Chapter 104 Half is human feelings, half is strength
In March, the courtyard is filled with bright sunshine.
Inside the small light gray second-floor office building, the door frames and windows were all made of mahogany. Two stone lions stood at the door, looking quiet and solemn. Bursts of laughter soon rang out from inside.
Comrade Zuo Fuze, the leader at the time, finally met Zhai Ximo and, together with several deputies who were discussing some work in the office, warmly welcomed his arrival.
After some greetings, the logistics staff brought tea.
The officer could not hide his excitement: "Since the last month of the lunar year, our county has received notices from troops in various provinces that soldiers like you who have experienced life and death in the army are returning home to visit your families one after another, and the armed forces have also become lively."
"Yes! It's not easy for everyone. Not only have you experienced life and death, but the conditions are also difficult. It's time to go home and visit your family." Zhai Ximo said.
The people in front of him all belong to the same organization as him, but their work focus is on local matters including military registration, conscription, militia organization building, and reserve personnel management.
For example, Deputy Captain Tang belongs to the militia emergency team, so he usually travels around the area.
Department Chief Zuo specifically inquired about Zhai Ximo's family situation. He had heard that the Zhai family had made such a big fuss a while ago, so he personally stepped forward to put pressure on the town and supervise the case.
In front of so many people, Zhai Ximo briefly explained the current situation at home. At the end, he said politely: "I have to thank everyone for their help this time. As for my mother, she will be allowed to go home in a few days."
"Well, it's time for her to reflect on her behavior." Zou Bu said with a cold expression.
If anything really happened, he wouldn't be able to sit steadily in this chair.
Captain Tang greeted everyone and said with a smile, "It's getting late, let's send them to the cafeteria first."
"Oh, right, right, you guys go and get busy first. I almost forgot about giving everyone a snack at noon, haha..."
"I have to thank you all for helping my brother-in-law come to the city to work this time." Zhai Ximo was not ignorant of the ways of the world, and he thanked the group of comrades who had a say in the matter.
In the early 1980s, although it was just a job as a chef, without the connections, it would be difficult to compete with others even if you cooked delicious dishes.
Zou Bu smiled and nodded, then stood up and patted Zhai Ximo on the shoulder, caring for him like an older brother: "Just go back to the army and work with peace of mind. As for your family, we will try our best to help."
When I came down from the second floor, I ran into a comrade from the county police.
Seeing the burly man walking down from the upper floor, the other party waved his hand and said hello to Captain Tang, "Old Tang, what are you busy with? By the way, there was a case on the old street this morning. Go to President Han's house to take a look. I'm worried that the commotion will be too loud and disturb President Han's mother."
"Okay, okay, we'll be there in a moment." Captain Tang waved his hand generously.
Wang Ziru and her brother were standing in front of the small building basking in the sun. They saw Captain Tang and Zhai Ximo coming out one after another. Captain Tang's tall and sturdy figure made Zhai Ximo look even thinner.
Looking at her man's thin back, Wang Ziru felt a little distressed.
"Sister-in-law! Let's go. I'll take you to the cafeteria..." Captain Tang led the way, taking everyone around the courtyard, along the stone path of the small two-story office building, and walked towards a small cafeteria at the back.
Wang Zonghao followed closely at the end, feeling very excited and unable to stop imagining about his future life.
In his sister's words, "This is your best chance to escape from Dragon King Village. You must cherish it and don't make any mistakes."
The four of them walked to the back of the small building and saw a small cafeteria appearing behind the yard.
The clean and tidy backyard was also filled with sunshine. Three round winnowing baskets were set up in the yard, with radish strips drying in them. It looked like the strips were almost half-dried.
Captain Tang introduced with a smile, "This is the radish that Mr. Zhang dried. After it's dried, sprinkle some seasoning on it and mix it with rice."
"Is that the chef who cooks in the cafeteria now?" Wang Ziru walked over, picked up a radish strip, put it into her mouth and ate it. After the moisture was dried, the sweetness of the radish was still retained. Now she could sprinkle some seasonings on it and mix it with rice.
"Yes! Old Zhang has been cooking for us for more than ten years. Last year, his daughter-in-law gave birth to a child, and the family had to plant so many fields, but they couldn't grow any crops. He also wanted to go home, so he waited until this year to find a new chef."
"Captain Tang, how many comrades are working in your hospital?" Wang Zonghao asked hurriedly.
Captain Tang walked to the entrance of the canteen and turned back to say, "There aren't many people here, only 15. For a unit like ours, there are nine people on the staff, and three or four more staff members."
"That means I only need to cook for 15 people every day?" Wang Zonghao, who was thinking about it, opened his eyes and was surprised: "That's absolutely no problem!"
"Don't be too happy too soon. Although there aren't many of us here, the leaders still have certain requirements for our meals every day. Besides, we have three meals a day, and when we are busy at the end of the year, we have to make supper at night."
"Do you still need a midnight snack? The food at the county town is really great." Wang Zonghao said with a wry smile.
The best thing about being a cook is that you won't have to have a problem with food in the future.
Wang Zonghao was so happy that he turned around and looked at his sister. Sister, have you never eaten dried radish before? She stood by the dustpan, ate one, and then grabbed another and put it in her mouth. It tasted nothing. What was so delicious about it?
He shook his head and followed Captain Tang into the small cafeteria.
Wang Ziru ate four or five dried radishes in succession and glanced around the backyard and the dining hall.
Even though it is just an internal cafeteria of a government unit, the door curtain is quite beautiful. It is also a light grey flat brick and tile house. The door frame and the windows on both sides are framed in red and inlaid with glass, which looks simple and tidy.
It seems that this old man is usually a hardworking person.
Wang Ziru fell behind and was the last one to walk into the canteen.
The dining hall was not small, with two square tables and a small table inside, which was enough for them to eat by themselves.
Wang Zonghao had already followed him into the open-plan stove room and was talking to Old Man Zhang.
Old Zhang looked to be in his 60s, with grey hair. He spoke with full energy and laughed loudly as he introduced the three meals a day in the canteen to Wang Zonghao.
"Here, we cook three meals a day. We basically eat noodles in the morning. You have to cook three dishes and a soup for lunch and dinner, otherwise it won't be enough for our office comrades..." Old Man Zhang said with a smile, counting on his fingers.
Wang Zonghao nodded vigorously, but his eyes were rolling around, looking at the pots and pans in the kitchen.
"By the way, young man, you also grew up in the village, so you should know how to burn beehive coal, right?"
Wang Zonghao then saw the earthen stove in the kitchen, burning honeycomb coal. "Yes, I know a little, but most of the firewood burned by every household in Longwang Village is dry wood. Coal is too expensive."
"That's not a big deal. You can make the beehive coal yourself and burn it after it dries. Normally, if you can get some dry firewood, there is a firewood stove here. It's up to you."
"So what are you going to cook for lunch today?" Wang Zonghao nodded nonchalantly, and noticed the spareribs in the porcelain bowl on the chopping board. Suddenly, his eyes widened. It was worthy of being a county unit, the food was really good.
Captain Tang saw that Wang Zonghao was getting into the mood to cook. When he came out of the kitchen, he turned back and said to Old Man Zhang, "Take him to get familiar with the restaurant first and teach him some of the operations in the canteen. It would be best if he could cook a dish for everyone at noon! Let everyone see this kid's cooking skills."
"Okay, Xiao Tang, you go and do your work. Leave this to us." Old Man Zhang laughed loudly.
Captain Tang walked out of the kitchen and saw Wang Ziru visiting the small dining hall. He asked with a smile, "Sister-in-law! Isn't this place nice?"
"Yes, that's for sure." Wang Ziru turned around and nodded with a smile, and asked casually, "What time is lunch?"
"Dinner will be served at 12:30 sharp. I'll leave this to you, sister-in-law. I'm going to go out and do something." Captain Tang turned around and looked at Zhai Ximo again. "It's boring for you to stay here. Why don't you just come with me? After I'm done, I'll take you to stroll around the main street of our county town."
Zhai Ximo was in a cool and good mood, and nodded slightly, "Okay."
He looked at his wife, asking for permission, "I'll go out for a walk with Captain Tang."
Wang Ziru waved her hand and heard the two men go out. She glanced at the clock hanging on the front wall of the canteen. It was a quarter of an hour before 11 o'clock.
In another hour or so, the comrades working in the front office will have to come over for dinner.
She walked into the kitchen and introduced herself to Old Man Zhang. Then she looked at the fresh ingredients on the chopping board, including spare ribs, potatoes, cabbage, and a large pot of live shrimp.
"Uncle Zhang! Are these all for lunch today?"
Mr. Zhang knew that she was Wang Zonghao's biological sister, and he thought she was a lucky young man to have his biological sister accompany him to work.
He smiled and nodded, "Yes! You are a thoughtful sister, and you even accompany your brother to work in the city."
"Hey! I'm here to help..."
"Are you here to help your brother cook?"
"Yes, I just don't know what kind of food we eat in our courtyard. By the way, Uncle Zhang, how are you going to make these things?"
Mr. Zhang was easy-going and enthusiastic, so he told the siblings what dishes the comrades in the hospital usually liked to eat.
"For lunch, I plan to roast some spareribs and stir-fry some shredded potatoes. Then I'll have these shrimps. The comrades from the supply and marketing cooperative just delivered them this morning. They're still alive. I plan to cook them and dip them in soy sauce."
Wang Ziru raised her eyes and glanced at her brother, "Zong Hao, are you familiar with these things?"
When asked by his sister, Wang Zonghao quickly put away the messy thoughts in his mind and said with a smile: "I am sure I know all these things. Sister, you can stir-fry shrimps, so let's make some stir-fried live shrimps for lunch!"
"Well, I'll teach you and you can try it out." Wang Ziru said calmly.
She can't be the one to do everything. In the end, when she's not here, Wang Zonghao will still be in the dark.
Mr. Zhang was a little nervous, but he said politely, "As long as you can cook a big pot of food, it will be fine! I have all the seasonings, and you can ask me if you need anything."
"Well, Uncle Zhang, leave these dishes to us for lunch, and you can help keep an eye on the fire in the stove. If you have firewood, we can use it to cook for lunch."
"Yes! There are some dry firewood in the yard. I'll go and make a fire. You two siblings should keep an eye on the time..."
After watching Old Man Zhang go to the yard to get dry firewood, Wang Ziru gave her brother instructions, stared at him, and taught him how to use various seasonings as quickly as possible.
After all, it is a small canteen inside a government agency, and they have all the seasonings needed for cooking.
"For lunch, we'll make three dishes and a soup. They have sugar and vinegar here, so we'll make sweet and sour spareribs, hot and sour potato shreds, stir-fried prawns with green onions, and a pot of cabbage soup." Wang Ziru pointed at the ingredients on the chopping board and began to arrange the lunch dishes. She then thought of the dried radishes drying in the yard, "I'll teach you how to mix them."