After buying the ingredients, Tang Jin hurried straight to the kitchen.
First, she needed to prepare the softshell turtle—a process that was a little bloody.
Tang Jin’s comfort with handling the turtle came from her father. In her previous life, her father had been a surgeon.
He had wanted her to become a doctor too, so he often explained anatomy to her at home and demonstrated dissections on chickens, fish, and rabbits. Tang Jin had never been interested in medicine, but she loved food, so she had no fear of blood.
Later, with her passion for cooking growing through platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, she had personally handled everything, including killing softshell turtles.
She skipped the gory details here, planning to elaborate next time.
After cleaning the turtle, she cut it into pieces, washed and chopped the chicken, and put both into a pot of water. Once it boiled, she skimmed off the foam.
Then she added ginger slices, green onion segments, cooking wine, and other seasonings, letting it simmer over low heat for over an hour.
During this time, she also cut potatoes and mushrooms, preparing them for later.
In a hot wok, she added oil, then green onions, ginger slices, garlic, doubanjiang, dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, white angelica root, nutmeg, and bay leaves, frying until aromatic. Then she added the remaining chicken, stir-frying on high heat for a few minutes.
Next, she added soy sauce and cooking wine for color and to remove the raw smell, then poured in enough hot water and let it simmer on low heat.
While the stew cooked, Tang Jin kneaded some dough. She added a pinch of salt and kneaded until soft, then divided it into several portions and rolled each into an oval about the thickness of a coin. She brushed oil on each piece and let them rest—the handmade noodle sheets were ready.
About an hour later, she added the potatoes and mushrooms to the simmering chicken. After a few minutes, she added sugar and salt, then increased the heat to reduce the sauce.
The fragrant big plate chicken was done.
By this time, the turtle soup had also finished simmering. She sprinkled a bit of salt and chopped green onions.
Everything was ready—just in time for lunch.
Tang Jin carried the turtle soup in one hand, the big plate chicken in the other, and held a few noodle sheets between her fingers, heading to Commander Lu’s house.
Commander Lu lived in a two-story, private courtyard at the back of the housing complex. Such courtyards were reserved for regiment-level or higher officers.
Tang Jin was familiar with the area from before. She remembered Zhang Peipei lived nearby, and in the past, she had been provoked by her into causing trouble, leading to her bad reputation. Now she understood Zhang Peipei’s motives—she liked Mu Heng and had tried to stir trouble for her own benefit.
Lost in thought, Tang Jin arrived at Commander Lu’s gate. Since her hands were full, she lightly kicked the iron gate with her foot.
Guo Suona opened the door, momentarily failing to recognize her.
“Who’s there?” she asked, squinting, feeling a bit familiar.
“Sis-in-law, don’t you remember me? I’m Tang Jin,” Tang Jin replied with a sweet smile.
“You’re Tang Jin? I didn’t get a good look last time—you’ve grown so beautiful.”
Upon hearing her name, Guo Suona became warm and welcoming. Tang Jin was their lifesaver, after all.
“I came to deliver some turtle soup for you and Commander Lu,” Tang Jin said, smiling with two deep dimples.
Guo Suona hurriedly accepted the large bowl of chicken and laughed: “You’re such a child. We haven’t even thanked you properly, and here you are bringing food. How can we let you do that?”
At that moment, a military jeep pulled up.
Commander Lu got out of the vehicle and froze for a moment upon seeing Tang Jin carrying the dishes. Then he smiled:
“Little Tang! I thought you were just being polite today, but you actually brought soup.”
“I always keep my word,” Tang Jin said earnestly.
Seeing her serious expression, Lu Wen Sheng wanted to laugh: “Alright, alright. You even know idioms now? Come on, let’s go inside and see if the soup is really worth your trouble catching that turtle.”
Back inside, the table was set. It seemed Guo Suona had already prepared lunch for the two of them.
Tang Jin smiled awkwardly. Before she could speak, Lu Wen Sheng said, “Wife, put away the dishes you made for us tonight. First, let’s taste Little Tang’s cooking.”
“Okay,” Guo Suona said, placing the big plate chicken on the table and storing her own dishes in the fridge. Tang Jin envied her—having a fridge must have cost over a thousand yuan. She would have to earn enough to get one herself.
“Little Tang, sit down,” Lu Wen Sheng’s voice brought Tang Jin back to the moment.
She set the turtle soup on the table and sat down.
“Commander, Sis-in-law, try this turtle soup. It’s delicious,” she said proudly, waiting for praise.
Lu Wen Sheng took a spoonful, initially skeptical, but was amazed by the fresh flavor.
“Mm, delicious! Truly delicious!” He couldn’t resist serving himself another small bowl.
Guo Suona tried a spoonful and was equally captivated. In her lifetime, she had never tasted such a flavorful soup.
Both of them showered Tang Jin with compliments, making her feel elated.
“Try the big plate chicken too—it’s my specialty,” she said, propping her chin on her hands like a child waiting for candy.
“Mm, delicious. The chicken is tender and flavorful, spicy and aromatic,” Guo Suona said, enjoying the heat.
“The mushrooms are also perfectly cooked. Little Tang, your skills surpass even those of the state-run restaurants’ chefs,” Lu Wen Sheng praised.
Tang Jin’s eyes curved in delight.
“Little Jin, why aren’t you eating?” Guo Suona noticed Tang Jin had not touched a bite, merely watching them.
“There’s food left at home. I’ll eat later, or it’ll go bad. You two eat first; I’ll cook the noodles now,” Tang Jin said, heading to the kitchen confidently.
“I’ll help,” Guo Suona offered.
“Sis-in-law, eat your dish—it’ll get cold. I’ll be quick,” Tang Jin said.
Soon, she returned with the noodles, poured them into the big plate chicken, and stirred. “Try it! These noodles are perfectly chewy.”
Lu Wen Sheng tried a bite—spicy, numbing, and chewy—it was excellent. With Little Tang’s skills, Mu Heng wanting a divorce was truly missing out.
In the end, everything was finished—soup, dishes, noodles—all cleaned up.
“Little Tang, your cooking skills are amazing!” Lu Wen Sheng couldn’t help but praise again.
“If you think it’s good, Commander, I can catch two fish from the river tomorrow and make you some braised fish,” Tang Jin said, raising her hand in a playful salute.
Hearing “catch fish from the river,” Lu Wen Sheng frowned. Though he wanted to taste her cooking, going into the river was dangerous.
Remembering her morning struggles, he laughed: “Little Tang, why not just buy fish at the market? I’ll give you money. Let’s not risk the river—it’s deep.”
He pulled out a ten-yuan note and offered it.
Tang Jin politely pushed his hand away. “No need to buy. Fish from the river are free—and catching them is fun!”
“Sis-in-law?” Guo Suona frowned at the idea of a young girl risking herself in the river.
“Uncle? I just called you ‘sis-in-law.’ If I call you ‘Commander,’ that’s distant; if ‘Uncle,’ too close. I don’t know what to call you,” Tang Jin said, scratching her head.
“Don’t overthink it—call us godfather and godmother. I’ll take you as my goddaughter,” Lu Wen Sheng said.
He liked this clever, talented little girl. With her cooking skills, officially calling her his goddaughter made sense—and now she could legitimately ‘freeload’ meals.
Tang Jin blinked, glanced at Guo Suona, who was smiling approvingly, and quickly nodded, bowing to both of them: “Yes! Of course! Godfather, godmother!”
Then, smiling mischievously, she held out her hands: “Godfather, godmother, don’t I deserve a welcoming gift?”
“You little greedy one! Of course you do.” Lu Wen Sheng laughed and handed her ten ten-yuan notes.
Guo Suona wasn’t to be outdone—she removed her jade bracelet and placed it on Tang Jin’s wrist.
Tang Jin didn’t understand jade, but it looked high quality, probably worth thousands.
“Godmother, isn’t this a bit too much?”
“For my goddaughter, it has to be the best,” Guo Suona replied warmly.
She had only one son stationed in Beijing and rarely saw him. Having a thoughtful little one like Tang Jin made her genuinely happy. The jade bracelet looked beautiful on Tang Jin’s wrist.
“Thank you, godfather and godmother! Tomorrow I’ll make braised carp and steamed crabs to honor you,” Tang Jin said, raising her right hand in a military-style salute.
The two of them laughed heartily at the childlike gesture.