Reborn Soul: Me and My Family

In the kitchen, Zhou Xiaoba was helping to light the fire. Zhou Guilan added water to the pot and let it burn. There was nothing left in the cupboard. A lot of things had happened at home recently, so all the things were placed in the cellar.

The cellar was dug by her own family, so Zhou Guilan didn't think it was a big deal even if her son's comrades saw it. Besides, they rarely came here, and the things were all downstairs, so Zhou Guilan was open about it.

"Xiao Ba, you watch the fire and the water. Auntie will go to the cellar to get some vegetables." After everyone nodded, Zhou Guilan opened the entrance to the cellar and slowly leaned down.

The reason why they dared to expose the cellar like this was because the last time the eldest son came back from the Chinese New Year, he told them that in the area where they were stationed, almost every household in the village had dug a cellar specifically for storing grain and vegetables.

The temperature underground is inherently lower than that on the ground. Ever since what happened last time, Mother Zhou often asked Ouyang Qing to put the ingredients and things that would be used in several days in the cellar every two days.

In order to prevent the meat from spoiling, Ouyang Zhen dismantled the freezer of a refrigerator in the space, modified it himself, and embedded it in the wooden cabinet. The cabinet was modified in his daughter's space using his mind.

One advantage of this kind of wood is that it will not deform or mold even if it is soaked in water. After repeated tests, it was determined that the wood in the space has a certain antibacterial effect. This is also good because it is difficult to find the difference of this cabinet unless it is taken apart.

Finally, I secretly connected a wire to the light cord and hid it behind the cabinet. Although the homemade simple refrigerator with electricity could not make ice cubes, it could keep basic meat and vegetables for daily use for several days without going bad.

The father and daughter smiled and said that they would study it further when they have time. The voltage is not stable now so they can only do this much. They will try to expand the scope in the future and build an ice-making area before summer. This way, they won’t have to hide it from their family if they want to have some cold drinks as a family in summer.

Of course, another advantage was that it prevented her daughter from having to bring things out every day. Thinking that there were so many people and that they were all young men with big appetites, Zhou Guilan took another bundle of noodles, packed 10 large tomatoes, and filled most of a large enamel plate of beef that had been braised a few days ago before, and then she went up contentedly.

Zhou Xiaoba was not curious about this kind of cellar. Almost every household near their base had one, and he was used to it. Although there were few things in the city, there were still some. Zhou Xiaoba, who was sitting and making fire, had his back facing the exit, so when Zhou Ma came up, he didn't notice that she had taken so many things.

When everything was put on the table, Zhou Xiaoba saw it and said hurriedly, "Aunt, you are too polite. Just make something that can fill my stomach."

Seeing the water boiling, Zhou Guilan quickly put the noodles into the pot. As expected, there were not enough noodles, so she quickly went to the table and grabbed a handful. "Child, we don't usually get to see each other very often. Time doesn't allow for that now. Otherwise, I would have prepared a few more delicious dishes for you to try. Besides, it's a rare occasion for you to come to my house for a meal, so I must let you all taste my specialty noodles!"

While they were talking, the tomatoes were washed. Zhou Guilan continued, "You are lucky. A few days ago, my neighbor got some beef from a relative in the countryside. The amount was a bit much, so he gave some to my family. Today is a good time for you to try it. Xiao Ba, just keep an eye on the noodles for me."

Seeing that the fire was quite big, Zhou Xiaoba went to the stove and watched the noodles. There were so many noodles in the pot that he had to stir them with a spatula from time to time. Zhao Guilan chopped the tomatoes skillfully and then cut the beef into cubes in a few seconds.

While I was busy with all this, I lit the small stove. This time I took a larger pot and heated up the oil. After the oil was hot, I put the tomatoes in the pot, stir-fried them quickly twice, and added some salt. After the tomato juice came out, I poured the chopped beef in, stir-fried it again, added the pre-cooked water, covered the pot and let it simmer slowly.

"Xiao Ba, the noodles are almost ready. You don't have to work anymore. Sit down and rest for a while." As he spoke, he took a clean basin, scooped up the boiling hot noodles with a colander and chopsticks, and put them aside.

"Aunt, your cooking skills are really good. I feel hungry just by smelling the food. I'm going to eat another bowl later," Zhou Xiaoba said with a smile. Although so many things happened today, Zhou Guilan was in a good mood because she thought that she would not have to worry about anything in the future.

After hearing what the child said, she smiled even more and said, "Okay, you all eat more. There is enough noodles today. If you like it, your aunt will make it for you next time you come home."

It seems that this child is the same age as my son was when he first joined the army. It is not easy to leave your hometown. Alas, no matter what era it is, the soldiers are the ones who suffer the most and are the most tired. No matter what happens, they have to rush to the front line.

They are also other people's children, or even the only ones in other people's families! Nothing is taken for granted in this world, but it is these people who can make their country stronger and stronger.

When the beef was almost cooked, Zhou Guilan adjusted the flavor of the beef soup first. She also went to the cellar to take out a small jar of kimchi, took a large ceramic bowl, and scooped out a big bowl of kimchi.

Then he took out all the larger bowls in the house, washed them quickly, quickly added noodles into the bowls, and took a spoon to add the stewed soft beef and soup into each bowl, his movements moving smoothly.

Zhou Guilan gave the first bowl of noodles to Zhou Xiaoba and asked him to eat first. Zhou Xiaoba wanted to go out and call others to come in to eat together, but Zhou's mother stopped him: "Don't worry, sit here and eat first, I'll go call them."

After quickly bringing the noodles to the table one by one, Zhou Ma went to the kitchen and only spoke to her eldest son. Ouyang Bai turned around and went to his room, saying that he would watch over everyone and make sure they ate the noodles first.

The group of people had already smelled a faint fragrance when they were in the house. Now that they could eat one after another, they didn't hesitate to rush to the kitchen. They saw that Zhou Xiaoba had already eaten half a bowl of food, and the whole house was filled with fragrance.

Everyone no longer cared about anything else and picked up their bowls to eat. "Eat slowly, don't be impatient. There's plenty of noodles today. There's more in the pot."

While they were feasting on the food, they all praised their aunt's cooking skills. They said they had never eaten such delicious noodles in their lives, and today they finally got to experience it.

With the delicious food, everyone was more sweet-mouthed than the other, and Zhou Guilan kept smiling from praising it. She also walked to the door, picked up a bowl of noodles with soup and handed it to her second son who was about to come in.

Ouyang Zhou saw that everyone was eating except his eldest brother, and was afraid that his mother had forgotten, so he planned to bring a bowl to his eldest brother first. However, as soon as he reached the door, his mother put the noodles in his hand.

I didn't know what to say for a moment, so I took the bowl and turned to leave. Fortunately, Zhou Guilan went down to the cellar before cooking the noodles and brought them up, otherwise, that amount of noodles might not be enough to fill these people.

The big pot of noodles was almost finished, and even Ouyang Bo, who was guarding the room, asked his second brother to come over and add another bowl of noodles. Seeing that everyone had finished eating and rubbing their full stomachs, Zhou Guilan swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth: (If you are not full, Auntie will make you some more).