Chapter 157: Prosperity 157 We won’t live on the island anymore…
The room was warm and the door was tightly closed.
Although the curtains were drawn and a lot of light was coming in from outside, Gu Qingqing still turned on the light.
There was a charcoal stove under the table, and a dozen people gathered around it to chat and have a great time.
There were many dishes today. Chu Dai made the fried crispy pork and fried meatballs, Gu Qingqing fried spicy crab, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, braised pork, stir-fried bacon with garlic sprouts, stir-fried eggplant with beans, fried fish cakes and stir-fried choy sum, and also fried leeks and eggs.
There are quite a few cold dishes, including cold jellyfish skin, cold kelp shreds, cold bean curd and peanuts, as well as a seaweed shrimp soup and a steamed meat cake soup.
The meat pie soup is specially prepared for Xiao Yuer, who can now eat minced fish and minced meat. No salt is added, just two red dates are added, and the soup is sweet.
Gu Qingqing rubbed her hands together and pried open the cap of the Shanhaiguan soda bottle with chopsticks. She poured a glass for Mr. Qin first, and then poured it for everyone else in turn. When it was his turn, the bottle was empty, so he opened another one.
Zhao Ze put his son in a basket beside him, adjusted his glasses, filled a bowl of meat soup and fed him first: "You must have used up all your meat coupons during the Chinese New Year, right?" The table was full of pickled vegetables.
Chu Dai handed a pair of chopsticks to Shen Sui who was standing next to him, and said casually, "Just eat to your heart's content. I was planning to kill two pheasants, but if there are enough vegetables, just save them for laying eggs."
His wife likes to eat egg custard, but pheasant eggs are in short supply, so he has to ask the captain to bring them over from the supply and marketing cooperative in the military district.
Gu Qinglie first served a bowl of rice to Old Qin, then said in disbelief, "No more tickets? My tickets, your tickets, and the tickets my brother sent are all in Qingqing's hands, so they are all used up?"
Gu Qingqing nodded and said righteously: "There are many things to prepare for the New Year. Let's eat this meal and wait until next month when the allowance is paid before eating meat."
Compared to their allowance, pork was not expensive, 72 cents a pound, and tickets were required. Matches were 2 cents a box, salt was 13 cents a pound, soy sauce was 2 cents a pound, and vinegar was 8 cents a pound. These were the same as rice and oil. Just pay for them, no tickets were required.
This was also the reason why military wives were willing to come to the island in the first place. They could eat rice and flour without tickets and they didn’t have to worry about their children being hungry.
If I were back home, not only would I have to go to work every day, but the food would also be rationed by the brigade. If there was not enough food, I would have to buy it myself. Without food coupons, it would be useless.
Mr. Qin doesn't like drinking soda very much, maybe because he is old. In such chilly weather, he prefers to have a sip of wine. Fortunately, Gu Qingqing had prepared all these things a long time ago, and there are still several bottles of Bamboo Leaf Green at home.
There was a small wine pot warming on the stove. Old Qin was eating cold peanuts and drinking wine, his eyes and brows still looked gentle.
Sometimes when Gu Qinglie thought about this man's glorious past, he felt like he was dreaming.
Chu Dai added slowly: "It's not just the three of us who have the hostages. The Southern Military Region has also sent us tickets."
"Your father sent it?" Old Qin smiled and said, "My monthly pension is not small, and I just don't know where to spend it. You can use it as my food allowance for eating here."
"How can that be possible?" Gu Qingqing rejected it outright: "I was just joking with them. I have plenty of prostitutes at home. Don't take it seriously."
This is true. Her husband gets tickets every month, and the allowance on the island is higher than that of other troops. Her second brother also has tickets. The Construction Corps is too poor, and the monthly allowance is also higher than that of inland troops.
Not to mention her elder brother, who eats at the flight attendant's kitchen every day and whose food standard is shockingly high. He doesn't have to pay for it at all. Apart from sending some money back home, the rest is given to her. She doesn't need it anyway, as she will get it next month.
Seeing her say this, Mr. Qin did not force her. He just nodded with a smile and continued drinking.
Most of the time he would quietly listen to these young people chatting without interrupting them, secretly observing the thoughts of their generation.
Zhao Ze also smiled and said, "If it's not enough, I have some meat tickets. My family usually eats out in the cafeteria, so we don't use them much." It was only because of Gu Qingqing that he asked this. His sister Anian gave birth to a child, and he didn't know how many pheasants they stewed at home, not to mention eggs. Every time they came to eat, there were meat dishes, just like now, and he even steamed meat pie soup for Xiao Yuer.
He and Chu Dai are brothers for life and death. He treats Gu Qingqing as his sister. His wife and sister are good sisters, so no one would care about these things.
Xu Nian also nodded: "Just start talking if you need anything."
Gu Qingqing's heart warmed up, and her eyes curved: "Thank you, Brother Zhao and Sister Anian, there is really no shortage. The bacon and bacon sent from my family have not been touched much, so there is no shortage of meat."
"That's fine."
Xiao Yu'er had grown a few small front teeth, and his clothes would get wet when he smacked his mouth with soup.
Seeing this, Xu Nian asked, "Do you have a small towel? Qingqing, help me get one for him to use as a bib. I forgot to put it on him when we came out."
"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go look for it." Gu Qingqing had just stood up when the two little guys in the cradle woke up at the same time. They didn't cry, but just kicked their little feet and looked into their uncle's eyes, staring blankly.
Gu Qinglie glanced at them and said, "They don't look hungry. Let them play for a while while we eat first. Don't worry about them."
Chu Dai didn't intend to care. He held the cradle with one hand and rocked it slowly, while holding the chopsticks with the other hand and eating the food.
Gu Qingqing found a small bib that looked round and handed it to Xu Nian. She watched her tie it on Xiao Yuer before sitting back down.
Tuantuan and Nian Nian were very well behaved and didn't cry or make a fuss. I let them finish their lunch peacefully. They ate very well and there was a lot of food left over so they could continue eating in the evening.
The men spontaneously stood up to clean up the dishes, and Gu Qingqing pushed the cradle directly into the bedroom.
The wooden rocking basket was delicately made, with four small wheels at the bottom for rolling, and a string of bells hanging on the side. When Tuan Tuan kicked the rocking basket, it would swing back and forth and make a jingling sound.
Seeing that Xiao Yuer was sleepy, Xu Nian took him back home first, waiting for his son to wake up in the afternoon before coming back to make dumplings together.
After Zhao Ze cleaned up the table, he leaned against the kitchen door and asked the two men who were washing dishes, "Will the troops come over tonight?"
"No way, there are only four or five of you, all bachelors. Who among those with families would live with you?" The temperature was only around ten degrees, a bit cold. The man still wore an army green long-sleeved shirt and rolled up his sleeves twice to reveal a section of his white wrist bones.
Seeing that he was very familiar with the way he washed dishes, which obviously showed that he had done it a lot at home, Zhao Ze was happy: "Being single also has its advantages. At least you don't have to wash dishes."
"Yes, there is no one to cook for them, so where will they wash the dishes?" Gu Qinglie added with a grin.
Zhao Ze really couldn't help himself this time. He leaned against the door frame and smiled for a long time before saying, "Why don't you invite Chen Jiefang as well? Or should we invite Doctor Yang Jun as well?"
"Hmm?" Gu Qinglie raised his eyebrows: "You want to be a matchmaker?"
"I just want to give them a push when I see their situation. My son is five or six months old, and Old Chu has two sons. To be honest, Chen Jiefang is two years older than you. We should be a little anxious, right?"
Chu Dai and Gu Qinglie will be twenty-two after the Chinese New Year, which means Chen Jiefang will be twenty-four as well.
The two men looked at each other and said, "It's not convenient for us to take part in this matter. What's the pretext for inviting a female comrade from the health center to our home for dinner?" Chu Dai asked.
"Isn't that easy to say? Your two sons were delivered by her, right? Shouldn't you thank her?" Zhao Ze said, "I have to go to the clinic this afternoon to get some medicine to wipe my little Yu'er's red bottom. If you think it's okay, I'll tell Doctor Yang Jun."
"Okay." Chu Dai glanced at Gu Qinglie next to him, "I'll go tell Qingqing later. Old Qin is still upstairs watching Ah Sui do his homework. You go find him and write the Spring Festival couplets."
"Okay." After washing the dishes, the three men went their separate ways. Zhao Ze went to the bathroom, Gu Qinglie ran upstairs in two or three steps, and Chu Dai wiped his hands and went back to the bedroom.
Shen Sui brought up the stove in the living room. Mr. Qin was afraid of the cold as he grew older, so there had always been a small stove in the bedroom. Now that the weather was cold, he was afraid that the two kids would be frozen when he changed their diapers and clothes.
When Chu Dai came in, Gu Qingqing was feeding her baby, and the baby she was holding was Nian Nian. The quilts used by the two brothers were of different colors. The top piece of the quilt used by the elder brother was made of floral fabric, while the top piece of the quilt used by Nian Nian was made of dark blue fabric.
The little woman was a little shy, and she turned her body slightly to avoid his sight. She said angrily, "Close the door and stop looking at me."
The man chuckled, closed the door, sat down beside the bed, picked up Tuan Tuan who was biting his finger, and kissed him on the cheek: "Mother is so partial. Now she is obsessed with you two little guys. There is no place for father anymore."
The woman listened to his accusations and laughed: "No way, brother, this is your own son, why are you jealous of him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the baby in his arms began to suck with relish. The woman blushed instantly when she saw the man's meaningful look.
After giving birth, the young woman's face became thinner than before. Seeing her burning face, Chu Dai didn't want to continue staring at her. He slightly bent his fingers to tease his eldest son and said, "You haven't eaten enough, have you? Can Daddy make some milk powder for Tuantuan?"
Gu Qingqing felt even more ashamed at this moment, and she pulled out a pillow from behind and threw it at his back: "You sleep with Goudan tonight!"
"That's great." The man said slowly.
The milk powder and the kettle are on the table next to me. In order to ensure that there is always warm water for making milk, I bought a thermos. The boiling water is cooled in the enamel cup and then poured into the thermos.
The man held the child in one hand, and his movements were very skillful. The milk powder was in bags. He scooped a spoonful, looked at the scale on the bottle, and poured 90 milliliters of milk.
I still remembered to test the temperature on the back of my hand and only passed it to my son's mouth after confirming that it was ok.
Tuantuan was not full after all, his little mouth was smacking and his eyes were half-closed.
The two children need to drink milk powder six or seven times a day, and are fed once every three hours or so. If Chu Dai is not at home, Gu Qinglie and Shen Sui will make the milk powder. If neither of them is at home, Gu Qingqing will do it.
It's a bit overwhelmed for her to take care of two children by herself, but fortunately her husband is not as busy as before.
After finishing the milk, Tuantuan fell into a sound sleep. Chu Dai watched for a while and said, "After a few years, when we get off the island, we will return to the Southern Military Region and order fresh milk for them every day."
Gu Qingqing paused for a moment while patting Nian Nian's back. It took her a long time to come back to her senses: "You mean, we won't live on the island anymore?"
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