Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Roast Duck

After get off work, Wei Shufang returned home with her son in a huff. When she pushed open the door, she saw Han Jianhong drying clothes in the yard and said unhappily, "What time is it now? Why haven't you cooked yet?"

Since Wei Shufang started working, the task of cooking at home naturally fell to Han Jianhong. However, Wei Shufang still held the food coupons in her hands. She bought food and vegetables in advance and assigned fixed quantities to Han Jianhong to cook according to the daily quantities.

Han Jianhong picked up the wet clothes and hung them on the clothesline, then calmly replied, "The meal is ready."

Wei Shufang continued to find fault, "You do nothing at home all day, and only remember to do the laundry at night?"

Han Jianhong patted the clothes and said, "Your clothes were washed this morning and have been dried and taken back to the house. These are my own clothes."

Wei Shufang glared at Han Jianhong and stormed into the house.

After a while, Wei Shufang came out of the house again with a shoulder bag. The bag was bulging and no one knew what was inside.

Before leaving, Wei Shufang turned around and said to Han Jianhong in the yard, "You stay at home and take good care of Jianbao. Don't let him run away. Otherwise, I won't forgive you."

Han Jianhong glanced over and stopped at her shoulder bag. Wei Shufang put the bag behind her and said with eyes wide open, "What are you looking at?" Then she turned and walked out of the yard.

The Han family had a late dinner. When Team Leader Han saw Wei Shufang coming back from outside with her bag, he asked, "Where have you been? The whole family is waiting for you to have dinner."

Wei Shufang said, "Where else can I go? I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some candy for Jianbao, but it turned out to be sold out. Okay, let's eat."

After dinner, Han Jianhong cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them. Commander Han sat on the sofa reading a newspaper. Wei Shufang poured him a glass of water and sat next to him and said, "Well, I heard that the army is going to take over the supply and marketing cooperative. Is this true?"

Captain Han glanced at her and asked curiously, "Who told you? You seem to be well-informed."

Wei Shufang said, "Didn't I just tell you? I went to the supply and marketing cooperative today and heard the staff there vaguely mention it. Is it true?"

Head Han nodded and said, "Yes, this is not a secret. I guess the family home will notify you in the next two days."

Wei Shufang rolled her eyes and said, "Is the supply and marketing cooperative hiring? I heard that the original director retired due to illness, and the family member of the second regiment's battalion commander, Zhao Meixia, was promoted to deputy director. She was originally a clerk, but she got really lucky this time. Not only was she promoted immediately, but she also became the person in charge of the supply and marketing cooperative."

Head Han raised his head from the newspaper, looked at Wei Shufang beside him, and said with a smile: "You went to the supply and marketing cooperative and found out everything about the eight generations of his ancestors."

Wei Shufang pushed Captain Han's elbow and said, "Tell me quickly, are you going to recruit people?"

Captain Han said, "How would I know this? Recruiting is the responsibility of the Logistics Department. However, since the army has taken over, if they are recruiting, they will definitely select from our academy. So, do you have anyone you want to recommend?"

Wei Shufang nodded and said, "Well...what do you think of me going?"

Head Han asked in confusion: "Didn't you just go to work at the kindergarten? Why do you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative now?"

Wei Shufang said: "The welfare benefits of kindergarten teachers are not as good as those of the supply and marketing cooperative. It's really unfortunate. If the supply and marketing cooperative had recruited people a few days ago, I would not have gone to the kindergarten to take care of children."

Head of the delegation Han said, "You should be content. I think the kindergarten is good. Not only can you take Jianbao with you to work every day, but there are also winter and summer vacations. In addition, many people applied for this position. I heard that the family of Deputy Head of the delegation Chen, who also has a high school diploma, was not selected."

Wei Shufang curled her lips and said, "You don't know, Principal Tian favors those two. Not only did she let them teach the larger classes that are easier to manage, but she also forced me to teach the smaller classes that are the most difficult to manage. I'm exhausted at the end of the day."

Head Han shook the newspaper in his hand and said, "You think too much. Sister Tian is not that kind of person. As a leader, she must have her reasons for making such arrangements. Just listen to her."

As a soldier, he had to obey his superiors' orders, so he said it without thinking. Wei Shufang had complained to him in the hope of hearing some good words, but she was so angry that she rolled her eyes. As expected, she could not count on him anymore, and she had to plan for the position in the supply and marketing cooperative herself.

Zhao Zhengliu has been busy these days trying to capture Wang Zhiyi's fellow villager. When they took people to Qiongzhou City that day, the fellow villager actually received the news and ran away in advance. Then they immediately went to the bus station, train station and dock to chase him, but after two days of hard work, they got nothing.

Yesterday, Zhao Zhengliu led a team to Jingzhou to investigate in detail the background of this person transferred from Jingzhou department store. Unexpectedly, the result was shocking.

There is no such person! All his information is fake, and the seal on it is also fake! Someone fabricated it.

In those days, communication was not well developed, and when going out, one had to look at a letter of certification from the work unit. When Qiongzhou Department Store first saw the seal on the materials, it was from Jingzhou Department Store, and there was also a transfer notice from Jingzhou Department of Commerce. Of course, this was also fake, so they believed it directly. After all, who would believe that someone would be so bold as to forge an official seal in that era.

Later, Qiongzhou Department Store sent a receipt letter for the personnel files to Jingzhou Department Store in accordance with regulations. However, when we went to investigate this time, Jingzhou City said that they did not receive it.

It seems that there is still a lot of petty strife in this matter, involving many units in the two cities...

Cross-regional law enforcement makes many things inconvenient. After collecting information, Zhao Zhengliu rushed back and reported the matter to Commander Li. The commander would need to contact the person in charge of the military region in Jingzhou.

After traveling for so many days, Zhao Zhengliu finally returned home before dark today.

As soon as he entered the house and saw Zhou Wenqian sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book, Zhao Zhengliu suddenly thought: We should buy a desk at home. Qianqian likes reading very much, and she would be happier with a desk.

Hearing the door open, Zhou Wenqian looked up at the door and saw Zhao Zhengliu standing there with a haggard look on his face. She asked, "Are you not working overtime today?"

Zhao Zhengliu nodded, "I just finished what I was doing." His voice was a little hoarse, "Qianqian, how about we buy a desk? We can put it under the window and it will be more convenient for you to read."

Zhou Wenqian nodded and said, "Okay, I just happen to know someone in the commune who has good furniture making skills. I'll go find him and make a bookcase when I have time."

Hearing her talk so much, Zhao Zhengliu smiled, raised his red eyes slightly, and said happily: "Okay, let's go there together on the weekend."

"No need, I can go by myself, it's not far." Zhou Wenqian stood up and said, "Let's eat first, I just brought the food back from the cafeteria."

Zhao Zhengliu's mouth twitched, and he nodded and said, "Oh, okay, okay."

On the dining table, two people each had a lunch box, which contained dishes from the cafeteria, one meat and one vegetable, divided into two lunch boxes and covered on the rice. Zhao Zhengliu had a full box, while Zhou Wenqian had half a box. Even this was despite her recently increased appetite; she ate even less before.

Holding the lunch box, Zhao Zhengliu felt a little awkward. He felt that it was a bit strange for the two of them to eat like this. They didn't look like a family, but more like... classmates? Colleagues? Comrades?

Zhao Zhengliu couldn't help but say, "Well, next time when we eat, let's put the food on the plate. I'm not used to eating with lunch boxes."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Wenqian's expression and immediately added, "Of course, I'll wash all the bowls and plates."

After hearing his words, Zhou Wenqian, who was eating with her head down, raised her eyes and glanced at him. Seeing him looking at her expectantly, Zhou Wenqian paused and said, "Don't you mind the trouble?"

Zhao Zhengliu said, "No problem, no problem! I just think that eating like this... like this will be more heartwarming."

Zhou Wenqian lowered her head, picked up a few grains of rice and slowly put them into her mouth, saying softly, "Let's talk about it later. Aren't you busy recently?"

Zhao Zhengliu paused for a few seconds, and said in a somewhat depressed tone: "Okay, okay, let's talk about it later. When I'm done, I'll pick you up from get off work!"

—————

The next day was the day when the Logistics Department paid wages, and it was also the day when the family compound issued receipts.

After sending her daughter to kindergarten, Meng Yufei returned to the office and sat down. From the moment she sat down, people came one after another to line up to receive tickets and wages, and she was busy all the time.

Xiao Zhang and I worked hard for a whole day and only issued tickets to half of the people, but we did pay them. Because unlike last time when everyone gathered together to collect the wages, this time everyone came individually, and everyone came at different times. In addition, the office was very small, and sometimes too many people came at once, and the people behind saw so many people and went back first, anyway, they were told that they could collect the wages today or tomorrow.

Two minutes before the end of the workday, Meng Yufei saw that no one was at the office door, so she closed the account book, put the pen cap on, and prepared to leave work.

Who knew that at this time, another person came in and said in a sly tone: "Hey, you guys are off work so early, isn't it time to get off work yet?"

Meng Yufei and Xiao Zhang frowned and looked towards the door. The person coming was Tong Caifeng.

Xiao Zhang retorted: "What are you talking about? We were sitting in the office peacefully. How could you see us leaving get off work?"

Tong Caifeng curled her lips and said, "Didn't you all put away the account books?"

Xiao Zhang rolled his eyes and said, "Why do you care what we do when we go to work? This is our job, it has nothing to do with you!"

Tong Caifeng pointed at Xiao Zhang and said, "You are such a vicious person, no wonder you are still unmarried."

Xiao Zhang said angrily, "I don't eat your rice. I support myself. Why do you care whether I get married or not? It's too nosy of you to meddle in my business."

Tong Caifeng jumped up and down and said, "You..."

"Tong Caifeng!" Meng Yufei said, "What on earth are you doing in the Finance Department? If you are here to quarrel with us, please leave, or I will have someone kick you out directly."

Tong Caifeng glanced at Meng Yufei and said, "Who are you trying to scare? I'm here to get my ticket."

Meng Yufei said: "Xiao Zhang, give her the ticket."

Xiao Zhang flipped through the account book, found Tong Caifeng's name, and issued the ticket to her according to the record.

Tong Caifeng received the tickets and stood in the office counting them one by one. After counting them once, she started counting again.

Xiao Zhang looked at his watch and saw that it was already five minutes before he got off work. He couldn't help but ask, "Have you ordered yet?"

Tong Caifeng spat on her hand and slowly flipped through the tickets in her hand. "This is my family's monthly ticket. I have to count them carefully. If I get a few less, I won't have anything to eat this month."

Meng Yufei said to Xiao Zhang, "It's okay, let her take her time, I'll stay here with her. Xiao Zhang, don't you have something to do tonight? Go home first."

During work, Xiao Zhang chatted with Meng Yufei. She was going on a blind date after get off work today. The person introduced by Director Wang made an appointment to have dinner at Director Wang's house.

Xiao Zhang said: "But, Sister Meng, don't you still have to go pick up Qinqin?"

Meng Yufei said, "The kindergarten is just ahead. There's no need to rush. You can't be late today. Go quickly."

Xiao Zhang nodded and said, "Thank you, Sister Meng. I'll be leaving first."

Meng Yufei nodded, Xiao Zhang packed up, picked up her bag and hurried out. She was going to Director Wang's house today, and she couldn't go empty-handed, so she had to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something first.

Tong Caifeng said unhappily, "You're leaving now? Is the matter settled?"

Meng Yufei said: "I'm the only one here, just take your time and feel free to ask if you have any questions." Then she sat on the chair, leaned back, put her hands on the armrests, and looked at Tong Caifeng with a comfortable look on her face.

The comfortable look on her face as she sat on the chair made Tong Caifeng, who was standing in the office, feel unhappy. She quickly counted the tickets in her hand and said, "Okay, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." and was about to leave.

Meng Yufei said, "Stop, sign to confirm the ticket before leaving."

Tong Caifeng said, "I'll sign next time. You're off work now, so I won't waste your time."

Meng Yufei stood up, took Tong Caifeng's hand, pried open her palm, and took the ticket.

Tong Caifeng yelled, "You...what are you doing! Ouch, ouch! My hand is going to break!"

Meng Yufei let go of her hand, held up the ticket and said, "You can't take the ticket away if you don't sign it."

Tong Caifeng shouted, "Why? This is my family's ticket. If you don't give it to me, you are not planning to keep it for yourself."

Meng Yufei glanced at her calmly and said, "If you want to take it, sign it. If you don't sign it, don't even think about taking it. This is the rule! If you are not satisfied, come to the director tomorrow morning to give your opinion."

Tong Caifeng glared at her and said unhappily, "Okay, I'll sign it!"

Meng Yufei glanced at the account book on the table, pointed at the column with her name, and nodded, "Sign here. If you can't write your name, just use your signature."

Tong Caifeng said, "Huh, you can't write." But she had already graduated from the literacy class.

Meng Yufei watched Tong Caifeng sign before handing her the ticket and said, "Here, take it. Do you want to count it again?"

Tong Caifeng gritted her teeth and said, "Of course we have to count them again. Who knows if you have tampered with them?"

As he spoke, he carefully counted the tickets in his hand, and after confirming that they were correct, he glared at Meng Yufei fiercely before stomping out of the office.

Meng Yufei looked at her back, speechless. How could someone always do such thankless tasks? Also, why did she treat her so badly for no reason?

She suddenly thought of what Qinqin said to her that day. Tong Caifeng thought to herself that she was a cannon fodder.

Cannon fodder? The ashes left after a shell is fired. Do you mean to say that you are an insignificant little person who was sacrificed?

These thoughts flashed through Meng Yufei's mind for a moment. She thought of her daughter, who had just finished school and had to pick her up quickly.

Meng Yufei hurriedly packed up her account book and locked it in the drawer, then picked up her bag, locked the door, and hurried to the kindergarten.

At the kindergarten gate, Tong Caifeng also came to pick up the child. Mrs. Zhang handed the child to Tong Caifeng and asked, "What is your child's name?"

Tong Caifeng took the child and said, "What's the point of asking a name for a little girl? Just call her Lai Di."

Mrs. Zhang frowned and said, "Why did you give your child such a name?"

Tong Caifeng said unhappily, "What name I give my child has nothing to do with you. There are many people who call their children Zhaodi and Laidi. What's wrong with that? If she can really have a younger brother, it will be a blessing for this girl."

Mrs. Zhang was too lazy to argue with her about this topic. Principal Tian, ​​who had been working in education for most of his life, couldn't change Tong Caifeng's thinking, so it would be even more difficult for others.

Mrs. Zhang said, "Please bring a can of maltose tomorrow. The child eats the maltose that Teacher Wei brought over during the day."

Tong Caifeng said, "I didn't ask her to give it to me. Why, after taking a mouthful of her malt extract, do you want me to give you a whole bottle?"

Mrs. Zhang said, "When did Teacher Wei ask you to return it? I asked you to bring it here to feed your child. You need to feed the child during the day."

Tong Caifeng refused directly, "No, I don't have it! I eat at home every day, why would I drink maltose? I don't know who I'm giving it to."

Mrs. Zhang asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I want to covet your malted milk?"

Tong Caifeng stuck out her neck and said, "Why else would you ask me to bring malt milk? I've never heard of bringing food to kindergarten."

Mrs. Zhang said angrily, "Your child is so young, I am just reminding you kindly, look at how hungry the child is."

Tong Caifeng said: "My child doesn't need your kindness. Even if I starve her to death, you can't do anything about it!"

Mrs. Zhang: "You...you..."

When Meng Yufei said this, she saw the two people arguing. She said, "Sister-in-law, you should get off work soon."

Mrs. Zhang said, "Sister, come and pick up Qinqin."

Tong Caifeng glared at them, then turned and left with the child in her arms.

Meng Yufei asked, "Sister-in-law, what were you arguing about just now?"

Mrs. Zhang told her what had just happened and sighed, "I felt sorry for the child. Looking at Tong Caifeng's expression, I wonder how much suffering the child must have endured at home!"

Meng Yufei said, "Sister-in-law, it's hard for you to handle this. Why don't you go talk to Director Wang? She's the director of the Women's Committee. It's her job responsibility to care for the health of women and children. Letting her go to Tong Caifeng's house to communicate will be more effective than us saying it."

Mrs. Zhang nodded and said, "Yes, what you said makes sense. I will go to see Director Wang tomorrow."

While the two were talking at the door, Xia Qinqin, who was waiting for her mother to pick her up in the kindergarten yard, was running around anxiously, wondering why her mother hadn't seen her yet.

She couldn't help but yelled, "Mom, Mom!" She turned to Zhou Wenqian and said, "Teacher Zhou, my mom is here. I'm leaving first."

Zhou Wenqian glanced at the door, nodded and said, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

When Meng Yufei heard her daughter's voice, she turned around and saw Xia Qinqin running towards her. Meng Yufei squatted down, smiled, stretched out her hands, and held her daughter, who was like a little cannonball, in her arms.

Xia Qinqin hugged Meng Yufei and said coquettishly, "Mom, why did you come to pick me up so late today?"

Meng Yufei held her daughter in her arms, stroked her forehead gently and said, "I'm sorry, Mom was delayed today by something."

Xia Qinqin buried her head and rubbed her mother, smiling: "It's okay~"

Mrs. Zhang wanted to wait until all the children were sent home before leaving get off work, so Meng Yufei said goodbye to her and took Xia Qinqin home first.

Walking to the entrance of the cafeteria, Xia Qinqin sniffed her nose and said in surprise: "Mom, it smells so good."

Meng Yufei sniffed the fragrance in the air and said, "Why do I feel like it smells like roast duck?"

Xia Qinqin asked: "What is roast duck?"

Meng Yufei explained: "It means roasting the duck over fire."

Xia Qinqin asked again: "Is it delicious?"

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "It's delicious."

Xia Qinqin heard that it was delicious, so she pulled Meng Yufei to the cafeteria, "Mom, let's go see if there is any roast duck."

Meng Yufei looked at her greedy little cat and said with a smile, "Okay, let's go see if there is any roast duck."

When she entered the cafeteria, she saw a few shiny and greasy roast ducks on the serving counter. Meng Yufei thought to herself, this master chef's craftsmanship is really amazing, he can even make roast duck!

This roast duck is different from the way it is eaten in Beijing, where it is wrapped in bread. Instead, it is cut into pieces and dipped in broth. A roast duck is a quarter of a duck. Meng Yufei directly ordered half a duck and asked the chef to cut it, leaving out the duck leg.

The price of a roast duck is fifty cents, and half a duck is exactly one dollar. Fortunately, no meat coupons are required. Meng Yufei thinks it is worth it. Qinqin has never eaten roast duck before, so she wants to try it today.

As usual, I ordered another portion of stir-fried cabbage, a portion of vegetable and egg soup and half a pound of rice.

After finishing their meal, the mother and daughter left the cafeteria and headed home. Xia Qinqin skipped around the lunch box in Meng Yufei's hand, clapping her hands happily and saying, "We're having roast duck today. It smells so good. It must be delicious."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Are you happy?"

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm happy~"

When Xia Junshan was approaching his home after get off work, he saw the familiar little head at the gate again, and saw that head waving at him happily.

Looking at the small figure, Xia Junshan walked over with a smile on his face, picked up Xia Qinqin and said, "Qinqin, come and pick up Dad from get off work today."

Xia Qinqin nodded her head repeatedly and said with a smile, "Dad, let's go into the house and have dinner!"

Xia Junshan carried his daughter into the courtyard and asked jokingly, "Are there any dishes that our Qinqin particularly likes for dinner tonight?"

Xia Qinqin squinted her eyes and said, "Wow, Dad, you are so smart, you know everything! Today, we have roast duck!"

Xia Junshan was surprised and asked, "Really? Qinqin likes roast duck."

Xia Qinqin said: "I haven't eaten it, but the roast duck smells so good, it must be delicious."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Okay, let's try it later to see how delicious it is." Then he carried his daughter into the house.

Meng Yufei was setting the table, and when she saw the father and daughter coming back, she said, "Go wash your hands and eat."

Xia Junshan said, "Okay, I'll come right over."

At the dining table, Xia Qinqin held a big duck leg in her hand and took a big bite. The delicious taste made her narrow her pretty eyes and nod her head while eating.

After swallowing the roast duck in her mouth, Xia Qinqin let out a long sigh and said, "Ah—it's so delicious!"

Xia Junshan said with a smile: "How come eating roast duck tastes like drinking alcohol?"

Xia Qinqin said with a smile: "Grandpa Qian always does this every time he eats something delicious. He says it's a sign of respect for the food."

The Grandpa Qian she mentioned was a good friend of Meng's father. Xia Qinqin was occasionally taken to some private dinners by Meng's father, and she remembered what Grandpa Qian said and imitated it very well.

Meng Yufei picked up the cabbage with chopsticks and put it in Xia Qinqin's bowl, reminding her: "Eat the cabbage. Only by combining vegetables and vegetables can you be healthy."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Okay."

Xia Junshan picked up a piece of roast duck and gave it to Meng Yufei, saying, "I remember we had roast duck once before. It seemed like there was also pancakes and cucumber shreds. This time, the chef made it simple."

Meng Yufei said: "That's the way of eating in Beijing, but I think the food made by the master chef tastes great too." As she said that, she also picked up a piece of roast duck and gave it to Xia Junshan.

Xia Junshan smiled and nodded, "Well, it doesn't matter how you eat it, as long as it tastes good."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yeah, as long as it tastes good."

…

Mrs. Zhang also brought home half a roast duck. During dinner, Ma Weidong was surprised and said, "Mom, what a good day it is today. Not only did you buy braised pork, but you also brought back half a roast duck."

Captain Ma said, "Your mother will pay your salary today."

Ma Weidong nodded and said, "No wonder, I was wondering why you are so generous today."

Mrs. Zhang said, "What do you mean by being generous today? Am I usually stingy?"

Ma Weimei took a calf stick and gave it to Ma Weidong. The Ma family had many children, and they never spared the legs of chickens and ducks, they just chopped them off directly, so this calf was just a bone stick.

"I'll give you a leg to eat. You're leaving the day after tomorrow, right? Have a safe trip." Ma Weimei nodded at her eldest brother and said, "Brother, you really don't understand our mother's painstaking efforts. This meal is to celebrate mom's salary and to see you off. I'm afraid you won't be able to eat such a sumptuous meal after you go to the army."

Ma Weidong turned to look at Mrs. Zhang and said with emotion, "Mom, is it true?"

Mrs. Zhang handed him a piece of braised pork and said in a muffled voice, "You like meat, don't you? Eat more."

Ma Weidong said, "Mom, I want to eat the scallion oil rolls you made."

Mrs. Zhang: "...I'll make it for you tomorrow."

Ma Weidong smiled, baring his teeth and said happily, "Thank you, Mom." He ate the roasted pork and roasted duck with great relish, and happily promised his family, "When I get a promotion in the future, I will take our whole family to Jingshi to eat roasted duck."

The third brother Ma Weiliang looked at his eldest brother and said admiringly, "Really, big brother, I want to eat milk candy again."

Ma Weidong said generously: "Okay, we will arrange it for you when the time comes."

Captain Ma coughed lightly and said, "You haven't even joined the army yet, but you're already thinking about getting promoted. Remember, the duty of a soldier is to protect the country, obey the orders of the organization, and serve the people. Also, when you join the army, you are not allowed to mention me to anyone, and don't even think about having any privileges. If I find out that you're using my identity to cause trouble, I'll break your legs!"

Ma Weidong said, "I understand, Dad, you look down on me too much. The reason I was able to join the Air Force this time was entirely due to my own physical fitness, not your help at all."

Captain Ma said: "Remember what you said now. When you go to the army, everything depends on you."

Ma Weidong nodded and said, "I understand."