And now, Gao Jiaxing was uncertain about how much Xia Xiao liked him, and he didn’t dare to ask.
Initially, when faced with her affection for He Xuebing, Xia Xiao decisively gave up; Gao Jiaxing certainly didn’t dare to take Xia Xiao as an ordinary woman.
In the face of love, many people are cowards, and Gao Jiaxing was no exception.
Moreover, Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao were both naive; they didn’t know what love was, but they knew they had each other in their hearts.
Xia Xiao had thought about marrying Gao Jiaxing, considering him her other half, and marriage seed inevitable.
She regarded Gao Jiaxing’s family as her own, but at the mont, she lacked the impulse and courage to get married.
"I won’t, I have Brother Gao now, and he’s really good," Xia Xiao looked at Gao Jiaxing and smiled faintly, Gao Jiaxing did indeed give a sense of security and reliability.
Hearing that, Gao Jiaxing’s face also revealed a contented smile.
The canteen was a simple shed with tables and long benches set up inside.
The two arrived at the canteen, where several soldiers were already cooking. As soon as they saw Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao co in, everyone greeted with a wide smile, shouting in unison, "Hello, sister-in-law."
"This is Gao Yuan, Yu Youwei, Zhu Junhui, Zhao Jianjun, Xu Hongbo..." Gao Jiaxing recited a string of nas, but Xia Xiao wouldn’t be able to rember so many people right away anyway.
"Hello," Xia Xiao smiled, looking at the busy crowd she asked, "What are you cooking?"
"What does sister-in-law like to eat?" a soldier asked.
"Well, I’m not picky, don’t worry about ," Xia Xiao said with a dismissive smile.
"Should we just cook rice?" one suggested.
"Let’s make dumplings."
...
Gao Jiaxing said, "I brought so flour from the mountain yesterday, and we still have so wild boar at left over, so let’s make dumplings."
As soon as Gao Jiaxing finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreent, and they started making dumplings.
Xia Xiao smiled slightly and addressed everyone, "You don’t mind if I help too, do you?"
"Of course not, of course not," everyone shook their heads, "Squad Leader Gao ntioned sister-in-law’s cooking skills are great, we’re wondering if sister-in-law is willing to show us?"
Xia Xiao responded enthusiastically, "Sure, it’s rare for to visit you guys. If you don’t mind, I’ll make dumplings for you to try, but you’ll have to help."
With over a hundred mouths to feed, Xia Xiao alone definitely couldn’t handle it; she needed everyone to help.
"No problem, we’ll assist sister-in-law."
"Yes, sister-in-law, whatever you tell us to do, we’ll do," they agreed.
Soon, they took out several dozen pounds of wild boar at. Xia Xiao asked Gao Jiaxing to shave the at off the bones, then told him to chop the bones and put them in a big pot to simr for the broth.
Thinking of the over hundred people, she wondered how much at would be enough and whether to save any.
Gao Jiaxing, seeing what was on Xia Xiao’s mind, said, "No need to save any, this was a wild boar we hunted in the mountains yesterday. If we don’t finish it today, it will go bad by tomorrow. And with over a hundred people, when we start eating, this amount of at might not even be enough."
Then Xia Xiao said, "In that case, chop up all of this at. I’ll go pick so vegetables outside."
Upon hearing this, Gao Jiaxing imdiately called out, "Gao Yuan, you chop the at, we’ll go pick vegetables."
"Alright!"
Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing went out to pick vegetables, then washed, cut, and minced them, mixing the chopped at and vegetables together, adding seasonings to taste.
Xia Xiao joined everyone in making dumplings, with a simple filling of pork and Chinese cabbage, and Gao Jiaxing also followed suit to help.
"Brother Gao’s wife makes good-looking dumplings."
"Yeah, sister-in-law, teach us, please."
Seeing that their dumplings were a bit rough, Xia Xiao taught everyone how to make them, and soon they all got the hang of it.
Xia Xiao occasionally tended to the fire; two big pots of broth—one usually for cooking rice and the other for making soup—were now both being used to simr pork bones in preparation for cooking the dumplings.
Xia Xiao felt they seed even larger than the pots at her school, and despite the high fla and considerable amount of firewood, it took a long ti for them to co to a boil.
But since making dumplings was also a process, she patiently watched over the simring pork bone broth. Once the broth developed a good flavor, she added so spring water to the pot.
At that mont, a large group led by Liu Yuanchao ca back, and the crowd bustling in really livened up the place.
"Is there anything to eat?" Liu Yuanchao wiped his sweat, craning his neck to ask Xia Xiao.
Xia Xiao smiled and said, "Take a seat and cool off for a while; it’ll be ready soon."
"Xiaoxiao’s cooking is not bad; I’ve been looking forward to it. Need any help?" Liu Yuanchao chuckled.
"No need, just sit down. You’ll be lining up to fill your bowls soon." Xia Xiao was already putting the dumplings into the pot.
She asked Gao Jiaxing to chop so celery and green onions. Once the dumplings were scooped out of the pot, she served seven or eight per bowl, then topped them with a bit of celery and green onions for extra flavor.
Eventually, Xia Xiao wasn’t needed anymore, but after helping for a while, she too was sweating from the effort.
Gao Jiaxing said, "You sit down, I can handle this."
And with that, Gao Jiaxing prepared a bowl for Xia Xiao and one for himself, setting his aside before helping others.
"The dumplings are delicious, and the soup is tasty, too. Xiaoxiao really can cook; even simple dumplings co out delicious."
Liu Yuanchao’s words made Xia Xiao smile, "It’s not just simple dumplings; these have pork filling."
She also added a bit more spring water to keep the soup fresh but was careful not to add too much, as it wouldn’t be enough for her needs regardless.
"We’re lucky today." The soldiers each expressed their joy while eating, loudly praising the al.
"It’s Squad Leader Gao who’s lucky; today we’re just basking in his good fortune."
After everyone was full, Gao Jiaxing took Xia Xiao back to rest. He also planned to nap for an hour before resuming training.
"If anything cos up, just call . I’ll be in that dorm over there, or you could find your cousin. He has his own room, right there." Gao Jiaxing pointed to his dorm and to Liu Yuanchao’s.
Xia Xiao nodded and smiled, "Brother Gao, you should go and rest; you have training in the afternoon. I won’t keep you. Co find when you’re free; I’m here for a few days."
Gao Jiaxing nodded, then reminded Xia Xiao, "Make sure to bolt the door. There’s a gun here for you. If anyone steps out of line, don’t hesitate to shoot them. I’ll take responsibility for the consequences."
Saying this, Gao Jiaxing handed Xia Xiao a small handgun.
Xia Xiao paused but still took it, knowing she already had two in her space.
"Alright, Brother Gao, go and rest. I’m locking the door now." With that, Xia Xiao took the gun, waved to Gao Jiaxing, and closed the door.
Gao Jiaxing watched Xia Xiao secure the bolt and stood for a while before leaving. If he could, he would have loved to stay with Xia Xiao inside.
Although everyone in the unit was well-acquainted and relationships were strong, there was no telling if soone might be brazen or reckless, which is why Gao Jiaxing gave Xia Xiao the gun.
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