Starting a new chapter in life

Carrying the clothes she had gathered, she returned to her room, found her sewing basket, and began mending her sister's torn hems, frayed cuffs, and ripped socks. Once finished, she neatly folded the clothes and put them back in Jingyan's wardrobe.

After that, he went to his own room, then the kitchen. By the time he finished tidying up, it was already dark. He quickly put on a coarse cloth shirt, went to the storeroom to fill a basket with coal, and then went to the front yard wall to gather two handfuls of wheat straw to prepare to boil water. Jingyan might bring food tonight, so he decided not to cook any more. If she didn't bring any back, he could just boil some noodles, which would be quick.

Zhang Jingyan got up early this morning and, seeing no movement from her fourth sister's side, knew she was truly exhausted from yesterday. She carefully washed a few sweet potatoes and placed them on the steamer. After thinking for a moment, she added an egg, lit the fire, and started steaming.

She went straight to wash up, changed her clothes, and the sweet potatoes were almost cooked. She poked them with chopsticks and saw they were done. She turned off the stove, leaving a little ember to keep the pot warm, and ate three sweet potatoes with warm water. Then, she grabbed the candy and pastries her fourth sister had bought yesterday and hurried off to work.

She called out to Peng Chunlai at the intersection, and Chunlai came running out. Seeing the bag in her hand, he smiled and said, "Jingyan, did Fourth Sister go to the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday? How much did you spend on these? Let's split it in half." The two of them walked towards the canteen as they talked.

Jingyan smiled and said, "I'm giving this bag of brown sugar to Sister Liu. Consider it mine. The sugar cubes and pastries are about three yuan and seventy or eighty cents. Let's split it in half. You can give me one yuan and ninety cents."

Peng Chunlai pouted and shook his head: "These all require tickets, and I don't have any here." As he spoke, he rummaged through his pocket, counted for a while, and handed it to Jing Yan: "I only have two yuan and fifty cents here, that's all. Let's not worry about the difference between us sisters."

Jing Yan was about to decline, but seeing Peng Chunlai's stubborn look, she smiled and accepted it: "Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. I might even make a profit this time, hehe."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Sister Liu was sitting at the cashier knitting. Jingyan led Peng Chunlai over to greet her: "Sister Liu, here, this bag of brown sugar is for you. If you have any red dates, you can make red date and ginger syrup."

Sister Liu looked up at her, about to decline, when Jingyan spoke up: "Please don't decline. If it weren't for your message yesterday, we would have to use coal sparingly in winter. Although it won't freeze, it won't be very warm. This has solved my family's heating problem for three years. This is a big deal."

Although we'll sell some to nearby villages later, no one has enough coal right now. It's just my sister and me; we definitely can't get much. There's no way we can be sure of getting more. I can't afford to give more anyway; it's just a token of our appreciation. I know you're not short of money. It's just a small token, nothing valuable. It's not like we're accepting bribes.

Seeing her insistence, Sister Liu smiled and accepted it, saying, "Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Jingyan smiled and shook the bag in her hand: "These are the candies and pastries my sister bought from the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday. Chunlai and I paid for them. Sister Liu, please keep them here for now. We'll distribute them to everyone when we're less busy. Thanks to everyone's care this year, we'll be on holiday soon. This is our token of appreciation."

This time, Sister Liu didn't refuse. She smiled and took the food, placing it in the cash register: "Okay, I'll help you distribute it to everyone when I'm done. Hurry up and go to the kitchen; it's almost time to get to work."

Chunlai smiled and greeted Sister Liu before heading to the kitchen together. Sister Liu watched their retreating figures and shook her head with a smile: "Both children are sensible. Jingyan would say that Chunlai is just too shy and doesn't like to stand out. But they are both good children."

After lunch, Sister Liu distributed five paper packets to the group, saying as she did so, "These are the heartfelt wishes of Jingyan and Chunlai, thanking everyone for taking care of us this year. Each of you will receive one, with candy and snacks. Since you've accepted their kindness, please continue to take care of these two children next year."

Everyone readily accepted the paper package, nodding repeatedly: "That's right, these two kids have been working here for two years, they've developed a bond. Let's continue to work hard next year. As long as our unit stays, you two will always be a part of our canteen."

As the weather gets colder, the cafeteria is getting busier. In winter, stewed soup is the best way to warm the body, so since the beginning of winter, the cafeteria has canceled its lunch break. After eating and resting for a while, they start preparing ingredients for dinner.

Xiao Zhou sliced ​​the mutton off the bone to cook. The remaining bones didn't have much meat or oil, but they were perfect for stewing soup. Simmering over low heat for three hours was the only way to extract the essence from the bones and make the flavor rich. Adding some cabbage and glass noodles, and sprinkling some chopped green onions on top when it was done, made it an absolute delicacy.

As time passed, the aroma of food from the canteen slowly wafted out. At five o'clock sharp, the construction workers finished their work, got their dishes and soup, and ate with great satisfaction.

After the cafeteria was cleaned up, Jingyan still spent money to take the remaining dishes home. There was a lot of soup left over tonight, and Chef Lin waved his hand, "The soup at the bottom of the pot is all yours, consider it a bonus for you to finish it off."

Jingyan thanked him happily, and Chef Lin said, "It's getting colder and colder. It's almost the end of December. The ground is so hard that it's impossible to dig. The construction team is finishing up the work. They've also received a notice that they'll be on leave in three days and the soldiers can go home to visit their families."

You two will also have your holiday starting the day after tomorrow. When the snow melts next year and it's time to go back to work, I'll have Xiao Zhou inform you that the army provides mutton during the holidays. You two can discuss whether you want some, and let me know how much you need. I'll prepare it for you. You don't need to go to the logistics department for this; Sister Liu can settle the bill with you. It'll save you the trouble of running around in this cold weather.

The two thanked Chef Lin happily, and Peng Chunlai asked excitedly, "Chef Lin, how much is the mutton per pound?"

"It's four cents a pound here at the military base. It's supplied to the military, so no coupons are needed. Just decide how much you need and bring the money over. We'll be here to help you separate the meat and bones, saving you the trouble of going back twice."

"Is there pork available this year?" Jing Yan asked.

"Yes, but as we all know, pork is expensive, so the army doesn't buy much. This year it's 80 cents a pound. If you want the kind of fatty pork belly that's used for rendering lard, it's 90 cents. The quantity isn't large. If you want it, each person can only get a maximum of five or six pounds. This is what we're saving for you from the canteen." Chef Lin was very easy to talk to.

Jingyan and Chunlai exchanged a glance, then smiled at Chef Lin and said, "Thank you, Chef Lin. We'll go home tonight and discuss how much we need, then bring the money over tomorrow."

Chef Lin waved his hand with a smile: "Let's go, let's go. By the way, Jingyan, you're not a good cook, but this soup is a good thing. When you get back, just boil some noodles in water, then pour the hot soup over them. It'll taste delicious without adding anything else. Don't cook it with the noodles, that's such a waste."

Jing Yan touched her nose and nodded in agreement, while the others smiled kindly.

Upon arriving home, Zhang Jingyan opened the gate and saw the faint light reflected in the kitchen window, which brought her a sense of peace. She turned and bolted the door shut. Zhang Jinghuan was also boiling water, having just filled two thermos flasks and was about to boil another pot for washing up that evening when she heard a noise at the gate. She opened the door and peeked inside, only to see her younger sister carrying something from the gate.

She quickly went to greet her, took the jar from Jingyan's arms, and asked, "Where did this come from? Wow, it's quite heavy. What's in it?"

"The cafeteria made lamb bone soup today, and I sent the rest back. Chef Lin said it would be delicious with noodles." Jingyan let her fourth sister take the jar from her, and followed her sister into the house with her lunchbox.

"Fourth Sister didn't cook today, did she? I brought some food back, but it's too cold now, and the aluminum lunchbox doesn't keep things warm, so it's almost cold. I need to heat it up a bit," Zhang Jingyan said, touching the lunchbox to check its temperature.

“We haven’t cooked. Ever since you started working at the canteen, we haven’t cooked much at home. It’s delicious, oily, and inexpensive. We’ve barely touched the grain we got from the village this year, which we exchanged for work points. When you have your holiday, I’ll make dumplings for you.”

As he spoke, he placed a steamer basket in the pot of boiling water, opened the lid of the lunchbox, and put it inside.

"Sister, wouldn't you like a bowl of mutton soup?" Zhang Jingyan reminded her.

"No, let's ladle the mutton soup later, divide it into portions, and put it in the vat in the yard to freeze overnight. Tomorrow, when we crack it open, it'll be a solid block of ice. We can leave it outside and bring it back when we want to eat it. We can just cook it in a pot and it'll taste just like fresh. One vat like this can last us three or four meals." Jinghuan is a skilled cook and has experience in this area.

“Oh, that works too. By the way, sis, we’ll be on holiday the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow is our last day of work. Chef Lin said that Chunlai and I can buy some meat from the cafeteria, lamb and pork. But the pork is only five or six pounds at most, and it’s eight or nine cents a pound. The lamb is much cheaper, only forty cents a pound. How much should we buy?” Zhang Jingyan asked.

Zhang Jinghuan rummaged through the container and found three aluminum lunchboxes, some of which were deformed. He put them in a basin, poured some water on them, and started washing them, making sure there were no leaks. Hearing his sister's words, he carefully said:

"We'll buy five or six pounds of pork, preferably the kind with lots of fat, so we can render the fat when we get back. As for mutton, the two of us won't eat much, but my older brothers should be coming back before the New Year, so we'll bring some back for them then."

Let's do the math. If we give each of them five jin, that's ten jin. We need enough to last us the whole winter, so thirty jin should be more than enough. Forty jin would be sixteen yuan, plus the pork, so thirty yuan should be enough. Let's take thirty yuan with us tomorrow.”

“We said we’d save up 100 yuan, but after buying meat this time, we only have 20 yuan left. After buying some New Year’s goods, will we have enough left to last until spring?” Jingyan was a little worried.

“I still have some change here, about five or six yuan. We don’t need to buy anything after the New Year, so this meat will last until spring. It’s not a bad deal.” Jinghuan was very calculating.

"My wages should be settled before the holiday. It hasn't been a full month yet, so let's see how much I can get. If I can scrape together at least thirty yuan, yeah, there's still a good chance." Jing Yan was also estimating.

"It's alright. If it's really not enough, we can save less this year. Even though Mom is gone, we still need to live comfortably." Jinghuan patted her.

After washing the lunchbox and portioning out the mutton soup from the jar, Jingyan put the lid on, placed the jar outside by the window, and then quickly returned. "It's really getting cold."

Seeing the steam rising from the pot, she reminded her, "Sister, the food is ready. You should eat quickly. I'll wash the jar. I can take it with me to work tomorrow."

Jinghuan glanced back at the pot, nodded, and said, "Okay, the rest is up to you." With that, she opened the pot lid, took out the steamer basket, and sat down at the table to eat.

Jingyan cleaned the jar, scooped out the water from the pot and added it to the previously empty thermos, and scooped the rest into a basin for washing later.

Looking at the fire in the stove, I added a few more ladles of water to the pot, put the lid on, and the warm water will be perfect for washing up tomorrow morning.

After eating, Jinghuan washed the lunchbox in his hand, ate an orange by himself, and another day passed.

On the last day, the workload wasn't too heavy. During the lunch break, everyone worked together to thoroughly clean the canteen inside and out. The windows were spotless, and the canteen looked bright and spacious. Because it was the last day, Jingyan and Chunlai worked especially hard. After dinner, Chef Lin asked, "How much meat do you two want? The slaughterhouse delivered two sheep today."

"I'll take as much pork fat as you can give me. If it's less than five or six pounds, I'll make up for it with other meats to reach the maximum limit. I want forty pounds of mutton," Zhang Jingyan said.

"My family does the same. We buy the most pork because there are many people in my family. If we have enough mutton, we plan to buy 100 jin (50 kg), which will last until next spring." Peng Chunlai wants to buy even more.

Chef Lin smiled and said, "Okay, this sheep weighs about 100 pounds each. Let's dismantle it and see how much meat we can get."

Chef Lin was in charge of the cutting, with Xiao Zhou assisting, while the rest of the staff were busy carrying basins and arranging meat. After the two sheep were butchered and weighed, they weighed a total of 120 jin (60 kg), with 46 jin (23 catties) of bones. Chef Lin looked at them and said, "You can decide how to divide it."

Peng Chunlai didn't hesitate at all. "Jingyan, you take forty catties of meat and give me the rest. I don't plan to take the bones. They're good for making soup, but they're too wasteful of fuel. My mom can't bear to use them for soup."

Jing Yan looked at the meat spread all over the cutting board and nodded, "Okay, I won't stand on ceremony with you, Chef Lin. I brought thirty yuan. After deducting the amount for the meat, I'll use the rest to buy bones. I'll spend it all."

Chef Lin looked at Sister Liu, who was good at this, and asked, "Chef Lin, the pork isn't ready yet. Shall we cook it together later?"

Chef Lin brought out two large pieces of meat, mostly fat and lean, from the kitchen and tossed them onto the cutting board. "Here, six pounds each, choose one yourself."

Jingyan said, "This time, Chunlai, you choose first."

Chunlai didn't say much, just picked up a piece at random, "This one will do."