Chapter 20

The supply and marketing cooperative on the island was not too big, about the same size as the one in Hongxing County, with an area of ​​four bungalows. Because the island was humid, the facades were all covered with green bricks.

The supply and marketing cooperative had several glass counters divided into different categories. There were four sales clerks in total, all of them were women, with dark pigtails, and they were indifferent to customers who walked in.

Because it was still the Spring Festival, Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe were more generous in their shopping than usual. They brought home some melon seeds, peanuts, fruit candies, and soon filled three oil-paper bags.

Jian Lu walked around everywhere. The last time she went to the supply and marketing cooperative in the county, she couldn't get a good look at what the supply and marketing cooperative, a major feature of the 1970s, looked like because there were too many people. The supply and marketing cooperative on the island was obviously not so crowded, which gave her many opportunities.

Before leaving, Aunt Wang stuffed her with a lot of banknotes, which she took with her when she went out today. The banknotes for a pound of sugar and snacks were all the national general-purpose banknotes that Cheng Zheng had exchanged for and sent to Aunt Wang, and Aunt Wang had kept them all the time.

Now that she was living in the Liang family, she naturally couldn't eat and drink for free. Although she had contracted the cooking business, it was still a trouble for others. So she bought half a pound of fried dough twist, half a pound of peach cakes, and half a pound of fruit candy, preparing to take them back to Dunzi.

Jian Lu scanned the counters, looking for anything else she wanted to buy. Suddenly, she saw a piece of paper on a counter on the left. It was written in black on white. With her sharp eyes, she saw the two big words "Recruitment" on it.

"Comrade, is your supply and marketing cooperative looking for salespeople?"

The tall salesperson who was being questioned looked at the unfamiliar pretty lesbian cautiously, folded the paper and put it back under the counter, "So what? The requirements for salesperson recruitment are very high. They must be military dependents who have graduated from elementary school."

This is because they thought Jian Lu had no education and simply sent her away.

"Oh, I'm just asking." Jian Lu noticed that the man was not very cautious and turned around to buy more things.

The three of them were buying things in a hurry, and Xu Lang and Cheng Zheng were almost there.

"Mrs. Feng and your wife knocked on the door early in the morning and asked my wife to buy pork, saying they wanted to make braised pork."

Xu Lang kept chattering along the way, especially the word "your wife" which made Cheng Zheng's ears burn.

"Why are you just following Lao Liang's lead? Comrade Jian Lu is not married yet, but you already called your wife..."

"Aren't you already engaged? Aren't you going to get married soon?" Xu Lang stopped and looked at his good brother. He seriously suspected that he was crazy. Was he still hesitating about this?

"Chief of Staff Xu, you should change your address to avoid any trouble."

"Captain Cheng, what could be the problem?" Xu Lang still didn't believe it. Lao Liang could call him, but he couldn't?

"You are a conscious person. How can you call an unmarried lesbian that? If you tell others about it, you will ruin her reputation."

"Wow... you can put a hat on me..."

"Pay attention to your words and deeds, pay attention to military style and discipline, starting with you, Chief of Staff Xu, so that the soldiers under your command will not follow your example and talk nonsense."

"you!"

Xu Lang was speechless after what Cheng Zheng said. He pouted and surrendered, "Okay, okay, I won't shout anymore, okay? I'll call everyone Comrade Jian Lu when I see them later."

Cheng Zheng smiled and ignored Xu Lang's weird tone. He thought to himself, if I can't cure Liang Haisheng, can I cure you?

Xu Lang didn't know that he was living at the bottom of the food chain among the three brothers. He now only cared about Cheng Zheng and his future wife, and he couldn't wait to get to them right now.

I finally saw someone at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Yuhe!" Xu Lang saw his wife at a glance, took three or two steps forward and took the things in her hand, which were a lot of seafood, vegetables and pastries.

He turned his head and greeted Mrs. Feng, then fixed his eyes on Jian Lu.

This was the first time he met Jian Lu, and he finally understood why Political Commissar Liang said that Comrade Jian Lu and Cheng Zheng were a perfect match. They looked so handsome standing together!

"Lulu, this is Chief of Staff Xu, Yuhe's man." Feng Xiuhui introduced him.

"Hello, Chief of Staff Xu." Jian Lu knew him. He was mentioned a few times in the original book. He was a very enthusiastic person.

"Hello, brother...Hello, Comrade Jian Lu."

Cui Yuhe saw her man coming, raised her hands and gave him all the things, and said with a smile, "Men, please be aware of yourself!"

Xu Lang took all the things from his wife's hands. Cheng Lang, a grown man, naturally couldn't go back empty-handed, so he asked the female comrade to carry the things. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Feng Xiuhui speak.

"Captain Cheng, my son is older, so you don't have to carry the things. Just help Lulu carry them."

Feng Xiuhui gave him a look, and Cheng Zheng had no choice but to stand in front of Jian Lu and stretch out his hand, the meaning of which was very obvious.

Jian Lu didn't bother to be polite with him. To cultivate feelings, shouldn't one first train him to do things?

"Thank you, Brother Cheng."

The group of five returned home and had lunch at Liang's house at noon today. They cooked six pounds of pork in a braised stew and also prepared some seafood as per custom.

Jian Lu is still the head chef, with Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe helping her.

However, while helping, Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe disappeared. The crabs had already been steamed, and a faint fragrance was wafting from the seams of the pot lid. Jian Lu was preparing to make braised pork, but when she looked outside, she found that only Cheng Zheng was left.

She was a smart person and immediately understood what Mrs. Feng meant when she said she wanted to go to the neighbor's house to borrow soy sauce. She called everyone away, leaving only herself and Cheng Zheng.

But Cheng Zheng was a man who didn't understand romance and paced back and forth in the living room alone.

In fact, Jian Lu had noticed that in the original book, the male supporting character who was given the character of not being in the mood for love by the author was a little difficult to win over. After all, his character was determined at the beginning, and he was even made to remain unmarried for life. How could he be swayed by just showing up, meeting him, and saying a few words?

She still has to take her time.

Perhaps Cheng Zheng realized that Mrs. Feng was intentionally creating some alone space for the two of them, he was at a loss for a moment and stood up to go to the corridor for a while.

"Brother Cheng!"

A sweet voice sounded from behind him. Cheng Zheng stopped and looked back. He saw Jian Lu poking her head out from the kitchen with a faint smile on her bright face. Cheng Zheng saw her blink her eyes, and it seemed that a stream of light overflowed. The braid on her shoulder also swayed, looking a little playful.

"I want to make braised pork, can you help me?"

Cheng Zheng didn't say no, but strode into the kitchen, and ended up becoming a garlic peeling 'little brother'.

Jian Lu was busy at the sink. She first washed the fat and lean pork belly and dried it. She heated the pot, put the side with the skin into the pot, rubbed it repeatedly until it turned black, and then took out the pork when the skin turned yellow and black. She scraped off the black scraps on the skin, cut the meat into cubes with the skin, put it in the pot to blanch it, and prepared ginger, scallions, star anise and star anise... As for the garlic, it was still in Cheng Zheng's hands.

She turned sideways and took a look. The brave Captain Cheng on the battlefield was also very serious about dealing with the garlic. He peeled the garlic with both hands, leaving only the left side of his face exposed to her. His sharp jawline outlined the man's seriousness. If you didn't know better, you would think he was holding some new weapon in his hand, ready to fight the enemy.

Perhaps because of Jian Lu's burning gaze, Cheng Zheng couldn't help but speed up. He peeled the garlic in a few seconds and put it on the chopping board. "Okay, I'm going out now."

Run away from here quickly...

As a result, not long after taking a breath in the corridor, Cheng Zheng heard some noise coming from the kitchen.

"Brother Cheng, can you do me another favor?"

This time, the garlic peeling 'little brother' is upgraded to the rice cooking 'little brother'.

Jian Lu's braised pork is stir-fried in a pan, with sizzling fat bubbling out, and the slightly charred pork belly is picked up and set aside.

Cheng Zheng smelled a burst of fragrance, which attracted him to look to the side involuntarily. He was filtering the rice soup from the first batch of cooked rice.

A bowl of milky white rice soup with a faint rice aroma was filled. After filtering the soup, the uncooked rice was put back into the pot to be steamed.

Having successfully completed his task, Team Leader Cheng looked at Jian Lu who was concentrating on making braised pork. He was a head taller than Jian Lu and when he turned sideways to look at her, the first thing that caught his eye was her slender white neck with a few strands of hair entwined and twisted. Jian Lu's hair was black and smooth, just like her.

Cheng Zheng reached his right hand into his trouser pocket, touched the train ticket inside, and was hesitating whether to speak now.

Suddenly, she closed the lid on the pot and waited for the braised pork to be ready in half an hour. Jian Lu clapped her hands and raised her eyes to meet Cheng Zheng's.

"Brother Cheng, where is the best place to make a phone call here? I want to let my family know I'm safe, and I also need to let Aunt Wang know."

Nowadays, telephone presses are not popular at all and are still a very scarce item.

"I'll take you to the troops this afternoon." Cheng Zheng pushed the train ticket into his trouser pocket and took his hand back. After a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke up. No matter what, he had to help. After all, he could still apply for family members to make phone calls, but what kind of family members were these?

Political Commissar Liang finished work at the military office. As soon as he stepped into the house, he could smell the aroma of food. The braised pork was soft, glutinous and bright red. It was full of juice with a bite, and the aroma of meat was everywhere. For this meal, everyone ate a big bowl of rice.

Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe washed the dishes, and Cheng Zheng took Jian Lu to the military area.

This was the first time that Jian Lu set foot in the military area in the 1970s. It was very different from her family compound. The gate of the military area was majestic, and there was a row of sandalwood trees on each side of the wide tarmac road. Red brick office buildings were scattered in an orderly manner. Soldiers in white marine uniforms could be seen everywhere on the road, and there were sentries standing guard at every intersection. The military area's solemnity and rigor were evident everywhere.

Jian Lu followed Cheng Zheng quietly. Cheng Zheng was tall and had long legs, so he took big steps and left Jian Lu behind him from time to time. The two of them were one or two body lengths apart. Jian Lu remained silent, and Cheng Zheng would usually notice her after walking a few meters and would slow down his pace and wait for Jian Lu to catch up.

Cheng Zheng registered in the communication room. The signalman saw that the column for the person calling Captain Cheng had the words "relatives" written on it, and he wanted to ask what relatives they were.

This was the first time that Captain Cheng brought a "relative" to make a phone call, and it was a very beautiful young female comrade. The young signalman's gossiping spirit was burning, but looking at the stern Captain Cheng, he didn't dare to speak.

"Call." Cheng Zheng had already dialed the Xingmin Production Brigade headquarters and handed the receiver to Jian Lu.

A phone call was made, and after half an hour of waiting, the call was returned, and Jian Lu finally heard the voice of her third sister Jian Xin.

"Third sister, I arrived yesterday, but I arrived late and had no place to make a phone call. Yes, I'm fine here, don't worry, and when you have time, please tell the eldest and second sisters about it. Okay, I know, don't worry about me..."

Cheng Zheng didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he brought someone here to make a phone call, he couldn't just leave them here and go away. When Jian Lu was talking on the phone with her family, her voice was soft and gentle, like a spring breeze caressing her face. She whispered softly, and it seemed that she had a very good relationship with the third sister on the phone.

He thought of Jian Lu's vicious father. Looking at the girl's smiling face at this moment, an indescribable emotion suddenly surged into his heart. His heart seemed to be soaked in water, and was wrinkled.

After Jian Xin finished speaking, it was Aunt Wang who was waiting on the side. Today, Aunt Wang just came back to the brigade from her second son's home in the county to pack up her things. Her second daughter-in-law was about to give birth, and she estimated that she would be busy taking care of her daughter-in-law during the confinement period and looking after her grandchildren for most of the next six months.

"Auntie Wang, I didn't get seasick. I got here smoothly. Political Commissar Liang and his wife took good care of me... I met Brother Cheng, and he was very nice too."

Wang Xia knew her son very well, so she immediately asked, "Is he stubborn and obstinate?"

"No, he's a nice guy." Jian Lu didn't lie. They had only known each other for two days, and she felt that Cheng Zheng was not a high-handed person and would basically respond to any requests she made.

"Lulu, give him the phone number and I'll talk to him."