Chapter 95: Zhu Yan, Come Out Here

By evening on the other side, Xia Yan did not get home until she had brought the three children back.

During the day she had gone to the hospital and spoken with the doctor. Zhu Peng told Xia Yan that Lin You was recovering very well and could probably come home early, though he still needed the saline drip—only now it could be done at the clinic on the mountain after he returned.

Lin You had originally planned to come back today as well, but the next day the instructor was to be reassigned, and as the battalion commander he also needed to be present. So he could only wait until Monday, after the meeting was finally over, and then return with Wang Baoguo.

When Xia Yan came home that evening, she busied herself with feeding the pigs. In less than half a month, the piglets had already grown noticeably larger than when they were first bought.

“There’s still a month before New Year’s. Looks like I’ll have to go down the mountain to Old Sun’s place and buy a big fat pig by then.”

Looking at the piglets before her, Xia Yan thought of the time she had promised everyone they would share pork for the New Year, and she felt a little helpless. How had she forgotten, when she said it, that New Year was only a month away?

Since she had come back late, she had no time to prepare anything elaborate for dinner. She put on a pot of porridge and decided to make some egg pancakes.

Just now, when she ran into Wang Guilan, she had picked some scallions from her family’s patch.

She found a large basin in the kitchen cabinet, poured in some white flour, sprinkled in salt and five-spice powder, and instantly the fragrance rose. Then she added water and eggs and stirred it into batter.

She set the pan on the stove. Once it was hot, she brushed a thin layer of oil over the surface. Testing the heat with her hand near the rim, she waited until the pan was just right, then with her other hand she lifted a ladle, scooped up a spoonful of batter, and poured it in a circle along the edge of the pan. Before long, a round egg pancake took shape.

A little scallion on top, and the fragrance of onion and pancake filled the whole house.

Lin Hongzhuo was the first to dash into the kitchen. “Mom, what good things are we having tonight?”

His eyes were fixed on the golden pancake in the pan, and he swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva in a row.

“Egg pancakes. In a bit you can go tell your brother and sister to wash up and get ready for dinner, and ask your brother to come in and help wash a few bowls.”

“Okay, I’ll go right now.”

Lin Hongzhuo turned and ran toward his room, shouting as he went, “Brother, Mom says come help!”

At that moment Lin Nuannuan had also come to the kitchen and was standing on tiptoe to look into the pan.

Her little mouth kept smacking.

Seeing how adorable she looked, Xia Yan could not help pinching her chubby cheeks. She tore off a small piece from the pancake, blew on it, and held it to the little one’s lips.

Lin Nuannuan popped it into her mouth. It might have still been a little hot, because she kept puffing air as she ate. Once it felt bearable, she began to chew. Her little cheeks bulged out, making her look like a greedy little squirrel—utterly charming.

“Well? Nuannuan, is it tasty?”

Lin Nuannuan narrowed her eyes. After swallowing the bite in her mouth, she smiled and said, “The pancakes made by big sister are the best.”

By then Lin Hongzhe had come over with Lin Hongzhuo. Hearing his younger sister say it was delicious, he rushed forward at once. “Hey, Nuannuan, you actually stole a bite. Mom, I want some too.”

After Xia Yan took the pancake out of the pan, she ladled another scoop of batter in. “Want some? Then go wash your hands. Xiaozhe, help me wash a few bowls so we can serve the porridge later.”

A good habit learned in proper child-rearing: washing hands before meals could not be forgotten.

“What smells so good?”

At that moment Zhu Yan’s voice came from outside.

“How is your nose so sharp? You knew I’d finished cooking, so you came running.”

The three children called out “Aunt Zhu” one after another.

Zhu Yan listened, feeling a pang of sadness. In the past, it had always been “Auntie Zhu.”

Seeing the odd look on her face, Xia Yan understood what she was thinking and reminded the children, “From now on, when you see Aunt Zhu, you call her Mom Zhu. Understood?”

“Mom, you’re not angry?” Lin Hongzhuo poked his head out.

“What would I be angry about? I remember you were the loudest one calling her that before, weren’t you? From now on, Aunt Zhu is your godmother.”

Zhu Yan laughed too, pinching Lin Hongzhuo’s ear. “Did you hear what your mother said? Back then you little rascal ran to my place every day shouting ‘Mom Zhu,’ and now it’s changed to Aunt Zhu. How can you be so ungrateful?”

“Mom Zhu, it hurts...”

“Now you know how to call me Mom Zhu, do you?” Zhu Yan handed the oil-wrapped parcel in her hand to Lin Hongzhuo. “Take this to your mother and have her slice it up to add another dish tonight.”

“What is it? Boiled mutton!”

Lin Hongzhuo lifted the paper to his nose and caught a faint gamy scent of lamb.

“Hah, you little brat, are you a dog? You smelled it once and guessed it.”

“Mom Zhu, the lamb you bought definitely isn’t from the northwest. Northwest lamb doesn’t have this much flavor.” Lin Hongzhuo lifted his chin a little proudly. Ever since Xia Yan came, he had become far pickier about food than before.

Zhu Yan glanced at Xia Yan. “You’ve spoiled them rotten. Their tongues have become so fussy.”

“How can that be? This is called an appreciation for good food.”

At dinner, after the three little ones had eaten their fill, the two of them finally began to talk.

Xia Yan took the last bottle of liquor from the cabinet and put it out. “Want a drink?”

“Sure. But this time I’ll only have two cups. Last time I drank so much for so many days that my head hurt for ages.”

Zhu Yan was actually a little resistant at the moment. Ever since that day she had drunk with Xia Yan, just seeing white liquor made her stomach feel inexplicably uneasy.

“Even if you wanted to drink more tonight, you couldn’t. There’s only one bottle left. The other day when Lin You came back, he hid this one in the wardrobe, thinking I hadn’t seen him.”

Xia Yan laughed as she set a cup before Zhu Yan and filled it to the brim.

Zhu Yan shot her a glum look. “Aren’t you afraid Lin You will come back and beat you?”

“He wouldn’t bear to.”

“Just now the children were here, so I didn’t ask in detail. How did things go with the marriage application?” Zhu Yan raised her cup and clinked it against Xia Yan’s. After taking a small sip, she hurriedly picked up a piece of mutton and put it in her mouth.

“Secretary Zhou and Commander Peng are both very easy to talk to...” Xia Yan said, taking a mouthful that was nearly half a cup, and answered while thinking of the events of the past few days.

Zhu Yan hummed. Easy to talk to? Probably only Xia Yan would say that in the entire military district. “Easy to talk to? I’ve been in the military district this long, and how come I never knew that?”

“Are we talking about the same two people? I think they’re very easy to talk to—actually rather lovable. Aunt Lu even asked me to join the cultural troupe.”

Zhu Yan blinked. “Lovable? If those two heard you describe them that way, I wonder what expression they’d have. Would they laugh or cry?”

She thought for a moment. “So, your matter with Lin You is settled?”

“Mm. It should be fine now.”

“Then I wish you happiness. Lin You is a good man—you’d better cherish him. Otherwise, be careful I steal him away.”

Zhu Yan lifted her cup and offered her blessing.

But before the liquor even reached her lips, a furious roar came from the doorway.

“Zhu Yan! Get out here!”

The voice was full of rage, and the pounding on the door was deafening.

“Get out here!”