Chapter 156: Prosperity 156: Nothing is impossible for him...
"Let's fry some water chestnuts and radishes." Gu Qingqing put down the chocolate in her hand and asked Gu Qinglie: "Shall I fry some crispy meat for you?"
"Okay, you two can do it, and I'll watch over Tuantuan and Niannian." Gu Qinglie put down the water cup and strode towards the stove.
"Okay." Gu Qingqing entered the kitchen and saw the man chopping stuffing and Shen Sui cutting water chestnuts. She reminded him, "Be careful, Ah Sui."
"I know. Sister, the teacher said he has to go to the camp first, and will come back later to make dumplings with us."
"Okay, don't worry, you can make the dumplings after dinner." Gu Qingqing washed her hands, and seeing that she was not needed anywhere, she simply picked up a basket and went to the backyard to pick vegetables.
The pheasants have all been raised as domestic chickens, but they still don't lay as many eggs as domestic chickens. I saved the eggs and let them hatch chicks. There were 24 chicks originally, but I don't know if they were taken away by something in the back mountain. Now there are only 19 left.
There are a lot of vegetables in the vegetable garden. The temperature here is not too cold, so there are too many vegetables to eat them all. The sisters-in-law on the island also grew vegetables but they were not needed, so she sent the extra vegetables to the canteen. If there were any left, she would dry them into vegetable stems.
I picked some cabbage hearts to stir-fry, and also picked some garlic sprouts, green onions, and cilantro. I also pulled a few carrots and picked half a basket of peppers.
Seeing that it was almost done, he got up, re-enclosed the fence, and went into the house.
In the living room, Xu Nian peeled peanuts and teased Xiao Yuer.
The two babies in the cradle moved a little, and Gu Qinglie saw that they were almost waking up, so he quickly held on to them and rocked them a few times.
Although he tends to cry at night if he sleeps too much during the day, it is daytime now and he just wants to be quiet for a while and worry about things at night.
Seeing how he took care of the baby, Xu Nian hesitated to speak and finally said nothing.
The two of them were familiar with each other, so there was no awkwardness. Gu Qinglie took two peanuts from the enamel bowl and threw them into his mouth, then asked her, "Where's Lao Zhao? Why didn't he come with us?"
"He went to a gathering with his brothers in the Corps and said he would come back later." Xu Nian saw that his son could no longer sit still, so he took him out of the basket and coaxed him in his arms: "Don't worry about him, he will come back by himself when it's time for dinner."
Gu Qinglie chewed the slightly sweet red-skinned peanuts and nodded.
Yesterday he asked those who came from the Corps if they wanted to have dinner together to celebrate the New Year. They said they could only come in the evening. Some of them had wives and children at home and could not come in the evening.
Glancing at his two nephews in the cradle, who were sleeping soundly again, he got up and went to the back storage room, which was the small utility room under the stairs, and brought back a bag of dried sweet potatoes.
"I almost forgot about these things Lao Yu sent me, luckily they hold up well."
I opened the bag, grabbed a handful and roasted them next to the stove. The sun was strong in the border town and the dried sweet potatoes became too hard to bite after being exposed to the sun for two days. They were only delicious when they were roasted until soft.
Xu Nian took a piece and gave it to Xiao Yuer to chew on. "This is what Uncle Yu showed off last year, right?"
"Yes, it was the one you saw when you were in the regiment. Qingqing probably forgot about it, otherwise she would have eaten it all."
Gu Qingqing, who had sharp ears, came out of the kitchen and handed Xu Nian a cup of hot tea: "What do you mean I've already finished eating? Am I the only one who eats all this at home?"
"It's me, it's me." Gu Qinglie didn't want to argue with her: "The couplets haven't been posted yet, ask Lao Chu when he will prepare them."
"Let's talk about it after dinner. How long will it take to put up the couplets when there are so many people at home?" She also sat down and stretched out her hands to warm herself by the fire: "The New Year's goods are still in the package. Can you open them? Put out the melon seeds, peanuts and candies. My nephew and his friends should come over to play later."
"You can order your brother around as much as you want." Gu Qinglie walked slowly to the table to unpack the package. "Brother, if you dare to do this, I will respect you as a man."
Gu Qingqing: "Can you please stop being so sissy?"
Xu Nian listened to the quarrel between the brother and sister, with a smile in his eyes.
Chu Dai’s cooking skills are average, but his fried meatballs with stuffing are pretty good, with the proportions just right, unlike Gu Qingqing’s, which are either too salty or too bland.
The fried meatballs and crispy pork are left to the men, and the stir-fried dishes are left to Gu Qingqing.
She went in after Chu Dai came out of the kitchen. Xu Nian was talking to her at the kitchen door, holding the child. The two men were chatting about military matters by the stove.
Zhao Zeka came over before the last dish came out of the pot. He first drove away the cold air brought in from outside by the stove before hugging his son.
"I just stopped by to ask Instructor Jiang to help me write the couplets. We can just wait for the brothers to come over this afternoon and post them together," he said to the woman.
Xu Nian nodded, pulled him aside and whispered, "Did you send a telegram to your family? Last time, Mom asked us to send more money back. Was she unhappy that I blocked her?"
"I don't know. We also need money to raise children. She should be able to understand that." Ever since the incident with Yu Ruan, Zhao Ze has reflected on it. It is only natural to send some living expenses to his mother, but it is not good to send allowances to his brothers and sisters all at once.
For example, Yu Cheng used to send so much money to his sister every month, which Bai Tao was also very dissatisfied with. His money was all with Xu Nian, and now, in addition to the fixed amount of ten yuan given to his mother every month, his two brothers only gave some money as red envelopes to their nephews during festivals.
In fact, he also felt a little uncomfortable. When his two sisters-in-law gave birth, their mother took good care of them, but when Xu Nian gave birth, there was no news from home.
Now that he has a child, he should also think about his son.
Xu Nian nodded, his mindset had changed a lot: "We'll be on the island for at least four or five years, let them say whatever they want, we won't be able to hear them anyway."
Zhao Ze rubbed his son's forehead and said with a smile, "That's right. We just need to live a good life at home. I heard that once the military equipment on the island is completed, we can buy a TV according to the quota given by the higher-ups. Even without the ticket, the price is one-third cheaper than outside."
This is the extra compensation given by the troops to the soldiers stationed on the island. Needless to say, the hard work of digging the caves this year was immense, and quite a few soldiers were killed or injured. The military district has seen that the wives of the soldiers are determined to follow their men and endure the hardships here.
"Really? This is great." Xu Nian's brows relaxed. The island was too boring, and she didn't like to go to crowded places to chat with her sisters-in-law. She usually came to Qingqing to talk.
"Well, it will probably be in the first half of next year." Zhao Ze held up his son and watched him smile with his white front teeth showing. He was also very happy: "Save some money. Even if it's one-third less, it's still not cheap."
"I know. Your allowance is high now, which is more than enough. I was even thinking of asking the captain to bring a radio."
"The radio is pretty good," Gu Qingqing said, holding a spatula in her hand, leaning on the door frame with half of her head exposed. "Next time, tell the captain to bring one for me too. Sister Anian, come and help me taste the salty soup."
"Okay." Xu Nian was happy and took the dried sweet potato from her son's hand. Xiao Yuer couldn't bite it, but her saliva softened the dried sweet potato in front, so she stuffed it into the man's mouth.
Zhao Ze's glasses were taken away by his son. He uttered "eh eh eh" several times because the dried sweet potatoes in his mouth were unclear.
Gu Qinglie was amused when he saw this. "What if someone took off his glasses when he was pulling out the knife?"
"A cut on the neck." Chu Dai looked at his son in the cradle and kicked the bottom of the cradle with his toes to make it sway slowly: "We have to write Spring Festival couplets later, do you want to come?"
"Let Elder Qin do it." Gu Qinglie bit the dried sweet potato with his teeth bared. "I don't know how Lao Yu dried this thing. It's harder than stone. I have to save some for Tuantuan to grind his teeth on every year."
"You can sharpen it, too." The man said slowly, "After living in ease for so long, the wolf's fangs are no longer sharp."
"Hmm?" Gu Qinglie heard his hidden meaning: "Just say it if you have something to say."
"After the New Year, some countries are ready to take action again. The border town is the first line of defense. You should go back." The man's voice was neither fast nor slow.
"..." Gu Qinglie put down the dried sweet potatoes, was silent for a long time, and then smiled bitterly: "You know my current situation. I can't go to the front line with a knife."
"I'll accompany you in target practice starting tomorrow." The man said, "As a soldier, if you encounter difficulties, you should overcome them. If you can't overcome them, you should think of other ways. To be honest, I don't think I'm as good as you. Emerson, I fought him for two years and I still couldn't defeat him. You shot me in the head." The fire was warm, and they were family. His voice was casual and comfortable, and he said, "Comrade Gu Qinglie, you are born to be the fierce leader of the jungle and an outstanding PLA officer."
"Carry your steel gun, go through the dark jungle, and blow the head of an enemy leader."
Gu Qinglie thought of the black wolf head armband in his pocket all the time, and curled his lips: "Do you fucking think that the general of the neighboring country is a big radish in the vegetable pit in your backyard that you can pull out whenever you want?"
After saying this, both men couldn't help laughing. They were in their early twenties, a time when they were full of energy and vigor. Although their personalities had become a little mature due to their experiences, they couldn't hide the rebellious nature in their bones.
Chu Dai also thought about his future path.
After he came to the navy, he dug caves every day, and he doubted himself more than once. He applied to come to Baisha Island himself, and it is true that he felt a little uncomfortable after coming here.
He felt that he was born to be on the battlefield and should go to the front line and charge into the hail of bullets.
But just like what Mr. Qin said, he just left the previous battlefield and went to the next battlefield without the smoke of gunpowder. As the country's most forward island, it needs an indestructible coastal defense military base to shock neighboring countries and defend the local territorial waters.
Now, the path in his mind is clear, and he believes that the same is true for Gu Qinglie.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile: "To be honest, I admire you, big brother."
"Of course," Gu Qinglie also nodded: "Gou Sheng never questions his own choices. There is nothing he can't do. His character is much stronger than mine."
"Brother," Gu Qingqing shouted from the kitchen, "Stop chatting, hurry up and take the dishes out and eat. Ah Sui went upstairs, right? Let him go see if Mr. Qin is back. He's the only one missing."
"Hey." Gu Qinglie looked at the half-eaten peanuts on the stove and felt guilty: "Did you forget to make something?"
"Peanuts stewed with pig's feet? Let's cook it tonight." She took out the bowl and chopsticks and followed Xu Nian who was carrying the dishes and said, "I knew you wouldn't be able to stop eating. Peel more in the afternoon. It's just right for frying peanuts for you tonight."
"Okay." Gu Qinglie stood at the stairs: "Ah Sui! Come down to eat!"
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