Border Cook

Chapter 173 Damn it
After talking for a while, Xia Mingyue and Lu and others discussed the next arrangements.

"If we go back now, it will be dark by the time we get to the town. If the inn is full, it will be difficult to find a place to stay."

Lu Qiyan suggested, "Why don't we stay in Xiaohe Village for one night? We have been here for some time, and the villagers are familiar with us, so they can find a place to stay."

"That's what's going on." Zhao Youcai echoed.

"Okay." Xia Mingyue and Lu also agreed.

It gets dark early in winter, so it is indeed not safe to travel at night.

After the matter was settled, Lu Qiyan ordered people to arrange accommodation for Xia Mingyue and Lu. He also took out the two earthenware jars of braised pork that Xia Mingyue and Lu had brought with them, and asked the cook to clean them up, and add some other vegetables for everyone to eat together in the evening.

Lu Qiyan is the captain and Zhao Youcai is the team leader, so this move can be considered as having fun together with the soldiers.

Xia Mingyue and Lu Shi did not object, nor did they feel sorry for the braised pork they had prepared. They only gave Lu Qiyan and Zhao Youcai a piece of dried meat that they had specially prepared.

"I originally said that since we have braised pork, we can enjoy it for a few days, so there is no need to prepare these jerky. Now my sister-in-law has really guessed it right."

Human relationships and social conventions exist everywhere, and the military is no exception.

When they are at home, they often visit their neighbors. When men are outside, it is understandable that they can be generous occasionally.

Xia Mingyue and Mrs. Lu did not feel bad. The only regret was that they did not make more when they came, so that at least Lu Qiyan and Zhao Youcai could eat more.

Accommodation was quickly arranged for us, with a family named Yin Sanshui in the village.

Yin Sanshui was the third son of the Yin family. In his early years, he did some business selling furs and dried fruits. His family owned more than 30 acres of land and five tiled houses, and they lived a fairly comfortable life.

When Yin Sanshui learned that Lu Qiyan was looking for a house for his family to stay overnight, he volunteered and vacated the west wing where his eldest daughter lived, so that she could squeeze in with the youngest daughter.

The couple not only cleaned the house again, but also changed the bed sheets and quilts, and greeted Xia Mingyue and Lu warmly.

"Thank you, Brother Yin and Sister-in-law." Xia Mingyue and Mrs. Lu thanked them repeatedly.

"You are too polite, ladies." Yin Sanshui's wife, Li, was a woman with a smiling face and strong affinity. "My head of the family said that Lu Dutou led the people to build the bridge, which is a good thing for the people. After the bridge is built, we don't have to go around more than 30 miles to Dahezhuang, which saves a lot of trouble!"

"All of us villagers are very grateful and want to help out, but Lu Dutou didn't want us to work hard and only asked us to take care of the fields. We were worried that there was nothing we could do to help, so now we finally have the opportunity."

Yin Sanshui smiled and said, "You two ladies, don't be polite. Just treat this place as your own home."

The couple were simple and warm-hearted. Xia Mingyue and Lu also felt that they got along very well and talked together for a long time.

Not far from Yin Sanshui's house, the courtyard where all the soldiers were staying was particularly lively at this time.

The cook was busy frying large slices of tofu and radish balls, removing the old leaves from the fresh cabbage, washing it and cutting it into square slices.

Some soldiers who had finished work early saw the piles of cabbage on the chopping board and in the wooden basin below, and frowned, "Are we going to have another big pot of food tonight?"

There are many people, the food standard is not high, and there are only a few pots and stoves. The only things that can satisfy everyone's appetite are the dishes cooked in big pots.

Today I will cook cabbage, tomorrow I will cook potatoes, and the day after tomorrow I will cook radishes…

In short, every day is different, but the taste is the same - tasteless! "Today is different!" The cook in charge of cutting vegetables curled his lips, "Today's food is delicious!"

Everyone looked up at the tofu slices and radish balls being fried in the pan and curled their lips.

It is indeed different, with more fried food, but there is not much difference, there is not much meat.

But if you think about it carefully, at least there is some oil in it, so maybe it will taste better?
Just as I was thinking about this, someone suddenly opened his eyes wide, stretched his neck and sniffed hard, and exclaimed as he sniffed, "What a nice smell!"

"You're really starving. Even tofu slices and radish balls taste delicious!" Someone next to him slapped him, "Look at how useless you are!"

"No!" The man who was knocked rubbed his forehead and argued, "It's not the smell of fried tofu and meatballs, it's the smell of meat. If I'm right, it's definitely braised pork!"

Still, it tastes particularly good.

"Hey, you kid, you know we haven't had meat for several days. The word meat is making our stomachs itch, but you're still talking nonsense here. Are you afraid that we won't die of hunger?"

As he spoke, the man raised his hand again, ready to hit him again.

But after the hand was raised, it hesitated in the air for a long time and finally fell beside his ear.

After scratching his ears vigorously, he even rubbed his nose, with a look of disbelief on his face, "It really smells like meat."

"But I haven't heard of the kitchen buying meat. I heard a few cooks complaining in the morning that they wanted some meat oil. Where can they get the meat now?"

"You don't know this." Someone who knew the situation raised his chin. "Today, the wives of Captain Lu and Captain Zhao came and said they were bringing cotton-padded clothes to Captain Lu and Captain Zhao. But I heard that they not only brought cotton-padded clothes, but also two large earthenware pots of braised pork. Captain Lu and Captain Zhao were concerned about our light meals recently, so they asked the kitchen to cook the braised pork into a big pot so that we can have a good meal tonight!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately aroused enthusiastic response among the soldiers.

"I haven't eaten meat for a long time. This time I can finally have some!"

"It's Captain Lu and Captain Zhao who are really thinking about our brothers."

"No one should snatch it from me at night. I want to eat three bowls."

"I'll just have one bowl..."

After saying this, the person who was speaking took out something that was about one foot in diameter and could be called a basin from under his bed.

Everyone, "!!!"

Damn it, why didn't they think of this!

Amid the noise and anticipation of the crowd, dinner was served in the kitchen.

Everyone lined up to receive their meals and then found a place to eat.

Some were squatting, some were standing, some were gathering in groups of two or three, and some were just sitting on stones or wooden blocks or using them as dining tables...

The postures and shapes are different, but the movements at this time are uniform, and they just keep shoveling the food in the bowl into their mouths.

Sorry, I took an exam today and thought it would be over this morning, but there was a problem with the system and it only ended now. When I left the exam room, I realized I hadn’t set a timer…