50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 236 Visiting Relatives
After obtaining the ingredients from Tongrentang, Sun Zhiwei went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a large ceramic jar.

After returning home, I filled the jar with 20 kilograms of aged liquor, then put the main ingredient, bear kneecap, and other ingredients into the jar. Finally, I sealed the jar with yellow mud and kraft paper.

Live together.

Soaking bear kneecaps in alcohol has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and joint-function-improving effects, which is quite remarkable.

My father-in-law lives by the sea year-round, and now that he's old, he must have joint problems. Sending this over there will definitely be no objection from my mother-in-law.

Tong Jiajia was very satisfied with the gift he had carefully prepared. That night, the two of them were busy until midnight before they finished packing what they needed to bring.

With two large packages in total, plus that big jar of infused liquor, he really had to consider how to carry them if there wasn't enough space.

The next morning, Jiajia went to work and the children went to school. Before leaving, Tong Jiajia reminded Sun Zhiwei to remember to bring back some local specialties from Qingdao when he came back.

Sun Zhiwei asked her what local specialties she brought. Tong Jiajia blushed a little and didn't say anything, only that her mother-in-law would know as soon as she heard it.

Sun Zhiwei didn't understand what she meant, but he didn't dwell on it. After Tong Jiajia left, he quickly went to the department to get the necessary paperwork and documents for the business trip from Xu Yimin.

When he returned to the yard, the elderly couple had gone out to buy groceries, and no one was home.

He put the two packages and the large wine jar into his spatial storage, took only a small shoulder bag, and headed straight for the train station.

He was traveling on official business and his rank met the requirements, so he no longer needed to find someone to help him buy sleeper tickets; he could simply use his identification to purchase them.

It was almost noon by the time we boarded the train. At that time, the train had not yet increased its speed, and it would take a day and a night to travel from Beijing to Qingdao.

Along the way, he met two people from Qingdao in the sleeper car, and he took the opportunity to inquire about Qingdao's local specialties.

I didn't know until I asked around that Qingdao has quite a few local specialties, such as Qingdao beer, Laoshan tea, dried shrimp and fried dough sticks, calcium milk biscuits and sorghum candy, etc. If I count them carefully, there are more than a dozen kinds.

However, he felt that among these local specialties, the four that Tong Jiajia would really remember were: dried shrimp, fried pork fat, calcium milk biscuits, and sorghum candy.

The first two are meat and oil, and the last two are snacks.

Dried shrimp is actually shrimp meat, and the cracklings are oil. Combined with snacks, these are all things that children love.

Tong Jiajia only spent time in Qingdao when she was a child, and these are the few things that are most unforgettable, full of childhood memories.

No wonder she wouldn't tell me directly when I asked her; she was afraid I'd laugh at her.

Having figured out one of his doubts, he didn't intend to expose Tong Jiajia. He would simply pretend he didn't know and let his mother-in-law make the preparations.

She's practically a kindergarten director now, so she still has to save face. She can't let people know that she's still a glutton at her age.

The train arrived in Qingdao the next morning.

After getting off the bus, Sun Zhiwei found a deserted alley, took out two large packages and a large jar of liquor, and then hailed a tricycle to take the goods to the naval base.

He needs to find his father-in-law first, because the residential area has moved twice in recent years, and Tong Jiajia doesn't know where her parents live now.

Upon arriving at the base's main gate, Sun Zhiwei first got off his tricycle and registered with the guard.

The guards were dressed in the latest dark blue Type 74 striped naval uniforms, wearing peaked caps and thick dark blue military overcoats, looking sharp and handsome.

"Hello, comrade, I'm here to visit relatives, but I can't find where the family quarters have moved to, so I can only come here to look for people first."

The round-faced guard who greeted him immediately became very welcoming when he heard that he had come to visit relatives.

"Hello, which soldier are you looking for? I'll call for help."

“His name is Tong Guodong, and he is my father-in-law. I came here on business and took the opportunity to visit them.”

"Tong Guodong? Tong Guodong." The round-faced guard felt a sense of familiarity upon hearing the name, knowing it must be his comrade-in-arms, but he couldn't quite place who it was.

"Could you tell me which company he's from? There are a lot of people here, so there might be some with the same name."

"Oh, right, right, I really don't know which company Comrade Tong Guodong is in, but he should be working at the command post." The round-faced guard was quite helpless. There were hundreds or even thousands of people at the command post, so he couldn't find anyone there.

"Comrade, you should tell me his specific position, otherwise I won't know who to call!"

"He...he must be the leader, right?" Sun Zhiwei said, not entirely sure.

The moment the words "commander" were uttered, the round-faced guard immediately became alert.

He subtly gave the tall soldier next to him a wink, then pressed on, "Are you sure you want to see Commander Tong?"

"Sigh, I've never been here before. I only know that he used to be a leader. I really don't know what his position is now, but I can't mistake his name."

The round-faced guard dared not call his superior casually, so he could only ask his tall comrade next to him for help: "Hey, I remember Commander Tong's name is Tong Guodong, right?"

The tall soldier next to him was rather straightforward. Seeing him dawdling on and on, he grew impatient and said directly, "Why don't we just call them and ask?"

Then, without waiting for the round-faced guard's hesitation, he directly dialed the leader's extension.

"This is the gate guard room. Someone is looking for Comrade Tong Guodong at the gate."

"Yes, yes, that's the name. They said they came from the capital to visit relatives."

"Male, around thirty years old."

At this point, the tall guard put down the phone, turned around, and asked, "Comrade, what's your name?"

"My name is Sun Zhiwei."

"Hello, the other party's name is Sun Zhiwei."

"Okay, okay." The tall man hung up the phone and then looked at Sun Zhiwei with some curiosity.

"Comrade Sun Zhiwei, you really are Chief Tong's son-in-law!"

"How many Commanders Tong do you have at your base?"

"On a."

"That must be it."

"Comrade Sun Zhiwei, which unit are you from? Field soldier, artilleryman, or armored soldier?"

"Hehe, not even a comrade." Sun Zhiwei didn't elaborate. He wasn't sure if he could say it, but if he could, his father-in-law would naturally tell his men later.

A moment later, a young soldier ran out from inside. When he arrived at the guard room, he saw Sun Zhiwei and asked, "Are you Comrade Sun Zhiwei?"

“It’s me,” Sun Zhiwei nodded in response.

"Hello, I am Chief Tong's bodyguard, my name is Xiang Yi."

"Hello, Comrade Xiang Yi."

"Hello, the officer is busy right now and can't see you. He asked me to take you home first. Let's go."

"Wait a moment, I still have some things on the tricycle outside."

Sun Zhiwei helped Xiang Yi unload the large packages and wine jars from the tricycle. Xiang Yi wanted to carry the biggest one, but he stumbled and almost strained his back.

"Wow, this package is so heavy."

"Hehe, yeah, it's a bit heavy."

Sun Zhiwei smiled and took the initiative to lift the two large packages, then said to him, "Comrade Xiang Yi, could you please help me move that jar?"

(End of this chapter)