Chapter 31

“Sister-in-law, let’s go home.”

Jiang Yan was in a good mood and walked back holding He Hongxiu’s arm. The bus back home was only available in the afternoon, so she couldn’t wait and had to walk home.

He Hongxiu felt a little uncomfortable when her arm was suddenly pulled. It was the first time for her to see such an intimate and sisterly gesture, and she couldn’t help feeling happy.

Who doesn’t want to have a close friend to talk to occasionally? But the environment is like this and life is difficult for everyone, so how can we open up to each other easily?

Looking at Jiang Yan who was in a happy mood, He Hongxiu also smiled.

Not long after they left, Jiang Yan suddenly said, “Sister-in-law, do you know where to buy chicks? I want to buy two to nourish our Lu Yunsheng and also nourish myself. I’m too thin.”

Jiang Yan’s words were so playful that He Hongxiu couldn’t help laughing out loud.

“There’s definitely none in town. Newly hatched chicks are hard to survive and must be taken care of by a hen. You can go to the nearby villages and see if farmers have some.”

“Okay, I’ll be free in a couple of days, so I’ll go to the nearby villages.”

It just so happened that she also wanted to get to know the situation in the vicinity and get to know some people so that she wouldn’t be completely in the dark when something happened.

He Hongxiu smiled and said, “The roads in the village are not easy to walk on. I’ll take you there in a couple of days. I happen to know a few people in the village. Let them help look for it.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Jiang Yan treated He Hongxiu as a friend and was no longer polite to her.

The two walked slowly along the bus route. Jiang Yan was carrying a bamboo basket with only one pound of meat in it, while He Hongxiu was empty-handed.

They were both very relaxed.

Ding bells!

There was a sound of bells behind me, followed by a deep voice.

“Isn’t this Comrade He Hongxiu? Are you going back to the family compound?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yan and the other person stopped and looked back.

A man in a cloth jacket, holding a whip in his hand, drove a donkey cart slowly towards them.

Seeing who it was, He Hongxiu smiled and greeted, “It’s Comrade Li Jingui, are you going back to the village?”

Li Jingui nodded and said, “I borrowed a donkey cart from the village and went to the town to grind some coarse grain flour to make steamed buns.”

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Yan, who was younger than He Hongxiu, and asked, “Does this young comrade look unfamiliar to you?”

“This is Jiang Yan, the new military wife in our family compound.”

He Hongxiu introduced the two to each other. Jiang Yan greeted Li Jingui, and Li Jingui said enthusiastically: “It’s on our way. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Thank you, Comrade Li Jingui.” Jiang Yan is not stupid. If she can take a car, she will definitely not leave.

Li Jingui said indifferently: “Hey, it’s okay. It’s an honor to serve military wives. You men are defending the country, so it’s our duty to help you.”

Afterwards, the two got on Li Jingui’s donkey cart. The road had been repaired in the city, so it was not too bumpy.

On the way, He Hongxiu chatted with Li Jingui about Jiang Yan wanting to buy chicks. Li Jingui said frankly that they had chicks at home and asked Jiang Yan to go to his house to catch them in a few days.

Jiang Yan was very happy and decided to visit Li Jingui’s home in a couple of days.

A little after nine.

Jiang Yan and her husband returned to the family compound, and the little sister Sheng An Ning was playing with her brother in front of Jiang Yan’s house.

They knew that their mother would help Aunt Jiang Yan with work today, so they waited for them to come back at the door of Jiang Yan’s house.

Seeing their mother coming back, the two little ones ran over.

“Mom, Aunt Jiang Yan.”

Jiang Yan smiled and took out three fruit candies from her pocket, gave one to each of them, and then handed the remaining one to her sister Sheng Anning, saying, “This one is for your brother. Give it to him when you get home from school.”

“Okay, I’ll remember that, aunt.”

Sheng Anning took the candy and carefully put it in his pocket.

He Hongxiu smiled and said, “You spoil them more than I do as a mother. How can children eat candy every day? Their teeth will be damaged.”

“It’s okay. Yunsheng and I don’t really like sweet things, and we brought a lot. If we don’t give them some, they’ll go bad.”

Jiang Yan really doesn’t like sweet things. She had given a few to Lu Yunsheng before, and he said they were too sweet and unbearable.

The previous arm-in-arm contact made He Hongxiu feel much closer to Jiang Yan, so she didn’t refuse too much this time.

She looked at the two little ones and told them, “Mom and aunt are busy, you guys play by yourselves.”

“good.”

The two little ones nodded repeatedly, and Jiang Yan and He Hongxiu also started to get busy. Jiang Yan lit the stove and stewed the pig’s trotters in the pot, and some braised pork offal dishes she had prepared also had to be braised first.

Take advantage of this time to wash the meat and vegetables that will be used in the evening.

During this period, the two little guys also helped with things within their ability. Their like little adults made Jiang Yan and He Hongxiu laugh.

At noon, Jiang Yan simply fried some potatoes and shredded pork, and invited He Hongxiu and her son to have lunch together. After lunch, they took a rest and started the hard work in the afternoon at around one o’clock.

The sound of kitchen knives hitting the chopping board could be heard in the kitchen, and Jiang Yan and He Hongxiu never stopped working.

After cutting the vegetables in her hands, Jiang Yan shook her hands, feeling exhausted.

He Hongxiu smiled and said, “Sister, take a break. You will be needed to cook later. I will do the cutting.”

Jiang Yan was not polite, “Sorry to bother you, sister-in-law. I didn’t expect it would be so tiring to cook all these dishes at once.”

After resting for half an hour, it was around five o’clock.

Jiang Yan is about to start cooking.

He Hongxiu also cut up the remaining meat and vegetables, then helped to light the fire behind the stove, and learned Jiang Yan’s cooking skills at the same time.

After a while, the smell of food came from the kitchen. The two little guys were attracted over and stood at the kitchen door, sniffing their noses and drooling.

Bang bang bang!

“It must be my brother who is back.” There was a knock on the door outside the yard. Sheng An Ning exclaimed in surprise and ran to open the door.

Sheng Anhe was standing outside the door with a cloth schoolbag on his back. As soon as the door opened, he smelled the fragrance coming from the yard.

“Brother, here you go.”

The first moment she saw her brother, Sheng An Ning handed the candy that Jiang Yan had asked her to give to him.

Sheng Anhe knew it right away, “Was it given by Aunt Jiang Yan?”

Sheng An Ning nodded, “My brother and I each have one, and this one is what my aunt said she would leave for you.”

“Thank you, sister.”

Sheng Anhe felt warm in his heart. He rubbed his sister’s head, took her into the kitchen, said hello to Jiang Yan, then looked at He Hongxiu and said, “Mom, I’ll take my brother and sister home first.”

“Okay, you guys go back first, be safe, don’t run around.”

He Hongxiu gave a reminder that she was very confident in her eldest son. After he had younger siblings, he never gave her any worries.

After the three little ones left, Jiang Yan continued to work. As the fragrant dishes came out of the pot, the sky gradually darkened.

Outside the courtyard.

A group of men in military uniforms walked slowly towards them, surrounded by each other.

“What’s that smell? It smells so good!”

“It must be my sister-in-law’s cooking. Oh my god, it smells so good.”

“We are in for a treat.”

As they chatted and laughed, everyone quickened their pace and walked towards the small courtyard in front.

Push open the gate.

The aroma became stronger, and everyone couldn’t help swallowing. Lu Yunsheng asked everyone to come in and sit down, then walked into the kitchen and took a look.

Seeing He Hongxiu was there too, Lu Yunsheng smiled and thanked her, “Sister-in-law, thank you for troubling you today.”

He Hongxiu smiled and joked, “It’s not a problem. I even brought my children to have lunch at your house.”

Jiang Yan wiped her hands on her apron, looked at Lu Yunsheng and asked, “Is everyone here?”

“All ready.”

“Then I’ll serve the food.”

Seeing Lu Yunsheng nod, Jiang Yan pushed him and said, “Go and greet the guests quickly. My sister-in-law and I can handle it.”

Lu Yunsheng could see that his wife was tired today and felt a little distressed, but there were only men in the house so he could only go and take care of her himself.

He wanted to hug Jiang Yan, but Sister Hongxiu was here, so he could only say “thank you for your hard work”.

“Okay, go ahead and take these two dishes out.”

Jiang Yan handed the plate of fried pork liver and pork intestines to Lu Yunsheng, and followed him with two plates of cold braised meat dishes. She then asked He Hongxiu to reheat the dishes that had been fried earlier and had become a little cold.