Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Eating Shrimp

On the other side, inside the Personnel Section of the Logistics Department.

Xiao Zhang asked Meng Yufei to sit in her chair and fill out the form. She took out a few coconut candies from the drawer of her desk, peeled one and put it to Xia Qinqin's mouth.

"Ah... open your mouth. This is coconut candy. I don't know if you have ever eaten it. It is a specialty here."

Xia Qinqin moved her nose slightly, and the fragrant coconut scent with a hint of sweetness wafted over. She couldn't help but open her mouth.

Xiao Zhang smiled and asked her, "Is it delicious?"

"Well, good times."

Xia Qinqin had candy in her mouth, puffed up her cheeks, and nodded vaguely in response.

"That's good. You can eat the rest. If you like it, Auntie will bring you more next time."

Xiao Zhang handed all the candies in his hand to Xia Qinqin. Seeing that her little hands couldn't hold them, he put them into the small pockets on both sides of the waist of Xia Qinqin's skirt.

Xia Qinqin trotted to her mother's side and pointed at her bag, "Mom, give me the White Rabbit."

Meng Yufei was filling out a form. When she realized what she was going to do, she handed the package directly to her daughter.

Xia Qinqin skillfully took out a few White Rabbit candies from her bag, handed them to Xiao Zhang and said, "Auntie, Qinqin will treat you to some candy."

Xiao Zhang was stunned, then he couldn't help but squat down and hug Xia Qinqin and said: "Ah, why are you so obedient."

Xia Qinqin said seriously, "Auntie treated me to coconut candy, and I treated Auntie to White Rabbit milk candy."

Xiao Zhang accepted it with a smile, "Okay, then Auntie thanks Qinqin, I'll bring you something delicious next time."

The big and the small made the agreement solemnly.

Meng Yufei filled out the form, stood up and handed it to Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang checked it and found no problem, so he smoothly transferred the grain card relationship for the mother and daughter.

"Okay, starting from the end of this month, you can collect your tickets directly at the family compound." Xiao Zhang handed the new rations to Meng Yufei.

Meng Yufei took the ration book and put it in her bag. "Thank you."

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "Sister Meng, you are being too polite. However," she leaned over to Meng Yufei's ear and whispered, "We don't think we will be able to issue the tickets for the second half of this month. Accountant Zhou from the Finance Department resigned yesterday."

Meng Yufei was surprised: "Ah?"

Xiao Zhang said, "But you don't have to worry too much. I'm telling you this just to remind you so that you can be mentally prepared. Our hospital is affiliated with the army, so we won't be left without any help. It's just that the termination will be delayed."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "That's right. In the end, the army will definitely make the decision for our family."

She looked down at her watch. It was almost nine o'clock.

She said to Xiao Zhang, "We won't disturb you from working. We'll leave first." She lowered her head and said to her daughter, "Qinqin, say goodbye to Auntie."

Xia Qinqin still had coconut candy in her mouth. She raised her arm and waved, "Auntie, goodbye."

Xiao Zhang smiled and said to the two of them: "Goodbye, come and play with me when you have time."

After leaving the logistics department, Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to the supply and marketing cooperative. They had to pick up the pineapple they had ordered from the fruit stall yesterday.

Outside the supply and marketing cooperative, there were not many people queuing up, just like yesterday. This was mainly because people nowadays like to go out early in the morning to buy groceries and other things, and there were not many people like Meng Yufei who went out to buy groceries at eight or nine o'clock.

Zheng Sanmei, who was working at the fruit stall, spotted Meng Yufei walking over and greeted her warmly, "Sister, you're here. I picked a pineapple this morning. I'm sure it'll be sweet and juicy."

As she spoke, she took out a pineapple from the bamboo basket behind her and said, "Sister, look, this one is bigger than the pineapples from other places. Here we call it a pineapple."

"Why is it called Pineapple?" Xia Qinqin stared at the pineapple in her hand and asked curiously with her head tilted.

Zheng Sanmei explained: "Look at the leaves on the top, don't they look like a phoenix's tail?"

Xia Qinqin blinked and asked, "What is a phoenix?"

Zheng Sanmei: “…”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Phoenix is ​​a kind of bird. Look, does this leaf look like a bird's tail?"

Xia Qinqin nodded, "Oh~"

Meng Yufei took the pineapple and asked, "How much is this?"

Zheng Sanmei said, "Fifty cents. We sell pineapples by the piece here. Big ones are sixty cents, small ones are fifty cents, but they all taste the same."

Meng Yufei settled the bill quickly, "Can you leave me a coconut tomorrow?"

I tried coconut chicken in the cafeteria yesterday and was curious about what coconut tasted like.

Sister Zheng nodded and said, "Okay, no problem. Don't worry, sister, I will pick a big and sweet one for you."

I thought happily: Another deal, it seems this lady is really a big client, haha, I am really suitable for this job, the captain made the right choice in me.

After leaving the fruit stall, Xia Qinqin kept looking at the pineapple in Meng Yufei's hand curiously, circling around her.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "This is heavy. Look at the leaves on it. They will pinch your hands. You can't hold it. I'll show you a good look when we get home."

Xia Qinqin said: "Mom, this pineapple is so big, like a lantern. Hmm, I wonder if it is as delicious as the strawberries." She was still thinking about yesterday's strawberries.

Meng Yufei said: "Mom hasn't eaten it either, let's try it together when we get home."

Xia Qinqin said happily: "Well, eat with dad after get off work."

Meng Yufei paused for a moment, then replied with a smile, "Okay."

Passing by the food stall, the meat was still sold out early. However, the shrimps in the wooden basin caught Meng Yufei's attention. They were lively and fresh.

"How are these shrimps sold? Do I need a ticket?" Meng Yufei stopped and asked.

"It's 70 cents a pound, no tickets needed, all freshly caught from the sea early in the morning."

When she heard that they didn't need a ticket, Meng Yufei said directly, "Then weigh one pound for me."

After buying the shrimps, Meng Yufei also bought two green onions and a piece of ginger to remove the fishy smell from the shrimps.

Entering the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhao Meixia was weighing sugar for someone behind the counter. She saw someone coming in and said with a smile, "Sister, you're here. Wait a moment. I'll come to greet you after I'm done with my work."

Meng Yufei said: "You go ahead and do your work. I want to tear off a piece of cloth."

Zhao Meixia pointed to the east counter and said, "All the cloth from our supply and marketing cooperative is in this area. Take a look at the patterns first."

Meng Yufei walked over and saw seven or eight pieces of cloth of different colors and materials on the counter. She touched them and roughly determined that the materials were cotton, linen and blended.

After Zhao Meixia finished her work, she came over and asked, "What kind of cloth do you want to buy?"

Meng Yufei pointed to a piece of light green floral blended fabric and said, "Please tear me three pieces of this fabric, each five feet long."

She was going to use the three pieces of cloth to make curtains; the windows in the living room and two bedrooms were empty.

Pointing to a piece of blue linen cloth, he said, "Give me a seven-foot-long piece of it." This would be used to make a sofa cover.

"Okay, I'll cut it for you." Zhao Meixia picked up the scissors under the table, measured with a ruler, marked the position with chalk, and cut it out in a few strokes.

Both types of cloth are produced by local textile mills and are relatively cheap, with blended cloth costing 3.5 cents per foot and linen cloth costing 30 cents per foot.

The total cost was seven dollars and thirty-five cents. The good news was that the linen cloth only cost half the cloth coupon.

Holding a bundle of cloth in her right hand and pineapple and shrimp in her left hand, Meng Yufei picked them up easily and walked towards home with Xia Qinqin on the gravel road.

When I got home, I put the cloth on the sofa and the pineapple on the dining table. I took out a basin, put the shrimp in it, and washed it under the tap in the yard.

Xia Qinqin squatted aside and looked at the shrimps in the basin. She couldn't help but stretch out her finger to touch it. The shrimps jumped and she was so scared that she quickly withdrew her hand.

"Mom, do they bite?"

Meng Yufei held the shrimp and pointed at its claws and said, "They don't bite, but this claw will pinch you."

"Then isn't mom afraid it will pinch you?"

Meng Yufei held the shrimp in one hand and a brush in the other to clean it. She smiled and said, "Look, Mommy is holding it by the back, so its claws can't reach me."

Xia Qinqin exclaimed, "Mom is so awesome."

After washing the shrimps one by one, it was almost eleven o'clock.

Meng Yufei raised the coal stove, put half a pot of water in the stove, and when the water was bubbling and about to boil, she poured the shrimps directly into the pot, added green onions and ginger slices, and then covered the pot.

After cooking for about five minutes, open the lid and the shrimps will turn red. Take them out and rinse them in cold water to make the meat firmer.

This dish is simple and convenient, and it preserves the freshness of the shrimp to the greatest extent. However, it requires the shrimp to be very fresh, otherwise it will easily have a fishy smell.

I put the shrimp on the dining table and covered it with a larger plate. I looked at my watch and it was already half past eleven.

I took the money and ticket and went to the cafeteria to order a dish of braised pork with winter melon, a dish of braised eggplant, and a dime of white rice.

When Xia Junshan entered the house, he saw his daughter squatting on the grass in the yard.

"Qinqin, what are you doing?" Xia Junshan asked.

Hearing the voice, Xia Qinqin looked up, her eyes lit up, she stood up and ran over and said happily: "Dad, you're back."

Xia Junshan smiled and crooked his eyes. He squatted down and picked up his daughter who came over to him, "Hey, Qinqin, do you miss your daddy?"

"Yes!" Xia Qinqin nodded seriously and said, "Mom and I will wait for you to come back to eat pineapple. Auntie said that pineapple is called pineapple because its leaves look like the tail of a phoenix, and the phoenix is ​​a little bird..."

She started chattering, and Xia Junshan listened with a smile while carrying her into the house.

Meng Yufei was setting the table, "You're back, go wash your hands and eat."

Xia Junshan looked at his wife busy in the living room and heard his daughter's sweet voice. The originally empty house was now filled with the smell of fireworks. He felt only warmth and satisfaction.

"Why are you standing there with a silly smile?" Meng Yufei glared at him, "Take Qinqin with you to wash your hands."

Xia Junshan said, "Okay."

Putting down his briefcase, he carried his daughter to the faucet in the yard to wash his hands.

After washing her hands, Xia Qinqin trotted into the house and pointed at the pineapple on the table and said, "Mom, let's eat the pineapple quickly."

Meng Yufei said, "Eat first, and then eat after you finish your meal."

"Ah..." Xia Qinqin pouted unhappily, "I want to eat now..." She stood there and hummed.

Xia Junshan said: "Why not cut it first."

Xia Qinqin looked at her father gratefully and at her mother expectantly.

Meng Yufei refused: "No, you forgot about her last night. She couldn't eat after eating the fruit."

"..." Xia Junshan looked at his daughter and waved his hands, "If mom doesn't agree, let's eat after dinner."

Xia Qinqin sighed in disappointment and said, "Okay..." It turns out that Dad also has to listen to Mom.

Xia Junshan looked at her sighing expression with amusement, and carried her to the dining table chair, "Then let's eat quickly, and then cut the pineapple."

Meng Yufei took a small dipping dish filled with vinegar and a few drops of sesame oil and placed it next to the boiled shrimps as a dipping sauce.

Xia Junshan looked at the boiled shrimp on the table and asked, "You made this, right?"

"Huh? How did you figure that out?"

In order to look good, she poured all the food she brought back from the cafeteria in her lunch box into the plate.

"The chef in the canteen at the family compound likes to cook braised shrimps and stir-fried shrimps with green onions. Boiling shrimps like this is not his style. Didn't you go to the supply and marketing cooperative today? I guess you saw that these shrimps were fresh and couldn't help but buy some."

Meng Yufei handed him the bowl of rice and said, "You really guessed it right. Didn't I let you taste my cooking yesterday? Here it is. However, I can't guarantee the taste."

"This looks refreshing. The color, aroma and taste are perfect." Xia Junshan took the bowl and said with a smile.

He picked up a shrimp with chopsticks, peeled it and put it in Meng Yufei's bowl. "I want to thank our chef today for this first shrimp."

Xia Qinqin sat on the chair, smiling as she watched her parents talking, clapping her hands and saying, "Thank you, Mom~"

Xia Junshan peeled another shrimp and put it in his daughter's bowl. "This shrimp is a reward for Qinqin for accompanying her mother to do some work today."

Xia Qinqin picked up the shrimp meat, ate it in one gulp, puffed up her cheeks and gave her mother a thumbs up, "Great, the shrimp cooked by mom is so delicious!"

Meng Yufei looked at the father and daughter with amusement, and picked up a shrimp and peeled one for each of them.