. Lu Yuanqing was frightened by his own imagination.
Hearing that Gong Han would only affect his ability to have children, he breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was safe with Lu Yuanqing, that was all that mattered.
"It's alright, it's alright. Didn't the doctor say it can be cured? Let's get it treated properly, don't be sad." Lu Yuanqing pulled Yao Anhui into his arms and gently patted her back.
"What if I can't have children?" Yao Anhui said in a hoarse voice.
"If I don't want to have children, then I don't want to have children. As long as I have you, that's enough for me." Lu Yuanqing really didn't mind. What he minded was not having Yao Anhui by his side for the rest of his life.
“But I want a child for both of us.” Yao Anhui cried again.
"Then let's treat it properly. Didn't the doctor say it can be cured?" Lu Yuanqing coaxed.
"Hmm." Yao Anhui was a strong person after all, and quickly composed herself to ask about the movie theater: "How's it going at the movie theater? Has it been resolved?"
"It's not resolved yet. I'm back now to take you home first, and I'll be back again later," Lu Yuanqing explained.
"Let's go back quickly, so as not to delay your work," Yao Anhui said hastily.
Lu Yuanqing wanted to say it was alright, but reality wouldn't allow it. He could only accompany Yao Anhui to the pharmacy to get the medicine, and then sped off to Yao Anhui's family compound. After reporting the situation to his superiors, he left again at breakneck speed.
Lu Yuanqing was gone for three days before finally returning, bringing with him good news: all the spies in the movie theater had been eradicated.
Not only were all the spies at the cinema arrested, but they even followed the clues and arrested an entire spy gang in the city. Lu Yuanqing was also awarded a first-class merit.
When Hua Fangling found out, she couldn't help but ask Yao Anhui if she was carrying a spy bait, since she seemed to run into spies wherever she went.
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