Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 39 Junior High 2 Dinner

In the kitchen, the first batch of steamed buns was ready. Jingyan heard He Zhijun calling her and went to check. Comparison is the thief of joy. His first attempt was already very good. The surface of the steamed buns was smooth and intact, without any blemishes. She tore off a piece and tasted it. The wheat flavor was very good, much better than what she made herself.

Seeing the disappointment in Jingyan's eyes, He Zhijun felt a little sorry for her: "If you want to steam buns in the future, wait for me to come back and do it. I guess you're not strong enough and the dough wasn't kneaded properly. I'm strong enough to do this."

Jingyan seized the opportunity to back down: "Then this job will be yours from now on. Pour out the water in the pot, fill it with cold water again, and steam the next batch. I'll go open the front door; Sister Chen and her family should be here soon."

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she heard the bell ring. She quickly walked a few steps and opened the gate. A family of three stood neatly in front of her. Chen Xinyue asked with a smile, "Are we too early?"

Jing Yan shook her head: "No, I was just about to invite him. This saves me the trouble. Please come in."

Upon entering the house, He Zhijun and Battalion Commander Gao heard the noise and quickly came out of the kitchen. The three of them saw the copper pot on the table as soon as they entered, and the aroma from the bottom of the pot was slowly spreading out. Gong Haibo asked in surprise, "Are we having hot pot? Oh my, it's been so hard to get this kind of food these past few years. We're in for a treat today."

Chen Xinyue smiled and handed the basket she was carrying to Jing Yan, casually teasing, "Are you saying that because you think my cooking is bad?"

Gong Haibo choked and quickly begged for forgiveness: "How could that be? My wife's cooking is better than any chef in a state-run restaurant. What you made tastes like home. I can't let the host down when we're guests."

Chen Xinyue chuckled: "You'd be more believable if you wiped the drool off your lips before you spoke."

Jing Yan tried her best to ignore the two's sticky flirting, glanced at the contents of the basket, and immediately felt that it was a bit too expensive: "Isn't this too valuable?"

Two bottles of Moutai liquor, two bottles of canned yellow peaches, six apples, and two ribbonfish. He Zhijun walked over to her and looked at the items together. "They are indeed too valuable. Moutai liquor requires a special permit and cannot be bought with liquor coupons. Other items can be taken, but this liquor is not acceptable."

Gong Haibo quickly stopped him from taking the wine and said with a smile, "This isn't something I bought. It's wine from my boss. He loves wine, but the doctor won't let him drink it. His wife is worried about his health, so she distributed all the wine she had at home to us, her relatively close subordinates. I was lucky enough to be the first to pick and got a few bottles of Moutai. You guys keep this wine and bring it out for your children's wedding banquets in the future. That will definitely make you look good."

Zhang Jingyan...

He Zhijun...

Seeing their embarrassed faces, Chen Xinyue gently patted Gong Haibo: "Young people are easily embarrassed, don't tease them." After saying that, she took the basket from Jing Yan's hand and placed it on the ground at the door, gently stroking her hand: "Don't listen to Lao Gong, he's usually not very reliable. I can already smell the aroma, when is dinner?"

Upon seeing the steps, Jingyan immediately chimed in, "We can eat anytime. Let's have hot pot first, and then some barbecue to fill the gaps." As she spoke, Jingyan pulled the child over, squatted down, and asked him, "Little one, can you eat spicy food?"

The five- or six-year-old proudly puffed out his little chest: "Qiqi isn't picky about food, he can eat anything. Mom said I'm the easiest child to raise."

Jingyan rubbed his little head: "Good boy! Let's eat first, and after we finish eating, Auntie will get you some candied hawthorns. Do you like candied hawthorns?"

The child couldn't help but swallow hard, then nodded: "I like it, but it's hard to buy."

"These aren't store-bought; they're homemade. Try some later, and if you like them, I'll give you a few skewers, okay?"

Gong Qijia didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked up at Jing Yan's mother standing behind her. Seeing her mother nod with a smile, he nodded emphatically and said, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

Jingyan affectionately patted his head again before standing up to invite everyone to sit down. Chen Xinyue helped the child cook the vegetables, and the three men ate and chatted, occasionally taking a sip of wine. Although it was just bulk wine, the taste was not bad. Jingyan was in charge of adding soup, charcoal, and vegetables. The meal lasted for nearly two hours before it came to an end.

There were very few dishes left on the table. Jing Yan extinguished the charcoal fire and waited for the copper pot to cool completely. She didn't want to clear the table for the time being and just sat there enjoying her short period of leisure. Gong Haibo praised the hot pot base for today: "This is the first time I've had a hot pot with this kind of spicy and fragrant flavor. I have to say, it's really great. I'm already stuffed."

Battalion Commander Gao said with a smile, "This is how it's done in Sichuan Province. The weather there is humid, and chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns can help remove dampness. The flavor is known for its richness. I didn't expect Xiao Zhang to be able to make the base sauce from that region. It's a pleasant surprise."

Jing Yan just smiled and didn't reply. After resting for a while, she stood up and said, "You guys chat first. I'll clean up the table. Later, when everyone's hungry, we can have some barbecue."

Gong Haibo looked surprised: "Are you planning to eat two meals in a row?"

He Zhijun said with a smile, "Jingyan also told me before that when we first arrived, she had to borrow a package from your family to pick it up at the post office. They say that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Our two families should visit each other more often in the future. I am not often at home, so I can feel more at ease having a good neighbor."

While the man was talking, Jingyan cleared the table, and Chen Xinyue helped her. The two took the dishes to the kitchen and used the hot water in the kitchen to wash the dishes and pots. They started talking about children, and Chen Xinyue asked, "I see that you two have a very good relationship. Today I saw that you also like children. When are you planning to have children?"

Jingyan shook her head: "I will also be working in the army canteen in the spring. He is still young and has no family around. We plan to have a child a few years later. If we have a child now, I am afraid I will not be able to manage on my own. He is in the army, and various conditions do not allow it."

Chen Xinyue nodded in agreement: "Yes, if you had a child now, you would have to manage everything at home and outside, which would be too tiring. It's better to wait, as long as your husband and mother-in-law don't pressure you."

After cleaning up the kitchen, the two returned to the living room. When Gong Qi's child saw Jing Yan, he ran up to her excitedly, looked up, and said in a clear voice, "Aunt Zhang, Qi Qi has a little bit of empty space in his tummy. Can he eat candied hawthorn?"

Looking into the child's big, watery eyes, Jingyan smiled and ruffled his soft hair, replying, "Of course! Qiqi, how about we go get it together?"

Gong Qijia nodded repeatedly and offered his chubby little hand to Jing Yan. Jing Yan smiled and took his hand, looking at Chen Xinyue: "Sister Chen, let's go together."

Chen Xinyue nodded, and the two adults and one child went to the backyard. Chen Xinyue saw the barbecue grill set up in the backyard: "You've prepared all this? I'm really sorry to have troubled you today. I only wanted to come here for one meal, but now we've been eating all day."

Jingyan laughed heartily, "What does it matter? We get along well, it's great that both families can have fun together. You don't know, Zhijun and Battalion Commander Gao are both always busy, wandering around the house looking for things to do. I don't have much to talk about with them. Look, all those big chunks of coal in my warehouse have been smashed. It's good that your brother-in-law is here to chat with them. It's better than being bored at home. I welcome him more than I can. Don't be shy with me."

As she spoke, she walked to the storeroom. On the side of the storeroom was a three-tiered shelf. Jingyan lifted an enamel basin that was covered, revealing twelve candied hawthorns neatly arranged on a glass plate. The bright red hawthorns were coated with a thick layer of syrup, and the syrup on the side that was pressed against the glass plate was flattened.

Gong Qijia exclaimed excitedly and ran to the jar to look: "Aunt Zhang, you have so many candied hawthorns! Can I pick one?"

"Okay, see which skewers you like, and take them home with you when you go home tonight, okay?" Jingyan said, mimicking his childish voice.

While carefully choosing which skewer to take, Gong Qijia replied, "One skewer is enough for Qiqi."

"Why don't you want what your aunt gave you?" Jingyan asked, puzzled.

"Because these are Auntie's snacks. If Qiqi takes them, Auntie won't have enough to eat," Gong Qijia replied earnestly.

"Auntie can't finish all this, how about we each eat half?"

Gong Qijia took the skewer he had chosen, looked back at Jingyan, then at his mother, and asked, "Mom, can Qiqi eat more and take more with him?"

Chen Xinyue looked at his obvious scheming and said helplessly, "Okay, but only this time, because Auntie really likes you and sincerely wants to give it to you. However, you can only eat half a skewer a day. If you eat more, your teeth will get cavities."

Gong Qijia smiled happily, revealing her little tiger teeth, which made her even cuter. She painstakingly peeled the candied hawthorn off the glass plate and held it up to Chen Xinyue: "Mom, you eat first."

Chen Xinyue stepped forward, took a bite of the first hawthorn fruit, and said with a smile, "Mmm, so sweet."

Gong Qijia took the candied hawthorn in front of him, licked the sugar coating, and smiled with his eyes narrowed, looking very satisfied.

Jingyan put the enamel basin back up. "Then you have to remember to remind Auntie when you leave, otherwise Auntie will forget and that would be going back on her word, and that wouldn't be a good Auntie."

"Thank you auntie."

Jingyan led them back to the house, going straight to the main room. The three of them sat on the kang (a heated brick bed). "Your children are so well-behaved. They are polite and don't guard their food."

Chen Xinyue accepted the praise with a smile. Gong Qijia, after finishing his candied hawthorn, felt a little sleepy and yawned, "Mom, Qiqi is sleepy."

"Qiqi, go rinse your mouth first before you come to sleep, okay? You just ate candied hawthorns, you need to rinse your mouth," Chen Xinyue suggested to him.

Gong Qijia nodded his little head and let Jing Yan lead him to the kitchen. He rinsed his mouth with a porcelain mug filled with warm water, returned to the room, and fell into a deep sleep after a while.

Looking at the child's peaceful sleeping face, Jingyan said, "The three of them are still chatting, why don't we take a nap too?"

Chen Xinyue nodded. The two of them slept for about an hour, and their energy improved considerably after the nap. In the living room, Gong Haibo and Battalion Commander Gao were playing chess, while He Zhijun watched from the side. There was a pot of tea on the table, still emitting steam.

"Are you hungry? When do we start barbecuing?" Jing Yan asked.

Hearing her words, He Zhijun got up and walked over: "You're awake?" Seeing that Jing Yan looked well, he turned around and asked: "Are we going to have barbecue now or wait a while?"

Gong Haibo rubbed his stomach: "Let's wait a little longer, I'm not hungry yet. Drinking goes better with barbecue. Let's have a good drink together later."

Battalion Commander Gao laughed heartily: "That's a good idea. It's a holiday anyway, so there's no need to worry about getting drunk and not being able to get up."

Chen Xinyue also came out of the bedroom and said to Jing Yan, "We ate quite a lot at noon, so we won't eat much tonight. Let's get ready first?"

Jingyan led her to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and brought out two large basins of skewered lamb and placed them on the counter: "It's all ready. It's winter now, so there aren't many ingredients. If it were summer or autumn, we could grill corn, mushrooms, silkworm pupae, quail, or even green peppers and eggplants. That would be a proper combination of meat and vegetables."

Chen Xinyue was already tempted just listening to her talk, and whispered to her, "When the corn is harvested, shall we get together again? My family can provide lamb. You can tell me what other ingredients we can use, and I'll find them."

“But you can’t provide everything. So you provide the mutton, and I’ll provide the beef. We can talk about the other ingredients later. Anyway, the supply and marketing cooperative sells beef, which is relatively easy to buy.” Jing Yan wasn’t stingy.

The two looked at each other and smiled. Gong Qijia, having had enough sleep, put on his shoes and ran over to find his mother. Jing Yan bent down and looked at him, asking, "Qiqi, do you want some barbecue skewers?"

Gong Qi asked softly, "Is it the same kind we ate last time? I want to eat it, Qiqi is hungry." After saying that, she patted her little belly in a serious manner, which made Jing Yan unable to help but laugh.

It was already past four o'clock and the sky was getting dark. She pulled the switch on the light at the back gate to turn it on, and lit the charcoal fire by the light. Once the charcoal was burning, she placed the malted milk powder box next to the fire until the oil inside melted. Then, Jingyan took out a large handful of meat skewers and put them on the grill to start grilling.

While Jing Yan was busy, Gong Qijia, wearing a cotton-padded coat and a hat, followed her around like a little follower. When the meat skewers started to be grilled, he stood obediently by the stove, watching eagerly. His greedy look amused the two adults.

"Qiqi, do you want your meat skewers spicy or not?" Jingyan asked him.

"Aunt Zhang, can Qiqi not have chili peppers?" Gong Qijia replied without taking her eyes off the meat skewers on the grill.

Jingyan teased him, "Sure, but boys who can't eat spicy food will be afraid of their wives in the future."

"Like how my dad is afraid of my mom? But my dad can eat spicy food, and he's still afraid of his wife. Aunt Zhang, you're not right," Gong Qijia replied seriously.

Gong Haibo, who had just reached the door, wanted to beat the child.

Chen Xinyue laughed heartily: "Your Aunt Zhang is just teasing you. If you don't want spicy food, then don't. It's okay if you're afraid of your wife in the future, as long as she's obedient. That'll save you a lot of trouble."