Chapter 59, For Her Own Good
After entering the house, Lin Qingqing went straight to the kitchen, placed the greens and peas on the counter, then untied the hemp rope binding the pork, cut it into two-finger-wide cubes, washed them, and blanched them in a pot.
While Lin Qingqing was busy, Xie Wei also took off his military jacket and went into the kitchen. He picked up some greens, peeled them, put them in a basin, and washed them with water. During this process, Xie Wei didn't mention what had just happened, nor did he ask the question he had been wanting to ask. He just worked slowly.
While the pork belly was blanching, Lin Qingqing prepared the ingredients: chopped scallions into sections, sliced ginger, and took out two pieces of rock sugar. After that, she took the blanched pork belly out of the pot, washed it again, drained it, poured oil into the pot, sautéed the scallion sections and ginger slices until fragrant, and then added the pork belly to stir-fry.
The pork belly, quickly rendered in oil, released its aroma, wafting out the window into the hallway. Passersby glanced into their kitchen. The coal stove sat on a low counter near the window, allowing passersby to see what the Xie family was cooking, and they would ask with envy, "Meat today?"
"Xie Wei is back today, and this is the first time he's eating at home, so I bought some meat," Lin Qingqing said, stirring the meat in the pan.
The person outside the window saw Xie Wei helping out in the kitchen and laughed, "You should eat well right after starting the cooking!" Then he left with a smile.
After they left, Lin Qingqing saw that the pork belly was almost cooked. She added Shaoxing wine and soy sauce. Actually, she was supposed to add both dark and light soy sauce, but neither the supply and marketing cooperative nor the market had any other soy sauce available, so she had to buy some and make do. Then she added rock sugar. Since Xie Wei didn't like sweets, she didn't add much rock sugar, just enough to season it.
With all the ingredients added, the aroma of the pork belly became even stronger. Not only passersby, but even the neighbors in the backyard made a special trip to the Xie family's kitchen window to look and ask her what smelled so good.
"Braised pork." Lin Qingqing said, taking the plate of braised pork to the window to show it to everyone.
Because it only contains half a pound of meat, the portion doesn't look like much, but its brownish-red color and glossy sheen, along with the bright green scallions sprinkled on top, make it look incredibly appetizing.
"How did you make this braised pork? It doesn't look quite like the ones I've had before," the person outside the window asked, swallowing hard.
“This is how it’s done in Shanghai,” Lin Qingqing explained.
At that time, people had a longing for Shanghai. Everything from food and daily necessities to clothing was considered superior and fashionable if it came from Shanghai. When people heard that Lin Qingqing's braised pork was made in the Shanghai style, they would say, "You can cook Shanghai cuisine too?"
Lin Qingqing turned around and saw Xie Wei looking at her as well. Her heart skipped a beat, and she explained, "Aunt Wang, who used to teach me to cook, knew a wide variety of dishes. I learned from her."
The people outside the window suddenly realized what was going on. Xie Wei didn't say anything, and Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief and continued cooking the remaining dishes.
The peas were made from the scraps of braised pork, chopped and stir-fried. The greens were simply stir-fried. Lin Qingqing also made a bowl of egg drop soup.
She cooks quickly, and with Xie Wei's help, it only took her a little over half an hour to finish everything.
During the meal, Lin Qingqing picked up a piece of braised pork and brought it to Xie Wei's lips, looking at him expectantly: "How does it taste?"
Xie Wei hadn't been fed since he was able to eat on his own. Looking at the braised pork placed in front of him, he paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and took a bite.
"Is it tasty?"
It was delicious, of course. Although Xie Wei didn't like sweet food, the sweetness of this braised pork was just right. Moreover, the braised pork he had eaten before was always too dry for the lean meat and too greasy for the fat. Lin Qingqing's version had fat that wasn't greasy and the lean meat was exceptionally tender.
Xie Wei nodded after finishing his meal, saying, "Delicious." He then picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in front of Lin Qingqing.
When Xie Wei brought the chopsticks to Lin Qingqing's lips, he hesitated slightly. He had never done this before, so although he appeared calm, he was actually a little embarrassed.
But Lin Qingqing seemed to really enjoy this intimacy, smiling as she ate the braised pork he offered, nodding as she ate.
Although the taste was slightly inferior to what she made in her previous life, it was because she lacked light and dark soy sauce, and in her previous life she used an integrated stove that allowed her to adjust the heat freely. Now, however, she was using a coal stove, and she was lucky if she could even get the fire going, let alone control the heat.
Thinking about it that way, she felt that her dish was quite successful.
Xie Wei is a soldier, so he is very active every day and has a big appetite. With the help of Lin Qingqing's cooking, he ate three bowls of rice in the evening and finished off all the dishes.
Although Xie Wei ate a lot, his table manners were not bad at all. So when he was eating, Lin Qingqing would put her hands on the table and watch him, which made him slow down and ask hesitantly, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, you can keep eating," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
She didn't say anything, so Xie Wei continued eating.
...
While the Xie family was eating, the Chen family next door was also eating.
Yang Li's statement that she eats at the cafeteria every day is inaccurate. She only goes directly to the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch to get to work. In the evenings, she mostly cooks at home, but she's too lazy to steam rice, so she'll get a few ounces of rice from the cafeteria.
Rice or a few steamed buns.
Like today, and because her husband was back, she even cooked an extra dish. However, unlike Lin Qingqing, she wasn't willing to spend money, so both dishes on the table were vegetables. But since the potatoes were from the market and the cowpeas were picked from the yard, the portions were quite generous.
In addition, she was generous with the amount of oil, and both the Chen father and son were quite satisfied with their meal.
They were satisfied, but Yu Xiuhong felt resentful whenever she thought about what Yang Li had said about her, and she really had no appetite. So when Chen Aiguo finished eating and drinking, he found it very strange that his wife had barely touched her bowl of rice.
Yu Xiuhong has always had a good appetite, which is why during the two years she didn't join the army, her mother-in-law often nagged her, saying she ate too much and the family couldn't afford to feed her. If she hadn't always been mistreated by her mother-in-law at home, Yu Xiuhong wouldn't have always wanted to join the army.
In short, because she can eat a lot, she has never lost weight since marrying Chen Aiguo.
As her husband of ten years, Chen Aiguo knew his wife's temper well. Thinking that if he ignored her, Yu Xiuhong might not say anything now, but if she got angry that night, she might not let him sleep in the bed, he put down his chopsticks and asked, "What happened today?"
Yu Xiuhong couldn't keep anything from others, but she was quite coy with her husband, always expecting him to find out first and ask before she would tell him. That's why she had kept quiet all this time. Now that her husband had asked, she said irritably, "What else could it be? It's all because of Yang Li next door!"
Chen Aiguo knew that his wife and Yang Li next door didn't get along, but if you really counted, none of the neighbors in this yard got along with his wife.
Battalion Commander Xu's wife is too arrogant, always looking down on people; Deputy Battalion Commander Hong's wife is too stupid, Chen Tian only knows how to brag about having a son; the Xie family that just moved in, the person who doesn't get along with his wife isn't Regiment Commander Xie's wife, but Regiment Commander Xie himself, because he thinks he's too stingy and petty.
Chen Aiguo felt that if he couldn't get along with one person, it might be their problem, but if he couldn't get along with everyone, perhaps his wife had some issues too. But he didn't dare say anything or ask, afraid he wouldn't be able to get into bed that night.
So Chen Aiguo asked, "What did Deputy Battalion Commander Hong's wife do again?" His tone clearly indicated that he was on his wife's side.
Yu Xiuhong felt relieved and sneered, "Mind your own business!" She then embellished Yang Li's story, "I just don't understand, she doesn't have a job and lives a frugal life, if she's not unhappy, fine, but how dare she say that I live like this?"
I also feel that our family is living a good life.
"That's pretty good." This time, Chen Aiguo wasn't just agreeing out of a survival instinct; he genuinely thought so.
Although his wife's salary was mostly spent on living expenses, they weren't the only breadwinners; his salary was the main source of income for the family. Because his wife had a job, he could save 130 or 140 out of his 150 yuan monthly salary. In contrast, the Hong family next door, because Yang Li didn't work, even with her frugal lifestyle, Hong Tao could only save 110 out of his 130 yuan monthly salary.
In total, he and Hong Tao spent about the same amount of their salaries each month, and he might even spend less. However, the Yang family only ate meat once every two or three months, while his family could eat meat every few days.
Compared to the Hong family, his family's life was much more comfortable.
Even so, he never went to Hong Tao's place to say that his wife was better at managing money than Hong Tao's wife. But Yang Li, being so stingy, became quite proud of herself and even went to give Lin Qingqing advice on how to manage her life.
But she didn't consider that Xie Wei was the regimental commander, and his monthly salary alone was more than two hundred. Even if Lin Qingqing ate meat every day, the money she had left over each month would be equivalent to their monthly salary.
Chen Aiguo asked, "Did Commander Xie say anything after he came back?"
"He's so protective of his wife, how could he not say anything?"
Yu Xiuhong had previously complained to her colleagues about Xie Wei's stinginess, and some colleagues said he was just protecting his wife. At the time, she scoffed, thinking he was just putting on an act. Now, however, she spoke with a hint of schadenfreude: "If Qingqing hadn't stopped him, I think he would have definitely pulled up all the vegetables Yang Li had planted."
Chen Aiguo thought about Xie Wei's personality and felt that he was indeed capable of doing such a thing. He just felt a little sorry for the vegetables in front of Xie's house: "I see that the vegetables in front of his house are growing well. It would be such a waste to pull them up."
Although Yu Xiuhong felt sorry for the vegetables, she felt a sense of satisfaction at the thought of Yang Li losing out instead of trying to steal a chicken, and said without any sympathy, "Who told her to be so foul-mouthed!"
If she hadn't been so eager to teach Lin Qingqing how to live her life, Lin Qingqing wouldn't have gotten angry and wanted to take back her family's land.
In short, it boils down to two words—serves them right!
After gloating, Yu Xiuhong felt much better. She lowered her head and ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice. When she looked up and saw Xie Wei walking by the door, she hurriedly swallowed the rice in her mouth and asked, "Is that Commander Xie?"
"What?" Chen Aiguo, with his back to the door, turned around in confusion but saw nothing.
"I just saw Commander Xie walk by." Yu Xiuhong realized there was going to be a good show after she finished speaking, and quickly took her rice bowl and went outside.
Looking to the right after stepping outside, I saw Xie Wei standing at the Hong family's door, reaching out to knock.
A moment later, Hong Tao came out of the house, saluted Xie Wei, and asked, "Commander Xie, what do you want with me?"
"The land in front of my house, is it cultivated by you?" Xie Wei asked casually.
Hong Tao spends all his time in the military camp, and when he comes back, he only eats, sleeps, and holds his son. He has no idea about these things. He turns to Yang Li and asks, "Do you farm the land in front of Regiment Commander Xie's house?"
Although Lin Qingqing only gave her two days, Yang Li thought that if she delayed, the matter might pass. Therefore, she went back to her room and cooked as usual, without mentioning the matter to her husband. Unexpectedly, before she had even finished eating, Xie Wei came knocking on her door.
However, Yang Li didn't have much contact with Xie Wei. Although she had heard Yu Xiuhong say that Xie Wei was stingy, Yang Li thought that he was a regimental commander, so he couldn't really be that stingy. Therefore, when she heard her husband's question, Yang Li came out and explained, "I planted those vegetables before you moved in. At that time, no one lived in your house. Now that you've moved in, I won't plant any more vegetables in front of your house after the season is over."
Hong Tao still didn't know why Xie Wei had come to their door. After listening to his wife's explanation, he nodded and said, "My wife didn't know you were going to move in when she was growing vegetables. How about we give the land back to you after the vegetable season is over?"
Unlike detached houses with large yards in front, row houses only have a small plot of land. It's common for families to grow vegetables in front of unoccupied houses. After all, once someone moves in and finishes eating the vegetables, they can simply return the land. This isn't without its advantages; no additional land needs to be cultivated, so no one in the residential compound complains about it.
Hong Tao knew that everyone else did it this way, and he felt that his wife's words made sense, so he told Xie Wei the same thing.
But Xie Wei's attitude surprised him: "I'm afraid that won't work."
Hong Tao hesitated for a moment, then, mindful of Xie Wei's high rank as a regimental commander, changed his words and said, "Then..."
“I don’t want someone farming my land and then criticizing my wife, saying she’s extravagant and wasteful.”
Xie Wei interrupted Hong Tao, glanced at Yang Li, and said.
His eyes were icy cold, and Yang Li felt a chill run down her spine. She stammered an explanation, "That's not what I meant."
Hearing Yang Li's words, Hong Tao also realized what had happened and guessed that his wife had said something irrelevant to Lin Qingqing. He glared at her and then said to Xie Wei, "Commander Xie, is there some misunderstanding here?"
Xie Wei glanced at Yang Li and asked in a cold voice, "Didn't Comrade Yang tell my wife about this kind of life?"
“Yes…” Yang Li tried to explain, but was interrupted before she could finish speaking.
“
Didn't Comrade Yang tell my wife that only by being frugal like you can you live a good life?
"I……"
"You even told my wife that even though I didn't say it, I definitely wanted to have a baby soon," Xie Wei said with a half-smile. "If I hadn't heard you say it, I wouldn't have known that I married a wife to have children!"
Upon hearing this, Hong Tao couldn't stand it any longer and slapped Yang Li across the face: "You really said these things to Commander Xie's wife?"
Hong Tao was both angry and furious, and he didn't hold back at all. Yang Li was stunned when she was hit. She covered her face and explained with red eyes, "But I was only doing it for her own good!"
She truly couldn't understand why Lin Qingqing didn't appreciate her well-intentioned advice at all! At the same time, she felt extremely regretful. If she had known that Lin Qingqing was such a heartless person, she would have kept quiet and watched coldly as Lin Qingqing ended up like Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao's wife!
Seeing Hong Tao beat his wife, Xie Wei frowned, but upon hearing Yang Li's words, he abandoned his intention to speak up for her and said, "Then I beg you not to speak up for my wife. We are living a perfectly good life as a couple, but in your mouth, it's like we can't live together anymore. I just find it strange. What business is it of yours how we live? Why do you have so many opinions?"
"Commander Xie, please don't be angry. I will definitely teach her a lesson and make sure she doesn't talk nonsense in front of your wife again," Hong Tao said with a flattering expression. But when he looked at Yang Li, his expression changed. "If you dare to talk nonsense in front of Commander Xie's wife again, I'll beat you to death."
"Deputy Battalion Commander Hong!" Xie Wei shouted, frowning. "The army trains you to fight on the battlefield, not to beat your wife at home!"
"Yes, sir!" Hong Tao replied with a military salute.
Xie Wei had never had much dealings with Hong Tao before, but after their conversation, he felt the same annoyance towards the couple. He rubbed his temples and said, "I'll give you two days to clean up the vegetable garden in front of our house."
“I’ll clean it up tonight,” Hong Tao said immediately.
Having said what he needed to say, Xie Wei turned and left the Hong family.
As soon as Xie Wei left, Yang Li covered her cheeks and said aggrievedly, "I put so much effort into growing those vegetables, and we haven't even eaten them for long yet. Why should they be pulled up?"
"How dare you spout nonsense in front of others! Do you know—" Hong Tao looked outside. Because of what they had just said, several households in the front yard had opened their windows and were looking at their house. The passersby outside the moon gate also stopped in their tracks, reached out and closed the door, and pulled his wife into the house to scold her.
Yu Xiuhong was in high spirits when she brought her food out to watch the play, but she was somewhat disheartened after the play ended.
Chen Aiguo followed his wife into the house, and said with some helplessness, "Deputy Battalion Commander Hong, you should have talked things out. How could you resort to violence?"
"Didn't you notice? This is a habit of taking action!" Yu Xiuhong said with a sneer.
Yang Li boasts to everyone that she has a son and knows how to manage a household, but what's the reality? Her daughter is left in the countryside, and her husband beats and scolds her at will! So, it just goes to show that a woman needs a job to stand tall!
...
When Xie Wei went to the Hong family's house, Lin Qingqing was taking a shower in the bathroom.
After she finished showering, she saw Xie Wei come in from outside and asked while drying her hair, "You went out?"
"Something came up." Xie Wei sat down on the wooden sofa in the living room, patted the spot next to him to signal Lin Qingqing to sit down, and took her towel to gently dry her hair.
Lin Qingqing didn't ask him what was wrong. She simply rested her head on his lap, half-closed her eyes, and asked, "Do you think we should invite Battalion Commander Jiang and his family to dinner?"
After getting everything ready for the kitchen, Lin Qingqing had been pondering this matter for the past few days. The Jiang family had treated them to a meal before, and they should reciprocate with a meal in return. However, she couldn't decide on the invitation alone, so she didn't rush to the Jiang family to invite them. Instead, she discussed it with Xie Wei first.
After listening, Xie Wei thought for a moment and said, "I'm resting today, and I have to go back to camp tomorrow morning. Hmm... how about next Sunday? I'll tell him when I get back to camp."
"Morning or afternoon?" Lin Qingqing asked.
"In the morning, perhaps."
Lin Qingqing nodded, and then discussed with Xie Wei what dishes to make: "What do you think of braised pork? I think Battalion Commander Jiang seems to like sweet food, or maybe we can make sweet and sour pork."
"I'm not picky." Xie Wei thought his wife's cooking was so delicious that if Jiang Feng were to be picky, he would kick him out. He then asked, "Do you have enough meat coupons?"
"There are two more bills, enough to buy a pound of meat." For four adults and one child, a pound of meat is actually a bit little, but these days it's not easy to have meat to eat, so having a plate of braised pork on the table is quite presentable when entertaining guests. It's just that after entertaining guests, their family will probably not see any meat for a long time... But with only a pound of meat, even if they hide it, it won't last for more than two meals.
Xie Wei frowned upon hearing this and said, "I'll see if I can catch a couple of fish next weekend."
"Where are we going to catch fish? Is nobody going to care?" Lin Qingqing asked, sitting up.
During the planned economy era, everything belonged to the commune and production brigade. In some strictly controlled areas, you couldn't even catch wild pheasants that wandered into your neighborhood. If you handed them over, that was fine, but if you ate them yourself, you might get accused of exploiting socialism.
Lin Qingqing has been reported before, so she is very sensitive about this.
One or two are fine, but too many are not good.
"We'll just eat at home, two fish should be enough. The last time we went to the Jiang family's, the fish on the table was caught from the river."
Hearing him say that, Lin Qingqing felt relieved and lay back down on his lap, saying, "Okay, we'll see what you're going to cook later."
Xie Wei continued drying Lin Qingqing's hair. The question he had wanted to ask before returning lingered on his lips, and he finally couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry you've had to go through all this time."
"Feeling wronged? I'm not feeling wronged!" Lin Qingqing opened her eyes and said with a puzzled look.
She didn't feel wronged at all; on the contrary, she felt that life was pretty good. Although she couldn't eat meat every day, at least she had enough to eat and wear. She believed that once she got through these few years and the reform and opening up came, life would definitely get better and better.
Seeing her like this, Xie Wei was also a little puzzled and asked, "I heard that you were so moved that you almost cried when I brought back the tickets last time?"
Lin Qingqing was extremely embarrassed upon hearing this: "..."
Author's Note: First update
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