Heart fire

There is a row of green trash cans against the wall at the back door of the kitchen. Despite the hot weather, there is not even a flying mosquito and fly, and the cleaning is very clean.A white puppy curled up in a cardboard box in the corner. Hearing someone approaching, he poked his head out vigilantly and barked twice.

"Hush..." Zhou Tong raised a finger to his mouth and softly comforted him, "Don't call me Xiao Bian, it's us."

Xiao Bian is an abandoned and not-so-pure West Highlander. The military doctor judged that it was about two or three years old, and it was a younger sister.The retractable door outside can't stop its small size at all. Two or three days a week, it will sneak into the camp to beg for food when the on-duty staff is not paying attention.Once when I was drilling in, I happened to meet the opening door. It was caught in the gap and almost squashed. Fortunately, it was discovered by sharp-eyed soldiers in time, so it got such a name.

The cardboard box was specially prepared by Fang Jianhua. After a long time, everyone got used to going to check the post when entering and leaving the kitchen to see if this non-staff "dog member" came to work on time today.

It must have been treated badly. There are so many soldiers in the team, Xiao Bian is only close to Fang Jianhua, but it seems to be very clear that as long as it is wearing this green dress, it will not bully it, drive away, beat and scold it It's a good man who will give it something to eat.

So when he heard Zhou Tong's voice, he calmed down, chased his tail and turned around in the cardboard box twice, found a comfortable position to lie down again, and listened to the two people outside pushing open the back door of the kitchen and walking in gently, feeling at ease fell into dreamland.

As if he was doing something shady, Zhou Tong's back looked like a familiar man who had committed crimes many times. As soon as he entered the door, he accurately groped for a row of switches on the wall and pressed the one on the far side.Xi Yang followed behind him, calm on the surface, but his heart was pounding, feeling even more nervous than when he first entered the fire scene that year.

In the spacious and tidy kitchen, the white light emitted by a light tube was only enough to illuminate a corner of the place, like a spotlight pointing to the center of the stage in the darkness, making this scene look a bit hazy and ambiguous, giving people in it a sense of relief. Small pieces of their own space.

The canteen of the army can be said to be a paradise for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.A long row of stainless steel cooking tables and sinks are cleaned spotlessly, the smoke exhaust equipment is not a trace of oil, and the shelves are full of large blue plastic baskets, in which eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes are neatly stacked, and there are bundles of weight Green onions and leeks of the same length, like beans, have been washed and cleaned.Bottles and cans are sorted and sorted like a neat queue. More than a dozen bags of flour and tofu are stacked together. If you don’t look carefully, you may think it is a folded army quilt. Even seasonings such as star anise are stacked in an orderly manner. Inside the box, it is like a work of art that has been painstakingly crafted. Taking any one away will destroy its perfection.

Half of Zhou Tong's body was almost buried in the freezer. After carefully searching for a long time, he said disappointedly: "It seems that there are no more dumplings..."

The cold air overflowing from the freezer made Xi Yang unconsciously take two steps back. "Then eat whatever you want."

How can I cook casually for the trainer.Zhou Tong straightened up, unbuttoned his cuff buttons and asked, "What do you like to eat?"

Seeing his confident look, Xi Yang asked with a smile, "What will you do?"

Naturally, there was no problem with cooking, but Zhou Tong was clumsy at unbuttoning with his backhand. "I can make whatever you want."

The tone was not small but very serious, Xi Yang seemed to be moved, and blurted out without thinking: "I want to eat fish soup and rice."

Zhou Tong was still dealing with those buttons, and raised his head in surprise when he heard this: "Huh?"

"Hmm..." Xi Yang was also taken aback by his sudden thought, and hurried forward to grab Zhou Tong's wrist, help him unbutton it, and said with his head down, "You're just kidding, you can do whatever you want." All right."

Zhou Tong stared blankly, watching the trainer carefully fold up his sleeves with a pair of white and thin hands, and roll them up to the elbows neatly.

"When you said just now that you can cook whatever you want, it made me a little homesick." Xi Yang grabbed one and then went to catch the other. This slow and meticulous process made him gradually relax. "I was a picky eater when I was young, and I only liked to eat fish made by my mother, and I liked to use fish soup to soak rice."

"Okay." In the blink of an eye, both sleeves were rolled up.Xi Yang raised his head, looked at Zhou Tong with a fiery gaze, and said with a smile, "It's too complicated to make fish, I'll just talk about it, let's cook noodles..."

"Steamed or braised?"

Tonight's trainer is extremely lovable in everything he says and does.Zhou Tong automatically ignored the last sentence. Seeing that he was silent, he turned around and took out a frozen fish from the freezer, held it in his hand and confirmed to him again: "What kind does Auntie make?"

Just one night, one night shouldn't be too extravagant.Xi Yang read the absolute seriousness and persistence from Zhou Tong's eyes, and finally let go of the last scruples at this moment.

"Braised."

The atmosphere changed instantly, and Zhou Tong also became happy: "Okay, no problem." He closed the door of the freezer, took a large bowl from the high shelf without any effort, and unscrewed it. The faucet was filled with half a bowl of water, and the fish was put in it to defrost.

After finishing all this, he went to pick out the side dishes and condiments that he needed, and took down two aprons hanging on the wall, one for himself to wear, and the other for Xi Yang.

Xi Yang took it without knowing why.After Zhou Tong finished dressing himself, seeing that the trainer was still standing there blankly, he took the apron out of his hand again, shook it off and put it on his head.

When it was time to tie the belt around his waist, I wanted to tell Xi Yang to turn around, but half a step behind Xi Yang was the wall, Zhou Tong asked him to raise his arms without thinking, and surrounded him from the front with a hugging posture , Said while tying it: "I'm not asking you to help me, don't children have to wear a bib when they eat, don't get your uniform dirty later, it's not easy to wash."

At the moment when his hands were raised in the air at a loss, and the voice was close to his ears, no one knew how much Xi Yang wanted to indulge himself into this warm embrace.

...

The time for the fish jelly is not long, and the time for washing rice and cooking is almost gone.Xi Yang leaned on the radiator by the pool, watching Zhou Tong skillfully scrape and clean the scales and belly of the fish, throw a few flower knives on the chopping board, rub salt on the fish body, and stuff a few slices of ginger and green onion Go in, put it aside and wait for the fish to go.Then he washed his hands and began to chop garlic. The strong muscles and veins of the forearm appeared and disappeared according to the strength. The speed of raising and lowering the knife was very beautiful.

He also heard him muttering: "It would be great if there was Laba garlic. Don't the northerners like to eat Laba garlic? I will tell Uncle Fang in winter, marinate a few bottles, and you can try the taste next time you make it. Is it different?"

"You should cut some fatty meat and refine it. The fish will be more fragrant. But the meat is too hard to melt."

"Grass carp is not good. You don't eat this kind in Jiangzhou. There are too many spines. You must be careful when eating it later. Hey instructor, have you ever eaten saury? My brother said that we could eat it every day when we were young. The ones that were just harvested are very fresh, but unfortunately I don’t even remember them. Now the quantity is small, and the government prohibits overfishing, so I can’t even buy them. I’ll make them for you if I have the chance.”

Everything that needs to be cut between speeches has been cut.Zhou Tong moved aside to heat the oil, and Xi Yang followed him, staring at him putting his palm into the pot to test the temperature of the oil, and could not help but grab his arm, fearing that he would get burned if he got too close.

"How can you taste it if you can't buy it?"

The temperature is transmitted along the arms to the palms, which is a completely different burning sensation that they are familiar with and experienced countless times.

"Then I'll ask Wen Yue to go down to the river and catch two for you." Zhou Tong chuckled, shifted the spatula to the other hand, turned down the fire a little bit, and stared at the small bubbles on the oil surface, a little Guiltily said: "I... dare not go into the water."

"No, you're good at cooking, and you don't pick ingredients." Xi Yang let go of his hand for fear of hindering him, but didn't notice that Zhou Tong curled his lips in disappointment.

Zhou Tong turned the marinated fish over and raised his chin to signal Xi Yang to look at the shelf next to him: "Instructor, help me get the cornstarch."

"Natural powder..." Xi Yang picked up the bottles and jars on the shelf to look at them one by one, and unscrewed the lid to smell them if he couldn't tell, but he choked and sneezed.

The oil temperature is already sufficient, and the fish will burn if it is delayed.Zhou Tong turned his head and saw that he was holding a bottle of pepper powder in his hand. He quickly took it and put it aside, then reached over his head, took a bottle of white seasoning, poured it on the palm of his hand and rubbed it on the fish. I still have to take some time to observe him: "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I agreed to ask you to help me. Would you like some water?"

Xi Yang rubbed his red eyes and nose, and waved his hands awkwardly.Before throwing the fish into the pot, Zhou Tong said to him again: "Quickly step back a little, and be careful not to be splashed by oil."

It is shameful enough not to know raw powder. How can a person who goes into the fire every now and then be afraid of this oily fume.Instead of retreating, Xi Yang moved forward, moved closer to Zhou Tong, poked his head and stared at the fish in the pot, and said, "I...let me see if it's the same as my mother's... ..”

The "Zi" fish skin immediately becomes crispy when touched with boiling oil, and a puff of fragrant white smoke rises from the pot.

Zhou Tong protected Xi Yang with his body, and turned the spatula to fry the fish until golden on both sides, but the fish meat did not fall apart at all.Then take it out for later use, re-pour the oil into the hot pan, add pepper, aniseed, onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant, then throw the fish in, add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, salt and sugar, pour a little cooking wine and sprinkle a handful of white pepper, put water Cover the fish body, cover the pot and turn down the heat to low, wipe the sweat from the forehead, and you're done: "Okay. Wait a little longer, and you can eat when the juice is collected."

Drinking the ice-cold soda and waiting quietly, the fragrance coming out of the pot is getting stronger and stronger, just smelling it makes people swallow their saliva uncontrollably. 15 minutes passed quickly, Xi Yang waited eagerly with an empty plate, Zhou Tong was so soft-hearted, scooped out a little soup with a spatula, blow it cool and put it to his mouth, he laughed when he finished licking it Smacking his mouth as he said it was delicious, he couldn't help rubbing his lips with the back of his hand: "Instructor, you are like a cat waiting to eat fish."

The soup stains on the mouth were wiped off, and the instructor's cheeks were also flushed.

...

A spoonful of sweet and sour thick soup was poured on the snow-white rice. One fish and two bowls of rice. Zhou Tong also mixed two tomatoes with sugar to relieve the greasy. On the cooking table, with the faint light above your head, you grin your teeth with each mouthful of hot food, eating with relish.

Zhou Tong put a piece of fish belly that had been cleaned of thorns into Xi Yang's bowl, looked at the mole on his lip face to face, and watched him put the fish skin and chopped coriander aside, and almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Xi Yang noticed his small movements, looked up at him, and muttered with his mouth in his mouth: "What are you looking at me for? Eat quickly."

Zhou Tong smirked: "I don't know why, but I always think the one in your bowl is more fragrant."

"Really?" Xi Yang scooped up a spoonful of rice and sent it over upon hearing this. "Then let me eat it for you."

Zhou Tong swallowed a big mouthful with his hand, and sent a spoonful of his own rice: "Where's mine?"

Xi Yang intentionally only took a small sip: "Well, it's not as good as mine."

Zhou Tong smiled even more happily: "Instructor, do you think we are in love?"

"..." With a mouthful of rice choking in his throat, Xi Yang coughed so hard that his face turned red, his ears were red and his heart was piercing.Zhou Tong knew he had said something wrong, and he was so guilty that he handed tissues and slapped his back. After he recovered, he quickly apologized to him: "I'm sorry, instructor, I was talking nonsense, just joking."

Xi Yang tried his best to hide his panic, forced himself to calm down, sighed and said, "...you... have always been so direct..."

Zhou Tong was still blaming himself, and was busy reviewing his behavior back to the source: "Well... I'm really sorry, my mother left early, and Wen Yue said that I might... .Maybe there is a lack of female care, no one taught me how to express it euphemistically...."

"I just...want you to know how I felt at that moment, so..." He calmed down and said sincerely: "I will remember to think about it before I speak. …”

Sharing, communicating, expressing, and empathizing may be a strong desire that most people have ever had.And when the frankness becomes mature, the straightforwardness becomes tactful, and one day when you can drink water like a human being and know the weather, you will miss the sincere and straightforward self at the beginning.

"I didn't say you were bad."

Guessing that the other party was taking care of his own feelings, Zhou Tong suddenly felt a little sad, lowered his head and stirred the soup and rice in the bowl, and murmured: "Well...but I know it's not good... "

"No."

Xi Yang frowned slightly, and hit Zhou Tong on the head with the handle of the spoon earnestly and solemnly. "look at me."

"Don't change yourself. I don't know what other people think, maybe they don't like it, but it doesn't matter."

"I love so much."

At the moment of looking at each other, Zhou Tong's heart trembled when he saw the real eyes on the opposite side, and he couldn't help asking himself, why would I regard the instructor as a person who doesn't match his words and flatters him?

He rubbed his nose again, took another deep breath, and regained his former comfort: "Well, I'll listen to you."

This child will not be easily shocked, nor will he throw away the most precious things in himself for insignificant people or things.Confirming this, Xi Yang smiled with satisfaction: "Okay, eat quickly. Will the squad leader punish you if you go back too late?"

Sure enough, Zhou Tong was happy again, and said carelessly: "No way, brother Ye Zheng knows that I am learning from you."

Learning to come to the kitchen?Xi Yang snickered inwardly, and pretended to think with a stern face: "Well, I didn't tell him, and he just believed you and indulged you? It seems that I have to talk to him."

Zhou Tong: "..."

How did the trainer eat the fish and it went bad...

...

After the full meal, Zhou Tong insisted that only Xi Yang take the remaining fish tail and a mouthful of rice to Xiao Bian, and stay to clean up the kitchen by himself, and restore the pots and pans to their original condition.Xi Yang squatted next to the cardboard box, watching Xiao Bian enjoy his supper by the moonlight, and whispered to it: "Slow down, and be careful not to prick. Is it delicious? Let me tell you, in fact, overnight fish soup with rice is even more delicious."

The evening breeze is gentle, urging away the last trace of irritability before the night comes.On the way back, Xi Yang chased Zhou Tong's shadow and heard him say suddenly: "I'm homesick too."

"I have no home. But this is my new home."

"I really want to miss my parents, but I really can't remember. I just remember that my house is by the river, and there is no such cool wind in summer nights. Mosquitoes are bigger than flies. I wake up from a dream at night and turn on the lights. You will see a dense patch on the mosquito net, which is very scary. If you are accidentally bitten, the swelling will not go away for several days, and it will be painful and itchy."

"My mother's cooking should be delicious, I guess. Everyone says that the women by the river are very hardworking and capable, they can manage the house, and they can go fishing like men."

"When I was young, I envied that my brother went to school earlier than me. Every day I would clamor to send him to school. That's not sending him, I just wanted to sit on the back of his bicycle. There is a small bridge on the way to school. I only remember that one. The bridge is so high that it seems to fly when it goes down."

"My adoptive father is also very good to me. I also miss him, my brother, and grandma."

"When each of them left me, I never cried. Am I a bit hard-hearted..."

"Zhou Tong."

The dormitory building is in sight.Zhou Tong stopped, and Xi Yang completely stepped into his tall slanting shadow.

"The fish is well done, let me give you a reward."

"Huh? What reward?" Zhou Tong's eyes lit up, and his happiness always seemed to come easily.

I don't know which floor the light went out again.Xi Yang moved closer to him, raised his hand and rubbed his head.

"Zhou Tong is great."

"Instructor." Zhou Tong's tail was touched and wagged violently. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Xi Yang smelled the smell of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar on his body, and looked at a drop of oil splashed on his collar: "Tomorrow? What do you want to do?"

It was past eleven o'clock, and Zhou Tong was still smiling without a trace of tiredness: "My, the most important thing for me is to follow you closely."