Chapter 145
Oil-splashed noodles
"Comrade Gao Feng has fought hard for it. Now, with special approval from above, Wumai has become an economic pilot city. This matter should be approved soon." After entering the guesthouse, Ma Xiaofang kicked off her shoes. "Wumai mining area will be one of the first places in the country to become rich."
Leng Qi sat on the bed and smoked. "I knew you were a fly, picking the stinkiest toilets. You've set your sights on the mining area again."
"Not only the woolen textile factory, but the higher-ups have also approved a garment factory in your mining area. I really want to take it down. After all, once the false and wrongful convictions team is withdrawn, I will have nothing to do. I can focus on the economy. Isn't that good?"
"If you dare to come, I will expose all the affairs between you and that man to everyone, and we will be finished together." Leng Qi said.
"Our Shuanzi, this time it's the whole class
"Ma Xiaofang, if you don't want me to beat you to death, don't teach Shuanzi to call me dad." The child was not a cold and strange person.
But as proud and conceited as he was, Leng Qi couldn't tell anyone about this.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't we agree not to mention this matter again? It will have a bad impact on the child." Ma Xiaofang was a little surprised. After a long pause, she took out two condoms from her pocket and put them on the table. "You must have had some problems in the mining area. I don't encourage it, nor do I oppose it, but Shuanzi, you have to recognize him. He is such an excellent child. We have to train him into an adult. You say, no matter how he goes in the future, he will always be your son in the file."
"Ma Xiaofang, please, be a human being and go back to Hongyan."
"I won't leave unless you beg me." Ma Xiaofang tilted her head and acted like a little girl.
"Ma Xiaofang, let's make the divorce public, shall we?" Leng Qi suddenly said, "Otherwise, I'm really afraid that I won't be able to control myself and will beat you to death one day."
"If it gets out, both of our futures will be ruined. Besides, hasn't he been promoted now? You want to come to the mining area. It was me who asked him to find a way to transfer you. Maybe he can get you a better position in the future." Ma Xiaofang was still a little surprised.
Of course, the "he" she was talking about was the biological father of Ma Xiaofang's son Shuan'er.
The man's name was Chen Junyan. He was the man who had gone to Africa with Ma Xiaofang. He was indeed very handsome, with an elegant demeanor, a scholar's temperament, and he was very good at speaking sweet words.
They were a group of young guards who had been aiding Africa together for six years. Of course, they lived apart. Ma Xiaofang was only in her early twenties at the time, and no matter how loving her husband was, he was far away from her. But Chen Junyan had suffered with her in Africa, and they didn't know how they got together.
After coming back, they kept saying that Leng Qi had caught her cheating in bed in the military dormitory.
After Ma Xiaofang became pregnant, she originally wanted to have an abortion. However, because her uterine wall was too thin, she was afraid that an abortion would result in two deaths, so she gave birth to Chen Junyan's son.
At that time, Leng Qi's father was being criticized and eventually committed suicide by shooting himself. It can be imagined that when the divorce agreement was reached, his heart was already dead!
Chen Junyan's father has always been in a high position.
And Chen Junyan himself is now very powerful. He recognizes the child, admits his mistakes, and is even willing to kneel down to Leng Qi as long as Leng Qi wants to do something.
He fully supported it, but after all, he had a wife and children at home, so he begged Leng Qi and Ma Xiaofang not to make their divorce public.
Leng Qi also had feelings for Ma Xiaofang in the past. Of course, how could he not be proud when he won over the most beautiful girl in the compound? But it is really sad to see her like this now.
After sitting for a long time, he kicked over the trash can and left.
Look, the day has come when District Chief Hu is going to treat everyone to a dinner.
The mining area is a simple place. There are no nightclubs or karaoke halls there. Of course, the party style is still the same: go to whoever pays for the meal.
And if you go to someone's house for dinner, you have to bring your children with you.
After all, food is not abundant nowadays. A family like District Chief Hu's must have good welfare. It would be a waste if they don't eat it. So of course they have to pay back the children.
"Your Uncle Hu is a researcher and likes quietness. You are not allowed to make any noise when you go there, especially you, Erdan. Please keep your voice down." The worker instructed.
"Okay Dad, I'll sit quietly." said Erdan.
Sandan and Nie Weimin don't need to be told; whenever they go out, no one is more polite than them.
It was Miss Chen, who was so exhausted that Nie Gongsi and his son waited for a long time before they saw her come out.
"Oh my god, mom is so beautiful." Sandan laughed.
"This windbreaker really fits me. Your dad may not be good at other things, but he has a really good taste. Whether he buys clothes or shoes, they all fit me perfectly." Chen Lina said, and opened the driver's door. "Get out. I'll drive today."
"You're pregnant, so please stop touching the steering wheel, okay?" The engineer refused to let go of the steering wheel.
Chen Lina refused. "I am the most beautiful pregnant woman in the mining area, and of course the most capable one. What's the big deal about driving? I just want you to crawl like a snail. Hurry up and I'll drive."
Erdan was heartless and said, "It's better to let my brother drive, it's faster..."
Nie Weimin covered his mouth with his hand and said, "You are crazy. If they knew that I touched the car, you don't want them to be quiet all the way."
Sandan had also ridden in Nie Weimin’s car and whispered, “Daddy’s spanking hurts, second brother, you can’t let Daddy know that big brother can drive.”
Although Dandan appears stubborn on the surface, he still can't forget the pain of being spanked.
"Ms. Chen, your stomach should be full now. I beg you to eat two more bowls today."
"Your belly is filled with children, not food. Nie Bozhao, you already have three sons. Don't act like you've never seen the world, okay?" Miss Chen said, and Nie Gong's face turned pale. "Slow down, slow down, you're shaking the children."
It's the district government's family compound. District Chief Hu's house is opposite to He Lanshan's house. The newly allocated house is on the first floor. The door is wide open, and people are coming in and out, but there are not many children.
As soon as Chen Lina stopped the car, she saw Jiao Laidie and Anna peeling potatoes at the door.
"Aren't the leaders of the mining area supposed to have a meeting? Why are you two here peeling potatoes?" Chen Lina asked.
Anna looked back and said with a smile, "Director He asked us to come here. She doesn't know how to cook, and no one in District Chief Hu's family knows how to cook. He Lanshan is the chef, and we are helping out."
Chen Lina looked around the kitchen and was suddenly dazzled by something.
District Chief Hu is from Shanxi.
Don't be fooled by his serious and dull appearance outside, he is very friendly at home.
"Xiao Chen, have you ever tried oil-sprinkled pulled noodles? Today, I will knead the dough myself and make you a bowl of our Shanxi big pulled noodles. What do you think?" When he is not at work, he is obviously much more relaxed.
“Our Director Chen’s stretched noodles are first-rate. Let me tell you, I was a rice-starved person when I was a child, and I lived in the borderland for more than ten years. Now I can’t survive without noodles for a day. Old Hu, if you can’t make noodles that are more fragrant than Director Chen’s today, then you’d be like selling a machete in front of Guan Gong or showing off your axe in front of Lu Ban.” The chef is indeed He Lanshan, who is best at making dark cuisine.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw that the chairs in the living room were all occupied. Of course, there were also candies, melon seeds and other things on the coffee table.
The three Nie Weimin brothers were still a little reserved, but Gao Xiaobing waved them and said, "Come on, bring some melon seeds, and we'll go to my house to eat them."
Nie Weimin was embarrassed to pick up the melon seeds, so he reached out and grabbed two handfuls, then ran away with his two younger brothers.
Chen Lina lifted the chopping board and saw three large lumps of noodles under the plastic sheet. She asked, "District Chief Hu, you Shanxi people love to eat knife-cut noodles, right? Oil-sprinkled noodles are a specialty of the Shanxi people."
"Oh, my previous lover was from Shaanxi, and our common hobby was eating noodles with oil." As he said this, his eyes dimmed again.
The days when he would sit under a tall locust tree, holding a bowl of oil-sprinkled noodles, looking up at the stars, talking about physics, and calculating missile programs with an abacus, were long gone for Hu Xuanang with the death of his beloved.
Hu Xuanang kneaded the dough, covered it with plastic, and said, "Okay, you female comrades will cook the dishes. Don't cook too much. Today, the main thing is the noodles, so don't waste it."
He patted Bao Manli on the shoulder and said softly, "Manli, talk to Director Chen more, communicate with her, apologize to her, and the work matter is over. Do you understand?"
Bao Manli was still there, peeling onions in the corner.
It looks like she is really ready to be a family member.
Chen Lina frowned, thinking that District Chief Hu wanted to give Bao Manli a chance to perform, but it all depended on how Bao Manli performed. She begged her not to act like that anymore. If she did, she might lose her position as District Chief's wife.
He Lanshan was chopping potato shreds. Leng Qi was standing outside the window the whole time. He said in disapproval, "Director He, your potato shreds are as thick as fingers, right? Are they edible?"
"Why can't you eat it? Ask Gao Feng whether my shredded potatoes are delicious." He Lanshan swung his knife and got angry.
It’s the weekend, Gao Feng has returned to the mining area and is chatting with the workers outside.
When he heard He Lanshan calling out in the kitchen, he quickly said, "It's delicious, really delicious. The cooking of our Director He is comparable to that of Director Chen in the entire mining area. Of course, if she is willing to cook, it's important that she doesn't cook easily."
All the leaders sitting outside burst into laughter.
Moreover, in order to give He Lanshan some face, even Secretary Ah said, "I can testify that Comrade He Lanshan's shredded potatoes are really delicious."
But Chen Lina didn't agree with that. When she saw that He Lanshan's potato shreds were about to become French fries, she quickly said, "Sister He, you just peel the potatoes, I'll cut the shreds."
Miss Chen took the kitchen knife and shaved it, then she pressed a potato onto the small chopping board and said, "Hurry up, Sister He, serve it."
The knife cuts into slices as thin as cicada wings, flattens them and then cuts them. With one cut, half a plate of potato shreds is already there.
He Lanshan held the basin and looked at it for a long time, then gave a thumbs up and said, "This is so smooth, as if it was cut by a machine." Okay, she gave up.
With a flick of the knife, I turned on the fire to blanch the vegetables. They were just a few large plates of cold dishes. I rinsed the vegetables with water and sizzled them with red oil. In a short while, all the dishes were ready.
This old-fashioned little house doesn't have a restaurant. Just put some small plastic stools in the room, put the dishes on the coffee table, and everyone gets a bowl, and that's a meal.
No one was drinking today, each person just had a bottle of soda.
Leng Qi still wanted to smoke, but District Chief Hu pointed at him and forced him to put the cigarette out.
Well, after careful observation, Chen Lina found that District Chief Hu was a really capable person.
She is quiet and doesn't like to talk much, but she is very sensible.
At least he knows how to respect women. You know, a man's gentlemanly demeanor is not expressed in nice words, but is reflected in his words and deeds and is engraved in his bones.
District Chief Hu is a gentleman.
If he really matches with Bao Manli, it's actually a pity. It's not that they don't match in appearance, but Bao Manli can't get rid of her vanity, and I'm afraid she will lead District Chief Hu astray. After all, Director Wu of the Art Troupe is a lesson learned from the past.
The dishes smelled delicious, and Leng Qi came over. "Manli, you look like the hostess now."
"No, Lao Hu and I have a working relationship, and we haven't settled down yet. Leng Qi, please don't talk nonsense." After all, District Chief Hu did not agree to the marriage, so Bao Manli did not dare to make a fuss.
Leng Qi was staring out the window. Anna outside had just finished washing the dishes and was waiting for the leaders to finish their meal. Of course, she had to wash the dishes for them. Now she had nothing to do, so she was chatting with Gao Xiaobing, Nie Weimin and the other kids.
She always likes to wear a white shirt and a black skirt.
Gao Xiaobing was shouting that she wanted to dance the four-step dance, so she brought her tape recorder into the yard and started singing "Evenings on the outskirts of Moscow".
Anna hugged Erdan and pushed Sandan to Gao Xiaobing, and started dancing to the tune in the tape recorder.
"Minister Leng, please make way. How can we work if you stand at the kitchen door?" He Lanshan was about to go out with the dishes in his hand, so he said, "Are you sick? Why do you look like a fool when you smile like that?"
"No, I'm fine." Leng Qi was still smiling from ear to ear, and was about to take out a cigarette, but when he saw Chen Lina staring at him, he raised his hands in surrender, "Director Chen, when your child is born, no matter whether it's a boy or a girl, I will be the godfather, because it's only in front of you that I quit smoking, and this means something new."
"Leng Qi is becoming more and more shameless. By the way, didn't my sister Xiaofang come to the mining area to see you? Why didn't you come to visit today?" Bao Manli peeled the green onions and then the garlic, and then the chili peppers. Her eyes were red from the smoke.
"She left overnight, didn't you know?" Leng Qi finally couldn't help but took out a cigarette, put it in his lips, and went out.
"Who is Xiaofang?" He Lanshan asked Chen Lina.
Chen Lina said, "Leng Qi's wife is in Hongyan. She is probably here to visit relatives."
As soon as he went out into the yard, Leng Qi lit a cigarette and took a puff of it while standing in front of the garden. The sunlight was particularly dazzling today, and the sky in the mining area was so blue.
The Mayflowers were in bloom. He took a deep puff of his cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and waved it with his hand.
At this time, Anna was holding Erdan, humming a tune, and teaching him to dance.
Erdan is now a big and strong man. Don't be fooled by his strong body, he is very flexible when dancing. Sandan holds Gao Xiaobing in his arms. The older sister and the younger brother dance happily.
There were also many children, from the families of the chief engineers of various bases and some leaders of the mining areas, who were also hugging each other and dancing happily.
In the mining area, most people are good at singing and dancing.
Bao Manli was a professional dancer. When she saw the music playing outside, she threw down her green onions and garlic, ran out and said, "Come on, Leng Qi, let's dance together. Aren't you an expert at the quick four-step?"
Leng Qi stepped on the garden and said, "You spendthrift woman, you want to be District Chief Hu's wife, right? Hurry up and go in and cook for me, what kind of dance are you doing?"
Bao Manli was so angry that she glared at Leng Qi and left.
How should I put it? Ever since Leng Qi first met Anna, he felt that this girl couldn't be cleaner and more refreshing.
She was the tall grain stacks in their songs when they were young, the gentle breeze blowing the golden wheat waves, and the happiest time when they were holding box guns in the courtyard.
However, she and he are two completely different types of people.
At the beginning, Leng Qi also thought about buying two nice clothes, getting some daily necessities she liked to rustle, and then having a relationship with her for no apparent reason.
But now he understood that Anna didn't need those things at all.
Just imagine, a woman who lost both parents, was betrayed by her ex-husband, experienced two plague epidemics, and was said to have almost had her limbs frozen and amputated on a farm, and who managed to live a decent life on her own in a mining area, how strong must she be?
She looks thin, but unconquerable.
"Anna, come and serve the noodles. These are pulled noodles made by our District Chief Hu himself. If you want to sit inside, please sit inside. If you want to eat outside, the sun is so nice. We can set up a table outside so you can eat in the sun." Chen Lina's shout brought Leng Qi back to reality.
At the table outside, most of the people eating were children.
There are two from Secretary A's family, Gao Xiaobing, a few from Nie Gong's family, and several children from the base's chief engineer's family, filling up a large table.
Leng Qi seems to be even more obedient than Erdan. He sits at the table and waits for his meal obediently.
"Well, Comrade Anna, I want to talk to you." Leng Qi waited for her to put down the bowl and then spoke.
The chili oil was still sizzling, and the aroma of chopped green onions, sesame seeds, minced garlic, bean sprouts and rapeseed made him sneeze twice before he said, "I'm getting a divorce. If I propose to you in a serious manner, will you agree?"
Anna laughed as if she was hearing a joke, but didn't say anything.
Oh my God, even if she said forget it, Leng Qi still felt that there was still hope if he persisted and fought her.
This kind of laughter is as lethal as a nuclear bomb.
Leng Qi slapped the bowl to Erdan and said, "Weiguo, eat one more bowl. Uncle is leaving first."
The children were listening to the tape recorder and eating their rice with great enthusiasm, which made the room even more lively.
Even Chen Lina didn't expect that District Chief Hu, who seemed to be an unknown person, could make really delicious noodles. The noodles were kneaded to be chewy, stretched to be wide and thin, and mixed with oil and chili, so that every piece of noodles was covered with the seasoning, spicy and sour, and delicious.
However, no matter how delicious oil-splashed noodles are, there is a limit to how much they should be eaten.
"No, if I eat any more I'll die. I can't eat any more," she said.
He Lanshan had already eaten three bowls, and seeing that Chen Lina had only eaten two, he refused to obey. "Today I set the amount, three bowls per person. Whoever can't finish it will sing a song for us. If you don't want to eat, sing for me now."
Chen Lina covered her belly and said, "Singing is not good for the baby. I'm a pregnant woman. Please let me go."
In other places, people compete in drinking at gatherings, but in the mining area, they compete in eating. What kind of glorious tradition is this?
"Nonsense! Foreign books say that music is the best prenatal education for children. You either give your child prenatal education or give him more meat. Anyway, he can't leave the table without eating."
Well, Leng Qi was about to leave. Remember Chen Lina sings very well.
This time he didn't leave. He lit a cigarette outside the window, took a puff, and waited to hear Chen Lina sing.
Looking back, I saw several chief engineers who had come out to smoke gathered outside the window, waiting for Director Chen to sing for them.
All I can say is that each and every one of these women in the mining area is a true March 8th Red Flag Bearer, the most beautiful flowers growing in the desert, none of them are vegetable.