Chapter 37
Around seven o'clock in the evening, Chen Shengqing's comrades arrived one after another.
Although everyone lived in the same unit, Yang Qiujin was elusive, and Political Commissar Liao and his men only heard about Yang Qiujin's deeds from their lovers.
This was the first time that Chen Shengqing and his wife hosted a dinner party. They came because of Yang Qiujin. They wanted to see who Yang Qiujin was that could make Chen Shengqing stay away from other women for so many years and stick to this legendary extremely hot-tempered woman.
They came together. Yang Qiujin was cooking in the kitchen when she heard the noise. She wiped the water off her hands, came out to greet everyone, and made tea for everyone: "Captain Guo, Political Commissar Liao, Deputy Captain Li... Now that you are here, please sit inside. There are snacks on the table. Eat something to fill your stomach. Dinner will be served soon."
Then he turned around and called his son who was eating melon seeds in the living room, "Tianyou, come and call uncle."
Afraid that the child might call the wrong person, she gave Chen Shengqing a look, and Chen Shengqing introduced them to Tianyou one by one: "The one with gray hair is Uncle Guo, the one wearing glasses is Uncle Liao, and that one is Uncle Luo..."
Chen Tianyou was not afraid of strangers. He called out to everyone in a crisp voice and helped Yang Qiujin put cups of tea in front of them. He also took the melon seeds, peanuts and candies on the plate on the table and put them into their hands one by one: "Uncles, please have tea and melon seeds. The tea is the tea my mother and grandmother picked before the Qingming Festival in our hometown. My mother made the tea herself. Although it tastes a bit bitter, my grandmother said it tastes very fragrant. The flower melon seeds were bought by my father today. They are not damp and are very fragrant, crispy and delicious."
"Hey, Captain Chen, your son is amazing. He is sensible, polite, and eloquent. He will definitely have a bright future." Guo Shengrong sat on a chair in the living room, holding a cup of hot tea brought by Chen Tianyou, and could not stop praising him.
Chen Shengqing was very proud of his son's obedience and complimented his daughter-in-law, saying, "This is all due to Qiu Jin's good teaching. If he has a bright future, Qiu Jin and I will be happy for him."
Yang Qiujin smiled and said, "Shengqing, please take care of everyone. I'll go to the kitchen first."
"Okay, I'll serve the dishes later."
After Yang Qiujin left, the men were free from their constraints. Political Commissar Liao teased Chen Shengqing: "Captain Chen, I've heard that women in Sichuan Province are all hot-tempered and men are all henpecked. I didn't believe it, but now that I've come to your house, it's really true."
"Don't tell me, Captain Chen is really a henpecked man." Li Zhiyong, who was sitting next to Guo Shengrong, said, "My wife is close to Captain Chen's wife and often comes to visit him. When she comes back, she tells me that Captain Chen washes all the clothes and dishes in his house, and he often takes care of the children. My wife is so jealous that she keeps saying that Captain Chen is a good man and asks me to learn from him. During this time, when she has nothing to do, she asks me to wash clothes and take care of the children. If I don't, she quarrels with me, which makes me not want to go home."
"Yes, yes, yes. After my wife heard about Captain Chen's incident, she also complained to me when she got home and asked me to do the laundry and cooking."
A man named Luo Jin, who was ordinary looking but had a very obvious highland red on his face. His skin was cracked and blackened by the cold wind on the plateau, making him look like Guan Gong with a red face. He was about 30 years old and the commander of the second battalion answered, "If you ask me, women shouldn't get used to this. Since ancient times, men have been the breadwinners and women have been the homemakers. We old men work hard outside and just want to have a good rest when we get home. Raising children and doing housework are all women's jobs. If we do all these things, what else do they need women to do? They should just stay at home and enjoy themselves. Then I'm not marrying a wife, I'm marrying an ancestor!"
"You married your ancestor." The dark-skinned instructor of the first battalion, Wang Jianjun, said while drinking tea, "Captain Luo, don't talk so loudly. Your teacher Li came from a big city to follow the army. Teacher Li is busy at school from morning till night. Does she have time to do housework and take care of your children?"
Luo Jin's wife was called Li Man, the teacher who spoke up for Yang Qiujin when she had an argument with Shi Fangfang.
Riemann was as beautiful as a flower, but she married Luo Jin, a divorced man who was not very good-looking. Many people laughed at Riemann, saying that she was a flower stuck in cow dung. Luo Jin took such a beauty home with him, and he treated her like a ancestor.
The others laughed in mockery. Luo Jin was exposed by Wang Jianjun and stared at him awkwardly: "Our eldest brother doesn't say anything about the second brother, but the wife you married is also worshipped as an ancestor."
"I did it willingly." Wang Jianjun was very thick-skinned. "You and I are not the same person. I just felt sorry for my wife."
"Hey, how are you different? Aren't you just like Captain Chen, a henpecked man who is afraid of his wife?"
......
There were constant sounds of talking and laughter in the living room.
In the kitchen, Yang Qiujin was cooking busily, and she did not forget to arrange the dishes on the plates and make them look nice.
Zhao Erfeng put the steaming buns on the grate, turned around and saw the various dishes Yang Qiujin had placed on the stove, and couldn't help but sigh: "Oh my God, sister, how can you have so much time to make so many different dishes? I think the state-owned restaurants can't cook as well as you."
"Sister-in-law, you're joking. My child used to be a picky eater. In order to get him to eat more, I followed the cooking sections in the newspaper and cooked some fancy dishes for him. He ate more than before. I just did it casually because I'm used to it."
Yang Qiujin put most of the braised rabbit meat into a large bowl, scooped the rest into two slightly smaller bowls, and took two more bowls of stewed mutton. She tilted her head and said, "Sister-in-law, the dishes are basically ready. You can take a bowl of rabbit meat and mutton. Take them back to the children while they are hot. I'll give the other two bowls to Sister-in-law Liang next door. My children have been a lot of trouble for her to take care of."
"Okay, then I won't be polite." Zhao Erfeng knew that Yang Qiujin often gave her children to Liang Xueqing to take care of. She was a little prejudiced against Liang Xueqing, but Yang Qiujin and Liang Xueqing were good friends, so she wouldn't say anything.
Especially since she had received a rabbit from Yang Qiujin yesterday, she felt that she must be more important in Yang Qiujin's heart than Liang Xueqing, so she wiped her hands, carried two bowls of food in each hand without fear of being burned, and went home happily to feed the children.
As soon as she left, Chen Shengqing followed into the kitchen, "Qiu Jin, let me help."
"No need to help. Sister Zhao has done everything she should do. You can bring the dishes to the living room." Yang Qiujin was preparing to pour a layer of hot oil on the cooked sauerkraut fish to stimulate its aroma.
Sizzle! The sizzling sound of hot oil being poured onto the fish could be heard in the kitchen, and the air was filled with the sour, spicy and appetizing smell of fish.
Chen Shengqing smelled the fragrance and looked at the various dishes placed on the stove. His throat moved, "Thank you for your hard work, Qiu Jin. We will treat you this time. If you want to treat us again in the future, we will go to a restaurant."
"What? Do you think the food I cook is not tasty?" Yang Qiujin knew that he sympathized with her hard work in cooking, but she still couldn't help teasing him.
"The food you cook is the most delicious in my eyes."
The man stood straight with a solemn expression on his face, which made people believe that what he said was true.
Yang Qiujin chuckled, "Okay, stop being stingy. We'll talk about the future later. Take the dishes to the living room first. They should be cold soon."
"good."
Chen Shengqing brought dishes into the living room one by one, and Yang Qiujin also took the two bowls of dishes she had reserved for herself to the next room.
"Mrs. Liang, are you home?"
Liang Xueqing was sitting in the living room reading a book. When she heard the noisy noises next door, she was a little hesitant about whether to go and help. After all, she was a neighbor of the Chen family, and so many guests came to the Chen family, all of whom were in the same group as Wang Jianjun. If she went to help, not to mention that Yang Qiujin would be grateful to her, it would also leave a good impression on the leaders including Group Leader Guo and Political Commissar Liao, and it would also increase some hope for Wang Jianjun's career.
But she came from a capitalist family and had never done housework since she was a child. After she got married, all the housework was done by Wang Jianjun. She was afraid that if she went to the Chen family, her good intentions would make things worse.
While she was hesitating, she heard the loud voice of Zhao Erfeng coming over to help. She knew that Zhao Erfeng was close to Yang Qiujin and didn't like her very much. After thinking about it, she decided to give up and just read at home.
When she heard Yang Qiujin's call, she thought that Yang Qiujin was short of salt or something else and came to borrow it, so she hurriedly called out, "I'm here." When she walked out of the house, she saw Yang Qiujin rushing to her with two bowls of meat and vegetables on her left and right. "Hurry up, take one bowl. Ouch, it's scalding me to death."
Liang Xueqing quickly took a bowl of food and saw her carrying the food to her living room. Then she realized belatedly: "Is this for me?"
"Yes. I have been busy on the farm for more than a month and have no time to take care of Tianyou. Shengqing is also busy. Tianyou has asked you to take care of him many times. I have always wanted to thank you, but I don't have much time. I thought that Instructor Wang was having dinner at my house, and you and the children must be hungry, so I brought you some dishes so that you can taste my cooking skills."
Yang Qiujin walked into the Wang family's living room and saw Wang Songyue and her brother doing their homework. She put the dishes on the table and said, "Sister Liang, your children are really obedient. They do their homework honestly when they get home. They are not like my naughty boy who procrastinates when doing his homework. It makes me angry."
Wang Songyue saw her coming in, stood up politely and called out, "Auntie Yang, hello."
"Hey, good kid." Yang Qiujin touched Wang Songyue's head with admiration, took out a bunch of fruit candies she had packed specially from her pocket, put them in front of her and said, "Songyue, share the candies with your brother, and don't be polite to auntie. Auntie's candies are not given to you for free. You and Tianyou are in the same class, so if you have nothing to do, please help me keep an eye on Tianyou and tell him not to do anything bad. Auntie thanks you in advance. Auntie has something else to do, so I'll leave first."
She actually said this to Liang Xueqing, who was particularly particular about politeness. Before, when Chen Tianyou was playing at Wang's house, or when she didn't have time and asked Liang Xueqin to help look after Chen Tianyou, Yang Qiujin would always give her some candy or homemade food to express her gratitude to Liang Xueqing.
Liang Xueqing always refused very politely and tactfully, and Yang Qiujin had to shirk her responsibility for a long time before she accepted the offer.
Yang Qiujin felt that only by reciprocity could neighbors help each other get on with life. She was really afraid that Liang Xueqin would make excuses again, so after giving the candies to the children, she left in a hurry.
"Mom, can I eat it?" Wang Songyue held nearly twenty candies of various colors in her hand and looked at Liang Xueqin's expression.
Wang Songyue was in the period of changing teeth, and Liang Xueqing had never allowed her to eat sweets, for fear that she would damage her teeth and look ugly in the future.
Wang Songyue was only six years old, at the age when she loved sweets and could not resist the temptation of sweet candies.
However, she was more obedient and sensible than other children. She never stole candy. Even if someone gave it to her, she would ask her mother for her opinion before eating it.
Her brother Wang Songyang doesn't care about all that. As long as there is food, he will eat anything he can eat, no matter whether it is sweet, bitter or spicy.
Seeing the two bowls of delicious meat dishes on the table, Wang Songyang drooled. While Liang Xueqin and her daughter were talking, he quickly reached out and grabbed a piece of fat braised rabbit meat and put it into his mouth.
The rabbit meat is tender and spicy, without any grassy smell, and has a strong aroma of roasted dried mushrooms. The gravy bursts in your mouth when you take a bite. It is so delicious that it whets your appetite. After eating one piece, you will want to eat a second piece.
The meat was so hot that he screamed in pain, but he was reluctant to spit it out and just chewed it whole, breathing heavily.
"Eat slowly." Liang Xueqing turned around when she heard the voice and saw him wolfing down his food. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "We just had dinner, why are you eating again?"
"The food in the cafeteria is not tasty. It has no flavor. The food cooked by Aunt Yang is delicious." After eating the rabbit meat, Wang Songyang licked his fingers holding the rabbit meat with endless aftertaste and said, "I feel like I can still eat another bowl of rice."
Liang Xueqing is from Shanghai and likes sweet and light food. Wang Jianjun is from northern Hunan and likes spicy and strong food.
After the two got married, in order to adapt to Liang Xueqing's taste, Wang Jianjun rarely ate spicy food, and he only ordered light meals when he went to the cafeteria.
Wang Songyue and her brother have been eating cafeteria meals for a long time. Like Liang Xueqing, Wang Songyue can't eat spicy food, but Wang Songyang likes spicy food as much as his father.
Ever since he first tasted the spicy dishes sent by Yang Qiujin, he couldn't stop. He would ask Wang Jianjun to get some spicy dishes from the canteen every few days, and when he had nothing to do, he would shamelessly go to Chen's house to eat for free.
Liang Xueqing was troubled by his shameless behavior. She had been discriminated against because of her class background. In addition, the education she received since childhood made her unwilling to contact with many people, trouble others, and owe others favors. She always kept a distance from the military wives in the family compound.
After Wang Songyang's actions, Yang Qiujin always sent food to her house. She had no choice but to help Yang Qiujin look after Chen Tianyou. She had to repay the favor!
Chen family.
When everyone saw the various dishes on the table, their eyes turned green and they kept praising Yang Qiujin for her good cooking.
Everyone was eating and chatting. Wang Jianjun was from northern Hunan, and his taste was similar to that of people from Sichuan. In the years since he and Liang Xueqing got married, he had eaten spicy food so many times that he could count them on his fingers. This time, he had a rare meal that he liked, and he had been eating with his chopsticks since the food was served.
Luo Jin laughed at him: "Coach Wang, look at the way you eat vegetables, it's like you haven't eaten in eight lifetimes. If you don't know the truth, you might think your wife is abusing you and not giving you food."
"No, it's just that everyone has their own destiny. I married my wife, so I have to accommodate her taste." Wang Jianjun ate a piece of tender pickled fish slices, spitting out the fish bone from his mouth and said, "Captain Chen is smart. He married a wife from the same hometown. They all have the same taste in food, so there is no need to accommodate anyone."
Chen Shengqing smiled and said nothing, then turned to the kitchen and said, "Qiu Jin, the dishes are all served, go to the table and eat."
"No, you guys eat." Yang Qiujin was pulling Chen Tianyou to sit at a small table in the kitchen, eating a small portion of braised rabbit meat and a small portion of cold cucumber. "You men are all together, I want Tianyou and I to be here, you will feel uncomfortable."
Chen Shengqing frowned: "You are the hostess of the host family. If you don't go to the table, what's the point of me inviting them? If you don't go, I won't invite anyone again in the future."
Seeing that he was a little angry, Yang Qiujin explained, "Don't be angry. I'm not like those ignorant and feudal people in our village who don't allow women and children to sit at the table when there are guests at home. I simply don't want to squeeze in with your comrades. Our living room is small, and the dining table is also small. There is no room for everyone. Besides, you men are drinking and chatting, and Tianyou and I can't interrupt you. He is a talkative person, and he will learn what you say and tell outsiders. That would be bad."
Chen Shengqing wanted to say something, but Li Zhiyong's enthusiastic voice came from outside: "Doctor Ji, why did you come just now? We are almost finished with the food."
Yang Qiujin was stunned for a moment, then remembered that Ji Mingchen was indeed among the invited guests. She gave Chen Shengqing a look and said, "Go and entertain the guests. Don't worry about my mother and me. You don't want me to entertain Ji Mingchen in person, do you?"
The man emphasized the word "personally". Thinking of their past, a sour feeling welled up in his chest. He lowered his eyelids and reiterated, "Next time, let's go to the hotel to treat you." He turned around and left the kitchen, calling Ji Mingchen who was late.
Yang Qiujin looked at the man's leaving back, her lips curled slightly and she smiled silently.
This man looks calm and amiable on the outside, but he is actually very petty. She didn't have anything to do with Ji Mingchen back then, but he took it seriously when she mentioned it casually. His face was so dark just now that it was scary.
Miser!
Since Chen Shengqing was going to be a guest, he naturally had to symbolically invite Ji Mingchen to his house for dinner.
Ji Mingchen originally didn't want to come. He was different from the officers in the regiment. He was the chief surgeon of a military hospital. He had no actual military merits and only the title of a military academy officer. He only used a scalpel to treat patients and save lives in the hospital. He had nothing in common with Chen Shengqing and the other officers.
The reason he was finally asked to come was that he had just got home from get off work when someone told him about Shi Fangfang's quarrel with Yang Qiujin again when she went to pick up the child in the afternoon.
He had been reluctant to marry Shi Fangfang in the first place. Now that Shi Fangfang followed him in the army, she was always making trouble for Yang Qiujin and causing a lot of trouble, making him lose face in front of everyone. He hated Shi Fangfang so much that he didn't want to go home.
After wandering around the military hospital for a long time, he really didn't want to go home and listen to Shi Fangfang crying, so he finally decided to go to Chen's house to pay compensation and apologize to Yang Qiujin.
However, Yang Qiujin did not come out to meet him. Only Chen Shengqing politely led him to the living room and asked him to sit down.
After everyone talked to him for a few words, one of them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, praised Yang Qiujin: "Captain Chen, before we came to your house, we all heard about your wife from our relatives, and we thought your wife was just like those women said, a rustic and down-to-earth woman. Now it seems that your wife is not a rustic woman at all, she is clearly a goddess from heaven! Not only is she beautiful, but she can also cook delicious meals. I heard that your wife is not afraid of hard work and struggle in the Tianshan Farm, and she has been waiting for you for seven years in your hometown. Such a good woman is hard to find even with a lantern!"
Chen Shengqing was proud of his wife being praised. "Yes, marrying her is the luck of my life."
Ji Mingchen listened to their conversation and looked at the table full of delicious dishes, feeling very uncomfortable.
If Shi Fangfang hadn't set him up, he would have been the one Yang Qiujin should have married, given birth to children for, and cooked this meal for...
He said nothing, and the person who had brought up the topic earlier was silenced. Everyone knew about his affair with Chen Shengqing and his wife, so they tacitly stopped talking about it and turned to talk about some things in the army.
Everyone was eating and drinking, and when there wasn't enough wine, Li Zhiyong volunteered to go home and get out his own hidden vintage liquor so that everyone could drink together.
By the time the moon was high in the sky, everyone was drunk and supported each other as they left.
After they left, Yang Qiujin went to the living room to clean up the leftovers. Chen Shengqing came back from seeing the guests off and saw her cleaning up the dishes. He quickly said, "Qiujin, go and take a rest. I'll clean up and wash the dishes."
Yang Qiujin was indeed a little tired after cooking such a large table of food. Besides, it was getting late, so she boiled some hot water, gave the child a bath, and coaxed him to sleep. She really wanted to rest, so she didn't say anything and let Chen Shengqing clean up.
She had been lying in the room for not long when she heard the sound of a bowl breaking in the kitchen. She remembered that Chen Shengqing had been drinking with the guests, and because his face looked normal just now, she thought he was not drunk.
Now hearing the sound, she felt something was wrong and hurried to the kitchen. Chen Shengqing was bending over to pick up the broken pieces of the bowl on the ground.
One of the sharp pieces of the bowl scratched his finger, and blood dripped down from his bony knuckles. He seemed not to feel the pain, picked up the piece of bowl and put it aside, and was about to continue washing the dishes.
"Hey, don't move!" Yang Qiujin hurriedly stopped him, "Your hand is injured, don't you feel it? Wait, I will stop the bleeding for you. Don't touch the water, be careful of infection, I will wash the dishes later."
Yang Qiujin turned back to her room, found her prepared medicine box, took out a packet of Yunnan hemostatic powder, a bandage, and a bottle of alcohol, and hurried to the kitchen.
Chen Shengqing stood obediently in his original position, watching her clean her wound with medicinal wine and bandage it. He smiled faintly and said, "Actually, you don't need to stop the bleeding for me. I have been injured much more seriously when I was on a mission before. This little injury is nothing in my eyes. It will be healed in two days."
"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Now, no matter how small the injury is in front of me, I will feel sad and you must treat the wound properly." After saying this, Yang Qiujin was stunned.
Why did she say such disgusting words out of the blue?
Chen Shengqing was also stunned for a moment, then a charming smile appeared on his face, and he stared at her with deep and fiery eyes and asked: "Qiu Jin, do you regret marrying me?"
"Why do you ask that?" His eyes were too burning, Yang Qiujin didn't dare to look him in the eye, she lowered her head and gently wrapped the gauze around his fingers, thought for a moment and said: "At first I didn't, then you didn't come back for a long time, and there was no news, I didn't know whether you were dead or alive, I felt a little regretful. But I thought you would definitely come back, so I put those thoughts behind me. Now, I think your performance is very good, and you are very good to me, so I naturally don't regret it."
When Chen Shengqing heard the answer he wanted, the corners of his mouth curved up, and he reached out to embrace Yang Qiujin in his arms. He lowered his head and gently kissed her rosy lips, with a gentle smile in his eyes, "Thank you for not regretting marrying me and for being willing to wait for me. I, Chen Shengqing, am lucky to have you by my side."
I don’t know if it’s because he drank too much, but his voice was much hoarseer than usual, sounding more deep and pleasant, and his skin was hotter than usual.
The warmth of the kiss on her lips was still there, Yang Qiujin's ears felt hot, she reached out and pushed him away, "You are drunk, go to the room and rest, I will wash the dishes."
"I'm not drunk." Chen Shengqing raised his hand, grabbed her wrist, and continued to carry her into his arms.
Yang Qiujin's heart skipped a beat. She didn't struggle, but looked up at him. "Why are you hugging me when you're not drunk? Normally, you're as close to me as possible and want to stay as far away from me as possible."
"That's because I respect you, not because I want to stay away from you." Chen Shengqing looked at her with burning eyes, a smile on his lips, "Qiu Jin, I want to tell you that I have never liked Shi Fangfang from the beginning to the end. It was not my intention when my grandfather arranged the engagement for me. I have been trying to find a way to cancel the engagement, but the Shi family has been taking advantage of my family. After tasting the sweetness, they are dragging their feet and are unwilling to cancel. Seven years ago, I was framed that day, and it was Shi Fangfang who said that we should go to her house for dinner to discuss the cancellation of the engagement, so I went to her house... Over the years, it's not that I don't want to go home, but I have a mission and I really have no choice. We have wasted too much time, and now you and the children are by my side. For the rest of my life, I just want to treat you well."
As he spoke, he lowered his head again, looking like he wanted to kiss Yang Qiujin.
Yang Qiujin's heart was beating like a drum, and she watched him slowly approaching her. At this moment, she didn't think of struggling, nor did she think of pushing him away.
She followed her heart, slowly closed her eyes, and waited for Chen Shengqing to kiss her.
Suddenly I felt someone approaching me, and then I heard a hot breath with a hint of alcohol.
She opened her eyes immediately and saw the man, whose face looked normal and who didn't look drunk at all, lying on the stove with a vomiting look on his face.
Yang Qiujin:......
If she hadn't known that he was drunk, she would have thought that he despised her.
Seeing the man in such pain, and not knowing how much he had drunk that night, Yang Qiujin resigned herself to helping the man to the toilet, letting him vomit completely, then helping him wash up, and sending him to the room to lie down, and then she went back to the kitchen to clean up slowly.
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