Chapter 72: Husband Goes to War

Time quickly flew by to 1979. Mi Xia’s bakery had gradually opened three branches, and she had made a fortune.

Mi Xia was already preparing to open a jewelry store and a large supermarket. The current policies had also loosened. The meeting in December 1978 had officially announced the reform and opening-up policy, making now a great time to open businesses.

Today is January 21st, the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, Little New Year’s Eve. Early in the morning, Liu Baoguo sent a guard to pick up Mi Xia’s family of three to reunite with the grandfather.

It was the same familiar courtyard, but the difference was that today, Grandpa wasn’t exercising in the yard, and even Liu Baoguo didn’t come out to greet them.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, a guard ran over and called Liu Haoyue to Grandpa’s study. Mi Xia felt that the atmosphere was not right today. She suddenly remembered something: 1979, yes, the border between Annan and our country wasn’t very peaceful; the war should break out in these few days.

Why was Haoyue called in? Could it be that Haoyue was going to the battlefield? Mi Xia knew that the war with Annan was very cruel, and many people would die.

Annan could be said to be a nation in arms, from the elderly to children, anyone could pick up a gun and kill at any time. What if Haoyue got hurt?

Mi Xia sat in the living room, lost in thought for half an hour, before Liu Haoyue walked in, also looking preoccupied.

Mi Xia nervously grabbed his hand and asked, “What did Grandpa and Dad want you for?”

“Grandpa wants me to go to the battlefield to gain experience.”

Sure enough, she guessed right. Mi Xia felt a pang of anxiety. She didn’t want Liu Haoyue to take this risk; even if Liu Haoyue wasn’t a soldier now, or even didn’t work, she was confident she could support him.

At this time, Mi Xia still asked unwillingly, “Where to?”

“Annan.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Probably in these few days. The situation over there is tense. I probably won’t be able to spend this year’s New Year with you two.”

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes, since the day I became a soldier, my ideal has been to defend the country. But now, I can’t bear to leave you two.”

This meal was quite depressing. At the dinner table, the three generations rarely laughed and chatted; instead, they raised their glasses together: “Defend China! Drive out the villains!”

After dinner, when Mi Xia and Liu Haoyue were about to leave, Grandpa saw them off at the gate, holding Liu Haoyue’s hand.

He said earnestly, “Haoyue, the men of our Liu family are not cowards. Your grandfather is not, your father is not, and I hope you are not either. Remember, fight with the spirit of the Chinese people! Your father and I will be waiting at home to welcome you back!”

“Yes, Grandpa! I will definitely kill more enemies for you and Dad!”

Liu Haoyue stood at attention and saluted. Grandpa and Liu Baoguo also stood at attention and returned the salute.

Back home, Mi Xia plunged into her space. She wanted to collect as much information as possible about the war to give Liu Haoyue greater safety.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the military command was issued, ordering Liu Haoyue to leave immediately.

Outside the courtyard, Mi Xia repeatedly adjusted Liu Haoyue’s collar. In these few days, she had given Liu Haoyue all the information she could find, and she also took out many emergency medicines from her space for him.

Of course, she also gave him a large bottle of spiritual spring water.

“Remember, be careful on the battlefield. Life comes first. Wanwan and I are waiting for you to come back.”

“If it’s convenient, remember to send me a telegram to let me know you’re safe!”

Liu Haoyue also didn’t want to leave Mi Xia and their daughter, but he had to do what he had to do, so he had to turn and leave without hesitation.

He didn’t turn his head back; he was afraid that if he did, he would see Mi Xia crying.

Mi Xia did cry, crying her eyes out, but she supported Liu Haoyue’s choice.

After Liu Haoyue left, Mi Xia couldn’t muster the energy to do anything. Wang Fen understood this feeling, so she asked Zhang Xiaoyu to find Mi Xia for everything, big or small.

She wanted to keep Mi Xia busy so she wouldn’t have time to overthink things. As Wang Fen expected, Mi Xia spent her days going between the store and the compound.

After Liu Haoyue left, Wang Fen took Mi Xia and her daughter to live with her, so she could also help take care of Wanwan.

It was almost New Year’s, and the Liu family started buying things for the New Year. Mi Xia took advantage of the opportunity to take out a lot of delicious food from her space.

She didn’t want her situation to ruin the New Year for the Liu family. These past few days, she had felt Wang Fen’s care for her.

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family came to Grandpa’s house. This is the only day of the year when the Liu family can get together relatively completely, but there are exceptions, such as the second uncle who lives far away in Yangcheng; they couldn’t come.

Today, the protagonist in the kitchen was undoubtedly Mi Xia. As the new daughter-in-law, Mi Xia had the intention of taking over the kitchen today.

Mi Xia also loved cooking; she felt that the process of cooking was an enjoyment.

For today’s ingredients, Mi Xia arranged for Zhang Xiaoyu to deliver some, mainly including those she secretly took from her space. The logistics department of Grandpa’s house also sent a large pile of ingredients.

In this way, the Liu family, from the second generation’s daughter-in-law to the third generation’s granddaughters and daughters-in-law, crowded the kitchen.

It is said that one woman is like a duck, but when a group of women are together, they are not a group of ducks.

“Xiao Xia, your knife skills are amazing,” the third aunt said in surprise.

Mi Xia smiled and said, “I’ve been interested in cooking since I was a child, so I’ve developed these knife skills.”

“Sister-in-law, this dish smells so good. How did you make it? Teach me,” the third aunt’s daughter-in-law asked.

The third aunt has a son and a daughter. Her son is Liu Liang, and her daughter is Liu Beibei. Liu Liang got married last year, and his wife’s name is Qian Ailing.

It was Qian Ailing who was asking Mi Xia for cooking tips. “Okay, if you want to learn, just come to my house to find me.”

Qian Ailing couldn’t stop smiling. “Then I’ll trouble my sister-in-law.”

Mi Xia: “We’re all family, no need to be polite.”

Next, the third aunt, Liu Beibei, and Qian Ailing would praise Mi Xia whenever they saw her doing something they hadn’t seen before or couldn’t do themselves.

Even Mi Xia, who was so excellent, was praised until she blushed and felt embarrassed.

Luckily, Wang Fen didn’t join in, otherwise Mi Xia really wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

“Xiao Xia, make two portions of each dish. We won’t eat with Dad and the men. They talk about things we women don’t understand, and we talk about family matters they don’t care to listen to,” the third aunt instructed.

Mi Xia made braised fish: symbolizing surplus every year, a homophonic blessing for the New Year.

Four Happiness Meatballs: Meatballs have always been a must-have dish for New Year’s Eve dinner, signifying togetherness.

Braised Beef: Symbolizing soaring momentum, it’s a great dish to go with alcohol.

Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls): A sweet dessert after dinner, also signifying togetherness.

Dumplings: An indispensable traditional food, symbolizing attracting wealth and treasure.

I also made Dongpo pork, garlic shrimp, stir-fried pork, pork skin jelly, Beijing-style shredded pork, braised pork trotters and hand-shredded roast chicken.

There were also many seafood dishes, including mushroom and ham steamed cod, garlic cheese baked prawns, scallops with wood ear, steamed oysters, blanched prawns, braised abalone, and seafood porridge.

Mi Xia made every dish exquisitely. The third aunt and Qian Ailing repeatedly asked her to teach them.

Although they didn’t need to cook at home, they could occasionally cook for their husbands.

The saying goes that to capture a man’s heart, you must capture his stomach.

While cooking, Mi Xia secretly used some spiritual spring water. There were too many people in the kitchen, and she didn’t dare to take too many risks.

Because of the spiritual spring water, the dishes were even more fragrant.