"I've prepared firewood and coal briquettes. There's no bathtub in the bathroom. I left in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare. You'll just have to make do."
"It's okay. Don't worry, I can overcome this difficulty. I wasn't raised in a pampered manner."
Zhang Hongmei went into her room and was quite satisfied. The bedding was all new, and all the furniture was there.
I reported to the Capital University on the 25th day of the first lunar month. Not counting today, there are still six days left, enough time to buy my own furniture.
All the luggage will be delivered tonight, so I can only keep wearing my coat. There's some in my underwear compartment.
I looked at the other three rooms. Only one had a bed. The other two were empty, without even a wardrobe.
I'll go see Zhang Xingguo first tomorrow, and then I'll prepare the furniture when I get back. I have to make sure all the furniture is replaced.
Entering the kitchen, it was empty, but thankfully there were pots and pans. I opened the cupboard and looked inside. There were four plates, four bowls, a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, a spatula, a strainer, four large aluminum basins, and two enamel basins.
There was also a stove. It was probably used to burn honeycomb briquettes or coal balls.
"Well, we can buy the furniture and stuff tomorrow. The water's boiled, so just wash up quickly. I'm going to buy some food; you can come out and lock the door first."
"Okay, go ahead. Is the place where you buy food far?"
"I'll be back in twenty minutes, I'm off."
After Liu Jingze left, Zhang Hongmei prepared a basin of hot water, carried it into the bathroom, locked the door, drew the curtain, and then entered the space.
I took a nice, relaxing bath, changed all my underwear, washed it, and hung it out to dry.
After leaving the space, I washed my coat with hot water and was left wearing only my cotton-padded jacket. Looking at my cotton-padded shoes, I felt a little disgusted; I'll clean them tomorrow.
They refilled the water tank in the kitchen, because Liu Jingze would need to use water soon too.
I took the remaining seven flatbreads out of my bag and put them in the cupboard. I also put two large bags of fish pieces wrapped in plastic wrap upside down in a basin. There was another lunchbox full of fish pieces in the lunchbox, which I also emptied out.
I'll go check out the building when I have time. Buying two thermos flasks is too inconvenient.
I wonder what Liu Jingze went to buy? Are restaurants still selling food at this hour?
Seeing that it was almost time to get back to work, and the water in the pot had boiled, I had no choice but to add a ladle of cold water.
Hearing the knock, Zhang Hongmei opened the door and saw Liu Jingze standing outside.
"I didn't have anything; I only bought a cabbage and a scallion."
"It's alright, as long as we have cabbage, we can make a stew with flatbread."
"Then I'll go wash up. Are you alright by yourself?"
"It's okay, you can go take a shower."
Zhang Hongmei was cooking scallions in the kitchen, and then she chopped up half a cabbage and stir-fried it until it was soft. Since she didn't have any soy sauce, she could only boil it in plain water.
The new kitchen knife is so useful; it cuts the pancakes into very fine strips.
Once the water boils, add the shredded pancakes, a little salt, and then serve; otherwise, the dough will become too sticky.
Both of them sighed happily; a hot meal is always the most comforting.
After dinner, Liu Jingze took the initiative to clean up the kitchen. The two chatted for a while, and when they saw Zhang Hongmei yawn, they went back to their rooms to sleep.
Zhang Hongmei felt like she had just fallen asleep when she heard a knock on the door.
I woke up groggily, still wondering who it was.
When I went outside and saw Liu Jingze and another young man, I realized that they had already arrived with their luggage.
I rushed over to help, but they both refused.
Zhang Hongmei thought for a moment and said, "Comrade Huang, are you heading back now?"
"Hmm, you're going to eat and then heading back? What's wrong?"
"Then I'll go cook and we'll eat at home." Zhang Hongmei said and went into the kitchen to start steaming the rice.
Ignoring Huang Zhong's protests behind him, he went into the kitchen to start a fire and steam rice.
The two people outside finished moving things in no time, and Liu Jingze persuaded Huang Zhong, who was about to leave, to stay.
Zhang Hongmei carried a basin of hot water. "Comrade Huang, this is hot water. Wash your face and relax. Brother Jingze, could you light the stove for me? I'm going to stew some fish."
Liu Jingze took out a new towel and handed it to Huang Zhong. "There's soap in the bathroom. Go wash up, and we'll be able to eat in a little while."
Huang Zhong was an honest man by nature. Since he had agreed to have dinner, he stopped being coy, draped a towel over his shoulder, and carried the hot water into the bathroom that Liu Jingze had pointed out.
"Comrade Huang, there's still hot water. I'll have Brother Jingze bring it in for you in a bit."
"Hey girl, no need, I can carry it myself."
Liu Jingze moved the stove to the yard, lit it with soft firewood, added short pieces of chopped wood, and then added coal briquettes. He left it in the yard for a while until it stopped smoking before moving it back into the kitchen.
Zhang Hongmei took out all the seasonings she had brought, put them in a double-handled iron pot, poured in oil, added two dried chilies, scallion segments, ginger slices, and garlic cloves, stir-fried them until fragrant, then added water, added the fish pieces, and waited for it to boil.
"Hongmei, I'll go peel a few more potatoes and put them in the fish pot too. You can also stir-fry a carrot and a cabbage."
"Okay, you wash the carrots first, and I'll chop them."
Zhang Hongmei chopped the cabbage and washed and shredded the carrots.
Once the fish pot is boiling, put the potatoes, cut into quarters, in and leave them alone.
Once the rice is cooked, take it out and start cooking the vegetables in the pan.
Huang Zhong smelled the aroma of food as soon as he came out after washing up.
"Jingze, you go and entertain the guests. I can manage here by myself."
"Okay, I'll come over and get the dishes in a bit."
Zhang Hongmei lifted the pot lid and poked the potatoes with chopsticks. They were still a bit hard, but ready to be used for stir-frying.
Fifteen minutes later, the food was served.
The three sat down, and Zhang Hongmei served rice to both of them. "Brother Huang, eat up, don't be shy."
"I'm not shy at all. This food is delicious. I haven't had rice in almost half a year."
"Then eat more." Zhang Hongmei went into the kitchen again and brought out a small bowl of tomato soup. There were no eggs, so this was all she could do.
Liu Jingze took care of Huang Zhong's meal, constantly putting fish on his plate.
Huang Zhong ate four bowls of rice and then put down his chopsticks. "I'm full. This food is much better than what you get at restaurants."
"Come if you like it, but the most important thing is to come home for dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't be shy."
"Hehehe. I'll definitely come over if I have the chance. I have to go after I finish this bowl of soup."
"Driving at night is too tiring, Brother Huang, please be careful."
"Don't worry, I'm used to it."
The two escorted Huang Zhong to the gate, and Liu Jingze slipped him twenty yuan.
"Don't refuse. We can't even transport this ourselves. If you refuse, we won't be able to supply it in the future."
Finally, Huang Zhong took the money and drove away.
Back home, Zhang Hongmei immediately started cleaning the kitchen, putting all the grain she had brought into large vats. Luckily, Liu Jingze had prepared three large water vats, otherwise she was afraid the grain would end up being eaten by rats. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables were also put into the vats; there was no other way, as there was no cellar here.
"It would be great if we could dig a cellar."
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