A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 34

Shen Sisi had just returned home and put down her basket when she heard a kitten-like voice from the room: “Mama…”

Niu Niu was awake!

She didn’t even have time to wash her hands. She slipped off her protective gloves and rushed into the room.

The little girl had woken up at some point and was fearfully curled up in the blanket, showing a pair of timid eyes.

“Sweetheart, when did you wake up?”

Niu Niu said in a childish voice, “I woke up a long time ago… I kept calling for you, but you didn’t answer me.”

Her voice was extremely aggrieved.

Shen Sisi’s heart ached, and she hugged the startled little one.

Although this was their new house, it was still an unfamiliar environment for a child.

She was immensely grateful that Niu Niu was obedient and hadn’t gotten out of bed to run around; if she had gotten lost or caught a cold, it would have been trouble.

“Niu Niu was very good today. She knew to wait for Mama in the blanket.”

Shen Sisi touched the round little head, her heart still full of fear.

Niu Niu whined, “Woo,” and said, “Mama said if I can’t find Mama, I shouldn’t run around; I should wait where I am.”

Shen Sisi froze. She had only told her that two or three times, yet Niu Niu remembered it. She truly was a clever baby.

“I’m sorry. Mama promises that next time I won’t leave you like this again; I will take you with me.”

“Pinky promise!” Niu Niu extended a small, short finger.

Shen Sisi locked fingers with her, then cupped the cool little face and kissed her. She was fragrant and soft; if she were a little chubbier, it would be even better…

After fussing for a while, dressing Niu Niu in layers of thick clothes, followed by washing her face and brushing her teeth, a quarter of an hour had passed.

Niu Niu’s stomach was rumbling with hunger. She rolled around on the sofa, clamoring for “food-food.”

Shen Sisi looked at the little firecracker, whose temper was hasty and impatient. She wondered who she took after.

“Wait, Mama is going to make you breakfast now!”

She beat two eggs for an egg custard, added a dab of lard the size of a fingernail, a little salt, and placed it in the large pot to steam along with sweet potatoes.

In a moment, the pot was steaming hot.

In the meantime, Shen Sisi washed the herbs she had gathered that morning, and placed them, along with the herbs washed and dried yesterday, into a large ceramic soup bowl, which she put in the other pot to steam.

Soon, the mingled fragrance of the herbs and food spread throughout the room.

Shen Sisi monitored the heat. She first took out the egg custard, drizzled a few drops of soy sauce on it, and let it cool before serving it to Niu Niu.

By now, the egg custard was no longer scalding hot.

Niu Niu, smelling the aroma of the eggs, could no longer hold back. She climbed up from the sofa, licking her mouth with her pink tongue.

“Eat slowly, don’t choke…” Shen Sisi carried her to the dining table.

Niu Niu was too short; sitting on the chair, she couldn’t reach the bowl at all.

So her little feet quickly kicked off her shoes with a ceng ceng sound.

She knelt on the chair and started wolfing down the food with her spoon.

Shen Sisi smiled helplessly, then took a small blanket to cover her feet.

“Don’t rush. There are sweet potatoes after you finish…” Shen Sisi said dotingly.

She timed it so that after Niu Niu finished the egg custard, the sweet potatoes would be ready.

A few minutes later, Shen Sisi put the sweet potatoes into a basin and brought them to the table, only to find that Niu Niu hadn’t finished her egg custard; half of it was left.

That half was neatly scooped out, clearly left deliberately.

Shen Sisi frowned and instinctively wanted to pick up the bowl to feed her, but Niu Niu refused.

Niu Niu pouted and turned her head away. “Niu Niu won’t eat it. Niu Niu wants to save it for Dad to eat.”

“For Dad to eat?”

Shen Sisi quickly understood. “You’re such a thoughtful child. Do you know that Dad is injured and you want to give him something nutritious?”

Niu Niu hummed. “Mama said that if you eat more eggs and more meat, your body will get better quickly. Niu Niu wants Dad to get well soon.”

No wonder they say a daughter is a parent’s close-fitting little cotton jacket!

At only three years old, she already knew how to care for others.

However, Niu Niu did remind Shen Sisi that Gu Chengfeng was still injured. Although he said he was fine, the wound was still bleeding.

To avoid gossip, he had moved back to the barracks, leaving the large house to the mother and daughter. It was only right and proper that she should go take care of him.

“Niu Niu, you eat the egg. Dad must have already had breakfast at the barracks. Mama will make something better later, Yellow Bean Pork Knuckle Stew, and send it to Dad, okay?”

The creamy white soup quickly flashed in Niu Niu’s mind. It smelled so good!

It smelled even better than her egg custard.

“Yay!” Niu Niu excitedly climbed back onto the chair, obediently picking up her spoon. “Niu Niu wants to eat pork knuckle too.”

Shen Sisi couldn’t help but curl her fingers and scratch Niu Niu’s reddened nose. “Little greedy cat… there’ll be some for you…”

Shen Sisi turned and went back into the kitchen, soaking a few handfuls of soybeans in water and taking out the half pork knuckle from the cabinet, chopping it into small pieces.

There was a proper technique to stewing pork knuckle. If the steps were wrong, it would turn out very fishy.

She first put the pork knuckle in a basin, added clean water to cover the trotters, then sprinkled a handful of salt, soaking it in light saltwater for twenty minutes.

After soaking, she put it into a pot of cold water, adding green onions and ginger to remove the fishiness. Once the water boiled, she skimmed off the blood foam, took the meat out, and rinsed it again with warm water.

This not only removed the fishiness but also ensured the pork knuckle would be stewed until tender.

After rinsing, she put the meat into a clay pot, added the soaked soybeans, and started to cook it. She didn’t add salt yet, first boiling it over high heat, then simmering it slowly over low heat.

By the time it was nearly noon, the pork knuckle was tenderly stewed, and the soup had turned an appealing creamy white.

Shen Sisi added salt at this point, then sprinkled a few goji berries, making it perfectly ready.

Thinking that people at the barracks ate meals earlier, she decided to send it to Gu Chengfeng first.

She temporarily sealed the stove fire, using the residual heat to keep the pork knuckle and herbs warm on the stove.

As she picked out the best meat to put into a lunch box, she called out, “Niu Niu, let’s go out and take the pork knuckle soup to Dad…”

The family compound wasn’t too far from the barracks, about a ten-minute walk.

Along the way, Shen Sisi met many people. Their gazes seemed much friendlier.

She had become famous in one decisive action yesterday, and many people recognized her.

Most people felt deep sympathy for her being subjected to malicious rumors. Furthermore, with so many valuable goods being moved into her house, they also understood that Gu Chengfeng cared deeply for her, and no one dared to provoke her anymore.

However, a small number of people still sneered at her.

Shen Sisi walked along fearlessly, head held high, appearing completely open and composed.

Today, she wore a long, dark grey coat and a beret of the same color. An uninformed person might have thought she was a movie star from a film studio.

Niu Niu also wore a coat of the same color, with a circle of white lace sewn around the collar and cuffs. She wore two bun pigtails, looking exactly like a doll.

Holding a lunch box in one hand and leading the baby doll with the other, she attracted a lot of attention wherever she passed.

This caused the ten-minute journey to feel as long as an hour.

She finally arrived at the military gate and said to the sentry on duty, “Hello, Comrade, I’m looking for Gu Chengfeng.”

The sentry looked her up and down. Could this person be Regiment Commander Gu’s fiancée?

So beautiful, they are a perfect match!

His tone couldn’t help but soften, but he maintained the required vigilance. “You’re looking for Regiment Commander Gu? Who are you to him?”

Shen Sisi shyly lowered her voice. “I am his fiancée.”

Saying that in public made her blush with embarrassment.

Equally red-faced and heart-pounding was Gu Chengfeng, who was not far away.

He had just finished a meeting and was hurrying home, worried that Shen Sisi and her daughter hadn’t eaten, intending to cook for them.

As soon as he reached the gate, his eyes lit up, then lit up again.

Shen Sisi had arrived!

And she had personally admitted to being his fiancée!