A whole roasted lamb!
What kind of surprise was this?
Gao Fei never expected such a bold move.
While it wasn’t uncommon for family members to secretly bring some meat to improve their men’s meals during visits, no one had ever openly delivered whole roasted lambs to the unit.
Even Gao Fei wouldn’t be so generous. Though her family was well-off, they weren’t printing money. A small lamb cost dozens of yuan – why would she buy it for strangers?
“Sister-in-law, Captain Zhou has two to three hundred men under him. This lamb…”
It seemed like putting on airs, giving out lamb meat so publicly instead of quietly. Wouldn’t this mean everyone under Zhou Cheng needed to have a taste?
Well, if made into lamb soup, everyone in Zhou’s unit could probably get a bowl.
Gao Fei thought Xia Xiaolan was trying to win everyone’s favor with a small investment and regretted not thinking of it herself. Couldn’t she afford one lamb?
Before she could make another sarcastic comment, Xia Xiaolan said apologetically:
“I can’t provide enough for two to three hundred people to eat their fill, but everyone can have a taste – consider it my gesture of goodwill.”
The men under Zhou Cheng were stunned.
They’d never encountered family members delivering lambs to the unit before. While they had enough to eat, their meals couldn’t have too many rich ingredients as the daily food allowance was fixed.
When they got steamed meat buns during festivals, the whole unit would cheer. Now, getting lamb soup sent by Captain Zhou’s partner – even before smelling it, everyone’s hearts were already warmed.
“Sister-in-law is so kind!”
“Captain, your lady is so generous!”
“Sister-in-law, you’re like my own sister…”
“Lamb soup is great, really great!”
“Just getting a taste of lamb is wonderful, I haven’t had lamb meat in ages.”
If Xia Xiaolan wasn’t a woman and Zhou Cheng wasn’t standing guard beside her, these rough men would surely have lifted her and tossed her in celebration.
Xia Xiaolan felt quite embarrassed. “Oh, you wanted lamb soup? I ordered the roasted lambs yesterday, they should be well-seasoned by now, but we can make soup too…”
Well, whatever Sister-in-law says goes. Roasted lamb is delicious too. They’d make sure to grab a bone to taste later.
It wasn’t about how much they could eat but about the joy of eating.
Everyone tried to comfort Xia Xiaolan, and all of them were overjoyed.
Gao Fei watched in amazement. Were these men so easily impressed? Won over by just one lamb?
As she was thinking this, Xia Xiaolan turned to Zhou Cheng and said, “Maybe send a couple of people to help? I don’t think Kang Wei can carry it alone.”
Hmph!
One lamb, why make such a big deal of it?
Of course, it wasn’t just one lamb. The Dong Lai Shun restaurant staff unloaded the lambs from their truck. Several men from Zhou Cheng’s unit went to help, bringing back the lambs in grand fashion. It turned out to be not just one, but 1, 2, 3… how could there be 6 lambs?!
Gao Fei was completely silenced.
Six lambs, even if bought live and butchered themselves, would cost several hundred yuan.
Where would they find equipment to roast live lambs, and who would season them? Not to mention Xia Xiaolan bought them from Dong Lai Shun’s skilled chefs. These six lambs – Gao Fei could afford them, but she wouldn’t buy them to treat a group of strangers.
Gao Fei’s cheeks burned hot.
Xia Xiaolan, this outsider, was different from what she’d imagined – truly too generous.
Of the six lambs, four were already marinated for roasting whole, while two were fresh – Xia Xiaolan had asked Dong Lai Shun to add them that morning. When Kang Wei mentioned early on that Zhou Cheng’s position was Captain, Xia Xiaolan thought about Zhou Cheng’s age – such a young captain?
She had never asked about Zhou Cheng’s position, and he wouldn’t have boasted about it.
Kang Wei said this was all Zhou Cheng’s merit. Xia Xiaolan thought about the two to three hundred people Kang Wei mentioned – they weren’t just colleagues, but men under Zhou Cheng’s command.
Since they were Zhou Cheng’s men, they deserved good treatment. Four roasted lambs seemed stingy, so why not butcher two more live ones? Along with the offal from all six lambs, that should be enough to eat, right?
If they weren’t Zhou Cheng’s men, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have been so foolishly generous – she couldn’t possibly take on feeding an entire unit.
Even so, everyone was struck speechless. Zhou Cheng also felt his wife was showing too much face today. While Xia Xiaolan wasn’t stingy, she earned her money through hard work. Unlike Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei, who were born into their fathers’ network of connections, Xia Xiaolan relied entirely on her efforts.
Zhou Cheng’s heart had been racing earlier, but now he was too moved to speak. This generous gesture weighed heavily on him. He wanted to ask why she planned such a grand event, why she bought so many lambs if she had enough money left – but he couldn’t say anything.
Instead, Xia Xiaolan pinched Zhou Cheng’s waist:
“I’ll settle accounts with you later!”
Hmph, did he think she couldn’t see through it? What nonsense about Old Fang’s partner, what sister-in-law – the ill intentions were so obvious, clearly someone had feelings for Zhou Cheng. Thinking about how Gao Fei had tried to get Zhou Cheng’s attention while she wasn’t around made Xia Xiaolan very annoyed.
Others had designs on Zhou Cheng wasn’t his fault, but when did women in love ever listen to reason?
Xia Xiaolan was giving Zhou Cheng a face now, but she’d deal with him later.
Zhou Cheng quickly straightened up, “You’re my boss, if you say we’re settling accounts, then we will. You can hit me or scold me, I won’t fight back or talk back.”
Xia Xiaolan let out a light snort.
These lambs had caused quite a stir in the unit. Though they were meant for the First Squad, other squads were envious. The unit leadership had to step in, while First Squad members guarded the lambs fearfully. Leader Li scolded Zhou Cheng for being reckless, but other leaders laughed:
“Now that’s a perfect match! But we should listen to the masses – since Zhou Cheng’s squad gets roasted lamb, he should contribute two lambs to make soup for everyone else in the unit!”
Who doesn’t want to eat meat?
The difference was too great – this would make other squads both envious and jealous of First Squad.
In collective life, balance was important. Xia Xiaolan had sent the lambs but left the distribution up to Zhou Cheng. He decided everyone should get a bowl of soup, not leaving out anyone from First Squad.
Two lambs for several hundred people meant just a taste.
With the offal from all six lambs, there was quite a bit in the soup. The kitchen staff was extremely excited, washing pots and bowls, using several pots at once, and ensuring everyone could have lamb soup by afternoon. The four whole lambs needed to be slowly roasted over charcoal – by the time the lambs were done roasting, the soup would be ready too.
Leader Li envied Zhou Cheng, wondering where he had quietly found such a good partner.
As for Zhou Cheng?
He was being interrogated by Xia Xiaolan, who was pinching the soft flesh at his waist!