The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Jiang Dapeng tossed and turned on the camp bed in the office for half the night, thinking a lot and almost reflecting on the first half of his life.

In the end, the only thing left in my mind was the joke that Section Chief Huang said: This person is a loser. If you are successful in your career, your wife will be unhappy.

A light snow fell in the early morning, and the temperature suddenly dropped by ten degrees. There was ice on the ground. Jiang Dapeng parked his bicycle in the office yard and walked to the service center, hoping to buy a pound of pork early in the morning to make dumplings.

Pork is served every Sunday, which is a benefit besides the holidays. Everyone is willing to take this opportunity to improve their meals. No matter whether it is cold or hot, everyone will rush to line up in front of the service center as early as possible.

Now his mother and sister are visiting as relatives. They are his mother and sister. If he wants them to have a decent meal, he has to arrange it himself.

When Jiang Dapeng came out of the office, he brought a teacup with him and planned to buy a pound of sweet noodle sauce.

The pickles, pickles and noodle sauces in the vegetable store are all specially supplied and taste great, especially the sweet noodle sauce. When eating noodles, stir-fry the sweet noodle sauce with eggs and garlic to make a sauce. It is so delicious that you will want to lick the bottom of the bowl.

Coincidentally, as soon as Jiang Dapeng walked to the door of the service center, he saw the supply truck of the logistics department unloading several buckets of milk.

There is a dairy farm in the provincial capital. The logistics department will go there to get milk from time to time, but they never notify us. If they get there, they get there.

Jiang Dapeng thought that he had a little child at home who was only two years old and loved to drink milk, so he changed his mind temporarily and went to get a teacup of fresh milk.

He queued up in the cold to buy vegetables. By the time he got home, the hot milk in the teacup had gone cold and the fresh pork he carried had frozen into a lump.

Jiang Xiaocui, who was busy in the kitchen, heard a knock on the door and came out to open it. She was surprised and happy: "Brother, you are back?"

She took the things from Jiang Dapeng's hand and reported to him in a series without waiting for Jiang Dapeng to reply:

"My sister-in-law and the others haven't woken up yet. I thought I'd make breakfast and then call them to eat. Mom and Furong are in the kitchen."

Jiang Dapeng closed the door, took off his hat and unbuttoned his coat. "When we cook, the house gets warm. There's fresh milk in that jar, perfect for boiling for the kids. I think we have some sugar at home."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Xiaocui hurried to the kitchen: "Mom, don't make the sugar buns anymore. Let's boil some milk with sugar. Qingqing and Xiaobao will have milk to drink soon."

When Grandma Jiang heard the knock on the door, she guessed that it was Jiang Dapeng who had returned. She was busy at work while listening to the noise outside. She heard every word of the conversation in the living room and turned to her granddaughter and said:

"Little Baoying is so lucky! I was just thinking he'd lost weight from skipping milk, and look, your dad bought some. Let's steam some buns, and save the cabbage for dumplings later."

"That's right. My dad came back as soon as Xiao Baoying arrived." Jiang Furong said with a smile, "Grandma, go talk to my dad for a while. I'll make some milk."

Grandma Jiang patted the flour off her hands, took off her apron and put it on her granddaughter: "Okay, you still have to turn on the gas stove. I'll go out and see if Xiao Baoying is awake."

Grandma Jiang wanted to talk to her son, but she was not sure whether he had to go and coax his wife first, so she left room for herself to speak.

Jiang Dapeng had rolled up his sleeves and stood at the kitchen door: "Let me cook."

"I can do it! Brother, you sit outside with mom for a while, the steamed buns are already in the pot." Jiang Xiaocui raised her hand and pushed Jiang Dapeng out: "Just wait and taste my cooking skills."

Jiang Dapeng smiled and put down his sleeves: "Then I won't be polite."

Jiang Xiaocui rolled her eyes at him and said, "This is your own home, why are you being so polite to me?"

Watching Grandma Jiang and Jiang Dapeng go to the living room, Jiang Xiaocui began to think about lunch: "This piece of pork is only one pound. We have one, two, three, um, six big ones and one small one. For dumplings, we need two large cabbages. The flour in the jar is not enough for steamed buns and dumplings. After breakfast, I have to ask my brother to buy rice and noodles. Furong, go get two large cabbages and two scallions. When the buns are ready, I'll chop and mix the filling in hot water."

Listening to Jiang Xiaocui's arrangements, Jiang Furong couldn't help but joked, "Auntie, this year's New Year's work is all counting on you. Don't ask me what to cook, I'll just help you."

It’s so great to have someone at home who can and enjoys cooking.

Jiang Xiaocui smiled and said, "Sure, as long as I'm still here and haven't returned home, I'll take care of everything."

"Ah?" Jiang Furong was surprised: "Aunt, didn't you and my grandmother come here specifically to celebrate the New Year?"

Why did my aunt's tone change after she woke up? What did my grandma and aunt discuss while she was asleep?

Jiang Xiaocui lowered her head and was silent for a while, then finally spoke out: "Your mother keeps falling around like this, who can stay here?"

There were some things Jiang Xiaocui was embarrassed to say.

In rural areas, if the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not good, or the relationship between sisters-in-law is not good, or the relationship between aunt and sister-in-law is not good, no matter how bad it is, after a quarrel and a disagreement, everyone still has a place to stay and will not be homeless.

She could still tolerate the embarrassment before her eldest brother came back, but she didn't expect that her eldest brother would hide outside whenever he encountered problems. He was a cadre at that. It made her sad to think about it. If she stayed with her brother, what help could she expect from him?

In fact, this is because Jiang Xiaocui doesn’t understand Jiang Dapeng.

If Jiang Dapeng had his temper, he would have to wait until Hu Xiuqing's angry complaints had almost died down before going home, which would be at least three days later.

Jiang Dapeng returned home temporarily after putting aside his anger for the sake of his mother and sister.

It’s a pity that Hu Xiuqing doesn’t care about anyone else and doesn’t see that family affection can make a person tolerant and generous.

Jiang Furong said, "Let her throw it. This family doesn't belong to her alone. When the time comes, we can all find work and earn more than her."

I have to say, when a woman has a job, she can stand up straight and speak with confidence.

Jiang Xiaocui was not encouraged: "Taking care of Xiao Baoying is not something that can be done at any time, and I don't want to be a nanny."

Jiang Furong suddenly had an idea: "Auntie, don't you know how to make clothes? Chinese New Year is coming soon, and many people must need to make new clothes. Let's go find Zhang Haiyan and ask her if anyone has a sewing machine that they can lend you. As long as you wear the new clothes out, maybe someone will ask about them."

Jiang Xiaocui's eyes lit up: "Yes! Why didn't I think of this!"

Jiang Furong continued, "Aunt, find a chance to ask my dad if he can buy you a sewing machine so you can make clothes anytime. Wouldn't that mean you'd have money? If someone wants me to make clothes for you, I can go to their house and make them for them based on the day's cost. Isn't that just like going to work? I think it's even better than going to work."

Jiang Xiaocui was very happy: "Really? This is a great idea!"

Grandma Jiang came over and asked: "What good idea do you have? What are you talking about? The steamed buns are not even out of the pot yet."

Jiang Xiaocui lifted the lid of the pot with a beaming smile: "It's almost out of the pot! Wow, it's all flower-shaped steamed buns, so fragrant!"