Chapter 90.2

Quartermaster Luo quickly finished cleaning the freezer and ran back to ask, “How long will it take to prepare these?”

Wen Nuan was braising some pig offal without raising her head. She said, “These things are prepared the same way as usual. After they are ready, put them in the freezer for a while and see if the flavor changes. If there’s no problem with the taste, then they can be used.”

Wen Nuan didn’t want to make too many ready-to-eat dishes. Some items, like sauerkraut, would still taste good even after being frozen, which would be the best option.

Moreover, some dishes could be seasoned directly with sauce, making it convenient to just cook them later; even a big mixed stew wouldn’t affect the results.

Of course, the soldiers could also take these items out.

As long as they were well-packaged, things like braised food could be treated like packaged spicy fish, duck wings, and chicken feet from later generations and served as snacks.

The dried vegetables they had made earlier could be rehydrated with a bit of hot water and eaten directly, making them easy to carry.

All of these were good items to ensure everyone received adequate nutrition and energy.

Quartermaster Luo noticed that Wen Nuan had prepared several items next to her and began to get busy as well.

Wen Nuan was too occupied to think about anything else because, except for the sauerkraut fish, everything else was planned to be cooked.

In this flurry of activity, Wen Nuan worked until eleven o’clock.

Once the dishes were finished, Xiao Zhu couldn’t help but pinch a piece of braised pork intestines from one of the plates and sneak it into his mouth.

The rich braising sauce filled his mouth the moment he bit down; with just that one bite, Xiao Zhu felt he could mix it with a bowl of rice and finish it all!

The pig offal, which everyone had been reluctant to cook before, had transformed into delicious pig offal porridge and fragrant braised dishes since Wen Nuan joined the cooking team.

However, before Xiao Zhu could swallow, Quartermaster Luo slapped him on the shoulder and huffed, “You little rascal, stealing food! This is all for quick dishes!”

Xiao Zhu quickly swallowed the piece of braised intestines and stuck out his tongue, saying, “Sorry, Quartermaster Luo! I was too hungry and couldn’t resist!”

Upon hearing Xiao Zhu’s words, everyone realized it was almost lunchtime. Usually, they would eat something to tide them over before going to get their meals at the canteen.

Now that they were aware, they began to feel a bit hungry.

Seeing that everyone had been busy all morning, Wen Nuan said, “These dishes are still piping hot. We’ll have to wait until this afternoon for them to cool down before bagging them. Let’s serve lunch to the flight team for now, and we’ll eat later.”

As the others showed signs of disappointment, Quartermaster Luo said, “Alright, alright, you can all taste these dishes later, but just a little. They’re still for the experiments, so don’t eat too much!”

At his words, the cooks in the kitchen jumped up excitedly. “That’s great! I love you, Quartermaster Luo!”

The dishes that Wen Nuan prepared smelled so delicious that even a bit of the sauce would satisfy them!

Perhaps the dozens of dishes were too eye-catching, as the flight team members came over, smiling broadly and asking, “Are we celebrating today? Why are there so many delicious foods?”

Wen Nuan smiled and teased, “You can just feast your eyes on them; none of those are for you.”

However, a few dishes for the flight team were similar to the quick dishes they were preparing.

The flight team members were momentarily stunned; was there really someone who had better meals than them, the pilots?

Just then, Gu Qinghan brought Lele over for the flight team meal. Upon seeing so many people lining up at the serving window, he instructed them to form an orderly queue.

When everyone saw Gu Qinghan approaching, they quickly fell in line, maintaining discipline and keeping quiet.

When Gu Qinghan reached the serving window, Lele immediately stretched out her hands to hold the table at the window and called out to Wen Nuan, “Mommy, I want to eat! Give me food!”

Seeing the little one, Wen Nuan smiled and reached out her hand, saying, “Where’s your lunchbox? Give it to me.”

Today, Gu Qinghan had taken Lele to the office because he was heading back to the regiment, which was why she was there for lunch.

In the past, Lele had also accompanied Gu Qinghan to the office. She was said to be relatively well-behaved, especially since there was a sand pit at the training ground where she occasionally played.

The little girl had her hair in two braids, but a few grains of sand were visible along her parting, indicating she had been playing in the sand.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s question, Lele quickly turned around and retrieved her lunchbox from Gu Qinghan’s hands.

Then she stood on her tiptoes and handed the lunchbox to Wen Nuan, saying, “Mommy, hurry and take it!”

“I want to eat!”

Wen Nuan took Lele’s lunchbox and said, “Alright, you’re not allowed to be so loud. Look, the uncles and aunts are all watching you!”

Then, Wen Nuan handed the lunchbox to a colleague nearby. After all, it was her husband and child; it felt a bit inappropriate for her to serve them herself.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s words, the little one quickly covered her mouth, then placed her little finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture, and softly said, “I won’t make noise. Mommy is coming to eat, too.”

Before Wen Nuan could respond, Gu Qinghan, standing behind Lele, finally noticed the many dishes in the kitchen and understood why those kids were so excited. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked his wife, “So many dishes? Will the flight team be able to finish them?”

Wen Nuan looked up at him and chuckled, “You wish! None of these are for your flight team.”

Gu Qinghan frowned slightly, a hint of jealousy in his voice as he asked, “Then who are they for?”

Wen Nuan decided not to beat around the bush and said, “They’re meant for the research institute. It’s not finalized yet; we’ll have to see in a while.”

Gu Qinghan raised his eyebrows, full of questions. “How long will we have to wait?”

Wen Nuan wasn’t sure either; winter hadn’t arrived yet, so maybe a month or so?

“I don’t know yet; I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

Then, Wen Nuan smiled and added, “You can help me taste it later and see if the flavor changes.”

“Sure, I’ll help you taste it then.” Gu Qinghan noticed Wen Nuan’s forehead was damp and asked, “Were you busy this morning? Do you want to come out and eat with us first?”

Wen Nuan nodded with a smile. “That works; I’ll finish this up and wash my hands before joining you.”

Gu Qinghan looked at her and gently said, “No rush; we’ll wait for you to come out before we eat together.”

Though Gu Qinghan wanted to say a few more things to his wife, Liang Guo’an was already grumbling about the couple behind them.

“Vice-Captain Gu, have some pity on the kid! I haven’t eaten anything for five hours. Can you two stop feeding me dog food? I still want to eat!”

Gu Qinghan turned his head and shot him a glance. “What’s the hurry? My meal isn’t even ready yet.”

As he spoke, Xiao Zhu handed Gu Qinghan’s lunchbox back to him and said, “Vice-Captain Gu, here’s your meal.”

Quartermaster Luo teased Liang Guo’an, saying, “You’re already married; isn’t it normal for those two to be a bit lovey-dovey?”

Liang Guo’an clicked his tongue in annoyance. “My wife and I don’t act like that in public. We’re all about the sweetness at home; this kind of thing isn’t meant for others to see.”

Xiao Zhu, who wasn’t married yet, looked up at them and said, “So, Vice-Captain Gu and Sister Wen Nuan are so affectionate outside; they must be even more lovey-dovey at home, right?”

Liang Guo’an: “…”

Quartermaster Luo: “…”

It was hard to imagine how clingy Gu Qinghan, who usually seemed as cold as ice, could be at home!

However, both Gu Qinghan and Wen Nuan didn’t want to engage with them any longer. They happily prepared to go eat as a family.

Lele took Wen Nuan’s hand in one and Gu Qinghan’s in the other, then chose a table by the window, saying, “Mommy, let’s sit here.”

Wen Nuan also served herself a portion of food and grabbed a small bowl and spoon for Lele that she had set aside in the cafeteria, planning to share a bit with her so she could feed herself later.

Wen Nuan nodded, “Alright, let’s sit here.”

Lele let go of Wen Nuan’s hand and walked over to pull out a long bench, pointing to it and saying, “Daddy, you sit here.”

Then, she dragged out another long bench, walked over, took Wen Nuan’s hand, and pulled her over, smiling as she said, “Mommy, Lele wants to sit here with you.”

Wen Nuan smiled back, “Okay, thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” Lele attempted to climb onto the long bench, but it was too narrow and lacked a backrest, making it difficult for her to find her footing.

Seeing this, Wen Nuan directly lifted her up and sat beside her, reminding her, “You can’t lean back, okay?”

Last year, when Lele sat on this type of long bench in the cafeteria, she nearly fell to the ground, but luckily, Gu Qinghan caught her just in time.

Lele wasn’t paying attention to Wen Nuan’s advice, her eyes full of excitement as she held the spoon, pointing at the meat in Wen Nuan’s lunchbox, saying, “Mommy, I want meat!”

Knowing that her daughter was hungry, Wen Nuan took the small bowl and served her a bit of rice, then added a few pieces of meat.

Finally ready to eat, Lele picked up her spoon and started devouring her food.

Seeing this, Gu Qinghan picked up some meat from his lunchbox and added it to Wen Nuan’s. “You should eat some meat too.”

Wen Nuan had already tasted several dishes while cooking and was feeling a bit full. With Gu Qinghan adding more meat to her portion, she felt she might not be able to finish it all.

She replied, “I just had a bit. But you, don’t you have training this afternoon? You should eat some meat.”

Lele watched as her parents passed food back and forth and lifted her small bowl, offering it to Gu Qinghan and saying, “Daddy, give me some!”

Gu Qinghan glanced at the half bowl of rice and the half bowl of meat Lele had and added some vegetables from his own lunchbox to hers.

He chuckled lightly, “Here you go, eat up quickly, and then you can take a nap with your mommy later.”

Lele happily gathered her bowl and smiled, “Thank you, Daddy.”

However, she was taken aback when she placed the bowl back in front of her.

Why did Daddy give her so many vegetables?

She pouted, complaining, “Daddy, I don’t want vegetables!”

Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan both pretended not to hear her and continued eating.

Lele wanted to pick the vegetables out, but Gu Qinghan shot her a glance.

Immediately, Lele caved and ate the vegetables he had given her.

Then, with a pout, she said, “Next time, I won’t come to eat with Daddy anymore!”

Gu Qinghan huffed, “That won’t do. I’m your dad, and I have to eat with you. You’ll you’ll still have to eat with me even when you grow up.”

Lele immediately pouted upon hearing this and looked at Wen Nuan, seemingly hoping to hear a different answer from her.

To her surprise, Wen Nuan glanced at her and said, “You can learn to cook and eat by yourself.”

After hearing this, Lele lowered her head and obediently continued to eat.

After having lunch with Gu Qinghan and Lele, Wen Nuan returned to the staff quarters with Lele for a nap.

By two o’clock in the afternoon, when she returned to the kitchen, everyone seemed to be waiting for her to “give orders.”

Upon her arrival, they immediately asked how to handle the food prepared in the morning.

Wen Nuan first washed her hands with soap, then touched the bowls containing the ingredients and felt that they had cooled down. She said, “Let’s pack them up now, then use the sealing machine to seal the bags and put them in the freezer.”

Wen Nuan also took the menu labels she had prepared at home, got some tape, and stuck them on the bags, writing down the cooking times and names of the dishes.

Everyone followed Wen Nuan’s instructions and started to work. Once everything was packed into bags, they took them to the freezer, neatly stacking them one by one.

Quartermaster Luo saw that all the quick dishes had been placed inside. At first, he thought the kitchen’s freezer, being so large, would waste electricity.

However, Wen Nuan had just mentioned that since the freezer was already on and the kitchen had brought back over a hundred fish, it would be better to prepare some fish balls in advance and occasionally provide extra meals for everyone.

Wen Nuan dusted off her hands and, seeing that everything had been put away, said, “We should find a few people to try these dishes. If the taste and texture are still similar to when they were just cooked, we can start preparing in winter.”

Besides the research institute, there was also Factory 112, the aviation school, and even places covered in snow like the North that could turn this into a business.

Wen Nuan pondered for a moment and then asked Quartermaster Luo, who was eagerly waiting beside her, “Quartermaster Luo, how is the recruitment of workers going?”

During this time, some people had indeed come to work, but they all seemed to lack understanding.

Wen Nuan had previously discussed with Quartermaster Luo the idea of dividing the fifty workers into several groups to cooperate on different tasks.

One group would be responsible for making dried noodles, while another team could focus on making meatballs with the help of strong male comrades. Those who would be preparing dried vegetables and seasoning packets could also form a separate group.

With this arrangement, everyone could collaborate effectively, and it would not be like before when they had to rush through the cafeteria duties during the day and work overtime at night.

Although their wages had increased, the prolonged workload had begun to wear everyone down.

This batch of workers arrived just in time.

Quartermaster Luo said, “We’re just a few people short. Even if we don’t recruit enough, we should be fine now; it won’t affect things.”

Wen Nuan nodded, “That’s true. Quartermaster Luo, could you please assess everyone’s skills and see what each person is good at? We need to divide into groups as soon as possible.”

“Not a problem; leave it to me.”

Time flew by, and by early October, the North had already felt the chill of early winter.

When Quartermaster Luo saw Wen Nuan return to the kitchen, he hurriedly asked her, “Comrade Wen Nuan, can we take those items out to thaw now?”

Quartermaster Luo had been preoccupied with the items in the freezer, having been curious several times and eager to try them to see how they tasted.

Previously, during the summer, Wen Nuan had taught everyone how to make dried vegetables, which turned out very well; soaking them in water made them taste almost as fresh as the real thing.

So, over the past month, their small factory had packaged various dried pumpkins, dried vegetables, and dried beans that were made during the summer. The unit had also set aside a considerable amount, hoping to avoid having only cabbage and radishes for every meal in winter.

Although their unit might not use the quick dishes, Quartermaster Luo thought of the many stationed in the frigid regions of Northeast China. Sending these supplies to support their comrades would be a joyful endeavour.

In those harsh areas, the temperatures dropped to below freezing once winter arrived. There would be no cabbage or radishes to speak of; meals were almost exclusively pickled vegetables and cornbread, and the cold made it even worse. Without proper nutrition, their bodies felt colder, as if their spines were pressed against iron pillars.

Now, not only did they have dried vegetables, but they also had these quick dishes. Even boiling snow water to heat these items would provide them with some nutritional food.

Life on the border was much more difficult than in their area.

Quartermaster Luo had always hoped that the supplies could be produced sooner.

Wen Nuan took off the scarf around her neck and replied, “It’s ready. I originally planned for everyone to try it out last week, but General Xu happened to be out for a meeting. I heard he returned the night before last; we can take it over then.”

Wen Nuan had been extremely busy this month as she needed to stock up on supplies for the winter.

Recently, she contacted Yang Xiaomei’s parents, who lived far away in Meng Province, hoping they could get in touch with some organizations to transport some sheep.

Meng Province was only about ten hours away by car from where they were. Although it sounded like a long distance, the prices were much cheaper than the ones in Beijing. Even with the transportation costs added, it wouldn’t be too expensive.

Moreover, buying in bulk would allow for even lower prices.

However, communication during that era was quite primitive. Wen Nuan spent a considerable amount of time running to the telephone office. Fortunately, she had finally negotiated last week to send a batch over, ensuring they would be ready for winter.

Quartermaster Luo’s eyes lit up, and he smiled broadly as he shared his thoughts with Wen Nuan, saying, “I plan to contact the border defence in East Jiang. It gets extremely cold there in winter, and their food supplies are much worse than ours. If this batch of quick meals works out, we can supply them.”

Wen Nuan chuckled, “That would be wonderful.”

Quartermaster Luo looked at Wen Nuan and suddenly became serious, saying to her, “Comrade Wen Nuan, all of this is your achievement. On behalf of all the border defense soldiers, I thank you.”

Although Wen Nuan was technically his subordinate, he always felt that she was more like his revolutionary comrade.

Without her, the cooking team would not have been able to establish this small factory, nor would they have provided so many job opportunities for the families living on the base.

Now, not only did it benefit their air force base, but once Wen Nuan’s quick meals were ready, it could also benefit several border defence units around North.

Thus, Quartermaster Luo felt very excited inside.

Wen Nuan, however, remained composed and said, “Quartermaster Luo, if it weren’t for your support, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish these things either.”

Even though Wen Nuan did not hold any official position, Quartermaster Luo never restrained her. He fully supported any of her ideas and never doubted her ability to take initiative.

Therefore, Wen Nuan felt that it was a mutually beneficial relationship.

She added, “Besides, we are all doing this for the unit and for the soldiers fighting alongside us. This is what I should do as a military spouse.”

At first, she had been motivated by Liu Minghua and Shen Bairong at the research institute. Although their relationship was not particularly deep, they were crucial figures in the country’s rise, and she was merely doing her small part by contributing in any way she could.

Quartermaster Luo smiled and said, “These ideas all came from you. Without you, how could we have acquired these things?”

“So, I must thank you,” he added.

Old Zhong, who had been quiet, suddenly smiled, losing his usual blunt demeanour. He joked, “Old Luo, you finally said something nice. I’ve decided to whip up a special dish for you later: stir-fried fresh bamboo shoots with pork cracklings.”

Quartermaster Luo was taken aback. “？？？”

Such a good thing?

Why didn’t he mention it earlier?

He had been craving chicken stew with mushrooms today; he wondered if he could change the order.

Seeing the two men fooling around again, Wen Nuan said, “Let’s take out the items, thaw them, and cook a bit to let someone taste them.”

With that, everyone began to get busy, taking out everything from the freezer.

After thawing, they found that besides two items that needed to be stir-fried, the rest could simply be steamed and eaten as is.

There was also a dish of sauerkraut fish, with the fish fillets still raw but marinated in Wen Nuan’s special seasoning. Once the sauerkraut was cooked, they could just pour in the fish fillets, and it would be done.

Everyone gathered around to carefully smell the heating dishes, and they commented, “The smell hasn’t changed; we just don’t know if the taste will be different.”

“Should we try it first?”

“Or should we find someone to taste it?”

By noon, Quartermaster Luo personally prepared several dishes and brought them to General Xu and the Political Commissar for tasting.

Meanwhile, Wen Nuan and Old Zhong stayed in the kitchen, waiting for the flight team to arrive.

Since Gu Qinghan had a task, the dishes were being tested by Platoon Leader Liang and the leaders from the ground crew.

They quickly finished their meals and wiped their mouths before asking, “By the way, what do you want us to taste?”

Old Zhong stretched his neck, remembering that Wen Nuan had instructed them not to reveal to the leaders that these dishes were pre-prepared quick meals, as it might bias their judgment. Therefore, none of the leaders knew that these were the quick meals they had prepared earlier.

Old Zhong asked, “We just wanted to know how the dishes were today from the leaders.”

Liang Guo’an held up his empty lunch box for the kitchen staff to see and said, “This is the answer; I finished everything.”

Then, the others also showcased their empty lunch boxes, saying, “Delicious!”

Someone asked, “Is this a new product? You actually invited us to taste it?”

“Then we hope you hold more tasting events like this; haha, I want to come eat again!”

“I do, too; it’s really good!”

Seeing everyone react this way, Wen Nuan felt a sense of relief and began to gauge the situation.

The meat dishes seemed no problem; they just needed to work on a few vegetable dishes and continue experimenting.

Quartermaster Luo also brought back good news: General Xu couldn’t tell that the dishes were quick meals and gave them a positive review.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the factory could finally start operating.

That evening, after a long day, Wen Nuan fell asleep early.

She was unaware when Gu Qinghan returned home; she only woke up when he was outside taking a shower.

At first, she intended to mention how he was taking a cold shower on such a chilly day, but when Gu Qinghan returned from his shower and saw that she was awake, he smiled.

He pulled his wife up from the bed and handed her a thick envelope, saying, “This is from General Shen’s office.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Nuan’s drowsiness vanished instantly, and she quickly accepted the large envelope from her husband.

Before leaving Beijing, Wen Nuan had written a small booklet detailing the production process of the down jacket.

Later, after returning to the North, she used the duck and goose feathers that the cooking team had prepared during the New Year to create a sample down jacket and sent it to General Shen.

Since then, she had not received any reply, leading her to believe that General Shen did not intend to adopt her design for the down jacket.

To her surprise, she had just received a letter!

Wen Nuan slowly opened the envelope, and there was a letter and a thick wad of money!