Chapter 18: Holding Hands Successfully

Fuyang Brigade has a very good geographical location. Compared with the cold northeast in winter and the northwest that is still undergoing land reclamation, this place can be praised as having spring-like weather all year round.

In the original owner’s memory, the local area had no other shortcomings except that the summers were too hot and humid. It was considered a prized location for educated youth.

As far as Wen Jiajia knew, there were now eight educated youths living in the main team of the Fuyang Brigade, and there were educated youths in several subordinate squads as well. She didn’t know how many would come this time.

It didn’t matter to her if more came or not. She just needed to complete the task assigned to her by Captain Fang. Only Captain Fang was worried because the villagers and intellectuals had always kept their affairs separate.

Wen Jiajia had developed some feelings for Daqiang recently.

She would feed Daqiang from time to time, and he had become more docile with her.

Now, as long as she shouted “huh,” even if someone else came to lead him, Daqiang would still not move.

“You’ve subdued Daqiang,” Fang Qing’an said with a smile as he came to change Daqiang’s saddle.

Wen Jiajia was sometimes not very careful, amoon wasery time she unshackled the saddle, she threw it on the ground, nearly destroying it.

“Yes, I’m going to steal your job, Brother Qing’an,” she joked.

Fang Qing’an didn’t mind. He was the eldest son of the captain and had plenty of work to do while driving the carriage.

Wen Jiajia was able to take over this work to reduce his burden.

Wen Jiajia also knew why this arrangement was made, and she had heard that Fang Qing’an would soon work in the commune’s brewery.

Although the commune brewery only belonged to the commune, the wages and benefits there were comparable to those of some small and medium-sized factories in the county, and it was not easy for ordinary people to get in.

After changing the saddle, Wen Jiajia set off.

She skillfully loaded the cart and, after a “drive,” Daqiang obediently walked forward.

It’s said that an old horse knows the way, but in fact, a donkey does too.

Perhaps because he had walked out of the village many times recently, Wen Jiajia didn’t need to worry much; Daqiang would walk by himself. It wasn’t until they left the commune that Wen Jiajia needed to hold the reins and show the way.

Wei Dai waited at the fork in the road for more than ten minutes. Wen Jiajia had told him about the plan yesterday when she went to transport fish.

Both of them were quite serious about their first date.

Wen Jiajia wore a new dress she made herself, and Wei Dai also put on his white shirt.

“Wei Dai, when are you going back to the army?” she asked.

Wei Dai was silent for a moment. “I’ll leave in about five days.”

Wen Jiajia counted on her hands: “Actually, you didn’t stay at home for 40 days, just a month at most.” Wei Dai would be back roughly as long as she had been here.

And she had been here for a month.

Wen Jiajia looked at the overlapping mountains in the distance, feeling a bit melancholy. Except for Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, Wei Dai was the closest person she had since she crossed over.

Perhaps because of this special connection, she felt very reluctant.

For a moment, an unspoken atmosphere permeated the two of them, and both were silent.

Wei Dai turned to look at her. The wind blew, lifting her hair into the air. As they passed under a shade tree, the dappled shadows danced on her white face.

He turned back around, feeling his heart stir.

He wanted to take his time, but he didn’t want to slow down.

The county seat soon came into view.

Wen Jiajia was not in a hurry to pick up the new arrivals, as they were probably just getting off the train from the city, and someone from the Youth Affairs Office would pick them up.

“Let’s go eat first.” Wei Dai looked at the sky and said, “I have an acquaintance at a state-run restaurant, and the chicken he makes is excellent.”

Wen Jiajia was intrigued, as she loved food. Especially in this era when entertainment was scarce, delicious food could bring her a lot of comfort.

She hadn’t heard of the chicken dish and was a little surprised.

The state-run hotel was in the east of the city. Wen Jiajia left the donkey cart at the door of the police station at the entrance to the city before following Wei Dai with peace of mind.

“How do you know the people at the state-run hotel?” Wen Jiajia asked from the back seat of the bicycle.

Wei Dai smiled. “He came back from the army. He was in the cooking class when he was in the army. His father and grandfather were both cooks, so he was assigned to a state-run restaurant after retiring.”

Wen Jiajia said “oh,” indicating she understood.

A family of cooks. They had changed careers but returned to the profession, showing the strong influence of their family environment.

She began to take an interest in the dish called minced chicken. At this time, inherited chefs truly had a heritage, not just a “brand” like decades later.

“Hurry up, hurry up.” Wen Jiajia patted Wei Dai on the shoulder, her legs swaying in the air with excitement.

Wei Dai caught her excitement and pedaled harder, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

They arrived at the state-run hotel soon after, and as soon as the car was parked, Wen Jiajia jumped out.

She looked at the sign, took a deep breath of the scent in the air, and strode toward the door.

“Hello comrade, what would you like to eat?” someone asked with a notebook as soon as she entered.

Wen Jiajia, not frequenting restaurants and supply and marketing cooperatives often, felt that these two places still had a lot of regular employees.

At least, she hadn’t seen staff who looked down on guests and called them poor.

Actually, it was normal.

What age was this?

It was the most glorious era for workers and poor peasants.

Anyone daring to give people a blank look and scold them for being poor would be signing their own death warrant.

Wen Jiajia looked around, examined the environment, and said, “Hello, comrade, I want a serving of minced chicken.”

“Chicken?” The waiter frowned. “This dish is troublesome, and the master doesn’t have time to cook it right now.”

As soon as the words fell, Wei Dai, who had parked the bicycle, walked in. “Xiao Li, it’s me, and I made an appointment with Lao Bai.”

Xiao Li recognized Wei Dai and immediately understood. “It’s Brother Wei. You are …” he said, glancing at Wen Jiajia.

Wen Jiajia only smiled, and Wei Dai quickly said, “Don’t tease. Let Lao Bai make a serving of minced chicken, and add sweet and sour short ribs, fish ball soup, and fried vegetables. By the way, two servings of rice.”

“Okay, you two sit down first.”

Xiao Li wrote in his notebook and walked to the kitchen.

Wen Jiajia touched the table in the store, found it quite clean, and asked Wei Dai, “Isn’t that a bit too much? Should we bring a lunch box?”

Wei Dai poured her a glass of water. “It’s not too much. I can finish it. If we can’t finish it, we can just borrow a lunch box.”

Wen Jiajia remembered his terrifying appetite and suddenly stopped talking. One of him could eat as much as three of hers, even while being restrained.

She was very suspicious, wondering if it was because the Wei family couldn’t support him, so they sent Wei Dai to the troops.

The minced chicken took a bit longer to prepare, and more than ten minutes had passed before the minced chicken and sweet and sour short ribs were served.

Next were stir-fried vegetables and fish ball soup, which Lao Bai personally served. After placing the dishes on the table, he smiled at Wen Jiajia.

“Comrade Wen, come to me for anything you want to eat in the future. Wei Dai and I have a lifelong friendship, don’t hesitate to trouble me.” Lao Bai was a very bold person, looking like a tiger with a bear’s waist, which fit Wen Jiajia’s stereotype of a cook.

She smiled. “Then I’ll take you up on that offer, thank you.”

Wei Dai was visibly much happier when he heard her words, and even his eyebrows and eyes softened a little.

It seemed to him that Jia Jia did not treat him as an outsider.

Wen Jiajia had already smelled the strong aroma of the chicken and the sweet and sour smell of the sweet and sour ribs, and as soon as Lao Bai left, she couldn’t wait to pick up the spoon and start.

The minced chicken dish was not good-looking, but you didn’t need to smell it carefully to catch the heavy aroma of lard.

Yes, lard.

Wei Dai explained, “Although this dish is called minced chicken, there is not a trace of chicken in it.”

Wen Jiajia ate it and said, “It’s lean pork.”

She scooped up another spoonful and tasted it carefully. “And pork belly, razor clams, and… milkfish.”

Her eyes lit up instantly. The taste and texture of this dish were so rich, it was indeed delicious.

It looked like rice cereal but was actually made with banana taro powder. After the starch was gelatinized, the minced meat and egg liquid were put into the pot.

Wei Dai smiled. “You have a very discerning palate. You notice the lard aroma because it’s stirred in just before it’s done cooking, and it has to be lard that has just been freshly rendered for it to be fragrant.”

Wen Jiajia asked, “Can you make it?”

Wei Dai blew on the minced chicken, took a bite, swallowed, and said, “Probably.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if I’m familiar with the process, my brain can remember it, but as for my hands… we’ll see. But I think I can do it.”

Wen Jiajia: …

No way, that’s what I think every time I edit a video. The scene is conceived in my mind, but Premiere Pro can’t cut it out.

She smiled awkwardly and decided to drop the topic.

Lao Bai not only made delicious minced chicken but also excellent sweet and sour ribs.

The sweet and sour ribs were a large portion, and when they were first served, they had a strong sour taste. The strange thing was that when you ate them, the sourness wasn’t as strong, and the sweetness was just right.

The key was that the meat on the ribs was tender enough. It had probably been lightly fried in the oil pan to lock in moisture before cooking, so the meat didn’t feel dry but was juicy.

Wen Jiajia couldn’t help but nod. This skill was not much different from that of a so-called chef who inherited private cuisine decades later.

Wei Dai introduced another dish. “This fish ball soup is delicious. The fish balls are freshly made daily, and there are only eight servings a day.”

Wen Jiajia scooped up a white, plump fish ball with a spoon. When she bit into it gently, the fish meat was quite elastic. Even if it was mixed with slightly minced fish bones, it only added to its taste.

The fish balls were wrapped in a mixture of pork puree, and surprisingly, the pork filling wasn’t a lump but rather loose. The aroma of the meat spread in her mouth, and the gravy flowed down her tongue, making it very fresh!

Wen Jiajia raised her eyebrows and ate happily.

Seeing this, Wei Dai pondered asking Lao Bai to teach him how to make fish balls. It seemed that Jiajia liked fish balls the most.

After lunch, the two walked slowly along the street.

Wen Jiajia rubbed her slightly swollen stomach, feeling that she had eaten a bit too much.

She squinted at Wei Dai’s abdomen again. Although she couldn’t see it under his loose clothes, it must have been bulging since he had eaten two bowls of rice, most of the sweet and sour ribs, most of the minced chicken, and four and a half fist-sized fish balls.

Even the green vegetables and vegetable soup were gone.

“Are you really not going to buy diet pills?” Wen Jiajia asked skeptically.

Wei Dai smiled. “No, I’m fine.” Actually, it was just enough.

He then said, “Shall we go to the movies? How about ‘The White-Haired Girl,’ Have you seen it?”

Wen Jiajia nodded and shook her head. She hadn’t seen it, and neither had the original owner.

However, if she remembered correctly, “The White-Haired Girl” was released in the early 50s and was still being played.

So the two went to the cinema.

The cinema was not far away, just over a five-minute walk. Wen Jiajia wasn’t in a good mood, and while looking around, Wei Dai noticed her unease.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Wen Jiajia approached and whispered, “My adoptive father’s and mother’s house is near here.” And that damn leader lives in this area too.

Today was Sunday, and they had a half-day holiday, so she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t run into them… her enemies.