“So… how are you planning to ‘discipline’ me with family rules?”
Su Hongxia’s voice was soft and alluring, like a feather lightly brushing against Lu Huaizhou’s already tense nerves.
Her warm breath fell against his neck, sending waves of shivers through him.
Lu Huaizhou’s body stiffened completely.
He looked down at the woman beneath him, who was smiling like a sly little fox. Her bare face, free of makeup, looked smooth and luminous under the dim yellow light. Those sparkling eyes were filled with mischief—and a faint hint of provocation.
The self-control he had always been proud of collapsed in that moment.
A strange, powerful impulse surged through him, urging him to kiss her hard—to show her with actions what happened when someone provoked a hot-blooded man.
But when his gaze fell on her slender neck and those clear eyes that held a trace of trust and dependence, all his impulses were forcefully suppressed by reason.
He couldn’t.
He couldn’t take advantage of her, and he certainly couldn’t hurt her.
In the end, Lu Huaizhou squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.
“Go to sleep!”
After saying that, he practically scrambled off her in embarrassment, turned his back to her, and faced away—his stiff back and the back of his head silently expressing his awkwardness and frustration.
Watching his tense shoulders and the faint redness at the tips of his ears, Su Hongxia couldn’t help but giggle quietly under the blanket.
This man was adorably innocent.
That night, Lu Huaizhou stayed awake once again.
Meanwhile, Su Hongxia hugged the blanket and slept soundly.
..
Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the military compound became a little unusual.
With Chief Chen labeling Su Hongxia’s “custom cooking” as military–civilian mutual assistance, her little side business suddenly became legitimate.
Every day, military wives came smiling to her door—carrying fish, meat, a few coins, and ration coupons—hoping she would cook something delicious to improve their meals.
And Su Hongxia welcomed them all.
Braised fish, sweet-and-sour ribs, twice-cooked pork…
Under her hands, ordinary home dishes turned fragrant and irresistible. The entire compound was soon filled with a blissful yet almost sinful aroma.
The doorstep of the Lu family was practically worn down by visitors.
But the good times didn’t last long.
A week later, a new problem appeared—shortage of supplies.
In this era, everything required ration coupons. Meat, eggs, and cooking oil were especially scarce.
Although the military compound had slightly better supply than ordinary areas, it was still limited.
After everyone’s recent “splurging,” many households had already used up their meat coupons. Even the pork stall at the supply and marketing cooperative had become quiet.
“Sigh… how are we supposed to live without meat coupons?”
“Exactly! Hongxia spoiled our appetites, and now we have to go back to pickles and corn buns. Who can stand that?”
Outside the supply store, several military wives gathered together, sighing in frustration.
Just then, Su Hongxia walked over casually with a bamboo basket on her back.
She glanced at the empty meat counter, then looked at a large wooden bucket under the chopping table filled with pig skin, fish heads, fish bones, and fish offal.
Her eyes lit up.
“Sister Liu,” she greeted the sales clerk—who had once cheated her before—“no meat left on the counter?”
Clerk Liu no longer dared give Su Hongxia a hard time. After all, this woman now had connections with Chief Chen’s family.
She quickly forced a smile.
“That’s right, Hongxia. The meat’s all sold out. The next batch won’t arrive for three days.”
“I see…” Su Hongxia sighed regretfully.
Then she pointed at the bucket full of scraps and asked innocently, “Sister Liu, what’s in that bucket? Why are you throwing it away? It looks like such a waste.”
The clerk glanced at the foul-smelling scraps and curled her lips.
“Oh, those? Just pig skin and fish guts nobody wants. They stink too much—dogs wouldn’t even eat them. Of course we throw them away.”
The surrounding wives chimed in.
“That pig skin is tough as leather. You can’t even boil it soft.”
“And fish guts smell terrible. The whole house stinks if you cook them.”
But Su Hongxia looked as if she had discovered a treasure.
“Really? Even dogs won’t eat them? That’s perfect!”
She clapped her hands excitedly.
“To be honest, the big yellow dog at my parents’ village loves these things! How about you sell them to me? I’ll take them back to feed the dog. At least it won’t go to waste.”
Everyone looked at her like she was an idiot.
Paying money to buy garbage for a dog?
Her brain really must be a little strange.
Clerk Liu was secretly delighted.
This fool really had money to waste.
She rolled her eyes and pretended to hesitate.
“Well… these are supposed to be collected for disposal. It’s not really something we sell.”
“Come on, Sister Liu.” Su Hongxia slipped fifty cents into her hand. “Just help me out. It’s hot out—these things will stink anyway. For fifty cents, I’ll take the whole bucket.”
Fifty cents for a bucket of trash?
Clerk Liu was overjoyed.
“Alright, alright! Since you insist, I’ll do you the favor. Hurry and take it away!”
And so, under the gazes of everyone watching the “sucker,” Su Hongxia happily poured the entire bucket of smelly pig skin and fish scraps into her basket and carried it home.
Not far away, Lin Wan’er happened to see everything.
Dressed in a fashionable synthetic dress, she looked at Su Hongxia carrying the foul-smelling basket with open disgust.
A woman who could cook Wensi Tofu Soup at the party… yet secretly picked up garbage that even dogs wouldn’t eat?
A country bumpkin would always remain a country bumpkin.
She sneered and turned away.
In her mind, she and that woman simply belonged to different worlds.
Su Hongxia, of course, had no time to care about anyone else’s opinions.
She carried her basket of “treasures” home happily.
When she entered the courtyard, Lu Huaizhou was chopping firewood.
Although he still used his crutch, his daily movement had mostly recovered.
The moment he saw what she had brought back, his handsome face darkened.
“Su Hongxia! What nonsense have you bought again?”
The strong fishy smell made his stomach churn.
“It’s treasure!” Su Hongxia said proudly, putting down the basket.
“Tonight I’ll show you what it means to turn trash into magic!”
Then she carried everything into the kitchen and began working noisily.
She first cleaned the pig skin, removing the hair and blanching it. Then she scraped off the excess fat until the skin became translucent.
She cut it into thin strips and simmered it with water, ginger, and cooking wine.
After more than an hour, the broth turned thick and milky.
She filtered it, poured it into an enamel tray, added roasted soybeans and diced carrots, and left it to cool in water.
Next she dealt with the fish offal.
She carefully cleaned the intestines, liver, roe, and swim bladders, rubbing them with cooking wine and vinegar to remove the smell.
Then she stir-fried them in hot oil with ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, and her secret spices.
With cooking wine, soy sauce, vinegar, and fresh chilies added, the dish quickly became a pot of spicy fish offal bursting with aroma.
The smell was bold and powerful.
The fishy odor vanished completely, replaced by an intense spicy fragrance that quickly overpowered the lingering smell of beggar’s chicken in the courtyard.
By evening, the pig skin broth had cooled into a clear, jelly-like block.
Su Hongxia cut it into pieces and drizzled it with a sauce made of garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil.
A plate of crystal-clear pig skin jelly was ready.
At dinner, she served the spicy fish offal and the crystal pig skin jelly.
Lu Huaizhou looked at the dishes with deep suspicion.
Were these really made from the smelly scraps she brought home?
He cautiously tried a piece of pig skin jelly.
It was cool, smooth, and pleasantly chewy, perfectly paired with the sour-spicy sauce.
Then he tried the fish offal.
The roe was fragrant, the liver tender, the intestines crisp, and the swim bladder springy. Wrapped in spicy seasoning, the flavors blended perfectly.
That night, Lu Huaizhou ate three large bowls of rice with those two “scrap dishes.”
..
The next morning, Su Hongxia divided the remaining pig skin jelly and spicy fish offal into small bowls and brought them to the courtyard entrance.
“Sisters, come try something new! Fresh snacks for drinking. If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay!”
The military wives who had mocked her yesterday had already been tempted by the smell all night.
They rushed over with empty bowls.
“What is this, Hongxia? It smells amazing!”
“This is from the pig skin yesterday? How is there no smell at all?”
After tasting the cool jelly and spicy fish offal, everyone was instantly conquered.
“It’s delicious! Hongxia, how much?”
Su Hongxia smiled.
“No money. It’s hot, food spoils easily. One bowl for two grain coupons or one foot of cloth coupon.”
Two grain coupons for a bowl of meat dish?
It was practically free!
“I’ll trade!”
“Give me pig skin jelly!”
“I want fish offal!”
In less than ten minutes, all the bowls were gone.
Su Hongxia’s pockets were suddenly filled with thick stacks of ration coupons.
In this era, coupons were sometimes even more useful than money.
Just as she was about to pack up and go home, an unpleasant voice sounded from behind the crowd.
“Well, well… isn’t this our great hero, Regiment Commander Lu?”
“How tragic. Now you have to rely on your wife selling this kind of low-class food just to trade for grain coupons?”
Everyone turned.
Lin Wan’er stood there in a brand-new dress, carrying a delicate mesh bag filled with chocolate and malted milk powder, looking at Lu Huaizhou and Su Hongxia with a mocking smile.