Chapter 21: Brewing Tofu

Qi Huiying quietly left early in the morning and arrived at the military hospital, where she found Doctor Huang’s office.

Upon seeing her, Doctor Huang, who was sorting through medical records, looked a bit surprised and asked, “Why are you here? Are you feeling unwell?”

Qi Huiying entered the office and smiled, “I went to your house the day before yesterday, and Commander Li mentioned that you’ve been on duty at the hospital these past few days. It must be tough.”

Doctor Huang smiled, “The hospital is short-staffed, there’s nothing I can do. Are you here because you’re not feeling well?”

Qi Huiying took two steps forward, walked up to her side, and took a watch out of her bag. She handed it to Doctor Huang with a smile, saying, “I saw this while I was at the department store in the city yesterday. I thought it would suit you perfectly. It’s like it has your name written on it.”

Doctor Huang looked at the watch in front of her, slowly wiped the smile off her face, and said seriously, “Comrade Qi Huiying, what is the meaning of this?”

Qi Huiying didn’t notice the change in her tone and pushed the watch toward Doctor Huang, smiling flatteringly, “It’s nothing, just a little gift for you.”

Yesterday, Qi Huiying had specifically taken a boat to the department store in the city to buy this watch, spending 150 yuan, which was equivalent to three or four months of an ordinary worker’s wages, plus the cost of a watch coupon.

In the month since she arrived on the island, Qi Huiying had visited Commander Li’s house several times, and during that time, she had brought lipstick and eyebrow pencils to give to Doctor Huang, but Doctor Huang had refused them all.

A few days ago, when Qi Huiying heard that the commander was going to assign the work to someone else, she became anxious.

She thought for a long time at home and realized that perhaps the previous gifts she gave Doctor Huang were too cheap and not impressive enough.

Indeed, while lipstick and eyebrow pencils were rare in this era, Doctor Huang was the commander’s wife, so a more expensive gift was necessary.

So, after thinking it over, Qi Huiying decided to buy this watch to give to Doctor Huang.

Doctor Huang glanced at the watch she had handed over and asked, “Why are you giving me such an expensive gift for no reason?”

Qi Huiying smiled, “It’s nothing. I heard that the elementary school on the island is short a teacher. Doctor Huang, as you know, I graduated from high school, and I’ve studied for a few years, so, well, you understand.”

She said this with a big smile, stuffing the watch into Doctor Huang’s hand.

Doctor Huang turned the watch over, raised an eyebrow, and said, “This isn’t cheap, is it?”

Qi Huiying touched the loose hair near her ear and replied, “It’s not too expensive, just 150 yuan.”

Doctor Huang said solemnly, “So, you spent so much money on this watch to try to become a teacher at the elementary school?”

Qi Huiying nodded, then thought for a moment and added, “Even if there’s no position for the elementary school teacher, I still wanted to give you this watch, mainly because I think it suits you.”

Doctor Huang shoved the watch back into Qi Huiying’s hand and said coldly, “Then you’ve come to the wrong person. Who gets chosen for the position of elementary school teacher is not my decision, and I have no say in it.”

Qi Huiying became anxious, “Doctor Huang, how can you say you have no say in it? You are the commander’s wife! If you just mention it to Commander Li…”

She glanced at the watch in her hand, and then said, “Is it that you don’t like this watch? If you tell me which one you prefer, I’ll go buy it…”

“Comrade Qi Huiying!” Doctor Huang sternly rebuked, “Please be aware of your position. You are a military spouse. Your every word and action represents your husband and the image of the military!”

Qi Huiying said, “I… I haven’t done anything wrong! I didn’t… I just wanted to give you a watch.”

Doctor Huang furrowed her brows and coldly said, “Comrade Qi Huiying, it seems you still haven’t realized what the problem is. This is bribery!”

Qi Huiying awkwardly said, “Is, is it really that serious?”

Doctor Huang’s face turned stern, and she took a deep breath, saying, “Since this is your first offense, I’ll let it slide this time. But if I catch you doing this again, I’ll send you straight to the supervision office. And don’t think you’re the only one—your husband, Deputy Regiment Commander Chen, will also be investigated.”

Feeling the seriousness of the situation, Qi Huiying lowered her voice, “I, I’m sorry. Doctor Huang, please pretend I never came today.”

Doctor Huang replied, “I need to go make rounds. If you’re not feeling well, you should go to the outpatient department and register.” With that, she left the office.

Qi Huiying stood there, gripping the newly bought watch tightly in her hand.

—

The morning passed quickly, and at 11:30, Xiao Zhang arrived on time and knocked on the door.

“Ah, today Qinqin came too!” Xiao Zhang’s surprised voice came from the doorway.

Xia Qinqin looked up, recognized Xiao Zhang as the lady who gave her candy, and smiled as she greeted, “Hello, Aunt Zhang~”

“Let’s go, let’s go, it’s time for lunch.” Xiao Zhang entered and urged them.

Meng Yufei smiled, set down the documents in her hand, and stretched her arms, “I didn’t expect it to be time to get off work so quickly.”

Xiao Zhang said, “It’s not that quick! I’m starving. I passed by your door earlier, and saw you two, one big and one small, leaning over the table so seriously. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Meng Yufei quickly tidied up her desk, grabbed her bag, and went downstairs to the cafeteria with Xia Qinqin and Xiao Zhang.

As soon as Xiao Zhang entered the cafeteria, she smelled the fragrant aroma in the air and smiled, “There’s tofu today!”

She turned to Meng Yufei and introduced, “Sister Meng, you must try it. The tofu here is made by the head chef himself, and he uses a secret recipe from his hometown. It tastes better and more fragrant than regular tofu.”

Meng Yufei said, “Really? Then I’ll definitely try it. No wonder there was soy milk for breakfast this morning. It’s probably to make tofu, and the beans were soaked together.”

Making soy milk is quite a hassle. First, you need soybeans, which are not easy to come by in this era, especially on an island where they don’t grow soybeans. Meng Yufei had noticed soy milk only today after a few days of being on the island.

To make soy milk, the beans need to be soaked for several hours before being ground into a paste and boiled. It’s a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

“Mapo tofu!” Xiao Zhang exclaimed, “This is my favorite!”

She quickly ordered a serving of mapo tofu and eagerly recommended, “Sister Meng, this is the head chef’s signature dish. It’s spicy and goes perfectly with rice.”

Meng Yufei pointed to the little one next to her, “Qinqin is still young, she can’t eat spicy food.”

Xia Qinqin cooperated by fanning her hand near her mouth and shaking her head, “Qinqin can’t eat spicy food.”

She remembered that a few months ago, when a friend of her father invited the Meng family for a meal, there was a dish of spicy chicken. Xia Qinqin, while the adults weren’t paying attention, tried a bite, and it made her cry from the spiciness.

The local taste in Haishi is on the sweeter side, and that was Xia Qinqin’s first experience with chili, leaving her with a bad impression. Even now, just thinking about spicy food made her mouth tingle.

Seeing Xia Qinqin’s terrified expression, her little face filled with apprehension, Xiao Zhang bent down and pinched her cheek, saying, “What a pity. You can try it again when you grow up.”

The head chef had worked hard to make tofu, so of course, he wouldn’t just make mapo tofu. Meng Yufei looked around and finally ordered a dish of stuffed tofu.

This dish involves cutting tofu into rectangular pieces, stuffing them with seasoned minced meat, and then pan-frying them in oil until cooked. The result is tofu that’s crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and rich in flavor with the aroma of the meat filling it, making it delicious and satisfying.

The stuffed tofu is priced at 2.7 jiao, which is 1.5 jiao more expensive than mapo tofu, and it also requires an extra meat ration of one liang.

They also ordered a dish of stir-fried pea shoots, a bowl of vegetable and egg soup, and half a jin of rice.

After getting home, Meng Yufei carefully placed each dish into matching white porcelain plates. She still felt that eating like this made it feel more like home.

Of course, Xia Junshan was happy to cooperate and wash the dishes.

Otherwise, one of them would complain about the other not knowing how to appreciate the charm of life, while the other would grumble about being too picky.

Xia Qinqin took off her shoes and climbed onto the sofa, walking from one end to the other, still mumbling, “Qinqin, keep going, I’ve already crossed several hills.”

She loved playing this small game at their home in Haishi, though their sofa there was bigger and softer, and when she jumped on it, it even bounced back.

Meng Yufei glanced at her and reminded, “Be careful, don’t fall.”

“Got it~ Mom.”

When Xia Junshan entered the house, he saw his daughter jumping up and down on the sofa and laughed, “What’s our Qinqin up to?”

Xia Qinqin saw her dad come back and smiled brightly, “Dad, I’m crossing hills.”

“Oh? How many have you crossed?” Xia Junshan asked with a smile, casually hanging his hat on the door and walking toward the sofa.

Xia Qinqin held up two hands, pressing her right thumb and index finger together, then raised the remaining eight fingers and answered, “Eight!”

Xia Junshan went over and praised, “So many? Qinqin, you’re amazing, so agile. Are you tired? Let’s eat first.” He stretched out his hand to pick her up.

“Mm, let’s eat.” Xia Qinqin obediently jumped into her father’s arms and pointed to the sofa behind them, saying, “Dad, this sofa isn’t as comfortable as the one at home.”

Xia Junshan froze for a moment before realizing she was talking about Meng’s family’s sofa. He remembered that it was a leather spring sofa, far more comfortable than their wooden one at home.

“I’ll make sure to get you a comfortable sofa in the future, okay?” Xia Junshan promised as he set his daughter down at the table.

“Okay~ thank you, Dad.”

Xia Junshan gently patted her head and smiled tenderly, “You’re welcome.”

Meng Yufei came out from the kitchen with the bowls and chopsticks, saying, “The cafeteria made tofu today, and they say the head chef made it himself.”

Xia Junshan took the bowls and chopsticks and replied, “Looks like we’re in luck today. In all the days I’ve been here, we’ve only had the head chef’s tofu twice, and it really does taste better than the usual.”

Meng Yufei picked up a piece of stuffed tofu and placed it in Xia Qinqin’s bowl, saying, “Qinqin, try this and tell me if it’s good.”

Xia Qinqin looked at the stuffed tofu in her bowl, then suddenly looked up and said, “Mom, this looks like a matchbox.”

Meng Yufei looked down, nodded, and said, “It does look like one.”

Xia Junshan picked up a piece of stuffed tofu and placed it in Meng Yufei’s bowl, laughing, “Our Qinqin really is a ‘little artist.’ Her observation skills are extraordinary. When I first saw this, I thought it looked like a little coffin.”

Xia Qinqin, curious, asked, “What’s a coffin?”

“Uh…” Xia Junshan paused, his gaze shifting toward Meng Yufei, only to be met with a sharp look from her. This person, he just couldn’t speak properly in front of the child.

Xia Junshan turned to his daughter, who was looking at him with a curious expression, and awkwardly said, “Well… it’s, uh, a big square wooden box.”

Xia Qinqin looked confused, as if trying to imagine what this big wooden box would look like. Afraid she might continue asking, Xia Junshan quickly coughed and said, “How about we go to the beach tomorrow evening?”

Xia Qinqin’s attention was successfully diverted, and she asked curiously, “What’s going to the beach?”

Xia Junshan replied, “Hmm… it’s just going to the seaside to have some fun.”

Upon hearing that it was for fun, Xia Qinqin smiled and happily said, “Okay, let’s go have fun~”

Meng Yufei told her, “Eat quickly, the food will get cold if you don’t eat.”

Xia Qinqin obediently picked up her chopsticks, placing a piece of stuffed tofu into her mouth. The tender, delicious flavor filled her mouth, and her cheeks puffed up as she chewed quickly, nodding repeatedly and saying, “So tasty.”

Seeing her daughter enjoying the food, Meng Yufei added another piece of stuffed tofu to her plate and gently reminded, “Eat properly, don’t talk with food in your mouth, understand?”

Xia Qinqin nodded obediently.

Meng Yufei also picked up a piece of stuffed tofu and placed it in Xia Junshan’s bowl, asking, “Can we go to the beach here?”

She had heard from classmates in Qiongzhou about their experiences of going to the beach, and at the time, she had thought she’d definitely go when she had the chance.

However, nowadays, fishermen who catch fish at sea must turn them over to the commune. According to the rules, anything from the sea belongs to the country, and individuals cannot take it without permission.

Xia Junshan nodded and said, “Of course, every day after the tide goes out, the locals here go to the beach to pick up sea products. These don’t need to be turned over to the commune.”

He added another piece of stuffed tofu to Meng Yufei’s plate and continued, “I heard that in the past, people from our family compound would go every day. But later, there were some conflicts with the local residents, so now it’s only allowed on Saturday afternoons.”

Meng Yufei responded, “One day is enough, we don’t live off these sea products, there’s no need to argue with the locals.”

Xia Junshan nodded in agreement, “You’re right. Most of the people in our family compound are military personnel, at least someone in each family has a salary. Our lives are definitely better than theirs.”

Meng Yufei turned to her daughter, who was eating happily, and said, “Qinqin, tomorrow let’s go to the beach. You can find some pretty seashells there.”

Xia Qinqin lifted her face from the bowl and asked, “Are the seashells the same as the ones on Sister Lily’s wind chimes?”

Downstairs in Meng’s building, the neighbor had a string of seashell wind chimes, which made a sound when the wind blew. Every time Xia Qinqin went downstairs to play, she would stare at the wind chimes for a long time.

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “Yes, and we can pick up some seashells to bring back, and I’ll make you a wind chime, okay?”

“Okay! I want to pick a lot—lots of seashells!” Xia Qinqin said, stretching her arms and drawing a big circle in the air.

Xia Junshan wiped the rice off his daughter’s mouth and smiled, “Dad will help you pick them up.”

“Okay~ thank you, Dad! Then Qinqin will have super, super many seashells!” Xia Qinqin smiled, her eyes narrowing with joy.

Meng Yufei asked, “What time should we go tomorrow? Should we wait until after dinner?”

Xia Junshan replied, “In this season, I heard the tide goes out around four in the afternoon. I asked others, and most people start going around half past four.”

He thought for a moment and said, “Oh, by the way, on Saturdays, we can leave work an hour early. I’ll be home around five o’clock tomorrow, so we can go together then.”

At that time, there was still no concept of a two-day weekend in China, only Sundays were a day off.

Hearing that they could leave work early made Meng Yufei happy, and she nodded, “Okay.”