The sudden burst of laughter left everyone confused.
Before they could react, Xiang Ming suddenly turned toward the stunned Zhu Xiuyun, his expression instantly turning stern.
“There are nearly seventy thousand soldiers in our military district. Every day, they train hard on the training grounds, and on the battlefield, they charge forward without regard for their own lives. They don’t do this so that their families can be accused of extravagance just for eating meat.”
“They do it to protect the country, protect the people, and protect their families!”
“They do it so that military wives like you, and millions upon millions of ordinary people, can live safely at home and happily eat meat!”
Xiang Ming’s voice rose sharply.
Zhu Xiuyun, who was facing him directly, was already trembling like a leaf.
How could this be?
Xuefeng had said the political commissar valued frugality. Could it be that he secretly enjoyed the finer things too?
Xiang Ming paid no attention to the fear in her eyes. Instead, he addressed the people gathered at the doorway to watch.
“As long as the money you’re using wasn’t stolen, no one has the right to interfere with you cooking meat at home! What’s more, meat is scarce in the mess hall. If you’re willing to spend your own money to buy meat and supplement the soldiers’ diets so they can maintain strong bodies and fight the enemy, that’s a good thing. No one has the right to pin a label of wrongdoing on you.”
The eyes of the onlookers immediately lit up.
Then Xiang Ming’s gaze returned to Zhu Xiuyun.
“Eating something good and arranging it nicely makes you a capitalist? You certainly know how to twist the words of our leaders. Since that’s the case, copy the Program a hundred times and study it properly. On Wednesday, tell everyone what you learned from it.”
A hundred times?!
And she had to speak about it in front of everyone?!
Zhu Xiuyun’s legs nearly gave out beneath her. She could only grab the doorframe to keep herself standing.
Trembling, she said, “B-but Song Qianxing doesn’t do anything at home. All she does is spend money making fancy food. How can that possibly be right?”
Xiang Ming clicked his tongue.
“You just reminded me. Do you know where I was going when I ran into you?”
Zhu Xiuyun didn’t know.
Xiang Ming hadn’t expected her to answer anyway. He simply continued,
“I was on my way to find Comrade Song, to thank her for saving the lives of five of our outstanding soldiers.”
“What?!”
Zhu Xiuyun thought she must have misheard him.
Song Qianxing was nothing more than a country girl. How could she possibly have the ability to save soldiers?
Was Xiang Ming still trying to protect her?
Seeing the unwilling expression on her face, Xiang Ming knew exactly what she was thinking.
Calmly, he said, “There will be an official announcement at Wednesday’s monthly meeting. You can listen then. And you should learn from Comrade Song Qianxing.”
Zhu Xiuyun was so angry she nearly vomited blood.
Learn from Song Qianxing?!
How could a country bumpkin like her possibly be worthy of that?
“All right. If there’s nothing else, everyone go home.”
Xiang Ming waved his hand, and the people gathered at the door dispersed all at once, hurrying back to tell their families the good news.
In the past, they had to be somewhat secretive whenever they cooked meat at home, afraid that someone would get jealous and report them.
Now, thanks to Song Qianxing, they could eat meat openly and honestly!
Who would dare accuse them of enjoying themselves too much now?
The political commissar himself had said it!
The soldiers fought outside for the country, so when they came home, they deserved to eat something good and replenish their strength!
Inside the room, Zhu Xiuyun also returned home in a daze, leaving Hu Baoguo and the others looking at one another.
So… were they still going to eat?
Of course—
They were eating!
Xiang Ming set the example by sitting down first. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and looked at everyone.
“Why are you looking at me? Eat! My goodness, this meat is cooked perfectly. It’s even better than what they serve at the state-run restaurant!”
Seeing Xiang Ming pick up the first piece of meat, Huo Yuan’s eyes were practically blazing with displeasure.
Qian Xing found it amusing.
Earlier, when the meat was still in the pot, she had wanted to give Huo Yuan a piece to taste, but he had refused.
He had insisted that it should be properly arranged on a plate so he could savor it.
Not willing to fall behind, he immediately picked up the second piece.
The tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture left him dazed for a moment.
Was this really meat?
Huo Yuan had never been particularly interested in food.
Yan Fengshou often took leave on Sundays to go to the state-run restaurant for a proper meal, yet Huo Yuan could happily stay in the mess hall and eat the same repetitive dishes.
Sometimes, when they went into the mountains for missions, they would catch rabbits or pheasants and roast them on the spot.
But the taste was rarely as good as he imagined. Most of the time, the meat was tough or even burnt.
So Huo Yuan had never imagined that meat could actually taste this good.
He slowly finished one piece.
When he raised his head again, there was already nothing left on the plate except some sauce.
The next second, a hand reached over from beside him, picked up the plate, and poured the remaining sauce over some rice.
“Yan Fengshou!” Huo Yuan ground out through clenched teeth.
They had been brothers for many years, so Yan Fengshou wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He grinned.
“Huo Yuan, can’t you be a little more generous? You’ll be able to eat food made by Comrade Qianxing every day from now on, but we’ll never have that opportunity. Have some pity on us.”
Hearing that, Huo Yuan’s mood strangely settled down a little, though he was still somewhat displeased.
Seeing how clearly his anger showed, Qian Xing secretly laughed and leaned over to soothe him.
“Don’t worry. I saved some for you in the pot.”
Huo Yuan’s brows immediately relaxed, and even his gaze toward Yan Fengshou became noticeably calmer.
Yan Fengshou got goosebumps under that gaze and stopped paying attention to him, desperately shoveling food into his bowl.
Wah, why was even Qian Xing’s vegetable dishes so delicious?!
Was this really the same potato he ate every day?!
His unsightly eating manner made Huo Yuan frown repeatedly.
He was just about to tell Zhou Maishu to keep her husband in check when he turned his head and saw that Zhou Maishu was eating even more frantically than him.
Chopsticks flew back and forth across the table like a battle, with everyone afraid that someone else might get one bite more than them.
Only He Manqing sat angrily across the table without touching her chopsticks.
It wasn’t only because everyone was praising Song Qianxing’s cooking.
It was also because of her sister.
Her own sister was happily eating food cooked by her romantic rival and had completely forgotten about her!
Under her resentful stare, He Manhong finally spared a glance at her younger sister between bites.
“Qing’er, hurry up and eat. Don’t take your frustration out on the food.”
He Manqing snorted.
“I’m not eating! Who wants to eat her food?”
“Really not eating?”
“I’m not!”
“Then I’ll eat this piece of meat in your bowl for you. We can’t waste food.”
He Manqing’s eyes widened as she watched her sister pick up the piece of meat that He Manhong had originally put in her bowl.
She became even angrier!
After thinking about it for a while, she finally picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
The moment a salt-and-pepper loach entered her mouth, her eyes widened.
Song Qianxing wasn’t completely useless after all.
Her cooking skills were something He Manqing probably wouldn’t be able to match in her entire lifetime.
The more He Manqing thought about it, the more sour she felt.
And the sourer she felt, the more aggressively she reached for the dishes.
What was this Dinghu vegetarian assortment?
Why was it so fresh and delicious?!
He Manqing angrily picked up another bite.
Seeing another person reaching for the food, everyone at the table immediately sped up.
By the time the meal was over, the only sounds in the room were the clinking of chopsticks against bowls and plates.
There wasn’t a word spoken.
Qian Xing wanted to eat too, but unfortunately, her stomach, which she hadn’t finished nursing back to health, couldn’t keep up. She could only put down her chopsticks and watch everyone else eat.
There were only ten dishes on the table, but each dish had actually been prepared in duplicate—twenty plates in total.
Before long, every last bit had been devoured.
Even though Qian Xing felt that some of the food had gotten a little cold and its flavor had been affected, it did nothing to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm for eating.
The staple was a mixture of rice and millet, and everyone ate that with relish too.
Not even a single grain of rice remained in the pot.
Of everyone present, Xiang Ming ate the most.
Yan Fengshou had never been one to behave seriously, so he joked,
“Political Commissar, aren’t you afraid someone will say you’re showing favoritism by eating at Huo Yuan’s house?”
Xiang Ming clicked his tongue.
“What am I afraid of? Which company commander invites me to eat that I don’t go?”
Although the military had strict discipline, that didn’t mean ordinary social interactions between comrades and their families were forbidden.
There was nothing wrong with attending a newlywed couple’s wedding meal or a housewarming meal.
“Besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard gossip like what Comrade Zhu was saying today. I just want everyone to understand that eating a little meat isn’t something worth making such a fuss over. Reporting this person and that person every day… they’re really too idle.”
Hearing this, everyone present understood.
No wonder the political commissar had personally come to their home to investigate the matter.
He had simply been using this incident to make an example of someone and put an end to this kind of behavior.
Beside him, Yan Fengshou gave Huo Yuan an inquisitive look and quietly asked,
“You knew what the political commissar was really here for?”
Huo Yuan raised an eyebrow.
He’d guessed it.
Tsk.
This guy really was the true old fox.
Yan Fengshou thought to himself that no matter how clever Comrade Song was, she was still no match for this scheming old fox.
There would certainly be plenty of excitement in their lives from now on.
Meanwhile, in the Qian family’s home just one wall away, things were far from cheerful.