Kindergarten

The little ones were all sitting together, listening to Lu Haici tell stories.

Beside Lu Haici was a lunch box, which was open, and inside it were no longer any rolled pancakes; instead, there were other things: fruit candies, small cakes, and little biscuits.

When he arrived at kindergarten in the morning, Lu Haici had shared his rolled pancakes with everyone and had received gifts in return, especially from Qin Ming, who gave him two small cakes.

One was a small cake they had agreed to exchange yesterday, and the other was a small cake he got in exchange for Lu Haici’s rolled pancake today.

“…And the one that came out of the stone is Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong is very powerful; he specifically fights bad people…” Lu Haici said in a baby voice, full of admiration when he talked about Sun Wukong.

Qin Ming asked, “Why did Sun Wukong come out of the stone? We were all born from our mothers; didn’t he come from his mother?”

Lu Haici replied, “Sun Wukong is a monkey, not a person, so monkeys should come out of stones, right?”

A little friend asked, “Then can we go pick up stones to see if we can find Sun Wukong in them?”

Lu Haici was confused by the question: “I… I don’t know; my mom didn’t say.”

Ji Yang suggested, “Then you can ask your aunt when you go home for lunch. If we can find Sun Wukong in the stones we pick, we can go pick stones after school.”

When Lu Haici heard this, he said, “Okay then.”

Lin Qingqing was unaware that because of her bedtime story, the kids were preparing to pick stones to raise Sun Wukong.

At this moment, the car arrived at the entrance of the family compound.

Although the houses in the compound were not densely built, the logistics vehicle was larger than modern cars, so it could only park outside; it couldn’t drive inside.

After the car stopped at the entrance, Lu Cheng said to Lin Qingqing, “You watch for a moment; I’ll go call someone to help.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “Okay.”

After a while, Lu Cheng called over three male colleagues. When they saw Lin Qingqing, they greeted her enthusiastically, saying, “Hello, sister-in-law!”

Lin Qingqing smiled back at them, “Hello!”

Lu Cheng said to Lin Qingqing, “You can go home first; we’ll probably have to make two or three trips.”

Lin Qingqing asked, “Then I’ll take some things back; is there anything I can carry?”

Lu Cheng jumped onto the truck and took out a large string of meat, saying, “You can carry this.”

Lin Qingqing was taken aback. “Did you buy meat?” When she and Yu Xiuyiao went to the county town yesterday around this time, there was no meat left at all. She didn’t expect Lu Cheng to have such good luck today. This piece of meat weighed about three to four jin (approximately 1.5 to 2 kg).

Lu Cheng didn’t elaborate, just gave a sound of affirmation.

With the meat in hand, Lin Qingqing happily made her way home.

On the way, she encountered a few acquaintances, and everyone greeted her warmly. “The wife of Deputy Battalion Commander Lu is here!”

“Wow, Deputy Battalion Commander Lu’s wife! Are you having meat at home today? That’s quite a lot of meat; save some for us!” someone took the opportunity to ask.

Lin Qingqing smiled as she politely declined, “That won’t do! We’re hosting guests today, and I’m worried we won’t have enough meat. It wouldn’t look good without meat dishes for a gathering; I’m sorry, sister-in-law.”

“What’s the big deal? Of course, it’s more important that your family is hosting guests.” The other person replied casually.

Lin Qingqing chuckled and walked through the crowd.

Behind her, several military wives murmured, “This girl is really pretty and polite. Just look at how she defended Lu Hai Ci yesterday; he’s really lucky.” They wondered what would happen if he had an ungrateful stepmother.

“Deputy Battalion Commander Lu isn’t foolish; he must know she’s a good person, which is why he married her.”

“The wife of Captain Ji from our compound is also a good one.”

“Exactly! So whether a stepmother is good or not really depends on whether the man has good taste.”

Lin Qingqing was unaware of the discussions behind her. Once she returned home, she placed the meat in the kitchen, then put her purchased items in her room. After that, she went back to the kitchen, took out four bowls, and poured four cups of cooled boiled water for the people who would be moving things later. Then, she washed some rice and put it in the clay pot. It was almost eleven o’clock now; if she delayed lunch any longer, it would be too late.

What she said earlier about hosting guests wasn’t just for show; they really intended to host guests that evening. Now that Lin Qingqing was feeling better, she wanted to treat the several sister-in-laws who had taken her to the hospital to a meal. They had also agreed to invite a few people who were close to Lu Cheng. They had discussed this during their ride.

So, they planned to have a big dinner that night, making lunch a bit more casual. Lin Qingqing decided to make minced meat and eggplant rice. Lu Cheng had just bought the meat, and the eggplant was a gift from Xu Huijuan. If they didn’t eat the eggplant now, it wouldn’t last in the hot weather.

The rice would take thirty to forty minutes to cook. With the fire burning on the stove, Lin Qingqing occasionally glanced at the men moving things. It took four big men two trips to finish moving everything, which showed how much there was.

Once they finished moving everything, Lin Qingqing brought them the cooled boiled water. “Thank you for your hard work!”

“You all should have a drink of water to quench your thirst.”

“Sister-in-law, no thanks! We’re fine,” the men politely declined while quickly running away.

Lin Qingqing looked at Lu Cheng with a hint of helplessness: “They didn’t even drink a cup of water.”

Lu Cheng replied, “Don’t mind them… Where should we put these things?”

Lin Qingqing glanced at the items and had to admit that Lu Cheng had bought a lot this time. Besides the bricks and cement needed for the small separated room, the groceries took up a lot of space: 20 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of flour, 30 pounds of potatoes, 30 pounds of sweet potatoes, and 30 pounds of cornmeal. She wondered where he had bought all this; it seemed like he had cleared out a store! However, Lin Qingqing didn’t ask him where he got it from. With his experience, he surely knew what he was doing, and given their current “cohabitation” situation, she felt it unnecessary to ask.

“Let’s put these groceries in another empty room. The kitchen already has some, so we don’t need to move them there.” After all, with guests coming in and out of the kitchen, it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to see so much food.

Lu Cheng nodded and began moving the groceries.

Lin Qingqing also kept busy, bringing some vegetables into the kitchen: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, greens, cabbage, seaweed, loofah, pumpkin, a basket of eggs, and two live fish, along with various seasonings.

By the time Lu Cheng finished moving the groceries, Lin Qingqing had already prepared the vegetables and was cutting meat in the kitchen. She cut half a pound of lean meat from the large string of meat, as minced meat was essential for making eggplant with minced meat.

Without a meat grinder, it was quite inconvenient. She could only cut the meat into strips and then slowly chop it into small pieces.

“Need any help?” Lu Cheng asked as he approached the kitchen door.

Lin Qingqing hurriedly replied, “Come, come, come! You can chop all this meat into minced pieces. Let’s make eggplant with minced meat over rice for lunch. We’ll keep it simple since we’re having guests for dinner.”

Lu Cheng had no objections: “I’m not picky.”

While Lu Cheng chopped the meat, Lin Qingqing stayed busy as well. She washed a loofah and cut it into long strips, planning to make a light loofah and egg drop soup. After all, having only eggplant with minced meat over rice without any soup wouldn’t be great—what if someone choked?

As Lu Cheng minced the meat, he noticed her methodical preparation of the other dishes. With a hint of curiosity, he asked, “Is this what you call your cooking talent?” Although her movements weren’t fast or particularly agile, they were steady and unhurried, showing no signs of being a novice.

“Huh?” Lin Qingqing didn’t respond right away.

“You said you had a cooking talent because you learned by watching your grandmother cook.”

“Lu Cheng said.

Lin Qingqing then remembered what she had said yesterday. “Right! Do you think I have no talent for cooking?” she admitted somewhat sheepishly.

Lu Cheng chuckled softly; he probably had never met someone so unreservedly confident.

Hearing his brief laughter, Lin Qingqing couldn’t help but glance at him. After a quick look, she quickly averted her gaze; beauty could be toxic, and it was wise to look less.

“I asked about the chef position you mentioned last night. Both the canteen and the team’s kitchen can arrange a chef position, but they’re looking for a chef, not a vegetable washer or other miscellaneous roles,” Lu Cheng explained.

Lin Qingqing was thrilled to hear there was an opportunity. “That’s exactly what I want!” she said, looking at Lu Cheng with bright eyes. “But what’s the difference between the team’s kitchen and the big canteen?” This was the first time she learned about this distinction.

Lu Cheng elaborated, “The team’s kitchen is… and the big canteen is… So, which one do you prefer? But regardless of which, you’ll have to go through an interview and cook on the spot.”

Lin Qingqing thought for a moment. “If it’s the team’s kitchen, will I have days off when this team is out on a mission, since I’m an external member?”

Lu Cheng replied, “Yes, relatively speaking, the salary will be a bit lower. If it’s the big canteen, you’ll have one day off a week, and the salary will be higher, but it will also be quite busy when things get hectic.”

Lin Qingqing frowned. It seemed she had overlooked something. The reason she wanted to find a chef position was that cooking was her only skill in this era. However, she had forgotten about the broader context. As a food streamer, she could prepare dishes one by one, but in this environment, it was all about cooking in large pots. This meant her skills wouldn’t suffice for cooking for a large group.

Thinking of this, Lin Qingqing asked, “Lu Cheng, can I just instruct the people in the kitchen on how to cook without doing it myself? With my strength, I’m afraid I won’t be able to cook for a large troop.”

Lu Cheng considered this and said, “That might not work in the big canteen; even the head chef has to cook. You could try the team’s kitchen. But there’s a condition: your cooking skills must be good enough to impress the cooking team so that they willingly accept your guidance.

However, the salaries in the team’s kitchen and the big canteen are different. The chefs in the big canteen, though they are also external staff, earn a salary equivalent to that of regular workers. In contrast, the external personnel in the team’s kitchen earn only 15 yuan a month, and that’s only if they work during all the required hours except for their designated days off.

Sometimes the team will be called out for a mission. If the entire team is dispatched, then…”

“About the tasks: if the auxiliary personnel don’t have to work, their rest days will result in a salary deduction, roughly around 50 cents per day. Of course, if the unit doesn’t send everyone out on a mission, the remaining comrades can still eat at the unit’s canteen. In that case, the food expenses for the remaining comrades will be the responsibility of the auxiliary personnel. The four cooks will leave with the comrades who are going out on a mission…”

Lu Cheng explained this in great detail, and Lin Qingqing quickly understood: “I see, I want to give it a try.” She thought this arrangement was quite good; if the unit went out on a mission, she could take it as a day off. In fact, she wasn’t fond of the “9 to 5” working life in a large cafeteria. Unfortunately, there weren’t many jobs with flexible hours in this era.

Lu Cheng said, “Alright, this afternoon I’ll take you to the unit’s canteen to have a look… Is this meat chopped fine enough?”

Lin Qingqing looked at the minced meat, which was already quite finely chopped, and nodded, “That’s good. You can go now.”

Lu Cheng glanced at her, feeling that her words were a bit cold, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he obediently stepped aside, left the kitchen, and went to the yard to continue tilling the soil, preparing to plant the vegetable seeds.

In the kitchen, Lin Qingqing first made the loofah and egg drop soup. The soup was simple: she boiled water in the pot, then added the loofah. Once the loofah was cooked, she poured in the beaten egg mixture, and after a minute, the soup was ready.

Next came the eggplant with minced meat. Lin Qingqing didn’t know how others made it, but for her, the main soul of the dish was the broad bean paste. Luckily, Lu Cheng had bought some. Speaking of which, he had brought quite a variety of cooking seasonings.

The brand of the broad bean paste was Shaofeng, while Lin Qingqing usually bought Haitan broad bean paste because it was more commonly found in supermarkets. She had never tried Shaofeng before, but after reading the brand introduction on the bottle, she discovered that this brand’s broad bean paste was actually produced by a local state-owned factory in this era.

Making the eggplant with minced meat was simple: first, she cut the eggplant into thin strips and salted them lightly to marinate for ten minutes. After ten minutes, she heated oil in the pan and sautéed the minced meat, followed by adding the broad bean paste, stirring until the paste released its red oil. The aroma of the heated broad bean paste made Lin Qingqing’s mouth water. She had loved broad bean paste since she was young and couldn’t resist its enticing smell.

Once the broad bean paste had released its red oil, she added the eggplant and continued to stir. Since this was a dish to be served over rice, she also needed to add some water to create a sauce. Once the eggplant was cooked, she would cover the pot and wait to serve it when it was time to eat.

Outside, Lu Cheng was no longer in the mood to till the soil. Not to mention that Lin Qingqing inside the kitchen couldn’t resist the tempting aroma of the broad bean paste, even he could smell it from outside. With the scent wafting through the air, Lu Cheng felt that having a wife at home was quite wonderful.

Lu Cheng felt that life was pretty good; it had the flavor of home-cooked meals. In the past, he and Lu Hai Ci ate in the canteen every day, not because they enjoyed the taste of the food, but merely to fill their stomachs. But now, as he inhaled the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen, he realized that the purpose of eating was no longer just to satisfy hunger but to relish the delightful scents surrounding him.

Fortunately, Lu Cheng didn’t have to wait long before his little rabbit returned.

“Dad, I’m back!” Lu Hai Ci called out after school. After school, Lu Hai Ci and Ji Yang rushed home. Since the kindergarten was located within the family compound, the children usually returned home by themselves. It could be said that the kindergarten in the military family compound was one of the safest in the country.

“Mom, I’m back!” Ji Yang shouted as well.

Finally, they were home. Lu Cheng thought to himself and said, “Go to the kitchen and ask your mom…” But before he could finish, his little rabbit had already dashed into the kitchen. “Mom, I’m back!” The shout was even louder than before.

With a stoic expression, Lu Cheng continued to till the ground. His work ethic was undoubtedly stronger than that of his little rabbit. Soon, Lin Qingqing would come out and see him working hard. So, the deputy regiment leader put in even more effort. There was no choice; having a little rabbit to compare with motivated him.

Lin Qingqing smiled and said, “You’re back! It’s time to eat. Can I trouble you, Lu Hai Ci, to bring the spoons to the dining table?”

“Sure!” Lu Hai Ci responded loudly, his tone full of enthusiasm.

Lin Qingqing placed three spoons into a small bowl and handed it to him. “Thank you.”

Lu Hai Ci’s little face turned red. “No need to thank me.” He proudly carried the small bowl, puffing out his chest, and walked out. As he left the kitchen, he glanced at his father still tilling the ground and thought to himself, “Dad, come on! It’s time to eat; why aren’t you coming to get the bowls and chopsticks?”

Lin Qingqing followed Lu Hai Ci out of the kitchen, holding the loofah egg soup. She saw Lu Cheng still working outside and called out, “Lu Cheng, it’s time to eat.” She thought to herself that this man was really quite diligent.

That was exactly what Lu Cheng wanted to hear.

“Coming!” he replied.

Lu Cheng had been waiting for her call. As soon as she called, he immediately put down his hoe. “Is there anything you need me to do?” he asked proactively.

Lin Qingqing replied, “You bring the soup out from the kitchen, three bowls—one for each person. If it’s not enough, there’s more in the pot, and we can serve more later.”

“Okay,” Lu Cheng said. He expertly carried one bowl of soup in each hand. Fortunately, the soup had been made before the minced meat and eggplant dish, so it was warm and not too hot to handle.