Chapter 100

They stared at the beach without blinking. There were so many seafoods there!

Large fishing boats were anchored at the beach, and fishermen were busy getting on and off the boats and unloading their cargoes. This time the harvest was great, and the seafood they brought back was enough to feed thousands of people nearby.

Thousands of fish of different species were caught in the huge fishing nets, which were swaying freely.

The chief cook in charge of the army canteen bought 300 kilograms of fish in one go to cook fish for the soldiers.

As the Chinese New Year is coming, everyone needs to catch up. In the cold winter months, there is nothing better than drinking a bowl of fish soup.

The staff at the grocery station were also transporting goods to the station's pool. Some people were already queuing up to buy the freshest seafood.

The fishermen were busy, throwing all kinds of seafood from the fishing boats and washing the decks with rubber hoses.

"Grandpa Yang!"

Shuangshuang was drooling at the sight of so many delicious foods.

Fisherman Lao Yang and Cheng Zheng have known each other for many years and have a deep friendship. When he saw the family of four coming over, he quickly took off his gloves and said, "Captain Cheng, you are early, and I have saved some good things for you. Shuangshuang, come on, come on, and see what you like to eat!"

"Grandpa Yang, I like to eat everything. I'm not picky about food." Shuangshuang squatted on the ground, stretched out his index finger and touched the fish trapped in the fishing net lying on the beach.

"Hahaha, then eat more."

"Uncle Yang, you guys have made a great harvest this time." Cheng Zheng looked back at the seafood, which was indeed spectacular.

The seafood caught is first supplied to the troops and supplementary food stations, mainly the most commonly eaten fish, shrimp and shellfish. The rest can be processed by the fishermen themselves, which is also a benefit for the fishermen after the policy has been gradually relaxed in the past two years.

It is because of this that the fishermen are more motivated and the results are obvious.

"Hahaha, I'm lucky this time." Old Yang walked around to the back of the fishing boat and took down the bag hanging there. The bag was heavy and bulging. "I left these for you. They're all good fish. They're big in size and must be delicious!"

"Thank you!"

Cheng Zheng was about to pay the money but was stopped by Lao Yang. Lao Yang felt that Cheng Zheng had saved his life after all, so he refused to take the money from Captain Cheng.

"Just a little food. It won't look good if we fight over it here. Just consider it as food I'm giving to Shuangshuang."

Cheng Zheng couldn't refuse, so he could only quietly put three yuan on the deck before leaving. The price of seafood was cheap, and he could buy enough seafood and still have some left over.

After all, he had been a soldier for many years, and the idea of ​​not taking a single needle or thread from the masses was ingrained in his bones.

Shuangshuang wanted to carry her own food and tried to take the bag from her father.

"You can't carry it." Jian Lu ruthlessly revealed the fact that the bag was filled with a lot of seafood and was not light.

"Not necessarily." He clenched his fists and waved his arms. His thin arms swayed, and his tone was quite loud, "Mom, I'm very strong."

Aunt Wang testified, "You know what, her hands are really strong, stronger than those of Juanjuan and other girls of similar age."

"Okay, then you try it." Cheng Zheng lowered the bag and let the lady hold the bag. "I put it down, huh?"

"Yeah!" Shuangshuang held the bag of seafood tightly in both hands, "Dad, put it down!"

Cheng Zheng loosened his grip, and the bag quickly sank. Fortunately, Shuangshuang used great strength to hold on to it. She was not tall enough, so she could only hold on to the bag with difficulty. Although it was difficult, she managed to lift it up. She turned around and excitedly showed off to her mother, "Mom, I'm so awesome!"

"Yes, we are both really amazing." Jian Lu didn't expect that her daughter was so amazing.

The amazing Shuangshuang walked in a slightly awkward posture, holding the bag in front of her with both hands, but nothing seemed right no matter how she walked, as if the bag would touch her legs with every step, causing both of her legs to become uncontrollable. She met several military wives on the road, who asked Jian Lu about it.

"Shuangshuang, what's wrong? Did you sprain your leg?"

Jian Lu smiled and shook her head, "She insisted on carrying things. The bag was too long and too heavy, and her walking became strange."

But even so, Shuangshuang still refused the adults' request for help and insisted on carrying the seafood bag back by herself.

Blah blah...

There was a lot of water in the large basin that was often used to wash seafood at home. Cheng Zheng turned the bag upside down, and all kinds of seafood rushed into the water.

There were two huge lobsters, each as big as two palms, so big that Shuangshuang screamed in surprise.

"Mom, this lobster is so big!" Shuangshuang had never seen such a big lobster before. She had only eaten small lobsters, which were delicious. When the big lobster was caught, the lobster clamp moved, but Shuangshuang was very good at catching it and would not be pinched by the lobster clamp. After all, she grew up by the sea.

The big lobster can cover Shuangshuang’s little face. “Grandma, look, I am a big lobster now.”

Aunt Wang couldn't help laughing. Children are really funny. "Then do you still want to eat it?"

"Eat!" The big lobster was taken away, and Shuangshuang's little face was revealed, smiling sweetly. They definitely wanted to eat it!

There were two hairtails in the basin, which looked large and shiny. They were the most expensive hairtails sold at the grocery store, and even better.

Every year during the Spring Festival, the food stations would respond to the country's call and provide special Spring Festival food, including chicken, duck, pork, fish, and various candies, cakes, cigarettes and alcohol. Hairtail was the most commonly supplied fish.

Every year, everyone lines up to buy hairtail fish. If you go early, you can choose and buy the best quality hairtail fish. If you go late, you will have no choice and can only take home the cheapest but lowest quality hairtail fish of the third category.

"This hairtail fish looks good at first glance. Wow, one of them weighs three pounds." Aunt Wang has a scale in her hand. She can estimate the approximate weight just by weighing it, and the error will not exceed two taels.

"Mom, let's fry the cutlassfish later." Jian Lu looked at the cutlassfish and felt hungry. She hadn't eaten it for a long time and missed it very much.

"good!"

There are a lot of seafood in the pot, all of which are of good quality, including lobster, cuttlefish, clams, shrimps, razor clams, octopus... The family divided the work and cooperated with each other. Today, they steamed two big lobsters, fried a cuttlefish, cooked a spinach and clam soup, and made a sea urchin steamed egg and spicy octopus.

Cheng Zheng is still the old shrimp-cleaning tool, holding a brush to clean two large lobsters, while Shuangshuang sits on a small stool beside her to peel garlic. She has now taken over her father's role as the garlic-peeling tool, and peels the garlic carefully one by one, making sure the peeled garlic is smooth.

Despite his young age, he has high demands.

In the kitchen, Aunt Wang was processing clams. She added two drops of white vinegar to the soaked water and let it sit to let the sand spit out. Jian Lu cut the hairtail into pieces, took out a bag of starch, grabbed two handfuls of it and put it into a basin, added water and mixed it evenly, then coated it with a layer of batter and put it into the pan with chopsticks.

The hairtail fish pieces coated with flour sizzle in the hot oil, the fish skin gradually shrinks and turns golden brown, and the fish meat also shows a slight crispiness.

Piece after piece of fried hairtail was put into the plate, emitting an alluring aroma. As the saying goes, a cook who doesn't steal will not harvest the crops. Jian Lu and her mother-in-law tasted one piece at a time. The fish skin was crispy and the fish meat fried in hot oil had a rich aroma. This method uses less oil but is the best way to satisfy your stomach.

"tasty!"

Jian Lu took a piece in each hand and fed it to the father and daughter who were busy outside.

"Come, try it."

Jian Lu handed the fish piece to her daughter, and they both took the fried hairtail in one hand and ate it happily. Cheng Zheng's hands were dirty, so he ate a piece of fried hairtail with the help of his wife's hand.

"This fish is good. The meat tastes even better."

"Yes, this fish is better than the one sold at the grocery store."

In the other pot, Aunt Wang was frying spicy octopus. The red, green and yellow peppers were sautéed with ginger and garlic and then put into the pot. After a stir-fry, the kitchen was already filled with the spicy and fragrant aroma.

She didn't know that such strange-shaped things were edible and looked scary before. Unexpectedly, after her daughter-in-law made it once, she fell in love with the taste and even learned how to make it.

......

After working for more than an hour, the last dish of steamed lobster was finally ready.

Jian Lu opened the lid of the pot and saw the red lobster shell in the smoke, as if inviting everyone to enjoy it.

The two big lobsters lay quietly on the plate in the middle of the dining table. Cheng Zheng and Jian Lu started to eat them. Cheng Zheng broke off a piece of the lobster leg and gave it to his daughter.

Shuangshuang held the lobster's leg and compared its length and thickness with his fingers, and found that it was really big.

Bite through the lobster shell and eat the white shrimp meat inside, and the fresh and sweet taste will flood into your mouth.

"It's delicious! Dad, this lobster meat is so tender!"

Jian Lu also broke off a lobster leg for her mother-in-law and started to process other parts.

"Yes, this lobster is of good quality. I've never seen one this big before."

Cheng Zheng knew something about the situation. "They changed their fishing boats and nets and upgraded their tools. They should be fishing in different locations and depths. They just happened to catch something good."

The back of the lobster is cut open, revealing large pieces of shrimp meat. When you put it into your mouth with chopsticks, the shrimp meat is tender and sweet, and your mouth is full of the fresh aroma of seafood. You don’t need to dip it in anything, it’s all the most natural taste.

Both of us were very satisfied with the shrimps, and we also bravely tried the spicy octopus. The octopus was crispy and chewy, and the spicy and fresh taste was very addictive. It was like eating a snack and we couldn't stop.

"Eat less of this, or it might get too spicy."

"Mom, I'm not afraid of spicy food!" Shuangshuang can't eat spicy food very well, at most it's slightly spicy, but she still likes it.

After eating for a few chopsticks, he began to hiss and blow his nose, asking for cold water.

"It's not good to drink cold boiled water, drink soup instead." Aunt Wang has always been against drinking cold drinks. It is not good for women to drink too much cold drinks, so it is better to drink hot drinks.

"No." Shuangshuang jumped off the stool, went to the long table next to her, picked up her enamel cup and started drinking.

It’s better to cool down to relieve the spiciness!

Seeing the young lady sticking out her tongue and feeling the spiciness, Cheng Zheng took a pole to the coconut tree outside, poked down a few coconuts, opened them one by one, and prepared some for everyone.

"The coconut taste is not very good right now, so just drink it. Drink this one in pairs, it will relieve the spiciness better."

"Okay~" He held the coconut with both hands, bit the bamboo straw and took a few deep sips, and immediately felt comfortable to the point of overjoyed.

"Do you still want to eat this spicy food?" Cheng Zheng raised his chin and looked at the spicy octopus.

"You can eat it! I'll make it less spicy now."

What a stubborn kid when it comes to food.

The whole family ate a big bag of seafood for two days and was very satisfied. The freshness of seafood is truly unmatched by other meats.

The winter vacation was a leisurely and comfortable one after satisfying her appetite, but Jian Lu was a college student after all, and she had winter vacation homework!

Not only she has it, but all the elementary school students have it too!

Cheng Zheng is a person who follows the rules, so he took the initiative to remind his wife, "Have you done your winter vacation homework?"

Jian Lu cracked melon seeds and shook her head. She was reading a storybook. "No."

Today, storytelling has begun to be restored on the market, and people's entertainment life has gradually become richer.

Jian Lu is currently reading a love story novel, which is quite melodramatic and exciting, and she can't stop reading it.

"Then why don't you hurry up and do it?"

"Don't worry, we can finish it in the last two days." Jian Lu didn't want to start writing unless it was left to the last two days. She knew the amount of winter vacation homework was not large.

"Now I know who Shuangshuang learned this from." Cheng Zheng was unbuttoning his military uniform and changing into home clothes.

"What?" Jian Lu raised her head from the sketchbook and looked at him.

"Ask her if she has done her winter vacation homework?"

As if hearing what she said, Jian Lu shouted at the top of her voice, "Shuangshuang~"

After a few minutes, accompanied by the sound of "dong dong dong", the pair came running over, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Have you done your winter vacation homework?"

Shuangshuang shook her head righteously, "I didn't do it. I didn't write a single word."

Jian Lu: “…”

"Why don't you do your homework? You can have fun, but you also have to combine work and rest." I can choose not to do it, but the lady cannot.

Being a human being is such a double standard.

"Mom, I can finish all my homework on the last day." Shuangshuang was very proud.

Jian Lu: “…”

She raised her eyelids and looked at the man who was smiling beside her, and finally understood what he meant.

This girl Shuangshuang is really better than her teacher.

In order to change her procrastination habit, Jian Lu took out her winter vacation homework the next day, set up tables and chairs in the yard and started doing her homework.

Shuangshuang, who was originally going to go out and play with Juanjuan and the others today, was about to go out with her braids, but was stopped by her mother.

"Shuangshuang, look at what mom is doing?" Jian Lu straightened her back and held the pen tightly, as if she was ready to do her homework.

Both of them turned around and said, "Do your homework!"

Mom also has to do homework, and they are both very happy. It turns out that everyone is the same.

"Then come and do your homework, we can do it together." Jian Lu looked at the lady and motioned her to sit on the chair next to her.

But the girl's face fell and her cherry lips pouted.

"Mom, Juanjuan and I have agreed to go jump rope. We should keep our word. I'll come back after I play."

After saying that, Shuangshuang ran away, just like a nimble little rabbit.

"This child..." Jian Lu felt miserable. The child was becoming difficult to manage.

That day, the two of them came home dirty after playing outside for a long time. Jian Lu was so scared that she thought the children had gone out and had a fight.

"What did you play?"

"I went to play in the sand." Shuangshuang loves to run outside in recent years. She is exposed to the wind and sun, but she is still fair and tender. However, her clothes are often covered with dirt and sand because of playing.

"Go ask your dad to wash your dirty clothes for you." Jian Lu pointed to the study.

"Dad, Mom asked you to wash my dirty clothes." Shuangshuang shouted into the house.

After a while, Cheng Zheng came out of the study. Seeing the dirty look of his daughter, he almost blacked out. He muttered, "As expected of my daughter, go take a shower and throw out the dirty clothes."

The black cotton shirt and black cotton pants were covered with mud spots, but Cheng Zheng was strong and scrubbed them clean in a short while. There was a faint fragrance after using soap nuts.

"Did you also fall in love with the mountain river when you were a child?" Jian Lu was busy in front of the sewing machine at this time, preparing to sew a beautiful cross-body bag for her daughter.

This time Cheng Zheng did not deny it, "He is much more naughty than her."

"Of course not. We are both girls after all."

Aunt Wang couldn't stop talking when she heard this. "When he was little, he wasn't like this now. I rubbed his clothes so many times, and he always came back with dirty buttocks or legs. I don't know where he went."

Cheng Zheng, who was already the head of the group, was suddenly asked by his mother about his childhood. He felt embarrassed and rubbed his head, walked to the yard to hang clothes, and said, "Mom, this is an old calendar from many years ago, do you still remember it?"

"Of course I remember." Aunt Wang looked at her son, wondering how he had grown so big in the blink of an eye. "I'm sure I remember everything."

"That's right." Jian Lu looked at Cheng Zheng and said, "Mom, tell me about the time when Big Brother Cheng was a child. For example, was he still wetting the bed at a certain age..."

"You, what questions do you want to ask?" Captain Cheng, who was always calm and composed, was suddenly speechless. It seemed that the person he was asking was his dear daughter-in-law.

——

During the winter vacation, Jian Lu tried her best to be a salted fish and enjoy the holiday. When the Chinese New Year was approaching, she received a letter and a package.

The things were sent by Qiu Cuiping. She specially made some snacks from her hometown and sent them to me. There was also a fan industry voucher inside.

Qiu Cuiping has always been grateful to Jian Lu for helping her change her fate, but she also knows that Jian Lu's family is well-off and seems to have no shortage of food, clothing, and daily necessities. As long as she makes some snacks by herself, it will show her sincerity.

Also, she heard Jian Lu say last time that she wanted to buy a fan, but her family had no industrial coupons, so she went back to the fan factory where she used to work and got a fan industrial coupon so that she could buy a fan.

Jian Lu was very surprised when she saw the fan coupons. She didn't expect Qiu Cuiping to be so thoughtful and was also planning to bring some delicious food to her roommates when school starts.

"Let's buy a fan when summer begins!" Jian Lu gave the fan industrial voucher to Cheng Zheng. "Pick a good one. It can be used for many years."

"Okay, just keep it there and buy it when you come back for summer vacation."

Jian Lu looked more closely and saw that Qiu Cuiping seemed to be still studying hard. She had not relaxed at all during the entire winter vacation and was trying to catch up. Jian Lu exclaimed that she was too eager.

As for myself, I am still in the salted fish stage, and my biggest interest every day is eating.

The food at school was average, all big pot meals, which was certainly not as good as at home, but such conditions were foreseeable when going to school, so at school she missed the meals at home and the delicacies on the island even more.

After more than a month since she came back, Jian Lu had gained several pounds from eating so much. She wanted to stop but couldn't help herself.

People are like this. When living in a group at school, everyone has a companion, and many people exercise together, either participating in volleyball training or playing table tennis. It is regular and self-disciplined.

But once I go home for the winter break, my laziness comes back, everything comes back. Do I still need to exercise at home? Impossible?!

It’s still more comfortable to be a salted fish!

However, worried that she was too heavy, Jian Lu decided to exercise.

"Do you want to get up early and go jogging with me?" Cheng Zheng paused as he was wiping his wet hair with a towel. He had just finished taking a shower and returned to the bedroom when he heard his wife say this.

"Yes." Jian Lu, who was lying on the bed and trying to do the "sit-and-forward bend" and stretch her legs, nodded. "I'm going back to school in half a month, so I have to find the feeling of self-discipline. Can you see that? I seem to have gained several pounds!"

"It's good to be a little fatter." Cheng Zheng rubbed his hair vigorously. It was already half dry. Short hair is good.

He and Aunt Wang share the same idea that being plump and fair is good.

"You don't understand!" Jian Lu didn't want to be unable to wear all the beautiful blouses she bought. "Besides, isn't exercise good? It can also strengthen the body. What's wrong with you? You don't encourage or support me at all."

"I support you, but can you get up?"

Cheng Zheng raised his eyebrows, walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. There were a few water drops on the ends of his hair as he had just washed it. The wet hair softened his domineering aura, and with the smile on his eyes and eyebrows, Jian Lu felt that this man was laughing at her.

"Don't underestimate me. Is there anything I can't do?" Jian Lu was not convinced. How could she be looked down upon so easily!

"Okay." Cheng Zheng squeezed her arm. "I'll call you at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning."

Jian Lu: “…?”

Isn't it too early?

"I'm back to take a shower and have breakfast, how about that?"

Having already made harsh remarks earlier, Jian Lu could only agree with tears in her eyes.

Getting up at 5 o'clock, what kind of cruel person is this? !

In order to get up early, Jian Lu, who was ready to go to bed at around 8 o'clock in the evening, had already laid down, covered herself with the quilt, and closed her eyes, ready to sleep. She couldn't let this man look down on her. Although it was a little early, she had to hold on for a day!

This is a matter of face.

Just as she was getting excited, Jian Lu suddenly felt a hand around her waist, and the fingers were lightly touching the skin on her waist, making her feel tingling.

Jian Lu slapped the hand of the man who was trying to make love to her away and said righteously, "You have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed early."

Cheng Zheng: "...How could I forget about this!"

"Five o'clock may be too early, how about getting up later?" Cheng Zheng asked tentatively.

"No, we have principles." Jian Lu held back her laughter. Seeing the unsatisfied look on the man's face, she became more determined and decided to get up at five o'clock!

......

The more resolute the harsh words she said before going to bed, the more ferocious Jian Lu was when she was woken up in the morning.

She couldn't open her eyes, as if her eyelids were glued together. Although she went to bed early, she still couldn't get up. It was very uncomfortable to get up at this time.

"Five o'clock?"

"It's ten past five, and I still called you ten minutes late." Cheng Zheng was merciful and let his wife sleep for ten more minutes.

As Jian Lu packed up and went out, she was still wondering why she was so pessimistic. What was a little weight gain? Could it be more painful than getting up early?

Cheng Zheng goes out for a run almost every morning, rain or shine. He also trains in the army on weekdays, which is how he built up his good physique.

You can see warriors running in groups of three or four on the morning jogging trail. Cheng Zheng thought about bringing his wife with him today, so he went to run on another mountain trail.

At 5:30 in the morning, there was only a faint light in the sky and everything was quiet. Most people were still asleep. A breeze blew by, accompanied only by the sound of waves.

Running at a steady pace to a not-too-high hillside, Jian Lu breathed in the fresh air unique to that hour, and looked out at the distant sea, which was so vast and boundless, surrounded by low bushes rustling in the wind.

The sky and earth are vast, with mountains and seas surrounding us. At this moment, only Cheng Zheng and I are standing side by side.

"Like?" Cheng Zheng turned his head to look at his wife, and saw that her eyes were full of light and she was staring into the distance.

Jian Lu turned her head and looked at Cheng Zheng with starry eyes, not sure if she was talking about the person or the scenery, "I like it!"