Chapter 42 Treat.
Electric fan!
Su Yu was surprised and then happy. It was hot in the summer, and she didn't think about saving money when the army had electricity. Not long ago, she discussed with Lianzhou that she would buy an electric fan when she saved enough industrial coupons.
With the electric fan blowing, it’s at least more comfortable during the day.
"Little sister, the electric fan you bought really touched my heart. Your brother and I were also planning to buy an electric fan." After Su Yu was happy, she felt a little confused. "It's just that buying an electric fan requires a lot of industrial coupons, and you..."
He Susu had already thought of an excuse: "I was just wandering around the county town, and I happened to find that place. There was a man selling electric fans. It wasn't a big brand, but I saw the price wasn't much more expensive than the supply and marketing cooperative, so I bought one for 120 yuan."
She had never thought that electric fans would be so expensive, but she found out today when she took a look at them in the department store. It seemed that buying one was already a luxury, and she would not have the chance to take the rest home for a while.
How could an ordinary family afford to spend more than 100 yuan to buy an electric fan? It is equivalent to three or four months' salary of a person. No matter how hot it is in the summer, you just have to endure it.
Su Yu was still able to accept the price: "Small brands are cheaper, and being able to buy a fan without using industrial coupons is already good enough."
He Susu nodded: "Yes, I saw that person only had this one unit for sale, I was lucky enough to buy it. But I asked him, if he has this fan again in the future, he will take it to that place to sell it."
She also left a way out in advance so that she could bring back the remaining electric fans if there was a chance.
Su Yu didn't think much about it: "This fan should be enough for us. Put it in the living room so that everyone can enjoy it. By the way, I'll give you the money to buy the electric fan."
She didn't have that much money on her, so she went to the room to get it.
He Susu hurriedly stopped her and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I bought this electric fan, how can I take your money? I eat and live here, sister-in-law, you didn't charge me for food, just think of this electric fan as something I bought for everyone to use."
Su Yu disagreed: "How can that be possible? It's not that easy to earn 120 yuan for this electric fan. You have to write so many articles to earn that much. It's good that sister-in-law knows that you have this intention. You should keep the money."
He Susu refused and insisted that the fan should be bought for everyone. Finally, she and Su Yu each gave in and accepted 60 yuan from the third sister-in-law as a joint purchase of the fan.
She thought that after taking the sixty yuan, she could exchange it for some fruits from time to time for everyone to eat.
With the electric fan, Su Yu placed it opposite the chairs and coffee table in the living room. When the power was turned on, the fan blades started to rotate. No matter which chair you sat on in the living room, you could feel the wind, and the whole living room became cool.
Dabao and Erbao came home after hearing the noise. They started to wow when they saw the new appliances at home. They put their faces in front of the fan and shouted, "It's so cool!"
He Susu stopped them and said, "If you two want to blow dry your hair, sit on the chairs. If you keep huddled in front of the fan, your face will hurt and you may even get sick."
Dabao and Erbao listened to their aunt and sat on the chairs to enjoy the breeze. They were originally hot from playing at the house next door, but now they were slowly cooling down.
Su Yu also sat down on a chair to rest and enjoy the fresh air: "It's so refreshing to have an electric fan at home. I was sweating all over after going to the county town. Now I feel comfortable. Susu, you should sit down and rest for a while too."
"No need, sister-in-law, you guys blow it." He Susu shook her head and smiled. She only managed to get some things out of the county this time, and except for being a little hot on the way back, she didn't sweat.
She took out the remaining things in the backpack and said, "Sister-in-law, I also bought two kilograms of apples and one kilogram of oranges. They are all very fresh. We will eat them slowly later."
Su Yu smiled and said, "Why are you buying fruit again? This is too expensive."
He Susu explained: "Eating apples and oranges can supplement some vitamins and quench thirst. I'll buy them if I see them. You can just eat them without worry."
Su Yu smiled. She had doubts before, whether bringing her aunt to the army would cause trouble for her.
Only when we really got to know each other did we find that, apart from the fact that my sister-in-law didn't like to work, she was very easy-going and generous with money. She would buy fruits for everyone from time to time, and she almost made up for the food she ate.
Today he even spent a lot of money to buy an electric fan for his home. If I hadn't insisted, I'm afraid he wouldn't even be willing to accept the sixty yuan.
Su Yu smiled and said, "Thank you so much, Su Su."
Dabao and Erbao are very perceptive and love to eat apples, so the oranges must be delicious too: "Thank you, aunt!"
"You're welcome."
He Susu took out a bag of chrysanthemums: "These are dried chrysanthemums. I saw someone selling them so I bought a pound. You can soak them in water and drink them. They can clear your liver, improve your eyesight and quench your thirst. They are as sweet as sugar water."
"I'll give half to Cheng Shi later. Chrysanthemum water can soothe your throat."
Nowadays, most people pick the chrysanthemums themselves, dry them and make tea with them, and few sell them.
Su Yu understood that the things that her aunt brought back today were probably bought in the black market. She had been to that place before, so she was not afraid as long as she was careful, so she did not worry about it.
She just joked, "I see. Just divide the chrysanthemums you bought. I'll ask your brother to make some for him to drink later. They both need to moisten their throats."
"We bought some meat and vegetables today, so we can prepare the reception now."
Satisfied to see a little bit of shyness on her aunt's face, Su Yu got up and went to the kitchen to prepare the meat and vegetables she had bought.
Half of the pork is kept for eating in the next few days, and the rest is made into air-dried bacon as usual. Although it consumes a lot of white wine and salt, at least it ensures that there will be meat to eat in the next few days and the meat will not go bad.
Half of the chicken can be used to make a main dish tomorrow and does not need to be processed.
Put the remaining eggplant, loofah and eggs aside and eat them later.
Tofu does not last long, so Su Yu planned to cut it into pieces and fry them, eat some today and save some to entertain guests tomorrow.
She immediately turned on the coal stove to fry the tofu and started making lunch at the same time.
When He Lianzhou came back, he was surprised to see an extra electric fan in the living room.
He Susu explained her original excuse again.
He Lianzhou sighed after hearing this: "That's great. Spending a little more money also saves the effort of saving up industrial vouchers, which are not easy to save up."
Su Yu happened to bring out a plate of fried tofu: "My little sister insisted on buying this electric fan for us to use. In the end, each of us paid 60 yuan."
He Lianzhou knew his younger sister's personality and knew that it was difficult to change a decision once it was made. Buying an electric fan for the family was also a token of her good intentions.
Since she and her wife had already agreed to pay half of the money, He Lianzhou just smiled and said, "Then I have to thank my little sister very much. I won't be afraid of the heat when I go home in the future."
He came back from training still covered in sweat and didn't dare stand in front of the fan for a long time. After talking for a while, he hurried to the room to get clothes and take a shower.
After coming back from taking a shower, He Lianzhou stood in front of the electric fan for a long time, and only sat down at the dining table to eat after he had cooled down.
Su Yu reminded him: "Invite Cheng Shi to dinner at home tomorrow night, don't forget."
He Lianzhou nodded: "I know. I'll meet him in the afternoon and remind him again. I'll take a rest tomorrow and he still has to continue training."
He Susu listened silently and ate a piece of fried golden and crispy tofu. The inside was still smooth and tender. It was a little salty because of the soy sauce and tasted delicious when eaten with rice.
After lunch, she took a nap. When she woke up, she had nothing to do, so she washed apples and oranges and ate them.
The apples were fresh, crispy and juicy when you took a bite. Dabao and Erbao had long been captivated by apples. This time they managed to get an apple each. They chewed them with a crunching sound, and you could imagine how crispy the apples were.
He Susu peeled an orange and ate it. The orange flesh was not as sour as she had imagined, but rather very sweet. The juice overflowed with once she bit into it, and the taste was completely different from that of an apple.
Su Yu also peeled an orange and ate it. After biting half of the orange flesh, she exclaimed, "This orange is really sweet."
She shared the rest with her eldest and second child. The two children resisted at first, but were finally attracted by their mother's assurance that they were "very sweet". They each tried one piece and fell in love with eating oranges from then on.
Dabao touched his bloated belly after eating an apple and some oranges and said, "I'm really full. I don't think I can eat dinner tonight."
Erbao also touched his round belly and said, "Yeah, I definitely can't eat dinner."
He Susu bluntly exposed them: "When you see the meat on the table tonight, you will be able to eat anything."
Dabao and Erbao laughed.
Dabao came up with a good idea: "I'll go downstairs and play. I'll get hungry while playing, and I'll be able to have dinner when I come back."
Erbao's eyes lit up and he nodded: "That makes sense, we must go down and play."
This was clearly an excuse for wanting to go down and play with the other kids. Su Yu agreed: "Okay, go down and play for a while, and come back early."
He Susu didn't want to go down with them, she just said: "Be careful when you play, watch out for cars when you cross the main road, remember the lesson from last time."
Dabao and Erbao nodded repeatedly, promised that they would remember, and went out in a hurry.
He Susu took the peels of two oranges into the kitchen, washed them with salt, then rinsed them with clean water, put them all in a plate, and took them to the balcony to dry.
Su Yu looked a little puzzled and guessed, "Are you going to dry it into tangerine peel?"
He Susu shook her head: "I don't know how to dry tangerine peels, but I thought these tangerine peels are very fragrant, and if I dry them clean, they can retain some of the fragrance and smell good too."
Anyway, it won't take much effort. Su Yu nodded: "Then let's give it a try."
After dinner in the evening, He Susu estimated the time and went to the balcony to look down, but surprisingly did not see Cheng Shi.
Ever since the last time they took a walk downstairs, they would wait downstairs at the same time for two or three days in a row. He Susu would also appear downstairs at the right time to throw away the garbage, and the two would go for a walk smoothly.
Su Yu saw her aunt standing on the balcony for a long time without taking any next move. She walked over and looked down, and sure enough, there was no one there.
"Maybe Cheng Shi is busy today. Anyway, we can have dinner together tomorrow, so it doesn't matter if we wait a little longer."
Su Yu smiled and asked, "Are you going downstairs to take out the trash tonight? If not, I'll go downstairs for a walk with your brother."
He Susu nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll let you, my sister-in-law, take the chance to go for a walk tonight."
Su Yu shook her head in amusement: "Fake."
If Cheng Shi hadn't been waiting downstairs, my aunt probably wouldn't have come downstairs to throw away the garbage.
Su Yu called He Lianzhou to go downstairs for a walk. To be honest, the couple hadn't gone downstairs for a walk together for several days.
Dabao and Erbao had played enough in the afternoon. They had no intention of going out with their parents. They sat on the chairs with their legs spread out like old men, enjoying the fan, and even said in a serious manner: "It's so comfortable to be at home!"
"If you feel comfortable, drink more chrysanthemum water. It's sweet." He Susu reminded them to drink water unceremoniously.
In the evening, she picked some fresh chrysanthemums and soaked them in water, then filled a pot with water and poured it into everyone's cups.
She took a sip of the water and found it light and sweet. The aftertaste was quite good and better than boiled water.
Dabao and Erbao obediently picked up the cups to drink water. This chrysanthemum water tastes better than boiled water, and they are obviously more accepting of it.
It’s okay for the two children to play by themselves now that they are old enough. After drinking a whole cup of chrysanthemum water, He Susu got up to take a shower.
The next afternoon, after waking up, Su Yu started busying herself in the kitchen.
He Susu followed in to help. She was not good at cooking, so at most she could help out.
Su Yu did not refuse. It was Cheng Shi's first time coming to visit, so it was good for the aunt to show her diligence.
She attached great importance to this dinner tonight. It was to thank the person who saved Erbao and it was also the first time that her aunt's boyfriend came to visit. She and her husband were the only relatives of her aunt around here, so she had to treat him well.
Su Yu thought: "For the chicken, I can make braised chicken. I still have the pickled cabbage that Chen's wife brought over last time, so I can make stir-fried pork with pickled cabbage. For the Anhui fish, I can cut it into slices and make steamed Anhui fish with preserved vegetables. Then I can make eggplant with fish flavor. I can add some chopped green onion and ginger to the tofu and stir-fry it again. Finally, I can make a loofah and pork soup. I think that will be enough for a total of six dishes."
He Susu smiled and said, "That's enough, that's definitely enough. We only have six dishes for the warm-house banquet for so many people. Tonight's meal simply can't be any more sumptuous."
"The six dishes at the warm-up banquet were large in quantity, and these six dishes tonight are small in quantity. Okay, let's get started." Su Yu said.
She sorted out the preparation order for the six dishes, and while she was busy she assigned some tasks to He Susu to help.
He Susu was naturally obedient and did whatever her third sister-in-law told her to do.
He Lianzhou originally wanted to go in and help, but the kitchen was small and three people were squeezed in and couldn't work properly, so he was kicked out.
He had no choice but to take a rag, dip it in water and wring it out to wipe the dining table and chairs, then wipe the chairs in the living room and the coffee table. He wiped every visible place. It was bright at a glance, so he washed the rag and put it away with satisfaction.
He Lianzhou went to boil a pot of water, prepared some tea leaves, placed the whole set of simple tea sets on the coffee table, and waited to greet the guests.
The kitchen was busy, the coal stove was burning brightly, the meat and vegetables were sizzling in the pot, and all kinds of rich aromas filled the air. Not only He Lianzhou and Dabao and Erbao in the living room could smell it, but everyone upstairs and downstairs could smell it as well.
The child upstairs couldn't help but pester his mother: "It smells so good, I'm hungry, Mom, I want to eat meat!"
The woman refused cruelly: "We just ate meat yesterday, where is the meat for you to eat today! If you want to eat, you can go and be a son downstairs!"
She cursed the people downstairs in her heart, why did they prepare so many delicious dishes when it wasn't a festival? The smell of chicken, pork, and fish was so mouth-watering!
The people downstairs couldn't help but curse inwardly. The He family was not a wealthy family. They always cooked meat when they came to the staff quarters. The smell was so delicious that it was really painful. How could they live like this?
The woman couldn't help but bring her child to her kitchen window to smell it. Just by inhaling the fragrance, it felt like she was eating it herself.
She simply heated up the sweet potatoes and fried some pickles, and let the children eat the sweet potatoes and pickles together, and they enjoyed the snack while smelling the fragrance wafting down from upstairs.
The children ate the sweet potato pickles obediently while looking at them with envy, and they actually thought they tasted better than usual.
In the He family's kitchen, Su Yu and He Susu had no idea that people upstairs and downstairs were suffering because of this.
They also knew that the aroma would spread out and let people living next door know that it was not good to eat so much meat and fish at home, so even if they closed the windows, they still left a gap.
There is no other way. There is a coal stove in the kitchen, so it has to be ventilated, otherwise it will be dangerous.
One pot cooks more slowly, so cook the braised chicken that takes longer first, and then cook the remaining dishes.
Once all the pickled pork and sauerkraut are cut, they can be quickly stir-fried. The same is true for the remaining shredded pork with fish sauce. For steamed Anhui fish with preserved vegetables, you only need to prepare the ingredients and steam them. Chop the scallions and ginger and heat up the fried tofu yesterday. It is another fresh dish. Sponge gourd and pork soup is even easier.
It is said that the most difficult and labor-intensive part of cooking is preparing the food, and He Susu only does the simplest work while helping out.
If I let her use a knife to slice the fish, the slices would be of different thicknesses, which would be so embarrassing when placed on the plate.
Even so, she was very satisfied. She even quietly opened the shopping system and looked at the diligence value column, and found that the diligence value had increased by 2 points.
Was this a reward for her to work in the kitchen? He Susu guessed, it was a pity that kitchen work was what she was least good at, and she would probably have very few opportunities to earn hard work points from it in the future.
Su Yu smiled and said, "You did a good job today, little aunt. You are still capable of doing kitchen work."
He Susu honestly said, "Sister-in-law, you are the one who has worked hard. I am just doing a minor job here."
Su Yu responded and smiled: "This metaphor is interesting."
Because they entered the kitchen early, they finished cooking all six dishes before the troops went to training. Fortunately, the cooked meat and vegetables were covered with plates upside down, so they would not get cold for a while.
Hearing a knock on the door, He Lianzhou walked over to open it: "You came running here right after the training? Don't worry, come in and sit down."
Just by looking at the time, he knew that Cheng Shi would rush over as soon as he was trained.
Cheng Shi did run all the way here, and he calmed his breathing downstairs before going upstairs.
He smiled and said, "It's only right that you come early. I just happen to have something to do in the group today, so you have to wait for me."
He Lianzhou smiled and said, "I understand. This is normal."
He led the people to the living room and said, "Sit here for a while, so you won't get cold from the electric fan."
Cheng Shi was not surprised to see the electric fan, so he sat down.
Dabao and Erbao shouted enthusiastically: "Hello, uncle!"
If He Susu hadn't warned them so many times beforehand, they would probably have called him "Uncle-in-law".
He Lianzhou saw what Cheng Shi brought over and said, "Just come here. There's no need to take anything."
Cheng Shi: "Courtesy cannot be abandoned. I can only bring two kilograms of tea at the moment. I hope you don't mind."
He still remembered that He Susu said last time that she often drank tea.
He Lianzhou smiled and said, "I don't mind you. Don't be so polite next time."
He Susu heard the noise and came out: "You're here."
Cheng Shi smiled and nodded: "Yes, I came over right after the training."
He Lianzhou sat aside and watched the atmosphere when his younger sister and Cheng Shi made eye contact, and he felt sticky in his heart.
Su Yu also came out to say hello, and then went back to the kitchen to serve the dishes.
He Lianzhou followed him into the kitchen to get a bowl.
He Susu invited Cheng Shi to sit at the dining table and followed him into the kitchen to help serve the dishes.
Tonight I cooked 100% polished rice. A whole bowl of round and plump white rice looks tempting.
He Lianzhou said, "Cheng Shi, don't be polite. Let's eat."
Cheng Shi smiled and agreed.
Su Yu thanked him, "I'll call you Cheng Shi too. Thank you for saving Erbao before. Otherwise, if anything happened to the child, we wouldn't know what to do."
He Lianzhou nodded: "Yes, I was originally thinking of treating you to a meal to express my gratitude for this. It just so happens that you and my younger sister are destined to be together, so this meal tonight will be a double celebration."
He originally wanted to say "double happiness", but then he felt that the word was not appropriate and it was too early, so he changed the expression when the words came to his lips.
Cheng Shi said calmly: "You don't have to be polite. I just happened to come across the matter of saving Erbao and subconsciously helped. If other soldiers passed by that day, they would also help save Erbao."
But he was also glad that he met Susu in advance because of saving Erbao that day, and fell in love with her, which was why he agreed to go on a blind date later.
It is hard to say that Susu did not admire him and agree to date him because he saved Erbao.
He Lianzhou nodded: "That's true. There are many brave men in our army, but thank you anyway."
Su Yu smiled and said, "Thank you anyway. We don't have any wine here tonight, so let's eat more together. Thank you for having a meal together."
Everyone laughed and started eating.
Cheng Shi sat next to He Susu. The two of them would occasionally chat for a few words, but they mainly ate.
In front of his girlfriend's brother and sister-in-law, Cheng Shi restrained himself from looking at Susu. While eating, he also paid attention to what Susu picked up with her chopsticks most of the time, and secretly took note of her favorite meat dishes.
He Susu also enjoyed her first meal with Cheng Shi. Occasionally, they would get close together when talking. She was so close that she could see a small mole on the back of his ear. It seemed that his earlobe was a little red because of the breath she exhaled when he spoke.
So innocent and cute.
He Susu concealed the smile on her lips and concentrated on eating.
The braised chicken is well-cooked, with firm and tender meat. The stir-fried pork with sauerkraut is as delicious as ever. The steamed Anhui fish with preserved vegetables has a unique flavor, with the fish meat being tender and sweet, and the salty fragrance of the preserved vegetables. The fish-flavored eggplant is as delicious as any meat dish. The tofu fried with chopped green onion and ginger is golden and crispy, and has a hint of green onion and ginger flavor. The soup cooked with loofah and pork slices is even sweeter.
Everyone enjoyed the meal and there was still a lot of meat and vegetables left on the table.
After dinner, He Lianzhou invited Cheng Shi to sit in the living room to drink tea and chat, while He Susu helped put the dishes and chopsticks on the kitchen stove.
Su Yu knew that the guests were still there, and it would be inappropriate for her to just wash the dishes in the kitchen, so she decided not to rush and came out to sit with them for a while.
He Lianzhou and Cheng Shi were from the same army, so they had a lot of topics to talk about. Of course, in front of their wives and partners, they could only put aside those topics and talk about daily life.
There are many daily topics to talk about and the atmosphere is quite harmonious.
Cheng Shi kept an eye on the time and said at the right time: "It's getting late. Thank you for your hospitality tonight. I'll go back first."
He Lianzhou nodded: "Okay, come to my house often when you have time."
He Susu stood up and said, "I just happened to be going downstairs to take out the trash. I'll take you down."
Cheng Shi smiled and raised his eyebrows in response.
Su Yu smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll take you down, and we won't go down."
He Susu remembered the chrysanthemums she had wanted to give him before, and while she went into the kitchen to clean up the garbage, she put the half-pack of chrysanthemums that she had specially reserved for him, wrapped in oil paper, into her clothes pocket.
"Come on, let's go down."
Cheng Shi stood at the door and turned to say goodbye: "Okay, then we'll go down first."
He Lianzhou and Su Yu smiled and agreed: "Come often when you have time."
Cheng Shi and He Susu walked down the stairs and couldn't help but frown. They didn't notice it when they saw Susu going upstairs, but now they knew how dark the corridor was.
He reminded: "Susu, walk slowly and be careful with the steps."
He Susu said indifferently: "It's okay, I walk here so often that I'm familiar with it."
She paused and continued, "But if someone holds my hand, I should be able to walk more steadily."
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