bookbashuk Chapter 128 Scaring People
Chapter 128 Scaring People
In the small, simply built kitchen outside the house.
Qin Yunzhou had already started stewing the whole old hen. Stewing an old hen takes time, and the longer it stews, the more tender and delicious the meat will be, and the more nutritious the chicken soup will be.
It was his first time stewing chicken. He asked Tianhua for the general steps and then started cooking it himself.
To be honest, he wasn't sure what it would taste like.
Qin Yunzhou carefully checked the heat and confirmed that it was medium-low heat, and that simmering it slowly was the right thing to do. There weren't many seasonings at home, so he simply added some salt, as well as some scallions, ginger, and garlic to remove the fishy smell.
Grandma Qin had already run out of the house. She went to the stove and saw that everything was fine. She just had to wait for the chicken to cook. However, she still had to be careful that the children from the same courtyard wouldn't come and cause trouble, or steal their meat.
These past few years have been tough for everyone. Some children, not being properly raised by their parents, will sneak over and steal meat, no matter whose it is, because they're so hungry and hungry.
So when cooking, someone has to stay in front of the stove, especially when cooking meat or other good things. Sometimes, some shameless adults will come and steal some.
"Yunzhou, you've only just started cooking. It's still early and cold outside. Go back inside and rest. You can take care of the milk here. You're a grown man with no experience in the kitchen. It's up to us women to do it."
"Alright, you should go back inside now."
Qin Yunzhou understood what Old Madam Qin meant; she simply wanted him to give her a larger share later. This wasn't a problem, as he would have served some to the elders even without this arrangement.
He nodded. "Thank you for your help, Grandma. I'll go in first."
"It's alright, it's alright, it's no trouble at all. You can go back inside." Old Mrs. Qin happily ushered her into the house. She loved doing this kind of work; it was so easy. She would definitely give her a bigger share later.
Anyway, making chicken soup doesn't take much effort.
Xiaomei has been in the city for a while now, and her complexion has improved a bit, but she still needs to take good care of herself so that she will look even better.
Since she promised her daughter, she had to take good care of her. When there was chicken soup later, she could give Xiaomei a little more to help her recover.
Qin Yunzhou had just returned to the house.
Shortly after, Aunt Liu, who lived in the same courtyard, opened her door and came out to the Qin family's stove. She couldn't help but swallow hard as she stared at the old hen in the pot.
"You're having meat again? Did Yunzhou bring it back again?"
"Your Yunzhou is really something, bringing meat home every month, either pork or chicken."
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Qin became wary, but her expression remained unchanged as she sighed.
"Oh, sister-in-law, don't say that. Sui Sui is pregnant, and with twins at that. The young couple has a good relationship, and they've only been married a short time. It's also their first pregnancy, so naturally they need to take extra care of themselves."
"It wasn't easy for Yunzhou to get all this done; he had to pull strings and find people to help him. These favors are the hardest to repay. He had to ask many people for help just for this little bit of meat."
"Everything is for my wife and children at home. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay these favors in the future."
Aunt Liu was somewhat skeptical. "Really? I heard that your Yunzhou holds a high position in the army, has good benefits, and is recovering from his injuries back in his hometown, so his benefits during his recovery period are even better. Is that true?"
The Qin family used to be one of the poorest families in their compound. Forget about eating meat during festivals, even being able to eat a few more eggs was considered a sign that their lives had improved.
Unlike now, when they can eat meat every month, they suddenly became the most comfortable family in the entire compound.
Grandma Qin frowned. "How would I know about this? A lot of things in the military are kept secret. Yunzhou doesn't tell me much about these things either."
"Sister Liu, there are some things you can't ask carelessly, especially about Yunzhou's affairs in the army. Be careful not to be mistaken for an enemy spy."
Aunt Liu's face turned pale instantly, and she quickly waved her hands, "No, that's not what I meant. We've been neighbors for so many years. How could someone like me be an enemy spy?"
Old Mrs. Qin knew, of course, that this person couldn't be her, but since she was being asked so many questions, she had to say something to shut her up.
"Alright, Sister Liu, of course I believe you, but you always ask these things you shouldn't ask, it's normal for people to become suspicious of you."
"Besides, our radio said that the enemy agents might be old acquaintances among us, lying in wait for years to avoid arousing suspicion and to send messages back."
"You, be careful in the future. I don't just think you're a spy. To be honest, Ma Dazui from our courtyard is also a suspect. Otherwise, why would she keep bringing up Yunzhou last time, saying that Yunzhou violated laws and regulations and tarnished Yunzhou's reputation?"
Aunt Liu was stunned. After thinking for a moment, she hesitated and whispered, "That can't be, we've been neighbors for a long time."
Grandma Qin rolled her eyes. "It's just a suspicion, not a statement. Don't tell anyone you have no evidence."
"But that Ma Dazui's mouth is really foul. She dares to smear our Yunzhou as soon as she opens her mouth. Our Yunzhou is an officer in the army. How could she do such a thing? A person like her is not like us ordinary people who live honest lives."
Aunt Liu thought about the characteristics of the enemy agents who had been lurking for many years, as mentioned on the Qin family's radio.
Thinking about it, Ma Dazui does resemble her somewhat; otherwise, why would she throw dirty water on a military officer for no reason?
This is terrifying, so terrifying, it can't be true, can it?
"I...I'll go now, you're busy, you're busy..."
Thinking this, Aunt Liu felt a chill run down her spine and shivered. She secretly glanced in the direction of Ma Dazui's house, then rushed back inside without a second thought and quickly closed the door.
Having scared the person away, Old Mrs. Qin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head and forgot about it, humming a little tune as she happily added coal to the stove to simmer chicken soup.
……
Inside Xu Sui's house.
The old bicycle, which had just been repaired not long ago, completely blocked the only passageway in the house.
There was simply no place for people to put their feet down.
Qin Yunzhou opened the door, intending to come in, but seeing there was no place for him to stand, he could only close the door and leave, blocking the view of the rest of the Qin family.
He discovered that the more time he spent with Xu Sui, the more he realized that Xu Sui was not the vain Xu Sui he used to know. At least the current Xu Sui had many good qualities.
Putting aside everything else, just look at the things she usually tinkers with.
He does have some discernment.
Xu Sui's repair skills are definitely better than some of the technicians in machinery factories who specialize in this field.
She can not only repair things herself, but also draw blueprints by hand, handcraft parts that are hard to find on the market, and transform discarded old things into better and more functional ones.
The radio signal received in a small county town is actually not very good. Many channels cannot be tuned, and even if they can, they are filled with static.