The overwhelming meaty aroma, like an invisible hand, rudely forced its way through the doors and windows of every household in the residential compound.
Children chasing and playing in the yards stopped, sniffing hard, drool dripping.
“So fragrant… whose house is cooking meat?”
Military wives napping inside were awakened by the scent, tossing and turning unable to sleep, their stomachs growling with craving.
Elderly folks weeding in vegetable plots straightened up, sniffing vigorously toward the direction of the fragrance.
“Heavens… what magical seasoning is this? How can it smell so good?”
Meanwhile, not far from the residential compound, on the training ground.
Battalion Commander Zhang Dashan was leading his soldiers through their afternoon physical training.
Weighted runs, push-ups, pull-ups… all of them were sweating profusely, panting like oxen.
“Stay sharp, all of you!” Zhang Dashan roared. “Anyone who dares slack off gets no dinner!”
The soldiers groaned inwardly.
They’d been punished by the regiment commander with a ten-kilometer run early in the morning, and now the battalion commander was drilling them to death all afternoon.
This was no way to live!
Just then, a breeze blew by.
The wind carried that unbearably rich meaty scent, mercilessly invading each soldier’s nostrils.
“Grrrr…”
Someone’s stomach let out an untimely rumble.
Then, a chorus of swallowing sounds rose across the training ground.
All the soldiers’ movements halted.
Like a group of puppets struck by a paralysis spell, they each lifted their heads, closed their eyes, wearing expressions of rapture. They looked like a bunch of opium addicts.
“Holy hell… what is that smell?” a soldier muttered to himself.
“It’s so damn good! Good enough to make my legs go weak!”
“Never smelled meat this good in my life! My soul’s being pulled right out!”
Zhang Dashan’s stomach also roared like thunder.
He’d been a soldier for over a decade, fought everywhere, what delicacies hadn’t he seen? But he swore he’d never smelled such an overwhelming, soul-snatching aroma in his life!
This scent had hooks on it, scratching at every inch of his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
“Where’s this smell… coming from?” Zhang Dashan opened his eyes, sniffing around like a bloodhound for the scent’s source.
Soon, his gaze fixed on the residential compound not far away.
And the direction where the scent was most intense was clearly the small courtyard belonging to their regiment commander, Qin Lie!
“It’s the Commander’s house!” Zhang Dashan’s eyes lit up as he slapped his thigh. “It must be Sister-in-law cooking!”
“Let’s go! Brothers! Follow me to the Commander’s house for a meal!”
He waved his arm, no longer caring about training, and charged toward the residential compound.
The soldiers behind him, hearing “for a meal,” their eyes turned green. Like they’d been injected with adrenaline, they howled and followed, their speed even faster than when they ran the ten-kilometer loaded march earlier!
…
In the kitchen.
Jiang Wu had just put away the little blue porcelain vial when Qin Lie walked out of the house carrying a piece of old-fashioned rock sugar.
“Got the rock sugar.”
As soon as he entered the kitchen, his steps halted.
He took a deep sniff.
“How… is it so fragrant?”
He looked at the braised pork still bubbling in the wok, his expression unable to hide his shock.
It was still the same ingredients, but just the time he went inside to get the sugar, and the aroma was completely different?
This scent was too overwhelming! Fragrant enough to make his head spin.
“Because I added my secret ingredient,” Jiang Wu turned, giving him a sly smile. Her grin was like a little fox that stole a fish.
“Secret ingredient?”
Qin Lie frowned, wanting to ask more.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The courtyard gate was being pounded loudly.
“Commander! Open up, Commander!” It was Zhang Dashan’s rough, loud voice.
“Sister-in-law! Save us some broth!” came the soldiers’ chorus of desperate pleas.
Qin Lie’s expression darkened.
These little bastards! Their noses are sharper than dogs’!
He was finally getting some alone time with his wife, and here they were, following the scent right to his doorstep!
“I’ll go shoo them away!” Qin Lie said with a dark face, turning to open the door.
“Don’t.” But Jiang Wu stopped him.
She shook her head at him. “Since they’re already here, it’s not right to turn them away.”
“Your soldiers are my little brothers from now on too. Isn’t it right for their sister-in-law to give them some meat?”
Her words were generous and proper, making Qin Lie feel extremely pleased.
His little wife was truly different now. She was no longer that little girl who only cared about love and was selfish. She was starting to think for him, to help him win people over.
Qin Lie looked into her clear, sincere eyes, his resolve softening by half.
He didn’t say anything else, tacitly agreeing.
Jiang Wu smiled and went to open the courtyard gate.
At the gate stood over a dozen young soldiers in uniforms, a dark mass of them, led by Zhang Dashan.
They were all craning their necks to peer into the yard, eyes shining like a pack of wolves starving for three days and three nights.
Seeing Jiang Wu come out, everyone scratched their heads awkwardly.
“Sister-in-law…” Zhang Dashan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. “We… we were just passing by. It smelled so good, we… we just came to take a look…”
Even he felt guilty saying it.
“Is that so?” Jiang Wu didn’t expose them, just smiled as she looked at them. “That’s perfect then. I made a bit too much braised pork today and was worried we couldn’t finish it. If you don’t mind, come in and have a taste of your sister-in-law’s cooking.”
With that, she stepped aside, clearing the way.
The soldiers’ eyes lit up at her words!
“Thank you, Sister-in-law!”
“Sister-in-law, you’re too good!”
They cheered and swarmed in.
Qin Lie watched this bunch of shameless soldiers, his face dark as a pot bottom, but he didn’t say anything more.
Jiang Wu quickly brought out all usable bowls from inside. She served each person a small piece of glistening braised pork and a spoonful of thick, mouth-coating sauce.
The soldiers, holding their bowls, didn’t even bother finding seats. They just squatted in the yard and wolfed it down.
“Mmm… so good!”
“Too good!”
The moment the first bite of meat entered their mouths, the fearless, iron-blooded tough guys from the training ground let out sighs of satisfaction.
The braised pork was tender, flavorful, melting in the mouth. The fat was sweet, not greasy; the lean meat was soft, not dry. The skin was the essence—chewy, soft, glutinous, rich in collagen.
Best of all was that spoonful of sauce mixed with rice. Every grain was coated in that overwhelming fragrance. It was so delicious they felt like swallowing their own tongues!
“Wahh… I’ve never eaten braised pork this good in my life!” A younger soldier actually started crying as he ate.
“Everything I ate before was like pig slop!”
“Sister-in-law! Your cooking skills are amazing! A hundred times better than the master chef in our canteen!”
“Not just a hundred times! I bet even the chefs at the state-run restaurants can’t make this taste!”
“Sister-in-law, from now on, you’re my real sister-in-law! If anyone dares say a bad word about you, I’ll fight them first!”
For a while, the yard was filled with nothing but praise for Jiang Wu.
The soldiers’ attitudes toward Jiang Wu also completely changed—from curiosity and slight disdain to admiration, respect, and genuine closeness.
They all thought their regiment commander had really struck gold! To marry such a kind-hearted, beautiful fairy who also cooked so well! His ancestors must have been smiling down on him!
Zhang Dashan ate until his mouth was slick with oil. He sidled up to Qin Lie, nudging him with his elbow.
“Commander, nice going!” He winked at Qin Lie. “Kept it well hidden! Having such a good sister-in-law and not telling us sooner!”
Qin Lie looked at the bunch of shameless soldiers in the yard who’d been bought over by a single meal of meat, then at his little wife being surrounded and admired like the moon among stars.
He snorted coldly, “A bunch of useless fools who’ve never had good food.”
But the smile he couldn’t suppress at the corners of his lips and his frighteningly bright eyes completely betrayed his smug and proud thoughts.
Looking at the woman smiling charmingly amid the crowd, an unprecedented feeling of sharing in her glory welled up within him.
This woman, praised to the skies by everyone, was his.
She was Qin Lie’s wife.
After the soldiers licked the last drop of sauce from their bowls with satisfaction, Jiang Wu gathered the bowls and chopsticks.
“I’ll wash the bowls!”
“Sister-in-law, you rest! We’ll do it!”
The soldiers clamored to help.
But Qin Lie strode over.
He took the stack of bowls from Jiang Wu’s hands.
“Get back to training, all of you!” he roared at the soldiers.
Then, silently, he walked to the faucet and started washing the dishes.
Watching this, the soldiers were stunned once more.
Their iron-willed, ruthless Commander Qin was… washing dishes?!
Washing dishes for his wife?!
The world had gone insane!
After the soldiers reluctantly left, peace finally returned to the yard.
Qin Lie finished washing the dishes and walked up to Jiang Wu.
He looked at her beauty under the sunset, which seemed almost unreal, and the question that had arisen earlier at the supply and marketing cooperative surfaced again.
“Today… what did you put in the meat?” He stared into her eyes, his voice low. “The taste wasn’t right.”
Jiang Wu’s breath hitched.
She had expected this. This man was sharp, not easily fooled.
But she maintained her innocent, guileless expression. She reached up, hooked her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and lightly pecked his lips.
“I put love in it,” she said, blinking at him, smiling like a sly little fox. “Secret ingredient, no sharing.”