After changing into a duck-egg blue knee-length dress, Tang Jin walked out of the room again.
The sight shocked Mu Heng just as much as before. He stared at her, unable to look away.
When had this woman become so beautiful?Where was the village-girl outfit of red and green she used to wear?
What exactly had happened during the half month he had been away? And that sewing machine—where did it come from?
As a soldier and the family of a soldier, they weren’t allowed to take even a needle or thread from the masses.
He had to ask clearly.
“Where did the sewing machine come from?”
Tang Jin froze for a moment. For now, she didn’t want him to know about her cooperation with the clothing factory, so she couldn’t say it was a gift from Sister Shan.
“I bought it. Second-hand. Only cost a few dozen yuan.”
The explanation made sense. After all, the sewing machine wasn’t new.
“Where did you get the money? And what did you buy it for?” Mu Heng asked with some suspicion.
Even a second-hand sewing machine probably cost seventy or eighty yuan. When he left, he had only left her thirty.
His tone made Tang Jin feel uncomfortable.
So she replied coldly, “I earned the money myself. I bought it to make clothes.”
“You know how to make clothes?” Mu Heng asked in surprise.
He had never really known her past. He only knew she had finished high school, had three older brothers, and that her father was the village chief.
“Mm. The dress I’m wearing was made by me. And the camisole nightgown just now was also made by—”
Suddenly remembering the embarrassing scene earlier, Tang Jin stopped herself from finishing the sentence.
Her pause made Mu Heng also recall the camisole… and those two towering curves…
Cough, cough.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly changed the topic.
“Has your amnesia gotten better?”
“Not yet.” Tang Jin actually wanted to say she hadn’t lost her memory at all. But it didn’t seem like the right time.
“Then do you need any help? If not—”
“Yes.”
He hadn’t even finished speaking before Tang Jin cut him off.
“Help me deal with the turtle. We’re making soup later.”
After saying that, she went to the kitchen and brought out the soft-shell turtle.
Trying to slip away again? No way.
If he ran off again, he might disappear for another month. How was she supposed to build their relationship then?
She didn’t believe that with her beauty and intelligence, she couldn’t win him over.
Seeing the turtle crawling around in the basin, Mu Heng finally believed what Xiang Dong had said—she had indeed been going to the river to catch turtles lately.
He had drunk turtle soup before. Growing up in Beijing, it was served in big restaurants and was quite expensive. He also knew it was very nutritious.
But while he could kill people if necessary—and had killed poisonous snakes, rabbits, and wild boars in the forest—
He had never killed a turtle before.
“Do I chop it open with a knife?” Mu Heng asked, staring at its hard shell.
“I’ll tell you what to do. You do it.” Tang Jin tried to suppress her laughter. The man’s expression just now had been oddly cute.
“Alright.”
Mu Heng went to the kitchen and got a knife. He thought to himself that the shell looked so hard—if he couldn’t chop it open, would he be laughed at?
Watching Mu Heng grip the knife with both hands, ready to split the turtle down the middle, Tang Jin couldn’t help laughing again.
“First, flip the turtle over, shell facing down.”
“Oh.”
Mu Heng avoided its head, grabbed the body, and flipped it over.
Hmm… this side didn’t seem as hard as the shell. Probably easier to chop.
He raised the knife again, holding it tightly with both hands, preparing to cut it open from the belly.
Tang Jin burst out giggling.
“Hubby, you’re not supposed to split it down the middle. Cut from the head—either chop the head off or cut its windpipe.”
“From the head? It pulled its head in.”
Why did it feel like splitting it down the middle would be easier?
“Then make it stick out! Take a towel. I’ll lure its head out, and you quickly grab it with the towel, pull it out, and cut its windpipe.”
Tang Jin quickly went to get him a towel.
Mu Heng listened and thought—why does this sound like a coordinated combat operation?
Who exactly was the commander here?
Wasn’t he supposed to be the one giving orders?
Tang Jin picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a tiny shrimp with them, and dangled it near the turtle’s head. Soon the turtle stretched its neck out, opening its mouth to bite.
“Now! Hurry!”
Mu Heng immediately grabbed the turtle’s head with the towel, pulled it out forcefully, and brought down the knife.
But he used too much force—the entire head came off.
“Mm, Brother Heng is amazing. Now pour hot water over it—about eighty degrees. After thirty seconds, take it out and massage off the skin. Once that’s done, I’ll tell you the next step,” Tang Jin chattered nonstop.
Mu Heng looked completely stunned.
Still more steps?
Tang Jin had already gone back to the kitchen and started picking vegetables.
Helpless, Mu Heng poured hot water from the thermos into the basin and began scalding the turtle.
After counting to thirty, he took it out and started peeling off the skin. Surprisingly, it came off quite easily. Before long, the whole body was cleaned.
“What next? Chop it down the middle?” Mu Heng’s muffled voice came from behind.
Tang Jin looked up and laughed.
“Why do you keep wanting to split it in half? Cut around the shell in a circle and remove it. Throw away the organs and fat inside, then chop the meat into pieces.”
“Got it.”
The man followed her instructions and began removing the shell.
Tang Jin peeled potatoes while secretly smiling.
The two of them working together like this felt almost like an old married couple.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Tang Jin quickly stood up. It was probably Sister Xiulan and Lele.
Sure enough, Wu Xiulan stood at the door holding a chicken in her left hand and a chunk of pork in her right.
The moment she saw Tang Jin, she started talking loudly.
“I was only planning to buy a chicken, but the seller was packing up and sold me this piece of pork cheap. Look, it has a nice balance of fat and lean. Didn’t you say at the hospital that you’d treat me to braised pork someday?”
“You still remember that? I thought you’d forgotten,” Tang Jin joked.
“How could I forget? That was the first time you ever said you’d treat me to a meal. It shocked me. Until that pork reaches my mouth, I won’t forget it.”
Mu Heng felt puzzled.
When had these two gotten along so well?
Tang Jin actually had a friend now?
Before, no one paid attention to her—people avoided her like the plague.
“Oh! Battalion Commander Mu is back? Then does that mean my Zhang Guang is back too?”
Only when she reached the kitchen door did Wu Xiulan notice Mu Heng was home.
And he was actually helping in the kitchen?
Her jaw almost dropped.
Her own husband never stepped into the kitchen.
“Yes, I’m back. I have three days off,” Mu Heng replied.
Company Commander Zhang was his subordinate. The two worked well together and had a good relationship.
The moment Wu Xiulan heard Zhang Guang had returned, she got anxious. She had to go home and cook for her husband.
“Tang Jin, I’ll head back then. I won’t eat here. Zhang Guang can’t cook.”
“Sister-in-law, bring Brother Zhang over too. It’ll be livelier with more people. Lele, go call Uncle Xiang Dong too. Let him see whether this ugly turtle can actually be eaten—so he stops complaining about me catching them in the river.”
Tang Jin knew Xiang Dong had been worried about her on Mu Heng’s behalf. He had even tried to lend her money.
Inviting him for a meal was only fair.
Hearing Tang Jin arrange everything like this, Wu Xiulan felt relieved.
The braised pork hadn’t even reached her mouth yet. Taking the meat back now would be embarrassing. Besides, she didn’t have any vegetables left at home.
“Lele, go call your father, and then go get Uncle Xiang. Mom will stay here and help Auntie cook.”
“Okay!”
Hearing that his father was back, Lele happily ran off to call people.
Tang Jin quickly began kneading dough, preparing to make big plate chicken. Her favorite part was the stewed noodles in it. The weather was warm, so the dough would rise quickly.
After finishing with the turtle, Mu Heng gave the kitchen back to the two women and went to sit on the sofa reading a newspaper.
Originally, he hadn’t planned to eat at home.
But that woman’s nonstop chatter had summoned a whole group of people.
Leaving now would seem inappropriate.
Besides, he had been the one who prepared the turtle.
Yes.
He had a perfectly good reason to stay and eat.