Chapter 96 : Advice before departure

Su Xieqiu snorted and took the stack of money and bills.

She then counted out one hundred yuan and thirty kilograms of food coupons and handed them to Han Zhenyu.

“Today, I heard from Comrade Gu that his assignment is in the Northwest. I’ve heard from the Youth League Office that the place is incredibly desolate. Now that something has happened in his family, who knows what might happen to him over there. Let him keep this money and these tickets for emergencies.”

Su Xieqiu thought to herself, since I’m helping raise two children, why not make it a little more worthwhile?

Gu Fangxun must know that they aren’t helping with the children for the money.

She hoped that, in the future, the Gu and Jiang families would be grateful for the help they received from them.

After the reform and opening up, she and Han Zhenyu would no longer be confined to this small place.

In her previous life, Su Xieqiu had worked hard in the workplace for several years.

She knew how realistic society was, and that grassroots people like them, with no background, might not be able to keep their reputation, even if they made a name for themselves.

So she had to start planning now. She didn’t need the relationships with the Gu or Jiang families, but the two families had to remember the favor that she and Han Zhenyu had done for them.

This was also a slightly selfish reason why she had agreed to help raise two children.

Han Zhenyu listened to her, thought for a moment, and said, “If I give it to him personally, he will definitely refuse. How about preparing some dry food for him tomorrow, and putting it together with the rest of the food? I’ll remind him when he gets on the bus.”

Su Xieqiu smiled and nodded. “I heard the journey will take five or six days, so I’ll make him some biscuits and dried meat, and boil some meat sauce. Tomorrow I’ll go to the village and buy some eggplants and cucumbers for him to take on the road.”

“Okay, I’ll get up early tomorrow to chop the meat. The smell of the meat sauce is strong, so let’s make more at once and save it for later,” Han Zhenyu said.

“Alright, you chop the meat and I’ll cook it tomorrow,” Su Xieqiu yawned. “It’s getting late, go to bed.”

Since they had come here, she had been going to bed by nine every night, rarely staying up so late.

“Go to sleep. Don’t wake up too early tomorrow. I’ll cook,” she added.

“Okay, understood.”

Han Zhenyu helped her pull the quilt down and got on the kang from the other side.

—

The next day, Han Zhenyu woke up before dawn.

As soon as he opened the bedroom door, he saw Gu Fangxun coming out of his room.

“You haven’t rested for several days. Why don’t you sleep a little longer? Why are you up so early?” Han Zhenyu asked.

Gu Fangxun smiled and said, “I slept really well as soon as I lay down last night.”

Han Zhenyu didn’t bother to be polite with him. Smiling, he said, “Since you’re awake, go ahead and chop the meat. I’ll cook. After we’re done, my wife will make the meat sauce.”

“Sure, no problem.”

The two worked quickly, one chopping the meat while the other started the fire and cooked.

When Su Xieqiu heard the noise in the kitchen, she quickly climbed out of the kang.

Seeing that An an was still asleep, she checked the diaper and found it dry, as if Han Zhenyu had helped her with it during the night.

Su Xieqiu went to the kitchen and saw Han Zhenyu cooking.

Gu Fangxun was sitting at the chopping board, chopping meat. The basin beside him was half-filled with chopped meat, weighing about ten pounds, not including the pile still being chopped.

She was completely speechless. How much meat sauce were they planning to make?

Han Zhenyu saw her and asked with a smile, “Wake up! Is An an awake? The meal will be ready soon. Why don’t you wake them up to eat?”

“Don’t shout. Children need plenty of sleep. Let them rest. They can eat when they wake up.”

Su Xieqiu then said to Gu Fangxun, “Comrade Gu, it’ll be almost done once you finish chopping these on the table.”

Gu Fangxun smiled and nodded, “Okay.”

Su Xieqiu washed up, took out the salt jar and soy sauce bottle, and asked Han Zhenyu to take his bicycle to the sales point in the village.

After buying salt and soy sauce, the two went to a familiar family in the village and bought ten pounds of peppers, onions, ginger, cucumbers, and eggplants.

When they passed the gate of the Youth Farm, it was closed. Looking through the wall, they saw smoke rising from the kitchen, and the house inside was already built.

Su Xieqiu said, “After sending Comrade Gu off tomorrow, you should quickly handle the household registration for Chenchen and An an, so there’s no more trouble.”

Han Zhenyu nodded, “I know. I’ll send Comrade Gu to the city tomorrow morning, then come back to take care of the children’s household registration.”

“Give the captain a piece of meat when you go, and you won’t need to buy a gift.”

“You can’t take the meat. Make some more meat sauce later and serve it to him when the time comes.”

Han Zhenyu whispered, “Wild boars are different from domestic pigs. The captain will definitely be suspicious. If he finds out we hunted wild boars but didn’t hand them in, he will definitely feel uncomfortable, and it will cause trouble.”

“I didn’t think that far ahead.” Su Xieqiu smiled and praised him, “You’re really careful and thoughtful. You’re amazing.”

She truly admired Han Zhenyu. He was so young, but she didn’t know how he could be so clever.

Han Zhenyu laughed softly after hearing her praise. It sounded like she was praising a child.

When the couple got home, Chenchen and An an were already up, and Gu Fangxun was washing their faces.

After the family had breakfast, Su Xieqiu washed and cut the peppers, onions, and ginger she had bought.

As soon as Sun Dahan from next door went to work, they started making meat sauce and roasting dried meat.

The meat sauce is very simple and can be cooked in just over half an hour.

Roasting dried meat and meat slices is more troublesome. The couple spent the whole day and only managed to prepare about ten pounds.

After dinner, they asked Gu Fangxun to look after the children while they started kneading dough and making pancakes.

Although it was said that two people were doing it, in reality, Han Zhenyu did most of the work, while Su Xieqiu directed from the side.

Han Zhenyu kneaded the dough and asked her, “How about making it salty? It’ll be more convenient to eat on the road, and you can even save on vegetables.”

“Okay, roll it into a round cake, brush it with a layer of oil, and sprinkle some salt on it, so it won’t be hard when you steam it.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

The two made two large pots of pancakes, one salty and one plain, about sixty in total.

Han Zhenyu used corn flour, sorghum flour, and wheat flour, mixing the three together.

Though it looked dark, because it contained a lot of wheat flour, oil, and salt, it tasted very fragrant.

Su Xieqiu filled two cans with meat sauce and wrapped the dried meat she had roasted today in straw paper and put them in her pocket.

Han Zhenyu took out a canvas bag he used for business trips and put all the biscuits and dried meat into it.

Then he found a large net bag and put the eggplants, cucumbers, and the two bottles of meat sauce in it.

Su Xieqiu quietly reminded him, “Don’t forget to put the money and food coupons in.”

Han Zhenyu replied, “The money and bills are under my pillow, go and get them for me.”

“Okay.” Su Xieqiu had just entered the main room when she overheard Gu Fangxun talking to Chenchen and An an in the room where he was staying.

“Chenchen, uncle will report to the army tomorrow. You should be diligent here, listen to Uncle Han and Aunt Su, take good care of your sister, and help with the housework. Uncle will come back to see you when he gets vacation.”

Chenchen sobbed and said, “I know, uncle, don’t worry. I will listen to Uncle Han and Aunt Su, take good care of my sister, and help with the housework. You don’t need to worry about us, and you must pay attention to your own safety in the army.”

Gu Fangxun didn’t expect the child to say this. He was only four years old, but he knew how to remind him to be careful.

He held the two children in his arms and said with red eyes, “Okay, uncle understands. Chenchen is really a good child.”

Su Xieqiu felt sad when she heard this, so she quickly went back to her room and took out the money and tickets from under Han Zhenyu’s pillow.