Chapter 13: Encountering Intellectuals at the State-owned Restaurant

The two of them arrived at the meat station and used up the nearly expired meat coupons they had in hand. They bought a lot of lamb chops and pork, mostly fatty cuts. Even though Lin Momo didn’t eat fatty meat, she still enjoyed pork fat.

“The procurement truck won’t leave until 2 PM. Let’s go to the state-owned restaurant for lunch. The food there isn’t great, though,” Cheng Jinghao said, leading Lin Momo toward the restaurant.

“It’s fine,” Lin Momo nodded, understanding. She had already seen the state of the meat station and knew that the food supply was very limited.

“Southern Tibet’s altitude is so low, it’s like this everywhere. What about the highlands?” Lin Momo curiously asked.

Cheng Jinghao shook his head. “In the future, traveling by car in the highlands will be difficult, let alone during this time. The roads used to deliver supplies to the highlands were built at the cost of many lives.”

When they arrived at the state-owned restaurant, a group of young men and women were arguing with the cashier.

“What kind of state-owned restaurant is this? You don’t even have meat buns?” a young man with a raspy voice shouted, pointing at the menu on the wall.

“Sorry, we don’t serve much here in Southern Tibet because it’s rare for people to eat at state-owned restaurants,” the cashier explained politely.

“No meat buns, then you must have stir-fried peppers with meat, right?” another girl asked.

“No, the only meat dish we have is braised pork,” the cashier shook his head.

“This isn’t available, that isn’t available. What kind of state-owned restaurant is this?” A young man slammed his hand down on the counter.

“We intellectuals are here to help with the construction of this place, and you don’t even have basic things?” one of the girls added.

“If you don’t want to eat, you can leave. If you don’t want to be sent to the countryside, then get lost,” Cheng Jinghao said coldly as he led Lin Momo into the restaurant.

The group of girls immediately started whispering when they saw the two of them. It turned out these girls were the same ones they had seen earlier at the department store.

“We didn’t say anything to you,” one of the girls said, nervously looking up at Cheng Jinghao, who stood tall at 1.88 meters, casting a sense of pressure on the 1.7-meter tall intellectuals.

Cheng Jinghao was wearing a military uniform, his posture rigid and commanding.

“Did they send you here to the countryside to work or to enjoy life?” Cheng Jinghao glanced at the group and asked.

Taking out a pen from his pocket, he borrowed a piece of paper from the cashier and handed it to the intellectuals.

“Write down your names and the village you’ve been assigned to. If you’re not here to help with the construction of Tibet, I’ll arrange for someone to send you back.”

“No, no, we didn’t mean it!” The group of intellectuals immediately waved their hands when they saw Cheng Jinghao was serious. They knew that if they were sent back, it would be a permanent stain on their record.

“We’re sorry, military comrade. It was our mistake,” one of the quiet young men finally spoke up.

“You’re not apologizing to me; you’re apologizing to this cashier,” Cheng Jinghao said, looking at the group.

The intellectuals exchanged glances and apologized to the cashier, then quietly ordered a bowl of noodles each.

Cheng Jinghao put the pen back into his pocket and returned the paper to the cashier.

“Braised pork?” Cheng Jinghao looked at Lin Momo, his expression shifting from the stern one he had just shown to a much softer, warmer gaze.

“I’ll take the lean meat, you can have the fatty meat,” Lin Momo smiled.

“Alright.” Cheng Jinghao gently patted her head.

“Let’s also order some vegetables,” Lin Momo glanced at the menu. “Let’s have some tsampa too.”

Although it was a state-owned restaurant, there were only five portions of rice available each day. The rice in the market was plentiful, so there was no need to compete with others for it.

“Okay.” Cheng Jinghao smiled, thinking about how adorable his little lady was.

“You stay here, I’ll go get it,” he said.

“Mm-hmm.”

The intellectuals couldn’t help but glance at Lin Momo. Was she the military wife? She was so beautiful and so young—had she come to the countryside with her husband so early?

Lin Momo looked at them. No matter how much she relied on Cheng Jinghao in front of him, she had been a manager in her past life, which was far more impressive than these young educated youths.

The educated youths lowered their heads under Lin Momo’s gaze. This military wife had such a strong presence.

When Cheng Jinghao brought the food over, he carefully separated the fatty and lean pieces of the braised pork, placing the lean meat into Lin Momo’s bowl and keeping the fatty pieces for himself.

Lin Momo picked up a piece of lean meat and savored it. This was the braised pork from the state-run restaurant, which the novels always said was a must-try.

“Do you like it?” Cheng Jinghao asked, noticing the small expression on her face, unable to resist smiling.

“Mmm, it’s really good.” Lin Momo’s eyes brightened. “The novels weren’t lying after all.”

The educated youths looked at the interaction between the two of them, feeling that the strong presence they had felt from the couple earlier had completely disappeared.

They quickly finished their noodles and fled the state-run restaurant as if trying to escape.

“After we finish eating, let’s go to the post office and send a telegram home.” Lin Momo picked up some tsampa (a traditional Tibetan food) and took a bite.

“Okay.”

After eating, the two of them went to the post office and sent telegrams to both the Lin and Cheng families.

[Mom and Dad, we’ve arrived. Take care of yourselves, we will look after ourselves. We miss you.]

The communication officer was stunned when he read the content Lin Momo wrote. It was rare for anyone to send such a long telegram; people usually tried to be as brief as possible.

“Both copies? Do you want punctuation as well?”

“Yes, please.” Lin Momo nodded.

“One cent per word, for two copies, it’s 5.6 yuan.” The communication officer’s mouth twitched slightly as he glanced at Cheng Jinghao, who didn’t say anything.

“Is something wrong? Can’t it be written this way?” Lin Momo asked as she fished out the money and looked at Cheng Jinghao.

“No, if you like it, go ahead.” Cheng Jinghao gently smiled at her. He then told the communication officer, “Just send it as it is.”

After sending the telegram, Lin Momo and Cheng Jinghao went to the car park to wait for the procurement vehicle.

By then, the military families who had come to buy things earlier had all left.

“Cheng, you and your wife bought a lot of things.” A military family member glanced at the basket behind Cheng Jinghao.

The basket was full. Besides the things they had bought, there were also items Lin Momo had just taken out from her space.

“The newlyweds didn’t have time to prepare a dowry, so their family asked them to buy it here.” The brigade wife smiled and explained for them.

Lin Momo smiled and thanked her.

“So that’s how it is. Lin Comrade’s family must be from Beijing, right?” A military family member asked.

“Yes.” Lin Momo nodded.

“How many siblings do you have?” Since Lin Momo had just arrived with the military, many people were curious about the young lady.

“I have two older brothers.”

“So far away, your family must have really let you come with the military?”

“Mainly because they are satisfied with Cheng.” Lin Momo glanced at Cheng Jinghao, whose eyes flickered slightly.

Several military family members laughed.

“You guys, don’t tease the young couple.” The brigade wife, who understood Lin Momo’s situation, spoke up.

When they submitted their marriage report, Lin Momo’s family situation had been made very clear, including her parents, siblings, and even her sisters-in-law.

Hearing this, everyone stopped talking. Fortunately, the procurement vehicle arrived soon after.

Once aboard, Cheng Jinghao, as usual, peeled an orange-flavored candy and fed it to Lin Momo. The brigade wife, who was watching, secretly nodded in approval.