Chapter 296 Fawning? You serve braised pork, I'll peel an egg. "Everyone, disperse for lunch, clean up and rest. At 9:00 AM sharp, all instructors, as well as squad leaders and above in command of this exercise, assemble in the command headquarters conference room for a comprehensive review and division of responsibilities for this exercise!"
...
The cafeteria was unusually lively, like it was Chinese New Year.
The long wooden dining table, polished to a gleaming shine, now stood as a stark contrast to the two worlds that once existed there.
To the east lay the territory of Battalion No. 3. The soldiers had just taken a combat shower and changed into clean training uniforms. Although they all had dark circles under their eyes, they were full of energy. They sat together, laughing and chatting loudly, holding enamel mugs filled with ginger soup with brown sugar, specially prepared by the cooks.
"Come on! Cheers to the victory of our Third Battalion!"
"Damn it! I was so frustrated last night!"
"Who can argue with that! We were just watching Commander Jiang lead his men in a desperate fight, and all we could do was watch helplessly! But now look what's happened, Comrade Su An is awesome! He's taken down their entire hometown!"
To the west of the dining table, however, was utterly silent.
The soldiers of Battalion No. 2 hung their heads dejectedly, silently picking at the food on their plates, even chewing cautiously, as if afraid of disturbing the oppressive atmosphere.
Their head instructor, Han Feng, sat at the head of the table with a dark expression, his plate untouched.
The cooks really went all out for today's celebratory feast.
The plates no longer contained the usual sorghum rice with pickled vegetables, but instead snow-white steamed buns, two per person, as much as you want.
The food was exceptionally plentiful, with a large bowl of glistening braised pork displayed at the food serving window. The pork was stewed until tender, the sauce was rich, and the aroma filled the entire cafeteria.
This is a treatment that one would never dare to dream of under normal circumstances.
The atmosphere was even more enthusiastic at Battalion Three.
Just as Su An finished getting her food and sat down, a figure immediately squeezed next to her.
It's Gao Kai.
He carried his enamel plate, on which the braised pork was piled up like a small mountain, bulging outwards.
"Teacher Su!" Gao Kai said seriously, using serving chopsticks to pick up the largest, most marbled piece of meat and precisely place it on Su An's plate. "You're too tired, you need to eat more. This stuff will help you relax!"
Su An looked at the "uninvited guest" that had suddenly appeared on her plate, but before she could speak, Gao Kai's chopsticks started moving again.
The second piece, the third piece...
In the blink of an eye, a mountain of meat had piled up on Su An's plate.
Gao Kai's movements were extremely serious, as if he were carrying out some important military mission. The police officers behind him chuckled and teased him.
"Hey Gao Kai, you don't even have enough for yourself? You gave it all to Teacher Su, are you going to eat steamed buns?"
"Exactly! With Teacher Su's appetite, you're trying to stuff her to death!"
Gao Kai blushed and retorted defiantly, "What do you know! Teacher Su is a great contributor to our camp, a mental worker! She's very physically demanding! She needs to eat more meat!"
His words were spoken with such conviction that they drew laughter from everyone around him.
Wang Xiaoya and Chen Xiaocao sat close together, covering their mouths and laughing so hard their shoulders shook.
"Gao Kai is too honest," Wang Xiaoya whispered to Chen Xiaocao.
Liu Landi simply ate her meal quietly, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched the scene unfold before her.
Su An felt somewhat helpless. She looked at the mountain of flesh in front of her, picked up her chopsticks, and was about to say something.
Just then, someone sitting down silently with a tray in hand next to her.
The noise in the cafeteria seemed to drop a few decibels in that instant.
It's Jiang Yan.
Everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to it.
Unlike Gao Kai, Jiang Yan didn't make a fuss. His plate contained only a small portion of braised pork, two steamed buns, and a plate of stir-fried cabbage.
The only unusual thing was the white boiled egg in the corner of the plate.
In the military during the 1970s, eggs were a precious commodity, a staple food for sick soldiers, and a top-tier form of nutrition supplementation.
Only squad leaders and above are entitled to a share of today's victory celebration banquet.
Under the curious, inquisitive, and gossipy gazes of everyone, Jiang Yan put down his plate.
He didn't speak, but simply picked up the boiled egg and gently tapped it on the corner of the table with his long, clean fingers.
"Click".
The crisp sound was surprisingly clear in the noisy cafeteria.
He lowered his eyes, silently and attentively peeling the eggshell. His movements were slow, yet methodical. Small pieces of shell were carefully removed, revealing the smooth, jade-like egg white inside.
He remained silent throughout the entire process.
But the surrounding air seemed to have frozen.
Gao Kai's smile froze. He watched Jiang Yan's movements, his eyes instantly becoming wary. A strange sense of unease welled up inside him.
What does he want to do?
The surrounding soldiers were also stunned.
If Gao Kai's act of picking up meat was a blatant attempt to curry favor, as if he wanted everyone to know, then Jiang Yan's act of peeling an egg was a silent yet more impactful declaration.
A peeled boiled egg is more thoughtful than a plate of braised pork.
Finally, a whole, plump, white egg appeared in Jiang Yan's palm.
He raised his hand and, under the almost fiery gazes of everyone, especially Gao Kai, gently and steadily placed the cleanly peeled egg into Su An's bowl.
It was placed right next to that mountain of flesh.
After doing all this, he raised his eyes and looked at Su An. His voice was still steady, but it carried a hint of gentleness that he himself did not realize.
"Replenishing protein helps restore physical strength quickly."
boom--!
The cafeteria was in complete chaos!
"Holy crap! What did I just see?!"
"Commander Jiang... actually sent eggs to Su An?"
"My God, this...this is even more exciting than Gao Kai's meat sandwich!"
"One is picking up meat, the other is offering an egg, what... what are these two doing?"
...
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