mtl008 Chapter 39 Entertaining Guests 1
Chapter 39 Entertaining Guests 1
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After buying groceries, Wang Shufang followed Ruan Zhao directly into her home.
As soon as she entered the yard, Wang Shufang felt particularly comfortable.
"Xiao Ruan, why does it feel like the air in your house is fresher than mine?"
Wang Shufang took a deep breath as she spoke.
Ruan Zhao chuckled, "Sister-in-law is such a joker. Our two homes are so close, is it possible that the air in my house is different from yours?"
How could it not be fresh? Her home is now the place with the most abundant spiritual energy in the family compound.
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At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Ruan Zhao and Wang Shufang prepared the dishes.
After listening to Wang Shufang's suggestion, Ruan Zhao decided to make three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes, and then make the portions a little larger and serve them in two plates, making a total of twelve dishes, just enough to entertain ten people.
This way it won't be too high-profile, nor will it be disrespectful.
The meat dishes ordered included braised pork ribs with potatoes and radishes. A dry pot of pig intestines was also served, perfect as a side dish. Ruan Zhao also bought two fish, intending to make braised fish.
Vegetarian dishes include Ruan Zhaoding’s garlic choy sum, cold mushroom and cucumber salad, and vinegar-fried shredded potatoes.
When the time was almost up, Ruan Zhao started stewing the ribs and fish.
Fortunately, there were two coal stoves at home, and she borrowed one from Wang Shufang's house, which was just enough for her to keep busy.
Meat was stewing on two stoves, and on another stove, Ruan Zhao was steaming three large baskets of steamed buns.
Wang Shufang originally came to help, but Ruan Zhao was too capable and she couldn't help at all. In the end, she had to go home and move all the chairs over.
When Wang Shufang came back with a chair, she ran into Yu Zhenghai's wife Wu Chunyan at the door.
"Spring Swallow is coming!"
Wu Chunyan saw Wang Shufang and quickly walked over. "Sister-in-law! I was thinking of coming earlier, but I didn't expect you to be here earlier than me."
"It's not too late for you. I live next door to Xiao Ruan, so we're close."
The two of them walked into the house while talking. Ruan Zhao heard the noise and hurried out to greet them.
Wang Shufang introduced, "Xiao Ruan, this is Yu Zhengwei's wife, Wu Chunyan. She's older than you, so you can just call her sister-in-law."
Wu Chunyan is 36 years old this year. She also comes from the countryside. She looks very gentle, but has a cheerful personality.
Before Ruan Zhao could speak, she looked him around and said with a smile.
"This must be Captain Qin's wife, she's quite pretty! Old Yu from my family and your Captain Qin are old comrades. You should come to our house more often in the future."
In order to save face for Qin Zongwu, Ruan Zhao specially changed into a newly bought blue uniform shirt and pants in the afternoon.
Although her skin color has not returned to normal yet, her face no longer looks so thin after eating and drinking enough in the past few days.
She has good facial features to begin with, and with a little makeup, she looks better than ordinary people.
In addition, she is 1.66 meters tall and has a good figure. After putting on the clothes, it just hides her thin figure and makes her look more energetic.
"Sister Wu, my name is Ruan Zhao, you can just call me by my name. I just arrived, and I will definitely go visit you after I have the house tidied up."
"Okay, you're welcome anytime. I usually work at the tailor shop, so you can come find me there if you have time."
"Okay."
The two chatted for a while in a familiar manner, and Wu Chunyan quickly handed the bag of fried cucumber strips in her hand to Ruan Zhao.
"This is the fried cucumber my sister-in-law made herself. It's not worth much. Give it to the children for fun."
Ruan Zhao smiled even more enthusiastically. "Then I'd like to thank you on behalf of my two sons. Sister-in-law and Sister-in-law Shufang, please go sit in the living room for a while. I'll go cook the dishes first."
"What are you sitting for? I'll help you in the kitchen."
"No, the food is almost done. I can handle it by myself."
The two of them pulled each other for a few times, and finally Wang Shufang took Wu Chunyan to her house to move the chair.
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In the kitchen, when Ruan Zhao served the meat dishes, the steamed buns were just cooked.
Ruan Zhao looked at the time. It was exactly six o'clock in the afternoon.
She started to stir-fry the vegetables, which were easy to cook and were ready in a short while.
When Ruan Zhao saw that no one had arrived yet, he fried another plate of peanuts.
By the time she had plated the dishes, Qin Ze and Qin Mu had returned from school.
The two children seemed a little embarrassed when they heard that there would be guests at home soon.
Fortunately, Wang Shufang and Wu Chunyan are cheerful and after chatting with the two children for a while, the two children relaxed.
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After a while, Qin Zongwu came back from outside with his men.
"Great, Lao Qin, it's only been a few days and your house is already neatly tidied!"
"Look at how well-kept this yard is. It's obvious that Old Qin's wife knows how to manage a life."
"Old Qin has picked up a great bargain! Commander Yang's family is quite fashionable. I heard they left in such a hurry that they left all their furniture behind. We don't have to buy new ones, which will save us a lot of money!"
Ruan Zhao heard the noise and hurried out to greet them.
In addition to Qin Zongwu, there were a total of six people who came.
One of them is Wang Shufang’s man Cheng Yonghui, who also holds the highest official position among this group of men.
Next are Yu Zhenghai and Meng Jianping, as well as two company commanders under Qin Zongwu, one named Chen Genshuo and the other named Liao Zhiyuan.
Chen Genshuo brought his son Chen Xiaojun, making a total of six people.
Apart from Liao Zhiyuan, who is just 28 years old this year, Qin Zongwu is the youngest among the group of men.
Cheng Yonghui is already 43 years old, Yu Zhenghai is 41, and Meng Jianping is 39 years old.
Qin Zongwu became a regiment commander at the age of 31 and will be promoted in the future. This shows how strong his military ability is!
Yu Zhenghai and Qin Zongwu were old partners, and upon seeing Ruan Zhao, they immediately started to jeer. "Old Qin, this is your sister-in-law, right? Why don't you introduce her to us?"
As the leader, Cheng Yonghui was afraid that they would see him restrained, so he tried to be as casual as possible.
"Yes, Xiao Qin, you are so lucky. You have been single for so many years, and now you have a wife and children."
When Qin Zongwu came back at noon, Ruan Zhao had not changed her clothes yet. Now when he saw her dressed up, his eyes paused for a moment, but his face still had that indifferent look.
"Her name is Ruan Zhao, and she is the mother of my two sons!"
Qin Zongwu's introduction was quite distant. Their relationship was not yet public, so Ruan Zhao didn't bother with him.
Chen Genshuo and Liao Zhiyuan were Qin Zongwu's subordinates. Without waiting for Ruan Zhao to speak, they took the initiative to greet Ruan Zhao.
"Hello, sister-in-law!"
"Hello, sister-in-law!"
"Hello!"
After Ruan Zhao responded to the two of them, he nodded and greeted Cheng Yonghui.
"Hello, Chief!"
Then he looked at Yu Zhenghai one by one.
"Political Commissar Yu and his sister-in-law really look like a married couple. They look like a couple at first glance."
Before Yu Zhenghai spoke, Wu Chunyan spoke with a smile.
"Oh! I don't want to look like him. Look at his wrinkled face!"
Yu Zhenghai was not angry when his wife teased him about being old, and he joked along. "Why, do you dislike me?"
"That's right, I hate it so much!"
"Hahaha, there's no point in disliking it. We're already an old married couple, so just accept your fate!"
After a few people chatted and laughed for a while, Ruan Zhao looked at Meng Jianping again.
When Ruan Zhao saw Meng Jianping's face clearly, his gaze froze for a moment, and then he spoke.
"Captain Meng, why didn't you ask your sister-in-law and the children to come over? My Xiaoze and Xiaomu just arrived here and have no playmates. They wanted to play with your children!"
When Meng Jianping entered the room, he saw Wu Chunyan coming but his wife was not there, and he felt a little embarrassed.
Now after hearing what Ruan Zhao said, I feel even more embarrassed.
"Well, your sister-in-law went to work, maybe she got off work late today, so she didn't come over.
When she's not working, I'll let her bring the kids over to play at home."
Ruan Zhao was just asking casually. Just as she was about to say yes, a female voice came from the yard.