Zhang Hongmei rushed out of the classroom as soon as school was over at noon, afraid that something might hold her back.
Wei Huaqiang: How urgent is this?
When I got home, the food was already ready, and the whole yard smelled delicious with meat.
"I knew you'd be eager to come back. Tell me, do you prefer this or me?" Gu Chuanming said smugly, as if he had finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I love to eat it! I already said I wanted to eat barbecue, okay?” Zhang Hongmei rolled her eyes at Gu Chuanming, this old child.
Aunt Li brought in a bowl of braised pork. "Hongmei, let's eat first."
"Okay, marinating meat is pretty quick. The smell of meat makes me not want to do anything else, I just want to eat."
"Look at your pathetic self!" Gu Chuanming seized the opportunity to criticize Zhang Hongmei.
"Yes, yes, I'm useless, Grandpa, let's eat."
Lunch today was quite a feast: braised pork belly, braised spare ribs, and a plate of pig's head meat. There was also a plate of vibrant green bok choy and a plate of spicy tofu.
"Wow! What a feast! Grandpa, dinner's ready." Zhang Hongmei picked up a piece of braised pork head. Hmm, it's really good, stewed until tender, and tastes especially good.
"Aunt Li, your cooking skills are absolutely amazing."
"Eat more if you like it. Wang girl, you should eat a few more bites too. We have our own secret recipe for stewed pig's head in our hometown."
Gu Chuanming no longer had the chance to argue with Zhang Hongmei, and felt that braised pork was still the best dish.
Zhang Hongmei also picked up a piece of braised pork and said, "Aunt Li, this pork is a bit like Dongpo pork."
"Hehe, I don't know what Dongpo pork is. It's just that it uses honey from Wang's sister."
"Aunt Wang, have you ever eaten Dongpo pork?"
“I’ve eaten it before. My family’s cook used to know how to make it, but this is wild boar meat, which doesn’t have skin, so it can’t have the bright red skin of Dongpo pork. But the taste is about the same.”
"Yes, I think it tastes just like that too." Zhang Hongmei nodded; the meat really did taste quite authentic.
"Chengzi, after you finish eating, go and take some to Brother Zhang and Xiao Li so they can try it. If Wang Xiaoshun were here, he would be very worried."
"Girls are outgoing," Gu Chuanming muttered to himself.
"Grandpa, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"No, it's just delicious. Eat up!"
After finishing her meal, Zhang Hongmei went to the kitchen and smiled happily when she saw the two large bowls full of sliced meat.
Take out an empty bowl, put in soy sauce, white wine, white sugar, and secretly add a little light soy sauce, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Slowly stir it evenly with chopsticks.
Aunt Li and the others had finished tidying up the dining room. They came to Zhang Hongmei's side and asked, "Hongmei, is there anything else you need to do?"
"Aunt Li, just chop two scallions, add some ginger slices, then pour this prepared sauce into two bowls of meat, and knead it repeatedly until it feels a bit sticky, then set it aside."
"Okay, go get some sleep. I'll take care of it. Don't worry, I'll wake you up when it's time."
"Okay, I understand. I'll leave it to you."
"By the way, do you think the iron plate your Uncle Li found will do?"
Zhang Hongmei took a look and thought it was alright. "Uncle Li, do you think we could chisel up the four sides of the iron plate, like a plate? That way the oil from the grilled meat won't drip down."
"Yes. I'll start chiseling this afternoon."
Zhang Hongmei returned to her bedroom but didn't go to sleep. Instead, she read for a while. Although she hadn't fallen behind in her studies, there were too many external distractions, and she hadn't been able to devote all her energy to studying.
Time was up, and we returned to school. Kong Mingde still had classes in the afternoon. After class, Zhang Hongmei stopped the professor who was about to leave, "Professor Kong, Gu Chuanming said he'd like to invite you to dinner at Xinyuan tonight?"
"Who? Gu Chuanming?"
"yes."
"Okay, isn't Xinyuan your home?"
"Um."
"Okay, I'll go over tonight," I thought to myself. Why is the old commander back? I just heard he was staying at the retirement home and wasn't coming back. The old commander is actually back?
After school, Liang Yongmin stopped Zhang Hongmei and said, "Class monitor, Cheng Guangxu is here to ask you to sign something. We're going to deliver the money to the garment factory tomorrow."
"Okay, let's go to the costume department's office."
The two arrived at the office together, and Cheng Guangxu followed behind.
"Vice Chairman, this is the application for the funds. If you have no objections, please sign it. We'll go to the garment factory tomorrow."
After seeing Zhang Hongmei sign the form, Cheng Guangxu handed her another one, saying, "This is the application for funds from the study group."
After Zhang Hongmei finished signing, she asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I'll stamp it."
"No, that's all." Cheng Guangxu has become more and more composed, no longer the math genius who used to blush when he spoke.
"Squad leader, we'll use bicycles tomorrow."
"I also have Liu Jingze's keys; you can have them all. Is Li Yunpeng coming along?"
"Of course he has to go; isn't he in charge of all the money?"
When Zhang Hongmei returned home, everything was ready. "Aunt Wang, have you prepared the seafood?"
"Everything is ready. I stewed the boiled shrimp, sea cucumber, and squid."
"Hehe, the dishes today are even better than during the Chinese New Year."
"That's right, I haven't seen such big shrimp in years. I'll also make soup with oysters and dried cockles for you. This is what you call fresh. All the live cockles have been cooked, so don't worry, everything you brought back will be on the table today."
"Today is a good day."
"Hmph! You girl think it's a good life as long as there's food, especially good food."
"That's exactly right. Grandpa, don't you think people live just to make a living?"
"Hehe, that makes sense. Whether you're a king or a general, or a common laborer, everyone's just trying to make a living." Gu Chuanming said with feeling, "Fame and fortune have all become fleeting clouds."
“Grandpa, I told Professor Kong, and he looked very surprised.”
"Hehe, I told him I wasn't coming back to the capital, so of course he was surprised. Oh no, I'll have to cook more. I'm afraid those two brats will come too."
"Don't worry, Mr. Gu, there's enough food."
"Sigh! I made a mistake. I shouldn't have told Kong Mingde. Now I'm in for trouble."
Zhang Hongmei rolled her eyes inelegantly, and Wang Xinyi frowned as she looked at her. "Grandpa, everyone probably already knows you're back, but they can't come over without an invitation. How long can you keep hiding?"
"We should just avoid it as long as we can. Who wants to listen to their nagging all day long?"
Zhang Shouyi also returned, and upon entering, he overheard the conversation between the two men. It seemed that everyone who needed to know already knew.
"Hongmei, the weather is perfect today, why don't we have lunch in the pavilion?"
"Sure, I have no objection. Maybe this way it'll even taste like a picnic?"
"There's so much to do, and all the food tastes the same no matter where you eat."
"You don't understand romance."
"What do I, a grown man, need for romance?" Gu Chuanming said, but he didn't object to eating out.
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