Yin Xiaoman leaned to the side, avoiding the man's breath, and then freed one hand to point to the side: "There is rice in the pot."
Shen Qingyun was stunned.
He never thought that even though he came back so late and left a note, his wife actually left him a meal?
He took two steps to the side, lifted the lid of the big iron pot on the stove, and then a faint burst of hot air blew towards him.
He knew that Yin Xiaoman had the habit of turning off the fire late and leaving a mouthful of warm water, but it was almost eleven o'clock in the evening and there was still steam in the pot. So what time did he turn off the fire?
If she said that she turned off the engine so late at night and wasn't waiting for him, Shen Qingyun would never believe it.
Looking at the bowls on the steamer in the pot, which were covered with plates to keep them warm, all kinds of feelings came to my mind at once.
Seeing him staring at the pot motionlessly, Yin Xiaoman felt a little strange.
After thinking for a while, he said, "I turned off the stove late today, so the food shouldn't be too cold. You try it, and if it's cold, I'll heat it up for you."
"No, it's all hot."
Shen Qingyun responded quickly, and brought out the still warm small bowls one by one.
There were three cornmeal dumplings in the slightly larger bowl. Judging from their size, they were prepared for him. They were obviously much bigger than what the three of them usually ate.
The other two bowls, one contained fried catfish with shredded mustard greens, and the other contained shredded jellyfish mixed with cabbage hearts.
There is also a larger soup bowl containing seafood soup made with shellfish and vegetables.
Looking at such a sumptuous dinner, Shen Qingyun was a little afraid to pick up his chopsticks for a moment.
It's not that he thinks too much, it's really -
Since my daughter-in-law came, they have been eating so well.
This made him feel a little uneasy and he couldn't feel at ease.
Yin Xiaoman glanced at the man at the table and began to explain.
"The cat fish was sent by Sister Cui. She said that when she was out for a walk this morning, she saw someone delivering cat fish to the canteen, but the staff didn't want them because they thought they were too small and too much trouble to clean up, so she brought them all back for me. The jellyfish and clams were picked up by us today. As for the cabbage and greens..."
"Did you go fishing today?" Shen Qingyun was a little surprised.
If he was not mistaken, his daughter-in-law was born and raised in Shuanggui Village and had probably never even seen the sea.
Thinking back to the time when she was unwilling to join the army with me, one of the most important reasons was that she didn't want to change her environment and was afraid that she would not be able to get used to it.
You've only been here for a few days, and you already know how to go fishing?
Yin Xiaoman had obviously thought of this.
But this matter could not be concealed. Moreover, she would go to the sea more often in the future, so there was no need to conceal it.
She nodded. "That day when I went out with my sister-in-law, I asked Uncle Li for the location. I was curious and wanted to see what it was like, but I didn't expect Dabao to be so good! He can dig clams and catch crabs. You must not know that Lian Erniu is also very brave and is good at catching crabs."
When talking about things that interest him, Yin Xiaoman was obviously interested, his eyes were bright, and he talked a lot more than usual.
Shen Qingyun did not interrupt her, but just listened quietly, and his eyes became softer and softer as he looked at her.
He likes this feeling.
This was the longest time Shen Qingyun had spent alone with his wife since she joined the army, and it was also the time he had heard her talk the most.
I listened to her rambling about their fishing trips, listened to her talk about how strong her two children were, and even listened to her faint complaints, feeling that she was not as good as her children...
Shen Qingyun just felt sweet and warm in his heart, so comfortable that he couldn't help but sigh.
The depression that had been lingering in my heart for a day gradually faded away without me noticing.
The look he gave his daughter-in-law became more and more passionate and persistent.
He thought, this is life!
He would be content for the rest of his life to have such a home and such a wife.
In order to make such days last a little longer and continue like this, he would do whatever he was asked to do!
Lichun looked at the note on the table, his whole body stiff and unable to move for a long time.
She had a blank expression on her face, but there was a raging storm in her heart!
It’s not been a single day or two that things get lost in the small warehouse.
Did they also suspect that there might be a thief or a spy?
After searching for a long time, I found nothing.
After all, this is the imperial kitchen, and not just anyone can enter or leave the palace.
There are only a limited number of people coming in and out every day, and none of them would steal a bag of rice or a can of oil.
So, after investigating for many days and failing to find any clues, everyone could only put the blame on the cat and Wong Tai Sin.
But from the bottom of my heart, no one really believed it, let alone the beginning of spring.
Just now, Eunuch Wei came and called them out to give them a lecture. Although he explicitly said that setting up the incense table was against the rules, how could Lichun not hear the implicit meaning behind his words?
Eunuch Wei was reminding her that he had helped suppress the matter. But we don’t have to pursue what happened in the past, but the same thing must never happen again in the future.
If the news of missing anything again gets out of the imperial kitchen, all of them will be fired.
When she came back, Lichun felt completely hopeless and thought she could only leave everything to fate.
But I never expected to see such a note on the desk!
She couldn't help but reach out her hand, pick up the piece of paper and hold it close to the candlelight to take a closer look. The more she looked, the more she felt it was full of mysteries.
Lichun had never seen this kind of paper in all the years he had been in the palace. So smooth, with light green horizontal stripes on it.
I don't know how the horizontal lines were printed, but they are like the words on the pages of a book and cannot be erased.
And the pen used for writing is actually the same blue as the sky. From such fine handwriting, it can be seen that the brush used was definitely not one of those commonly seen in the palace.
Lichun looked at the cloud drawn at the bottom of the paper where his signature should be, and felt that this mark must have a deeper meaning.
What does the person who left the letter want to express? Does it mean that he is not from this world, but comes from above the clouds?
Thinking of this, Lichun felt her heart pounding. She subconsciously clutched the piece of paper tightly, trying to calm her mind.
It’s not that she thought too much, it’s just that so many things came together that they were completely inexplicable.
Not to mention how the things in the small warehouse were lost, let’s just talk about how this piece of paper appeared on her desk?
She clearly remembered that when she left the room, there was absolutely nothing on the table except the account book.
The imperial kitchen had no back door, and they were all gathered in the front yard just now. Not to mention a person, even if a bird or an insect flew in, no one would know about it.
What's more, the door of this room is locked.
The more I thought about the beginning of spring, the more excited I became. I immediately decided to prepare everything according to the requirements on the note.
Although she didn't understand why the fairies in heaven needed these worldly things, it would always be right to do as the fairies said.
"A bag of rice, half a bag of vegetables..." She muttered to herself, picked up a piece of paper from the desk, and carefully copied it.
I decided to personally supervise the steward to buy the best tomorrow.
As for the silver that the fairy mentioned, she left it where it was and didn't dare to move it at all.
Although he slept very late the night before, Shen Qingyun still got up as usual the next day and went out for morning exercises.
Yin Xiaoman also struggled to get out of bed.
She knew that the man came back late yesterday because he was a little angry, but it was also true that he was busy with work.
Since she had promised to take care of the family's life, she must always make sure that person eats better for three meals a day.
Put the extra steamed wowo that was specially steamed yesterday into the steamer to keep it warm, take out the cleaned clam meat and cook a new soup, and serve it with fried cat fish with shredded mustard greens.
When Shen Qingyun came back from running, a hot breakfast was already on the table as soon as he entered the door.
He will be taking part in the competition in a few days. This will be his first time to participate in the whole regiment's military competition since he was promoted to battalion commander. It is very important for him and the vanguard battalion.
Shen Qingyun really didn't have time. Eating was like a battle. Before Yin Xiaoman woke up the child, he had already finished his meal, wiped his mouth, and stood up.
Shen Qingyun went back to the bedroom, took out the passbook and money and stuffed them into Yin Xiaoman's hand. Without waiting for her to refuse, he forcefully closed her hand that was holding the money.
Then he looked at her and said, "Keep it. I'm busy and I'm not always at home. In a few days we're going to participate in a competition in the group, which will take at least half a month, so you can't be without some money in your hands."
In fact, after what happened yesterday, Yin Xiaoman was too embarrassed to refuse firmly anymore. Now hearing him say this, she could only nod silently.
Seeing her agree, Shen Qingyun smiled again, without any intention of hiding it. He said to Yin Xiaoman with a beaming smile, "Don't go out this morning. Gao Chong and the others are going to the regiment to do some work. I asked him to bring back two thermoses from the supply and marketing cooperative. This way you don't have to keep the fire on to warm the water every night."
Yin Xiaoman nodded again.
She had never seen a thermos, but she thought it should be similar to the silver bottle used in the palace to warm water for the princess at night.
She was very happy when she thought that she would have a water container so that she wouldn't have to run to the kitchen if she wanted to drink some water at night.
So a smile appeared on my face involuntarily.
Seeing his wife being so obedient and looking at him with a well-behaved smile on her face, Shen Qingyun finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in his heart.
He suddenly remembered something important and quickly said, "I almost forgot. Don't cook tonight. Brother Qi told us to go to his house to eat steamed buns tonight. He said it was a welcome party for you. He told me several days in advance and said that his sister-in-law would make steamed buns for us."
When Yin Xiaoman heard that he was going to visit someone's home, he was a little hesitant.
She had never been a guest at someone else's home since she was a child, so she had no experience of this and didn't know if there were any rules involved.
"Do you want to prepare any gifts?" she asked hesitantly.
"Gift?" Shen Qingyun was stunned for a moment, and his first reaction was that his wife was so polite.
Everyone lives so close that you can just walk there. If his wife hadn't said it, he would have never even thought about preparing a gift.
But think about it again, when Xiaoman and the others came, my sister-in-law came specially to give them gifts.
"Then...send me some?"
He thought about it for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Just scoop out a bowl of the crab you made yesterday and bring it to them."
It would be best if you could scoop up more wine so they can sip it at the same time.
Yin Xiaoman paused, then looked at Shen Qingyun with great resentment, but it was rare for a man to bring it up, so she didn't want to give him too much face.
I had no choice but to nod.
But he was so angry that he didn't say a word.
But Shen Qingyun was obviously completely unaware of his wife's unhappiness. He just felt very happy this morning and had accomplished everything he wanted to do.
I feel that the sky is much bluer than usual.
Although it was a party in the evening, Cui Yan didn't show any courtesy to Yin Xiaoman. Not long after lunch, she rushed over and took her to her home to help.
In Cui Yan's words, "After eating the braised mixed fish you made that day, our whole family was like a lovesick person, and we couldn't forget it. Now I finally have the chance, if I don't let you show off your cooking skills, won't the whole family complain about me to death?"
Cui Yan also said: "Xiao Man, you cook and I'll help you. Just tell me what you want and I promise to prepare it all for you!"
Although she said so, after Yin Xiaoman followed her to her kitchen and took a look around, she still sighed secretly.
There was nothing in the entire kitchen except a salt shaker, a vinegar bottle, a few spices that had been used countless times, and a pinch of peppercorns.
How can such seasoning make the food taste good?
But she also understood that this was the normal configuration for an average family in this era. It could even be said that it was better than that of an ordinary family.
At least for tonight's party, Cui Yan went to the county town to buy a piece of meat, a piece of tofu, potatoes, radishes, green vegetables and other common dishes. She even didn't know where she got a live chicken from!
"Not many people came here tonight. Apart from our two families, there are only Deputy Battalion Commander Li Jianjun, Staff Officer Yuan Ming, Peng Shao and Liu Chang from the Health Center. They are all close friends with Qi Feng and Xiao Shen. I've given you everything. Just do it and your sister-in-law will help you!"
After hearing what Cui Yan said, Yin Xiaoman began to count the heads on his fingers. After counting, there were a total of twelve heads, big and small.
According to current family rules, children are usually not allowed to sit at the table. They can just be sent away with whatever food they are given, and they don't have to be counted as one person.
But Yin Xiaoman would definitely not be like that.
She looked at what was spread out on the kitchen table, the recipe already forming in her mind.
"Sister-in-law, please help me kill the chicken. Don't worry about the rest. I can do it myself."
After hearing her say this, Cui Yan didn't ask any more questions and agreed readily.
She came from the capital, so she had naturally seen more of the world than ordinary people. After eating the dishes cooked by Xiaoman, she knew that this girl must come from an extraordinary family.
Such people usually have a heritage, and they all have some recipes that cannot be passed on.
In today's world, she would rather keep these words to herself than speak them out, but she would definitely do what is convenient for her.
Knowing that Xiaoman is not willing to cook when there are people around, Cui Yan will naturally avoid them as soon as possible.
Yin Xiaoman had no idea that a casual remark of his had caused his sister-in-law to imagine so much.
The reason why she didn't want Cui Yan to be around was that it was inconvenient to get the seasonings from outside.
Yin Xiaoman knew that she couldn't cook as she pleased outside as she did at home.
But as a former cook, when I see meat and chicken, I cannot tolerate them being wasted due to insufficient seasoning.
She walked around the kitchen, but couldn't help but go out and waved to her son.
Seeing Dabao agreed and ran back home happily, Cui Yan, who was plucking chicken feathers in the yard, was unwilling to do so.
"Hey, Xiaoman, tell me what you need. I dare not take vegetables from your house!"
She knew that this young wife was a practical person, but who would have too much food to finish? There is no reason to just give things away to others!
"It's okay, sister-in-law. I just picked some pickled mustard greens at home as a side dish."
When she heard that it was pickles, Cui Yan stopped talking.
Nowadays, every family has a few jars of pickled vegetables. This is not worth much.
"If you need pickles, my sister-in-law is pickling some sour cabbage. It's right under the stove. You can get some yourself."
"Okay!"
…
After cleaning the eggs and sending them to Yin Xiaoman, Cui Yan started to take the little ones to the cafeteria to borrow chairs, bowls and chopsticks.
Afraid that there wouldn’t be enough staple food, he went out and bought twenty steamed buns made of 20 grams of flour.
When they came back carrying the things in a bustling crowd, Cui Yan's eldest son Qiangzi was the first to shout when they were still far away!
"Auntie Man has made delicious food again! It smells so good!"
His younger brother Hu Zi also took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I want to go to Aunt Man's house for dinner! I want to eat stewed fish!"
Cui Yan was still carrying a chair in her hand. When she heard her son's words, she kicked him angrily!
"Your Aunt Man is at our house right now! Look at what you have accomplished! Don't call me mom anymore. Follow Dabao and Erniu and go call your Aunt Man mom! See if she wants you or not!"
Dabao was laughing foolishly beside him, feeling so happy.
Erniu is young and can't do any work, but she is very good at talking.
After hearing what Aunt Cui said, she added without any hesitation: "My mother doesn't want you. She thinks you eat too much!"
When these words were spoken, even Cui Yan couldn't help but laugh.
The group chatted and laughed as they entered the house, and then discovered that Qi Feng and Shen Qingyun had returned. He must have been thinking about the dinner treat, so he came back a little early.
Perhaps because he was fed with delicious food by his wife every day, Shen Qingyun looked much calmer at the moment.
On the contrary, although Qi Feng is so much older, he is like a young boy at this moment, and he can't help but keep poking his head towards the kitchen.
As soon as Cui Yan entered the room, she heard him urging Shen Qingyun: "Go in and help your wife, and see if there are any dishes ready to be served. What are you doing with them in there? They're taking up space."
Cui Yan was so angry that she almost jumped up!
"What are you carrying? Will there be any left over after you bring it out? Go, go, go! If you have nothing to do, go back to the house and don't make things worse here!"
She waved at the two big men unhappily and said with a look of disgust.
Seeing that his "plot" was discovered, Qi Feng felt a little embarrassed. He laughed dryly twice, waved his hand to the four children, and patted Dabao on the head a few times.
"Come on, let's not make trouble. Let's go back to the house with uncle. I'll find flying chess for you to play."
After chasing away a few guys who were just waiting to eat, Cui Yan entered the kitchen. What she saw really scared her!
She bought today's vegetables. She went out before dawn and rushed to the county town to buy them.
When she bought it, she was happy for a long time, thinking that today's meal must be outstanding, with at least four large bowls.
But she never expected that Xiaoman could make the banquet so grand!
Looking at the several large plates already laid out on the table, just waiting to be put into the pot, and the chicken soup simmering on the stove, Cui Yan was completely dumbfounded.
"Xiao Man, where did you get all these vegetables? Did you bring all your food here for me?"
"No, you prepared all of them. Oh, sister-in-law, you came at the right time."
Seeing her coming, Yin Xiaoman was very happy: "Sister-in-law, you watch the fire first, I will bring this chicken soup to my house to stew, otherwise this stove is not enough."
"Don't move, I'll go, I'll go!"
Seeing that she was about to take the boiling pot of chicken soup, Cui Yan quickly stopped her: "Your little arms and legs will get burned!"
Seeing her nervous look, Yin Xiaoman finally couldn't help laughing: "Sister-in-law, don't underestimate me, I'm very strong!" As he said that, he raised the hand that was waving the spatula.
After hearing her say this, Cui Yan did not argue with her, but just smiled with squinted eyes.
But she didn't know that what Yin Xiaoman said was true.
She entered the imperial kitchen at the age of eleven and started as a fire-making maid. Yin Xiaoman was not shy about all the hard work and did it all.
When cooking porridge in the dog days of summer, the porridge bucket is taller than her.
Standing on a stool, stirring with the spatula in both hands for two or three hours. If you stir it a little too slowly or if you are distracted, the porridge will most likely stick to the bottom and you will be punished by the person in charge.
Not to mention the prickly heat all over my neck, front and back, I don’t even know how many times my knees have been swollen from kneeling.
His calves were often beaten so badly that he couldn't even walk.
If you can get through those days, what hardship can you not endure?
Nowadays, most people don't lock their doors. Since Cui Yan asked her to stew the food, Yin Xiaoman didn't stop her. She just told her the heat and then started to prepare the food.
Today's dinner is extremely sumptuous.
Yin Xiaoman prepared seven dishes and a soup, namely: stewed meat with sauerkraut, fried mustard greens with oil residue, stewed razor clam meat with tofu, jellyfish with shredded cabbage, and drunken crabs she brought from home.
In addition, she made full use of the chicken. She used the chicken head, chicken neck, chicken feet, and chicken rack to make soup, and diced the chicken breast and made stir-fried chicken with carrots and potatoes.
The chicken legs and wings were chopped into small pieces and made into braised chicken nuggets together with chicken blood, chicken offal, and some black fungus and dried mushrooms found from Cui Yan's house.
She managed to turn this chicken into two dishes and a soup.
Cui Yan's family, like theirs, also eats in the kitchen.
Yin Xiaoman was so absorbed in cooking that she didn't pay any attention. By the time she had finished cooking, it was almost dark outside.
First, he used small bowls to take out the food for the children and put it aside. Yin Xiaoman washed his hands and prepared to go out and tell everyone that it was time to eat.
As a result, she just opened the kitchen door and froze there.
Yin Xiaoman had never expected that in such a cold day, when he opened the door, he would see a crowd of people standing in the middle of the yard, all talking absentmindedly.
Seeing her open the door, these people fell silent almost at the same time, and all looked at her eagerly, their eyes full of desire.
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