Chapter 29: Northeastern Imperial Chef?

“Are you from the countryside too?”

Wen Ci: "Yeah."

Hearing this, several women smiled and had a favorable impression of Wen Ci. In this era, most city dwellers looked down on rural people.

A few city people also came to the military district’s family quarters.

But after getting to know each other, they all don't like it and prefer to play with people they can chat with: "Girl, how come your skin is so tender? Do you have any tricks?"

Wen Ci shook his head: "Maybe it's natural beauty."

The calluses on her hands prove that Wen Ci is a good worker.

"Which building do you live in?"

"Uh..." Wen Ci hesitated.

She really didn't know which building she lived in. She tried hard to recall, and she vaguely remembered that it was written on the wall, but in the end she couldn't remember: "I can't remember which building it is."

"It's okay if you can't remember. Come and play with us often in the future!"

Several people introduced themselves. The lady from Northeast China was called Zhu Jing.

The older sister sitting next to Zhu Jing is called Hou Li, the older sister with tanned skin is called Xiang Qin, and the older sister who doesn’t like to talk much is called Miao Ling.

Wen Ci had a gentle smile on his face: "My name is Wen Ci, so I will call you Sister Jing, Sister Li, Sister Qin, Sister Ling from now on, is that okay?"

When introducing themselves, several people mentioned their ages. Wen Ci was 23 years old this year, and they were a few years older than Wen Ci, so she called them all "sister".

"Sister Wen Ci, come to my house for lunch at noon!"

After a few minutes of getting along, Zhu Jing particularly liked girls with Wen Ci's personality. After thinking about it, she took the initiative to invite her to her home for lunch.

Wen Ci quickly waved his hand to refuse: "No, no, this won't work. I can just go to the military cafeteria for lunch."

"The cafeteria is so expensive, it's cheaper to cook your own food."

Except for the free breakfast, lunch and dinner are all free. Many people in the family compound buy a week's worth of food to keep at home, just like the canteen.

Cooking your own meals is cheaper than eating in the cafeteria.

Wen Ci hesitated for a moment, then thought that Huo Jingyuan might come back at noon, and even if he couldn't come back, Xue Li would come to bring him food.

If you are not at home.

not good.

Wen Ci said, "My husband might come back at noon."

"I can't come back." Zhu Jing explained with a smile: "The men went to the field for training today. They can't come back until tomorrow at least."

Zhu Jing was one of the first batch of people to move into the family compound. Her husband was from Lijiazhuang. He served in the army in the Northeast in his early years and was transferred back in recent years.

She knows exactly the time for the fixed training every month.

Seeing Wen Ci's hesitation, Zhu Jing pretended to be angry and said, "Xiao Ci, do you look down on me?"

"No." Wen Ci answered seriously.

"Xiao Ci, please promise A Jing. Her ancestors were royal chefs in the Northeast. We have all tasted her cooking. Vegetables are even more delicious than meat."

Royal chef!

Wen Ci's eyes widened and he couldn't help licking his lips, thinking that Huo Jingyuan could buy vegetables and meat from the cafeteria, so he might as well pay for the meal himself.

Wen Ci slowly spoke: "How about this, Sister Jing, Sister Li, Sister Qin, Sister Ling, I will treat you to lunch today, how about Sister Jing cooking?"

Wen Ci made the final decision: "It's settled like this, otherwise I will assume that you don't like me and don't want to be friends with me."

Zhu Jing listened to Wen Ci's "harsh words", and they looked at each other and smiled helplessly, and finally said: "You treat today, next time it will be my turn to treat, we will each treat once."

"Can."

They chatted for a while, and Zhu Jing heard the crying of a child upstairs, and said, "The baby is awake, I have to take him to school."

Nowadays, girls generally get married early and have children early.

Except for Sister Ling, the others have all given birth to children and are old enough to attend parenting classes.

Wen Ci left and walked towards the gate of the family compound. She thought about it, since Huo Jingyuan asked Xue Li to bring him lunch!

This means that Xue Li might not have gone to the training. She was not familiar with the canteen, so she needed Xue Li's help to talk to the aunts in the canteen kitchen to buy meat and vegetables.

Arriving at the guard room, the two guys who were on duty were the same ones that Wen Ci had met the day before. When they saw Wen Ci, they shouted, "Hello, sister-in-law."

"Hello." Wen Ci waved to them and asked, "Do you know Xue Li?"

"know."

Wen Ci caught a glimpse of a landline on the table in the guard room. She suddenly remembered that there was also a landline in the living room at home, so she could call Huo Li directly.

The military compound has only one internal number. No matter who calls, the call will first be connected to the switchboard, which will then transfer it to other people.

"Do you want me to call Captain Xue for you?"

"Is it okay?" Wen Ci's eyes sparkled.

"Of course, we serve the sisters-in-law in the family compound."

A minute later, the call was connected: "Sister-in-law, please come in and answer the phone."

Wen Ci put the phone to his ear, and Xue Li's voice came from the other end: "Sister-in-law, do you have something to talk to me about?"

Wen Ci said, "Xue Li, I have something to ask of you."

"Sister-in-law, just speak up."

"I want to treat a few sisters in the family compound to a meal. We plan to cook our own food at noon. I would like to ask you to help me buy some meat and vegetables from the kitchen behind the cafeteria."

"Can."

Xue Li agreed without thinking. He often went on business trips to Hai City and often helped the kitchen bring supplies back from Hai City. He had a very good relationship with the kitchen staff in the canteen.

It's no big deal to buy some vegetables and meat from them.

"But..." Xue Li paused, "I still need to take care of some things here. It will probably take about an hour and a half before I can come back."

"It's okay. I'll wait for you at home."

"Sister-in-law, what I mean is, how much vegetables and meat do you need? I will deliver them to your door in a while."

Hearing this, Wen Ci took the microphone away, looked up at the young guard, and asked, "Children in the family compound, do you need to go home for lunch at noon?"

She didn’t know whether Sister Jing and her family’s children would come back.

"If you don't come back, the school will provide full-day care."

"Thank you." Wen Ci brought the microphone closer and said, "There are only four of us eating. We need ingredients for Northeastern cuisine. A large dish would be best. I'll give you the money later."

"Okay sister-in-law."

After hanging up the phone, Wen Ci smiled faintly. She put the phone back to its original position and thanked the two people: "Thank you, what are your names?"

"Zhang Cheng, Li Wei."

Wen Ci repeated their names again, and suddenly remembered that he had a box of instant noodles at home, so he could give some to them: "Do you like instant noodles?"

"Instant noodles? The kind that costs fifty cents a pack?"

Wen Ci nodded: "Well, I'll give you a few packs later."

The instant noodles she bought were the largest in the mall, with a box containing fifty packs. It would not be a problem to give away a few packs. Young Zhang Cheng and Li Wei would probably like to eat them.

Zhang Cheng swallowed and said, "Really? Sister-in-law."

Li Wei nudged him with his elbow and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, we have a rule that we cannot accept things from family members."

(End of this chapter)