While their mother and mother-in-law chatted with Zhang Er Zhuang, Chun Cao was asked to watch the three children playing with colorful balls on the carpet.
Chen Lan and Liu Mama had already gone to the kitchen early to prepare lunch. They decided to treat Zhang Er Zhuang well and thank him for his long journey over mountains and ridges to deliver a letter to the valley.
After discussing with Liu Mama, they knew that Zhang Er Zhuang had to walk for several more hours on the mountain road to get back to the camp, and carrying the items for Xu Ming Xuan on his back would make it even harder!
Therefore, they decided to make a hearty and delicious dish for lunch: spicy lamb stewed with white radish, which was both nutritious and warming, perfect for accompanying rice.
As soon as they decided, Chen Lan immediately went to the pantry for dried goods and took out a cured and dried wild lamb's hind leg. She estimated it weighed over twenty catties. Seeing that it didn't seem like much meat, and fearing it wouldn't be enough, she also took a large piece of lamb ribs, with bones and meat, estimated to be another twenty catties. This should be enough!
So, she used a large cleaver to chop the lamb leg and ribs into egg-sized pieces, placed them in a large basin, rinsed them clean with warm water, and then soaked them in warm water.
Fearing that the lamb and ribs might not cook through in a short time, she purchased two extra-large electric pressure cookers from the system, intending to make two different flavors of lamb soup separately.
One, non-spicy, was for her mother, Liu Mama, Chun Cao, and the children, a plain lamb soup.
The other was a spicy lamb soup for those who ate chili.
The main staple for lunch was steamed buns made from a mix of cornmeal and white flour. Each person would get a large bowl of lamb soup, and before the meal, a mouth-watering, appetite-stimulating dish of stir-fried sour and spicy shredded cabbage would be ready. No other dishes would be made.
The two types of lamb soup were prepared with their respective seasonings and placed in the two electric pressure cookers, with the time set to start stewing.
Once the lamb was cooked, large chunks of white radish, cut into rolling pieces, were added, and then stewed for about three minutes, resulting in a pot of fragrant lamb soup.
Everything was prepared! Chen Lan asked Liu Mama to keep an eye on things in the kitchen and then left. She saw her mother and mother-in-law still chatting animatedly with Zhang Er Zhuang and didn't want to interrupt them.
She walked to the small study and called out for Ming Zhe. Ming Zhe opened the study door, poked his little head out, and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you need me for?"
Chen Lan reached out and gently patted his head, smiling, "Ming Zhe, Sister-in-law needs your help with something!"
Ming Xuan's eyes lit up with interest. He pulled open the door and said earnestly, "Sister-in-law, tell me, what is it? I'll help you with it."
Chen Lan smiled and said, "Ming Zhe, Sister-in-law is stewing lamb soup today. First, go home and tell Cui Mama that everyone is coming here for lunch and that she doesn't need to cook at home.
Then, go to the sewing shop and tell your sister Mai Zi not to cook lunch either, and to come to our place for lamb soup. Do you understand?"
Ming Zhe immediately stood at attention and saluted loudly, "Report, Sister-in-law, mission guaranteed to be completed!"
With that, he turned, grabbed his cotton jacket from the chair, quickly put it on, and ran out.
Chen Lan looked at her two younger brothers who were still engrossed in their books and said, "Wen Kai, Wen Qi, stop reading for a bit. Rest your eyes, wash your faces, and get ready for lunch soon."
The two brothers replied in unison, "Understood! Eldest Sister."
Chen Lan didn't bother with them any further. She went upstairs to prepare the things for Xu Ming Xuan. Thinking that the road was quite far, she decided not to pack too much.
She ordered several bags of milk powder from the same store where she bought milk powder for the twins from the system. The omnipotent crossing god was too powerful! The milk powder was packaged in brown paper bags with only three words on them: "Milk Powder." Nothing else, not even an expiration date.
She also ordered some bread, cakes, and other items. If Xu Ming Xuan got hungry while studying at night, he could have something to fill his stomach.
She remembered that when Xu Ming Xuan returned last time, his socks, which he hadn't worn for long, had several holes. Training must be tough on shoes and socks.
So, she ordered twenty pairs of odor-resistant cotton socks from the system. She could give the extras away. Two pairs of suede cotton shoes could be worn interchangeably. This way, he wouldn't have to wear smelly shoes.
She also prepared an identical set of socks and shoes for Zhang Er Zhuang, along with bread and cake, but no milk powder. The milk powder, in one-catties packages, was separately wrapped in ten bags using defective cloth.
The items were ready. She took a large backpack from the system's warehouse. Although she said she wouldn't pack much, once the items were in it, it was a full backpack. Chen Lan tried to put it on. Fortunately, it looked full but wasn't very heavy.
Zhang Er Zhuang had been a soldier for three years, so he should be able to carry it.
She couldn't be bothered to take it down again, so she carried the backpack downstairs.
Seeing Chen Lan carrying a full backpack downstairs, her mother-in-law and mother knew it was for Xu Ming Xuan and stopped talking. All three looked at her.
Chen Lan walked over directly, placed the backpack on the table, took out the items, and explained them to Zhang Er Zhuang one by one.
When Zhang Er Zhuang heard Chen Lan say there was a large bag of things for him too, he stammered in surprise, "No, no need, Sister, Sister, really no need. The camp has everything."
Her mother, anxious, hurried forward and pulled his hand, her eyes red. "Silly child, take it! If you have time, come visit more often and keep this old woman company."
Chen Lan saw that this wouldn't do. He hadn't even left yet, and her mother was already like this.
She quickly took out the ten bags of milk powder wrapped in defective cloth.
She instructed Zhang Er Zhuang, "Brother Er Zhuang, this bundle contains ten bags of milk powder. Take it back and give it to your battalion commander. Tell him it's for the sick soldiers in the camp to supplement their nutrition. If they finish it, tell him to send someone to the valley to get more. Do you understand?"
Zhang Er Zhuang nodded, his eyes red, unable to speak.
Just then, the people Ming Zhe had gone to fetch arrived. Chen Lan greeted everyone, introduced Zhang Er Zhuang, and then hurried back to the kitchen to prepare for the meal.
When everyone heard that he was a comrade of Xu Ming Xuan's battalion, they enthusiastically started chatting with him.
Needless to say, lunch was delicious. Each person had a large bowl of lamb and radish stew with mixed-flour steamed buns, and everyone ate heartily.
Even the twins and Xiao Dou Zi ate plain lamb soup with steamed buns, and the three little ones ate with gusto.
At first, when Zhang Er Zhuang saw the large bowl of lamb soup in front of him, full of meat and little radish.
He was about to decline, but seeing that everyone had a large bowl, including the women and children, he said nothing and started eating.
Perhaps due to the habit of eating quickly in the army, Zhang Er Zhuang quickly finished two large steamed buns and a bowl of lamb soup.
Chen Lan had been watching him, worried he might be too embarrassed to eat his fill and go back to the camp hungry. Seeing him finish one bowl, she quickly refilled it and gave him two more steamed buns.
Zhang Er Zhuang quickly said, "Sister-in-law, this is too much! I can't eat this much."
Chen Lan smiled and said, "It's not much. It's mostly soup and water, not very filling.
If you really can't eat these steamed buns now, put them in your pocket. You can eat a couple of bites on the road if you get hungry."
With that, she ran back to the kitchen and got him two more pieces of cowhide paper.
Lunch ended in a lively and harmonious atmosphere.