Chinese New Year's Eve, a squadron of the Beijing Municipal Armed Police Corps, young fighters were busy pasting Spring Leagues and hanging blessing characters, and on the wall of the dormitory corridor, balloons collaged a playful smiley face.
In the dormitory, some soldiers are video calling their families, "Happy New Year, Grandma!" Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm not on duty today. "There are also fighters who get together to play poker, and on rare holidays, the playfulness of the boys in their early twenties comes out again.
Nervous people are in the kitchen, the cooking squad leader Wang Zhi is leading a few soldiers to guard the stove, cold dishes have been stacked into the plate waiting to be served, squirrel cinnamon fish is posed and almost poured juice, the rice in the steaming drawer wafts out of the aroma, and the New Year meal is about to open.
Under the call of "New Year's In Place", no one in the squadron took turns to go home, nor did they have family members to visit as in previous years, and the soldiers went on duty as usual. Wang Zhi held a spoon in his hand and prepared the most grand dinner in the Chinese New Year's Eve team.
This 12-year veteran with good cooking skills has never set up a Spring Festival family banquet for his family.
On February 11 (Chinese New Year's Eve), Wang Zhi was cooking a New Year meal for his comrades-in-arms, and in order to complete a large table, he began to prepare it three days in advance. Beijing News reporter Zhang Jingshu photographed
A New Year's Meal: Talk about the homesickness of the soldiers
The days approaching Chinese New Year's Eve every year are the busiest time of the year for Wang Zhi.
On the 28th of the month, the beef has been marinated on the fire, and the pig's trotters have been washed and soaked in the thick oil sauce soup, which are two "hard dishes" prepared for the New Year.
On the 29th of the month, the washed 20 fish were cut with knives, the meat stuffing made of balls was chopped into a large basin, and the whole chicken was marinated in the seasoning, waiting for the next day to be full of flavor and energy on the table.
Early in the morning of the 30th child, Wang Zhi got up at 5:30 as usual to fry fritters, steam steamed steamed buns, and cooked porridge for his comrades-in-arms. After breakfast, the various stoves in the kitchen are lively, the fish is fried in hot oil and emits a burnt aroma, the chicken in the oven is buzzing, and the golden meatballs are fished out of the pot and poured with thick juice.
Near noon, the cold dishes are about to be served. A blueberry yam mud, let Wang Zhi carefully fiddle for a long time, yam mud to be extruded with mounting bags, piled up into a hill to look good, blueberry fruit puree dotted with "snow tops", too much fruit mud appears sloppy and rough, too little and not enough flavor, dark purple fruit mud covered with snow white "mountain tip" and then flowed down some, just right.
Wang Zhi is very serious, and this delicate work is no easier than making a hard dish.
Wang Zhi is preparing cold dishes for the New Year's meal, blueberry yam puree. Beijing News reporter Zhang Jingshu photographed
"Unity is strength, unity is strength." At eleven o'clock in the afternoon, the soldiers' pre-dinner song sounded outside the canteen, Wang Zhi picked up the stir-fry spoon, and the hot boiling juice burning in the pot poured on the fried squirrel cinnamon fish, and finally this dish was served on the table, and the comrades-in-arms also happened to be seated. After confirming that each table was full of exactly seven meats and three vegetarian dishes, soup and desserts, and watching his comrades eat well, Wang Zhi sat down with the other 4 cooking class soldiers.
Chinese New Year's Eve this day's New Year's dinner is the highlight of a year's hard work for the comrades-in-arms, and the soldiers of Wang Zhi's squadron shoulder the security task of the front line of Chang'an Avenue, and the delicious food on a table full of color and fragrance can make the comrades on duty enjoy the joy of tongue and tongue, and also let them try not to want to go home.
On February 11 (Chinese New Year's Eve), armed police soldiers who could not go home for the Chinese New Year celebrated the Chinese New Year at a dinner party. Photographed by Mao Shuai of a certain unit of the Beijing Municipal Armed Police Corps
Lovesickness between the two places: Ten years apart, the wife has only ordered one dish
As the head of the cooking squad of a squadron of the Beijing Armed Police Corps, Wang Zhi, born in 1990, spent the Spring Festival at home when he was just married in 2018, and was busy in front of the army's stove the rest of the time.
After enlisting in the army, enter the cooking class, the old class leader is more like a master, with a few young men to learn together, the unit will also specially organize everyone to go out to learn cooking. The young man who didn't cook is now skilled, from simple stir-frying, stewed rice, steamed steamed buns, to being able to make a feast with a knife and a spoon.
Wang Zhi's hometown is in Tai'an, Shandong, less than 600 kilometers from Beijing, and the high-speed train takes only two hours, but he has never cooked a complete meal for his family, most of the time to give his mother a hand. He remembers coming home in the first few years of his career as a soldier and saying that he would cook for his parents, and he only made one dish, which his parents did not often eat and would not cook. Mother was surprised, "You would still do this?" ”
Years later, the wife once offered to eat the meal he made, and ordered a mao blood wang, which was the only time that the wife offered to let Wang Zhi cook. Wang Zhi was stunned for a moment, it seems that his mother always remembered his "display" many years ago, and mentioned to his daughter-in-law, "Otherwise, how could she suddenly have to eat Mao Blood Wang." ”
Wang Zhi, the head of the cooking squad of a certain squadron of the Beijing Armed Police Corps. Photographed by Mao Shuai of a certain unit of the Beijing Municipal Armed Police Corps
He felt guilty that there was too little time to cook for his family. Every year when he visits his family and returns home, his family does not allow him to cook in the kitchen, and occasionally cooking is also a home-cooked dish, and it is rarely carefully prepared. Family members always say that you work hard in the army, and when you come home, you will rest more. No one complained about not being able to eat a Chinese New Year's Eve meal from his chef, saying, "You work well."
Like Wang Zhi, who has been away from home for 10 years, the most common instruction of the platoon commander Is that "you are at ease in the army for the New Year, don't worry about your family."
In the Spring Festival of 2019, my parents went from their hometown in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province to Beijing for the New Year, stayed only one night, and returned home the next day after watching the flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square, "They don't want to cause me trouble." ”
After having his own children, Sun Chen understood his parents more, and when he left the children and returned to the army, he thought of the appearance of his parents when he left home, "It seems that he is not alarmed, there is no special performance, but how can he not worry and worry about it in his heart?" ”
Sun Chen was not around when the child was born, and when he had time to go home on vacation, the child was about to climb. The wife experienced pregnancy and childbirth alone, and the two went from love to marriage for ten years, and the days they spent together day and night added up to only six or seven months. Sun Chen felt that his wife had changed from a "little princess" with a petty bourgeois mood and a sense of ceremony to a "strong woman" who had been away from home for many years.
On February 11 (Chinese New Year's Eve), Sun Chen posted spring leagues at the entrance of the squadron. Photographed by Mao Shuai of a certain unit of the Beijing Municipal Armed Police Corps
Three meals for four seasons: After retiring from the army, you must make a luxurious family banquet for your family
Chinese New Year's Eve this morning, Sun Chen called home to pay respects to the New Year, or simply greeted as usual, "What to eat today?" Who's in the house? ”
He wasn't used to hanging on to words he missed and worried about, and so did his parents. Sun Chen's brother was a soldier in Beijing four years before him, and after the two brothers left home, only their parents were left at home in the New Year. But whether in person, on the phone, or on WeChat, parents rarely express their thoughts and worries directly, and the most common thing they say is "you are at ease working outside." ”
After hanging up the phone, Sun Chen slowly said, "Actually, I miss them." ”
Sun Chen was determined to change his personality, "I have always felt that I am a soldier, I can't stir up emotions, I can't have children and daughters, but my family who silently supports me deserves the love I express." ”
Platoon elder Sun Chen, who has been a soldier for 10 years, feels that what he owes the most is his family. Photographed by Mao Shuai of a certain unit of the Beijing Municipal Armed Police Corps
After lunch Chinese New Year's Eve, the restaurant returned to calm, wang zhi finally had time to sit down and rest, he picked up the phone, wanted to give the family a video to say goodbye to the New Year.
"Son, call Daddy. Son son, call Daddy. Taking off the mask, Wang Zhi smiled, the first time he heard his son call his father was also in the video, and the father and son have not seen each other for more than half a year, "People say that two or three-year-old children grow fast, a month without seeing a big change, I don't know what the child will do, what I like." ”
The child ran away mischievously, the wife came to the kitchen with her mobile phone, the mother and aunt were busy in front of the stove, and the snow-white dumplings were rolling in the hot pot, "What stuffing?" "Carrots, did you eat them?" What did you eat? All busy? "The family knows that Chinese New Year's Eve wang zhi is the busiest this day, and no one bothers him."
Wang Zhi said that there are not many new year meals in the hometown, and the return is mainly dumplings, but the emphasis is on the liveliness, a large number of relatives gathered into a round table, the younger generations to the elders kowtow to the New Year, the Taste of the Year is very full.
At the end of this year, Wang Zhi's service period will expire, and he hopes to stay and continue to make this New Year meal for his comrades-in-arms. In his eyes, these comrades-in-arms who can't go home give up their small homes to take care of everyone, and they need a new year meal with a sense of ceremony, and they need his chef to take charge of the spoon, "We eat together, this is also a family banquet." ”
But if he retires, he plans to make a luxurious family banquet for the whole family in the Spring Festival of 2022, and let his mother and wife see that he is not only good at Mao Bloodwang.
Beijing News reporter Zhang Jingshu
Edited by Liu Qian
Proofread by Li Shihui
Source: Beijing News