Chapter 25

“Intimate?”

“Two words?”

Zhan Xinyue came from the future, she immediately understood, and without thinking much, she answered like she was answering a question, “Husband.”

“Screech!” The sound of the car braking suddenly.

Sheng Tunan stepped on the brakes, his hands gripping the steering wheel trembled with excitement.

The man turned his head to look at Zhan Xinyue in disbelief, his voice full of uncertain surprise, “Xinyue, what did you just call me? Can you say it again?”

Zhan Xinyue realized what she had done, she was both embarrassed and shy. She wished she could dig a hole in the car and crawl into it.

“I didn’t say anything. It’s better if you didn’t hear it.” Zhan Xinyue turned her head to look out the window. After thinking for a moment, she realized that Sheng Tunan had dug a pit for her. She turned back, looking at Sheng Tunan with reproach, “Just tell me what you want me to call you.”

“Tunan.” Sheng Tunan smiled with a slight pursed lip. He knew that Zhan Xinyue’s “husband” was just a simple answer to a question.

But it didn’t matter. He was sure he would hear it again, and again, and countless times in the future.

“When we’re at home, you call me that in front of Grandma. Call me Tunan.” Sheng Tunan explained.

Zhan Xinyue heard this and realized she had misunderstood Sheng Tunan. She said softly, a little embarrassed, “Then I’ll call you Tunan from now on.”

“Okay.” Sheng Tunan smiled and agreed, starting the car to go home.

“Today’s a good day, everything I wish for comes true.”

In 1977, China didn’t have car stereos, but Sheng Tunan was extremely eager to express his inner joy, so he started humming “Good Days.”

Today was a day worth remembering. It was the first time Zhan Xinyue called him “husband,” although it might have been a slip of the tongue, she did call him that, and her voice was clear and pleasant, especially nice.

This song hadn’t been released yet, so Sheng Tunan didn’t dare to sing too loudly, but Zhan Xinyue could hear it.

Not only could she hear it, but she could hear it clearly. This man’s voice was so pleasant when he spoke, how come his singing was so, so…

Well, you couldn’t say it was bad, his voice was actually very loud, it was just too flat. It felt like he was reading quickly.

Sheng Tunan sensed Zhan Xinyue’s gaze, he showed a little pride and asked, “How is it? My singing is pretty good, right?”

Zhan Xinyue wanted to facepalm and laugh wryly, but she thought that gesture was a little too oily, so she just smiled slightly, “Those who are tone-deaf, can’t they tell that they’re singing off-key?”

“Am I tone-deaf?” Sheng Tunan was surprised.

“I’m always the lead singer in the army’s chorus.”

Zhan Xinyue thought for a moment and said, “Military songs mainly require a clear and loud voice. Your voice and your confidence are very good.”

Sheng Tunan stopped singing, he was a little emo. His singing voice, which he was proud of, Xinyue didn’t like.

Zhan Xinyue noticed that the man’s mood was low, she was about to comfort him, but the car had already driven into Sheng’s courtyard, and a strong aroma of chicken wafted into their noses.

“That’s the smell of free-range chicken.” Zhan Xinyue sniffed. She loved chicken more than meat.

Especially authentic free-range chicken. It doesn’t need too many seasonings, just a little bit of unpeeled ginger, a little salt, and some green peppers, because people in Zhishi love spicy food.

The chicken cooked like this retains its original flavor as much as possible, it’s fresh and delicious. In one word: it’s incredibly delicious.

“Grandma, we’re back.” Zhan Xinyue got out of the car and greeted Grandma Sheng happily.

“Xinyue, come here, Grandma cooked chicken liver for you. Come in and eat.” The old lady’s kind voice came from the kitchen.

Zhan Xinyue and Sheng Tunan went in and saw Grandma Sheng digging out chicken liver wrapped in paper from the ashes of the stove.

The old lady’s hands seemed to be impervious to heat, she directly picked it up and squeezed it, “It’s cooked.”

Then, she took out a bowl and chopsticks, unwrapped the paper, put it in the bowl, and handed it to Zhan Xinyue, “Xinyue, chicken liver is good for you, it makes your eyes bright. Eat it.”

Zhan Xinyue was about to tell Grandma to eat it, but then she thought that the old lady shouldn’t eat offal, so she smiled and took it, “Thank you, Grandma.”

After saying that, she used her chopsticks to divide the chicken liver in half, ate half herself, and handed the rest to Sheng Tunan, “You eat it too. Soldiers need good eyesight.”

Sheng Tunan, who had been a little down, immediately cheered up. He hurriedly took it and happily swallowed the chicken liver in one bite.

[Free-range chicken liver is not fishy. When I was a child, whenever my grandma and grandma killed a chicken, they would cook it for me like this. They would wrap the chicken liver in white paper, wrap it several times, then wet it with water, and bury it in the ashes under the fire in the stove. Once it was cooked, you could eat it. It was really delicious.]

“Grandma, did you kill your only chicken?” Now, every household could raise three chickens. Grandma Sheng’s health wasn’t very good, she couldn’t take care of that many, she raised one at home, mainly to prevent snakes.

“En, today is considered your engagement day with Xinyue. Grandma doesn’t have anything to give you, so I killed the chicken. We three will have a good meal, as a celebration.”

Grandma Sheng put the chicken meat into a large bowl, and she was about to stir-fry some amaranth.

“Grandma, you and Xinyue go to the living room and wait. I’ll do the rest of the cooking.” Sheng Tunan rolled up his sleeves.

“Okay.” Grandma Sheng’s eyes weren’t very good, and the kitchen was smoky, which made her feel uncomfortable. But even though she couldn’t see very well, she had cooked chicken many times, and it wouldn’t affect the taste at all.

Zhan Xinyue carried the bowl to the living room. The chicken meat in the bowl was golden brown, with a rich aroma. It looked very delicious.

Sheng Tunan quickly stir-fried some amaranth, then sliced a cucumber, and made a loofah soup. One meat dish, one vegetable dish, one cold dish, and a soup, that’s all.

Zhan Xinyue wasn’t idle either. She rinsed the clothes she had just bought and hung them up to dry. Grandma’s eyes were bad, so Zhan Xinyue didn’t say anything, afraid that she would try to wash them. She would wait until they were dry before giving them to her.

She opened both the front and back doors of the living room. The through-draft blew through, making it not feel hot.

Sheng Tunan brought the dishes to the table, Zhan Xinyue helped to serve the rice, and the three of them sat around a square table.

“Grandma, this chicken leg is for you.” Zhan Xinyue picked up some food for Grandma Sheng.

The old lady was about to give it back to Zhan Xinyue, but she heard Sheng Tunan say, “Grandma, this is your granddaughter-in-law’s filial piety to you.”

As soon as the old lady heard this, she didn’t refuse. She smiled and said, “Okay, my granddaughter-in-law is filial, Grandma will eat it.”

Zhan Xinyue’s skin was very white, and she was prone to blushing. She blushed bright red and lowered her head to eat rice.

“Xinyue, there’s another chicken leg, eat it.” A chicken leg appeared in her bowl.

“En.” Zhan Xinyue didn’t refuse, she picked it up and started eating.

This old hen was substantial, and there were two dishes and a soup. Grandma had a small appetite and couldn’t eat much. When the three of them put down their chopsticks, there was still a little chicken meat left.

“Xinyue, we’ll make some noodles with the rest of it tonight. Just make two simple bowls of chicken noodle soup for you and Grandma to eat.”

“Okay.” Zhan Xinyue agreed.

“Two bowls? Tunan, aren’t you eating?” Grandma Sheng asked.

“Grandma, I’m going back to the army.”

Grandma Sheng nodded, she didn’t try to keep him, she just said, “Go, be careful. When you wanted to join the army, your grandpa and I both supported you. You’ve put on the military uniform, and now you’re a battalion commander. Don’t let the country down.”

“I know, Grandma.” Sheng Tunan agreed, hugging the old lady, who had become quite thin.

“Tunan, you’re going to get married soon. From now on, you’ll have someone to care about. Be extra careful when you’re on missions. Now, Xinyue is also your responsibility.”