Starting a new chapter in life

"It hasn't been issued yet. I heard that this year we also have subsidies in addition to allowances. I can bring them back when I come back from my holiday at the end of this month. It'll be perfect for spending New Year's Day at home. Is there anything else you want to buy?" He Zhijun asked.

“I still need to buy some alcohol. You need alcohol coupons, which you don’t get with your regular rations. You’ll have to find someone to exchange them for. If your leader smokes, you should also buy a few packs of cigarettes to keep on hand. I asked around at the supply and marketing cooperative a few days ago. All the better cigarettes require coupons. Only Albanian cigarettes don’t require coupons, and they’re not expensive, only two cents a pack. I don’t know much about cigarettes, so I didn’t buy any.”

"Okay, I'll go back and find out what kind of cigarettes my comrades with smoking addictions usually smoke. I'll bring them back next time. Don't worry, I'll remember," He Zhijun promised.

Then, as if remembering something, he said, "Since the battalion commander is here for the New Year, he should stay at home for a while. I was thinking of letting him stay in the small room. I wonder if he has any extra thick quilts at home. If not, I'll have him bring the ones from his dormitory."

"No need to bring extra, we have enough at home. I'll sew the covers on the quilts before he comes. It's too much trouble to bring them back." Jingyan has plenty of bedding. Her fourth sister probably only kept what she used at home before sending the rest over. There are three thick quilts and two thin quilts. She won't have to worry about bedding for the next three years.

"Shall we buy a sheep this year?" He Zhijun asked.

“How many kilograms of meat do you think you can eat in one meal if we have a barbecue? Today, just the two of us, I cut three kilograms of meat. A whole sheep only weighs about sixty kilograms at most. Four adults can eat six or seven kilograms in one meal. If we have hot pot or something, we’ll burn off the meat even faster. One whole sheep definitely won’t be enough,” Jingyan calculated for him.

He Zhijun thought for a moment, "Okay, I understand, I'll take care of it."

Jingyan went inside, took out ten ten-yuan bills from her wallet, and handed them to He Zhijun: "Your allowance is forty-eight yuan, which is enough to buy a sheep. Take these. This is our first New Year together. We've invited Battalion Commander Gao to our home. We should have just invited him. But since we've invited him, we can't be stingy. We should make sure we have enough for everything."

He Zhijun was deeply moved. He put his arm around Jingyan, buried his head in her shoulder and neck, and said in a muffled voice, "It's so good to have married you."

After He Zhijun returned to the team, Jingyan started knitting the woolen pants. They didn't need any fancy patterns, so she was quite adept at it. She finished them in just one week. Jingyan happily put them away, feeling relaxed again.

People just can't stand being nagged. Just when Jingyan thought she had nothing to do, her neighbor Chen Xinyue came over. Jingyan invited her in, initially thinking she was just visiting.

After chatting for a while, she asked somewhat shyly, "Jingyan, did your family make something delicious a few days ago? The aroma was so strong that we could smell it at home."

Jingyan thought for a moment: "I haven't cooked much these past few days, I've just been eating whatever... Was it last weekend? My husband came home from work that day, and I made him some kebabs. You're not talking about this kind of food, are you?"

Chen Xinyue's eyes lit up immediately, and she asked somewhat shyly, "To be honest, I used to love eating this too, but then the movement came, and all those restaurants and specialty shops were forced to close down, so I haven't been able to eat it since."

"Look, we're all stuck at home now, no one knows what's going on behind closed doors. Could you cook us a meal? Of course, we can't expect you to cook for free. I'll provide the meat, you can prepare the rest. I'll give you five yuan as a tip for your trouble, okay? It's just the three of us, we're not really running a business, just like neighbors dropping by. Is that alright?"

Jingyan was shamefully tempted. She secretly rubbed her fingers together, suppressing her excitement: "Won't this be a mistake?"

Chen Xinyue quickly shook her head: "No, my husband works in the municipal government. The black market isn't being investigated as strictly as it used to be. Besides, we're just doing it at home. As long as we don't say anything, no outsiders will know. I just really wanted to eat it, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered you."

Jingyan gritted her teeth and replied, "It can only be cooked at my house. As for the meat, lamb is the best, beef is the second best, and pork is fine if you don't have any. If you have any steamed buns, you can bring them over. Grilled steamed bun slices are also delicious."

Chen Xinyue readily agreed: "Okay, I'll prepare it right away and send the meat over as soon as I'm ready."

Jing Yan nodded: "Also, the meat needs to be marinated with seasonings in advance, so you need to give me time to marinate it. In other words, when you send me the meat, you need at least half a day to marinate it before I can eat it."

Chen Xinyue nodded: "No problem, thank you, Jingyan."

“I’m just idling at home anyway, so having something to do can help pass the time. But I still need to keep a low profile. I don’t want anyone to have any leverage against me that could affect my husband,” Jingyan said, her words carrying a hint of caution.

Chen Xinyue understood her concerns: "Don't worry, I just have a sweet tooth, it's just an occasional thing, I won't tell anyone."

Two days later, Chen Xinyue delivered five catties of mutton early in the morning. Jing Yan didn't deliberately avoid Chen Xinyue while preparing, and even asked her to bring her son over as well.

The child was well-mannered, playing with building blocks on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the bedroom. Chen Xinyue chatted with him while watching Jing Yan cut meat. After cutting the meat, she put it in a bowl and started adding seasonings to marinate it.

Chen Xinyue tried to avoid the topic, but Jing Yan stopped her: "No need to hide. It's not a secret. Actually, meat can be grilled directly, but I think marinating it makes the meat more tender and the flavor more even. It's just a few tricks."

Jingyan placed the marinated meat near the kitchen door. "Around what time will you be coming over tonight?"

"My husband, Lao Gong, gets home around 5:30, around that time."

Jingyan glanced at her watch: "Do you still have any steamed buns at home? The steamed buns I make always have a hard time separating the old dough, they're all yellow and white in patches, and they're prone to blooming, so I don't steam buns anymore."

Chen Xinyue nodded quickly: "I just steamed a pot yesterday, I'll go get it, how much do you need?"

"Bring over six for now, you can eat them first. If you need more, you can go home and get more, it's close by anyway."

Chen Xinyue returned quickly. Jing Yan cut each steamed bun into three slices, skewered them with an iron skewer, and set them aside: "Baking steamed buns makes them crispy and fragrant. You'll know once you try it."

After the meat marinated for about an hour, Jingyan brought in a basin and said to Chen Xinyue, "Come on, let me teach you how to skewer them."

The child got bored after playing with building blocks for half a day, so he ran to the kitchen to find his mother. He saw the two of them making skewers and wanted to join in. Chen Xinyue helped him wash his hands and handed him a metal skewer to teach him. Of course, the child's attempt was negligible.

The two slowly skewered the meat, placing a piece of fat in the middle of each skewer. Chen Xinyue didn't quite understand why, but Jing Yan explained, "If it's all lean meat, even with oil, it won't be fragrant enough, and the meat will become dry. It's better when it's coated with the fat from the lamb itself. But you can't use too much fat, or it will become greasy. One piece is just right."

After using up all ninety-one iron skewers, there were still some pieces of meat left in the bowl. Jingyan said, "Wait until you've eaten enough before skewering these and grilling them. If you finish eating them skewered, you'll be full. You can take these home and fry or stir-fry them; they'll taste good too."

When it was almost time, Chen Xinyue went home to pick up her husband who had just finished get off work. Jing Yan had already lit the charcoal fire, and the butter in the jar had melted. As soon as Jing Yan started grilling, the aroma wafted out. The three of them sat at the kitchen doorway, eating without looking up. Whether it was meat skewers or slices of steamed buns, they all thought it was delicious, and the whole family ate until they were stuffed.

Gong Haibo laughed and said, "This barbecue is really delicious. I'm so full. Comrade Zhang, thank you so much for today. Your cooking skills are amazing." After saying that, he gave Jing Yan a thumbs up, then shook his head with some regret: "I didn't prepare any alcohol tonight. If I could have a couple more drinks, even just beer, it would be just right."

Chen Xinyue laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "You should know when to stop. Jingyan is the only one at home. It's not right for a man like you to be drinking here. We'll come and bother her again when her husband is on vacation. I won't stop you from drinking then."

After saying that, Chen Xinyue turned to Jing Yan with a hopeful look on her face. Jing Yan smiled helplessly and said, "If you're not going far during the Spring Festival, you can come and visit. My husband and his boss are spending the Spring Festival at my house this year. It will be more lively if you come together."

Gong Haibo quickly replied, "Then I'll bring some wine and meat. Thank you for your trouble, Comrade Zhang." The couple took their leave with their child. Jing Yan offered them the remaining pieces of meat, but the couple refused to accept them. Chen Xinyue said, "We don't know how to cook this properly if we take it back. It's a waste. You've been busy until now and haven't had dinner yet. Just make do with this. Besides, we've already shamelessly made an appointment to freeload for dinner during the New Year."

Jing Yan couldn't refuse, so she accepted the meat. She thought that since she had gotten a good deal on the meat, it wouldn't be right to take the money back. However, she still couldn't refuse Chen Xinyue. She wanted to give the meat to the child, but Gong Haibo and the child were nowhere to be seen. They had already taken the child home when she tried to sell the meat.

After dinner, Jingyan tidied up the grill in the backyard. She was quite satisfied with the five yuan in her hand. Since she was not allowed to do business now, she would have no income for a while and would just have to sit and eat her savings. Jingyan was actually a little uneasy.

As her money dwindled, she realized that if she hadn't been lucky enough to meet Gao Mei and He Chunni, she would have had trouble even getting enough to eat, let alone eating well. Now that she had some income, even if it was just this once, it was still a good idea. Once her business was legalized, she could indeed return to her old ways and set up a barbecue stall, which would be quite a good option.

By the end of December, He Zhijun returned on his bicycle with two large bags of mutton and a bag of mutton bones. As soon as he entered, he happily opened the bags to show her: "I bought two sheep, which cost a total of eighty yuan. The bones and meat have been separated. Chef Lin knew that I bought them and specially helped to separate them. I didn't bring the sheep heads back. I gave the canteen five yuan to ask them to braise them. I will go again tomorrow to pick up the braised sheep heads."

Jingyan was also very happy to see the mutton and bones: "Put the mutton directly into the vat in the warehouse. I guess there won't be enough room for the bones. The vats in the warehouse are not enough. See if you can go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow and buy a big vat. It would be a waste if we left it outside and let the rats eat it."

He Zhijun nodded, then took out two bottles of Beidahuang Baijiu from his coat pocket and two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes from his inner pocket: "Keep the liquor and cigarettes safe. I got them from the logistics minister. Tomorrow is New Year's Day, so let's have a good meal at home. But we should have quite a few braised sheep heads, so we don't need to cook any more meat dishes. I'll just stir-fry one more dish and that should be enough."

"Okay, then I'll be waiting for your cooking skills. Come on in and try on the woolen pants I knitted for you." Jing Yan proudly showed him the woolen pants. The simple knitting made them much neater. Under Jing Yan's expectant gaze, He Zhijun put them on and tried them on. They did fit quite well. At this moment, Jing Yan began to have confidence in her knitting skills again.

"Oh right, last time you came back we had a barbecue, right? The neighbors smelled it, so a few days ago Chen Xinyue and her husband came over and asked me to help them with a barbecue. They brought their own lamb and steamed buns, and I just provided the seasonings and my cooking skills. They gave me five yuan as a tip."

Before leaving, she left me with about a pound of cured meat, which made me feel a little bad. After her husband finished eating, he remarked, "Barbecue without alcohol is just not the same."

You said it wasn't appropriate for me, a woman, to be home alone, to let men from other families drink in the house. So, since you and Battalion Commander Gao were both staying with us for the New Year, I invited them, their family of three, to come over for a meal during the holiday. I didn't discuss this with you beforehand. Do you think I handled this poorly?

Jingyan actually regretted it a little after sending the invitation. If it were just the two of them at home for the New Year, it would be fine if the neighbors came and it would be more lively. But with Battalion Commander Gao also there, it didn't feel quite right.

He Zhijun laughed: "What's the big deal? Our battalion commander is very hospitable. By the way, do you know what the neighbors do? I'll talk to the battalion commander about it later. A few days ago, I told him to come to our house for the New Year, and he felt quite bad about it. He thought we were newlyweds and he was afraid of bothering us. Now that the neighbors are here, he might feel more at ease."

Jing Yan thought for a moment and replied, "Chen Xinyue is a primary school teacher. Her husband's surname is Gong, but I didn't ask which character it was. I said he works for the municipal government, I think he's some kind of secretary. She mentioned it once before, but I didn't remember."

He Zhijun nodded: "They're all cultured people, so they'll have common topics with our battalion commander. You can rest assured."

The next day, He Zhijun went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vats. The vats were big and heavy, so he had to ask someone to help him carry them back. When He Zhijun got home, he cleaned the two large vats and dried them in the kitchen before moving them to the warehouse and stuffing the remaining mutton and bones into them.

I went to the army canteen in the afternoon to pick up the braised sheep's head and return the bicycle I borrowed yesterday. When Sister Liu saw He Zhijun, she laughed at him: "You bought so much mutton this year, do you think Jingyan has a big appetite? I'll tell on her when I see her."