Lin Wanning and her elder sister - in - law Fang Qin had no idea about all this. Their heads were shaking like rattles.
"Hehe, because her secret is me. My hands make pickled cabbage taste delicious, but she doesn't tell others and just claims it's all her doing."
As soon as he said this, Lin Wanning and Fang Qin burst into laughter.
It seemed that all the unpleasant things that had happened over such a long time had completely vanished. Moreover, Zhao Yongsheng's strong local accent and the comical tone of his speech were inherently humorous.
Under his influence, Lin Wanning and Fang Qin hadn't been this happy for a long time.
It was as if this vast land could not breed narrow - minded love. This kind of love included not only romantic love but also family affection and friendship.
Zhao Yongsheng helped Fang Qin make dumplings, while Lin Wanning stir - fried the cleaned chicken in a pan. She cooked it until the moisture in the chicken was evaporated and the fat came out. Then, she turned to low heat and slowly fried until the chicken skin was golden - brown and the chicken gave off a delicious aroma. She added some cooking wine and stir - fried for a while to get rid of the original fishy smell of the chicken.
Next, she poured in water to stew the chicken. When half of the water had evaporated, she put in the peeled chestnuts so that the chestnuts would absorb plenty of the chicken soup.
The chestnuts were sticky, sweet, and infused with the rich flavor of the chicken soup.
When everyone sat at the dinner table to eat, no one had time to praise the food. Especially Zhao Yongsheng, who just kept nodding. He wanted to say it was delicious, but his mouth never stopped.
He just kept going "Um... um..."
As a cook in the mess hall, he often cooked chestnut - stewed chicken, but in all his life, he thought this was the most delicious chicken he had ever eaten. Especially the chestnuts inside, which not only had the natural sweetness of chestnuts but also the rich and mellow flavor brought by the chicken soup.
It was incredibly delicious.
The delicious smell not only made them drool but also wafted throughout the military dependents' compound.
Lin Wanning knew why the chestnut - stewed chicken was so delicious. It was because the chicken was home - raised and ate only natural grain, never any feed.
Whether it was stewed or stir - fried, it would smell fragrant for miles.
However, when the military wives in the compound smelled this delicious aroma, they didn't show curiosity or greed. Instead, they acted like sour - grapes.
In their eyes, someone who dared to eat like this on the first day didn't know how to manage a household.
It seemed that the bad habits of the capitalists hadn't been gotten rid of. They deliberately came to this out - of - the - way place to enjoy good food and drink. They guessed that the raid on the family must not have been thorough enough. Otherwise, where did they get the money to buy a chicken on the first day?
Moreover, they had all heard the sound of chopping pork for the pork and pickled cabbage dumplings.
In fact, they didn't know that the pork was distributed when Zhao Yongsheng's brigade slaughtered pigs. Usually, he had an allowance in the army, and his elder brother had better treatment in Beijing. So their family could afford this bit of pork.
Furthermore, in the eyes of their whole family, Zhou Huaian was a noble person.
Zhao Yongsheng ate until his belly was round. Then he remembered that his elder brother had told him to invite the regimental commander to their home.
"Regimental Commander, when you're free after this busy period, come and have fun at my place."
Zhou Huaian was just eating dumplings when he was startled by the simple - minded Zhao Yongsheng and choked.
"You don't know why I'm inviting you. It's really a great time to have fun in the countryside this season."
This didn't mean much to Zhou Huaian, but it was different for Lin Wanning. In her previous life, she was busy paying off the debts of the scumbag and treating the adopted daughter's illness.
She had never had the chance to take a look at the beautiful landscapes of the motherland.
Now that she had such a good opportunity, she didn't want to miss it at all. Having come to the Northeast, it would be a great pity if she didn't experience the local customs.
"I'll go. I'll go with you tomorrow. I'm unemployed now, so I'll go and have fun with my sister - in - law."
Lin Wanning said this with high spirits. Now she didn't know where her parents were and had to rely on Zhou Huaian to find out. Even if she knew the general location, they still had to drive there.
So instead of waiting at home, it was better to go out for a walk.
Fang Qin also nodded repeatedly, but she still missed her husband very much. "Okay, we'll go with you. I just want to ask, do you know Hongqi Town?"
Hearing this, Zhao Yongsheng immediately put down his chopsticks, his eyes full of surprise. "Of course I do. My home is in Hongqi Town. Our town is only about twenty kilometers away from here, so I often go back and forth."
When Fang Qin and Lin Wanning heard this news, their hearts skipped a beat.
After exchanging a glance, Lin Wanning nervously clenched her fists. "Do you know Niujia Village? It seems to be called Niujia Team."
"Niujia Village? I surely know it. My home is in Mengjia Village, which is Mengjia Team. Niujia Village is just opposite our village."
When talking about Niujia Village, Zhao Yongsheng couldn't help shaking his head and sighing. "Although our villages are only a few miles apart, I don't know why, but their village seems very poor, while ours is a bit better. But in general, everyone is not well - off."
"There's a pig - raising and cattle - raising farm in our village, so we have a bit more oily food. As for their Niujia Village, they were assigned to a forest farm at that time."
"One is for pig - raising and the other is for tree - cutting. At first, there was no big difference, but later, the pigs would surely grow bigger and fatter, while tree - cutting didn't work well. The old and the young in their village had to go up the mountain to cut trees every day. It was not only tiring but also didn't earn much money. Even if they did earn some money, it was collective property and had to be handed in."
"Unlike our village, when the pigs grow big, we can slaughter one to improve our diet. But now it's better. The tree - cutting tasks are usually assigned to those capitalist elements who have been sent to the countryside."
Hearing this, Lin Wanning almost fell off her chair in shock. Fang Qin had the same reaction. It seemed that the pickled cabbage dumplings in their hands suddenly lost their appeal, and their appetites disappeared completely.
Zhou Huaian was also startled. Lin Wanning's parents were intellectuals. Suddenly asking them to carry trees would surely be unbearable for them.
Before they could recover from their anxiety, Zhao Yongsheng dropped another bombshell.
"However, now capitalists are being rehabilitated one after another, and there are fewer and fewer left. Those people are either sick or old, so there are fewer people to do the work."
"Everyone is responsible for their own plots of land. Besides a part of the collective property, everyone seems to care more about the crops in their own fields."
"I think it won't be long before the people in Niujia Village will surely have a better life."
Although Zhao Yongsheng said so, Lin Wanning could only think that as there were fewer and fewer people, the workload of her parents and elder brother would become heavier, and there might even be no villagers to help them.