112, fresh vegetables, prepare a banquet

What Gao Shen had mentioned was not a major matter. The army had discipline, yes, but it was not without human feeling. Gao Shen’s case was special to begin with. As long as they reported that his leg injury had healed, the organization would surely cherish such a talent in the ranks.

Whether out of public duty or private regard, Su Jianming would help Gao Shen resolve this matter.

After hanging up, Su Jianming could not help but laugh softly. “That boy really is blessed,” he said.

Even after the military doctor had pronounced his fate, he had still managed to turn things around and come back stronger. If that was not good fortune, what was? And what was more, during his recovery he had even managed to marry his wife, settling the great event of his life without a hitch.

Two such matters resolved at once. Among the rest of the army, who could possibly match his luck?

With both problems solved, Gao Shen exchanged a few polite words with Zeng Lin, then headed home in high spirits. He had not forgotten that Qingxin was still waiting alone at home.

By the time Gao Shen returned to the Zhang family’s house, Jing Qingxin was in the kitchen preparing the ingredients for dinner. After Gao Shen gave her a brief report, he rolled up his sleeves and came to help.

By evening, when Zhang Liangping and Jing Suyun returned home, dinner was already laid out on the table: a large basin of chicken soup with shiitake mushrooms, a plate of tomato stir-fried eggs, and a dish of eggplant with chopped chilies.

“Oh, how fragrant!” Zhang Liangping said as soon as he stepped inside. The aroma of the food hit him at once, and even the glutton in his belly seemed to wake up.

To be honest, the couple had not enjoyed a truly delicious meal in a very long time. In the days when life had been comfortable, there had been no need for them to cook for themselves, so neither of them had ever been skilled in the kitchen.

As the head of the Zhang family, Zhang Liangping was even less likely to set foot in the kitchen. His mind had always been occupied with scholarship and research. Since the upheaval and the search of their home, Jing Suyun had been in charge of their daily meals. The food had not tasted like much, but it was still better than going hungry.

Seeing the spread on the table, Jing Suyun was delighted as well. At last, she would not have to cook for herself. Not only did her husband dislike her cooking, even she disliked it. But there was nothing to be done; they still had to live on.

“Qingxin’s cooking is truly beyond praise. Hm? Where did you get these vegetables?” Jing Suyun asked in surprise after she got a clear look at the dishes.

Fresh vegetables in the city supply and marketing cooperative were limited. If one wanted to buy any, one had to queue before dawn, and the prices were not cheap. Sometimes the quantity of fruits and vegetables was small, and they were not even necessarily fresh.

So her old Zhang had gone to the trouble of tilling a small patch of ground in the courtyard to make a vegetable plot, though it only held a few small greens and some scallions. The city was not like the countryside, where spring and autumn seeds were easy to plant and tend.

“These were given by Gao Shen’s comrade when he went out on business today. It seems he has some connections and brought a whole basket of vegetables,” Jing Qingxin said with a faint smile as she set out the rice bowls.

That afternoon, when Gao Shen had returned, Jing Qingxin had whispered to him about how the space had yielded a great many fruits and vegetables, sighing over the trouble of having food she could not eat freely.

In the end, Gao Shen could not bear to see her having to hide even when eating vegetables, so he found an excuse and pinned it on himself. After all, his comrades were scattered everywhere, many had been discharged and sent back to their hometowns for work, and it would not be strange for one of them to have some means. There was no way to check it, and most importantly, the two godparents were not troublesome people.

Since the excuse had been arranged, Jing Qingxin no longer wanted to wrong her own stomach. She simply took the bamboo basket Gao Shen had woven earlier and filled it with a little of each kind of vegetable. In no time, the basket was full, and tomorrow they would have fresh vegetables to eat as well.

“A whole basket of vegetables? Then his comrade must really have some connections. Heh, we’ve certainly benefited from it,” Jing Suyun said with a delighted exclamation.

After that, the four of them sat down and began their evening meal. While they ate, Zhang Liangping also explained what had happened in the afternoon. He had made a special trip to the relevant office and submitted a set of documents at the household registration desk. Once Gao Shen had handled the connections on his side, all that would be needed the following morning was for Jing Qingxin to make one trip in person and fill out another form, and everything would be settled.

Knowing that the matter had been resolved, everyone was overjoyed, and the food on the table tasted all the sweeter for it. In the end, only some of the chicken soup was left; everything else had been cleaned off the table.

After dinner, night had fallen. The four of them sat in the main room, drinking the floral tea Jing Qingxin had brewed and chatting as they let their meal settle.

“Qingxin,” Zhang Liangping said, “your godmother and I want to host a banquet, just as a recognition ceremony. Since we’re taking you as our daughter, we don’t want to do it too casually. We should invite some relatives and close friends to a meal, so it counts as a proper formality. What do you think?”

This was the conclusion the two of them had reached together while walking home that day. They simply did not want to slight their goddaughter. Though times were hard now and many customs had become less particular, and though their family was no longer what it had once been, they still wanted to give her the best they could.

“Godfather, Godmother, there’s no need to make it so troublesome. Whether there’s a banquet or not, nothing will change between us,” Jing Qingxin said softly. She understood their feelings, but under present circumstances she did not want to be ostentatious.

“It still should be done, Qingxin. It needn’t be too plain either. Setting a table and making a little lively occasion of it would be good,” Jing Suyun added. Though her salary was not much now, the couple had no children and no great expenses, so they had saved a little money. Putting on a banquet was still entirely possible.

“Qingxin, listen to Godfather and Godmother,” Gao Shen, who had been quiet until now, said. Since the elders were so thoughtful, as a junior it would be unwise to dampen their spirits and make them unhappy.

“All right, then,” Jing Qingxin agreed. Since even Gao Shen had said so, what else could she say?

After that, the four of them discussed the arrangements for the next day’s banquet. In the end, Gao Shen made the final decision on the plan, and then everyone washed up and returned to their rooms to rest.

Outside, the clear moonlight poured over the windows. The tranquil, lovely night belonged to Jing Qingxin and Gao Shen alone. Gao Shen held her in his arms as they half reclined on the wooden bed, while Jing Qingxin fed strawberries into his mouth.

The chicken soup at dinner had been rather greasy. Having some fruit after a meal helped cleanse the stomach and aid digestion, and there was already plenty of fresh fruit piled in the space.

“You should eat some too,” Gao Shen said, a strawberry between his lips, as he looked down at the woman in his arms.

“I already ate quite a bit this afternoon,” she said, her eyes curving with a smile as she popped a strawberry into her own mouth.

“Gao Shen, for tomorrow night’s banquet, should you invite the comrade who helped today to come eat with us?” Jing Qingxin asked after swallowing the strawberry. In the afternoon she had heard Gao Shen mention it briefly. Since they had troubled someone else, they ought to show some appreciation.

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I still need to go see him tomorrow at noon, so I’ll mention it then,” Gao Shen said with a nod. Since they were hosting a banquet tomorrow night, it would not matter to invite one more family. If they were inviting people anyway, more company would only make it livelier.