Chapter 19

However, before Jiang Nian had time to look, Lu Yu quickly turned around and turned his back to her.

Jiang Nian also reacted, and before closing the window, she quickly said, "I didn't mean it."

A "bang" sound came from the quiet courtyard.

Lu Yu exhaled, tightened his fingers holding the towel, turned around and looked at the closed window, and wiped his face with his wet palm. He

sighed.

He really didn't expect his sister-in-law to open the window. He was thinking that while she was taking a bath, he would wash his hair first.

Lu Yu threw the towel into the basin, filled another basin with water and returned to his room.

Jiang Nian sat on the bed, patted his face, and thought of the scene just now, and felt that he was really crazy.

Shamelessly wanting to feast his eyes.

She patted her face again and started to take a bath. After taking a bath, her whole body felt much fresher. She changed into a small vest, opened the window and lay on the bed without calling Lu Yu to come in to pour the bath water.

It was estimated that not only she was embarrassed, but Lu Yu was also embarrassed.

After what happened just now, Jiang Nian put the doubts and unhappiness of today behind her. She fell asleep after lying on the bed for a while. On the first day, she was awakened by the sound of the horn early in the morning. There were footsteps walking back and forth outside. Jiang Nian got up, put on her clothes, opened the door and saw Lu Yu put breakfast on the table in the yard.

Lu Yu didn't think about the embarrassment of last night, and said to Jiang Nian: "Breakfast is ready."

Since he didn't mention it, Jiang Nian didn't mention it either.

She nodded gently: "Yeah."

Jiang Nian went to the well to wash her face, while Lu Yu went to Jiang Nian's room, took out her bath water from last night and poured it out, put the bathtub in the second room in the east and left.

Lu Yu fried a dish and cooked porridge for breakfast.

Jiang Nian ate a small bowl of porridge and a steamed bun, put the dishes and chopsticks in the stove to wash them, went to the room to peel a chocolate and put it in her mouth, and finally sat leisurely on a small bench in the yard, fanning herself leisurely with a round fan in her hand. More

than

ten days passed, and the wound on Jiang Nian's head was completely healed.

Lu Yu would take time out at noon every day to plant vegetables in his private plot, and he finished planting in a few days.

Jiang Nian borrowed a hoe from Feng Mei and turned the soil in the western corner of the yard. She had never done this kind of work since she was a child. After working for a while, her palms felt a little painful. She stretched out her hands and saw that they were already red.

"Why are you hoeing the soil?"

Lu Yu came in from outside and scared Jiang Nian.

She shook her hands and whispered, "I want to grow some vegetables in the yard."

After she finished speaking, she noticed that Lu Yu was holding a watermelon in his hand. Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment and swallowed subconsciously. Since she came here, she has never eaten watermelon again.

To be honest, I am almost dying of hunger.

Seeing that Jiang Nian's eyes stayed on the watermelon for a long time, Lu Yu lowered his eyes and smiled, then said to Jiang Nian, "I'll cut the watermelon, sister-in-law, come and eat it."

"Okay."

Jiang Nian agreed without hesitation, put the hoe against the wall, ran over to wash her hands, and sat at the table waiting for Lu Yu to cut the watermelon before she picked it up to eat. The watermelon was juicy and sweet, and it satisfied her taste buds with one bite. It was just not an iced watermelon, so it lacked the icy taste.

Lu Yu ate two melons and went to the west wall to turn the soil with a hoe. He remembered that day when he came back and saw his sister-in-law standing here, so he asked casually: "Sister-in-law, have you decided to grow this kind of vegetables?"

Jiang Nian took another melon and ate it. He nodded: "Yes."

She ate four melons in one breath and didn't stop until her stomach was full.

Lu Yu turned the soil very quickly. In a short while, he turned over more than half of one mu of land. The yard was only three mu of land. Jiang Nian planned to occupy one mu of land to grow vegetables, and the remaining space was large enough.

Jiang Nian cleaned up the melon peels and wiped the table with the rag. Thinking that Lu Yu came back early today, she asked in confusion, "Why did you come back so early today?"

Lu Yu paused for a moment, then continued to turn the soil and said, "Sister-in-law, I will be out in three days and will be back in about two months."

Jiang Nian was stunned and her delicate eyebrows wrinkled slightly.

She remembered that the book said that the male protagonist had never been out before he was promoted to the head of the group. She could remember it so clearly because the author described the male protagonist's deeds very clearly, but the female protagonist's deeds were only described in a few words.

She couldn't have remembered the plot wrong.

However, Jiang Nian was overwhelmed when she thought about the plot starting from the moment the male protagonist went back early to save the original owner. She didn't think any more about it and said to Lu Yu, "Okay."

After turning the soil, Lu Yu ate a three-toothed melon. While washing his face at the well, he said to Jiang Nian, "Before I leave, I want to invite a few comrades to my house for dinner."

He raised his head, and the water flowed into his neck along his angular face. He looked at Jiang Nian, and there was a tentative inquiry in his dark eyes, "There will be a lot of people that day, does sister-in-law mind?"

He was still a little worried that his sister-in-law was shy and would be timid when facing a lot of people.

Jiang Nian raised her head and looked at Lu Yu. After a few days, she smiled at him again: "Don't mind."

She looked very beautiful when she smiled, with fair skin, curved eyebrows, and two braids.

It was a subtle smile, and her eyes were bright, as if the sun's rays were all gathered in those brilliant eyes.

This was also the first time Lu Yu had seen such a smile on Jiang Nian's face. It was different from the smile she had on the day of the accident, but it was more beautiful than that day.

Lu Yu came back to his senses, quickly lowered his head and splashed a handful of water on his face.

Lu

Yu was leaving in three days, so this meal was prepared the day before he left to inform several comrades.

Of course, Captain Song's family and Captain Liu's family had to be notified. As for Captain Lu's family

, Lu Yu also notified them. They were all in the same unit, and some things couldn't be done too ugly. There were also He Yong and Kang Xiu's family. He Yong was also a soldier under him and had served under him for three years.

Lu Yu had to go to the team early in the morning. Jiang Nian was going to the food station and the vegetable station. She took some money and bills from the iron box, counted them, took out ten yuan and put them in her pocket, and put the rest back into the iron box to hide.

Xu Yan was lying on the wall, and when she saw Jiang Nian walking out, she asked curiously, "Where are you going?"

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, looked around, and finally saw Xu Yan's head sticking out of the wall.

Jiang Nian: ...

This reminded her of the day when she first joined the army, when she was caught by Lu Yu while leaning on the wall.

She smiled and said, "Go to the food station to buy something."

Xu Yan remembered that Liu Qiang told her when he left in the morning, asking her to go to Deputy Tuan Tuan's home to help at noon, and said that they would have lunch at Deputy Tuan Tuan's home at noon today. She was wondering about it, and planned to lean on the wall to ask Jiang Nian. When she heard her say that she was going to the food station, she said, "Wait a minute, I'll go with you." She

jumped off the wooden block, and when Jiang Nian walked out of the courtyard gate, Xu Yan just came out.

Jiang Nian said, "Huh?" "If you go with me, what will happen to your two children?"

Xu Yan smiled and said, "The eldest has grown up and can stay at home to look after the younger one, and they won't run around."

After spending more than ten days together, Xu Yan can talk to Jiang Nian about anything.

Especially the ideas Jiang Nian gave her, which made her feel less uncomfortable these days.

The two walked on the way to the food station. Xu Yan was much better than before. She was wearing a bright yellow flowered short-sleeved shirt with a white background, brown pants, small cloth shoes, and two small braids, just like the day she married Liu Qiang.

Xu Yan was originally fairer than Zheng Hong, and now, under the sun, her face was rosy and

she had a little smile on her face. The military wives passing by on the road couldn't help but be stunned when they saw Xu Yan, and only after they walked away did they whisper to each other: "Isn't that Xu Yan just now?"

Another military wife said: "It seems so, why does it feel a little different?"

That military wife also said: "It's different now, look at her before, she was always sulking, as if someone owed her money, and quarreled with Captain Liu every other day, her voice was louder than a man's."

As she said that, she suddenly remembered and asked the military wife next to her: "I don't think I've heard any quarrels in Captain Liu's family for more than half a month?"

The other military wife thought about it and nodded: "It seems to be true." Jiang Nian saw that Xu Yan smiled more often than before

.

She still remembered that day when she and Feng Mei met Xu Yan on the road. She had a gloomy face and looked cold and numb.

She asked, "How have you been these days?"

When she mentioned this, Xu Yan's face lightened up a little, and she said, "I listened to you that day, and I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a bottle of vanishing cream after I went back. I dressed myself up beautifully every day, whether I was cooking or working, I kept myself beautiful, and treated Liu Qiang as a dispensable person. I endured not quarreling with him, and I ignored him when he talked."

At this point, she paused and snorted and laughed, "You know, he sleeps with my son most of the time, but in the past few days, he has been lying next to me every day and wants to talk to me, but I ignore him."

Jiang Nian felt that Xu Yan was also deeply hurt, so she made up her mind.

If she didn't make up her mind, then no matter how much she said, it would be like playing the lute to a cow for Xu Yan.

She was afraid that Xu Yan would be coaxed into submission by Liu Qiang's words, so she said a few more words: "Don't be soft-hearted. Once you are soft-hearted, he will get more and more aggressive."

Xu Yan nodded heavily: "Okay."

When they arrived at the food station, Jiang Nian bought a fish, three pounds of lean meat and two pounds of fat meat. In this era, lean meat is cheaper than fat meat. They happened to catch up with the pig that the boss had just slaughtered. Looking at the fresh pig blood, Jiang Nian couldn't help asking the boss: "Do you want to sell this pig blood?" If

the pig blood is processed well, it can be cooked in several ways, and it also has the effect of clearing the lungs. Grandpa's favorite food is pig blood, and he often asks Dad to cook it for him.

The boss was surprised that someone would buy such a bloody thing. It would not taste good if cooked. Seeing that Jiang Nian really wanted to buy it, the boss said, "Sell it, how much do you want?"

Jiang Nian: "I want two pounds."

Xu Yan pulled her arm and whispered, "It's bloody, why do you buy it?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Of course I'm going to eat it. You can try it and you'll know if it tastes good."

After leaving the food station, Jiang Nian and Xu Yan went to the vegetable station to buy some vegetables and seasonings. Finally, when they passed the supply and marketing cooperative, Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment and got half a pound of white wine from the cooperative to prepare for cooking.

This was the first time that Lu Yu invited his comrades to his home for dinner. As Lu Yu's sister-in-law and his family member, she naturally had to make this lunch richer and better, at least not to lose face for Lu Yu.

The two of them were carrying a lot of things in their hands. After returning home, they put the things they bought in the kitchen. They were so tired that they sat on the small bench under the yard. Xu Yan used her hand as a fan to fan her face: "It's really hot today."

"I'll go home and tell the two children, and I'll come over to help you cook."

Xu Yan said, then stood up and walked out.

Jiang Nian nodded: "Okay."

After Xu Yan left, Jiang Nian also returned to the house and put the remaining money and bills back into the iron box. This time, she spent eleven yuan on buying things. She took thirty yuan from the iron box during the days she was in the hospital, and now there are eighty-nine yuan left.

This is all the belongings of her and Lu Yu.

If the money that Lu Yu sent home had not been robbed by the Jiang family, he would have saved a thousand yuan in four years. Lu Yu didn't mention this, but it didn't mean that she forgot it. Before, she only thought about going back and didn't want to care about the things here, but now it's different.

She will find a chance to take back all the things that the Jiang family has robbed from the original owner over the years. There are many people coming to our house at noon

today

, and we have to cook a lot of food, so we have to prepare in advance.

Xu Yan came over and worked with Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian chopped the meat first and marinated it in advance, and then dealt with the blood clots. Xu Yan killed the fish in the yard and scraped the fish scales. After finishing these, Feng Mei's voice came from outside.

"Oh, if I had known that I would go back to my mother's house in a few days, I could have come earlier to help you."

As soon as she entered the door, she rolled up her sleeves to help Jiang Nian cook, and said, "I brought you some pickled vegetables from my mother's house. My mother's pickled vegetables are delicious."

She just got home and heard her eldest son Song Xiangdong say that Uncle Lu came to the house this morning and asked them to come over for lunch at noon. Only then did she put down her things and rushed over to help without stopping.

Jiang Nian cut the tofu and put it into a bowl: "Thank you, Auntie Feng."

Xu Yan sat in front of the stove, burning fire and peeling garlic. Hearing this, she looked at Feng Mei and said jokingly, "Sister-in-law Feng is partial. She only gave Jiang Nian some pickled vegetables, why didn't she give me some too?"

Feng Mei smiled and scolded her, then said, "Yes, yes, I'll give you a chopstick later."

When the dishes were almost ready, Lu Yu also came back.

He came back early today, originally thinking of helping his sister-in-law and waiting for lunch to be ready, but who knew that as soon as he walked into the house, he saw three women talking in the kitchen. Jiang Nian's voice came from the kitchen, the voice was crisp and sweet, and there was a comfortable smile in her tone that he had never heard before.

Lu Yu walked to the well and stopped, watching through the window as Jiang Nian turned around and talked to Sister Feng. It was very hot in the stove, and her cheeks were a little sweaty. Her bangs were scattered on her temples, and her cheeks were white and rosy. When she smiled, her eyebrows and eyes were curved. I don’t know what Sister Feng said, but Jiang Nian’s smile changed from slightly pursed lips to a smile showing white teeth.

This was the first time he saw his sister-in-law in a relaxed state. She

looked so beautiful when she smiled.

"Deputy Regiment Lu is back!"

Xu Yan was sitting by the stove, burning a fire, and when she turned around, she saw Lu Yu standing by the well.

Jiang Nian heard this, pursed her lips and smiled, turned back to look at Lu Yu who was washing his hands with well water outside the window. After Lu Yu washed his hands, he went into the stove to help. Feng Mei waved at him: "We three women are here, there is no need for you, a man, to come and help."

Besides, with the big bosses around, they three women would not feel comfortable talking. Feng Mei wanted to hear Xu Yan continue to talk about her and Liu Qiang's past ten days. In her heart, she also admired Jiang Nian for thinking of this method to let Xu Yan treat Liu Qiang.

She also thought of her own man and decided to try this method another day.

There was no need for Lu Yu in the kitchen, so he went to Captain Song and Captain Liu's house to borrow a bench and a table. He felt that it was not enough, so he went to a neighbor's house to borrow a table

and two long wooden benches. The dishes were all prepared. Jiang Nian started to heat the oil in the pot and poured the fat into the pot to fry the oil. Feng Mei smelled the aroma and drooled. She looked at the full of side dishes on the stove and the chopping board and exclaimed: "Jiang Nian, how can you cook so well? Just look at the colors you match, not to mention the taste."

Xu Yan also lifted her butt to smell the meat aroma in the pot and nodded in agreement: "Yes, it smells so good."

Jiang Nian smiled and said a few words to fool her.

It was time for lunch and the dishes were all ready to go, but there were not enough plates at home, so Feng Mei and Xu Yan went home and brought all the plates, bowls and pots from home.

Jiang Nian made some meat dishes and some vegetarian dishes, including braised fish, stir-fried pork intestines with chili peppers, and stir-fried pork. She originally wanted to make spicy chicken, but considering that the children couldn't eat spicy food, she changed to a large plate of chicken and a pot of Maoxuewang. The aroma of chili peppers and the rich aroma of vegetables made people drool.

"Oh my god, I have never seen such a rich meal in my life!"

Feng Mei looked at the pig blood soup, and then watched Jiang Nian make such a delicious dish with the bloody pig blood in a few seconds. Xu Yan was also surprised. They had never eaten pig blood. When they were in the countryside, the brigade slaughtered pigs every year. They used to get a little meat according to the number of people and work points. They had never seen pig blood.

There were three tables in the yard. Because there were many people, there was one table for men, one table for women, and one table for children.

Jiang Nian divided the dishes into three portions, and Feng Mei and Xu Yan took them out one by one. Feng Mei's two children and Xu Yan's children all came, and they jumped and played in the yard at the smell, and they wanted to crawl on the benches and not get down.

"What did Deputy Regiment Commander Lu's sister-in-law cook? I can smell it from far away."

"Yeah, it makes me horny."

Regiment Commander Song and Battalion Commander Liu walked in, followed by Zhu Jun, Battalion Commander Lu and Captain He and his wife He Yong. Captain He has a son and a daughter. The daughter is He Hua, who is seven years old this year, and the son is He Shu, who just turned six this year. As soon as Kang Xiu came in, he went to find Feng Mei and asked He Hua to play with He Shu. He

Shu let go of He Hua's hand and wanted to go play with Song Xiangdong and the others.

There were boys all around, and He Hua was the only daughter. She stood alone under the roots of a tree and watched a group of boys playing. Jiang Nian saw her, and He Hua also saw Jiang Nian. She hesitated for a moment and smiled at Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian also smiled and looked at Kang Xiu who had been looking for topics to talk to Feng Mei.

She recognized Kang Xiu. When she first came to the army with Lu Yu, it was Kang Xiu who made fun of her and Lu Yu. Now she left her daughter alone there. She really didn't like Kang Xiu very much. Lu Yu asked Captain Song and the

others to sit down. Captain Song looked at the rich food on the table and widened his eyes in surprise: "Oh my god, it's so rich?!"

He felt distressed when he saw the table full of fish and meat.

Not to mention Captain Song, who among the people present didn't feel distressed? This meal cost a lot of money. Deputy Captain Lu's sister-in-law was really generous to them.

Jiang Nian took a quick look and found that Captain Liu and Captain Lu had deliberately sat apart, with Captain He and Zhu Jun in between, and two other company commanders sitting beside them.

All those who were supposed to come for dinner had come, except Zheng Hong.

Jiang Nian went to the kitchen to get spare chopsticks, and when she turned around, she saw Lu Yu walking in from outside the kitchen with his head lowered. She asked, "Why don't you go to eat?"

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian's cheeks, which were slightly red from the heat, and took the chopsticks from her hand: "Sister-in-law has been busy all morning, you go eat first, I'll give the chopsticks to everyone."

The kitchen was originally small, and Lu Yu was tall and had long legs, so he Standing in front of Jiang Nian like this, she instantly felt the kitchen became cramped. She coughed lightly, lowered her head, and said in a low voice: "Okay."

Seeing that she had returned to her old self, and was completely different from when she was talking to Sister Feng and the others in the kitchen just now, Lu Yu tightened his grip on the chopsticks a little: "Sister-in-law, how are you in front of Sister Feng and the others, and how are you in front of me? It's just like that, don't be so reserved, we are a family."

Jiang Nian raised her head in shock. Lu Yu was only two steps away from her. He was tall, so she had to look up to look him in the eye. Looking at the man's dark eyes and slightly wrinkled brows, she came to her senses, nodded lightly, then smiled and said, "I know."

Lu Yu was lost in her smile . After a while, Feng Mei's voice came from outside the kitchen: "Deputy Captain Lu, why don't you go out to eat?"

She glanced at the kitchen, but didn't see Jiang Nian. Just as she was about to ask where Jiang Nian had gone, she saw Deputy Captain Lu turned around, and Jiang Nian also stuck his head out and said, "Sister-in-law Feng, let me get the chopsticks."

Feng Mei: ...

Deputy Captain Lu is tall, and his sister-in-law is petite, and she was blocked by him, so she really didn't see her.

There were three tables in the yard. The men at the table were eating and talking about the army, the children at the table were clamoring for food, but at the women's table, except for Feng Mei and Xu Yan talking, Kang Xiu found something to talk to Feng Mei, the others were eating quietly.

Kang Xiu glanced at Jiang Nian secretly and found that Jiang Nian was more beautiful than when she first met her. When she first met her, she was as thin as a stick, lowered her head and kept silent. Now she smiles from time to time, with white skin, which makes her jealous.

She is already a widow, who is she showing off her beauty to?

During the meal, Feng Mei talked about the visit to Captain Song's home, and suddenly remembered Song Bai, the youngest son of Old Uncle Song. Song Bai was not young anymore, the same age as Deputy Captain Lu, and he was still unmarried.

She looked at Jiang Nian and thought it would be a good idea to marry Jiang Nian to Song Bai. Jiang Nian was good-looking, kind-hearted, virtuous, and had no children, so maybe this could work out.

So, she called over across the table: "Old Song, how is Song Bai now?"

Captain Song was talking to Lu Yu about his departure tomorrow. When he heard Feng Mei's voice, he replied impatiently: "Still the same!"

Feng Mei said again: "I'll find a matchmaker for our Song Bai, do you think it's okay?"

When Captain Song looked over, Feng Mei patted Jiang Nian on the shoulder and said with a smile: "What do you think of Vice Captain Lu's sister-in-law?"

In an instant.

The table fell into a strange silence.