When the commissary opened, Chu Qing, who was the first in line, immediately ordered 5 jin (about 2.5 kg) of pork belly, 2 jin of spare ribs, picked out two large pig trotters, and also bought a whole chicken.

For vegetables, she chose the most common ones available at the time—Chinese flowering cabbage (chijiao cai), chives, and cucumbers.

She planned to cook for two tables. Considering the guests were soldiers, she knew their appetites would be large, so she also bought 10 jin (about 5 kg) of rice.

The middle-aged woman behind her in line, carrying a basket, was completely stunned.

“My goodness, girl, can you even eat all that in one meal?”

“It won’t keep for many days in this weather,” the woman added, looking at Chu Qing’s young, delicate face and assuming she was a newly married woman who didn’t know how to manage a household.

“Auntie, I can’t possibly finish all of this myself. It’s for treating friends to a meal,” Chu Qing said as she took out money and ration coupons from her women’s wallet to pay, also making sure to clarify that she wasn’t a wasteful wife.

The aunt clicked her tongue in amazement. Even if it was for guests, this was still too much—two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes would normally be enough.

Carrying her packed items, Lu Heng wasn’t particularly surprised. Even if he were to book a meal at a state-run restaurant, it would probably require about this much.

He was only slightly uncertain whether Chu Qing could actually cook a full table of dishes. Although her grandmother had hired famous teachers to train her before, he had never personally seen her cook a single meal in the Lu family.

Chu Qing then went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some candies to treat the children.

Having been reborn, and now aware of how the future would unfold, she wasn’t worried about being reported for eating too well. In another year or two, this era would undergo major changes, and people’s lives would only get better and better.

She intended to seize this opportunity and stand at the forefront of the rising tide of change.

Another reason she wanted to prepare such a lavish meal was to make up for regrets from her past life. In her previous life, she had never hosted a meal for Lu Heng’s comrades, and she had even conflicted with him because she didn’t want to move with him to the military base.

After returning home and having a simple breakfast, Lu Heng quickly left the house.

Zhang Yaning came over in the afternoon to help. As soon as the door opened, she saw Chu Qing’s strikingly beautiful face.

Her hair was loosely pinned up at the back with a jade hairpin, with a few stray strands falling beside her neck, accentuating its slender softness. She wore a dark purple velvet long dress that fit her body without being tight, flowing down naturally from her waist—understated, yet so beautiful it was hard to look away.

“Comrade Chu, you’re really beautiful,” Zhang Yaning couldn’t help but praise her. Beauty truly transcends eras.

Chu Qing was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting such direct praise from a stranger.

“Thank you, you’re beautiful too,” she replied with a smile.

It wasn’t just polite words—Zhang Yaning in front of her had bright, clear features and sweet dimples when she smiled, the kind of beauty that grew on you the more you looked.

“Chu Qing, that’s my name. We seem about the same age, so you can just call me by my name, or Xiaoqing if you like,” Chu Qing said.

Being called “comrade” felt too distant and formal to her.

She had a feeling that the person in front of her might be someone who could change her fate. She needed to get closer to Zhang Yaning.

“Alright then. My name is Zhang Yaning. Call me whatever you like. The moment I saw you, I felt you were very friendly, and I only arrived here in the military settlement a little over a month earlier than you.”

“If you ever have problems in daily life, we can help each other and get through it together.”

Zhang Yaning felt that the so-called “villain” in front of her wasn’t as hard to get along with as she had imagined.

She immediately decided she should build a good relationship with her. After all, this was the woman in the story who could rival the heroine to the very end and even give her headaches.

As someone who had ended up taking the male lead for herself, she reasoned that the enemy of her enemy was a friend—so she would side with the “villain.”

“That’s great. I’ve just arrived and don’t even have anyone to go shopping with. I’ll come find you later—don’t get annoyed with me.”

The two women, each with their own motives, quickly grew closer.

At first, they were a bit reserved, but as they talked, they became more relaxed, chatting not only about their hometowns but even childhood stories.

Then Lin Qiu, who had been invited over early to help, walked in and saw the two of them sitting on small stools, happily chatting while picking vegetables.

“You two seem to really get along,” Lin Qiu teased.

“Sis Qiu, you came at the right time. I was just telling Xiaoqing about how I used to dig wild vegetables in the mountains,” Zhang Yaning said.

“She’s never experienced it. Next time we go pick bamboo shoots, we should bring her along so she can feel the fun too.”

“Good idea. In a few days we can go—the bamboo shoots now must be very tender.”

Seeing the ingredients on the cutting board, Lin Qiu efficiently picked up the chives and started trimming them, separating the yellowed leaves, which could later be used to feed chickens.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll definitely call you next time,” Chu Qing said. She knew there was a bamboo grove in the back mountains.

In her past life, many military wives often went together to dig bamboo shoots. Whether stir-fried or cooked with meat, they were crisp and delicious.

But because she disliked Su Xiao and looked down on some of the other military wives, she never went, even though she was tempted.

Now she realized how foolish she had been—just because of that, rumors spread that she was aloof, arrogant, and looked down on rural military wives.

In her past life, she didn’t bother arguing about such trivial matters, but in this life she thought differently.

The three of them chatted and laughed, quickly finishing all the preparations, leaving only the cooking for Chu Qing.

By the time everyone arrived, the dishes were almost ready.

“So lavish!”

Those who came were secretly shocked when they saw the full table.

On the table were meat dishes like braised pork, stewed pig trotters, and spicy chicken, and vegetable dishes including cold cucumber salad, stir-fried greens, and chive scrambled eggs. There was also sliced fresh peaches arranged on plates.

Fresh peaches at this time of year were extremely rare. The children who came with their parents immediately stopped fussing and gathered obediently around the table.

Each dish was carefully plated and garnished with green leaves, making everything look like a bouquet of flowers—so beautiful it drew exclamations of admiration from the children.

Lu Heng slipped into the kitchen during a break and saw Chu Qing still busy cooking.

“What are you doing in here? Go out and entertain the guests.”

“Do you need help?” he asked, unsure what he could do.

“It’s almost done. This is the last dish—rib soup, your favorite,” Chu Qing said, glancing back at him.

Lu Heng felt a ripple in his heart. He gently lifted his hand and brushed a smudge from her left cheek with his thumb.

Their eyes met. Chu Qing’s eyelashes trembled, feeling the air suddenly grow warm and tense. She stammered, “W-what are you doing?”

“There was a black mark. I wiped it off,” Lu Heng said calmly.

Chu Qing: “……”

She got shy too early!

Lu Heng was pushed out by an embarrassed and angry Chu Qing, but he touched his nose, a faint smile flashing in his eyes.

Since the living room couldn’t fit everyone, they ate in the courtyard at two tables—one for the men, and one for the women and children. One of the tables was even borrowed by Shen Nansheng from his own home.

The young soldiers who had helped move things last time were also invited, but since they didn’t want to sit at the table, Chu Qing packed them three full lunchboxes of meat dishes to take home.

When the final dish of rib soup was served, dinner officially began.

“Wow, I didn’t expect sister-in-law’s cooking to be this good. We’re really lucky.”

Everyone there was close to Lu Heng. They had originally thought he married a pampered young lady, but it turned out she could really cook.

“Yeah, this is amazing.”

“Old Lu really struck gold.”

Lu Heng’s gaze couldn’t help drifting to Chu Qing at the other table. She looked pleased at the praise, her eyes sparkling with pride and satisfaction, her lips curved like she was holding a piece of candy—soft and heartwarming to look at.

Even Liu Qiang, who had once complained about her to Shen Nansheng, changed his opinion after one bite. He nudged Shen Nansheng and whispered, “Brother, this tastes no worse than your cooking.”

Shen Nansheng swallowed his food and replied calmly, “Then eat more. Next time you won’t get the chance.”

The food was good, but he didn’t want to sit at a table full of rough men.

Liu Qiang froze awkwardly. He really hated people who were good at everything.

He glanced at his own wife at the other table, who was also eating heartily, and couldn’t help sighing. Their couple really didn’t have a single person with cooking talent.