After Ji Xia put everything in order, the house looked completely different. It had a more homely feel to it, unlike before when it was just a few rooms that looked uninviting.
I was busy until around five o'clock, when the radio started playing outside, singing "Returning from Target Practice". Ji Xia looked at the time and planned to make dinner.
There was a pile of firewood in the yard, and without Ji Xia saying anything, Qin Xiao went to move the firewood over. He used some thin firewood and sawdust that he got from somewhere to ignite the firewood. After a while, flames rose in the stove and the pot burned dry.
Ji Xia placed a cupboard shaped like a chest of drawers against the wall in the kitchen, and placed an electric rice cooker on it. He had already put water and rice in it and started cooking.
She cut the pork belly and planned to make a simple dish of vermicelli stewed with cabbage. All of the food was taken out from the space. The cabbage was wrapped particularly tightly. According to Ji Xia, the food in the space was not as delicious as the food outside, but now it is difficult to buy it even if you have money. There is no other way.
Qin Xiao put the firewood in the fire. When he encountered something to wash, he reached out and rolled up his sleeves, "I'll do it."
The water at that time was very cold, not as convenient as in later generations with water heaters. Ji Xia wanted to install an electric water heater, but this would require a lot of modifications, which would be very troublesome.
The pork belly was stir-fried in the pan, releasing oil and a rich aroma. The aroma was particularly overbearing on this early winter night, floating towards Sun Yulan's house on the wind. Three children were playing in the yard, and when they smelled the aroma, they leaned over the wall to smell it.
The youngest son, Sandan, was so greedy that he almost cried. He turned around and ran over to hug Sun Yulan and cried, "Mom, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat."
Sun Yulan herself does not have a job and raises three sons. Although Qiu Suquan's income is not low, he also receives allowances for missions. Every month, he makes at least 50 or 60 yuan, and sometimes 60 or 70 or 80 yuan. This is considered a high-income earner.
But Qiu Suquan still had to send 25 yuan to his rural hometown every month, so what was left was a little less.
Sun Yulan is very good at managing the household frugally. When she buys food, she always buys coarse grains and eats them together with cornmeal and black flour. She only adds some white flour during festivals. When she stir-fries, she just uses a little oil to coagulate the bottom of the pot. All the vegetables she eats are grown in the yard, not to mention meat.
She also smelled the aroma of meat, and her saliva could not help but flow out. She was so angry that she slapped her youngest son on the buttocks and said, "Eat, eat, eat! Eating meat will kill you. Do you still want to eat it?"
She smelled the fragrance coming from Ji Xia's side, and couldn't help but curse Ji Xia in her heart. She knew at first sight that Ji Xia was not the same kind of person as her. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also a woman driving a military vehicle. When her husband came back, she would have a good talk with him. How could a woman drive a military vehicle?
Qiu Suquan had to go on a mission, so he came back on time and ate in a hurry.
I don't know what was being cooked next door, but the aroma of the spicy and meaty mixture was like an exhaust fan, being drawn towards this side. Qiu Suquan frowned deeply, and the rice in the bowl no longer smelled fragrant. He had never smelled such fragrant food in his life.
Not only Sandan, but also Dadan and Erdan were greedy and drooling. Sandan started crying again and stamped his feet on the ground, "Mom, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat, go to Uncle Qin's house and borrow some meat for me."
Sun Yulan was so angry that she slammed her chopsticks on the table and cursed, "What's wrong with Qin Xiao's wife? Can't she live without meat?"
Turning around, she yelled at her son, "What meat are you borrowing? If you don't want to eat it, don't eat it. If you want to eat meat, go and be your Uncle Qin's son."
After hearing this, Sandan took it seriously and jumped off the chair and ran to the next door. Sun Yulan felt sorry for her son and thought that anyone with a little shamelessness would give some food to the children asking for food, so she did not stop her son.
Qiu Suquan wanted to stop her, but it was too late. He was in a hurry to complete his mission, so he scolded Sun Yulan and told her to go and find her son and not to embarrass herself.
Sun Yulan went out, but did not look for her son. Instead, she hid at the door and watched secretly. She wanted to see if Ji Xia would be so shameless as to not even give the child two pieces of meat.
If Ji Xia had been sensible, she would have set aside half a bowl for Sandan to take back, so that she could also have a piece or two of meat.
There has been no oil in the house for three months, and Sun Yulan herself is also very greedy. Otherwise, why would she be so irritated when she smelled the aroma of meat?
Qin Xiao saw that Ji Xia had cooked another spicy chicken. The aroma of spicy meat just now came from the spicy chicken. After serving the spicy chicken, Ji Xia picked up a piece and handed it to Qin Xiao.
Qin Xiao was still helping her watch the stove. When the meat was handed to him, he hadn't reacted yet.
"Open your mouth!" Ji Xia said.
Qin Xiao's cheeks flushed, and although he felt a little uncomfortable, he still opened his mouth obediently. The chicken nugget entered his mouth, and Qin Xiao took a light bite. The meat and bone separated, and the spicy taste entered his mouth, stimulating his taste buds. It was so delicious that he even wanted to swallow his tongue.
In the past, Ji Xia loved eating the most. She had tried all kinds of delicious food and was very talented in cooking. She could basically make a version of anything she had eaten. If she particularly liked something, she would even go to great chefs at any cost to ask them for advice.
When she asked for advice on cooking, she was extremely humble and put in the effort, and people were willing to give her guidance.
Ji Xia cut a piece of pork fat into cubes and put it into the pot, boiling half a bowl of oil. The aroma of the lard was the most overbearing, wafting far and wide, and was so strong that Qin Xiao, who was helping to light the fire, was so greedy that he could hardly sit still, his mouth watering.
Ji Xia scooped up the oil, leaving the residue in the pot, and stir-fried some Chinese cabbage. Then he took the dish off the pot. There were three dishes, one hard dish, one vegetarian dish, and one that was neither meat nor vegetarian. That was all.
After the dishes were served on the table, Ji Xia filled two bowls of rice. One bowl was filled like a small mountain for Qin Xiao, and the other bowl was flat for herself.
On the other side lived the regiment leader, Zhou Yeping, and his wife, Ye Fengmei. They were also eating. When they smelled the delicious food, they asked, "Is it Xiao Qin who moved in next door?"
In the past, Qin Xiao lived in a single dormitory. After his marriage report was approved, he was allocated an apartment.
"Hmm." Zhou Yeping ate his mixed grain rice and picked up a piece of green vegetables with chopsticks. He had to admit that after smelling the fragrance, he could hardly eat anymore.
Ye Fengmei asked, "What is this little Qin's wife cooking? It's so delicious! I smell that there are already three meat dishes."
Zhou Yeping didn't know Ji Xia's situation and thought that she had cooked a little more because it was her wedding day. She said, "Today is a special day. I won't eat like this in the future."
Ye Fengmei thought so too, "They are newly married, I will send some gifts to celebrate tomorrow."
The courtyard door was closed, but it was pushed open. Ji Xia glanced over and saw a child in scanty clothes. His face had two familiar highland red spots, his hair was messy and long, his eyes were rolling around, and there were two lines of yellow-green snot hanging from his nose. He stepped over the threshold and said, "Dad, I want to eat meat."
Ji Xia: ...
The chopsticks she was using to pick up food stopped in mid-air, and she stared at Qin Xiao with a pair of murderous eyes.
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