NOVPUB
Chapter 293: The 283rd Chapter: Childish Words and Phrases
After the meal, with Pangpang finally asleep, the couple started their individual tasks. Li Hongjun went out to the yard and used an axe to chop the branches he had brought back that day into pieces. He then stacked them beside the stove in the main room, where the daily heat from cooking would dry them out. In a couple days, they would be ready to use for the fire.
Shen Yunfang, on the other hand, fetched beans from the storage room in a basin. She planned to sprout green beans first. Yellow beans didn’t need to grow long sprouts, so she decided that starting them on Wednesday or Thursday would suffice.
Sprouting beans was simple. She put the beans in the basin and scalded them twice with hot water from the stove. Then, she soaked them in warm water, and they would begin to sprout the next day.
She covered the basin with a clean piece of cotton cloth, then took it inside and placed it on the table. Next, she found a shallow iron plate, poured some water into it, and neatly arranged the garlic, head by head. She placed the iron plate next to the basin of beans.
"Hurry up, aren’t you done yet? Boil the water quickly to give Taxue a bath." Shen Yunfang remembered the task.
Taxue made a whining noise from her cozy spot. How come she couldn’t escape this fate even when hiding so far away?
Without detailing how Li Hongjun and Taxue engaged in their wits and wills contest, by Tuesday, the elusive Captain Wu Chaoyang finally made his way back with his team.
Li Hongjun didn’t bother with much greeting and led the visitors straight to his home.
"Oh, this must be my sister-in-law. You’ve moved in for several days, and I made sure to come and introduce myself as soon as I got back. My house is just next door; anything you need, just give me a shout," Wu Chaoyang greeted Shen Yunfang cordially as he saw her.
Wu Chaoyang was shorter than Li Hongjun, about 1.75 meters tall, lean and tanned, probably from the training outdoors. His teeth were not white, but slightly yellowed, most likely from smoking.
"I already introduced myself last weekend when I went to visit your wife," Shen Yunfang said with a smile.
"Oh, is that so? My wife isn’t much of a talker; please bear with her," it seemed Wu Chaoyang knew his wife’s nature quite well.
"There’s nothing to bear with. Your wife is an educated woman. Talking to her, I gained quite a lot of insight," Shen Yunfang continued amiably.
"Aha, sister-in-law really has a way with words," Wu Chaoyang said, directing his remark at Li Hongjun.
"Not at all, it’s not just sweet talk; what I said comes from the heart," Shen Yunfang quickly added.
Li Hongjun always had a serious demeanor in front of others and didn’t pick up on Wu Chaoyang’s comment, but instead turned to his wife and said, "Make us a couple dishes later. Old Wu will come over, and we’ll drink a few cups tonight."
Shen Yunfang, used to her husband’s changing moods, calmly nodded, "Alright, come inside and have a seat. Today, I’ll show off a bit and let you taste my cooking skills."
Li Hongjun gave his wife an approving look. This is what a married couple should be like, working together so well.
Shen Yunfang, taking advantage of Wu Chaoyang not looking, shot Li Hongjun a glare, "Keep acting. Once they leave, you’ll get yours."
Shen Yunfang poured a cup of hot water for the guest and then turned to busy herself in the kitchen.
"Hongjun, your wife seems to have a good temperament," Wu Chaoyang complimented.
"Yeah, she’s alright," Li Hongjun replied with a nonchalant expression, his heart, however, was bubbling with joy.
Before long, Wu Guoqiang came over, and the three of them began to chatter in the house about the matters of leading the troops out on an operation.
Shen Yunfang quickly whipped up four dishes for them at the stove. One was sautéed peanuts, another was sour cabbage with glass noodles, there was also potato stew with rabbit meat, and stir-fried green bean strings with cured pork. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
Of course, the dining table would not be complete without a small jar of homemade white liquor by Shen Yunfang, although it did not contain any "Essence of Life."
At the dining table, Wu Guoqiang was the liveliest, occasionally striking up a conversation with Shen Yunfang, making sure she didn’t feel neglected, but she really wasn’t interested in their topics. So, after eating, she took her child and went next door to Wu’s wife’s place to chat, letting those men go on talking amongst themselves.
"Sister-in-law, why didn’t you come over just now? It was only you and Tingting left at home. Just come over and have a bite and that’s it." When Shen Yunfang came over to Wu Guoqiang’s house, she saw Wu’s wife and Tingting eating inside. Luckily, she hadn’t come empty-handed. She put her son on the kang bed and hurriedly placed the basket she was carrying on the table, dishing out a bowl of potato stew with rabbit meat. "You see, since you didn’t come over, I brought some to you."
"Oh, why bring this over? There wasn’t much stewed anyway, you should have just left it at home for you to eat, why bring it here for us?" Wu’s wife complained as she saw Shen Yunfang with the food.
"Those guys, no matter how much there is, it’s never enough for them. Better for them to spare a few bites so Tingting can taste some too, right, Tingting?" Shen Yunfang had seen that little Wu Tingting’s eyes hadn’t strayed from the bowl of meat ever since she brought it out, her longing plain to see.
Upon hearing her aunt’s words, Tingting nodded her small head vigorously and tugged at Wu’s wife’s sleeve, calling out sweetly, "Mom, I want to eat meat."
"You child." Wu’s wife felt quite troubled seeing her child crave so badly, blaming themselves for not providing enough, which made their kids suffer as well.
"Here, Tingting, this bowl of meat is all yours, go ahead and eat," said Shen Yunfang, pushing the bowl towards the little girl on the table.
Although Tingting really wanted to eat the meat, she looked obediently at her mother. Only when she saw her mother nod did she cheer and reach for the meat with her small chopsticks.
Seeing her daughter eat with a mouthful of oil, Wu’s wife felt a mixture of bitterness and helplessness as she quickly found a cloth to wipe her hands and mouth, "Eat slowly, no one is fighting with you for it."
With her small rice-like teeth showing in a smile, Tingting gave her mother a sweet smile and bent down to gnaw on the meat with renewed vigor.
After the two had finished eating, Wu’s wife cleared the table, and Tingting washed her hands and face before climbing onto the kang to watch her little brother, looking like she wanted to play but didn’t dare to.
Pangpang was in high spirits, and seeing a little sister appear before him, he stretched out his small hands towards her, calling out in baby sounds.
"Auntie, does little brother want to play with me?" Tingting watched her brother stretch out his hand. Hesitating a bit, she looked at Shen Yunfang next to her before tentatively extending her hand towards the baby, letting him grab it.
"Yes, he wants to play with you, talk to you," Shen Yunfang was quite happy to see little friends playing with her son, probably a joy shared by all mothers.
"Can I play with him for a while, but what if I don’t understand what he is saying?" Tingting was truly troubled by this.
Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but laugh; the innocence of children’s chatter was so endearing.
When Wu’s wife came into the room, she saw Shen Yunfang already sitting at the edge of the kang, watching the two kids babble on to each other as though they were hashing something out.
"You did the right thing bringing Pangpang over. Those men, as soon as they see liquor, it’s as if they’ve seen their parents, so endearing and never-ending in their drinking. You even made good dishes; that just adds fuel to the fire," Wu’s wife said with seasoned experience.
