Chapter 62

Early the next morning, Cheng Zheng, who had silently taken note of his wife's casual comments on the shortcomings of the vanishing cream, set out.

Taking the saved cigarette coupons and thirty yuan, he took a boat to the county town.

The county town was bustling with people coming and going. Cheng Zheng, who had just got off the ferry, went straight to the department store without any delay.

In front of the daily necessities counter, the tall soldier in a white navy uniform was particularly eye-catching, but what was even more eye-catching was what he held in his hand.

"Comrade, is this the only type of Pechoin's vanishing cream? Is it thick? Is the fragrance strong?"

The salesperson met a grown man who came to buy vanishing cream for the first time. He specifically asked for the most expensive Pechoin brand and even asked about its texture and fragrance. How could he know so much?!

"Comrade Soldier, we have two types. This one is the best-selling one. It smells especially good. Your partner will definitely like it." The salesperson thought he had seen through everything. "Are you buying this for your partner?"

"Yes." Cheng Zheng did not hide it.

"You're really lucky to have a partner." The salesperson felt a little regretful towards the handsome soldier. How did he already have a partner? But after the regret, there was more envy. "Then you can definitely buy this one. It's just a little more expensive. It's 23 per box."

"I know the price." Cheng Zheng had brought money with him. He had almost no expenses on a daily basis. He didn't smoke very often. He drank occasionally and won Song Lu from time to time. The bulk of the family's money was managed by Jian Lu, and he would keep a portion of the allowance for himself.

He said he had saved some money, but he seldom used it. He used it to light the stoves for the soldiers from time to time, to have the kitchen staff prepare extra meals, and to buy things for his family.

Since everyone says that Pechoin's vanishing cream is good, he is willing to spend money on it no matter how expensive it is.

"But my wife likes it to be less thick, saying it feels uncomfortable on her face. Also, she doesn't like strong fragrances, so a light fragrance would be best."

The salesperson thought that the soldier's wife had some strange ideas. Who would complain about strong fragrance these days? If it was too light, wouldn't it be just like putting it on your face in vain?

But it was someone else's money, so she could buy whatever she wanted. She could only take out another Pechoin vanishing cream, "This one is it, after all, it's light, not that thick on the face, and the smell is light."

Hearing this description, Cheng Zheng felt that this was it!

“Then I’ll buy this one.”

Wow, he bought such an expensive item without any hesitation. When the salesperson was packing vanishing cream for Cheng Zheng, he even muttered, "Comrade, you are really willing to spend money."

"I bought it for my wife, why would I be reluctant to part with it?"

When Cheng Zheng bought some Daqianmen cigarettes and left with the cigarettes and vanishing cream, the salesperson was still talking to the person next to him, "See, it's good to be a soldier. The salary is high and the salary is generous! If I had known this, I would have married a soldier."

"Come on, if you didn't set your eyes on your man at the first sight, then no one would want to see him, right?"

The salesperson, whose thoughts were exposed, smiled shyly and said, "That's still different."

——

After finishing his shopping smoothly, Cheng Zheng went to the department store and spent three or two grain coupons to eat three or two bowls of vermicelli. The vermicelli was fine, tender and soft, with bamboo shoots, sauerkraut, bean sprouts, peanuts, coriander and green onions sprinkled on the vermicelli. All the condiments were mixed with soft glutinous rice flour and served with a fresh and sweet soup base, which made people eat it with relish.

After finishing a bowl of noodles and soup, Cheng Zheng took a break and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two handfuls of Beijing fruits and half a pound of peach cakes before preparing to take the boat home.

On the way to the pier, Cheng Zheng passed by the train station and heard someone at the door holding a loud speaker to welcome the educated youth.

"Go to the countryside, go to the frontiers, go to where the motherland needs you most."

"Advocate revolution, serve the people, and send educated youth to the countryside."

In recent years, more and more educated youth have been sent to the countryside. The educated youth from the city took trains and trucks to the county towns where they had signed up to go to the countryside, and were then picked up by various communes. Finally, they were assigned to various brigades in the commune, beginning their long life as educated youth.

It seems that a new group of educated youth has come here this year.

The sound of the loud speaker was quite loud and attracted the attention of many people around the train station. One after another, educated youth came out carrying large and small bags. They had just come from the city and looked bright and beautiful. Some of them were even wearing clothes made of fine fabrics without a single patch.

Cheng Zheng glanced at it, didn't pay much attention, and hurried straight to the pier.

In the afternoon, there was only an ordinary ferry back to the island. Accompanying Cheng Zheng and some soldiers and their families who had gone out were a group of educated youth who had just arrived that day.

The other educated youth were picked up by various communes, and a group of educated youth also arrived at the commune on the island as promised.

The soldiers and their families were used to going to the island by boat, either chatting with each other or looking at the sea view outside, but the educated youth who had just arrived found it particularly novel.

Many people came from inland areas. It was the first time they saw the sea in their lives and they couldn’t help but get excited.

"Wow, the sea is so beautiful."

"Are there a lot of fish in there? Can we catch them?"

The cadre from Chuanliu Commune who came to pick them up had a stern face. He felt a headache looking at these cute educated youths and said, "You can't take them. The things in the sea are also public property. Whoever takes them will be taking advantage of the collective."

No commune was willing to accept educated youth. They came from the city, were timid and weak, and were not as good as the country people. They worked harder and were slower, and they had to eat for free and share the rations of other members. Therefore, even if the people on the island could secretly go to the sea to catch some seafood, the commune cadres still had to give these new educated youth a warning.

"Ah? All right."

"That's too boring."

Several female educated youth sat together. They all came from different places and didn't know each other before coming. But they became closer after sitting on the train. Thinking that they would live together in the future, they were more willing to have a good relationship.

After a while of chatting, the educated youth started to communicate with the soldiers and their families around them, inquiring about the situation on the island and asking about the life here.

As the questions were being asked, someone noticed Cheng Zheng sitting in the corner.

Cheng Zheng was tall and handsome, so it was hard not to attract attention. The courageous female educated youth took the initiative to speak, "Comrade soldier, are you the soldier on the island?"

"Yes." Cheng Zheng regained his usual seriousness and answered directly.

"So how is life on this island? Do you eat a lot? I heard that it's hard to find pork here, and there's mostly fish and some sea food." The more the female educated youth looked at Cheng Zheng, the more excited she became. This was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and he was a soldier. I wonder if he was married. If not...

"Ask the cadres of your commune. I don't know the situation of the commune." After saying that, he turned his face to the other side, exuding an aura that kept strangers away.

"Oh, okay."

"Qiaoling, don't you care about what's happening on the island?" Everyone was eagerly asking about the situation, except for one female educated youth who was gloomy and didn't say much.

"Ah?" Xue Qiaoling shook her head, looking gentle and reserved, "Since we're here, it doesn't matter what happens."

"You are quite open-minded."

Not only the female educated youth, but also the four male educated youth on the boat were equally excited. Some even wanted to get close to the soldiers around them. However, no one approached Cheng Zheng. Everyone felt that Cheng Zheng was a bit stern and difficult to talk to.

Especially since just now, even the most beautiful female educated youth on the ship was turned away expressionlessly, they were even more unwilling to make themselves look bad.

Cheng Zheng listened to the chattering of the educated youth all the way, and when the boat docked, he was the first to get off.

After being out for a day, Cheng Zheng went straight home. His mother was resting in the second bedroom, and Jian Lu had just woken up from a nap with the child and was playing on the bed.

When Cheng Zheng opened the door, he saw the girl crawling on the bed using her hands and feet, giggling as she crawled from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed. However, as the girl was still clumsy, when she got to the end of the bed, she saw that there was no way forward, so she stopped, looked around, and felt a little depressed.

"Shuangshuang, crawl back~" Jian Lu clapped her hands behind her. Railings were added at the end of the bed and on both sides of the bed, so the child could not fall, but was firmly trapped.

Shuangshuang turned her head to look at her mother, her eyebrows wrinkled, her big eyes very focused, as if she was thinking about something.

"Stupid girl." Cheng Zheng picked up the girl and turned her in a direction. Shuangshuang knew how to move now. There was a road ahead, so she arched her little butt and crawled forward.

"You're back?" Jian Lu saw a paper bag in his hand. The bulging shape obviously contained more than just cigarettes. She smiled but didn't ask.

"Well, the things have been bought." Cheng Zheng hurriedly put the paper bag in the drawer of the desk in the study next door, fearing that his wife would suddenly want to see what was inside. After putting the bag away, he returned to the room and continued to tease his daughter-in-law.

Seeing that he returned to the room empty-handed, Jian Lu understood what was going on. She sat on the bed and held the young lady who had crawled into her arms. She pinched the child's arm and teased Cheng Zheng deliberately, "Brother Cheng, did you put the cigarettes in the study?"

"Ah?" Cheng Zheng suspected that his wife had seen something, so he calmed down and said, "Yes, I went to the county department store today to buy cigarettes, and also went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy Beijing fruit and peach cakes."

When Jian Lu went to the county town before, she insisted that the peach cakes sold at the county town supply and marketing cooperative were better than those sold at the county town department stores. Cheng Zheng couldn't tell the difference, but he kept it in mind and made a special trip there.

After that, the man specifically explained, "I didn't buy anything else."

"Oh, okay." Jian Lu curled the corners of her lips and thought about her birthday. Well, there are still five days left.

She just had to wait.

"Come, let me see Shuangshuang, crawl over to daddy."

Cheng Zheng removed the guardrail at the end of the bed, stood at the end of the bed and clapped his hands to attract the lady's attention.

"Shuangshuang, go to daddy." Jian Lu pointed the direction for her daughter and pointed at Cheng Zheng at the end of the bed, asking Shuangshuang to move.

Shuangshuang could already make some vague sounds, and she set off while mumbling something. She used all her hands and feet to crawl into her father's arms.

"Oh, you grow up so fast." Cheng Zheng held the lady who climbed into his arms and kissed her little face. The lady slapped him on the chin, but her little hand had no strength. Cheng Zheng stretched out one hand and pinched the lady's little hand. It was so small and very soft.

"Do you remember what your mother said?" Cheng Zheng tried to talk to the girl, "You just love to grab things, right?"

"You must be dissatisfied with your stubble." Jian Lu came over from the bed, stood beside Shuang Shuang, and criticized her father together with her daughter, "Is that right? Shuang Shuang?"

"Ah~ah~" Shuangshuang's little head shook back and forth, and both hands began to flutter with joy.

——

After dinner, Aunt Wang took her granddaughter out to play, while Cheng Zheng read in the study. Now the army also pays close attention to ideological education and military theory, so there are more and more books on his desk.

After watching for a while and going outside to get some water, Cheng Zheng passed by the bedroom with an enamel cup in his hand and found his wife standing in front of the chest of drawers in the bedroom, with the drawer opened, rummaging through an iron box.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Zheng walked into the house and saw that the iron box was the box where the family kept their monthly receipts.

Cheng Zheng's current monthly salary plus allowances is 120.5 yuan, in addition to 60 kilograms of rationed food per month, 12 feet of military cloth coupons per year, 5 kilograms of meat coupons per month, 1 kilogram of oil coupons per month, etc. The higher the rank, the higher the share.

The troops also provide subsidies to the military and their dependents, encouraging them to solve their personal problems and to reunite with their families. They provide 20 catties of food per month, 5 feet of cloth coupons per year, 1 catty of meat coupons per month, and 2 taels of oil coupons per month...

Of course, this meat ticket is not for pork, but for seafood such as fish, shrimp and crab from the sea. There is a small supply of pork on the island, and it is supplied to soldiers first. Occasionally, when pork is available for sale, it is sold with a separate invoice.

Jian Lu is now in charge of all the money in Cheng Zheng's house. Normally, when the mother-in-law is at home, the daughter-in-law cannot get the financial power, but Aunt Wang has been taking care of her three sons for a lifetime, and she just wants to be free and easy, so she didn't ask about the affairs of her eldest son's house.

Besides, she discovered not long after she moved here that her eldest daughter-in-law knew how to manage her life and could save money.

Unfortunately, even a good cook cannot cook without rice. If you want to live your life again, you still need something to live on.

Jian Lu counted the remaining tickets at home and found that they were still a bit tight. It was not so bad before, because Cheng Zheng had saved a lot of tickets, especially cloth coupons, which he had used up in the past two years to make clothes for his family.

In addition, there are food coupons, meat coupons, oil coupons and other daily necessities coupons. Not to mention other things, since Jian Lu became pregnant, gave birth and was in confinement, and now with Shuangshuang, she has eaten a lot of eggs.

Life here is much better than when I was in the production team, so naturally the tickets are used up faster.

After taking inventory, Jian Lu felt a little worried.

"I'm counting the tickets here." In the iron box there were a few egg tickets and two feet of cloth tickets, as well as one ounce of oil tickets, two ounces of brown sugar tickets, a match ticket, and three soap tickets...

"Not enough?" Cheng Zheng didn't care much about this aspect, but when he looked at his wife's face, he guessed what she was thinking.

"We should reduce the amount of eggs we eat at home. Ten egg coupons can buy ten eggs a month. We should save two or three eggs a month and give them more when Shuangshuang grows up." Jian Lu thought for a while and decided to make a plan. "We also have meat coupons, so we can't waste them like that."

We actually have quite a bit of savings at home, but unfortunately we are living under a planned economy and we can’t spend lavishly even if we have money.

Cheng Zheng understood what Lao Liang and Lao Xu had said about how difficult it was to be the head of a household. After hearing what his wife said, he actually felt that there was not enough food.

In fact, the Cheng family is small in number, so the conditions for eating these things are already very good. For other families in the courtyard, some have many children, with five or six people in a family. With the same ticket, the amount of food that each person gets is even less.

Some families could not eat eggs more than twice a month, or had not made a new piece of clothing for a long time, so they would exchange the coupons for national use and send them back home.

"Let me think of a solution." Cheng Zheng couldn't really let his family members suffer from the meal.

Three days later, he went to the mountains with Liang Haisheng and Xu Lang.

In the past, the troops had gone to a forest on an island for training. It had been a training ground for the troops all year round. There were many things in the forest. When the conditions were poor in the past, everyone caught wild rabbits and dug wild vegetables to fill their stomachs.

It is only in recent years that the troops have received gradually more funding, and few people go there anymore.

However, the soldiers would turn a blind eye to the occasional snack, go fishing in the sea, hunt in the mountains, and they couldn't let the people go hungry.

The three of them were used to going up the mountain to eat and feast, and they were quite skilled, so they returned home with a full load in half a day.

Each family had a wild rabbit and a basket of amaranth and revolutionary vegetables. Cheng Zheng was lucky and even caught a pheasant.

When Jian Lu saw her man bring back a hare and a pheasant like magic, her peach blossom eyes raised slightly.

"No one saw us, did they?" Aunt Wang hurriedly closed the door, fearing that someone might see us and accuse us of taking advantage of the group.

"Mom, don't worry. The troops have turned a blind eye to this matter. Everyone knows what's going on." Of course, Cheng Zheng and the other two did not come back in a grand manner. After all, they hid the goods in a backpack and brought them back.

Jian Lu hadn't eaten chicken for two months. Seeing this pheasant, she couldn't help but drool. "Let's eat it tonight! I'll make salt-baked chicken!"

Having eaten coconut chicken many times, Jian Lu wanted to change the taste, especially since this chicken looked neither too big nor too small, probably about two or three pounds, which was just right for making salt-baked chicken.

Aunt Wang bled the chicken, plucked its feathers by boiling it in hot water, cleaned it and handed it to her daughter-in-law. Jian Lu went to Feng Xiuhui's house to ask for a large bag of sea salt and also prepared some fine salt at home.

This place is on an island, and sea salt is easily produced, so you can get a lot of it for free.

Cut a small piece of chicken in advance, then lightly apply a layer of fine salt on the whole chicken, stuff the ginger slices and green onion into the chicken's belly, brush a layer of oil on the prepared gauze paper, and wrap the chicken completely.

Pour a large bag of sea salt into the iron pot, fry the coarse-grained sea salt in the pot, and finally bury a whole chicken wrapped in sandpaper in the sea salt, wrapping the chicken tightly.

Cheng Zheng was holding Shuangshuang in the kitchen watching his mother cooking. When he saw that a chicken was missing, Shuangshuang looked around with eyes wide open, making the sound "ji~ji~" from his mouth.

"Are you looking for Chicken Cluckaw?" After Jian Lu finished everything and waited for half an hour to harvest a fragrant salt-baked chicken, she turned around and looked at her daughter, feeling that the child was really pitiful as she had no chance to eat the delicious food today!

The small pieces of chicken that were cut in advance were prepared for Shuangshuang. She is now more than 9 months old and can eat some meat puree. Jian Lu had fed the child shrimp puree before, so this time she had the conditions to change it for the child.

Cut the chicken into strips and chop it into small pieces, then cook it into porridge along with chopped carrots. It is delicious even without any seasoning for children.

When the salt-baked chicken came out of the pot, Shuangshuang was being fed carrot and chicken porridge by her grandmother.

She ate the food enthusiastically, but when she saw her father carrying a large plate and putting it on the table, her eyes were attracted again.

There was a big one on the big plate, long and round, wrapped in a piece of paper with a lot of coarse sea salt still on the paper that had not been completely shaken off.

She stared at him intently. When her grandmother fed her and asked her to open her mouth, she opened her mouth reflexively but continued to stare.

"Hurry and take a look!" It was also the first time for Jian Lu to make salt-baked chicken. She made everything based on the recipe she had seen on the Internet before. She had no idea what it would taste like, but she thought it should be good.

"Be careful of the burns."

Jian Lu saw Cheng Zheng reaching out to peel off the sandpaper and reminded him.

"It's okay." Comrade Cheng Zheng, the ruthless iron hand, peeled off the sandpaper and revealed a golden salt-baked chicken inside.

A whole chicken with wings attached seems to be lying flat on the plate, golden all over, shiny with oil, and sizzling chicken oil is stewed out, making people salivate.

"Oh my, this is so pretty." Aunt Wang had never seen a chicken like this before. She swallowed her saliva and said, "It must taste good. I can smell the fragrance."

The smell of salt-baked chicken wafted out as the gauze was removed, along with a burst of hot air. The overbearing fragrance also began to drift into Shuangshuang's nose. The little girl sniffed and screamed "ahhh" again.

She can now recognize what is good food. Looking at the big piece of meat on the table, she clapped her two little hands a few times and opened her little mouth slightly, as if she also wanted to eat it.

Especially since Dad has already taken action.

Cheng Zheng directly broke off the chicken wings on both sides and handed them to his wife and mother, "Here, you lesbians like it."

Eating chicken wings will make it easier to comb your hair and make it shiny and oily. I don’t know when this was said, but Cheng Zheng knows it all.

"Oh my god, it smells so good!" Aunt Wang first put the golden chicken wings with sizzling chicken oil to her nose and smelled them. There was a fresh aroma. Then she took another bite. The chicken skin was smooth and the chicken meat was tender. The taste was neither salty nor bland. It just retained the tenderness of the chicken without letting the extra seasonings take away the freshness of the chicken.

Jian Lu hasn't eaten salt-baked chicken for a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she had it. It seemed like in her previous life, she had just bought a house and paid the down payment, and she walked into a restaurant alone and ordered the dish.

Over the years, this salt-baked chicken from the 1970s is so tender in the mouth. The chicken skin is braised so smooth and soft that it melts as soon as you take a sip. It is so fragrant. The chicken seems colorless, but it is actually braised tender. The chicken is firm and tender. With the salty smell of sea salt, one chicken wing makes you want to eat all the bones.

Cheng Zheng took the knife and started to cut the chicken. Since he was going to eat it at home, he didn't care too much. He cut it into strips of roughly the same size, with golden chicken skin on the top and white chicken meat on the other three sides. It was placed on a plate, looking very tempting.

"Pack a few pieces of meat and send them to Sister Xiuhui and Sister Yuhe's homes." The two families often sent things to their own homes. Jian Lu picked out a few pieces of meat and sent them to their homes. Not long after, she came back to continue cooking.

The three adults ate pieces of salt-baked chicken and couldn't stop eating. They watched with pouting mouths. Obviously, their little tummies had just been full, but they were still excited standing on the small wooden bed, and even jumped on tiptoe.

Cheng Zheng teased the girl, holding a chicken bone close to her, "Shuang Shuang, do you want to eat it?"

Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she opened her mouth wide to bite, but her father dodged her hand. Cheng Zheng laughed twice and looked at the girl, "Silly girl!"

The silly girl pouted her lips even higher, hummed, turned her head away and refused to look at her father. She sat down on the small wooden bed, leaving her chubby little body and the back of her head with thick black hair to the adults at home.

Jian Lu's hands were covered in oil from eating, and looking at the lady's back, she only felt that she became even more adorable.

——

After eating the salt-baked chicken, Jian Lu temporarily fed the wild rabbit. It was not that she wanted to keep it as a pet, but it was a bit of a luxury to eat a rabbit right after eating a chicken. Such a life was not something that could be lived in the 1970s.

Wait another half a month and then you can have a treat.

In a blink of an eye, it was Jian Lu's birthday. Jian Lu had already anticipated it and had been thinking before going to bed the night before about when this man would give her the gift he bought for her.

As a result, when he opened his eyes the next day, there was no one on the bed, but there was a small box on Cheng Zheng's pillow.

Jian Lu picked it up and took a look. It was indeed a vanishing cream from Pechoin, and it was the refreshing kind!

Everything is just as I wish!

Suppressing the smile on her lips, Jian Lu got up contentedly. As expected, after she revealed the answer slightly, this man still knew how to copy the answer directly.

I got up and went downstairs. On the dining table were two bowls of porridge, a plate of mixed-grain steamed buns, an egg and a dish of salted vegetables.

"Are you up?" Comrade Cheng Zheng was taking care of his children for lunch. Today was his day off.

"Where's Mom?" Jian Lu nodded, went downstairs and went to wash up first.

"He went out early in the morning and said he was going to the non-staple food station to grab some fish." Cheng Zheng had no idea when the fish would be supplied, or what kind of fish would be supplied, but his mother knew nothing. He had lived here for almost a year and had become familiar with the comrades at the non-staple food station and the vegetable station. He was so familiar with them that he even wanted to introduce them to potential partners.

"Okay." After washing up, Jian Lu went to the table to eat, pretending that she knew nothing. She just focused on eating and didn't mention the matter of the Pechoin Vanishing Cream at all.

After feeding Shuangshuang, Cheng Zheng let her play on the wooden bed, then turned around to peel eggs for his wife. There were two eggs left at home this month, and he cooked one today as soon as he got up, because he had to eat eggs on his birthday.

"Lulu, happy birthday." Cheng Zheng handed over the smooth-peeled egg, leaving only a small half of the egg shell at the end to make it easier to hold.

"Thank you, Brother Cheng." Jian Lu took a bite of the egg. The egg was really fragrant, the egg white was smooth, and the egg yolk was soft and sweet.

Jian Lu took two bites and remembered something, then passed it to Cheng Zheng, "Try it."

"I won't eat it, you eat it." Cheng Zheng refused directly. How big is an egg? He still wants to take a bite? That's not possible.

Jian Lu remembered that this person never ate eggs at home, leaving this nutritious and small amount of food, which is rare in this era, for the family to eat. Jian Lu insisted, "Just take a bite! Hurry up!"

Cheng Zheng couldn't persuade his wife, so he took a bite and quickly pushed the egg back.

Watching his wife finish the egg, Cheng Zheng felt happy in his heart, happier than if he had eaten an egg himself. He was a rough old man to begin with. He had experienced all kinds of hard times during the war and training, and had eaten a lot of wild grass. Eggs were precious at home, so he decided to give them to his mother, wife and children.

However, seeing that his wife had finished her breakfast and had not mentioned the matter of the vanishing cream, Cheng Zheng coughed twice and could not help but remind her.

“Lulu.”

Jian Lu had just finished the last mouthful of porridge when she heard the man opposite her calling her. She looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did you wake up and see nothing today?"

"What?" Jian Lu pretended to be dumbfounded. "Isn't it the same as usual?"

"It must be a little different." Cheng Zheng suggested wildly.

"Oh~" Jian Lu smiled at the man opposite her. She stared at him for a while, then a smile spread in her eyes. "It's indeed a little different. I found that you seem to have become more handsome today!"

After hearing the first half of the sentence, Cheng Zheng was excited and was finally about to mention the Pechoin Vanishing Cream he bought. However, when he heard the second half of the sentence, Cheng Zheng's face almost turned red.

Fortunately, after being teased by his wife when they first met, Cheng Zheng already had the ability to defend himself and could accept his wife's teasing more calmly.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"What does that mean?" Jian Lu was about to take the dishes on the table to the kitchen to wash them, but she was stopped by the man as soon as she stood up.

"I'll go." Normally, washing dishes at home is casual. When Cheng Zheng is not busy, he will wash the dishes when he comes home for dinner. But today is different. Jian Lu must not wash the dishes. After all, it is her birthday.

After washing the dishes, Cheng Zheng heard his wife tilting her head and talking to her daughter-in-law, and she also mentioned him.

"Dad is a fool, right?" Jian Lu whispered in her daughter's ear, "Dad also said that we are both stupid girls, but he is the stupid dad, right? Mom has seen the vanishing cream a long time ago, and Dad wanted Mom to say it, but Mom never said anything."

I don’t know if Shuangshuang understood or not, she just laughed happily. She liked her mother talking, her mother had a nice voice. Every time her mother talked to her, Shuangshuang was happy.

He opened his hands and grabbed his mother, asking her to hold him.

Although Shuangshuang can't speak yet, she has rich body language. When she wants to be hugged, she will lean against you like a little dumpling.

When the little girl was picked up by her mother, Jian Lu found that the girl had grown some weight, with more flesh on her face and body, which made her look particularly cute.

As expected, human babies are so chubby and adorable.

"Comrade Jian Lu!"

Cheng Zheng, who overheard his wife's conversation, walked towards the dining room with his hands behind his back. In Jian Lu's opinion, he looked about 50% like Song Lu.

"Okay, you're still teasing me?"

When Jian Lu heard this, she knew he had heard it, and she tilted her head and smiled. Today she didn't braid her hair into two braids. She just casually braided one and let it hang down behind her, with a few strands of hair floating in front of her forehead. She had delicate features and a full forehead, and she was beautiful and lively even with her forehead exposed.

Looking at Cheng Zheng like this, he smiled smugly, "Thank you, Comrade Cheng Zheng, for the vanishing cream. I like it very much! It was bought to my liking."

Looking at his wife's smile and listening to her gentle words, Cheng Zheng gave up the idea of ​​sternly saying a lesson to her. He walked up to her, a little proud, with his chest and head held high, and said, "Your man still understands you, right?"

Jian Lu had a smile on her lips. How could she not understand the test when it was an open-book exam?

But she didn't say that. She just encouraged him, "I understand! Comrade Cheng Zheng, you need to keep up the good work! Keep it up!"

At noon, on Jian Lu's birthday, the family fried horse mackerel, ate blanched shrimp and crabs, and cooked soup with gooseberry and small fish.

After a big meal, Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe's families came to visit.

It’s not customary to give gifts on birthdays these days, as families aren’t that wealthy anymore, and people are happy just by having fun and chatting together.

After congratulating Jian Lu, Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe started chatting about family matters. They said that the fishermen had not had a good catch recently, so the food station had less seafood, so everyone had to eat more vegetables.

In addition, the bills were valuable, and my sisters-in-law were frugal and worried.

Aunt Wang was holding her granddaughter and playing with her. She occasionally joined in their conversation. When she heard this, she suddenly interjected, "I heard that the Women's Federation of the Army is going to set up a family newspaper. There is a prize for submissions, specifically from the families of the troops. The prize is a pound of pork or ten eggs. But we don't know how to write, otherwise we can still give it a try."

"Ah?" Jian Lu, Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe had never heard of this. How did Aunt Wang know about it?

"Auntie Wang, where did you hear that?"

Aunt Wang said casually, "Xiao He from the food station, his aunt is the sister-in-law of the deputy director of the Women's Federation of the army, so he heard about it."

This relationship is quite complicated?

But it doesn’t matter, none of this matters. What matters is that there is an award for submissions?

You know, after the big movement started, the payment for articles was abolished. Jian Lu once thought about making some money by contributing to newspapers, but later she realized that this avenue was blocked.

It doesn't matter if I don't have the royalties, it would be fine if I could get some prizes to improve my team's food.

"Mom, what else did Xiao He say?"

"It's nothing. He doesn't know much. He just heard it from others. But these days, few people can write. It's too difficult. It's not easy for everyone to recognize a few words." Therefore, Aunt Wang didn't take it seriously. She only mentioned it because she heard a few people talking about it.

Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe also thought that this idea sounded good, but who would do it? They could only hear about it and forget about it.

Only Jian Lu kept this in mind and prepared to ask about it. However, her current education level was a problem and she could not show it too obviously.

After talking about this, the two sisters-in-law asked about the gift that the head of the group gave to Jian Lu. They learned that it was Pechoin's vanishing cream, which was simply exaggerated.

"Captain Cheng is so thoughtful. This is incredible." Cui Yuhe gave him the idea. "I originally thought that he would just buy a Friendship brand of vanishing cream, but I didn't expect that he would go to the department store in the county to buy Pechoin."

"And they even know that you like it less thick?" Feng Xiuhui exclaimed in surprise, "Lulu, did Captain Cheng ask you in advance?"

Jian Lu shook her head. "No, he wouldn't ask in advance. This guy wanted to give me a surprise. He hid it very well."

I really didn't ask. I just guessed it based on my own intelligence.

"Tsk tsk." Feng Xiuhui looked at the three big men on the other side and locked onto Liang Haisheng's gaze. "Old Liang, look at Team Leader Cheng. He is so thoughtful. This gift is so thoughtful."

"Old Xu, come and take a look too!" Cui Yuhe felt envious when she heard this.

It cannot be said that Liang Haisheng and Xu Lang do not love their wives. One of them does not show his emotions, and the other is a thick-skinned person. In Jian Lu's words, they lack romantic cells.

Jian Lu remembered that on Feng Xiuhui's birthday last year, Liang Haisheng cooked a bowl of longevity noodles for her and said nothing else. Of course, Feng Xiuhui didn't show it either. She would feel uncomfortable if she said anything more and just ate the noodles.

As for Cui Yuhe's birthday, Xu Lang kissed his wife early in the morning, and that was it.

Cui Yuhe asked him if he had bought anything. Xu Lang said confidently, "You are in charge of all our family's money. Just buy whatever you like!"

Cui Yuhe used to think he was quite honest, but now compared with Cheng Zheng, Cheng Zheng also handed over all his salary. How could he just think about buying gifts for his wife?

The gift I bought was especially to my wife's liking. It shows that I was willing to spend money and put my heart into it. It really makes a difference!

Comparing yourself with others will make you feel nauseous. Feng Xiuhui and Cui Yuhe, who originally felt quite satisfied, now look at their men differently.

"You two should learn from Captain Cheng."

"You used to say that Team Leader Cheng was a rough thinker and had no idea about finding a partner, but who knew that he would get married a few years later and now he has surpassed the British and American stars!"

"It used to be Satellite Field. It was a satellite wedding performance. You two can't catch up."

Liang Haisheng and Xu Lang were scolded by their wives. They turned to look at Cheng Zheng, but their eyes were not friendly.

Is this person going too far? In the past, we were all the same, you just bought gifts and gave hairpins and hair ties, but why did you go so big this year?

I bought some vanishing cream in the county, it’s a big brand, and I even bought every kind of it to suit my wife’s taste.

"Old Cheng, it's over. Don't betray your brothers like this!"

"You weren't like this before? Why are you setting us up after getting married?!"

Cheng Zheng was with Liang Haisheng and Xu Lang. When they talked about the gifts they bought for their wives this year, their jaws almost dropped to the sky.

"To be honest." Cheng Zheng looked at these two comrades who got married earlier than him, and felt superior. "I didn't do anything. I just bought some things. I didn't expect that my wife would like them. I know her too well."

Liang Haisheng & Xu Lang: "..."

Shut up!