On the day of the dinner party, Liu Meiyu got up early in the morning to clean the house.
Lu Changzheng prepared breakfast in the morning and kept it warm in the pot. He also sent Liu Bowen to Wu Guifang's house to play with Song Jinbao early in the morning.
After she had her meal, she cooked corn porridge for Xiao Hei. When it was around two or three o'clock, Mrs. Wu came with her eldest son and Erya to help.
"Leizi, scrape the potatoes thoroughly, carefully."
"Erya, you are responsible for washing the vegetables. Rinse them twice more and don't ruin the leaves."
Liu Meiyu sat by the stove and was assigned the task of boiling water by Wu Guifang.
"Sister-in-law, why don't I wash the vegetables? The water is still a little cold and Erya is still a little girl." Liu Meiyu couldn't sit still. Just as she was about to go to Erya, Wu Guifang slapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, don't make things more complicated. You are supposed to boil water. Just use warm water to wash the vegetables. Leave it to the three of us. If you get involved, my mind will still be confused." Wu Guifang had no intention of letting Liu Meiyu interfere today.
The battalion commander felt sorry for his wife and had secretly asked her to keep an eye on Liu Meiyu so that she would do less work.
Captain Lu's reputation for loving his wife was almost spread throughout the island, and Wu Guifang didn't think about anything else.
Afraid that Liu Meiyun would bring up the topic of hard work again, Wu Guifang quickly thought of a way to change the subject, "I see that your son Bowen seems to have grown a lot taller. He is now taller than my son Jinbao, and his skin is fair. How did you two raise him? It's only been half a year, and my son Jinbao just doesn't grow taller. His father is worried every day."
"It's not time yet. Children grow in waves. When they need to grow taller, they need to keep up with nutrition and exercise more. It also depends on their genes."
Liu Yongnian and his wife are not short. She is almost 1.7 meters tall, and Liu Bowen should not be short in the future. She has never worried about his height.
"What is chicken penis?" Wu Guifang heard a new word and thought she had misheard. She stopped chopping bones with the knife and asked, "What does it have to do with chicken?"
"It's not the chicken we eat, it's this gene." Liu Meiyun wrote two words on the ground with a firewood stick and patiently explained: "What I mean is that a child's height is partly due to their parents, that is, genetics."
"Sister-in-law, do you know what genetics is?"
"I know that. It's just that people resemble each other."
"Yes, that's what I mean."
"I only knew that children take after their parents, so how can they be the same height?" Wu Guifang pondered for a while, but didn't quite believe it. "But some children in our village have parents who are not very tall, and their children can be as tall as bamboo poles. You are not right."
"This inheritance is not only passed down from parents, but also from generation to generation. In addition, nutrition and exercise must be kept up in the future."
Wu Guifang had never been to school for a single day. As she listened to Liu Meiyu talking, she felt that she was in a state of speech that she would never be able to express in her entire life. She did not recognize the two words on the ground at all.
"Sister-in-law, is there a blindness-eliminating class on our island?"
"Not yet, but I heard from Political Commissar Zhou's wife that they are planning to organize a blindness elimination class and are looking for a teacher." Wu Guifang looked at Liu Meiyu, "Sister, I think you are suitable to be a teacher! Political Commissar Zhou and his wife will come over for dinner later, how about I help you? I heard that they also provide food subsidies every month."
"Forget it." Liu Meiyu shook her head and refused. "I still have to take care of the family, so I'm definitely too busy. Sister-in-law, if you want to learn to read, I can teach you when I'm free."
Just kidding, being a teacher is not an easy job, and she is pregnant. She is extremely sleepy most of the day, so how can she have the energy to work hard?
"I can't do it. I have a headache when I read. I might as well sew two more pairs of shoe soles instead of wasting time." Wu Guifang worked swiftly on the stove, with a smile on her face. "It's enough for my kids to learn to read."
"That's right." Liu Meiyun followed her words and said, "I see that the children in my sister-in-law's family are very active in learning to read and write."
Except Song Jinbao.
"I think the job of teaching the blindness class might fall to Bai Ting." Wu Guifang thought about the relatives on the island and felt that the most likely candidate was the wife of the second battalion commander, who, like Liu Meiyu, had just married to the island and attended high school in the city.
"Bai Ting?"
"It's the wife of the second battalion commander. She got married two months earlier than you. When you came to the island, she happened to go back to her parents' home for a while. She just came back not long ago."
The newly married bride has been away from home for several months. What else can others not understand? She just can't stand the harsh conditions on the island.
If Wu Guifang were to say, although they were all educated people from the city, her sister Meiyun was not at all timid. She had been on the island for quite some time, and not only did she take good care of her husband and children, she also managed everything inside and outside the house.
Liu Meiyu was not interested in the blindness class, and she naturally didn't care who the teacher was, so Xiaoxiao didn't say anything more.
At dinner time, several of Lu Changzheng's comrades came to the house one after another, and Erya and Leizi helped to greet them.
"Meiyun, you've worked hard." Lu Changzheng took some time to go to the kitchen and chat with his wife.
Liu Meiyun took off her apron and pushed the man out: "I didn't do anything. It was all Sister Wu's fault. Think about how to thank her."
Lu Changzheng stood still and whispered in her ear, "How are you today? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"I don't feel anything." Liu Meiyu said truthfully. Seeing that there seemed to be a few more people outside, she quickly slapped the man away and said, "Go and greet the guests. I'll keep an eye on the bone soup. We'll have dinner when everyone is here."
"Then be careful not to bump into anything."
Lu Changzheng looked like a worried old father, and was seen by Wu Guifang who came into the kitchen.
"Hey, Captain Lu, why do you, as a man, always go to the kitchen? Go outside and don't just stand there. Your wife won't run away, so why are you staring at her so closely?"
Lu Changzheng's face turned red with anger after hearing Wu Guifang's loud voice. Finally, he stared at Liu Meiyu and left reluctantly.
"I don't think anyone on this island is as fond of a wife as your Changzheng." Wu Guifang stirred the big bone soup in the pot, scooped a spoonful to taste it, and when she thought it was almost done, she put out the firewood and said to Liu Meiyun, "Why aren't you wearing your white sweater today?"
"Isn't this just work?" Liu Meiyu didn't realize it for a moment.
Wu Guifang glanced outside and said in a low voice, "Hurry up and change. I saw that the third commander's family brought her niece here, and she was wearing a bright red shirt. That girl is very smart. She fell in love with your Changzheng at first sight, but it didn't work out. This time she must have come to see you specifically."
Liu Meiyu's eyebrows jumped. She really didn't know that Lu Changzheng hadn't told her about this little episode.
"Sister-in-law, are you talking about the girl from the supply and marketing cooperative?" Liu Meiyu vaguely remembered that there were two sales clerks in the supply and marketing cooperative, one was the wife of the third team leader, and the other was her niece.
"That's her! I was still in my hometown at that time, and someone else told me about it. I think it's pretty close. Anyway, you should dress nicely. We can't lose the battle."
Liu Meiyu glanced at the coarse cloth jacket she had put on for work, with two sleeves on her elbows. She threw the fire stick aside and said, "Okay, I'll go change my clothes!"
She said that every time she went to the supply and marketing cooperative, she always had a bad face, and she thought she just happened to meet the salesperson with the worst attitude. It seemed that the salesperson just had a particularly bad attitude towards her.
Liu Meiyu went back to her room to change her clothes and put on a clean, new white sweater. She tied her hair loosely at the back with a leather band and tied a few strands of hair in front of her forehead. She looked in the mirror and her temperament was gentle and charming, her face was rosy and she looked in good spirits.
She walked out with satisfaction, and at Mrs. Wu's signal, brought the last dish of bone soup to the table.
There were more than a dozen people sitting at two tables put together in the main hall, including battalion commanders and regiment commanders with their families, as well as single young soldiers. They were all talking animatedly, looking at the table full of hot dishes with eager eyes, but suddenly they saw Liu Meiyu coming over, and many of them were stunned for a moment.
The white sweater makes Liu Meiyu's skin look bright and fair, her eyes are black and shiny, her lips are a natural and healthy blush, her figure is slim and graceful, and no one knows how her facial features came about, but she is still beautiful.
Even though he could see his wife Lu Changzheng every day, he was still stunned and stared at Liu Meiyu's beautiful face. There was no trace of the seriousness that a battalion commander usually had when training people.
"This must be the Chang Zheng's wife. She's so pretty. Captain Lu is so lucky!" Political Commissar Zhou's wife Wang Xiuying was also struck by Liu Meiyu at first sight. There was hardly any other girl as pretty as her on the island. Even Bai Ting, who was previously teased as the "Island Flower" in their circle, looked inferior in comparison.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Liu Meiyun walked to the position next to Lu Changzheng and replied with a smile: "How could you be as beautiful as your sister-in-law when she was young? We used to hear your name in the art troupe. You went to the front line to perform and saved the lives of soldiers under fire. Sister-in-law, you are my role model."
Liu Meiyu's words quickly drew the attention away from her. Someone nearby laughed and said, "That's right. Sister Xiuying and Political Commissar Zhou are a loving couple. They have been through life and death together."
The person who spoke was a pretty woman with an oval face, a straight nose, and her hair was tied up behind her head. She looked capable and smart. Coincidentally, she was also wearing a turtleneck sweater today, but it was aqua blue.
"Bai Ting, your lips are filled with honey." Wang Xiuying smiled and tapped her.
"Eat quickly, or the food will get cold." Political Commissar Zhou took a sip of wine and stared at the food on the table with greedy eyes.
"Yes, yes, everyone, order whatever you like. Hurry up and pick up your chopsticks. Today's work is all thanks to Sister Wu. I was afraid that I wouldn't cook well and waste food, so I asked Sister Wu to help me. This roll is the only one on the table that I made. And you have to drink the bone soup while it's hot." After all, Liu Meiyu was the hostess. She stood up and used a large spoon to add a bowl of thick soup to Political Commissar Zhou's bowl, and then added dishes to everyone's table.
She couldn't say that she had done a perfect job in greeting people at the dinner table, but she certainly didn't embarrass Lu Changzheng.
"Meiyun, you've worked hard." As soon as Lu Changzheng waited for his wife to sit down, he quietly grabbed her hand under the table.
Liu Meiyu glanced at him, signaling him to eat quickly.
There were so many people at the table, and they were flirting with each other. Not to mention others, even she herself couldn't stand the man's creepiness.
As luck would have it, the flirting between the two was seen by a girl opposite them who was wearing two braids and a bright red shirt.
Zhao Lanlan was so angry that she had no appetite to eat. The more she looked at the huge table of food in front of her, the more suffocated she felt.
If she had married Lu Changzheng, then she should have been the hostess beside Captain Lu. She was just pretty, what was so great about that? She had a formal job in the supply and marketing cooperative, and her uncle was the head of the regiment. In the future, she would definitely ask her aunt to find her a man who was stronger than Captain Lu to marry.
Zhao Lanlan became more and more angry the more she thought about it. She picked up a large cake from the plate. The cake was a thin slice of white flour and had no filling at all.
"Sister Bai Ting, I remember that the rolls you made were delicious. I ate them once when I went to your house last time, and I still remember the taste."
Bai Ting was sitting next to Zhao Lanlan. The men who were far away didn't hear what she said, but the women sitting next to her could hear something wrong.
Zhao Lanlan's aunt kicked her from below and said with a smile, "This is fine white flour. It will taste good no matter how you cook it."
But Zhao Lanlan was stubborn. She had been holding back her anger all night, and she was not allowed to say a word. "Sister Bai Ting, can I come to your house next time and you teach me how to do it?"
"Okay, I'll teach you next time." Bai Ting smiled and picked up a piece of food from Zhao Lanlan's bowl with chopsticks.
Liu Meiyu, who was sitting not far away, pretended not to hear or see anything. She slowly picked up a roll, wrapped it with cucumber strips and carrot shreds, and scooped a spoonful of homemade soybean and minced meat sauce and put it into Lu Changzheng's bowl.
Lu Changzheng is a native of Beijing. He is very familiar with the dish of shredded pork with Beijing sauce that was simplified by Liu Meiyun. He finished one quickly and couldn't help saying, "Wife, please help me roll another one."
At this time, Liu Meiyu naturally obeyed him and rolled another one and put it in his bowl.
"So this is how you eat this cake. I was wondering what's that black thing on the plate next to it?" Political Commissar Zhou was a foodie. Seeing Lu Changzheng enjoying the delicious cake, he couldn't wait to roll one for himself. It tasted really good.
"Yes, they like to eat this way during the Long March, so I will try to make it. Sisters-in-law, why don't you try it and give me some suggestions for improvement." Liu Meiyu stood up, picked up the plate and distributed it to everyone at the table. When she came to Zhao Lanlan, she still had a smile on her face.
"I don't want it," Zhao Lanlan refused unhappily.
"How can you talk like that, kid! Meiyun, don't mind it, that's just her temper." If Zhao Chunmei hadn't been concerned about the crowds around her, she would have wanted to slap her stupid niece on the head.
"It's okay," Liu Meiyu didn't take it to heart. She went around and quickly divided up the big plate of cakes.
Everyone who has eaten it praises it highly. Wang Xiuying, wife of Political Commissar Zhou, saw that her husband finished two wraps in one go and was still not satisfied, so she simply asked Liu Meiyu for advice on how to make it.
"Sister-in-law, this is very simple. Just bake the pancake and roll the vegetables inside. The main thing is the soybean meat sauce. I will teach you in detail when you are free one day."
She learned how to make soybean meat sauce from Zhou Huiru in Shanghai. It’s not some secret recipe; you just need to be willing to spend money on meat.
"That's great. I'll trouble you again later." Wang Xiuying smiled and felt that Captain Lu had a good eye for choosing someone. He picked such a beautiful girl at once. She seemed to have a good temper and most importantly, she was a smart person. She didn't have the shyness of a little girl at all.
"Then I'll join in the fun. I think my Aiguo likes eating it, too."
Bai Ting smiled and used a handkerchief to wipe off the chopped green onion that Sun Aiguo accidentally ate. She looked like a good wife who cared about her husband, but under the table she secretly pinched the man's thigh and muttered impatiently, "Pay attention to your image."
The man who was pinched frowned and his eyes showed a hint of displeasure, but he did not lose his temper. He just wiped his mouth with his sleeve and turned around to drink and chat with his comrades again.
Zhao Lanlan, who was being pinched on the thigh by her aunt under the table, was already in a bad mood. Looking at Bai Ting, who had a good relationship with her and was also very beautiful, she couldn't help but blurt out: "Sister Bai Ting, I heard that you will be a teacher in the blindness class next month?"
"Yes, I just received the arrangement the day before yesterday." Bai Ting nodded with a smile.
When she talked about this job, the smile on her face became much more genuine. Although she was only a teacher in a blindness class, at least she would get an allowance. When the school on the island is completed next year, she would definitely become a formal teacher.
There are so many military wives on the island, but only a few of them can be arranged to work. Most women stay at home to take care of children and revolve around their husbands' stoves after they get married. When they have nothing to do, they do needlework and chat in the yard. Such a life that they can foresee the end of at a glance is not what they want to live.
Just like the people sitting at this big table in front of us, except for a very few who have a formal job, everyone else is at home taking care of their children.
Even if Liu Meiyu, the new girl on the island, is prettier than her, so what? I heard that she even quit her job in the art troupe in order to get married, and she even brought a burden with her. She doesn't want to associate with such a shallow-minded woman who has no other abilities except for her pretty face.
Speaking of the blindness elimination class, the sisters-in-law at the table had a lot to talk about.
Some people think it is new and want to try it, some think it is not necessary to waste time, and some want to go but cannot leave their husbands and children at home and are afraid of delaying things...
"Sister Meiyun, do you know how to read?" Zhao Lanlan pretended to be enthusiastic and said, "If you don't, you can go to the literacy class and ask Sister Bai Ting to teach you. I heard that Captain Lu even went to a military school. If you can learn a few more words, you will definitely have more to talk about with Captain Lu in the future."
Zhao Lanlan heard that Liu Meiyu's family situation was not good, so she thought that she was poor and might not even know a single word, making her unfit to be a battalion commander in the army.
After all, she had attended primary school for a few years. In their village, there were not many people who could complete primary school. She was the only daughter in the family, so all the good things came to her. She had no brothers or sisters to compete with her. Even her aunt, who married into the army and followed the troops, could think of arranging a decent job for her.
She can read, has a formal job, is loved by her parents at home, and has aunts and uncles to help her on the island. Zhao Lanlan feels that her conditions are adequate, and she is not bad looking, so why should her aunt She just turned her elbows outward and said she was not worthy of Camp Commander Lu.
Lu Changzheng, who was being missed all night, didn't know what was going on in Zhao Lanlan's mind. He just couldn't help but say when he saw someone questioning his wife's education level: "Meiyun doesn't need to go to the blind class. She has a very strong ability to learn on her own. I usually have to learn from her."
Lu Changzheng spoke the truth.
He thought his wife was very smart and never forgot to study. Sometimes she understood some of the contents of the newspapers he brought back from the army better than he did.
"That's right. Sister Meiyun's handwriting is also very beautiful." Wu Guifang took the opportunity to stab Zhao Lanlan in the chest.
Everyone on the island knew that Zhao Lanlan's handwriting was the hardest to recognize. Sometimes when she wrote a notice on the blackboard at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, her eldest and second daughters would take a long time to read it before they could recognize it.
Zhao Lanlan didn't expect that Captain Lu would stand up to speak for Liu Meiyu. Her face turned red and she was a little at a loss. The pride she had just had was gone. Now she was being ridiculed by Wu Guifang, and so many eyes were staring at her. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
Looking at Liu Meiyu who hadn't said a word and was just eating and drinking with everyone else, Zhao Lanlan became even angrier.
I feel that she is the vixen in the storybook who is used to using tricks to deceive people. Sooner or later, her true face will be exposed!
Liu Meiyu, who was fortunate enough to be nicknamed a fox spirit, did not care about Zhao Lanlan's little thoughts. The little girl was still too young and everything was written on her face. She and Lu Changzheng were already married. Even if she didn't say a word today, the sisters-in-law in the family building would definitely speak for her tomorrow.
By then, as an unmarried girl, she will have to face countless rumors. But it's all her own fault. Such a brainless jealous person doesn't deserve sympathy.
Liu Meiyu didn't have any sympathy, but there were people who did.
"By the way, Meiyun, I heard that your brother was also on the island, why didn't I see him today?"
Bai Ting and Zhao Lanlan are somewhat close after all. Although she does not agree with Zhao Lanlan's behavior of being obsessed with a married man, especially a military marriage, and they all live on the same island, anyone with a bit of brains would not do such a thing.
With this change of topic, the sisters-in-law were all very curious and no longer cared about what happened to Zhao Lanlan tonight.
Liu Meiyun brought her brother to the army, and the battalion commander had to support his brother-in-law after marrying a wife...
There was a lot of gossip about the couple on the island. Before coming to dinner, everyone had a so-so attitude towards Liu Meiyu. They thought she was another woman who sucked blood from her husband's family, relying on her good looks to fool men around. She was definitely not easy to get along with.
However, after the meal, the young couple was very affectionate. Captain Lu called every dish his wife. It was also true that Liu Meiyun did not have as bad a temper as everyone imagined. Instead, she was quite gentle and easy to get along with. She was very considerate in greeting guests and could always pick up what everyone was saying. She was not petty at all.
All in all, this meal at least made the sisters-in-law on the island have a more or less better impression of Liu Meiyu, the new daughter-in-law.
"I left my brother at Sister-in-law Wu's house." Liu Meiyu looked at Bai Ting with a smile. Although she was also coming towards her, it had to be said that Bai Ting was much smarter than Zhao Lanlan.
She said honestly, "Children are naughty. I was afraid they would disturb everyone's meal. Besides, I was worried that I would not be able to take care of them since I was busy today."
"You are really thoughtful." Wang Xiuying, the wife of Political Commissar Zhou, agreed.
She has experienced this very well. When her family had a dinner party earlier, the children in the house acted like they were not full. They cried and made a lot of noise, which gave her a headache for two or three days. Today, she was afraid of trouble, so she left the children at home to be taken care of by her mother-in-law and refused to take care of them no matter what she said.
"Of course not," Wu Guifang said with a smile, "and Meiyun even prepared a table of food for them, saying that they wanted to have a party for their children. You didn't see them, but my children were so well behaved today that they didn't even look like they were born by me. Even my old Song was driven out of the house by them, and he was just hoping that we would not be around, so that he could have a good time at home."
"We have big brother Tianlei to take care of us. Da Ya and Er Ya are sensible now. What can they do?" Deputy Battalion Commander Song hadn't had such a good time eating and drinking for a long time. He was in a good mood and was considerate enough to pick two pieces of food from Wu Guifang's bowl. "Eat quickly and don't talk too much."
Captain Lu and his wife are very generous. The table full of dishes is not enough to fill you up, but also enough to make you dare to pick up your chopsticks.
Ever since his mother fell ill, his family has four children to support, and the allowance of one person is not enough for the whole family. They usually eat corn porridge every day. Now it is not easy to have a meal. It is rare for the children in the family to be so happy. What is there for him to be dissatisfied about?
It's just that my wife can't keep quiet. If she has time, she might as well eat a few more bites of food!
At the dinner table, there were many people who shared the same idea as Deputy Battalion Commander Song.
The men were drinking, chatting and eating, and they didn't care at all about the topics the women were discussing. As for the women, they saw that the food on the table was getting smaller and they hadn't eaten much yet, so the topic about Captain Lu raising a brother-in-law was just avoided.
These days, nothing is more important than having enough to eat!
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