Because of Shen Anchen's arrival, the dinner was extra sumptuous.
On the first night, Shen An Ning knew that her second brother would definitely go to visit her grandparents, so she cooked plenty of food. There were Chinese cabbage and pork stewed with vermicelli, potato and beans stewed with pork ribs, pig's trotters with soybean sauce, stir-fried chicken with hazel mushrooms, and radish stewed with lamb bones. They were all hard dishes. There were also mountain products on the table, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and chestnuts. Fortunately, the weather was cold now and the Lantern Festival had just passed, so these stocks in the house had their origins.
Chen Anchen held Xixi in his arms and sat cross-legged on the kang, looking at the table full of delicious food. His younger brother, sister and Xixi didn't think anything of it, which showed that they usually ate very well. Now he believed what his sister had told him in the letter, that their family was living a good life.
No wonder the packages sent to him after the autumn harvest every year are much larger than usual.
Looking at Shen An Ning who was busy running around, Shen An Chen said: "Okay, An Ning, stop working, there are enough dishes, it's almost time for the New Year."
"Second brother, you've been on the bus for several days. You haven't eaten or slept well along the way. We still have to go to grandpa's place when it gets late. You eat first, then take a nap. I'll call you when it's time." Shen An Ning took An Yu to put the grits porridge and steamed buns and sticky rice dumplings from the kitchen on the kang. The steaming food exuded a fragrance, which made everyone who had talked for a long time feel greedy.
"Okay, the dishes are all here, let's eat."
Shen Anning took Xixi from Shen Anchen's arms and put her exclusive bowl and chopsticks on the kang table, "Come on, Xixi, eat by yourself."
The little girl was so happy looking at today's all-meat feast. There were not many vegetables in the Northeast in winter, and there was almost nothing else except radishes and cabbages, so Shen An Ning would dry the leftover vegetables from the vegetable garden in summer and autumn, but the taste after soaking was still a little different from the fresh ones. The little girl was very picky and what she disliked most in winter was vegetables.
"Woo woo woo, Auntie is the best. I want to eat spare ribs and pig's trotters."
Shen Anning picked out a few pieces of boneless ribs and pig's trotters, crushed them with chopsticks, and put them in the little guy's bowl, "Eat slowly, otherwise you'll have stomachaches again if you can't digest them at night."
Shen Zixi looked at the meat in the bowl, smiled, picked up his chopsticks and started chatting, completely ignoring what Shen Anning said.
Shen Anning looked at her and could only break the meat in her bowl into smaller pieces.
Shen Anchen ate the most during the meal. He had been on the train for two or three days and his food was simple to begin with. Due to his military vigilance, he hardly got a full night's sleep.
So seeing that he had almost finished eating, Shen An Ning said: "Second brother, there is a pot of water boiling on the coal stove outside. You can simply clean it. It's still early now, so take a good sleep. Later, An Yu will wake you up and we will go to grandpa and grandma together."
Shen Anchen smiled and stood up, carrying hot water to the warehouse. Shen Anning knew that he was coming over on vacation, so she prepared several sets of clothes for him early.
Shen Anning cleared the dishes on the table and picked up the marching bag at the end of the kang. Shen Anchen had carried it all the way and was so busy reminiscing about the past and eating when he came back that he didn't have time to see what was inside.
After unzipping the package, Shen Anning took a look and found that apart from a bag of clothes, the rest were almost all food and daily necessities for them. There were not only southern coconut candies and snacks, but also a lot of specialty fresh meat and smoked meat. Shen Anchen was very thoughtful. At the bottom of the package were the bills he had saved over the years. They were all military supply bills and were given priority.
Shen An Ning helped pack up his things and put them in Shen Anyu's kang cabinet together with the new clothes. During this period, Shen Anchen slept with Shen Anyu. The east room had been unoccupied for a long time and was piled with a lot of miscellaneous items. Moreover, with her second brother around, Shen An Ning also hoped that he could have a chat with Anyu. This guy was also very thoughtful. She didn't want her younger brother to have to bear the responsibility that didn't belong to him at his age. Besides, spending more time together would also help the relationship between brothers grow a lot.
Shen Anchen took a simple bath and felt much more comfortable. He slept on the warm kang, covered with a quilt that smelled of soap, and his heart calmed down a lot.
During the three years he spent in the army, every time he lay in bed, he was worried about his family in Northeast China. He was worried that his sister was too tired and suffering to support the family alone, and he was worried that he was away from all the disputes in the army, but his family had to bear it all.
Fortunately, everything seems to be fine. This kind of goodness is not pretended by his younger brothers and sisters, but the family really lives well in the Northeast. . . . . .
Because they had to go to Grandpa Shen's place at night, Shen Anning took her sister and Xixi to play on the kang for a while and let them go to bed early.
It was not until ten o'clock after dark that Shen Anning opened her eyes, carefully packed up and went to the kitchen, first heated up the food she was going to take with her, packed it in a lunch box, and then went to wake up Shen Anchen and Shen Anyu.
"Brother, it's almost time. You and An Yu should pack up. It's cold outside, so remember to put on more clothes."
Helping An Xuan put clothes on the sleepy Shen Zixi, "Xixi, we are going to the great-grandfather and great-grandmother's place, wake up."
"Well, auntie, hold me, baby is so sleepy."
"Okay, be good, auntie will hold you."
A few people went out and locked the door. The road was pitch black and quiet, but you could hear the sound of their footsteps.
After knocking a few times as usual, Grandpa Shen opened the door. He and his wife saw it when Shen Anchen came back with Shen Anning on bicycles today, so he didn’t sleep much at night and waited for them to come.
After closing the door, Shen Anchen knelt on the ground and kowtowed to his grandparents without even taking off his clothes. "Grandpa and grandma, Anchen is unfilial."
Grandma Shen stretched out her hand and patted Shen Anchen on the head gently, "Good boy, get up quickly. What do these things have to do with you? Don't torture yourself. Get up quickly and let grandpa and grandma take a good look at you. I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown a lot stronger."
Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan stood by, tears streaming down their faces.
After waiting for a long time for the family members to calm down, Shen Anning put the lunch box in the backpack on the kang to heat it up, "Okay, okay, second brother, you are really sad when you come back. Come on, sit down, let's eat and talk, and tell us about your life in the army these years and whether there is anything interesting."
The family sat on the kang, eating and chatting. Shen Anchen also talked in detail about his situation in the army. Fortunately, although he was assigned to the South China Military Region, there was a senior leader in the military region who was once a subordinate of Grandpa Shen. He followed Grandpa Shen when he was sixteen or seventeen years old, so he usually took good care of Shen Anchen.
He also helped to keep the matter of the files a secret, otherwise Shen Anchen would not have been promoted so smoothly in the army.
Grandpa Shen stroked his chin calmly, "I know you must be talking about that guy Xiao Guo. That kid was very smart when he was young. With him around, I, the old man, am relieved."
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