Chapter 177: Gathering

The Military District Hospital and the military do not share dormitories; the Military District Hospital has a separate residential area, but the dorms are freezing, and one can only cover up with thick cotton quilts—it is perhaps colder inside the room than it is outside.

I never expected this Xiao Yuan to be like this! It is simply too warm.

"This is the charm of the Northeast big kang, and Old Chen also set up a stove in this room; with wood blocks burning every day, how could it not be warm?" Zhang Qian acted as if he were in his own home, having already taken off his overcoat.

"Sister-in-law." Zhang Qian looked toward An Yinan.

An Yinan rolled her eyes without a hint of elegance; Zhang Qian only ever called her sister-in-law when he wanted something.

Usually, it was either An Yinan, or Comrade An, and occasionally he would even call her Educated Youth An.

Whenever he called her sister-in-law, it was never for anything good.

"Who are you calling? I don't know anyone by that name, nor have I heard it; shall I help you go out and look for her?" An Yinan smiled, looking at Zhang Qian, refusing to take the bait.

Zhang Qian clenched his fists and hurriedly bowed to An Yinan, "Sister-in-law, I was wrong."

"Sister-in-law, we are off this afternoon, I would like to..." Zhang Qian looked at An Yinan and blinked.

Fine, An Yinan understood.

He wanted to sponge a meal.

An Yinan leaned in close to Zhang Qian and whispered, "Take me hunting another day? I'm bored to death."

Zhang Qian's eyes lit up; if nothing else, just having An Yinan stand there as a lucky charm meant the prey would come crashing forward in droves.

"Deal."

Qin Hao looked at An Yinan, then at Zhang Qian, and finally at Chen Xun, "Are they this close?"

Why does it feel like their treatment is different?

Chen Xun tidied up the room and added a piece of wood to the stove, "When Zhang Qian was sent to the countryside for a mission, he and Nan Nan were in the same batch of Educated Youth sent down."

Qin Hao was greatly surprised and expressed his extreme envy.

Their Military District Hospital never had any missions to the countryside; people's fates are truly different.

"Alright, you all sit; I'm going to prepare a few dishes. You are off today, can you drink alcohol?" An Yinan looked at Chen Xun.

Chen Xun nodded.

They rarely had time off, and it was even rarer for the three of them to be together; in the past, whenever they met up, they would go out for a meal.

Now, Zhang Qian was set on Nan Nan's cooking, which was why he begged to come to their home.

"Alright, then I know. You all can taste my cooking in a moment." An Yinan smiled.

Chen Xun stood up, "I'll tend the fire."

An Yinan pressed down on his shoulder, "You all go talk; there is wood in the stove room, I'll just add two pieces of wood in a moment."

Hearing this, Chen Xun realized his little wife was giving him and his friends space, so he nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work."

An Yinan smiled, "What hard work? Someone has a thick face and has already paid the reward."

Zhang Qian cupped his hands and continued to bow, begging for mercy.

An Yinan left the space to the three brothers; the kitchen was in the backyard, so she put on a small cotton-padded jacket and went to the backyard.

There were many ingredients in the space, but not many that could be used; fortunately, there were dried vegetables sent by the folks from Quanshui Village, which allowed her to show off her skills a bit.

Braised meat with dried eggplant, another dish of braised meat with gourd strips, plus spicy dried rabbit, and a side of deep-fried peanuts for the drinks—making the portions for each dish larger, four dishes should be enough.

An Yinan first soaked the dried eggplant and gourd strips in water, warmed a pot of white liquor, and then warmed two pots of fruit wine.

She put the peanuts into the pan with cold oil, lit the fire, and used a spatula to constantly stir the peanuts so that every single one would be heated evenly.

As time went on and the heat grew, the peanuts gradually began to change color, and the fragrance of the peanuts slowly wafted out.

When the peanuts were almost done, An Yinan quickly used a slotted spoon to scoop them out, poured them into a prepared basin, sprinkled fine salt over them, and began tossing them until the heat from the oil faded.

At this point, the peanuts were thoroughly cooked, coated in fine salt, and every single one was crispy and fragrant.

An Yinan set the peanuts aside, then used the large pot to make a spicy dried rabbit dish; she had made this dish often back in Quanshui Village, but since coming to the Northeast Camp, she had rarely cooked.

Most of the time, Chen Xun brought food back from the canteen, giving her more time to translate or do things she liked.

This time, she had no reservations with her spicy dried rabbit and made it extra spicy; previously, to accommodate Xiue and Yuanyuan, she had always made it mildly spicy, and even then, those two had to drink water while eating.

She brought the two dishes to the table and then brought over the warmed wine.

"You all eat first, there are two more dishes that need to simmer slowly," An Yinan said with a smile.

Zhang Qian couldn't wait any longer and used his hand to grab a peanut and toss it into his mouth, "Fragrant, a product of An Yinan, truly extraordinary."

An Yinan looked at him and smiled, "It's your flattery that is extraordinary."

Chen Xun slapped Zhang Qian's hand, "Wash your hands."

"I'm complimenting you, and you're still not happy to hear it," Zhang Qian said to An Yinan.

Qin Hao watched the three of them interact, finding it somewhat amusing; the usually serious Chen Xun was now full of smiles.

And the earnest Zhang Qian was now full of energy, as if he were becoming younger as he lived.

He hadn't known much about An Yinan before; when Chen Xun was hospitalized, he had many patients and hadn't had much contact with her.

Now it seemed that anyone who could make these two people act this way must be a very good person.

"Eat first," Chen Xun greeted the two.

An Yinan returned to the kitchen and first stewed the gourd strips with meat slices; the gourd strips were ones she had dried herself last year, and now was the perfect time to take them out to eat.

It was a whole large basin of gourd strips with meat slices; she made it as a clear soup without adding any chili, mainly because she was afraid Doctor Qin couldn't handle the spice.

When the gourd strips with meat slices were brought to the table, Zhang Qian couldn't care about the heat and hurriedly picked up a chopstick full, "Delicious, delicious."

"Old Qin, you don't know, the days in the countryside were just too wonderful," Zhang Qian reminisced.

At that time, other than when he had to earn Work Points, he didn't really work the fields much; as long as he wasn't on a mission, he would run all over the mountains and plains.

And every time he returned to their Xiao Yuan, he could smell the fragrance of food—that was the feeling of someone waiting for you to come home.

"I can tell; when you came back, you had gained a full ten pounds," Qin Hao nodded, confirming Zhang Qian's words.

Zhang Qian hurriedly interrupted him, "Isn't it restored now?"

Qin Hao picked up a chopstick-full of stewed gourd strips with meat, his eyes brightening slightly, "Wow, Sister-in-law's cooking skills are quite something."

Chen Xun said with a chuckle, "Don't let Zhang Qian lead you astray."

Having one person always asking his wife to cook was troublesome enough; if another one came along, their house might as well be a restaurant.

"Look, old Chen can't bear to part with his wife," Zhang Qian pouted, "My Quanshui Village, it's gone and will never return."

While they were talking, the last dish was brought out: dried eggplant stewed with meat, prepared spicy.