Chapter 38 Warming House Banquet.
Su Yu wrote a note early in the morning and took it to the canteen to give it to the soldier in the kitchen who was in charge of purchasing. When it was almost noon, he went there and brought back a chicken, two pieces of tofu and a bunch of fresh vegetables.
Of course, she also paid a little extra money to the soldier who helped her. This was an unwritten rule.
After waking up from her lunch break at noon, she started to busy herself in the kitchen.
He Susu walked over and asked, "Third sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with?"
Seeing her third sister-in-law so busy, she felt embarrassed to just sit there and do nothing.
Thinking that her aunt had never cooked at home, Su Yu was afraid that she would make the meat and vegetables taste bad. She shook her head and said, "No, I can handle it here by myself."
Seeing that the sister-in-law really wanted to help, she said, "Lianzhou said that eight comrades will come to eat tonight. With Sister Chen and Sister Wang, there won't be enough chairs. Go borrow a few more from Sister Chen next door."
He Susu nodded in agreement. She opened the door and knocked on the door opposite: "Is Sister Chen here?"
Since her family had also invited Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang's families to come over for dinner, she felt comfortable asking to borrow a chair.
The door opened quickly, and Chen's wife smiled and said, "Susu, I was just thinking about going over to help your sister-in-law."
He Susu: "Hello sister-in-law, we don't have enough chairs at home, so I want to borrow a few from you and return them to you after we use them."
Mrs. Chen agreed immediately: "Sure, it's normal to borrow chairs when hosting a dinner party. If there are not enough, just borrow from the next door."
She led the people in and helped to move the chairs. He Susu counted and found that there were six chairs in the house. Chen Saozi had six, and if Chen Saozi and Wang Saozi and their spouses were added, there would not be enough seats. She had to knock on Wang Saozi's door to borrow a chair.
"I heard the noise and was about to come over to help." Mrs. Wang agreed without saying a word, helped move the chairs to the He family, and went into the kitchen to help with Mrs. Chen.
Su Yu asked them to help prepare the food: "Thank you so much, sisters-in-law. It makes me feel much more relaxed."
Mrs. Chen said indifferently, "They are all small matters. It is only natural for us to help each other. It is also fate that the men from our two families happen to be good comrades with your old He. We can take care of each other when we are together."
Su Yu nodded: "By the way, call your children to come over for dinner and join in the fun."
Mrs. Wang shook her head: "No, just let them eat at home. I have prepared the food, they can just heat it up later."
Meat and vegetables are precious these days, so how can you bring your family to eat at someone else's house? It was only because she and Lao Chen came to help that they ate here together.
Mrs. Chen also said, "Yes, don't worry about the children. They won't starve anyway."
Su Yu had no choice but to agree.
It is indeed a lot easier with two more people. The food preparation is faster and the stove can be lit to start cooking.
Stir-fried pork slices with sauerkraut, chicken with scallions, braised fish chunks, fried diced chicken, stewed pork slices with radish, and a crucian carp and tofu soup. The six dishes make up a perfect combination, and since most of them are meat, they stand out on the table.
Because there were so many people, Chen's wife also brought her dining table over and placed it in the living room, dividing it into a table for men and a table for women. The meat and vegetable soup was naturally divided into two portions and served.
After the training, He Lianzhou came back to the kitchen and thanked his two sisters-in-law for coming to help. Then he went to get clothes and take a shower. Not long after he came out, the invited comrades also came one after another.
"Hello, sister-in-law, hello, congratulations, Lao He!"
"This table of food smells delicious. Thank you for your hard work, brother and sister-in-law!"
"We won't be polite tonight, let's have some fun together!"
Some of the comrades brought some food, some brought some cakes, and some even brought some white wine to drink tonight.
Everyone sat at the table and started eating.
The man was naturally happy to see the table full of delicious meat dishes. He exclaimed that he would have oral sex tonight. After tasting the food, he praised its delicious taste.
At the table of women and children, the eldest and second child looked at the table full of meat and were so greedy that they waited until their mother said it was time to eat before they picked up the meat with chopsticks and started eating.
When Mrs. Chen saw this, she praised: "At their age, Dabao and Erbao are good at using chopsticks, and they can pick up meat steadily."
Mrs. Wang also nodded: "My child can't hold things steadily at this age, and he eats with a spoon."
Dabao and Erbao were not shy and thanked generously: "Thank you for the compliment, Auntie."
Su Yu smiled and said, "They have been trained to use chopsticks since they were young, so they are familiar with it after using it for a while. Today, thanks to you sisters-in-law for coming to help, even this meat dish is thanks to the pickled cabbage and radish you brought yesterday."
"It's nothing, you're welcome."
He Susu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, please eat quickly, or the food will get cold."
"Okay, let's eat."
It is rare to have such good food these days, and soon everyone was busy eating.
The pickled cabbage was sour and salty, and the fried meat slices also became rich and layered, very delicious. The chicken was well-cooked, the scallion-cooked chicken was salty and fragrant, and the fried chicken cubes were crispy and delicious. The braised fish was not inferior to what I had in the canteen that day.
The radish stewed with pork slices was just like what Wang's wife said that day, sweet, crisp, and the pork slices were also stained with fragrance. The crucian carp and tofu soup was milky white, very sweet, and the tofu was smooth and a little salty, and you could taste the bean fragrance.
The men's table had a hearty meal, with tasty pork and chicken paired with wine. Su Yu even gave them some peanuts as a side dish, which was so delicious.
After they got together and chatted for a few minutes, they started talking about things in the army and national affairs.
The women's table was different, they were talking about trivial matters in the family compound. Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang were talking about which daughter-in-law in which room on which floor of which building was difficult to deal with, and which daughter-in-law loved to speak ill of others behind their backs and should not be made close friends with.
Su Yu smiled and nodded in agreement, while He Susu listened as if she was listening to a story.
The meal was lively, and by the end the men's table had eaten everything, with nothing left on every plate. On the other hand, although the women's table had less food, everyone was full and there was still a lot left.
Su Yu saw that there were two meat dishes left, scallion-fried chicken and fried diced chicken, and simply said, "Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Wang, take these two dishes back home and make midnight snacks for the children."
Mrs. Chen shook her head and refused: "How can we eat and take at the same time? How can this be so embarrassing."
Su Yu smiled and said, "As long as you don't mind it being leftovers, just take it back and give it to the children as a snack."
Seeing her sincerity, Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang knew she was not just being polite, so they readily agreed.
The two of them wanted to stay and help wash the dishes, but Su Yu refused: "Sister-in-law, you have already helped me a lot, just leave the rest to me."
He Susu, standing aside, also nodded: "Yes, I will wash the dishes with my sister-in-law later."
Only then did Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang feel at ease and leave with the two leftovers.
The other comrades had already gone back, and He Lianzhou and the men from Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang's families moved the borrowed tables and chairs back.
He had drunk a little and reeked of alcohol. Afraid of disturbing his wife, children, and younger sister, he simply took his clothes and went to take a shower.
He Susu was serious when she said she wanted to help wash the dishes. Now that they entered the kitchen, the two aunt and sister-in-law started working together, one using a loofah to scrub the dishes, while the other rinsed the dishes with water. Even though there were a lot of pots and pans, they washed them quickly.
Su Yu: "Tonight's house-warming banquet was successfully completed. We have to return these borrowed dishes to Sister Chen tomorrow."
He Susu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I heard that Third Brother's comrades-in-arms are all praising you for the meal you organized."
"As long as they are satisfied and Lianzhou is not embarrassed, that's good." Su Yu said, "You are tired today, so take a shower and go to bed early."
He Susu smiled and agreed. She actually didn't do anything today, but since her sister-in-law was willing to tolerate her, she didn't expose it.
After taking a shower and returning to the room, He Susu called up the shopping system screen and saw that 2 more diligence points had been added as she wished.
1 point was earned for washing clothes just now, and 1 point was earned for washing dishes after dinner.
It turns out that even if I don't wash the dishes independently, I can still get hard work points, He Susu thought. It's just a pity that I didn't earn hard work points for moving chairs in the afternoon.
She didn't think much about it. She was very satisfied with these two diligence points. She didn't even check the shopping system and just closed her eyes and went to sleep.
The He family fell asleep. After those comrades went back, those who had families couldn't help but talk about this house-warming feast with their wives.
Fang Yue was lying on the bed, still reeking of alcohol, and couldn't help recalling the meal tonight: "Old He prepared a good warming feast tonight, with fish and meat, and the taste was delicious. Even the crucian carp and tofu soup was delicious."
His wife Ye He couldn't help but hum: "You are in for a treat."
She just cooked something simple tonight, steaming sweet potatoes and stir-frying sweet potato leaves. The only oily part was probably that the sweet potato leaves were fried in lard.
Even so, they ate with gusto, after all, this was the usual meal at home. Unlike his father, who ate all kinds of fish and meat.
Fang Yue ignored his wife's sarcastic tone and continued, "I think Lao He's wife is a good person. She has two plump children and keeps the house clean. Lao He will have a good life."
"Oh, by the way, Lao He's little sister also came along, saying she'd like to stay for a while. This girl is also pretty, even prettier than the female soldiers in the art troupe, and she speaks politely. I heard she graduated from high school, so she's very educated."
Ye He said, "I guess his sister followed here to find a partner. Wait, Lao He will definitely arrange one for her in a while. But if this girl is pretty and educated, I guess many single guys in the army will be interested in her."
There are some soldiers who come to accompany the army, and sometimes there are sisters or nieces who come to help take care of children and cook. In fact, they are looking for a partner in the army. After all, it is a good idea to marry a soldier and come to accompany the army these days.
Fang Yue said: "Maybe, I think Zhu Wenxuan is interested in Lao He's sister. Who can tell for sure about young people?"
The couple talked for a few words, and Fang Yue soon fell asleep, snoring with a faint smell of alcohol.
Ye He turned her back and went to sleep with disgust.
After breakfast the next day, Su Yu followed Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang to check the vegetable fields. He Susu was too lazy to go out, so she just stayed at home to look after the two children.
Fortunately, the eldest and second child are well behaved. They can get together and play for the whole day with some things, and He Susu doesn't have to worry about anything at all.
After waking up in the afternoon, when the weather was not so hot, He Susu went out alone. She was going to the mailroom to see if there were any undelivered replies from magazines, and she calculated that it should be about time.
She also wrote a letter to her parents, telling them that she had adapted well to living in the army area and that the neighbors were very kind, so they could rest assured.
Originally, she wanted to write down what happened in the army, but her third brother said that all letters sent and received in the army would be checked by a dedicated person to avoid leaking important information, so it was best not to write these contents, so she had to give up.
He Susu thought again, if this is the case, the reply letter sent to her by the magazine, as well as the stories she sent out in the future, will have to be checked by a special person. Fortunately, she did not write anything that touched the bottom line, everything was aboveboard, and she was not afraid of anything.
The third brother also wrote a letter back to his parents and put it in the same envelope with her letter, which saved some postage.
At this time, there were only children playing outside in the family compound, running around and laughing while playing games. He Susu thought that if Dabao and Xiaobao came down, they would definitely be able to play with them.
She quickly walked to the mailroom and asked, "Hello, comrade. Is there any letter for He Susu?"
"Wait a moment, let me check." The staff member immediately went to look through the pile of letters and quickly found one and handed it over, "This is yours."
"Okay, thank you comrade." He Susu took it with a smile and said, "Also, I have another letter to send."
She gave her home address and saw the staff at the window doing the same thing as at the post office, affixing stamps and stamping the documents. She paid promptly.
Looking at the envelope in her hand, He Susu had a vague feeling that it would be good news. She didn't delay any longer and went straight home.
There was no one at home. It was probably that the third sister-in-law took the two children downstairs to play. He Susu went straight back to her room, sat at the desk, opened the envelope and started reading.
The magazine said that they were very happy to receive the manuscript. The beginning of this story was much more exciting than the previous one, and the suspense setting was also improved. They hoped that she could write better content for submission. The manuscript fee was the same as last time, 4 yuan per thousand words.
He Susu was very happy after reading it, not only because she would have a stable income in the future, but also because she was relieved that her hard work during this period was not in vain. Her ability to construct stories and writing style were recognized by professionals. Making progress is the greatest compliment.
Last time, she submitted an article of 20,000 words, and earned another 80 yuan in royalties, based on the calculation of 4 yuan per thousand words. In the envelope was a remittance notice for 80 yuan, which she had to keep well, and she would exchange it for cash when she got a car to the county town in a few days.
He Susu carefully put the remittance notice back into the envelope, and then put it in the desk drawer. The third brother and his wife respected her very much, and would not enter her room without permission. They also told Dabao and Erbao not to come in, and they didn't have to worry about anyone coming in even if the door was open.
Perhaps because she was in a good mood, He Susu wanted to do some work, so she simply took a broom and swept her room, and then swept the other two rooms, the kitchen, and the living room.
When Su Yu came back with her two children, she happened to see He Susu sweeping the floor in the living room and sweeping the dust into the garbage shovel.
"Auntie, why are you sweeping the floor?"
After coming to the army, except for helping to wash dishes on the day of the house-warming party, this was the first time Su Yu saw He Susu working. She remembered that when she was at her husband's house, her sister-in-law also loved to sweep the yard with a broom after dinner.
He Susu smiled and said, "I went to get the letter and received good news. I was in a good mood so I thought about sweeping the floor."
Su Yu was delighted to hear this: "Your article was selected by the magazine again? Congratulations."
She also graduated from high school, but she didn't like writing articles. When she was at the radio station, she had to complete the task of writing news releases assigned by her leader every week, which was also very tiring. She admired this little sister-in-law for this.
He Susu smiled and nodded: "Yes, I was selected. I will have a stable income in the next period of time, and I will feel at ease. I will keep the remittance notice and exchange the money when I return to the county town."
"Okay, then we'll go together. I thought it would be a bit difficult to buy meat and vegetables for ten days." Su Yu said.
He Susu suggested: "I wonder if there are any bamboos in the mountains here. If there are, we can cut some bamboos and weave them into a bamboo basket. It will be convenient to carry things when we go shopping. The last time the sister-in-law downstairs gave me cherries, she seemed to say that they were picked in the mountains. Maybe we can ask her."
Su Yu thought it made sense: "It's much more convenient to have a bamboo basket. It's quite tiring to just pack it in a bag or carry it with both hands. I'll go downstairs and ask her later. If she has one, I'll go to the mountains with her tomorrow to cut some bamboo."
In addition to buying meat and vegetables for the trip to the county, I also had to buy vegetable seeds to cultivate the vegetable plots I had been assigned, and I also had to buy hoes and other farm tools. Fortunately, I could borrow farm tools from Chen's wife to turn the soil in the next few days, as the two families' plots were adjacent to each other.
When He Lianzhou came back from training, he heard that the story my younger sister submitted was selected by the magazine, and she was happy that she would have a stable income for the next period of time.
He praised: "It seems that you are getting more and more skilled at writing articles, and you can even write long stories. You earn as much as those who go out to work. If you are writing articles, just write when you have inspiration. You can write at night with the lights on, so you don't have to save me electricity bills."
He Susu smiled and agreed: "Then I won't be polite."
He Lianzhou was still smiling while eating. He was still thinking, "My little sister is very capable for making money by writing articles. Which female comrade can be so capable?"
Then he thought about the idea he had once had. Cheng Shi was very outstanding. Even though he came from a military family, his outstanding abilities could not be ignored. He could become the deputy regiment commander at the age of 26.
If my younger sister and Cheng Shi can get along, the two of them can be considered a strong combination. As for my younger sister's writing ability, He Lianzhou felt that compared with Cheng Shi's military ability, they each had their own merits and could be considered a good match.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the two of them would be a good match. He still had to find an opportunity to introduce his younger sister and Cheng Shi to each other.
Of course, before getting the results, he suppressed the urge to share with his wife and decided to wait until Cheng Shi returned from his mission.
Soon it was the day when a car was sent to take people to the county town. The meat dishes at home had been eaten long ago. Last night, I went to the canteen to get a meat dish and brought it home to eat. In the morning, I also had a simple white porridge with fermented bean curd.
Dabao and Erbao were sent to Chen Saozi's house. Recently, they had become familiar with Chen Saozi's children and were having fun. He Susu followed Su Yu downstairs to catch a ride.
Each of them carried a bamboo basket, and each of them put a package in the basket so that they could put a lot of things in it when the time came.
That day, Su Yu went to find Zhang Qinfang downstairs with the intention of asking her about bamboo in the mountains. When she heard that she wanted to weave bamboo baskets, she took her directly to find a sister-in-law to ask for enough bamboo strips. It only cost her a few cents and saved her a lot of effort.
Zhang Qinfang said, "You've come to the right person. I know most of the people in the family building. If you need anything, you can just go to their house and ask them to exchange it. It's so hard for you to go to the mountains to find bamboo and cut it into strips."
Su Yu smiled and said yes, thanked the other party, and then took the bamboo strips home to weave two bamboo baskets. It was just right to use them when she went to the county town to buy things.
After standing for a while at the boarding point of the second family area, the bus arrived. He Susu and Su Yu got on the bus and found a window seat. After that, the bus picked up people along the way and drove out of the military area to the county town.
On the way, the military wives in the car were chatting about various things. He Susu and Su Yu just listened with a smile, and occasionally said a few words to Zhang Qinfang and Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang.
I don’t know if it’s because she got used to it after sitting on it once, but He Susu didn’t feel uncomfortable like last time and she didn’t get carsick anymore.
We soon arrived at the county town, the car stopped and the passengers were dropped off, while the driver told us to get back on the bus at 11 o'clock.
When the military wives got off the bus, they walked towards the grocery store in front first, while some walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative. They had to buy things early, otherwise they would be gone if they were late.
He Susu said, "Third sister-in-law, I'm going to the bank to withdraw money, and then I'll go shopping nearby for a while and come back to see you later."
Su Yu nodded: "Okay, then be careful, we'll meet at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative later."
"Okay." He Susu separated from them and walked along the main road of the county. She looked around and found that there was a department store within a hundred meters, as well as a grain and oil station and a purchasing station. The state-owned restaurant was not small or big, and it served white flour dumplings today.
She walked for a while but still didn't see the post office or bank, so she simply stopped a passerby and asked for directions to the bank.
"Go another 200 meters along this road. When you see a textile factory sign, turn in the right direction and walk for a while and you'll see it."
"Okay, thank you comrade."
He Susu followed the direction pointed by the comrade and found that there were various state-owned factories further inside the county town, and their staff quarters were also connected together.
She quickly found the bank, went in, took out the remittance notice and ID card to the staff for verification, and received a huge sum of 80 yuan in royalties.
After leaving the bank, He Susu was not in a hurry and walked casually. When she passed a small alley, she saw several people dressed tightly and walking straight in. Then she saw someone walking out quickly with a package. She guessed that there might be a black market inside where they could trade things.
She had nothing special to buy, and wasn't curious enough to explore, so she just left, pretending she hadn't found anything.
When He Susu was walking back, she passed by a department store and went in to shop.
The items sold at the counters were basically the same as those at home, but one counter salesperson explained impatiently: "The number of apples is limited, and they have long been sold out. If you want to buy some, come earlier next time."
"It's really gone. No matter how much you beg me, it's useless."
He Susu had an idea. She didn't have to worry about meat and vegetables here. As for fruit, she had only eaten cherries once. In addition to the pears she had the first time, she also brought apples and oranges home.
I hadn't wanted to eat apples before, but after hearing what the salesperson said, I suddenly wanted to eat apples. Fortunately, I had bought them in department stores before, so I didn't have to worry about being exposed.
After leaving the department store and finding a deserted place, He Susu directly opened the shopping system and exchanged two kilograms of apples. She saw that there was a special offer for dried shrimps, and only 2 points of diligence were needed to exchange for one kilogram, so she simply exchanged two kilograms.
Coming to the army and earning diligence points, but never exchanging them for anything, this makes him particularly arrogant.
Dried shrimps are shrimps that have been dried and marinated with salt. They are then slightly heated and peeled and eaten. They have the freshness of shrimps and are salty and delicious. The shrimp meat is also very firm and is great to eat with rice or porridge.
After transferring these things into a backpack, He Susu walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative.
When they got there, there were already many military wives waiting nearby after shopping. He Susu walked over and saw Su Yu: "Sister-in-law, I'm back."
Su Yu smiled and said, "I'm glad you're back. I've almost bought everything. It's just that there's no well here so it's hard to store meat. I have to eat it all in the first few days after I buy it, otherwise it will go bad, and then I won't have meat to eat in the next few days. I thought I could just pickle and air-dry half of it into bacon. I'm still short of white wine, so I need to go buy some. Can you help me keep an eye on the things?"
He Susu took the initiative to say: "Sister-in-law, you take a rest here, I'll go buy it."
The last time she went home to make bacon, she exchanged it for white wine and had eight taels left in the storage compartment.
Su Yu agreed: "Okay, take this kettle to buy white wine, and I'll give you the money and the wine ticket."
Fortunately, she brought a kettle with her when she went out, otherwise she would not be able to find a bottle to pour white wine.
He Susu shook her head: "No, I have money and tickets."
She took the kettle and turned away, not forgetting to put down the backpack first to avoid making it too heavy.
Several military wives next to Su Yu saw this and praised her, "This girl is very diligent. She said she wanted to buy something and left immediately."
"I think she's very generous. Her sister-in-law wanted to give her money and tickets but she refused them, saying that she had them herself."
"It's nice to have a sister-in-law like this. She's not like the one in my family who only eats for free and then dies after taking care of the children."
Su Yu ignored them and looked at the basket left by her aunt, which was covered with cloth. She thought there must be some things inside. She didn't look at it in front of so many people, lest someone see the good stuff.
He Susu walked a little further and into the alley. She took out eight taels of liquor from the storage compartment and poured it directly into the kettle, and put the bottle provided by the shopping system back into the storage compartment.
She left enough time to run and get some white wine before she went back with the kettle.
Su Yu bought a lot of things, including pork, fish, tofu, red dates, sugar, various vegetable seeds, and farm tools such as hoes and sickles. His backpack and package were full, and he had to carry them in his hands.
When the car arrived, He Susu carried her own bamboo basket, helped her third sister-in-law carry some things, and they got on the car together and went back to the army.
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