The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Jiang Furong finished moving the things and the whole morning had passed. She was tired and hungry. Standing in the courtyard, she felt her hands and feet trembling slightly. She quickly made herself a cup of sugar water and drank it, and only then did she feel a little better.

Man is iron and rice is steel. Without nutrition, one will starve.

Looking at the alarm clock, Jiang Guoqing was about to come back. She hadn't started making lunch yet, so she grabbed a handful of rice and dried sweet potatoes to cook porridge. She wanted to find some yam rice cakes to throw in and cook them together, but there was no small basket for rice cakes in the cupboard.

If there is no such thing, then there is no such thing. Jiang Furong was too lazy to get angry and could only think of another way.

The water in the pot boiled, and the rice grains rolled in the clear water, which looked bleak.

Jiang Furong thought about the Jiang family's food quota, and out of spite, she scooped out two jars of rice and cooked a pot of rice in a pressure cooker.

It was her first time using a pressure cooker and she had no experience. Not long after she closed the high-pressure valve, steam started to burst out of the lid, which made her nervous.

After a while, soup started to leak out of the pot lid. She hadn't wiped it twice with a rag when she smelled a burnt smell and hurriedly turned off the gas stove.

When the lid of the pressure cooker could finally be opened, Jiang Guoqing came back from school.

The rice in the pot has a black mass in the middle of the bottom layer and a black and yellow circle around it. The burnt smell comes from here. The rice on the top still has white spots and is not cooked.

The pressure cooker she used only required her to put rice and water in according to the scale and cover the lid. Then she didn't have to do anything else and the pressure cooker would cook rice of various textures according to her taste.

But what is this pot of rice in front of me? It’s so disgusting!

Jiang Guoqing added to the confusion: "I don't eat this kind of food. Make me some mustard sauce to dip the steamed buns in."

"No!" Jiang Furong began to peel off the layer of rice between the half-cooked rice and the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot: "Just eat this! Eat whatever you have!"

Fortunately, she scooped enough rice and managed to make a small bowl of edible rice.

Just when she was worried that Jiang Guoqing didn't have enough to eat, Jiang Zhaohui came back and asked excitedly, "Sister, what delicious food did you make again?"

Jiang Furong's hands were full of rice. Seeing another person wanting to eat, she was almost going crazy. Her tone was full of frustration: "The rice is not cooked well, it's half-cooked."

Jiang Zhaohui stretched his head to take a look: "You can chop some green onions, add some oil residue and water, stir-fry until cooked, and then add some soy sauce. It's delicious. I saw that our dad made it this way."

Yangzhou fried rice?

Jiang Furong has eaten it, but never cooked it!

"Zhaohui, you do it!" Jiang Furong gave up her position without hesitation, "I don't know how! I didn't even know you could cook half-cooked rice."

Cooking a meal is much more tiring than moving things!

Jiang Zhaohui volunteered to cut two scallions: "Just do it! I saw my dad do it before, it's so easy."

Jiang Furong quickly washed the rice off her hands: "Then you cook, I'll go clean up."

She didn't have much time to clean up her room. She had to throw away what needed to be thrown away and see how to repair what was still usable. She couldn't wait a moment.

Jiang Zhaohui followed her to the courtyard and saw the fruits Jiang Furong had picked up. He exclaimed in surprise, "Sister, I like this little cabinet. Can I put it in our room?"

"Okay!" Jiang Furong thought the same thing: "Wash it when the water comes in the afternoon, and take it in when it's dry. Then there will be a place to put the clothes on the bed."

Jiang Zhaohui looked around happily, as if he was looking at brand new furniture: "This bench is really nice. I've seen it in the conference room at my dad's place."

Although the wooden board of the stool has cracked, it still has a high-end feel and is very pleasing to the eye.

Seeing her sister so happy, Jiang Furong's frustration from failing to cook faded a little: "Do you know who I can borrow a hammer and nails from?"

In just a short while of chatting with her sister, Jiang Furong had already estimated the size and figured out that she could use one leg from the two broken stools to repair the broken office chair.

As for the marching blankets and mosquito nets, don’t throw them away for now. Wash them first and then decide whether to throw them away or keep them.

Jiang Zhaohui racked his brains and thought for a while, then whispered, "You should ask our dad."

The two sisters looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Our dad, our dad, everything is our dad.

Jiang Furong waved her hand: "You go cook, I'll find a solution."

She looked at her sister's trusting eyes with satisfaction and smiled secretly in her heart. What else could she think of? Just go find someone she knew and ask.

Poor original Jiang Furong, had been belittled and beaten by Hu Xiuqing since she was a child, and had long since developed an inferiority and cowardly personality. Apart from guilt and self-blame, she was also consumed by internal friction. She often wandered between despair and despair, and lived a very bitter life, really too bitter.

After eating the lunch prepared by Jiang Chaohui, Jiang Furong was very tired and wanted to take a nap before going out, but she was worried that she would oversleep, so she splashed cold water on her eyes and face and went straight to find Zhang Haiyan.

Coincidentally, as soon as I reached the gate of the living compound, I saw a man talking to the sentry at the gate and asking him to be let through.

Jiang Furong saw the toolbox on the back of the man's bicycle and felt it looked familiar, so she walked over and asked, "Are you a carpenter?"

The man came to make furniture for someone. Last time, he was brought in by the male owner to identify the house. He only knew the male owner's name and phone number but couldn't tell the home address, which building and which number. The sentry refused to let him in no matter what, which made him so anxious that he stuttered. When he saw Jiang Furong coming to ask, he hurriedly repeated what had happened.

Jiang Furong took a look at the tools in the toolbox, thought for a moment, and asked, "What's in front of their house, and what's next to it? I'll go find their family for you."

The sentry at the gate is responsible for strictly guarding the area and only letting in those who meet the requirements. He is not responsible for temporary investigations and verifications, and will not let anyone in without the required procedures.

The family members living in the compound basically understand this rule.

So Jiang Furong offered to help the carpenter find someone.

The carpenter was overjoyed: "My last name is Lu. Just say I'm the carpenter Lu Xiaochuan from Daluo Village, and the auntie will know him. His house is on the right side of the road, the fourth one from the front, and the fourth door from the roadside."

When Jiang Furong heard this, she realized that this was exactly the row of bungalows behind Luo Danfeng's house. It wouldn't take long to run back and forth.

But she didn't know that she looked thin and tired. After running back and forth, she looked particularly tired. Carpenter Lu was very moved: "Oh, sister, you are such a good person!"

Jiang Furong didn't want to be a good person for nothing: "Um, haha, Master Lu, I want to borrow your tools, can I use them? I have a stool at home that I need to hammer a nail into."

Jiang Furong did not understand the rules of the carpentry industry at that time, which was that one's own special tools could not be lent out.

But Lu Xiaochuan hesitated for only two seconds before he came up with a compromise: "What tools do you want to borrow? Take me to see if your thin arms can lift a hammer."

The male owner of the family who hired the carpenter worked in the military affairs department. He was very grateful to Jiang Furong for running errands for their family, and he had no objection to the carpenter going to help Jiang Furong.

When Lu Xiaochuan arrived at Jiang's house, he saw that none of the furniture was usable. "Oh, sister, it's a good thing you called me here. I'm the best at fixing these things."

After that, he opened the toolbox and started using his knife, hammer, and saw. With a few clinks, he patched the legs of the office chair, added a handle to the door of the small cabinet, and patched the bottom of the bench with a hole in it. "Wait, sister. When they finish making the furniture, I'll leave you a piece of plywood. When the time comes, just apply a layer of glue on it, stick the plywood on, and then paint the backrest and armrests."

Every good carpenter is a master in the art of refurbishing old furniture.

Jiang Furong seemed to have seen the brand new furniture, placed in the house and looking very presentable.