Chapter 265: What's Going On With Those Two?

"Alright, I'll go notify them and be back in a moment to help you tidy up." Chen Xun picked up the military overcoat from the side, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked out.

An Yinan dragged Qin Hao and Zhang Qian's things into the house, only then seeing that Zhang Qian's deer and sheep had already been skinned and cleaned; once chopped up, they could be put straight into the pot to stew.

Because she had invited many people, she didn't plan on making stir-fried dishes, just various stews in large pots.

The next morning, Chen Xun went to train, and An Yinan hurriedly tidied things up, first stewing the deer and sheep in two large pots separately, then slicing kelp, bean curd sheets, and meat into strips, preparing to make a three-shred stew.

Furthermore, she had also picked all the vegetables she was growing hydroponically in the room.

She steamed rice directly in a large pot; speaking of which, she had to mention that Mo Shu had also brought over his house keys early in the morning, so she simply moved the dishes that needed stewing to Zhang Qian and Mo Shu's courtyard, set up the firewood, and basically didn't need to watch them.

An Yinan heard the knocking at the door outside and threw on a military overcoat to go open it.

"Nan Nan." Sun Xiuzhen held Xinsheng, looking at An Yinan with a smile on her face.

An Yinan said, "Xiuzhen Jie, come inside quickly."

Little Xinsheng was very affectionate toward An Yinan; as soon as he saw her, he immediately stretched out his two little arms, looking like he wanted a hug.

An Yinan pinched his little face, which had already grown chubby, "Auntie's hands are cold, I don't dare hold you."

"This child is the most intuitive; even if he doesn't see you for a month, as long as he sees you, he will still be close to you," Sun Xiuzhen said with a helpless smile, holding the child in her arms.

Yet she had no intention of being jealous; Nan Nan had saved Xinsheng, that was a life.

An Yinan smiled and nodded, "Children are very wondrous."

Xinsheng gave An Yinan face by showing her a smiling face, "Auntie." His little mouth kept talking.

Xinsheng was almost two years old and could already say some simple words; although he was wearing many clothes, he could run and jump when put on the ground.

"Little Xinsheng." An Yinan teased him.

"I'm here to help, what else isn't done?" Sun Xiuzhen asked.

An Yinan looked around, "Actually, there's nothing much left. In a while, I'll stew a three-shred dish and then stew some dried eggplant, and that will be it."

There were many people, so they would serve everything on the table in basins; four large basins of stewed dishes would be enough to eat.

Besides, there weren't that many formalities in the military; as long as everyone ate to their heart's content, it was fine.

"I'll handle the dried eggplant." Sun Xiuzhen was also someone who couldn't stay idle; seeing her own son clinging to An Yinan and not moving, she smiled helplessly.

Before long, Dani Nainai came over with the children, the old lady holding a few eggs in her hand, "I don't have anything good either, please don't mind."

Upon hearing this, An Yinan hurriedly took them; in this era, eggs were precious items, and even one's own family couldn't bear to eat them.

"How could I, in a while we'll steam egg custard to eat."

Dani Nainai smiled and nodded, "I'll listen to you."

Originally there wasn't much work left, and with the addition of Dani Nainai and Xiuzhen Jie, the three of them worked even faster.

By the time Chen Xun and Zhang Qian finished training and prepared to help, they smelled the fragrance filling the courtyard.

"Your movements are too fast, aren't they?" Zhang Qian asked An Yinan.

An Yinan looked at him and said with disdain, "So many people helping, can't you see?"

The old lady and Xiuzhen Jie were both quick-handed people; the addition of the two of them saved most of the time, and she couldn't even get a hand in later on.

"It smells so good!" Mo Kun, the Secretary, and Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang arrived together.

When Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang received Chen Xun's invitation, he had confirmed it repeatedly; after all, his own daughter had handled things very poorly and had repeatedly caused trouble for the other party, yet the other party could still let go of past grievances, which showed that this An Yinan was a person of great breadth of mind.

"Don't mention it, with Comrade An's craftsmanship, I wouldn't dare move to the Xiao Yuan, just for fear of smelling the fragrance every day and not being able to eat it," the Secretary said with a loud laugh.

Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang was slightly reserved, having only met An Yinan twice, and that was when Chen Xun was injured, hospitalized, and unconscious.

"The leaders have arrived, come inside and sit for a while." An Yinan opened the door curtain and invited the three to enter the house.

"Am I late?" Zhang Qingqing walked into the courtyard and asked with a grin when she saw An Yinan holding the curtain.

An Yinan looked at her and smiled back, "No, just in time, come inside and wash your hands."

Zhang Qingqing was carrying a cloth bag in her hand and handed it directly to An Yinan.

An Yinan raised an eyebrow, "For me?"

Zhang Qingqing hurriedly nodded, "Yes, a gift for you. You're going to Beijing soon, and it won't be convenient to send you things later. I designed this dress specifically according to my favorite dance costume, I hope you like it."

"In Beijing, you can wear beautiful dresses in the summer, unlike our Northeast Military Region, where you can't even see the sun for a year."

An Yinan put the cloth bag into the inner room, then also took out a cloth bag and said with a wry smile, "It seems we both thought of the same thing."

What An Yinan gave her was a peacock skirt; Zhang Qingqing was skilled in dance and especially loved the peacock dance, but the dance costumes of the present couldn't be as realistic as modern ones, so An Yinan had specifically made her a peacock skirt, and inside there was also a unique peacock hair accessory, a whole set of dance costumes.

In this era, even if you had the money, you couldn't buy it.

"Wow? So beautiful." Zhang Qingqing opened her mouth wide; she couldn't wait to open the cloth bag and saw what she considered the most beautiful dress of her life.

"Thank you, An Yinan." Zhang Qingqing thanked her sincerely; her liking was also from the heart.

The Secretary patted Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang's arm, "The two of them, what's going on?"

Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang shook his head, "Young girls' affairs, how would I know?"

Mo Kun looked at the two people whispering, "What's the matter, having a secret conversation?"

The Secretary pointed at the two people exchanging gifts, "I'm just curious!"

"Why don't you just ask!" Mo Kun said.

"You ask?" The Secretary looked at Mo Kun.

Mo Kun pointed at Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang, "Whose daughter it is, they should ask."

Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang looked helplessly at the two slippery characters; don't think he didn't know that the two of them were singing in harmony just to wait for him here.

"Ahem, Qingqing, I actually don't know, when did you two become so close?" Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang asked helplessly.

Zhang Qingqing looked at her father and hooked her arm through An Yinan's, "A girl's secret, right, Nan Nan?"

An Yinan smiled and nodded, "Time to eat."

She spread oil paper over the large basins she had prepared in advance, "You go take these to the dormitory, we'll start eating in a moment when Qin Hao arrives."

Nike Dashu said he didn't like this kind of gathering; he preferred to drink alone, as that had more charm.

An Yinan specially sent over two bottles of good white liquor, along with a tea mug full of peanuts.

Chen Xun and Zhang Qian had not yet returned from delivering the meal to the dormitory when the sound of the courtyard gate being pushed open was heard.