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Su Yi finished registering and discussed tomorrow’s rehearsal with Xu Xiaoqin.
She then hurried back to the dormitory.
The weather was getting colder day by day, and she had to finish knitting her sweater quickly.
Just as she reached the dormitory, she bumped into Ye Nuannuan downstairs.
Su Yi hurried over, “Nuannuan, why are you here alone? Where’s your brother?”
Ye Nuannuan pointed in the direction of her home, “Brother and Uncle are making coal briquettes at home, I came to play with Sister.”
Su Yi paused, remembering what she had just mentioned yesterday.
They were already brought back today and even finished making them?
What kind of speed is this?
Su Yi quickly pulled Nuannuan along, “Let’s go, let’s go back and see.”
As soon as they entered the door, they saw a large pile of black coal in the corner of the yard.
Zhou Jinchuan was bending over, using a shovel and coal slurry.
He had taken off his jacket, only wearing a shirt, and his sleeves were rolled up high, revealing half of his arms.
He didn’t seem to feel the cold at all.
Xie Xiaoyun and Ye Xiaowu were working together to make coal briquettes.
Two rows of finished honeycomb coal were already drying under the sun in the yard.
Su Yi quickly walked to Ye Xiaowu, “You brought it back so quickly? Are you tired?”
Ye Xiaowu grinned, “Not tired, Uncle said it might rain in two days, so it’s better to get it done and dried early so we can relax.”
Su Yi nodded, glanced at Zhou Jinchuan and Xie Xiaoyun, “You’ve worked hard, I’ll go make some tea for you.”
Zhou Jinchuan paused, straightened up, “No need, I also brought back the mutton and the pot, you go have a look.”
Xie Xiaoyun also laughed, “We’re not thirsty, we’re just looking forward to finishing the coal briquettes so we can have mutton hotpot tonight.”
Su Yi was shocked again and quickly walked into the kitchen.
Sure enough, she saw a large leg of lamb on the chopping board, along with a brand new, shiny copper pot!
Even the charcoal for the hotpot was bought back together.
Is this man a magician?
It seems like nothing is too difficult for him.
Before Su Yi could recover, Zhou Jinchuan had already walked in, “How is it? Is it the kind you wanted?”
Su Yi nodded repeatedly, “Yes! So we’re eating it tonight?”
“I’m fine with it, are you free tonight?”
Su Yi nodded, “Yes, I’ll tell the cafeteria, I’ll come back early tonight.”
Zhou Jinchuan hummed in response and continued working outside.
Su Yi decided to take advantage of the free time and prepare the mutton.
She trimmed the meat and put the remaining bones in a large pot to make soup.
After finishing those, Su Yi went to the yard and pulled a basket of coriander, spinach, and Chinese cabbage.
She also pulled out two radishes, planning to slice them and make radish balls.
As for the other dishes, she would buy some leftover ingredients from the cafeteria when she came back tonight.
Xie Xiaoyun worked while smelling the aroma wafting from the kitchen, his energy increased even more.
The group quickly finished making all the coal briquettes from the pile.
The yard was filled with coal briquettes, leaving only a small path for walking.
Then, those going to the army went to the army, and those going to school went to school.
Su Yi finished frying the radish balls and went back to the cafeteria to work early.
The once noisy yard fell silent again.
Until the evening.
The fastest to come back were naturally Ye Xiaowu and Ye Nuannuan.
As soon as they entered the house, they helped Su Yi wash the vegetables.
Su Yi prepared everything in the cafeteria, and after the peak hours, she said goodbye to the two and came back early.
Before leaving, she also bought some fresh meat, tofu, and vegetarian dishes like bean curd skin from the cafeteria.
As soon as she stepped outside, the north wind started blowing again.
Su Yi tightened her coat and thought about the mutton hotpot in the evening, feeling less cold instantly.
She hurried back home and busily chopped the meat filling.
She planned to make some egg dumplings to cook together, as she thought the three men might not have enough to eat with just meat.
She also rolled out some noodles, planning to cook them in the pot later as a main course.
After preparing the food, Zhou Jinchuan and Xie Xiaoyun hurried back.
“Sister Su Yi, is the hotpot ready? It’s freezing outside!”
Su Yi shouted, “It’s almost ready, just need to light the charcoal!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Jinchuan had already walked in, “I’ll do it.”
When the copper pot was placed on the table, the door to the room was closed.
The cold wind was immediately blocked outside, leaving only warmth inside.
The three adults and two children sat around the square table, surrounding the copper pot and starting to eat hotpot.
Ye Xiaowu and Ye Nuannuan were both eating hotpot for the first time.
They were sweating profusely and couldn’t stop.
“Uncle, is the hotpot in Beijing this delicious?”
Zhou Jinchuan curved his lips, “I think it’s not as good, but I’ll take you there to try it when we go to Beijing.”
The two children happily agreed.
Xie Xiaoyun also laughed, “Commander, next time you go back to Beijing, take me to see the world too.”
Zhou Jinchuan smiled and nodded, “Mhm, there will be a chance.”
After saying that, he glanced at Su Yi with the corner of his eye.
He saw that she was still concentrating on eating the egg dumplings in her bowl, with no intention of speaking.
The charcoal fire in the pot was boiling, making her nose sweat slightly.
Zhou Jinchuan looked away and gave each of the children an egg dumpling, “Eat slowly.”
In the end, Su Yi used a spoon to scoop up all the mutton and divide it among everyone.
Then she added noodles to the pot.
While waiting for the noodles to cook, Su Yi remembered to tell the two children, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be rehearsing with Sister Xiaoqin, so I’ll be back late. It’s cold, don’t wait for me downstairs, I’ll come see you when I’m free.”
Ye Xiaowu nodded, “What rehearsal? I haven’t heard of it before.”
Su Yi quickly explained about the New Year’s Eve performance on stage.
To avoid raising everyone’s expectations, she simply said it was just a formality.
The two children were still very excited and said they would go early to get a good spot to watch.
Xie Xiaoyun also joined in the fun, “Commander, you should come watch, let’s cheer for Sister Su Yi together.
Zhou Jinchuan hummed, “When did I say I wouldn’t go?”
Xie Xiaoyun’s eyelids twitched. He clearly said he wouldn’t go today.
How could he change his mind in a matter of moments?
Did he hear wrong?
“Hehe, I must have remembered wrong.” Xie Xiaoyun changed the topic and asked Su Yi, “By the way, Sister Su Yi, I think the temperature is going to drop, you’ve been busy lately, I’ll help you move the coal briquettes to your dormitory when they’re dry!”
Su Yi quickly waved her hand, “No need, I’ll move them myself when I come back one night.”
Zhou Jinchuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, “Give me your key, I’ll help you move it when everyone in the dormitory building is at work.”
Su Yi didn’t dare to refuse him lately.
“Then please help me put it in the hallway!”
Fortunately, her room was at the end, and there was a space next to it to put the coal briquettes, so she wouldn’t have to move them inside and dirty the place.
Zhou Jinchuan directly stretched out his hand, “The stove needs to be moved too, it’s not good to leave it outside.”
Then, he curled his fingers slightly, “You have the key to our house too.”
Seeing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Zhao Xiaoyun silently picked up his bowl and ate noodles.
Su Yi finally took a spare key from her keychain, “Thank you then.”
Zhou Jinchuan calmly reached out and took it, “You’re welcome.”