Chapter 58 Come back.
He Susu sent out the newly written manuscript. When she had some free time, she looked at the vegetables in her home garden and estimated that this was the last crop.
If you count carefully, from the time I started planting vegetables to now, I have only grown two crops in total.
It's different from my hometown. It really snows here in the twelfth lunar month. The weather is so cold that not only can't vegetables grow in the garden, but even people are too lazy to move. They wish they could stay in bed all day to keep warm.
But people cannot live without vegetables. He Susu recalled how her mother pickled cabbage and radishes in previous years. She planned to pick the cabbages from the vegetable garden and pickle them so that she could eat them in the twelfth lunar month.
After all, by then even the county grocery stores will not be able to supply fresh vegetables. Fresh vegetables can be exchanged in the shopping system but it is difficult to take them out. The only thing that can be eaten is the cabbage pickled at home.
She spent the whole morning picking all the cabbages in the field, and saved the rest to eat over the next few days. Then she started pickling the cabbages.
He Susu exchanged a porcelain jar from the shopping system. Thinking of the delicious kimchi that her neighbor's aunt sent her last year, she simply exchanged for some red peppers.
Recalling the steps her mother took to pickle Chinese cabbage, He Susu cut the picked cabbage into small halves and put them into the jar for pickling according to the steps. She then cut the red pepper into small pieces and poured them in.
In order to make the cabbage firmer, she pressed it manually and then put a basin full of water on top, using the weight of the water to press it for a few days.
After finishing her work, seeing that it was still early, He Susu exchanged a porcelain jar and about twenty pounds of white radishes from the shopping system, and then began to pickle the large white radishes.
Fortunately, Cheng Shi was not at home, so she had no restrictions on redeeming items from the shopping system, which saved her a lot of effort.
After a busy period, He Susu breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the two porcelain jars of pickled vegetables, knowing that she had finally found a place to eat in the twelfth lunar month.
As the days passed, He Susu sometimes missed Cheng Shi a lot, especially when she went to bed every day and felt the cold quilt, she missed him especially as the warm stove.
But most of the time she was still busy with her own things. She did not fail to submit articles to magazines and she also cleaned the house occasionally.
Mrs. Wu and the others knew that Cheng Shi was on a mission, so they would come to her house from time to time to chat. Even Mrs. Shao was particularly concerned about her, saying that she had heard many people often see her go to the canteen to get food, and that eating like this all the time was not a good idea. If she really didn't want to cook, she could bring some food to her house to eat.
After hearing this, He Susu hurriedly said, "When I'm tired of writing, I go directly to the canteen to get food. It's boring to cook alone. The food in the canteen is good and convenient. I also go to my sister-in-law's house to eat occasionally. How can I trouble you, Sister Shao? I appreciate your kindness. I can take care of the meal, don't worry."
Of course, she wouldn't say that she was simply lazy and didn't want to cook, and that writing an article was the perfect excuse to cover it up.
When Mrs. Shao heard this, she thought so too. Writing articles requires a lot of brainpower. It is hard for Susu to cook every time she finishes writing an article. Cheng Shi is not at home, so it is better for her to eat directly in the cafeteria.
As she said, she would occasionally go to her sister-in-law's house for dinner, unlike those gossipers who said in private that she just wasted money in the canteen.
She smiled and said, "Okay, I feel relieved to hear you say that. Cheng Shi is not at home, so if you need any help, just call me. My husband told me the other day to come and see you more often when I'm free."
He Susu smiled and responded: "Thank you, sister-in-law and political commissar, you are so kind to me and Cheng Shi."
Mrs. Shao kept saying "it's what I should do".
By the Laba Festival, Cheng Shi still hadn't returned. He Susu also celebrated the festival by herself, exchanging the same Laba porridge set from the shopping system as last year, and exchanging an extra set for Su Yu when she came to pick up the child.
"Sister-in-law, this is the ingredients for Laba porridge I gathered at home. There are exactly eight kinds of ingredients. You can take it home and cook it for Dabao and Erbao."
Su Yu took the oil paper package and opened it. There were indeed all kinds of ingredients inside. She said, "This is too much. It's enough for one meal. You can save the rest for cooking at other times."
He Susu shook her head: "No, there's only about one and a half pounds in total, and it will be gone after two or three meals. I have a similar amount at home, and I plan to eat Laba porridge all day today."
Seeing that her sister-in-law insisted, Su Yu had no choice but to accept it: "Okay, thank you very much, little sister. I haven't prepared anything for you this Laba Festival."
He Susu smiled and said, "Why should we be polite to each other? I just remembered that today is Laba Festival this morning, so I searched in the kitchen and found eight kinds of ingredients. I'll share some with you."
After seeing off Su Yu, Da Bao and Er Bao, she went into the kitchen to see that the Laba ingredients that had been washed and put into the pot had already been cooked. The millet, glutinous rice and various beans had already been cooked until they were blooming, and even the porridge had become thick and fragrant.
She covered the pot and waited for it to simmer for a while, then sprinkled some sugar in it and stirred it until it melted, then served a bowl of porridge to the dining table. Today she didn't cook anything else, just Laba porridge.
I am used to drinking white porridge, which is cooked so soft that I can swallow it in one bite without much chewing. But this time, even though the Laba porridge is cooked soft enough, it still feels grainy when I chew it.
It is quite nice to eat this kind of whole grain porridge occasionally, not to mention adding sugar. The porridge tastes slightly sweet in the mouth and is very delicious.
After finishing one bowl, He Susu couldn't help but go to the kitchen to get another bowl to eat. She cooked enough and had half a pot left to eat in the evening, saving the effort of cooking in the evening.
Originally, she thought that she had a good relationship with Mrs. Wu and the others, and Mrs. Shao also cared about her a lot, so she thought about exchanging more Laba porridge ingredients from the shopping system and giving them to them as holiday gifts.
On second thought, He Susu decided that it would be better not to be too high-profile. Food was scarce these days and everyone treasured it. It would not be nice to suddenly give such an expensive gift.
My brother and sister-in-law's family are the closest to me, and we usually give each other a lot of gifts. This Laba porridge is nothing.
After finishing all the Laba porridge in the evening, He Susu washed the dishes and put them away in the kitchen, and took out two oranges.
It was winter now and fruits were hard to come by. When she went to the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town, she didn't see much supply. It was only when Cheng Shi was not at home that she dared to exchange them from the shopping system to eat them so as not to deprive herself.
At this time, He Susu peeled the orange peel, broke up the orange flesh and put it into the cup, then pressed hard with a spoon to squeeze out the orange juice.
She has been free recently and has been more diligent in making some juice to drink. Of course, the orange pulp cannot be wasted. After squeezing out the orange juice, she picks out the remaining pulp to eat first, and keeps the orange juice for later drinking.
The orange flesh without juice tasted much worse, but He Susu barely managed to finish it. If she wasn't used to wasting food and fruits, she would have thrown the orange flesh away.
He Susu took the porcelain cup filled with orange juice and placed it on the coffee table in the living room. She took the garbage out to throw it away. Cheng Shi was not there and she had no mood to take a walk. After throwing away the garbage, she went straight home to get clothes and take a shower.
After washing and hanging the clothes, He Susu sat on a chair in the living room and drank orange juice.
The orange juice produced by the shopping system is very sweet, and the squeezed orange juice is naturally sweet and refreshing. Even if it is icy cold, it still tastes good.
He Susu secretly sighed that she didn't know how to enjoy herself before. If she could drink a glass of orange juice like this in the hot summer, it would definitely be very refreshing. Next summer, she would have to exchange more oranges and squeeze them into orange juice to drink.
Having nothing to do in the evening, she simply went back to her room, sat at the desk and started reading a book.
In fact, He Susu wanted to lie on the bed and watch it. The bed was so soft and the bed screen was comfortable to lean against. However, the mosquito net blocked the light from the electric lamp to some extent. For the sake of her eyes, she had to sit in front of the desk and watch it.
A little later, He Susu put down the book and lay down on the bed to sleep. Another day passed like this.
A few days later, the temperature dropped sharply and snow began to fall from the sky. He Susu wore a sweater inside and a military coat outside, so she didn't feel very cold since she didn't go out.
She stood at the gate of the yard looking at the drifting snowflakes. She couldn't help but reach out to catch them. They felt icy to the touch and soon turned into water.
It was her first time seeing snow, and she was very curious. She held out her hands to catch the snowflakes for a long time, until her hands were almost numb from the cold, and then she reluctantly went back to the house.
He Susu silently went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water, poured the hot water into a porcelain cup, and waited until her palms were no longer so stiff before she held up the porcelain cup to keep warm.
When the wind started to blow outside in the afternoon and the snowflakes fluttered even harder, she simply closed the doors and windows and stayed at home.
Fortunately, the military primary school was on holiday, so Su Yu didn't have to go to work, so she didn't have to send Erbao over. Otherwise, in such cold weather, it would be easy for a child to catch a cold if he ran back and forth.
In the wind and snow, Cheng Shi came back.
When she heard the knock on the door, He Susu thought she had misheard it. When she listened carefully and still heard the knock, she happily stood up, opened the door and ran to open the courtyard door. No one would come to the door in such a cold day, it could only be Cheng Shi who came back.
She opened the gate to the yard and saw Cheng Shi, dusty in his olive green military uniform, with snowflakes falling on his shoulders and even on his short hair.
"You're back." He Susu smiled immediately.
"Well, you're back safely." Cheng Shi resisted the urge to hug Susu in his arms. He was cold and was afraid of passing the chill to Susu.
He Susu reached out to help him brush off the snowflakes on his shoulders, and then stood on tiptoe to brush off the snowflakes on his head, and called out, "Come in quickly."
Cheng Shi closed the yard door and followed him into the house, instantly feeling a lot warmer.
He Susu urged him: "Go take a shower quickly, so you can warm up your body, otherwise you will easily catch a cold."
Cheng Shi agreed with a smile, put down the package on his shoulder, went to the closet in the room to get clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
He Susu was not idle either. She was afraid that Cheng Shizhen might catch a cold, so she went into the kitchen to boil ginger water.
Fortunately, she thought that Cheng Shi should be back soon after being on a mission for so long, so she bought a lot of meat and vegetables when she went to the county town with her third sister-in-law, and also exchanged some things from the shopping system.
It was cold now, and the fresh pork in the basin was like hanging in the well, so she was too lazy to make it into bacon. Bacon has a good flavor and is okay to eat occasionally, but fresh pork is the best for daily use.
When the ginger water was ready, He Susu poured it into Cheng Shichang's drinking cup and placed it on the dining table.
After taking a shower, Cheng Shi washed his clothes, and also washed the clothes he brought with him for changing, and then hung them on bamboo poles in the yard to dry.
He Susu saw him coming back and urged him, "I boiled some ginger water for you, drink it quickly to drive away the cold, or you will catch a cold."
"Okay, it's great to have you." Cheng Shi said with a smile on his face, feeling warm in his heart.
He picked up the ginger water and started drinking it. The heat and spiciness spread from his mouth all the way to his stomach, and the hidden chill was dispelled silently.
Cheng Shi finished the whole bowl of ginger water and couldn't help asking, "Susu, have you been okay at home these days while I was away on a mission?"
This was what he was most concerned about. Whenever he had some free time while on a mission, he would think of Susu at home, wondering what she was doing at the moment, and worrying about whether she would encounter something she couldn't handle when she was alone at home. Even though he had asked Political Commissar Zhang and Sister Shao to help keep an eye on her, he couldn't help but worry.
He Susu smiled and said, "It's fine. Everything is going well."
Knowing that he cared about her, she also explained in detail, "I am not bored at home with my second baby. Most of the time, I go to the canteen to get food, or go directly to my brother's house to accompany my second baby and eat there. Sister Shao and Sister Wu occasionally come to chat with me. A few days ago, on Laba Festival, I gathered eight kinds of ingredients to cook Laba porridge. It was delicious. It's a pity that you didn't get to drink it."
Cheng Shi felt relieved but also a little regretful. After being with Su Su, he wished he could spend all the meaningful holidays with her.
He comforted her, "As long as the Laba porridge tastes good, we can drink it together next year during the Laba Festival."
"Sure. It snowed today and you happened to come back, so it's a good day." He Susu said with a smile.
Cheng Shi was also thankful: "It snowed just after we returned to the army. The temperature will drop even more sharply when the snow melts in a few days. The roof of our house is quite good at preventing snow. If it snows heavily, we have to sweep the snow in the yard in time to avoid too much accumulation. I came back just in time to sweep the snow."
With him doing these things, Susu doesn't have to do them.
He Susu understood what he meant and nodded with a smile: "It's good that you're back."
She talked to Cheng Shi for a long time, and knowing that he was tired, she urged him to go back to his room and have a nap.
In the evening, she prepared the meat and vegetables for dinner in the kitchen. Cheng Shi also woke up, drank a glass of water, and went into the house to start cooking.
He Susu stood aside and pointed at the washed cabbage and said, "This is the last bit of green vegetables in the yard. It's just right for you to eat when you come back. I picked some cabbage a few days ago and made it into pickled cabbage. I also bought some white radishes to pickle. We will eat these in the winter."
It is said that people eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer. She also saved a few large white radishes and cooked them into soup. For example, tonight she cut the large white radishes into pieces and put them in the soup pot with the shanks to make soup, which was just right to drink to warm her up.
Cheng Shi nodded: "That's good. Fortunately, you took care of it. Otherwise, we would have to go buy some pickled cabbage."
Of course, pickled cabbage is sold in the county town, but the price is more expensive than ordinary vegetables.
He picked up the spatula and started to stir-fry the mushrooms and meat slices. The pickled cabbage had been cut into sections and mixed with white peppers. The aroma came out instantly when put into the pan. The spiciness was not pungent and it smelled very fragrant.
Soon the couple had a long-awaited meal together. It was a special feeling to be in the warm house despite the cold weather.
Because it was snowing outside, Cheng Shi didn't let He Susu go out, so he took the garbage out and threw it away. After that, he went home without much delay.
That night, because she had Cheng Shi's self-heating heater again, even though the wind was howling and the snow was flying outside, He Susu didn't feel cold while nestling in Cheng Shi's arms under the quilt, and had a good sleep.
The next day after a mission, Cheng Shi could always rest. He had no worries and slept in with his soft wife. When he woke up, it was already past nine o'clock.
He got up to wash up, then went into the kitchen to get some noodles to cook. He opened the cabinets in the kitchen where food was stored, and seeing that there was plenty of food, Cheng Shi felt relieved.
If the snow continues to fall and the roads are covered with snow, the family compound will always have to send a car to the county town to buy meat and vegetables, but the difficulties are foreseeable and Cheng Shi is reluctant to let Susu go there.
When He Susu got up, she didn't have to do anything after washing up. She just sat at the table and had a bowl of white radish and pork bone soup noodles.
The soup base is the white radish and pork rib soup left over from last night. The noodles are put in and boiled directly. No need to add any seasoning. The room is already filled with fragrance and the saltiness is just right.
It's so nice to have someone help make breakfast, He Susu couldn't help but sigh while eating noodles.
Cheng Shi had nothing to do during the day, so he just went out to visit Political Commissar Zhang's house to thank Mrs. Shao for her help. He had asked her for help before, so now that he was back he had to come to her house to say thank you.
Mrs. Shao waved her hand and said, "Why are you being so polite? I can't help you much. I'm glad you're back. Susu doesn't have the mood to cook at home alone. She's thinking about you. It's more fun for a couple to live together."
Cheng Shi smiled and agreed. Since Political Commissar Zhang was at work and not at home, he couldn't sit still for long, so he went home after a while.
At noon, the couple cooked a simple meal of one meat and one vegetable as usual.
After dinner, He Susu looked out the window and observed for a long time, but she didn't see any snowflakes falling. The snow that had fallen earlier covered the ground with a layer of white. Because it fell for a short time and the amount of snow was not large, it was estimated that it would not be too thick.
She said happily: "Cheng Shi, it seems that the snow has stopped!"
Although it was quite rare at first because she had never seen snow before, after the novelty wore off, He Susu still didn't like snowy days very much.
Not to mention the cold weather, the whole place was covered in white. Everyone stayed at home and no longer could be heard from the military wives talking or the children playing. The world seemed to have fallen into silence. Each house was isolated and no longer connected to each other. It was very cold and lonely.
Hearing this, Cheng Shi walked over and looked out the window: "The snow has stopped. The snow on the ground should have melted by tonight. We can go sit over there after dinner."
It is coldest when the snow melts, and that is in the afternoon. By night, even the water from the snow has evaporated.
Cheng Shi was thinking about how much his brother and sister-in-law took care of Susu when he was on a mission, so he thought about visiting them when he came back.
I thought it was going to snow today, so I had to wait until it stopped before going. But it stopped so quickly. It was a good opportunity for me to take a rest today. After finishing my meal early in the evening, I went for a walk with Susu.
He Susu naturally agreed.
She didn't go out during the two days of snowing, and her brother and sister-in-law didn't know Cheng Shi was back yet. It would be helpful to go over and tell them so they can feel at ease.
After dinner in the evening, the couple took the garbage out to throw it away, and then walked towards the second family area.
He Susu put on her big cotton-padded jacket and felt it: "It doesn't seem to be that cold."
Cheng Shi smiled and said, "It's the coldest time after the snow melted in the afternoon. There's no wind tonight, so it's not too cold."
They soon arrived at the third floor of Building No. 5. He Susu knocked on the door and someone soon came to open it.
He Lianzhou was happy to see his younger sister, and was surprised and relieved to see Cheng Shi. He smiled and said hello: "You're back. Did your mission go well this time?"
I have to say, there is one benefit after Cheng Shi went on the mission. His younger sister can come home for dinner from time to time, and he sees his younger sister more often.
But he also hoped that Cheng Shi could come back earlier so that his younger sister wouldn't be worried about him.
Dabao and Erbao heard the noise and rushed over, happily shouting "Aunt, hello uncle!"
Su Yu also came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. Seeing Cheng Shi coming back, she smiled and said, "Little sister, the uncle is here. Come in and sit down."
He Susu and Cheng Shi greeted each other with a smile, then walked into the living room and sat down.
He Lianzhou went to get some tea to entertain them.
Su Yu went back to the kitchen and quickly washed the remaining dishes, then came out to the living room and sat down to chat.
At the beginning, of course, we couldn't help but care about the process. The specific circumstances of the mission could not be discussed, and we could only ask if there were any injuries and whether everything went well.
Cheng Shi mentioned it briefly and then moved on to other things.
As He Susu and Cheng Shi got married, the four of them became familiar with each other, and their conversations were no longer dry and they could talk about anything.
Talking about going home for the Chinese New Year, He Lianzhou said: "I didn't have much rest this year, so I saved up my vacation time and thought about going back with my family to spend the Chinese New Year with my parents. What do you think?"
He still remembered that before his younger sister got married, Cheng Shi said that he would go back to visit his parents-in-law after saving up vacation time during the Chinese New Year.
He Susu looked at Cheng Shi without saying anything, waiting for him to answer.
Cheng Shi expressed his plan: "I can probably start to rest on the twenty-seventh day of the lunar year. If the time is close, Susu and I will go back with you guys, so that I can pay a formal visit to my father-in-law and mother-in-law."
He Lianzhou was satisfied and said, "Sure, I'll be on holiday on the 27th of the lunar year too. We can go back together then and you'll have company. Your parents will definitely be happy to see you go back."
He Susu couldn't help but smile: "I miss my parents, too."
Cheng Shi nodded: "It just happened that I didn't have a holiday before, otherwise I should have come to visit earlier."
Because they are Susu's parents, he naturally respects them.
He said, "I have about twelve days of vacation. After the New Year, I want to take Susu to Shanghai. My parents have always wanted to see Susu."
He had talked to Susu about this matter before it happened, and Susu also agreed.
There was no original plan for this, but my parents wrote to say that they missed each other and wanted to see each other. Due to work reasons, it was not convenient for them to come to the army. After Cheng Shi asked Susu for her opinion, he added this trip to his itinerary.
He Lianzhou nodded to show his understanding: "As you should, you should also take Susu to meet your uncle and aunt and get to know the way around Shanghai."
Here, a daughter-in-law has to follow all the etiquette when meeting her parents-in-law. He doesn't want his younger sister's marriage to be criticized in the future.
Then the four of them talked about going home for the New Year, and agreed on what to bring and who would go to the train station to buy tickets in advance.
It was a little later that He Susu and Cheng Shi went home to rest.
The next day, He Susu returned to the army for training as usual. She did her own things at her usual pace and enjoyed herself.
When she has nothing to do, she will plan what things to bring back home, and write them down one by one and pack them in advance so as not to forget them when she returns.
Sometimes I wonder if there are any local specialties here that I can bring back to my parents, and I have to prepare them in advance.
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