The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Jiang Chaohui's feelings for his elder sister Jiang Furong are still a little complicated.

In the past, she felt that her eldest sister was quite pitiful. She was either scolded or beaten all day long. She was beaten whether she did the right thing or the wrong thing. She often had no dinner and could only get up secretly in the middle of the night to drink tap water in the kitchen, just like White Haired Girl.

Sometimes she thought her elder sister was silly. She never went out unless she went to school or played with other children. She didn't play with her classmates and she couldn't do anything. She was not like her classmates' older sisters, some of whom could use crochet hooks and yarn to make collars and hats, and some of whom could use yarn to braid their younger sisters' hair. She was so envious of them.

Sometimes she felt that it was okay to have an older sister. When she didn't want to work, didn't want to take care of her younger brother, or didn't want to listen to her mother's temper, she could find an excuse to slip away with her older sister around. When her younger brother cried, she just had to say, "I don't know, go ask my older sister," and her mother's anger would all be directed towards her older sister.

In this family, the eldest sister seems to be born incompetent and destined to live in dire straits.

Even when her eldest sister had a fever, she was afraid of being infected and did not hesitate to let her sleep in a small dark room.

Until yesterday, her eldest sister asked her father to send her to school on her behalf. She thought her mother would not agree, and her eldest sister would be the one to get beaten.

Unexpectedly, my father actually listened to what my elder sister said. When he took her on a bike past the place where Bian Tai was standing, my father told her that Bian Tai looked strange and was definitely not a good person.

Also, the eldest sister has to teach cultural courses to others. If she gets beaten, will the aunt that Uncle Zheng brought think that all sisters will be beaten at home?

Children who are beaten are not good children. In a hurry, Jiang Chaohui could not think of a better way to stop his eldest sister from being beaten, so he had to call his younger brother to get up, and while his younger brother was confused, he whispered in his ear, "Mom is making noise again."

Whenever my parents had an argument, my father would angrily say to my mother, "You just like to quarrel," and then he would storm out of the door and not come home for several days.

She had seen her mother taking her younger brother to look for her father and her younger brother once said, "As long as our mother doesn't make a fuss, our father will come back."

Sure enough, when she tried it, her brother immediately sat up, and when he didn't see his father, he jumped out of bed to look for his mother.

Jiang Guoqing cried angrily, startling Hu Xiuqing. "I wasn't arguing. I asked your sister to cook. I heated up some sugar triangles for you. Two of them are yours, okay? Oh, Qing, why did you run out without a cotton coat? Hurry up, go back to bed. Mom will get you dressed."

"I don't want to eat sugar triangles!" Jiang Guoqing had eaten too much rice cake dipped in sugar the night before, and his appetite was still strong. The thought of sweet things made him uncomfortable. "I want to eat spicy radish."

As Hu Xiuqing pushed her son toward the bedroom, she said, "Mom knew you wanted something salty after eating sweet things, so I bought you some pickles."

Jiang Guoqing grumbled, "I don't want to eat salty food. I want to eat spicy food."

"Have you forgotten the sore corners of your mouth from eating spicy food? Didn't you say you would never eat spicy food again?" Hu Xiuqing reminded her beloved son.

Jiang Guoqing cheated: "I want spicy radish, I want spicy radish! I won't eat without spicy radish!"

It was so early in the morning, and Hu Xiuqing had no idea where to get spicy radishes. There were none for sale, so she could only promise, "Okay, okay, when the production team's radishes are harvested, Mom will go find the villagers and buy you two big baskets. Purple radishes, green radishes, white radishes, all of them. Okay?"

"No, I want it now!"

"What if you don't have any? I can't make them for you. Be good, and I'll bring you some candied haws when I get home today."

"I don't want to eat candied haws, I want to eat spicy radish."

"Hey, Qing, listen to what mom is saying,"

"I won't listen. I won't listen."

The mother and son were engaged in a tug-of-war, talking endlessly in the same breath while putting on clothes and socks in the bedroom.

Jiang Furong only knew that the sugar triangles were to be heated up for Jiang Guoqing to eat. Hu Xiuqing did not tell her what the others were to eat, and she didn't know what to cook either. She had no choice but to boil a pot of water on the stove and knead the dough in a basin.

The water was boiling, but Hu Xiuqing didn't come. Jiang Chaohui came into the kitchen and said that they had gone to the service center to buy spicy radishes.

Jiang Furong didn't want to get flour all over her hands, so she stirred it in the basin with a pair of chopsticks, but it still formed lumps.

Jiang Zhaohui grabbed a handful of sweet potato chips and stuffed them into his pocket, then whispered, "I don't want to come back at noon, so I'll take this for lunch at school."

Jiang Furong stuck her head out and saw a bag full of dried sweet potatoes in the cupboard. She knew she had found her lifesaver, so she immediately grabbed two handfuls and threw them into the water.

Dried sweet potatoes are cooked in one go, she knows how to do that.

I looked in the cupboard again and saw vinegar, salt, mustard powder, pickled garlic shoots, pickled sauerkraut, two potatoes, a cabbage and a handful of garlic sprouts.

Eat whatever is available. As long as it is cooked and has a salty taste, it can be eaten. It won’t kill you and it’s also quite green and environmentally friendly.

She chopped a potato and half a cabbage. Since she didn't know how to roll noodles, she crushed the dough at the bottom of the basin and threw it into the pot. She added salt, mustard powder and the sauce from the pickled garlic shoots, scooped a spoonful of lard residue in and stirred it, and finally chopped a handful of garlic leaves and threw them in. Done, turned off the heat.

Jiang Furong took the opportunity to test the saltiness and drank two and a half bowls of the weird Jiang's thick soup. It tasted even better than she had imagined.

Jiang Zhaohui was stunned: "Sister, what did you cook? Is it edible?"

Are you crazy?

Mustard powder is used to dip dumplings in, dried sweet potatoes are added when stewing rice, cabbage and potatoes are stewed, the noodles in the pot are not noodles, the porridge is not porridge, and the smell is not right.

Jiang Guoqing's crying could be heard outside.

Jiang Zhaohui had a bad feeling. Someone was going to be beaten. What should she do? Should she run or just watch? "Sister, Mom is back. What should I do?"

"Eat your breakfast first. Take these two bowls out and let them cool. I'll clean the cupboard first."

Jiang Zhaohui had just brought out breakfast when Hu Xiuqing rushed into the kitchen. "Hurry, hurry, it's almost seven o'clock. It's too late. Bring me one of the sugar triangles so I can eat it at work. Go and comfort your brother. Hey, wait, what's cooking in this pot? It smells so weird! What are you doing again? Huh?"

The trip to the service center was in vain. The officers' mess was under temporary martial law and no outsiders were allowed in. Jiang Guoqing kept complaining all the way, which wore out Hu Xiuqing's patience.

At this moment, Jiang Guoqing was sitting in the living room crying. Hu Xiuqing was in no mood to comfort him anymore. She was so angry that she wanted to find something to vent her anger.

Jiang Furong's stomach was already full, and now her body was warm and her strength had returned. Taking the opportunity to clear the chopping board, she took the kitchen knife in her hand, looked at Hu Xiuqing neither servile nor arrogant, and said word by word: "I made breakfast!"