Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Stir-fried Tofu

Qi Huiying quietly went out early in the morning, came to the military hospital, and found Dr. Huang's office.

Seeing her coming over, Dr. Huang, who was sorting out the medical records, was a little surprised and asked, "Why are you here? Are you feeling unwell?"

Qi Huiying entered the office and said with a smile, "I went to your house the day before yesterday, and Teacher Li said that you would be on duty at the hospital for the next two days. It must be very hard."

Doctor Huang smiled and said, "The hospital is short-staffed. There is nothing we can do. Are you coming to see me because you feel unwell?"

Qi Huiying took two steps forward and walked to her side. She took out a watch from her bag and handed it to Dr. Huang. She smiled and said, "I saw this when I went shopping in the department store in the city yesterday. I thought it was very suitable for you at that time. It's like your name is written on it."

Doctor Huang looked at his watch, slowly put away the smile on his face, and said in a serious tone: "Comrade Qi Huiying, what do you mean?"

Qi Huiying didn't notice the change in her tone, and she handed the watch to Dr. Huang, smiling flatteringly, "I don't mean anything else, I just want to give you a small gift."

Yesterday, Qi Huiying took a boat to the department store in the city to buy this watch, spending a total of 150 yuan, which is equivalent to three or four months' salary of an ordinary worker, and she also had to pay for the watch.

During the month since coming to the island, Qi Huiying went to Teacher Li's home several times. During her visits, she also brought lipsticks, eyebrow pencils and other things to give to Dr. Huang, but Dr. Huang naturally confiscated them.

Two days ago, Qi Huiying became anxious after hearing that her teacher was going to give the job to someone else.

After I got home and thought about it for a long time, I felt that maybe the gift I gave to Dr. Huang was too light and he didn't like it.

Yes, although lipstick and eyebrow pencil are rare in this era, she is the teacher's wife after all, so the gift has to be more expensive.

So, after much thought, Qi Huiying bought the watch and prepared to give it to Dr. Huang.

Dr. Huang glanced at the watch and asked, "Why did you give me such an expensive gift for no reason?"

Qi Huiying smiled and said, "Nothing. It's just that, um, I heard that the primary school on the island seems to be short of a teacher. Doctor Huang, you know, I graduated from high school, so I have studied for a few years, that, you know."

After saying this, he smiled and put the watch into Dr. Huang's hand.

Doctor Huang took the watch and turned it over to take a look. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Isn't this cheap?"

Qi Huiying touched the hair by her ears and said, "It's not that expensive, just one hundred and fifty yuan."

Doctor Huang said in a deep voice: "So, you spent so much money to buy me this watch because you want to be a primary school teacher?"

Qi Huiying nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Even if there is no elementary school teacher, I would still like to give you this watch, mainly because I think this watch suits you very well."

Doctor Huang stuffed the watch back into Qi Huiying's hand and said in a slightly cold tone, "You've got the wrong person. Who will be chosen for the elementary school teacher position is none of my business, and I can't decide."

Qi Huiying was anxious, "Doctor Huang, why can't you make a decision? You are the teacher's wife! As long as you go back and mention it to Teacher Li..."

She glanced at the watch on her hand, then said, "You don't like this watch, do you? Tell me which one you like, and I'll go..."

"Comrade Qi Huiying!" Doctor Huang shouted, "Please be aware of your identity. You are a military dependent. Your words and actions represent your husband and the image of the military!"

Qi Huiying said: "I, I didn't do anything, no, I just gave you a watch, didn't I?"

Doctor Huang frowned and said in a cold voice: "Comrade Qi Huiying, it seems that you don't realize what the problem is. This is called bribery!"

Qi Huiying said awkwardly, "Yes, is it that serious?"

Doctor Huang's face turned serious, and he took a deep breath and said, "Since this is your first time making a mistake, I won't bother with you this time. If I see you again next time, I will send you directly to the Supervisory Office. Not only will I blame you, but your husband, Deputy Head Chen, will also be investigated."

As if she sensed the seriousness of the problem, Qi Huiying whispered, "I, I was wrong. Doctor Huang, just pretend that I have never been here today."

Doctor Huang said, "I'm going to make rounds now. If you're not feeling well, please go to the outpatient clinic and register." Then he walked out of the office.

Qi Huiying was left standing there alone, holding her newly bought watch tightly in her hand.

…

The morning passed quickly, and at 11:30 Xiao Zhang came running and knocked on the door on time.

"Oh, Qinqin is here too today." Xiao Zhang's surprised voice came from the door.

Xia Qinqin looked up and saw Xiao Zhang. She recognized that this was the auntie who gave her candy. She smiled and greeted her: "Hello, Auntie Zhang~"

"Come on, let's go have dinner together." Xiao Zhang came in and urged.

Meng Yufei smiled and put down the documents in her hand, stretched her arms and said, "I didn't expect to get off work so soon."

Xiao Zhang said, "You're almost there. I've been hungry for a long time. When I passed by your door this morning, I saw you two, one big and one small, bent over the table so seriously that I felt embarrassed to come in and disturb you."

Meng Yufei simply tidied up the table, picked up her bag, and went downstairs to the cafeteria with Xia Qinqin and Xiao Zhang.

As soon as Xiao Zhang entered the room, he smelled the fragrance in the air and said with a smile, "Today we have tofu!"

She turned to Meng Yufei and introduced it to her, "Sister Meng, you must try it. The tofu in our cafeteria is made by a master chef himself. He said that he used a secret recipe from his hometown. It tastes better and more fragrant than ordinary tofu."

Meng Yufei said, "Really? I'd better try it. No wonder there was soy milk for breakfast this morning. I guess they wanted to make tofu and soaked the beans together."

Making soy milk is quite troublesome. First of all, you need soybeans. In this day and age, it is not easy to get a handful of soybeans, let alone on an island where soybeans are not grown. Meng Yufei only saw soy milk today in the few days she has been here.

The beans for making soy milk need to be soaked for several hours in advance, and then ground into milk and boiled manually, which is a time-consuming and laborious task.

"Mapo tofu!" Xiao Zhang exclaimed, "I like this the most."

Xiao Zhang quickly ordered a portion of Mapo Tofu and highly recommended it, "Sister Meng, this is the master chef's specialty. It's spicy and goes well with rice."

Meng Yufei pointed at the little one beside her leg and said, "Qinqin is still young and can't handle spicy food."

Xia Qinqin cooperated by stretching out her hand to fan her mouth, shaking her head and saying, "Qinqin can't eat spicy food."

I still remember that a few months ago, when a friend of Meng's father invited the Meng family to dinner, one of the dishes was spicy chicken. Xia Qinqin took a bite when the adults were not paying attention, and it was so spicy that she burst into tears.

The taste of Haishi is sweet. It was the first time that Xia Qinqin ate chili peppers in her life, and it left a bad impression on her. Now, when she mentions spicy food, her mouth still hurts a little.

Seeing Xia Qinqin's frightened look, Xiao Zhang found the little girl's frightened expression very cute. She bent down and pinched Xia Qinqin's cheek and said, "What a pity. Let's try again when you grow up."

The master chef had made tofu with great difficulty, so it was impossible for him to just make one dish, Mapo Tofu. Meng Yufei took a look and finally made a dish, Stir-fried Tofu.

This dish is made by cutting tofu into rectangular blocks, stuffing them with seasoned meat fillings, and frying them in a pan. The tofu made in this way is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The meat fillings add to the rich and delicious taste.

The price of fermented tofu is 27 cents, which is 15 cents more expensive than Mapo tofu, and you need one or two more meat coupons.

I also made a dish of stir-fried pea sprouts, a dish of vegetable and egg soup, and half a pound of rice.

After arriving home, Meng Yufei still put the dishes back into the sets of white porcelain plates one by one. She still felt that eating this way made her feel more at home.

Of course, Xia Junshan was happy to cooperate in washing the dishes.

Otherwise, it becomes a situation where one person dislikes the other for not understanding the taste of life, and the other dislikes the other for being too fussy.

Xia Qinqin took off her shoes and climbed onto the sofa, walking from one end to the other, muttering, "Come on, Qinqin, you've already crossed several hills."

She loved playing this little game at home in Haishi, but the sofa there was bigger and softer, so when she jumped on it, it would still bounce back.

Meng Yufei glanced at her and reminded her, "Be careful, don't fall down."

"Got it, Mom."

When Xia Junshan entered the house, he saw his daughter jumping up and down on the sofa and asked with a smile, "What is our Qinqin doing?"

Xia Qinqin saw her father coming back and said with a smile, "Dad, I'm crossing the hillside."

"Oh? How many steps have you taken?" Xia Junshan talked to his daughter with a smile, casually hung his hat behind the door, and walked towards the sofa.

Xia Qinqin stretched out her two hands, pressed her right index finger and thumb into her palms, raised the remaining eight fingers, and answered, "Eight!"

Xia Junshan walked over and praised, "There are so many. Qinqin is amazing and so agile. Are you tired? Let's eat first." After saying that, he reached out to hug her.

"Well, let's eat." Xia Qinqin fell into her father's arms obediently and pointed at the sofa behind her and said, "Dad, this sofa is not as comfortable as the one at home."

Xia Junshan was stunned for two seconds before he reacted. She was talking about the Meng family's sofa. Xia Junshan remembered that the Meng family's sofa was a leather spring sofa, which was definitely not comparable to his own wooden sofa.

"Dad will definitely get you a comfortable sofa in the future, okay?" Xia Junshan promised as he put his daughter on a chair next to the dining table.

"Okay~Thank you, Dad."

Xia Junshan touched his daughter's hair and smiled tenderly, "You're welcome."

Meng Yufei came out of the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks, "The cafeteria cooked tofu today. They said it was made by the master chef himself."

Xia Junshan took the bowl and chopsticks and said, "We are lucky today. I have only eaten tofu made by the master twice since I came here. It tastes better than before."

Meng Yufei picked up a piece of fermented tofu and put it into Xia Qinqin's bowl. "Qinqin, try this and see if it tastes good."

Xia Qinqin looked at the fermented tofu in the bowl and suddenly raised her head and said, "Mom, this looks like a matchbox."

Meng Yufei looked down and nodded, "Yes, they look alike."

Xia Junshan picked up a piece of fermented tofu and put it in Meng Yufei's bowl, and said with a smile: "Our Qinqin is indeed a 'little painter', with extraordinary observation skills. When I first saw this thing, I thought it looked like a coffin."

Xia Qinqin asked curiously: "What is a coffin?"

"Uh..." Xia Junshan was stuck and looked at Meng Yufei, who glared at him. This person should not be careful when talking in front of children.

Xia Junshan looked at his daughter's inquiring eyes and said dryly, "Well, it's just a big square wooden box."

Xia Qinqin looked puzzled, as if she was imagining what the big wooden box looked like. Afraid that she would continue to ask, Xia Junshan coughed lightly and said:

"Let's go to the sea tomorrow evening."

Xia Qinqin's attention was diverted, and she asked curiously, "What is catching the sea?"

Xia Junshan said: "Well... just go to the beach to play."

Hearing that they were going to play, Xia Qinqin smiled and said happily: "Okay, let's go play~"

Meng Yufei said to her, "Eat quickly, or the food will get cold."

Xia Qinqin obediently picked up her chopsticks and ate. She put the fermented tofu in the bowl into her mouth. The delicious and tender taste filled her mouth. She chewed quickly like a hamster with her puffed cheeks. She nodded repeatedly while eating and praised, "Good."

Seeing her daughter enjoying the meal, Meng Yufei gave her another piece of fermented tofu and reminded her, "Eat it well. Don't talk when you have something in your mouth, okay?"

Xia Qinqin nodded obediently.

Meng Yufei put another piece of fermented tofu into Xia Junshan's bowl and asked, "Can we catch the seafood here?"

She had heard her classmates in Qiongzhou talk about their experiences going to the sea, and she had thought that she must go to the seaside if she had the chance in the future.

However, now fishermen have to hand over the fish they catch to the commune. According to regulations, everything in the sea belongs to the state, and individuals cannot take it privately.

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Of course you can. Every day after the tide goes out, the residents here go to the beach to pick up some seafood, which does not need to be handed over to the commune.

He put a piece of fermented tofu in Meng Yufei's bowl and continued, "I heard that people used to go to our courtyard every day, but later someone had a conflict with the local residents, so they stipulated that people could only go to the sea on Saturday afternoons."

Meng Yufei heard this and said, "One day is enough. We don't rely on these seafood to make a living, so why should we compete with the local residents?"

Xia Junshan also nodded in agreement: "You are right, our family is from the courtyard and follows the army. At least there is a military officer in the family who gets paid, so our life is better than theirs."

Meng Yufei turned to her daughter who was enjoying her meal and said, "Qinqin, how about we go to the beach tomorrow? We can pick up some beautiful shells there."

Xia Qinqin raised her face from the bowl and asked, "Is the shell the one on the wind chime at Sister Lili's house?"

The neighbor downstairs from the Meng family had a string of shell wind chimes at home, which tinkled when the wind blew. Every time Xia Qinqin went downstairs to play, she would stare at the wind chimes for a long time.

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, this time we picked up some shells, so Mommy will make you a wind chime, okay?"

"Okay! I want to pick up lots of shells!" Xia Qinqin said as she stretched out her hands and drew a big circle.

Xia Junshan wiped the rice grains from his daughter's mouth with his hand and said with a smile, "Dad will help you pick them up when the time comes."

"Okay~ Thank you, Dad! Then Qinqin can have super super many shells." Xia Qinqin smiled.

Meng Yufei asked: "What time should we go there tomorrow? Should we go after dinner?"

Xia Junshan said, "At this time of year, I heard that the tide goes out at 4 p.m. I asked others before, and they usually go there at 4:30 p.m."

He thought for a moment and said, "Oh, by the way, you can leave work an hour earlier on Saturday afternoon. I'll be home around five tomorrow, so we can go together then."

There is no concept of two-day weekends in China now, and the only day off a week is Sunday.

Meng Yufei was of course happy to hear that she could get off work early, so she nodded and said, "Okay."