After Lu Zhanguo finished handling the meat, he went inside to see Gu Xiaobei already dozing off on top of the quilt.
He stepped forward to pat Gu Xiaobei, saying, "Get up and lie down properly. Cover yourself with the quilt and sleep, or otherwise you will catch a cold."
Gu Xiaobei rubbed his eyes, got up, and said, "I'm not going to sleep anymore. I'm going to start preparing the meal slowly. The meat is always tastier when it's slow-cooked."
"Fine, take your time with it. If you're not feeling well, just lie down. I'll return from the office and take care of it. Or shall we call Fenghua over to help you with it?" suggested Lu Zhanguo.
"No need. I like to do things at my own pace. If someone else helps, I won't know what I should do first. You can go ahead with your work. I can manage on my own," Gu Xiaobei said, quietly cursing at the suggestion, feeling it was only causing him more trouble.
Lu Zhanguo didn't say much. He replaced the block of honeycomb coal in the stove and then left.
Gu Xiaobei sat up, cleared his head, and started preparing dinner.
Lu Zhanguo had already washed the chicken and chopped it into small pieces in a basin. The rooster he bought was quite large, about eight to nine jin, filling more than half of the basin. Each fish weighed three or four jin, but they were Silver Carp, a type of fish with thick meat but too many bones, not exceptionally tasty. Yet for the rural areas of the northwest in the 1980s, it was still considered a fine dish.
Gu Xiaobei scored two cross-shaped cuts on the sides of each fish, seasoned them with salt and Sichuan pepper, and rubbed some inside their bellies as well. Then, he found a tree branch, cut it into five or six centimeter sections, and used it to prop open the belly of one fish. He then strung a piece of rope through the fish's mouth and hung it outside the window. This way, he could have dry salted fish and not fear it spoiling. He left the other fish to marinate in a plate as a backup.
He also cut about a jin of streaky pork and hung it outside the window in a fabric bag. Luckily the weather was cold now, and the window faced the north, so the meat could be left out for a few days.
Gu Xiaobei had a plan for dinner. He would make braised pork, dry-cooked fish, chicken and potato stew, vinegar-blanched cabbage, cold sour and spicy glass noodles, sour and spicy potato shreds, and scrambled eggs with spring onions. Despite only having six dishes, the quantities were significant, and the meat and vegetables basically filled the basins.
He'd originally planned to steam rice as the staple food, but then he remembered that when he had traveled to Xinjiang in his previous life, he had eaten a dish called 'Big Plate Chicken with Noodles.' To be able to enjoy the authentic dish after returning home, he'd actually stayed with the restaurateur for several days, insisted on learning to make the noodles before leaving Xinjiang.
So, he started kneading the dough immediately. Mixing the dough with warm saltwater saved about ten minutes. He brushed a layer of oil on the surface and left it to sit while he simmered the braised pork. Then he cut the dough into large strips and rolled each into balls larger than his thumb. He oiled a basin, arranged the dough balls in it one by one, gave each an additional oiling, and then left them covered on the side to rise.
The streaky pork simmering outside was fragrant. He then brought the pot inside the room and left it simmering over a small fire.
In another pot, he started preparing caramel for braising the chicken.
The Guo Huaqiang's family lived one house over from Lu Zhanguo's. The two women in Guo's house, Xiangmin and Li Juan, were making shoe soles. Li Juan sniffed and smelled the enticing aroma of the meat, feeling like salivating. She said, "Look at the neighbors, since that fall, they seem to have changed. These past few days, there hasn't been any noise of quarreling, and look at him now, even cooking dinner."
"Isn't it? The door hasn't been slammed shut loudly, and today I even saw the two of them going to town together to buy a lot of stuff. They seem pretty okay," Xiangmin agreed.
"What's so good about this Gu Xiaobei anyway? He's so short and thin. In my eyes, Chi Xiaoyue and Lu Zhanguo seemed to be a better match," Li Juan sneered.
"I think so too. Just wait and see, it won't be long before they have another row. I heard that Gu Xiaobei can't really see Lu Zhanguo for who he is, she's got some childhood friend in the city." Xiangmin whispered.
"Really? Why didn't she end up with that man then? She married Lu Zhanguo instead. I could tell from the way she acts that she isn't the type to settle down. She's restless and Lu Zhanguo is truly unlucky," Li Juan was notably interested in the gossip.
The two women were gossiping within their house. Outside in the hallway, Gu Xiaobei was already stewing the chicken in the pot and then began washing and chopping vegetables.
Lu Zhanguo was smoking in his office, his face stern with harsh lines etched into it. His mind was analyzing Gu Xiaobei's words from today. If there really were two people conversing in Italian, then it indicated two intruders, a man, and a woman.
If Gu Xiaobei was lying, that meant he was attempting to mislead him, a thought he dared not contemplate further. He picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Shen Heng, come over during your holidays. I need your help with some family matters."
Upon hearing this, Shen Heng understood on the other end that Lu Zhanguo needed to discuss something important face-to-face. "Alright, I have a long break coming up soon. I'll come to see you."
Not long after he hung up, Guo Huaqiang and Zhang Lijun came in. Lu Zhanguo raised an eyebrow to signal them to sit down, extinguished his cigarette and said, "Let's all have dinner at my house tonight."
Guo Huaqiang was surprised, "Your wife won't mind? There's been talk that you two have been getting along well these last few days. That's good news."
"Yes, she indeed hasn't had much of a temper these couple of days. Perhaps the pregnancy has made her reconsider things," Lu Zhanguo said, the image of Gu Xiaobei with her smiling, half-closed eyes appearing in his mind.
"In a married life, it's all about food, fuel, and other daily necessities. As for all this talk about love, can it be eaten like a meal?" Guo Huaqiang advised, with Zhang Lijun nodding in agreement.
Lu Zhanguo raked through his cropped hair. That's true. His relationship with Gu Xiaobei had improved. He felt responsibility and attraction, the only thing missing was love. He believed that love should be a harmonious unity between husband and wife, sharing common interests and being able to discuss their philosophies of life together.
"Alright, let's stop talking about this. After work, let's all head to my place for dinner. By the way, Lijun, how many military coats have we received in total this time?" he asked, turning to Zhang Lijun.
"Our squadron is equivalent to a regiment's strength, with over three thousand people in total. We received two thousand coats this time," Zhang Lijun confidently replied.
At this time, the number of personnel in the military was quite excessive and complex, and it was not until the reduction of a million soldiers in 1985 that things streamlined.
Lu Zhanguo's face darkened, "Quite an appetite, isn't it? We alone have received two thousand in our squadron, how many would a whole military region get? I reckon other places have already discovered this. I'm afraid those who are wrongly accused dare not speak out."
"Indeed, it's not something an ordinary person could pull off," Guo Huaqiang sighed.
When they returned to the housing building, Gu Xiaobei had already finished preparing the dishes, leaving only the fish still stewing.
As soon as he entered the corridor, Guo Huaqiang exclaimed, "This smells delicious, Xiaobei is really good at cooking!"
Smelling the enticing aroma of the food, Lu Zhanguo's stern expression softened a bit, and his mood improved. He told everyone, "You all should invite your families as well, let's all eat together."
Guo Huaqiang laughed heartily, "In that case, we won't stand on ceremony."