Chapter 52

Cooking oil, soy sauce, and some various odds and ends—these things cost Meng Yunhan ten yuan, plus some coupons.

As for meat, it was completely beyond reach because she only had money, no meat tickets.

With some spare time, Meng Yunhan found out about a junk station managed by an old man. She slipped him a dollar for the same reason she had before, she browsed a bit, then finally left with her textbook.

They agreed to meet there and wait, which didn’t keep Meng Yunhan waiting too long.

Once at the military unit, Meng Yunhan took the things she bought back to the bungalow.

After putting away her purchases, she strolled around a nearby village, returning with two chickens, some eggs, and some vegetables in hand.

The young sentry standing guard, seeing Meng Yunhan’s vegetables, straightened his back.

Because it was hot, apart from the sounds coming from the training field, there weren’t many people around at this time.

Once home, Meng Yunhan hurriedly cooked. There was a big pot left over, and some bowls and chopsticks.

Meng Yunhan fried some shredded potato, made mushroom soup, and cucumber salad.

When Yun Hao came back, he smelled the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen.

“I’m back, and dinner’s almost ready.”

Seeing the smile on Meng Yunhan’s face was something he’d been looking forward to: coming home after work to a virtuous wife who, with a smile on her face, served delicious food.

“Good.”

Meng Yunhan immediately called Yun Hao to eat.

When Yun Hao saw the two chickens, he asked, “Hanhan, where did you buy these?” If you went to the state-run store to buy chicken, it wouldn’t be easy to find.

Meng Yunhan showed a brilliant smile, as if she had gotten a bargain, and said, “I bought them in the village. I just went to try my luck, but I didn’t expect to be able to buy them. I also bought some vegetables and some potatoes, and it didn’t require any coupons.”

Yun Hao knew that buying meat required meat tickets. He had some saved, but not many.

He had actually forgotten to give her the household’s money and coupons.

“You must be hungry, let’s eat.” It was clear that Hanhan had put a lot of thought into buying these things from the villagers.”

After all, private trade like this usually bumps up against socialist restrictions.

“Eat more.” Meng Yunhan knew Yun Hao’s appetite so she cooked enough rice for three people. Her small bowl of rice, added to the vegetables, were enough to fill her up.

Yun Hao, after six months, could finally taste his wife’s cooking again. He had a great appetite and ate all the leftover food.

The happiest thing for a cook is seeing the diner enthusiastically finishing all the food.

“We also have plum juice, I’ve been chilling it with cold water. Let me get it for you.” Meng Yunhan got up to go to the kitchen and brought back a large bowl of sour plum soup.

Yun Hao looked at the sour plum soup in the bowl. If anyone else had brought it, he wouldn’t have drank it, as he wasn’t accustomed to these sour and sweet flavors. But since Hanhan made it, he would of course drink it down.

“What about you?”

“I have some. I drank some of the sour plum soup I made earlier.”

Thinking about the guests coming in the evening, Meng Yunhan discussed the dinner menu with Yun Hao, “Ahao, I was thinking of stewing one chicken and using the other to make potato stew, frying shredded potatoes, making cucumber salad, yuxiang eggplant, mushroom soup, will that be enough?”

Yun Hao thought about his wife having to cook all these dishes, and wondered if she’d be tired, “That’s enough, that’s enough. Don’t steam rice. They can get rice from the canteen.”