Chapter 34

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment before she realized who Feng Mei was talking about.

Feng Mei asked, "Are you and Deputy Commander Lu going home for the New Year? Deputy Commander Lu has his annual leave, so he should have time to go back and take a look."

Jiang Nian said, "He said he would come back on the third day of the New Year. He will hand over the work in the next few days before taking his annual leave."

When Feng Mei heard Jiang Nian say he would come back on the third day of the New Year, she chuckled a few times, which made Jiang Nian wonder in his heart. He couldn't help but turn his head and look at her for a few times: "What are you laughing at, Sister Feng?"

Feng Mei couldn't hold back the smile on her lips, and she kept shaking her head and said, "I'm not laughing."

Jiang Nian: ...

I don't believe you.

The Chinese New Year is just two days away. On her way home, Jiang Nian saw the wives of soldiers and aunts from the family compound going out together, with the children following them happily. Everyone had a smile on their face, which made her deeply feel the strong flavor of the New Year in this era.

Unlike the new century, the flavor of the New Year is getting weaker and weaker.

Jiang Nian returned home and added some dry firewood to the brazier in the room, and also added some dry firewood to the brazier in Lu Yu's room. She washed her hands with some hot water, and took out the clothes that she had not finished last time from the cupboard. One sleeve was finished.

This is the clothes she made for Lu Yu to wear during the Chinese New Year. It is a military green windbreaker that combines the style of the new century with the flavor of the 1970s. It was originally made a long time ago, but it was delayed by the embroidery for the past 20 days.

There is also a windbreaker in the cabinet, which she made for herself, but it is half-made and not yet completed.

Jiang Nian sat at the end of the bed and sewed the remaining sleeve in the light of the window. Suddenly, a figure lay on the window, blocking a large area of ​​light, which scared Jiang Nian. She looked up and saw Xu Yan outside the window. She smiled unhappily: "Come in if you want, why are you lying on the window to scare people?"

Xu Yan smiled, brought a bowl of pickled vegetables and put it on the table: "I just pickled these pickled vegetables, give you some to try."

Jiang Nian said: "Then I won't be polite."

She reduced the lines and did the stitches on the other side again. Xu Yan tilted her head to look at it, smacking her lips: "It's really beautiful. I don't see that it's sold in the supply and marketing cooperative, and I don't know if it's available in the market."

Jiang Nian said: "No."

She looked at Xu Yan with a smile, and boasted a little proudly: "The clothes I make are unique."

Xu Yan:...

It was the first time she saw Jiang Nian so shameless.

The next day at noon, Jiang Nian learned about the Gu family's affairs. Gu Xia was sentenced to three years in prison. The compensation for Jiang Nian's embroidery was also paid. Jiang Nian was compensated five yuan for the damage to the silk thread and embroidery. Jiang Nian took the money and put it in Lu Yu's money.

The team was busy these days. Lu Yu didn't come back until after nine o'clock in the evening. Jiang Nian made dumplings in the evening. Snowflakes were falling outside. She saw Lu Yu's tall figure going straight to the kitchen through the window, so she put down the windbreaker she had sewn on the bed, got up and went to the kitchen to make dumplings for Lu Yu.

The stove had been cooked before, and the steam was steaming, which was warmer than the house.

Lu Yu walked into the kitchen first, and Jiang Nian followed closely. She opened the lid of the pot: "There are dumplings in the cupboard, take them out and I'll make them for you."

"Okay."

Lu Yu took out the steamer, glanced at Jiang Nian who was standing next to the stove, walked to the chopping board, placed the steamer on the chopping board, and suddenly leaned forward with his tall body towards Jiang Nian. He grasped the spatula under her fingers, and his palm just touched her fingertips.

"Let me do it."

The man's deep and mellow voice brushed past his ears. Jiang Nian was startled and almost bumped into Lu Yu's arms when he turned his head. Looking at Lu Yu who came over at some point, Jiang Nian subconsciously let go of the spatula, took two steps back and kept a distance from him: "Okay, there are chili water and vinegar in the cupboard, it will taste better when dipped in."

Lu Yu had an almost imperceptible smile on his face: "Okay."

When Jiang Nian returned to the house, the water was boiled. Lu Yu put the dumplings into the pot and stirred them. His fingers rubbed the place where Jiang Nian had just held them. The rising heat lingered in the man's bottomless eyes.

The courtyard was lit with warm yellow light bulbs, and the lights in Jiang Nian's house were also on.

In other people's homes, they would light up as many lights as possible, not wanting to waste electricity by turning on too many lights, but Jiang Nian was used to the life of the new century, and even though she had lived here for half a year, she still didn't have a deep concept of electricity consumption.

She sorted out the ball of yarn and planned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to prepare some ingredients for New Year's Eve. Although it was only her and Lu Yu, they had to have a good and prosperous New Year.

After Lu Yu finished his meal and washed the pots and dishes, Jiang Nian went out with a military green windbreaker and called out to Lu Yu who was about to go in: "Come here and try on the clothes. I just made them for you."

Lu Yu saw the military green clothes in her arms, neatly folded, and he couldn't tell what style they were: "Yeah."

He closed the door and turned to go to Jiang Nian's room. As soon as he entered, he smelled the unique scent of soapberries on her body. He glanced at Jiang Nian's hair. She must have just washed her hair today. Her hair was long and black, hanging softly on her thin back. Some of her hair was scattered on her shoulders, making her face look even whiter.

Jiang Nian opened the clothes and handed them to Lu Yu: "Try it on. If it doesn't fit, I'll make some changes."

Lu Yu took a look and saw that it was a military green windbreaker. It was a different style from the clothes in the army, but the color was the same. He put on the clothes, adjusted his collar, and looked down at Jiang Nian standing by the bed: "I think it fits me just right."

It fits. It

fits too well!

Jiang Nian hid the surprise in his eyes. The man in front of him was tall and long-legged, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was a standard clothes hanger. Wearing the military green windbreaker, both his figure and handsome face had a cold and sharp edge, especially adding a bit of unapproachable sternness to his previous calm temperament.

Jiang Nian saw the wrinkled hem of the clothes and said, "I'll roll it with a hot water bottle tomorrow to smooth out the wrinkles."

Tsk, he is worthy of being the male protagonist. Whether it is his figure or his appearance, he is impeccable.

She lowered her head and glanced down, thinking of the summer when she saw Lu Yu's thin waist and abdomen, she couldn't help but guess, how many abdominal muscles does he have?

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian, who was only two steps away from him, and his Adam's apple moved a few times: "Okay."

.It

didn't snow much at night. The next day, the horn sounded, Jiang Nian climbed up and looked out the window. There was only a thin layer of snow on the ground.

Today is New Year's Eve. Lu Yu seems to be even busier today. She didn't see Lu Yu after she got up. She only saw the food warming in the stove in the kitchen. After breakfast, Jiang Nian put on a scarf and went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

When passing by Feng Mei's house, she heard Feng Mei scolding Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong.

Jiang Nian met Kang Xiu on the road. She just came out from another military wife's house. When she ran into Jiang Nian, she didn't give him a cold face, but she didn't smile either. She just walked away in silence. She didn't want to talk, so Jiang Nian naturally wouldn't look for her face.

When she walked outside the army, she didn't expect to meet an unexpected person.

It was the heroine Sun Ying.

Or rather, she was the heroine, wearing an off-white coat, a pair of black leather shoes with buckles, an off-white scarf, a braid in front of her, and a beauty mole under her right eye that made people want to sympathize with her.

Jiang Nian remembered that the last time she saw Sun Ying was when she was in the hospital, when she got a needle stuck off-center and was scolded by Lu Yu.

She guessed that Sun Ying's purpose of coming here was probably because of Lu Yu.

Sun Ying also saw Jiang Nian. Her eyes stayed on Jiang Nian's face for a long time. She felt that after not seeing her for a few months, she seemed to be more beautiful than before, and her skin was white, tender and moist. She remembered that after she and Lu Yu left, she was in the ward and heard the old lady and the woman say that they were a couple. She thought it was ridiculous. They were obviously uncle and sister-in-law, why did they say they were husband and wife?

But now that she looked at him this way, she felt that she and Lu Yu really didn't look like uncle and sister-in-law.

Sun Ying suppressed her doubts and confusions and took the initiative to approach Jiang Nian: "Hello, I want to see Deputy Commander Lu, but the police said that he is very busy and has no time to come out. Can you call him for me? I have something important to discuss with him."

Jiang Nian did not agree to her: "I'm sorry, I can't make the decision about him, but he is indeed very busy these two days at the end of the year. If you have something urgent, you can tell me and I will help you convey it."

Since Lu Yu would not come out to see Sun Ying, there was no need for her to go to the trouble of looking for him.

When Sun Ying looked at Jiang Nian, there was a hint of contempt in her eyes. The words that the old lady and the woman in the ward said often came to her mind. She said, "No, I'll come back another day."

She actually wanted to ask this Deputy Headmaster Lu in person whether he had the same dream as her. She had dreamed of Deputy Headmaster Lu for several nights, and she liked him very much in her dreams, so much so that every time she woke up from the dream, she felt it was real.

But in the dream, Deputy Headmaster Lu kept a distance from her, and she was the only one who was willing to do so.

"Captain Tang."

The police soldier called out, and a man's voice came from the opposite side: "Well, it's your turn to stand guard today?"

The police soldier said, "Yes."

Tang Ze saw the two women outside the unit, and his eyes were first attracted by Sun Ying. He looked at Sun Ying's gloomy expression, and the small red mole under the right corner of her eye was like a plum blossom in the heavy snow in winter, with a bit of indescribable charm.

Tang Ze frowned, thinking that she looked a little familiar, but before he could recall where he had seen her before, the woman opposite him lowered her head and walked away.

"Jiang Nian--"

Feng Mei's voice came from far behind. Jiang Nian turned around and saw Feng Mei running out of breath. "I knocked on your door just now and no one answered. I thought you should come to the supply and marketing cooperative. I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative just now, so let's go together."

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Didn't you just go to the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday?"

Feng Mei waved her hand: "Don't mention it. There are a lot of work waiting for me to do at home when the New Year comes. I forgot to buy coarse salt."

Jiang Nian understood very well. After all, in the new century, mom and dad were also busy when the New Year came.

"Huh? Captain Tang?"

Feng Mei saw Tang Ze across from her. "When did you come back?"

Tang Ze called out, "Sister Feng." Then he continued, "I came back last night."

Tang Ze glanced at Jiang Nian, who was next to Feng Mei. She was dressed similarly to Feng Mei, but her clothes were brighter in color, cleaner and prettier. She had no patches and was wearing a red scarf, revealing a pair of bright eyes. He had just heard Sister Feng call her Jiang Nian.

Tang Ze remembered that when he came back before, Sister Feng mentioned to him that she wanted to match him with the sister-in-law of Deputy Regiment Commander Lu.

Feng Mei said, "No more talk, no more talk. We have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. If we are late, we won't be able to buy coarse salt."

She dragged Jiang Nian away.

She was afraid that Tang Ze would look at Jiang Nian for a few more times. Feng Mei still remembered that Chen Fang wanted to match Tang Ze and Jiang Nian. Some time ago, Old Song sent a telegram to Song Bai, asking him if he was dating someone. Song Bai replied that he was not dating and would come here to celebrate the New Year at the end of the year.

Feng Mei kept it in mind. She had given up the idea of ​​matching Song Bai and Jiang Nian, but now she was thinking about it again.

Feng Mei kept smiling all the way, and Jiang Nian didn't know what she was happy about.

Maybe it was because of the New Year tomorrow?

Feng Mei bought coarse salt, Jiang Nian bought a fish, a chicken, two pounds of meat, some candies, peach cakes, melon seeds, two pounds of white wine, and several kinds of seasonings for cooking. She also bought some walnuts and red beans, preparing to make some cakes. Feng Mei frowned distressedly when she saw Jiang Nian handing out some money and bills. There are

only two people in the family, her and Deputy Colonel Lu. This is too wasteful.

Even if you have a lot of money, you shouldn't spend it like this.

Feng Mei was a little worried at this moment. She didn't know if Song Bai could afford to support her if she married Jiang Nian, given her the way she spent money.

But she changed her mind and gave up the idea. Jiang Nian was now earning money for the state-owned embroidery shop Xiu Tu. She and Song Bai both earned wages, so they must be living better than them.

Jiang Nian didn't know what Feng Mei was thinking. She was a little tired from carrying so many things, so she said, "Sister Feng, please give me some advice."

Feng Mei took the chicken, fish and peach cakes from her hand and said, "How long will it take you to eat them?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "It's cold now, the meat can be kept."

This time she went out to buy New Year's goods, she spent the money she earned from embroidery last time, but seven yuan was obviously not enough, so she spent twelve yuan on the New Year's goods this time. Money was very valuable in this era. If the family was frugal, three yuan could celebrate the New Year.

When she was a few years old, her mother said that the family could celebrate the New Year with one hundred yuan. This was also what her mother told her when she grew up.

Back at home, Feng Mei helped her put the things in the stove and left.

Today is New Year's Eve, and we still have to put up couplets. Jiang Nian put the couplets and door gods she bought on the table in the yard, and waited for Lu Yu to come back before making paste to put up the couplets. She added water to the pot, lit a fire to heat the water, and began to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

Chopping meat is a physical job, unlike the meat grinder in the new century. Jiang Nian felt her wrists sore after chopping for a while, and her palms were also hurt by the knife handle. It took a while to stuff the meat, and her back was sweating from exhaustion. The next step was to make bread dumplings, and then continue to cook chicken and fish.

In winter, there are few seasonal vegetables. Jiang Nian went to the vegetable cellar to get some carrots and cabbage, planning to make cabbage and pork dumplings. It was lunchtime after all the hard work. Jiang Nian felt that she hadn't done anything yet.

She just chopped the meat filling and kneaded the noodles, and didn't do anything else.

Lu Yu didn't come back at noon, but he asked Zhu Jun to come back and bring her a message, saying that he was still busy and would come back at five o'clock. Jiang Nian said, "I know."

Zhu Jun looked at the row of dumplings that Jiang Nian had made, and his saliva was drooling. Since the last incident, he had never eaten the meal cooked by his sister-in-law again. Sometimes when he ate in the cafeteria, he would think of the meal cooked by his sister-in-law. It was really delicious.

Seeing him staring at the dumplings, Jiang Nian asked with a smile, "Aren't you going home this year?"

Zhu Jun said with a smile, "No, I'm saving money for the trip and waiting to save money to get married in the future."

She looked at Zhu Jun and saw that he was not very old, so she asked, "How old are you?"

Zhu Jun said, "21."

Not young in this era.

Jiang Nian said, "If you are free tonight, come back with Lu Yu and have some dumplings."

It's pitiful to be alone outside during the New Year.

Zhu Jun chuckled: "Since my sister-in-law said so, I will definitely come."

Zhu Jun helped Jiang Nian carry three buckets of water and left. Lu Yu came back at 5:30. Jiang Nian had already made dumplings, prepared chicken and fish, and had two side dishes. She was just waiting for Lu Yu to come back and cook.

It was dark.

As soon as Lu Yu came back, he started to post the couplets. He was tall and could post them without standing on a stool. Jiang Nian ran out of the yard with the bowl of paste, shaking her shoulders from the cold. Lu Yu looked at the mist on her eyelashes and smiled: "Put the bowl down and go back to the house. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay."

Jiang Nian didn't hesitate at all, put down the bowl and ran away.

Lu Yu looked at her running back, a smile welled up in his eyes. He quickly pasted the couplets and door gods, took the bowl and went into the kitchen. The fragrant smell rushed into his nose. Lu Yu glanced at the meat on the chopping board and smiled, "So much?"

Jiang Nian just poured some oil into the pot, turned around and saw the smile on Lu Yu's face, stunned for a moment and then lowered his head and said, "After all, it's New Year's Day today, we have to cook better."

He poured the fish into the pot and fried it. When he didn't see Zhu Jun coming over, he looked at the man sitting Lu Yu, who was burning a fire in front of the stove, asked, "Didn't Zhu Jun come?"

Lu Yu added two sticks of firewood, raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Nian. Seeing the doubt between her eyebrows, he said, "He went to the supply and marketing cooperative and will come over later."

Jiang Nian: "Oh."

She cooked the fish first, and then started to cook the chicken. When she was stir-frying, she saw Lu Yu sitting in front of the stove with his eyebrows lowered. The orange firelight cast a flickering light on the man's face. He closed his eyelids and didn't know what he was thinking.

"The fire is a little big, the pot will burn."

Jiang Nian said.

Lu Yu came back to his senses: "Okay."

He used a small shovel to scoop some ash on the fire, controlled the size of the fire, and after the chicken was out of the pot, he fried two vegetarian dishes, a plate of hot and sour potato shreds, and a plate of fried eggs with tomatoes. There were no seasonal vegetables, and these were all that was in the vegetable cellar.

After the dishes were out of the pot, Lu Yu took the initiative to wash the pot, add water to put the dumplings in, and Jiang Nian was about to turn around and go to the yard to get the dumplings, and Lu Yu said, "It's cold outside, I'll get it." Jiang Nian

did not refuse, she sat down in front of the stove and said with a smile, "Okay."

She stretched out her hand to warm the fire in front of the stove, and heard Zhu Jun's panting voice coming from the yard: "Hello, Deputy Head!"

Zhu Jun followed Lu Yu in, holding a small bag of milk candy and peach cakes in his hands, and put them on the cabinet. Jiang Nian was stunned: "Why did you bring things?"

Zhu Jun smiled and said, "How can you come to other people's homes empty-handed during the New Year's Day?"

Lu Yu glanced at the milk candy and peach cakes on the cabinet, put the dumplings into the pot one by one, and saw Jiang Nian and Zhu Jun chatting, and said to Zhu Jun: "Go to the yard and fetch two buckets of water."