Little did Cuihong know that with just this one meal, not only would those comrades who were lamenting that Battalion Commander Niu had married a mute woman become envious, but even the military wives would begin to understand that she wasn't born disabled and could speak, though she needed effort to communicate. After that, they all came to her door to ask for cooking tips.
Cuihong's culinary skills were passed down from her sixth brother. Not only are her steamed buns and dumplings beautifully made, but her knife skills are also superb. The vegetables she cuts are also very aesthetically pleasing. Even though they are the same ingredients, they can taste different flavors in her hands.
The dumplings that night were delicious, and the steamed buns were generously filled, containing not only eggs and fish, but also some rare seafood. Even the last bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup was so fragrant that everyone lingered in the memory, talking about it for days after returning home.
This led the military wives to come and learn from the experts, wanting to know where the seafood came from and how it was made.
After understanding their purpose, Cuihong shook her head apologetically.
"These are all wedding gifts sent by my sisters, and I managed to get them all. I don't have much myself, so I'm afraid I can't help everyone much."
She kept her sisters' words firmly in mind: she must keep a low profile in the military camp, where the struggles were no less intense than those outside.
She should just live her life well and not worry about anything else, let alone cultivate any interpersonal relationships.
Not to mention that Niu Feng doesn't need it, her own health condition also gives her reasons. So even if she had a lot of this kind of seafood that is scarce in Shaanxi Province, she wouldn't sell it, since she doesn't lack money at all.
If you have plenty of money, food, and meat, why take unnecessary risks and create unnecessary trouble?
Cuihong was generous only on the day she hosted the party, because it was not only a proper etiquette for the housewarming party, but also a way to celebrate with a few close friends after getting married. As for her casual acquaintances, she had already treated them at the canteen when she first arrived at the camp.
In front of outsiders, she usually acts quite stingy, she has to be very frugal with her money, she wears patched clothes when she does housework and cooking, and when she eats alone, it's either pickled vegetables or cornbread. She doesn't eat meat or even wheat flour.
Growing vegetables requires buying seedlings and seeds. She would never ask others for them if she could buy or exchange them at the market. If a military wife generously gave them to her, she would find a way to return the gift.
She may be stingy, but she doesn't take advantage of others. A month is enough time for the military spouses living nearby to understand her character.
If you don't have to cook flavorful dishes, then don't cook them. Just collect some charcoal pieces and take them to your space to grill fish, shrimp, and crab to satisfy your cravings.
She herself is well-fed, and when Niu Feng comes home at night, she will try to make sure he gets enough nutrition, such as scrambled eggs or spicy dried fish. She also specially showed Niu Feng the shrimp paste and pickled crab she made.
It's fortunate that Niu Feng himself is from Qingdao, Shandong Province, otherwise he might not have been able to get used to these things.
She explained the origin of the shrimp and crabs very clearly, saying that she bought them from ordinary people.
Anyway, they all have a fishy smell after being pickled, and it's normal that he couldn't distinguish between seafood and river fish since he left home at a young age.
The main problem is that you can't eat this stuff every day. It's enough to try it occasionally for something new, and I never even think about tracing its origins.
As for the dried shellfish and snail meat that we usually use, that's just a pretense. We still use fresh shellfish and snail meat on a regular basis.
She usually uses it to make broth, and the noodles cooked in it are extremely delicious, which Niu Feng likes very much.
Even though Cuihong was very careful, the fishy smell in her house was still noticeable to the neighbors, who would laugh and joke about it.
"Sister-in-law doesn't seem like she's from Henan Province at all; she looks more like she's from your hometown. This seafood is really well-cooked!"
"I'm trying to improve your meals every day, and look how much fatter you've gotten in your face in such a short time since I arrived!"
There are hardly any people left in Niu Feng's hometown, and no one has remembered him for many years, so he can't use the people from his hometown as an excuse.
"It was all sent by my sister-in-law through someone. There's not much left, and it'll be almost gone. Our good days are coming to an end."
After returning home, Niu Feng inquired about the matter intentionally or unintentionally. Cui Hong understood that she could no longer eat seafood, even if it was only once a day.
They all live in cave dwellings, hundreds of meters apart. These people have such a keen sense of smell!
Fortunately, Cuihong is a restless person and goes to the market every few days. If she's lucky, she can buy eggs, mushrooms, and tofu.
We also collected wild vegetables from the mountains and forests every day. If we couldn't finish them all, we dried them and made them into dried vegetables or pickled them.
The same grains, vegetables, and wild greens, when handled by Cuihong, with the addition of spices, oyster sauce, broad bean paste, soybean paste, and oil, produce an exceptionally delicious flavor. Outsiders can't smell it, and even her own family can enjoy it very well.
Niu Feng did indeed ask someone to buy twenty catties of rice, but eating only rice was too extravagant. Usually, he would cook rice by mixing sorghum, millet, and rice together. The texture was coarse yet refined, which was a real improvement.
Since June, there has been more rain in the forest, but each rainfall has been light, which has led to an overabundance of mushrooms.
Every day, all the military wives who were idle at home would go into the mountains and forests before dawn to pick the freshest mushrooms.
After Tang Cuihong discovered that there were many mushrooms here, she became obsessed. Although she only carried a basket in, she actually harvested more than 100 catties every day, and transferred the excess to her space.
Every day, she carefully selects and sorts the mushrooms she brings home; the good ones are dried, while the broken ones are eaten by the couple.
"We dry three to five catties of mushrooms and wild vegetables every day, so we won't have to worry about not having vegetables to eat in winter."
Niu Feng was worried that she would get too tired, but Tang Cuihong was happy to do it.
"Working in the production team is working for others, but here it's working for yourself. Everything you get from running around in the mountains is yours. I eat so much every day, I have to burn it off, otherwise I'll get fat, what will people think of us?"
"The military factory needs people, do you want to...?"
If Niu Feng hadn't mentioned it, she would have forgotten about this incident. No wonder there are usually few military wives in the camp, but the guesthouses are always full during holidays.
It seems that those who brought their children to study in the suburbs of the county town have all found work in the military factories!
Cuihong refused without hesitation: "Let's talk about it in a few days. There are more mushrooms here than in my hometown. I'll get more and send some to my sister and the others later."
They say that people who live near mountains live off the mountains. Having finally made it to the rainy season when resources are plentiful, how could Cuihong just give up like that?
Fortunately, Niu Feng earns enough on his own, so even if Cui Hong doesn't do any work, she still has a comfortable life. This is what all military wives envy about them.
With no elderly parents and no young children, they are at the perfect time to enjoy life. Occasionally, a delicious aroma wafts from their home, and no one feels envious or jealous.
With the increased dew during the rainy season, the streams in the forest also become more abundant.
However, Cuihong doesn't need to worry about the household matters. Niu Feng will fill the water tank whenever he has free time, so she only needs to fill the bucket in her own space.
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