Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Just as dinner time arrived, the aroma of braised pork simmering in the large pot by the kitchen door, which had been cooking all afternoon, had already made everyone in the courtyard restless.

Even before mealtime, a long queue had already formed in front of the canteen windows. People clutched porcelain bowls and aluminum lunchboxes in their hands, some sniffing and standing on tiptoe to peer ahead, while others turned to the people behind them and muttered, "What's stewing here? It smells so good! Even the braised meat at the state-run food station doesn't taste as good as what we have in our canteen!"

Long queues formed in the cafeteria, but some people, even if they arrived late, didn't have to wait in line. The head chef and the second chef would personally carry the bowls and plates to their tables with smiles.

The Jia family was one of these types of people; the three of them sat neatly together at the small table in the corner.

Hao Meili sat at the table, first taking out a small mirror to check her makeup, then taking out a small comb from her pocket and tidying up her newly permed curly hair.

Jia Dafang glanced at his wife and muttered under his breath, "Alright, stop taking pictures. The amount of putty on your face is almost like freshly steamed bread from the kitchen."

"Your old face is the one that looks like a steamed bun!"

Hao Meili glared at Jia Dafang with annoyance, snapped her small mirror shut, and turned to look towards the cafeteria entrance. Her eyes seemed to be searching for someone, while she muttered to herself, "There are so many people in the cafeteria today..."

Jia Dafang wanted to say, "Nonsense, it's lunchtime, how could there be fewer people coming to the cafeteria?" but in the end, he didn't dare to say it.

He'd been feeling a bit strange these past few days. Hao Meili, who usually went about her days without makeup, had suddenly started dressing up for no apparent reason. She even permed her hair into the kind of braided curls that she used to find troublesome to comb.

He was quite pleased with himself. It is said that women dress up for the men they love, and this woman finally stopped being so sloppy and knew how to take care of herself, making him proud.

Han Wenxue strolled over to the table, glanced at Hao Meili with her lion's head hairstyle, and was taken aback: "Wow, sister-in-law, you have a new hairstyle, I almost didn't recognize you."

Hao Meili smiled and smoothed her hair: "Vice Regiment Commander Han, what do you think of my new hairstyle?"

"Elegant and dignified!" Han Wenxue said somewhat insincerely.

Hao Meili immediately beamed with joy.

"What kind of braised meat is this? It smells so good!"

Liu Benyi, who was at the very front of the line at the window, craned his neck to peek into the lunchbox. The bright red chunks of meat were soaking in the broth, and the oil was slowly dripping down the meat. He couldn't help but swallow hard: "Auntie, could you give me some more broth? I can soak the bread in it and eat it with my rice."

Li Qiufen, who was serving the food, glanced at him and said, "You've got quite a good appetite."

As she spoke, she scooped half a spoonful of braised meat broth and poured it into the lunchbox.

Liu Benyi chuckled, then bent down and sniffed the meat: "It smells delicious! What kind of meat is this?"

"This is called braised beef offal with five spices. Okay, okay, next one, don't keep other people from getting their food." Li Qiufen hurriedly waved her hand to send Liu Benyi away.

Liu Benyi, carrying a lunchbox and two steamed buns, quickly found a seat and sat down. He couldn't wait to pick up a piece of beef offal with his chopsticks and stuff it into his mouth.

He only chewed twice, then his eyes lit up, and he mumbled, "It smells amazing! How can it be so delicious!"

Fatty Qin, beaming, carried a huge bowl overflowing with braised beef offal to Jia Dafang's table. He then wiped his hands on his apron and said, "Boss, please try this! It's a new dish developed by our kitchen. Look at the color and the taste! How does it compare to the cooked food from the state-run food station?"

"Your kitchen has come up with more new dishes lately than in the past ten years combined. That's excellent! You're bold in innovating, and each time you've succeeded. You deserve high praise! Keep up the good work and try to come up with even more signature dishes for our canteen!"

Jia Dafang smiled and nodded. Although it was just a verbal compliment, it made Fatty Qin very happy. He chuckled twice and said, "You flatter me, leader. This was something we all came up with together."

Before Jia Dafang could even pick up his chopsticks, Hao Meili and her son, Fatty Qin, had already started eating. Hao Meili picked up a piece of tripe, chewed it a couple of times, and suddenly paused, looking up at Fatty Qin in surprise: "Chef Qin, this tastes amazing! It's so much better than the cooked food sold at the food station!"

As she spoke, she picked up another piece of beef intestine and dipped it in the braising sauce at the bottom of the bowl: "How did you make this braising broth? It's so flavorful."

Fatty Qin grinned from ear to ear, his mouth practically agape. This pot of braised beef offal had really made him proud.

He glanced around at the people in the cafeteria, heads down, eating, and felt something was missing. Suddenly, he asked, "Why isn't Secretary Zhu here for lunch?"

Han Wenxue, chewing on a piece of tripe, mumbled, "This afternoon, I think he had a relapse of his old ailment and went to the county hospital for an IV drip."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and took another bite of his steamed bun, as if he didn't think it was a big deal.

Upon hearing this, Hao Meili's hand holding the chopsticks suddenly froze, and she looked at Han Wenxue in astonishment: "It's not serious, is it?"

"Secretary Zhu said it's an old stomach problem," Han Wenxue swallowed the food in his mouth, looked up at her, and said, "It's been a problem for over ten years. A few days of IV drips will fix it. It's nothing serious."

Hao Meili didn't reply. She just lowered her head and slowly chewed the piece of beef intestine in her mouth. It didn't taste the same as before; it was like chewing wax.

While everyone was enjoying a lively meal in the cafeteria, Chen Xiangdong was sweating profusely on the theater stage.

"Somersaults are not done with brute force, but with the strength of the waist and abdomen to lift the whole body up."

Han Zhengkui explained the key points of a somersault while demonstrating. Before he finished speaking, he had already flipped over on the mat, his body curled into an arc, his feet firmly planted on the ground. He got up without even panting, his movements as nimble as a young man's.

"Did you see that? It's not your hands that are supporting you, it's your waist that's moving." He clapped his hands, signaling Chen Xiangdong to flip over again.

Chen Xiangdong took a deep breath and tried to do the same, but his arm went limp and he fell into a crooked heap.

"No, no! You silly kid, why are you still using your arms?"

Han Zhengkui frowned, pulled him up, placed his palm on his lower back, and gently patted him: "Use this area, remember? Let's try again!"

However, no matter how many times it happens, he keeps falling.

After searching for a long time, Chen Xiangdong was dizzy and collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. He felt his legs were too weak to get up.

"Old Han, alright, alright! This is only the first day the kid is practicing somersaults, why are you in such a hurry? You can't expect to get fat in one bite!"

Feng Zhengxiao jumped onto the stage, frowned, and glared at Han Zhengkui: "Didn't you take two months to master it back then? You think you can turn him into Sun Wukong in such a short time?"

The words had barely left his mouth when even the usually strict Fang Zhengsheng couldn't stand it anymore. He pointed at Han Zhengkui and started cursing, "You old bastard, you're going to ruin my apprentice's health! I'll fight you to the death! You son of a bitch, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he choked back his words, probably feeling that it was beneath him to swear in front of his apprentice. So he swallowed the rest of his words and just glared at Han Zhengkui.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Han Zhengkui was both angry and amused: "You two, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, and I'm the damn villain!"

He turned to look at Chen Xiangdong, who was slumped on the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion, and finally softened his tone: "Alright, let's call it a day. Go back and rest."

Chen Xiangdong climbed off the mat as if he had been granted a pardon, a bitter smile on his lips. This somersault was truly torturous, and his head was still spinning.