Chapter 70

"Dunzi, come back quickly, the movie is about to start!" Feng Xiuhui called the children back.

The half-time break passed quickly and everyone hurried back to their seats to prepare for the second movie.

Wu Xiangchen saw another person appear on the screen in front of him, and then he withdrew his feet from the crossbeams under the pairs of stools.

Because the little girl in front of me was so absorbed in watching the movie that she had forgotten the joy of rocking the stool.

......The second movie ended with everyone feeling reluctant to leave. On the way home carrying their stools, everyone was still discussing the plot in the movie heatedly, with saliva flying everywhere.

Shuangshuang is different. She is complaining to her mother.

"Mommy, my, my stool, it's broken!" The little hands pointed at the stool that the mother was holding in her left hand.

"What's broken?" Jian Lu held a stool in each left hand and Shuangshuang in her right hand, while her mother-in-law held two stools.

Hearing this, Aunt Wang also looked at the stool and didn't see anything wrong with it.

"No lame leg?"

Shuangshuang remembered that it didn't move in front of him, and said anxiously, "It's really bad, I shook it and it didn't move."

After thinking for a while, Shuangshuang added, "It moved first, but, but it won't move later."

Jian Lu knew that the child was playing.

"You must have tired it out by shaking it. It needs a rest."

Huh?

Is that so?

Shuangshuang tilted her head and stared at the bench, finally accepting the explanation, "Well, it's fine, it's time to go to sleep."

Jian Lu: “…”

Resting is equal to sleeping, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it!

On the other side, Wu Xiangchen, who was discussing the plot of the movie with Dunzi and others, overheard and laughed when he heard that the stool was going to sleep.

When they got home, they found that their father had already returned and was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Shuangshuang watched two movies today and didn’t take a nap, but she was full of energy and kept telling her dad about it.

"Dad, I saw the electric shock."

"Oh, did you watch the movie?" Cheng Zheng simply made three vegetarian dishes, one steamed eggplant, one stir-fried cowpea, and one stir-fried cabbage.

“Is the movie good?”

"nice!"

At the dinner table, neither Aunt Wang nor Jian Lu opened their mouths to talk to Cheng Zheng about the movie they watched today, because both of them had already taken the initiative to talk.

"There were so many people." Shuangshuang, who was holding a spoon and eating her meal obediently, recalled seriously that the square was crowded with people.

"Dad wants to test you. Did you understand anything in the movie? What was it about?"

"It was a fight! A lot of kids were fighting!" Shuangshuang knew about it. There had been fights among the little brothers in the courtyard. She had even seen it. "I saw someone getting beaten, and I told him to get out of the way."

As she said this, she looked at her father, as if waiting for praise.

"Oh, are you so awesome?" Cheng Zheng thought the young lady was extremely adorable.

Jian Lu found this funny. "Everyone was watching a movie, and a PLA comrade was captured by the enemy and was whipped. Shuangshuang suddenly shouted, asking him to get out of the way."

Maybe only children would remind people in the movie out loud, but it feels so good when you hear it.

"Do you know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy?" Cheng Zheng was surprised by the girl's behavior. He thought this child didn't understand anything.

"Not many." Shuangshuang answered confidently. She didn't understand anything. She felt that everyone was just chattering and quarreling.

"Then how do you know that the person you remind to dodge is a good person?" Cheng Zheng saw that the lady had rice grains on her mouth while eating, so he reached out to wipe them off for her.

Shuangshuang chewed the rice with great relish, "Because he and dad are wearing similar clothes, he must be a good person!"

Cheng Zheng didn't expect this to be the reason. When he looked at his wife, he felt a warm feeling in his heart.

"I realized that the PLA comrades' uniforms looked a bit like yours, so I thought they looked like my father."

Jian Lu looked at the young lady, why is she so cute!

"Shuangshuang is so smart." The more Aunt Wang looked at her granddaughter, the more she liked her. She has a grandson and a granddaughter, and has also met many children from neighboring families. She really thinks Shuangshuang is smarter than other kids, especially when she suddenly says something that makes you open your eyes wide.

After a noisy day, Shuangshuang had dinner and took a shower, and her eyelids began to droop.

Cheng Zheng carried the girl upstairs in one hand and put her on the crib. The child automatically fell asleep as soon as she touched the comfortable bedding.

"She's exhausted today." Jian Lu returned to the room and looked at her daughter sleeping soundly. Her fair face was rosy like a red apple. "You didn't see how excited she was today. She was having a blast."

"I understand." Cheng Zheng touched the lady's face, softly, "Shuang Shuang must be very excited to watch a movie for the first time. Think about the first time I watched a movie, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep a few days in advance, and I stayed up all night after watching the movie."

Jian Lu felt a little sad when she heard this. The conditions were really difficult in the past.

"In the future, maybe you can watch any movie you want, and there will be all kinds of movies."

"Sounds good, I hope."

Jian Lu had a busy day today and now she was sitting at her desk writing furiously. After watching the movie, she did not forget her job - writing for newspapers.

There is a lot to write about after watching a movie, the excitement of the military families, their desire for the movie, the passionate plot in the movie...

Quickly, Jian Lu wrote a few hundred words. After finishing one sheet of manuscript paper, she took out a new sheet of manuscript paper.

"Your current job looks really good." Cheng Zheng felt that it was better than working in the supply and marketing cooperative. Although working in the supply and marketing cooperative was decent, with higher wages, better benefits, and the convenience of internal procurement, after all, one had to stand there all day. How could it be as comfortable as writing at home?

"I think so too." Jian Lu continued writing as she talked to Cheng Zheng at the same time. "I even asked Director Qian to give me more receipts. I don't mind if the salary is lower."

After all, the family is not short of money, but of other things.

Speaking of money, Cheng Zheng remembered that he had something to discuss with his wife.

"Oh, let me tell you something."

"You say."

"There was a soldier who died in our regiment before. He was from the commune next to ours. He was very young when he died. He was only twenty years old. At that time, the child had just been born and the conditions at home were not good. I plan to go and have a look when I return to my hometown. , I’d also like to do my best to give you some subsidies and help.”

Jian Lu didn't even raise her head to answer, "Okay."

Thinking of him as a martyr at such a young age, Jian Lu felt a little uncomfortable. "When the time comes, let's remember to go to the credit union in advance to withdraw some money."

"You...have no objection?" Cheng Zheng asked tentatively.

"What do I think?" Jian Lu didn't understand.

"It's okay!" Cheng Zheng felt relieved. After all, some family members had complaints about their man subsidizing the families of his sacrificed comrades.

The feeling is understandable, as some people don’t have sufficient financial resources at home.

Cheng Zheng thought about giving out a few dozen dollars, so he decided to tell his wife first. Otherwise, if she heard about it from other people, she would blame him for not being honest.

Cheng Zheng’s philosophy on marriage is that the couple should be honest about everything.

——

Jian Lu's article on watching movies in family courtyards was published in the center of the Women's Federation Family Newsletter.

Jian Lu talked about everyone's feelings about watching movies from the different perspectives of adults and children. Of course, she also implicitly flattered the organization that prepared movie screenings for the families.

This time, she even "interviewed" some family members about their feelings about watching outdoor movies together, and included excerpts of what the interviewees said.

In the family yard, holding freshly-made newspapers and smelling the faint smell of ink, the family members, literate and illiterate, crowded together to "read".

"The person who applauded while watching the movie is talking about me!"

"I was even interviewed, and they said they would publish what I said in the newspaper." He Yumei was smiling so hard in the family compound, but she couldn't read a single word, so she just urged the person next to her to read, "Look for it quickly."

"He Yumei, why don't you attend a blindness class? It's a good thing to learn a few more words." Someone next to her advised her.

He Yumei has many children in her family. Her husband is a battalion commander. When he came with the army, his main job was to do housework and take care of the children at home.

When the illiteracy prevention class in the family home was first established, we announced that we hoped everyone would join in. However, many people were reluctant to join. Some thought it was embarrassing for them to sit and learn to read like children at their age, while others thought it was meaningless and that they would be better off mending their clothes at home.

He Yumei is a typical example of someone who is determined not to attend the blindness elimination class.

When she heard someone teasing her, she hesitated for the first time, "This... Oh, what am I supposed to learn at this age? There's no need! I can't learn it!"

"Sister He." Jian Lu could tell at a glance that her attitude had softened. "The blindness-elimination class doesn't force you to make progress. If you want, just go and have a look. It's actually much easier than a formal class for students. It's called a class, but it's actually more of an exchange, like chatting. Don't worry. It's great that you can recognize this sentence in the newspaper."

"Yes, yes, He Yumei, listen to Sister Jian Lu, she is right!"

"I will be writing an article about the blindness elimination class in a while, and I will arrange to interview the students in the class. Ladies and gentlemen, please cooperate with me."

"no problem!"

"Sister Jian Lu, let me do it! Then you can ask me what I learned. I will show you!"

"Come on, you only know a dozen characters. Let me do it. I know more characters. I can already recognize more than fifty characters!"

"Don't try to steal from me!"

Although it is just a newspaper published internally by the Women's Federation, newspapers always have a sacred status in everyone's hearts, and whoever appears on its cover seems to bring honor to the family.

He Yumei asked for a newspaper and took it home. She looked at the densely packed words on it, but she didn't recognize any of them, and she didn't know where the sentence she said during the interview was written.

After reading the newspaper, He Yumei finally made up her mind that she would go to the blindness elimination class!

——

At this moment, Cui Jingfang, who was also reading the latest issue of the newspaper carefully, was not happy.

This time, she won first place!

After Jian Lu pointed out the problem of word choice and topic last time, she realized the problem with her articles in the past few months: they were too vague.

Therefore, for this month's article, Cui Jingfang began to be down-to-earth, observe carefully, and wrote an article about the daily life of the people in the family compound.

Sure enough, with many years of education as a foundation, Cui Jingfang found the right direction and finally won the first place.

"Jingfang, why are you unhappy? You got first place!" Dong Qiuhua thought Cui Jingfang was amazing.

"I was very happy too." Cui Jingfang looked at the newspaper where her first-place article was published.

However, on a larger page next to it was Jian Lu's article.

I finally got first place, and I thought I had won over Jian Lu, but she didn't even participate in the writing competition! Moreover, since she got a formal job quota in the Women's Federation, she will not participate in the competition in the future to avoid suspicion!

Is this a win or a loss?

Cui Jingfang was very depressed.

There is nothing sadder than seeing your biggest competitor no longer compete.

——

Jian Lu didn't realize that she was making people depressed. She was recently busy expanding the enrollment of the literacy class run by the Women's Federation.

In the past, the anti-illness class at the family home was held twice a week, but many students often did not come because they were too busy with household chores to attend.

Things have been different recently. With a series of measures taken by the Women's Federation, especially the use of newspapers for publicity and the stimulation of the call for papers, everyone has become more and more active in learning and improving their ideological awareness.

One classroom is full!

"We'll have to make new plans when the time comes to see how to coordinate the time for the blindness elimination teaching." Qian Honglian looked at the military families who came to register with satisfaction. The work that they had been busy for half a year finally showed results.

"Director Qian, I have some suggestions."

"You say." Qian Honglian's impression of Jian Lu became better and better. She found that this girl was smart.

"After counting the number of applicants, we can divide them into classes or groups. The large classes will manage the learning in a unified manner, while the small groups will help each other to eliminate blind spots. This will increase everyone's enthusiasm, help each other improve efficiency and deepen memory. Secondly, it will also ease the staffing pressure of the Women's Federation."

"Like a primary school student?"

"Almost the same, but the enthusiasm of the families is not as high as that of the primary school students. They still need more stimulation and attraction, such as selecting outstanding students in the blind class every month, and praising the students who have made the most progress every month in the newspaper. This will make everyone more active."

This newspaper is run by the Women's Federation itself, and they decide what content to write. There is no censorship pressure at all.

"Okay, your idea is good." Qian Honglian looked at the increasing number of people participating in the campaign and was full of confidence. The campaign has made considerable progress.

——

In November, the heat in the south gradually dissipated, the wind brought a slight coolness, and everyone changed out of their short-sleeved shirts and put on long-sleeved shirts.

"Raise your hands." Jian Lu said, and immediately raised her hands high.

"Isn't this dress beautiful?" Jian Lu changed the lady into a white knitted cashmere sweater with a lotus leaf collar, on which were crocheted a few small red flowers and green leaves.

This is Shuangshuang’s second birthday present, knitted by grandma.

"So pretty!" Shuangshuang looked at the pretty girl in the mirror.

Today, mommy gave Shuangshuang two cute little pigtails in her hair. The two little pigtails on her already soft and smooth black hair looked like two little flower buds.

The two-year-old is fair and tender, with chubby cheeks that were once baby fat. When she talks, you can see the bulging cheek flesh. She is wearing a white knitted sweater with a lotus leaf collar, a pair of thin black cotton trousers, and black cloth shoes.

She looked at herself in the mirror with her big eyes from top to bottom, took two steps forward, and stretched out her little hands to touch herself.

"oops!"

"What's wrong?" Jian Lu packed up and prepared to take the child out. "Your father and grandmother went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables. We have to hurry up, otherwise they will come home and see that you haven't brushed your teeth, washed your face, or finished breakfast."

Shuangshuang looked at herself again and saw how beautiful she was in the mirror.

Pah.

Shuangshuang kissed her own face in the mirror, then turned to look at her mother, "Mom, let's go, let's go!"

Jian Lu was braiding her hair with her back turned. After she finished braiding two pigtails, she led the girls downstairs.

This afternoon, my family is hosting a dinner party to celebrate Shuangshuang’s second birthday.

Several close friends came.

The adults were busy in the kitchen, and the children occupied the living room.

The main task of Dunzi and the other three today was to take care of the children. Of course, there were only two of them, one was Shuangshuang and the other was Cheng Hehua Lady x Juanjuan.

Juanjuan, the daughter of Cheng Hehua, is one and a half years old this year, half a year younger than Shuangshuang. She is a cute and adorable little girl. Because she speaks a little slowly, she has just entered the stage where everyone teaches her whenever they get the chance.

The four older boys were taking pictures. Yuanyuan was sticking to his brother Hengheng, while Shuangshuang and Juanjuan were sitting on small stools on the other side.

"We watch them, they fight."

"Yeah." Juanjuan could speak vaguely, but she also tried to say something, "Qiu Men Da Da Da."

"It's you guys!" He patted Juanjuan's arm with his hands and asked her to look at his mouth, "You guys~"

"Pinch the door~"

Shuangshuang: "..."

"This is a Dunzi pot." Shuangshuang didn't give up and continued to teach her sister how to speak, "Mud follows the snow."

The young teacher tried hard to pronounce the words clearly, "And mommy, daddy, too."

Juanjuan tried hard to learn, "Mom, ba ba."

Shuangshuang taught with great effort, "Pot."

“Hehe.”

"Pot!" Shuangshuang felt that her sister was wrong, so she raised her voice a little, and became anxious, "It's pot."

Juanjuan, who has a very good learning attitude, studies again, "Haha."

"Oh, it's not cluck, it's pot. It's not cluck, it's pot. It's not pot, it's cluck, cluck." Shuangshuang was like a repeater.

Juanjuan stared at her finger, her mind full of questions, and asked her sister, "Does it sound like a giggle or a chuckle?"

"Yes, cluck!"

"Oh!" Juanjuan smiled, that's right!

Jian Lu was kneading dough in the kitchen when she heard the conversation between two little girls outside and laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back. She wondered what the hell they were teaching.

"Lulu, Shuangshuang is pretty good. I want to teach Juanjuan how to speak."

"Lotus, please don't, I'm worried that she will be taken away by your girlfriend. I've been teaching her for a long time and I've forgotten how to say it."

After Shuangshuang taught Juanjuan for a while, when they went to see the brothers playing cards, they blurted out, "Hengheng, haha, I want to play too."

Heng Heng: "....I'm not a chicken!"

I'm not giggling.

"Haha, haha, hit!" Juanjuan also came over to take a look.

"Come on, both of you." This round was originally Hengheng's turn. He wanted to use his picture cards to knock over Chenchen's picture cards, and that would mean he won.

This time, he gave his pictures to Shuangshuang and taught her how to play.

"Pinch here, yes, and slap it down, use all your strength, slap it down with all your strength! Turn Chenchen's picture over, just like that, and we win!"

Shuangshuang nodded, thinking she had learned it, and assured Brother Hengheng with her head held high, "I have failed to learn it."

After saying that, he pinched a corner of the picture in his little hand, stared at the picture lying quietly on the ground, and smashed it down heavily.

Bang!

The sound was quite crisp, and Hengheng's picture flew out from Shuangshuang's hands, thousands of miles away from Chenchen's picture, without even touching a corner.

Heng Heng: “…”

"It's a good fight." No need to fight next time.

Shuangshuang watched brother Hengheng run to the picture under the coffee table and pick it up, then stared at the picture on the ground with the motionless pattern.

She squatted down, reached out and picked up the picture lying quietly on the ground and turned it over. Seeing brother Hengheng coming back, she said excitedly.

"Heng Heng, we won! We won! It turned over!"

Shuangshuang thought the brothers were so stupid. Turning it over was so easy. Just flipping it over gently would do the job. Why did they have to use that thing to hit it?

"Sangsang, please untie me, it's so greasy!"

Juanjuan and Shuangshuang held hands and jumped together.

Four brothers: "..."

"Am I timid?!" Shuangshuang looked at brother Hengheng, blinking her beautiful big eyes as if waiting for praise.

Hengheng looked at the cute little twins and nodded. What else could he do? He could only pamper them. "Awesome!"

"Brother!" Yuanyuan, who was almost three years old, was dissatisfied. How could this be amazing? Last time he wanted to take a picture, his brother rejected him because he thought he was wasting precious time. "Is this amazing? Not at all! She used her hands."

Hengheng glanced at his brother and urged him to go back and sit down, "What do you care? Don't you use your hands to play with pictures?"

"I don't care, I want to fight too!" Yuanyuan also wanted to play, but his four brothers thought he was too weak and wouldn't let him join in. "Both of you fight, is she your sister, or am I your brother?"

Heng Heng: “…”

And he even knew to pinch me.

"Fight, fight, fight. Just wait for the next round."

"Great!" Yuanyuan was excited. He glanced at Shuangshuang and found that she was really useful!

=

Shuangshuang’s second birthday was a very lively one. They had a group of other kids to play with and there were lots of delicious food.

Jian Lu is in charge of preparing today's lunch.

Shuangshuang's favorite dish is shrimp, corn, carrot and coconut fried rice, which is also the favorite of the children. The red shrimps are cut into small pieces and fried with coconut meat, corn, carrot and potato cubes. The shrimps are first served to the children and put into seven coconut halves without much salt. The semi-circular coconut shells are filled with colorful fried rice, which makes the seven children in the room drool.

Add some salt to the remaining fried rice in the pot. This is for adults, so don’t be too particular. Just put it in a bowl and scoop it out when you want to eat.

Several families came today and they all brought gifts. Some gave Shuangshuang three feet of cloth coupons, and some gave her noodles, eggs and brown sugar. The eggs were used directly to cook the dish.

Aunt Wang went to the yard to pick some tomatoes, and made scrambled eggs with the eggs she brought from Feng Xiuhui's house.

The golden eggs are surrounded by bright red tomatoes, with red and yellow surrounding them. The color looks beautiful, and the tomato juice gradually becomes thicker during the stir-frying process, making it even more mouth-watering.

Cui Yuhe even brought two sea bass this time. The same thing happened last time when Yuanyuan was one year old. When everyone went to her house for dinner, they all brought a lot of things.

"Lulu, you must have never eaten this. I'll make fish soup later." Cui Yuhe opened another bag and let Jian Lu see what was inside.

"What is this?" Jian Lu looked at Cui Yuhe's mysterious expression and was a little curious. "Is there anything else we haven't tried?"

"Have you ever tried sour fish soup?"

Jian Lu's eyes suddenly lit up. She had eaten it in her previous life. But when she thought about the current situation, she just shook her head and said, "No."

In addition to the two sea bass, Cui Yuhe also brought two handfuls of sour beans and some sour starfruits. Wash the fish, remove the internal organs and cut it into thin pieces. Add the fish bones, sour beans, sour starfruits, ginger slices, and sour radish shreds to the pot and boil for a few minutes. When the water boils, remove the fish bones, add tomato slices and sea bass meat and continue boiling.

A pot of sour and fresh fish soup is ready.

The first time Auntie Wang saw so many sour guys cooking, she felt a toothache, "Won't this make my teeth fall out?"

Cui Yuhe took the sour fish out of the pot and put it in a bowl. She smiled and said to her, "Auntie Wang, you should try it when the time comes. It's so delicious that it will make your eyebrows jump."

When the men outside heard this, they shouted towards the kitchen, "Comrade Cui Yuhe, please stop making us so jealous."

"That's not enough. You grown men are afraid of being soured?"

The men in the living room were also busy preparing seafood, some were scrubbing lobsters, some were prying oyster meat.

Cheng Zheng and Jian Lu met a fisherman on the beach yesterday. They asked the fisherman to catch some lobsters that he was about to throw away. They were two big lobsters with hard shells and a bluish-brown body. A pair of pliers were constantly opening and closing them.

After cleaning the lobsters, Cheng Zheng took one in each hand and handed them to his wife in the kitchen. "How do you eat this lobster?"

Now Cheng Zheng has believed that everything in the sea is edible. This lobster is really big, so there must be a lot of meat inside.

"Just steam them." Jian Lu steamed the two big lobsters and then went on to process the oysters.

Four pounds of oysters were bought at the grocery store. Liang Haisheng and Wu Feng pried out the oyster meat one by one with a knife. Now a large pot of oyster meat was being marinated. Jian Lu chopped the garlic into minced garlic, chopped the chili pepper, and stir-fried it in a pan with oil.

The marinated oyster meat was put back into the shell one by one and drizzled with fried garlic and chili pieces. Aunt Wang worked with her daughter-in-law to steam the garlic oysters in batches.

Jian Lu was busy in the kitchen, sometimes cooking, sometimes directing Cheng Zheng to go to the vegetable garden to pick some fresh vegetables. By noon, the dining table was filled with a large table of dishes.

Boiled shrimp, steamed lobster, braised hairtail fish, sour fish soup, coconut fried rice, garlic oysters, stir-fried loofah slices, minced pork eggplant, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, stir-fried cabbage, hot and sour potato shreds...

There were a lot of people today, so we had to eat at two tables. The seven children insisted on sitting at one table and refused to be accompanied by an adult.

"Dunzi, you are the oldest at your table, so you have to take good care of your younger brothers and sisters." Liang Haisheng took a sip of white wine and said to his son who was concentrating on eating at the table opposite him.

"Okay!" Dunzi's eldest brother's consciousness was awakened by his father. He looked around and saw that his younger brothers and sisters were all eating.

Even the youngest daughter of Cheng Hehua, Juanjuan, tried hard to hold the spoon and eat the fried rice by herself, but she was not very coordinated. However, she did not want her mother to feed her, she wanted to sit at the same table with her brothers and sisters to eat.

"Juanjuan, do you want to eat some vegetables? I'll scoop them for you." Shuangshuang was much more skilled in using the spoon than her sister, and she saw how hard she was trying to eat.

I am the elder sister and I have to take care of my younger sister.

Juanjuan nodded, automatically ignoring the fact that Shuangshuang had changed her name, "Sangsang, please forgive me. I want to eat shrimp."

The lobster meat on the children's table was taken out by the adults after they had broken open the lobster in advance. The fresh and tender lobster meat was placed on a small plate.

"Okay!" Shuangshuang didn't realize her sister had changed her name. She used a spoon and tried hard to reach the lobster meat on the table. However, the spoon didn't obey her and she pouted as she tried so hard.

"Here you go!" Dunzi thought he was the older brother, and he directly put some lobster meat into Shuangshuang's bowl with his chopsticks, and put another piece of meat into Juanjuan's bowl, "Okay, you guys eat quickly!"

"Thank you for the two pots." Shuangshuang ate the lobster meat happily.

"Thank you, Dunji." Juanjuan was also happy. It was delicious.

Glancing at the children's table from time to time, the adults felt relieved and continued to eat, drink and chat.

When it comes to Cheng Zheng's family going back home for the New Year, Liang Haisheng is a little envious. He went home on a family visit leave before the New Year last year, and he won't be going back this year.

"Old Cheng, please bring some things back for me when the time comes. We won't be going back this year."

Cheng Zheng nodded, "Okay, just bring it over when the time comes."

"When I come back, I'll have to rely on you. My mother will definitely prepare a lot of things for me. You can bring them back for me then."

"Then I have to charge some errands?"

"Take it, take it, take whatever you want!" Liang Haisheng raised his hand with his wine glass, and several men at the table followed suit by raising their glasses in the air and then drank them all.

"What a pity, Lao Xu is not here today, otherwise I would have to fight him."

Cui Yuhe felt a little regretful when she heard about her husband. "He is still floating on the sea right now. He must be craving for this drink too."

Xu Lang went out to sea on a mission a week ago and is expected to be back in the middle of the month, so he won't be able to have a share of today's dinner.

"Sister Yuhe, then you should eat more and eat a piece for Political Commissar Xu." Jian Lu asked her to eat more lobster meat.

"Eat, eat, we are not polite!" Cui Yuhe hasn't eaten so many delicious foods for a long time. She only eats them during festivals or when something important happens. "Lulu, try the sour fish soup."

Speaking of sour fish soup, everyone at the table perked up. After all, there were so many sour things in it, such as sour beans, sour starfruit, and sour radish shreds. Who wouldn't have a sour taste in their mouth after seeing it?

"Okay, I'll try it." Jian Lu had eaten it once when she came here for a trip in her previous life, and it actually tasted quite good.

"Can you bear it?" Cheng Zheng was very worried about his wife when he saw her scooping a big bowl of sour fish soup into her bowl with a piece of fish and some sour beans. He was even prepared to take over when his wife took a sip and couldn't drink it because it was so sour.

However, Cheng Zheng watched his wife drink the sour fish soup mouthful by mouthful without changing her expression, and even praised her while eating the tender fish meat.

"The soup is delicious and the fish is fresh. Come and try it."

"Look." Cui Yuhe felt that she still knew what she was talking about. "Lulu has already said it. You guys should try it."

"It's really not sour?" Cheng Zheng felt a sour taste in his mouth when he looked at those sour guys.

Jian Lu brought her bowl to his mouth, "Try it, it's really delicious!"

Cheng Zheng took a sip from his wife's bowl with some doubt. The fish soup was sour and fresh, and surprisingly tasted quite good.

"fine."

"Yeah, Sister Yuhe's cooking skills are very good." Jian Lu urged him to scoop a bowl for himself.

After eating and drinking, each family prepared to leave. Before leaving, everyone looked at Shuangshuang and blessed the two-year-old baby.

"Shuangshuang is already two years old. Time flies by so fast."

"I thought Lulu came to the island just yesterday, but now she's two years old."

"Shuangshuang is so beautiful now, they will be amazing when they grow up."

"She has to be like her mother, pretty and charming."

Shuangshuang's face turned red after being criticized by everyone. She held her chubby face with her two little hands and said in a baby voice, "Don't criticize me, I'm embarrassed."

"Hahahahahahaha, Shuangshuang are still shy?"

Jian Lu also laughed. She noticed that the lady was shy when there were many people around, hiding half of her body behind her. So she touched the lady's head with her backhand and said, "You are a little older now, and you understand more."

"Goodbye." Jian Lu's family saw their neighbors off and asked Shuangshuang to say goodbye to everyone.

They stood at the door, both hands waving, and shouted, "Goodbye."

When he turned around, two cute little dogs swayed above his head, smiled at his mother, and ran to her in a few steps, looking very happy.

"Happy?"

"Hmm~ah!" She is two years old now and is so happy!

=

Shuangshuang's birthday passed, the calendar pages turned one by one, and the Chinese New Year was approaching in a blink of an eye. Because they were going back to their hometown for the Chinese New Year this year, Cheng Zheng and his family decided to leave at the end of December. Before leaving, they had to clean the house thoroughly and do a thorough cleaning.

From the second floor to the first floor, the entire floor was swept, the furniture was wiped with a rag, and the vegetable garden was also re-tended. The small building instantly became brighter.

However, when the cleaning work was almost finished, Cheng Zheng was called to the army. He was told that there were changes in the training work after the spring and a temporary meeting was needed to discuss it. The subsequent finishing work was completed by Jian Lu and her mother-in-law.

"What shall we eat tonight?" Aunt Wang packed up and prepared to prepare dinner.

Looking at her mother-in-law who was full of energy, having just done a day of cleaning and preparing dinner, Jian Lu just wanted to express her admiration.

"Mom, let's take a rest first." Jian Lu didn't want to move for the time being. As for dinner, "Just cook some porridge, stir-fry some shredded radish and cabbage, steam some eggplant, and eat whatever you want."

"Okay." Aunt Wang was used to working and didn't feel the need to rest at all. She said to her daughter-in-law, "You take a break. I'll go cook the dishes."

Jian Lu was lying on the sofa. Shuangshuang was giving her mother a massage, with her little hands pinching her mother's arms. She had seen her father giving her mother a massage and said it was so comfortable.

"Mom, is it Sufu?"

"Comfortable." Jian Lu felt that the lady was tickling her, and still looked at her with a smile, "Shuangshuang is really amazing."

"Hehe~" Shuangshuang smiled and worked harder to massage her mother.

"Lulu!" A clear female voice came from outside the door, calling Jian Lu's name.

"Mom, someone is coming." Shuangshuang reacted faster. She ran to the door to take a look, then ran back again.

"Who's here? Do you know me?"

"Looks like it." Shuangshuang pointed at the red hair tie on her head, "This one."

She forgot how to call people, and seemed to be doing something.

"Fuck you!" Jian Lu understood instantly. Qian Jingjing, who gave Shuangshuang the red hairband, came. She didn't expect Shuangshuang to remember this. It was incredible.

Qian Jingjing came a day earlier because the art troupe was going to perform on the island before the New Year, and she also came to visit Jian Lu and her goddaughter Shuangshuang.

Every time she came, Qian Jingjing would bring gifts for Shuangshuang. This time was no exception. She directly gave Shuangshuang a second-year birthday present - a pair of beautiful nylon socks.

"I saw this when I was shopping in a department store during a performance. It's rare to find a pair of nylon socks for children, but I don't think I can wear them now. I'll leave them here. There are strawberries on them."

The nylon stockings decorated with red strawberries are so beautiful. Shuangshuang likes them very much. Now she remembers that this is her mother who gave her many gifts.

"You are so thoughtful. You even thought of giving her such an expensive gift." Jian Lu knew at a glance that the nylon stockings were not cheap. "Since you are here, stay for dinner tonight. It's almost time for dinner."

Qian Jingjing was not polite, "Okay."

"Mom, please add one more dish." Jian Lu said as she walked towards the kitchen.

"I want to add a dish." Cheng Zheng heard his wife's words as he walked into the courtyard, and said with a smile, "Old Hu is coming for dinner, wife, add a dish."

Hu Zhenghao followed Cheng Zheng into his house, but unexpectedly he saw Qian Jingjing sitting on the sofa in the living room.