On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the farm closed its gates and the family members cooked lunch at their respective homes. Wu Jun, Lu Shiyi and Lin Zitao decided to prepare a New Year's Eve dinner for the whole family at noon.
Each family provides two dishes, and the rest are prepared by the canteen.
Su Jin prepared stewed fish with gu and mixed sea fish with pancakes. These two dishes were specially requested by the elders. The fish cooked by Su Jin tasted better than that of ordinary people.
"Wife, Zong Li and I will carry it over." Lu Shiyi saw Su Jin was about to carry the pot, but was persuaded by Lu Shiyi.
Su Jin turned her head to look at the door. Zong Li was standing straight at the door with a smile on his face.
"Zong Li, take the braised meat away later. You can eat it directly when you get back from your shift." Su Jin pointed to a ceramic basin of braised meat. "Ayi prepared a lot of meat, and I braised it all."
"Listen to your sister-in-law and take all the braised meat back." Lu Shiyi noticed that Zong Li was about to refuse, but before he could even say anything, he was stopped by Lu Shiyi. "I braised 20 kilograms of meat for you, but I can only take care of you for one day."
Lu Shiyi asked Su Jin to make all the meat he got into braised meat, and gave all the remaining meat to Zong Li and the others.
"Commander, this is against the rules. I've taken everything away. How are you and sister-in-law going to eat?" Zong Li asked, carrying the dishes. Su Jin had covered the braised meat in a porcelain bowl. "Does Hanhan want to come with us?"
"Hanhan just fell asleep after being fed. We just need to come back as soon as possible." Lu Shiyi shook his head and said, "Wife, lock the bedroom door. We will come back immediately after dinner."
Su Jin took out a military coat from the living room and put it on him. She had already put Hanhan into the space, put on a thick coat, and took empty dishes from the kitchen before locking the door and leaving.
Lu Shiyi led Zong Li to the threshing ground and met many former team members. They all greeted each other.
"Minister Lu, why isn't Teacher Su here?" Several family members looked back but didn't see Su Jin.
"My wife locked the door before coming. Hanhan is sleeping at home." Lu Shiyi pursed his lips and said. Today is New Year's Day and there is a rare smile on his face.
In the threshing yard, many children were running back and forth, and their laughter filled the air.
"Uncle Lu, Happy New Year!" The children greeted Lu Shiyi cheerfully, their eyes fixed on the porcelain bowl in his hand. "Did Teacher Su cook the meal?"
"Well, this is the fish that Teacher Su made. You can eat more later." Lu Shiyi put the food on the table and took out some White Rabbit candies from his pocket. "These are New Year candies!"
When the children visit the Lu family to pay New Year's greetings, Lu Shiyi always gives them White Rabbit gifts. After Hanhan was born this year, Lu Shiyi delivered red eggs to every household and distributed candy to all the children.
Some family members felt that Lu Shiyi and Su Jin did not know how to live and were too generous. They just gave away a few hundred yuan worth of things just because a son was born.
"Thank you, Uncle Lu." The children each took two pieces of candy and ran away happily.
Lu Shiyi and Zong Li placed two pots of food on the large table. The canteen staff began to serve the food. Zong Li immediately ran to the guard squad's table to eat.
At the main table, Wu Jun, Lin Zitao and Lu Shiyi were talking. Before the twelfth lunar month, the people who came to the farm to cause trouble signed an agreement with the family members, stipulating the amount of support and items to be handed over to the parents every year.
After signing this agreement, several young couples were completely relieved. Last year, during a mission, some team members were injured and needed to use medicine at their own expense, which caused a quarrel between many family members and the bride's family.
Su Jin came from a distance, and the family members greeted her with smiles on their faces. She found that they looked relaxed. Except for a few family members, the rest of the family members sent money to her mother's home according to the agreed amount.
Many team members also contacted their families and gave the same amount of money to both families every year. This caused a lot of trouble at home, and the team members were tough for once.
Lu Shiyi and Lin Zitao set an example, prompting other team members to follow suit.
"Ayi is here, shall we sit there?" Su Jin found Lu Shiyi who was talking and reached out to pull his coat sleeve.
"Take a seat at the main table. This meal is a thank-you dinner for the families." Lu Shi told Su Jin, "The team members can only go on a new mission because of your support."
Su Jin chuckled and said, "We all love to hear what you said!"
The family members passing by gave thumbs up and said, "Teacher Su is right. We are all happy to hear this."
Lu Shiyi chuckled and said, "I think what Old Lin said makes sense."
Everyone rushed to the threshing ground and sat down, waiting for Wu Jun or Lin Zitao to speak. They could only start eating after the speech.
Lu Shiyi stood up from his seat, looked around and found that no one was absent.
"Today is Laba Festival, and the Chinese New Year is just over 20 days away. The team members have worked hard all year long, coming to the mountains and working on the farm. So have their families." Lu Shiyi reviewed the past year's work and continued, "I hope that next year, every household will have a better life. While the team members are out on missions, their families are working hard to stay behind, so that the team members don't have to worry about anything."
The family members applauded and everyone was in a good mood. No one was worried about going back to the mother's home on the second day of the New Year.
"Commander Lu, on behalf of the families, I also want to thank you, the three commanders, Mrs. Wu, Teacher Yun, and Teacher Su," Huang's wife stood up and said gratefully, "You have enlightened us. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be able to take care of our own family, and the head of the family would have concerns when he went on missions."
Wu Jun stood up with a wine glass in his right hand: "Shi Yi and Lao Lin are on duty today. I would like to toast everyone. I hope everyone has a good new year and will continue to work hard next year."
As soon as he finished speaking, many family members picked up their teacups and drank tea, as a way of returning the favor to Wu Jun.
Su Jin sat next to Lu Shiyi and looked at the dozens of dishes on the table. The dishes made by the family members were quite large. Considering everyone's situation, the canteen took out 7 meat dishes, including wild boar meat, venison and roe deer meat, which were sent back three days in advance.
"Shi Yi, sister-in-law, congratulations on the addition of a new member to your family this year. If Shi Yi is not at home, go find Yunshan if you have any questions." Wu Jun congratulated Lu Shiyi and his wife.
When Hanhan was one month old, Wu Jun and Lin Zitao both saw Hanhan. The chubby little guy looked like a good soldier.
"Minister Wu, I might have to trouble Aunt and Sister-in-law Yunfeng in the future." Lu Shiyi agreed directly, "Xiao Jin is a little tired of taking care of Hanhan, and the elders of the two families can't come, so it's worth asking Aunt and Sister-in-law for help."
"Okay, stop thanking me. Tomorrow is Laba Festival. Let's make some hot Laba porridge this morning so everyone can enjoy it." Liu Yunshan recalled the watery porridge she had in the family compound last year, which had the families complaining a lot. "We're in charge of the canteen this year, so those dirty hands are no longer there. The Laba porridge should be better this year."
Everyone was having lunch in a lively atmosphere. After this meal, the farm officially entered the New Year mode.
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