Reborn in the 80s: She Rewrites Life with Radiance-Chapter 89: Old Acquaintance

By nine in the evening, Gu Yi finally finished drafting the menu.

The meat dishes include braised pork, fish with pickled cabbage, boiled sliced pork, chicken with edamame, beef stewed with potatoes, stewed eggs, and a stir-fried chili pork dish. Given the recent hot weather, she’s also planning to make an old duck soup.

The vegetarian dishes include hot and sour cabbage, stir-fried greens, dry-fried green beans, vegetarian stir-fried eggplant, stir-fried peanuts, cucumber salad, and sugar-coated tomatoes.

After listing everything, she counted and felt that while the variety wasn’t too extensive, if she made enough of each dish, it should be more than sufficient.

She also took this opportunity to invite friends over as a way of thanking Ye Hao’s comrades for their constant care, so she didn’t want to prepare anything too sparse.

Once the menu was finalized, she took a fresh piece of paper and listed all the ingredients she needed to buy.

Except for the duck, which she only needed one of, she planned to buy double portions of all other ingredients.

The list of various seasonings filled an entire sheet of paper.

Gu Yi thought about it and decided to add some candies and sunflower seeds.

She was worried that if someone came by to help, she’d have nothing to offer them at home.

"Isn’t this a bit too much?"

Ye Hao looked at the variety and quantity Gu Yi had written and felt it was a bit excessive.

"It’s fine if there’s some left over, but it can’t be not enough. When you host, you want everyone to be happy, right?"

Gu Yi thought it seemed reasonable. Nowadays, conditions weren’t too great, and chances to eat meat weren’t frequent, so if they were hosting, they should be generous.

"Alright, just do as you think best."

Ye Hao really hadn’t dealt with things like this before, so he left it to Gu Yi to handle.

The following morning, Ye Hao got up early on purpose.

He gave Gu Yi’s shopping list from the night before to the mess hall’s procurement staff.

He asked them to bring back everything on the list.

In the morning, while Gu Yi was tidying up at home, she heard someone knock on the door.

When she opened it, it turned out the procurement person had returned.

She had a lot to carry, so Ye Hao had asked them to help deliver everything to their home.

So as soon as he returned, the items were brought over first.

Gu Yi prepared to take the items.

"Sister-in-law, this is heavy. Let me bring it in for you."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

After putting down the items, the person was about to leave.

Gu Yi quickly grabbed some candy to give him. Initially, he refused, but only after Gu Yi playfully pretended to get angry did he thank her profusely and accept it.

Gu Yi thanked him in return.

Once he left, Gu Yi began to organize the ingredients.

Although it was early, her menu consisted of labor-intensive dishes.

She first cleaned the duck and started stewing it in a big clay pot.

She kept about a pound of pork belly, planning to stir-fry it with chili in the evening, and set aside some lean meat while cutting the rest into large chunks for later use.

She also diced the beef into chunks.

For the two chickens, she just washed them clean and set them aside, planning for Ye Hao to chop them into smaller pieces when he returned at noon.

She now prepared to fillet the fish, which was a meticulous task.

She first removed the fish bones, and cut off the head and tail, setting them aside.

The fish meat was sliced into pieces with a slanting cut.

Just as she finished slicing the fish, Ye Hao came home.

She suddenly realized she hadn’t made lunch yet.

"I haven’t cooked yet. Is having noodles for lunch alright?"

"Of course, are you prepping for dinner?"

"Yes, you came back just in time. Could you help me chop up these two chickens? I’ll make the noodles now."

"Alright, I’ll change clothes and help."

Ye Hao changed his clothes, put on an apron, and started chopping the chicken.

Gu Yi made three fried eggs and cooked the noodles with greens.

Once the noodles were done, Ye Hao was still chopping.

She served him a big bowl of noodles, topping it with two fried eggs.

For herself, she served a small bowl.

"Let’s eat the noodles first, or they won’t taste good if they get overcooked."

"It’s fine. I’m almost done. You eat first; I’ll join after I finish chopping."

Seeing that there wasn’t much left, Gu Yi didn’t say anything more and started eating.

Ye Hao quickly finished chopping everything.

"There’s still more in the pot. Get more if you need it after you’re done. This bowl is enough for me."

After washing his hands, Ye Hao came over to eat, and Gu Yi told him.

"Okay."

Gu Yi finished eating first, so she went straight to wash the vegetables.

Ye Hao, after eating, washed the pot and bowls.

"Is there anything else you need help with?"

"No, nothing else. You can take a nap if you want."

"No rush. Will you start cooking at noon?"

Ye Hao couldn’t bear to let Gu Yi do everything by herself. Even if he couldn’t help cook, he could at least pass items to her.

"Yes, otherwise I worry I won’t have enough time in the afternoon."

Gu Yi first boiled the pork belly, then added a little oil to the pan, tossed in some rock sugar to create a caramel, and then stir-fried the pork belly.

She intended to prepare the braised pork first; it could then simmer on the stove.

Then she’d cook the chicken and beef. The remaining dishes were quick and could be prepared in advance.

Neither of them rested at noon. Gu Yi focused on cooking while Ye Hao helped out by her side.

Shortly after Ye Hao left for work, someone knocked on the door.

Gu Yi opened it to find three women outside, two of whom had brought children.

Gu Yi recognized one of them, Ye Honglian, who was now Liu Guoqing’s wife of the Second Company.

After Ye Hao was promoted to deputy battalion commander, Liu took over Ye Hao’s previous position.

In the past life, Gu Yi and Ye Honglian had a good relationship. She was warm-hearted and was the one who introduced Gu Yi into the military wives’ circle.

Gu Yi always felt grateful to her.

There was also Wu Chunmei, who seemed to be the wife of Wang Wei, the deputy company commander of the First Company, whom she also knew from after moving with the army in her past life.

The remaining one she didn’t recognize as well.

"Little sister-in-law, you’ve already started cooking. We must be running late."

"Not at all, I just work slow and worried it might take too long to finish in the afternoon, so I figured I’d start early. Come in and have a seat."

Even though Ye Hao’s rank was higher than Liu Guoqing’s, Liu was older, which is why Ye Honglian called her sister-in-law.

"I guess you haven’t met everyone yet. Let me introduce: I’m Ye Honglian, wife of Liu Guoqing from the Second Company. This is my son, Qiangqiang. She is Fang Hong. Her husband, Li Jianjun, is also from the Second Company. This is Wu Chunmei, wife of Wang Wei from the First Company, and that’s her daughter, Nuonuo."

After entering, Ye Honglian enthusiastically made the introductions, and Fang Hong and Wu Chunmei smiled and greeted Gu Yi.

When Ye Honglian mentioned Li Jianjun, Gu Yi remembered. In the past, he became the deputy company commander of the Second Company, but due to changes related to Ye Hao, it seemed he got promoted earlier this lifetime.

"I’m Gu Yi. If there’s anything I’m not familiar with, I’ll count on you all for advice."

"What advice? Just give a holler if you need anything."

Wu Chunmei was straightforward, while Fang Hong, possibly a bit younger, came across as a bit shy.

Gu Yi poured water for everyone and brought out sunflower seeds and candy for the children.

"Let’s not just sit here. Let’s use the time to work. Let Qiangqiang and Nuonuo play in the living room."

Ye Honglian stood up and said.

The three women pulled out the aprons they brought from home and put them on.

"Sister-in-law, we’ll follow your directions now."

Wu Chunmei joked.

"I wouldn’t dare to give orders, but my stove is a bit insufficient. Do you know where we might borrow one?"

Gu Yi worried about not having enough cooking equipment to keep everything warm later.

"No need to borrow! We have some at home, and we can just bring them over. How many do you need?"

"Two should be enough."

"Then Fang Hong, you stay and help out, while Chun Mei and I go fetch them."

With that, Ye Honglian and Wu Chunmei headed out.

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