Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Peeling Crabs

Several people came back carrying two buckets of crabs and followed Meng Yufei into her yard.

Mrs. Zhang said, "It's hot, so we should hurry up and wash and steam the crabs tonight. If we wait until tomorrow, many of them will die."

Xiao Zhang said, "I have nothing to do tonight, I'll help wash the crabs." He smiled shyly and said, "I'd also like to trouble Sister Meng to make me a jar of crab sauce first, I'll ..."

Meng Yufei understood and said, "No problem. You have to help me peel all the crabs before you go back today."

"That's for sure." Xiao Zhang said with a smile.

Zhou Wenqian also said: "I'll stay and help too."

Mrs. Zhang said, "Teacher Zhou, why don't you go back and have a rest? I'll come over to help you later."

In Mrs. Zhang's impression, Teacher Zhou has always been in poor health and has been bedridden at home.

Zhou Wenqian said: "It's okay, tomorrow is a day off."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Then please all of you stay and help me. There is strength in numbers."

"Junshan, go to the cafeteria and get some extra dishes. We'll eat at my house tonight."

Mrs. Zhang waved her hands and said, "No, no. You guys keep busy here, I'll go back first. Several people are waiting for me at home. I'll come over after dinner." After saying that, she put the wooden barrel in the yard, took Fangfang by the hand, and went back to the next door.

Meng Yufei reached out to pull her, but Mrs. Zhang had already left the hospital.

She smiled helplessly, turned to Zhou Wenqian and Xiao Zhang and said, "You two should not leave. It's too troublesome to go back and forth."

Brother Zhang and Zhou Wenqian looked at each other, smiled and nodded.

Xia Junshan came out of the house with a lunch box. Meng Yufei said, "Junshan, please go to Captain Zhao's house and tell him to come over for dinner tonight."

Zhou Wenqian said, "Sister Meng, Zhengliu has to work overtime tonight, so he probably hasn't come home yet."

Xia Junshan nodded: "Yes, he went to the next island to carry out a mission this afternoon and will be back in a while."

Xiao Zhang said, "That's perfect. Let's go back a little later today. If it really doesn't work out, Wen Qian, you can sleep at my place tonight."

Zhou Wenqian smiled and said, "Let's clean up the crabs first."

As he spoke, he walked over and brought the wooden bucket to the faucet. Meng Yufei brought a wooden basin, poured the crabs into the basin, and added water.

Meng Yufei brought two more brushes and said, "Please brush first. I'll go and boil the bath water and give Qinqin a bath."

Xiao Zhang brushed his brush and said, "Okay, Sister Meng, you should go quickly. It's windy tonight, be careful that Qinqin might catch a cold."

Meng Yufei brought Xia Qinqin and Lu Yannan into the house, changed their wet clothes, and covered them with two large towels.

This towel was sent from Haishi last time. It is a large pure cotton towel, a new product from Haishi Cotton Textile Factory.

The two children were wrapped in a large, snow-white and soft towel, revealing their fair and smooth faces, which looked very cute.

"You guys sit on the sofa and don't move. I'm going to heat up the bath water and we'll take a bath soon." Meng Yufei instructed.

Xia Qinqin was wrapped in a soft towel, and nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, Mom."

Lu Yannan's face turned slightly red and she nodded.

After boiling the bath water, Meng Yufei first gave Xia Qinqin a bath, changed her into clean and comfortable clothes, and covered her head with a dry towel.

"Take the towel and wipe your hair yourself. Mommy will go and give Brother Yannan a bath."

"good."

Lu Yannan shook his head and refused: "Aunt Meng, I can take a bath by myself."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Let me take you there. There's water on the floor of the bathroom, don't slip."

Lu Yannan pursed his lips and said, "Well, wait for Uncle Xia to come back and help me wash it."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "It turns out that we little men are still embarrassed. Okay, let uncle help you wash."

Lu Yannan lowered his head slightly and huddled into the wide towel.

Meng Yufei smiled and continued to wipe Xia Qinqin's hair. After it was half dry, Meng Yufei let Xia Qinqin wipe it herself while she went out to help brush the crabs.

Xia Qinqin sat on the sofa and wiped her hair twice before putting the towel aside. Lu Yannan reminded her, "Aunt Meng asked you to dry your hair before going out to play."

"My hands are so sore." Xia Qinqin pouted and touched her hair and said, "Look, there's no water falling anymore."

Lu Yannan said: "It's not dry yet, please wipe it for a while, otherwise I will tell Aunt Meng."

"Hmph, Brother Yanan is a snitch!" Xia Qinqin said with her chin raised.

Lu Yannan smiled and said, "I am a snitch, then what are you? Don't you tell your parents about it?"

"I'm a good kid. I won't complain."

"Oh? Is that so?" Lu Yannan glanced at her.

Xia Qinqin angrily took the towel and turned her head to wipe her hair.

In front of the faucet in the yard, three people were sitting on small stools brushing crabs. It was quite a lot of work. The crabs were small and there were many of them, crowded in the basin one by one. One had to be careful when picking them up.

By the time Xia Junshan came back with his lunch box after getting his meal, they had only washed half the bucket.

Meng Yufei said: "Let's eat first, and then we can do it after dinner."

She looked up at Xia Junshan and said, "Junshan, go and help Yannan take a bath. The bath water is ready."

Xia Junshan asked: "Has Qinqin washed?"

"It has been washed. Yan Nanfang wants you to help him wash it."

"Okay, this kid is good at selecting people." Xia Junshan walked into the house with a smile, put the lunch box on the dining table, turned around and looked at the two little people on the sofa with a smile.

"Qinqin, are you drying your hair?" She walked over and touched the top of her hair, which was still a little wet. "Just rub it for a while and it will be fine."

"Yeah, okay." Xia Qinqin nodded with a smile.

Xia Junshan picked up the snowball next to him and said with a smile, "Come on, uncle will take you to take a bath."

Lu Yannan struggled for a moment, "Uncle, I can walk by myself."

"Your shoes are outside. You have to go barefoot."

Xia Junshan took Lu Yannan to the bathroom. Boys take showers quickly and they came out in a short while.

Lu Yannan was wearing Xia Junshan's clothes, which were too big for him, so he had to tie them around his wrists and tie the hem into a knot.

There was no way to change the pants, so Lu Yannan found Xia Qinqin's pants and put them on him. Looking at the pants, Lu Yannan frowned and asked, "Uncle, can I wear your clothes?"

"You little idiot, my pants are taller than you, how are you going to wear them? If you don't want to wear them, how about this? I'll put your shirt down and you can wear a skirt."

As he was about to start, Lu Yannan put on his pants immediately.

After coming out wearing big slippers, Lu Yannan lowered his head, wrinkling his handsome little face.

Xia Qinqin recognized her own pants at a glance and pointed, "Oh, Brother Yannan is wearing my pants."

As soon as she said that, Lu Yannan pursed his lips.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Brother Yannan has no clothes to change into, so I'd like to borrow your clothes for a while."

"Oh, okay." Xia Qinqin ran over and said to Lu Yannan, "Brother Yannan, I'll give you my clothes."

Lu Yannan looked at her and said solemnly: "I will compensate you with a new set of clothes."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Okay, I like wearing new clothes."

Meng Yufei said: "Come over and have dinner."

After everyone finished their meal, Xia Junshan cleared the dishes and went to wash them, while Meng Yufei and the others went to the yard to catch crabs. Fortunately, the day was long now. It was almost half past six, and the sun had just set. The afterglow of the sunset was still shining in the sky, so they could see things clearly.

After Xia Junshan finished washing the dishes, he came over to wash the crabs. The four of them worked quite quickly, and by the time Mrs. Zhang came over, they had already finished washing most of the basin.

Mrs. Zhang came over to take a look and said, "Wow, you guys are pretty quick. Captain Xia, I'll do the washing while you go and boil some water. We can't steam so many crabs in one pot."

"Okay." Xia Junshan stood up, gave the small stool to Mrs. Zhang, and went to the kitchen to boil water.

Several women were sitting in the yard brushing crabs and talking.

Xia Qinqin happily ran over and squatted beside the basin to watch the crabs brushing, and raised her little ears to listen to the adults' conversation. She didn't understand a lot of what was said, but she still listened with gusto.

After a while, she ran to the living room again and saw Lu Yannan sitting on the sofa reading a book. She walked over curiously and asked, "Brother Yannan, what book are you reading?"

"Mathematics book." Lu Yannan said lightly.

"A math book? Is it a book about how to count? I can count to one thousand now." Xia Qinqin said with a smile.

"No..." He turned his head to explain, but found that Xia Qinqin turned around and ran away, so he swallowed the words in his mouth.

After a while, Xia Qinqin ran out of the small room with a picture book in her hand. She handed it to Lu Yannan and said with a smile: "Look at this book. There are pictures on it. Mom said that children like us like to read this book the most."

Lu Yannan shook his head: "You watch it yourself, I don't like watching it."

Xia Qinqin squinted her eyes and said, "You don't even like reading comic books! Brother Yannan, you're so weird."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and started to read the picture book. It was obviously very good.

In the kitchen, Xia Junshan boiled the water and steamed a pot of crabs. The crabs were easy to cook and turned bright red in just a few minutes.

Meng Yufei said, "Xiao Zhang, you and Wen Qian go and peel the crabs. Sister Zhang and I will clean the rest."

Xiao Zhang nodded: "Okay, this is also faster."

So, Meng Yufei and Zhang Dasao sat in front of the faucet in the yard to clean the crabs, Xia Junshan boiled water to steam the crabs, and Xiao Zhang and Zhou Wenqian peeled the crabs.

An assembly line operation has been formed for processing crabs.

With the last bit of daylight, Meng Yufei and Zhang Dasao finally finished catching crabs. After a while, it was completely dark and they couldn't see clearly.

Meng Yufei breathed a sigh of relief and patted her waist, feeling a little tired.

Mrs. Zhang didn't feel anything. She was used to doing farm work. It was only a short while, and she didn't feel tired at all just sitting here.

She brought the cleaned crabs to the kitchen, and Meng Yufei also stood up and followed her.

Inside the house, Xiao Zhang and Zhou Wenqian were cutting the crabs open with scissors while the other was picking out the crab meat with a spoon.

Xia Junshan sat under the stove and lit a fire. After the crabs were steamed, he picked them up directly and put them in an empty pot next to him to cool.

Meng Yufei and Zhang Dasao also joined the crab peeling army.

The white steam that keeps boiling in the steamer next to it floats in the air, and when illuminated by the warm yellow light, it reveals the cozy atmosphere of fireworks.

After Xia Junshan finished steaming the crabs, Meng Yufei told him, "Junshan, you should send Yannan back. It's getting late. If you go back too late, Commander Li will be worried."

"good."

Xia Junshan walked to the living room and said, "Yannan, stop reading. Put on your schoolbag and I'll take you home."

"Oh." Lu Yannan nodded, put the books into the bag and slung it across his back. He lowered his head to look for his shoes and was picked up by Xia Junshan.

"Uncle, I can walk by myself."

"Your shoes are still wet. Let me carry you back. It's dark outside. I can walk faster if I carry you."

Xia Qinqin saw Xia Junshan holding Lu Yannan, and she stood on the sofa and said, "Dad, I want to hold him too!"

"Okay, then let's go see Yannan off together." Xia Junshan smiled and picked up his daughter with his other hand.

Just like that, she went out with a child in each hand.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Zhang asked, "How is Yannan a relative of the teacher's family? How come you pick him up from school every day and he also eats at your house?"

Meng Yufei explained, "He's the child of the commander's friend. Yan Nan's uncle used to be Jun Shan's subordinate, so they have a very good relationship. The commander and Doctor Huang are both busy with work, so they let the child come to my house for dinner."

Mrs. Zhang was surprised and said, "You said that the adults in Yannan's family are too generous. There is no one suitable to take care of the child in Teacher Li's family. How did you think of leaving the child with him?"

Meng Yufei said: "I don't know about that."

Zhou Wenqian, who was peeling crabs at the side, paused and suddenly thought of Lu Yannan's surname. Lu... this surname reminded her of someone.

Not enough. She didn't say anything, but just guessed in her heart.

Mrs. Zhang added, "But Yannan is such a handsome kid. He and your Qinqin are sitting on the sofa. Both of them are fair and well-behaved. They really look like a pair of siblings."

Xiao Zhang laughed and said, "That's right. I didn't know that. Every day I saw Sister Meng holding a child in each hand. I thought Sister Meng had given birth to twins."

Meng Yufei laughed and said, "How could I have that ability? What about twins? Giving birth to one is enough for me."

Mrs. Zhang nodded in agreement, "Indeed, giving birth is like going through hell for us women. Twins sounds good, but giving birth is so difficult."

Xiao Zhang said, "Aren't the kindergarten teacher Tang's family a pair of twins?"

"Yes, it was a twin," Mrs. Zhang whispered, "When she was in the late stages of pregnancy, I was scared when I saw her belly. Fortunately, the birth went smoothly, but I heard that she was injured, and now she hasn't given birth again."

Xiao Zhang said, "No wonder. When I came to the island a few years ago, I rarely saw Teacher Tang go out. He said he was not in good health."

Mrs. Zhang kindly reminded: "So, you guys have to take care of your health when you give birth in the future. It's best to give birth in a hospital. When I gave birth to my first child, I gave birth at home by myself. Now I'm scared when I think about it."

"Especially you two who haven't given birth yet, you have to be careful." Mrs. Zhang said specifically to Xiao Zhang and Zhou Wen Qian.

Xiao Zhang said a little embarrassedly: "It's still early for me."

Zhou Wen Qian lowered her head, smiled and said nothing.

Mrs. Zhang looked at Xiao Zhang's expression and asked jokingly, "Xiao Zhang, what kind of person are you looking for? We can also help you find out. There are a lot of single guys on the island. You can be very picky."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Little Zhang doesn't want to find a soldier."

"Ah? It's so good to be a soldier. The salary is high, the benefits are good, and people are energetic. Everyone has been tested by the organization." Mrs. Zhang said.

Xiao Zhang said: "I have been a soldier for so many years, and I want to find a stable family to take care of. Most of the soldiers were transferred to harsh and remote areas."

Hearing her say this, Mrs. Zhang nodded and said, "You are right. Being a soldier really means you can't always take care of your family."

A few people were peeling crabs while chatting, and when Xia Junshan came back, they had already peeled a basin of crab meat and crab roe.

Nowadays, many people use washbasins to store food, such as flour, meat, and dumpling fillings. These are real washbasins that people use to wash their faces. After storing the food, they will continue to wash their faces.

Of course, the basin containing crab meat was bought by Meng Yufei separately, at least for Xia Junshan to use for kneading dough.

There was a man in military uniform following behind Xia Junshan. When he saw the figure sitting under the light, his tense face softened.

"Qianqian, have you eaten?" Zhao Zhengliu asked.

When he returned home and found that his wife was not at home, he felt disappointed and thought, it was so late in the day, why didn't Qianqian come home yet?

He turned around and walked towards the staff dormitory of the logistics department of the family compound, guessing that Qianqian might be with Xiao Zhang.

Halfway through the journey, he met Xia Junshan who was returning from sending Lu Yannan off. Only then did he realize that his wife was at the regiment leader's house, so he hurriedly followed her over.

Xia Qinqin, who was in Xia Junshan's arms, had fallen asleep on the way. After returning home, he looked at Zhao Zhengliu, raised his chin towards the kitchen, and then carried his daughter back to the room.

Zhou Wenqian heard the familiar voice, glanced at him and said, "I've eaten."

After saying this, he continued to peel the crab.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Captain Zhao, are you afraid that I won't give your wife food?"

Mrs. Zhang also joked: "It seems that Captain Zhao is just like your regiment commander. He loves his wife very much. As soon as he came, he asked if she had eaten."

Zhao Zhengliu smiled and said, "Hello, my two sisters-in-law."

Meng Yufei asked him, "Captain Zhao, have you eaten yet? If not, there is still some noodles at home."

"I've eaten it. I ate it at the army." He looked down at the pile of crabs on the table and their movements, and asked, "Are you peeling crabs?"

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, I specially called your wife to help. Do you have any objection?"

Zhao Zhengliu waved his hands and said, "How dare I do that?"

Xia Junshan also came over at this time, patted Zhao Zhengliu on the shoulder and said: "Come with me to wash your hands, and we will help peel them together."

"Oh, okay." Zhao Zhengliu nodded.

After washing their hands, the two men joined the team to peel crabs, and the small kitchen seemed crowded.

Xia Junshan brought two electric fans over and blew them upside down, but it wasn't hot at all.

At this time, Xiao Zhang raised his head and glanced at Zhao Zhengliu, saying, "Captain Zhao, you have to move faster. Finish peeling as soon as possible so that Qianqian can go home earlier."

Zhao Zhengliu brought a small stool and sat down next to Zhou Wenqian. He listened to Xiao Zhang's words and nodded with a smile: "Yes, Comrade Xiao Zhang's request is very good. I will finish peeling as soon as possible and take Qianqian home as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he picked up the crab and started peeling it skillfully without using any tools.

Mrs. Zhang was surprised and asked, "Wow, Captain Zhao is so good at peeling crabs?"

Zhao Zhengliu smiled and said, "My mother is from Suzhou. She loves eating crabs the most. I often peeled crabs for her when I was a child."

Xiao Zhang said sarcastically, "Captain Zhao is really filial, but I don't know how many times he peeled crabs for his wife."

Zhao Zhengliu choked and turned to ask Zhou Wenqian next to him: "Qianqian, do you like eating crabs?"

Before Zhou Wenqian could say anything, Xiao Zhang spoke up again, "Why are you asking that? Who wouldn't eat it if you peeled it?"

Zhao Zhengliu said with a smile: "Next time I'll treat you to big crabs and I'll peel them for you myself."

Mrs. Zhang looked at Zhao Zhengliu, then at Xiao Zhang, and thought: Is there any conflict between these two? But doesn't Xiao Zhang have a good relationship with Zhou Wenqian?