Chapter 363: Prepare to Receive Guests
The next morning, Lin Siqiao got up early. Last night, she took her uncles on a night tour of the Bund and did not return until ten o'clock.
I was so tired that I didn't want to move at all. When I woke up, I realized that I had forgotten to pack my luggage.
Fortunately, after she fell asleep, Lu Jianchuan had already packed her clothes. There weren't many sets of clothes, just two sets for changing and the set she would wear on the wedding day.
When they packed up and went downstairs, Mother Lu and Grandma Lu were in the living room counting the things they would be taking with them.
This was the first time that Lu Jianchuan, the "prospective son-in-law", officially came to the family, and the Lu family attached great importance to it.
The gift giving is similar across the country, mostly tobacco, alcohol, sugar and tea, but the Shanghai market is more particular.
I don't know when it started, but it became fashionable to give away the four items of war, namely: machine gun, grenade, dynamite pack, and bullet.
The machine gun refers to a whole Jinhua ham, and the grenade refers to the white wine, no matter what brand it is.
Although Moutai is expensive, people in Shanghai prefer Qibao Daqu.
Bullets refer to cigarettes. Just like liquor, there is no brand distinction. Just buy Grade A ones.
The bomb pack refers to the cream cake.
After Lu's mother prepared everything according to this, she added tea and fruit, making a total of six gifts.
While they were getting ready to set off, Old Mrs. Qiao on Chongming Island was also busy.
Because Wang Xiaofei has not officially left the confinement period yet, Zhang Guihua, the wife of Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou next door, and Wang Yumei, the daughter-in-law of Battalion Commander Zhao, said early in the morning that they would come over to help Old Mrs. Qiao today.
Old Mrs. Qiao calculated that the two families together would not be able to sit at one table, so last night she asked Qiao Zhiping to borrow a table and a few benches in advance.
When you are done using it, just wipe it clean and return it to the owner.
The dishes were discussed last night. There are so many vegetables in the vegetable garden that we can't eat them all. We can just pick and choose seven or eight dishes.
However, since this is the first time my in-laws come to visit, we cannot just serve vegetarian dishes.
Before Mrs. Qiao could say anything, the two little ones presented the large rooster with reed catkins that they had raised. Mrs. Qiao took it in her hand and weighed it, and the gross weight was at least eight kilograms.
When the time comes, peel some edamame and put them in to braise together. Two plates will definitely not be able to hold all of it.
At this time, the sister-in-law next door shouted.
"Aunt Qiao, the army's supply truck is back. Go quickly to buy whatever you want. If you go too late, you won't be able to get it."
Before she could finish her words, Old Mrs. Qiao ran out in a hurry.
She was quick on her feet and reached the service center in less than two minutes. At that moment, the workers in the service center were moving things downstairs.
When Old Mrs. Qiao saw it, her eyes lit up. The pork today was really good, it was shaky and looked fresh.
Old Mrs. Qiao asked the master to cut it, and when she weighed it, it was almost five kilograms.
After thinking about it, she asked the chef to cut a small piece of lean meat for her. She took it home and chopped it up, and steamed it into a lean meat soup. The soup was delicious.
After paying the money, Mrs. Qiao saw a lot of people queuing nearby and walked over uncontrollably.
I stretched my head to take a look and found that the service center had brought in a basket of crabs today.
There are also river crabs in Tongcheng, but they are not available until the end of August in the lunar calendar.
Seeing that the crab was not very big, Mrs. Qiao asked a question.
"Little comrade, is there any meat in this crab now?"
The salesperson smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Auntie, this is our local 'June Yellow'."
"Don't be fooled by its small size. It just shed its shell not long ago, so it has a lot of crab roe and tastes very fresh. You will know when you buy it and try it."
After hearing this, Mrs. Qiao felt relieved. Crabs don’t require a ticket and are cheaper than pork, so she ordered 5 kilograms of the same.
How can you buy crabs without buying fish?
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Qiao picked out a few kinds of small fish and put them together. This is the good thing about living on an island: there is no shortage of fish, shrimps and crabs all year round.
When she had almost finished shopping, Mrs. Qiao hurried home.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw Wang Xiaofei sitting in the corridor picking vegetables. The two children were each holding a chopstick and scraping potatoes in an extremely professional manner.
Mrs. Qiao was immediately unhappy. "Xiao Fei, didn't I tell you to rest more? There's still a week left. Be good and go back to lie down."
"Mom, please let me get down and move around."
Wang Xiaofei smiled and said, "Mom, go around the compound and ask around to see if there's a daughter-in-law who's been in confinement for as long as I have."
She was not talking nonsense. Confinement after giving birth is a popular term only in cities nowadays. In the countryside, most women would rest for a few days after giving birth and then go back to the fields to earn work points. At most, they would not let the mother touch cold water.
Unlike her, she has been resting for more than 20 days, but Mrs. Qiao is still reluctant to let her get out of bed.
In other words, she was lucky to have a good mother-in-law.
Ever since Old Mrs. Qiao came over, Wang Xiaofei really doesn't have to worry about anything. All she does every day is eat and sleep. She has gained several pounds in recent times.
When the sisters-in-law in the family compound mentioned Wang Xiaofei, they were all so envious that they were speechless.
Old Mrs. Qiao still shook her head, "That won't work either. Others are others. You still have to take care of your health."
"Mom told you that giving birth is the most damaging to a woman's vitality. If you don't take good care of your baby now, you'll regret it when you're old."
"Hurry up and listen to mom. Go back to the house. You are not needed here."
Just at this moment, Zhang Guihua and Wang Yumei came over together. When they heard the conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they couldn't stop laughing.
"Okay, Xiao Fei, you have such a good mother-in-law, just be happy if you have nothing to do."
"That's right, Aunt Qiao is right. You really can't be used for this vegetable picking task."
As they spoke, the two of them each took a stool and sat down.
They were all efficient at work. They were chatting and laughing, and in less than an hour they had washed and cut the vegetables.
It’s also quick to cook in a big pot; just put the vegetables in and let them boil.
Old Mrs. Qiao went to the kitchen first and prepared the dishes that required a lot of effort to prepare, and then started cooking the remaining dishes after they arrived.
On the other side, Qiao Zhiping also picked up Lin Siqiao and his group at the dock.
Considering that there were many people today and transportation on the island was inconvenient, Qiao Zhiping reported to the army a few days in advance and applied for a car. The political commissar readily approved a military truck for him.
Everyone exchanged a few words at the dock and then hurried back.
The two little ones have been guarding the gate of the family compound since Qiao Zhiping left.
Until the familiar military truck appeared in sight, Xiao Yingjing ran back without looking back.
"Grandma, sister and brother-in-law are back."
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