724 Like a Little Ancestor
Qiao Qiang stood in the courtyard and smiled at the young men. He recalled the times when he was young and fought with his brothers-in-arms in the army. Those days were the most unforgettable days of his life.
Qiao Mei wiped her hands on her apron and looked at the soldiers working in the distance in puzzlement. “Grandfather, what were they shouting about just now? Why were they so loud, like they were shouting slogans? Could something have happened?”
“They’re fine. How is it? Are you done cooking?” Qiao Qiang asked.
Qiao Mei nodded. Only the pumpkin porridge was not ready. She had to steam the pumpkin first and then press it into small pieces to stew with the millet. Only then would it taste most delicious.
The rest of the dishes were being kept warm in the pot. When the work was done, everyone would be able to come back and eat.
In order to prevent them from escaping, Qiao Mei even locked the door of the truck and put the keys in her pocket. Even if Chen Hu had ordered them not to eat at the house of the commoners, they had to stay behind today.
It was about time. Qiao Mei set up the chairs and placed the bowls in the courtyard. Soon, the soldiers returned. When they saw Qiao Mei busying herself in the courtyard, everyone felt even more apologetic.
“You’re back! Quickly sit down to eat! Let me tell you, there’s chicken tonight! There’s enough for everyone! Don’t tell me Uncle Hu won’t let you eat here. I’ve already taken the car keys. Hurry up and come over to eat!” Qiao Mei shouted as she put down the chopsticks.
There was no response for a long time. Qiao Mei looked up in confusion and saw that everyone was lined up in the courtyard. They stood at attention as if they were being punished.
Qiao Mei laughed and said, “What are you doing? Is there a ceremony before dinner? Are you going to sing a military song?”
Xiao Bei looked at everyone. They all took the cue and saluted Qiao Mei in unison, shouting, “We’re sorry! We were wrong! Elder sister Qiao Mei, please forgive us!”
Qiao Mei was shocked by this scene and so was Qiao Qiang, although he did not show it on his face. He just looked at them quietly from afar.
Qiao Qiang thought that they were going to apologize to Qiao Mei in private. He did not expect them to stand in a group and apologize in such a grand manner.
“Xiaobei, what’s wrong? What are you doing?” Qiao Mei asked.
“Elder sister Qiao Mei, the first time we saw you was when you went to the unit to sell bean sprouts. At that time, we made nasty comments about you. It’s our fault and we hereby apologize to you. We shouldn’t have said those things. We hope you can forgive us,” Xiaobei said sincerely.
Qiao Mei waved her hands and said, “I was wondering what was going on! Hurry up and sit down to eat! I forgive you!”
None of them just sat around and waited. They all did something, like going to the kitchen to help scoop the rice, bringing out the dishes and putting out the stools. Qiao Mei asked Xiaobei to get the three children from the Zhang family who had just finished school to come and eat with them.
Li Gui had to take care of Zhang Miao and could not leave the house. When Xiaobei went over, he brought some dishes and rice with him. Then he asked the other children to join in the fun.
Everyone finished their meal happily. Xiaobei took out the red phone and installed it for Qiao Mei. Under Xiaobei’s instructions, Qiao Mei called Chen Hu’s house to test if the phone was working.
“Hello?” Chen Hu said casually.
“Uncle Hu, why didn’t you come to my house for dinner? You didn’t keep your word,” Qiao Mei said, pretending to be angry.
In this world, the only person who could call Chen Hu “Uncle Hu” was Qiao Mei. Chen Hu quickly said genially, “It’s just that I have to go home to accompany your auntie. I’ll definitely go next time!”
Qiao Mei did not believe his nonsense. Perhaps he had done something wrong and was afraid that Qiao Qiang would reprimand him, so he did not come by.
“Alright, then I’ll get Xiaobei to bring some stuff back for you. You can’t reject and you can’t give Xiaobei a telling off, otherwise I’ll ignore you forever,” Qiao Mei said huffily.
Chen Hu quickly agreed. Qiao Mei was like his little ancestor and he could only dote on her. Even his wife had started to side with Qiao Mei after hearing his description of her.
She especially liked Qiao Mei because of her good culinary skills. In the past, she even quarreled with Chen Hu countless times because Chen Hu did not tell her that Qiao Qiang’s granddaughter was so good, so she did not have a chance to rush over to propose marriage for her son.