Chapter 56: Daily Thoughts on Food and Warmth...
I don't know what kind of quarrel Captain Kong and Mr. and Mrs. Xue had last night. Jiang Xueyi was really "hot-tempered" last night, so much so that her legs were shaking when she woke up in the morning.
She had just finished washing up when a straw hat fell from the sky, covering most of her face from behind.
Jiang Xueyi raised the brim of her hat and looked at He Chengze in confusion.
He Chengze smiled and said, "Let's go, I'll take you for an outing."
Jiang Xueyi was amused: "Deputy Brigade Commander He, let me remind you that it is summer now."
"I know it's summer." He Chengze said, "I've been so busy lately, putting it off day by day, I finally managed to get some time off."
Jiang Xueyi looked over and saw that he was carrying two food boxes in one hand and holding a small bun in the other. He looked like he was about to leave. "Do I have the right to refuse?"
"What do you think?" He Chengze handed the little bun to her, "Help me hold the little bun, I have one hand free to get something else."
The little boy smiled happily and stretched out his two soft little hands, asking Jiang Xueyi to hold him.
Jiang Xueyi hugged him and kissed his chubby cheeks. "My dear," she said, "Are you deliberately teasing me? The last time we went to the market, we did that the day before... My legs were shaking when I went to the market."
"What are you doing? Tell me in detail, I love to hear it." He Chengze raised his eyebrows mischievously, teasing her intentionally.
Jiang Xueyi caught a beautiful glance.
He then said, "Well, it really is a coincidence." He then added, "We're not going to the market this time, we're just going for a picnic. You don't have to walk."
"You said it." Jiang Xueyi said, "If you let me go, I will lie on you and let you carry me."
"Okay, then I'll carry the things in my left hand, hold the baby in my right hand, and carry you on my back." He Chengze said.
Jiang Xueyi patted his muscular body and said, "This will definitely not be difficult for you."
She burst out laughing.
He Chengze asked: "What are you laughing at?"
"No." Jiang Xueyi said, "I just thought of a chicken in my left hand, a duck in my right hand, and a fat baby in my arms~" She sang the last sentence.
She held the little boy under his arms and lifted him up high: "Isn't that right, fat baby?"
The little kid was giggling so hard that his laughter could blow the roof off.
Captain Kong hadn't slept all night and was just about to catch up on some sleep when he heard the laughter of children coming from next door.
He felt unhappy and cursed inwardly: "You have a child at home, right? Why are you showing off?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Captain Kong simply didn't want to sleep anymore, packed up, and prepared to go to the military camp.
I walked downstairs and looked back upstairs. I saw diapers hanging on the balcony of Room 208, which made me even angrier.
As he walked, he kept muttering, "I'll let you give birth, but I can't wash your diapers to death."
He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi didn't know what Captain Kong was complaining about, so the family packed up and prepared to go for an outing happily.
The place He Chengze decided to go for the outing was by a small river in the suburbs of Nanping City. The river even had a name, called Xianmu River, which was taken from the same source as the famous Fairy Lake.
Most of the mountains, rivers, seas and rivers in our country have some allusions.
It is said that the person who gave this name had heard of Fairy Lake, so he named the river Xianmu River.
It is said that there is a fairy Mu bathing in this river. Mu means woman, and this fairy Mu is a generation older than the fairy.
After listening to He Chengze's story, Jiang Xueyi almost laughed out loud.
Stories like the Seven Fairies Coming Down to Earth and the Snail Girl, to put it nicely, embody the good wishes of the working people. To put it bluntly, they are the fantasies of poor men who are unable to marry due to their poor family background.
Men all like young and beautiful women, and their fantasies are about watching beautiful fairies who never age taking a bath.
Xianmu is taking a bath, who's coming to watch?
If this were the name of a tourist attraction, Jiang Xueyi would be the first to give it a score of zero.
It’s true that although the name of the Xianmu River is not very good, the scenery is first-class beautiful.
The crystal clear river reflects the sunlight, sparkling. A white egret stands on one leg in the shallows, waiting for an opportunity to catch fish. The wind blows, creating ripples on the river, like a flowing painting.
He Chengze spread a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree and opened the food box he brought. There were sliced watermelons, green grapes, fragrant egg cakes, braised food, boiled peanuts and edamame in salt water, and homemade lemonade, filling the picnic blanket.
The little bun was not interested in eating. He struggled in Jiang Xueyi's arms, wanting to "explore the world".
A walker was also brought along. Jiang Xueyi put the little bun in the walker. As soon as he sat on the walker, he seemed to have wings. He moved around quite quickly with his short legs.
Xiaomi would run beside the walker, and occasionally when the little one walked too fast, he would bark a few times.
Just like a qualified puppy nanny.
Jiang Xueyi ate a few pieces of egg cake. A breeze blew by, and she felt sleepy. She said to He Chengze, "You keep an eye on the little bun. I'm going to sleep for a while."
After getting the promise, she covered her face with the straw hat and fell into a deep sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, but Jiang Xueyi was woken up by the little bun’s laughter.
She took off her straw hat and looked up, only to see He Chengze sitting by the river fishing, with Xiao Baozi and Xiaomi playing beside him, giggling with joy.
Jiang Xueyi walked over and saw He Chengze's fishing rod, and she was immediately happy.
His fishing rod was made of a branch broken from somewhere, and the fishing line was even more outrageous, a rope made of fibers twisted from wild grass. The bait was invisible in the water, and he deliberately used local materials.
Jiang Xueyi fed the green grape to his mouth and ate one herself. After taking a bite, the juice overflowed: "Can you catch fish like this?"
He Chengze swallowed the green grape and said, "You don't understand. This is called Jiang Taigong fishing. Those who are willing will take the bait."
"Okay, Mr. He."
Jiang Xueyi went to see the little bun, only to find that He Chengze had tied the stool and walker under his butt with the two ends of a rope, so the little bun could only run within a radius.
But this kid was having a lot of fun, his little face was rosy.
No, it seems to be sun-dried.
Jiang Xueyi quickly put the straw hat on the little bun's head and said to He Chengze: "You are really my father. If the little bun gets darker when I get home, I will come to settle the score with you."
"Being darker is good, it's healthier." He Chengze said, "Look at the soldiers in our army, every one of them is tanned and stronger than the other."
He also complained that the little bun was too white. Newborn babies have very delicate skin. Every time he held the little bun, Jiang Xueyi would laugh at him because the little bun made him look too dark.
Looking at He Chengze's skin, it might just be wheat color, or at most bronze color, which contrasts with the small buns. It's like the difference between sesame and glutinous rice ball skin.
"Our little Baozi is a baby, not a soldier." Jiang Xueyi touched the little Baozi's back and saw that he was not sweating, so she went to watch He Chengze fishing with peace of mind.
"Can you catch it?"
Hey, Jiang Xueyi had just finished speaking when ripples appeared on the calm river surface, and the fish was hooked.
He Chengze seized the opportunity and pulled the fishing rod. A small silver fish jumped out of the water and swung its tail wildly.
He Chengze put the small fish into the bucket and said with a smile, "Do you think we can catch any fish?" He added, "I learned my fishing skills from going up mountains and down seas with my friends since I was a child."
At that time, the People's Republic of China had just been founded and everything was beginning to happen.
He Chengze's parents were fully devoted to their careers and had no time to take care of him, so he became a free-range child.
There are many children like him. They get together and make an appointment to collect bird eggs today and catch earthworms tomorrow. Thinking of that carefree time, He Chengze has a nostalgic look on his face.
Jiang Xueyi looked at the bucket again. Wow, there were at least ten of them in it, filling the bucket to the brim.
These fish probably stayed in the river where few people go for too long. They didn't struggle when they were caught. They stayed obediently in the bucket as if they were asleep.
He Chengze felt that fishing was not challenging at all.
He put away his fishing rod and bucket, and took Jiang Xueyi and the others to the rice fields not far from the Xianmu River.
Jiang Xueyi still remembered that she was going to fish for crayfish: "Catch some quickly and let me see if the crayfish in this season are really plump and tender, with roe and yellow flesh."
"I know, don't worry."
He Chengze looked around and saw the old man standing by the rice field.
He walked over, exchanged a few words with the old man in the local dialect, and gave him a cigarette.
Then he came back and told Jiang Xueyi, "Okay, he agreed to let us catch crayfish in his field."
"Do we need consent?" Jiang Xueyi expressed surprise.
"Well, what else can we do?" He Chengze laughed. "These crayfish are from someone else's field. They are his property. If we want to catch crayfish, we naturally need his permission."
Life in the countryside is hard, and crayfish is considered a kind of food. Many people value the crayfish in their rice fields more than their lives.
But the old man was quite happy about it. After all, tobacco was much more valuable than crayfish, and he couldn't buy it without tobacco coupons.
As for crayfish, they are everywhere in the fields.
They also love to dig holes everywhere and destroy farmland, so they can be considered a pest in the fields.
He was so happy that someone helped him clean the crayfish and he got a cigarette for free.
He Chengze was also very happy. He didn't like smoking and he usually gave away the cigarettes given to him by his comrades.
It's quite worthwhile to exchange a cigarette for the chance to catch some crayfish.
If both parties are happy, it is a win-win situation.
The old man smiled and asked the two men, "Young men, do you know how to catch crayfish? Do you want me to teach you?"
Judging from their attire and demeanor, this man and woman look like city people who have come all the way here to catch crayfish and seem quite leisurely.
"Yes." He Chengze said, "Just wait and see."
He picked up a few snails, smashed them with a stone, picked out the snail meat inside, hung it on the fish hook, and swung the fishing rod into the rice field. After a while, crayfish were caught.
The old man gave a thumbs-up and said, "Well, you're an expert." He half-jokingly said, "Don't catch all the crayfish in my field."
"That won't happen." He Chengze said, "We'll just catch half a bucket and go back to cook to add flavor."
The old man was relieved and in the mood to chat and laugh with the two of them: "Where are you from?"
He Chengze didn't say where he came from, he just said he was here for a picnic.
"Picnic?" The old man scratched his head. "What?"
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Just bring some food to eat in the wild and enjoy the natural scenery."
The old man said "Oh" and asked, "Then after I finish plowing the fields, I eat steamed buns and drink boiled water in the fields. Does that count as a picnic?"
He Chengze slapped his thigh with joy, scaring away several crayfish: "It counts, of course it counts!"
Jiang Xueyi smiled and looked up. The evening clouds dyed the sky orange, a cool breeze blew gently beside the fields, and insects chirped and frogs croaked. She thought she would remember this scene for the rest of her life.
He Chengze said he would catch half a bucket of crayfish, and he really only caught half a bucket before putting away his fishing rod.
The old man couldn't stand it. The country people were simple and honest. They exchanged a cigarette for half a bucket of crayfish. He felt bad about it.
He simply rolled up his trouser legs and went straight to the fields. He caught a lot of crayfish and stuffed them into the bucket until it was full. "Is it enough? If not, there's more."
"Enough, enough, enough!" He Chengze quickly stopped him, "There are only three people in our family, two adults and a child. The child is not old enough to eat crayfish yet. Even if we add the dog, we can't finish this bucket. I guess we have to put half of it in a basin to keep it for two days."
"All right then." said the old man.
He waved at the two of them and said, "Come back next time if you want to catch crayfish."
"Okay!" He Chengze responded crisply.
The two men smiled and waved goodbye to the old man.
Back home, the two divided the work.
Jiang Xueyi was responsible for killing the fish, and He Chengze was responsible for washing and brushing the crayfish with an old toothbrush.
The crayfish is still the same as before, with two flavors.
I had garlic and spicy flavors before, but this time I changed to braised in oil and salted egg yolk flavors.
Fresh fish is best used to make soup. Remove the bones and internal organs of the river fish and put it into the pot. Do not add any other seasonings, just sprinkle a little salt. The soup stewed in this way will be milky white and have a special flavor.
The fish soup and crayfish were served almost at the same time. Jiang Xueyi sprinkled a handful of green onions on the fish soup and a handful of white sesame seeds on the crayfish as garnish.
He Chengze: "Do you like chopped green onions and white sesame seeds?"
You can see her saying this every time.
Jiang Xueyi: "That's not the case."
She smiled and said, "It's just a decoration. Look, the fish soup is white, and the chopped green onions are green. Doesn't the green and white look better? The same goes for sprinkling white sesame seeds on crayfish. Color, aroma and flavor are all important, and color comes first. Food that looks good tastes better."
He Chengze thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.
Good-looking food always makes people eat more.
The little bun smelled the aroma of fish soup and lobster, and waved his little hands constantly, obviously hungry.
Jiang Xueyi took the fish out of the pot, carefully removed the bones from the fish meat, and fed it to the little Baozi.
The little bun smiled with his eyebrows and eyes curved like two crescent moons, obviously he had eaten a lot.
After feeding the little bun, Jiang Xueyi and He Chengze sat opposite each other, picked up their cups, drank beer, and let out a comfortable "ha".
He Chengze picked up the beer bottle. This was draft beer, and it was still contained in a thermos-like container. "Are you ready?"
Jiang Xueyi waved her hand proudly: "Fill it up."
The two of them drank another glass before starting to eat the crayfish.
The braised crayfish soup is rich and flavorful, while the salted egg yolk crayfish is salty and fragrant, with a crunchy texture that leaves a lasting aftertaste.
He Chengze was right. Jiang Xueyi peeled several crayfish, all of which were filled with roe and roe.
Pick up a crayfish, press the soft shell where the shrimp head and the shrimp body are connected with your thumb, apply a little force, and with a crisp "click" sound, the shrimp head will be separated from the body. Gently suck it with the tip of your tongue, and the yellow shrimp roe mixed with the soup will slide into your throat. Then taste the delicious and chewy shrimp meat, which is simply irresistible.
Xiaomi squatted under the table, its tail sweeping the ground and making a rustling sound, its big wet eyes staring at the two of them.
He Chengze deliberately threw a crayfish far away: "Xiaomi, go."
Xiaomi shot out like an arrow, pressed the shell with his claws, and licked the soup on it with his tongue. He even licked the meat scraps on the edge of the shell clean. When he came back, there was still a little red oil on the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Xueyi glared at him and put half a bowl of crayfish into Xiaomi's bowl: "Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you."
He Chengze shook his head: "A loving mother often spoils her child." He added, "Xiaomi is so fat, it's all because of you. The last time Captain Zhu saw Xiaomi, he told me that Xiaomi was so big, maybe he should be renamed Da Mi."
Jiang Xueyi was amused: "Qian Man said the same thing to me. They really think alike."
Xiaomi whimpered, "Wuwuwu," and asked, "Where did it get fat?"
Crayfish and beer, and end with a delicious fish soup.
The two of them collapsed on the stool and touched their bellies, which were round.
"Crayfish are so delicious." He Chengze licked the corner of his mouth, still savoring the taste, "When I have time, let's go fishing for crayfish again."
"You can't eat it every day even if it tastes good," Jiang Xueyi said. "No matter how delicious something is, you'll get tired of it if you eat it three times a day."
He Chengze looked at her deeply and said, "I know there is one thing that I will never get tired of no matter how I do it."
Jiang Xueyi blinked her innocent eyes: "What's the matter?"
He Chengze picked her up by the waist and smiled wickedly: "What do you think?" He then said, "When you are well fed and warm, you will think about..., you continue the sentence."
"I'm not going to pick you up." Jiang Xueyi found that He Chengze has been saying more and more dirty words recently.
It's becoming more and more indecent.
-
The next morning, Jiang Xueyi got up by holding her waist.
Not to mention the sore waist and legs, you still have to ride a bike, which is so painful. Only those who ride it know it.
There is a meeting as usual on Mondays, but before the meeting, there is some free time for everyone to drink tea and chat.
As the weather gets hotter, Section Chief You stops knitting sweaters and instead starts growing flowers and plants.
The windowsill of the office is full of flowers and plants she planted.
At this time, Section Chief You was holding a kettle, watering the plants while chattering, "Xiao Jiang, I've read the manuscript that was sent to the Provincial Propaganda Committee for review. It's quite good. You debated with so many scholars that a whole bunch of members were left speechless."
Liu Lu, who happened to be delivering documents, chimed in, "That wasn't 'Confucianism' at all, Sister You. You weren't there. They were just a bunch of barbarians." She added, "If Xueyi hadn't reminded me and asked my wife to take two troops with her, we might not have been able to return."
Section Chief You sighed and said, "The idea of favoring sons over daughters is hard to change. It has been like this for thousands of years. We need to keep up the good work. Work hard, women of the Women's Federation."
Xu Shanshan came to inform: "Okay, stop chatting, Director Xie called us to a meeting."
When we arrived at the conference room and everyone sat down, the first thing Director Xie asked was, "Publicity Department, how's the manuscript for the popular science lecture on menstruation coming along?"
Section Chief Jin stood up and said, "Director Xie, the manuscript is finished, but..."
Director Xie nodded seriously. "If you have any problems, just tell me. I will spare no effort to cooperate."
Section Chief Jin is the youngest of the three section chiefs in one office and two sections. He is in his early thirties and has just taken office not long ago.
She smiled sheepishly and said, "It's about this lecture. I wonder who will be giving the lecture."
Generally speaking, whoever writes the manuscript in the Propaganda Department will read it. After all, it is something they wrote themselves, so they are familiar with it. However, this manuscript is about popular science knowledge about menstruation.
These days, everyone talks about menstruation with fear.
When changing the menstrual belt, you have to do it secretly and without anyone’s knowledge.
Mention the word "menstruation" and the keywords that come to mind are anger, embarrassment, surprise, worry, fear and confusion.
Director Xie also understands the concerns of the publicity department and others, but it is precisely because of this that popular science lectures on menstruation should be held to educate everyone that menstruation is just a normal reaction of the body and it is not something to be ashamed of.
Director Xie said in a deep voice, "Chief Jin, do you have a candidate in mind?"
Section Chief Jin looked at Xiao Zheng and asked, "Xiao Zheng, you wrote this article. How about you tell the story?"
Xiao Zheng shook his head frantically, his face flushed, and whispered, "I don't want it. It's so embarrassing to read that."
She didn't even dare to say menstruation directly, but used that thing to refer to it.
"What about you, Xiao Jin?" Section Chief Jin looked at his niece.
Xiao Jin curled her lips and said, "They don't want to read, so why should I?" She added, "When the lecture comes, no one will know who is here. It's okay for women, but what if a few men come and read in front of them...reading that thing will be so embarrassing, I'll want to find a hole in the ground to crawl into."
Section Chief Jin finally looked at Liu Lu.
Liu Lu waved her hands repeatedly: "Section Chief, you know I can't do it. Even if I had the courage to stand on the podium and read a few words, I would probably run away. How embarrassing it would be then."
Director Xie slammed her slam on the table, causing the enamel pot to clang. "I think your heads are clouded by feudal thinking!" Her voice was like a millstone, silencing the entire office. "What? Is menstruation shameful?"
Seeing Director Xie got angry, everyone lowered their heads and dared not say a word.
Seeing this, Director Xie changed his tone. Pointing at the manuscript, he gently said, "'Menstruation is a normal physiological phenomenon for women, occurring once a month and marking the body's maturity.' Is this statement wrong? Or do you think women's bodies are too shameful to be exposed, and even normal physiological phenomena have become something dirty that cannot be discussed?"
Xiao Zheng's face turned red and his body was shaking.
Director Xie: "Let me tell you, last year a girl in Wangjiazhuang got her first period and thought she had an infectious disease, so she secretly drank half a bottle of pesticide! If she hadn't been discovered early, she would have died! You think this is shameful, but aren't you ashamed to watch a sister walk down the road to death?"
Her voice suddenly rose, shaking the window paper. "A while ago, the health center statistic showed that eight out of ten women don't know they need to change their sanitary pads regularly during their period, and seven out of ten women with gynecological problems are too embarrassed to see a doctor! You think this is a trivial matter? You're playing with your life!"
Director Xie came from the battlefield. When he was young, he carried wounded soldiers on the front line. He was covered in the blood of male comrades, but he didn't even frown.
I really can't understand why these young girls are so shy about talking about "menstruation" or sex.
Director Xie knocked on the table and said, "This lecture on menstrual knowledge must be held. It must be held." He added, "I also need to go to the Party branch meeting. You can nominate someone to give this lecture."
After saying that, Director Xie pushed the door open and left.
As soon as she left, everyone was in an uproar.
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