Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

The three dishes were cooked simultaneously without interfering with each other, and the kitchen was instantly filled with steam and aroma.

Once the chicken pieces are cooked through, remove them from the wok. Then, seamlessly connect the wok to the right-hand burner and quickly stir-fry the green peppers and beef, creating a wonderful wok hei (wok aroma).

Then, while it's still hot, quickly stir-fry the tomatoes and eggs until they are bright in color and have a pleasantly sweet and sour taste.

After all the hot dishes were finished, we simply seasoned and mixed the three shredded vegetables into a cold salad. The combination of red, yellow, and white was very appealing and refreshing.

Boil water in the spare pot to make soup, and seaweed and egg drop soup is ready in no time.

In just over thirty minutes, braised chicken pieces, pork belly with potatoes, steamed sea bass, beef with green peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and cold shredded vegetables with seaweed and egg drop soup were all prepared, each dish steaming hot.

Gu Xiaonan, who was sitting on the sofa seemingly watching TV quietly but occasionally glancing at Zhang Anbang, got up and walked towards the kitchen when she heard the range hood stop running.

"Hey, Comrade Zhang, not bad, not bad, you're quite efficient. Each dish looks and smells quite good, but you seem to have made a bit too much rice."

Zhang Anbang waved his hand, "Hehe, wife, you flatter me. This is nothing. I've formally apprenticed with a master, the fifth-term squad leader at the base. He taught me quite a few skills."

"I know you're good now, so hurry up and serve the food. I want to see if your cooking is up to par. If it's not good, I'll go back and complain to the old squad leader about you, accusing you of using his name to swindle people."

"Hehe, sure, honey, try it first," Zhang Anbang chuckled and started carrying the dishes to the dining room. The kitchen was only a few steps from the dining room, and the two of them carried them all in a few trips.

Gu Xiaonan has a moderate appetite, so Zhang Anbang filled her a small 4.5-inch bowl with rice. As for himself, he used a 7-inch bowl, also known as a "two-sea bowl," which can hold a little over a pound of rice.

Now his appetite has decreased. Back when he first joined the Steel Seventh Company and was undergoing intensive training, he could eat a whole bowl of rice from a large eight-inch bowl.

Zhang Anbang sat down at the table with a bowl of rice in his hand. "Wife, try it and see if your husband's cooking is up to par. Give me your feedback."

Gu Xiaonan tasted each dish first, and her eyes crinkled into a smile as she gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Very good, Comrade Xiao Zhang's cooking skills are excellent. The flavors are a bit stronger than those in the government canteen."

Looks like you've really learned everything from Sergeant Wang; you have the typical flavor of a grassroots military mess hall.

Zhang Anbang grinned. "Hehe, thanks for the compliment, wife. As long as it tastes good, eat more. I'll finish the rest. Otherwise, we'll have to eat leftovers on our first night after getting our marriage certificate."

"That's all your fault. When we were buying groceries, I said there were only two of us, so four dishes and a soup would be enough, but you disagreed and insisted on six dishes and a soup."

Gu Xiaonan picked up a piece of sea bass and put it into Zhang Anbang's rice bowl. Her seemingly complaining words sounded more like a coquettish tone than a complaint.

Zhang Anbang picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. "Mmm, it's so delicious. My wife's food is always so good. Today is the day we get our marriage certificate. We'll only get our marriage certificate once in our lives."

"Even without mentioning how many dishes we prepared, six dishes and a soup is really not extravagant, especially this sea bass. It's not something you often see at the restaurant, and the fact that we managed to get it today proves it's a good day."

Gu Xiaonan snorted coldly, "Fine, you're full of twisted logic. But are you praising me, or praising your own cooking?"

"Of course I'm praising you, my wife. Let me tell you, these dishes weren't made just anywhere. Sergeant Wang told me that each dish has a meaning."

Take this braised chicken, for example. The word for chicken sounds like the word for auspicious. The whole plate is red, shiny, and oily, which means good fortune and smooth sailing. The chicken pieces are piled up together, which implies family harmony and the unity of husband and wife.

Braised in red skin and red sauce, red is the color of weddings and celebrations, representing a prosperous life and a bright future.

Then look at this stewed potato and pork belly. The potatoes are round and soft, and the pork belly is a perfect blend of lean and fat that doesn't fall apart even after long stewing. The two layers symbolize a newlywed couple's home life.

And then there's this steamed sea bass...

Gu Xiaonan raised her hand to interrupt Zhang Anbang, "Honey, I know this. My mom used to say that fish sounds like 'abundance,' so cooking fish means having abundance every year, right?"

"Daughter-in-law, you are so smart. What you said is almost right. The word 'perch' sounds like 'prosperity,' and fish naturally bring abundance year after year. This is the double auspicious meaning of having both fortune and prosperity."

Moreover, sea bass has few fine bones, and its flesh is smooth and intact. It can be steamed whole without breaking apart. Serving the whole fish on the table is auspicious, symbolizing a fish leaping over the dragon gate and having abundance year after year. It also signifies a smooth marriage free from trivial conflicts.

Most importantly, it tastes delicious.

"Haha, honey, I really didn't expect you could explain these dishes so beautifully. It sounds really good. Old Wang taught you all of this."

Zhang Anbang nodded. "Yes, that's what the old squad leader said. Your husband has a good memory; he remembered it all. The old squad leader said that these are actually the beautiful wishes or hopes in the hearts of ordinary people."

Gu Xiaonan rested her chin on her hand, "Hmm, it does sound nice, all beautiful wishes. Now tell me what the meanings are for the rest?"

Zhang Anbang put down his chopsticks and adopted the demeanor of a lecturer. "Wife, this is no problem for me. This green pepper beef, green represents tranquility and peace, and the beef is firm and chewy, which means good health and longevity."

Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, with their red and yellow colors, symbolize joy and prosperity. It is a very down-to-earth and auspicious home-cooked dish. The bright red tomatoes represent a happy marriage, and the round and tender eggs symbolize completeness.

The combination of red and yellow symbolizes a colorful and warm life.

There's also this cold dish of three shredded vegetables: carrots, dried tofu, and mung bean sprouts. Carrots represent prosperity, and dried tofu, also known as tofu skin, represents a long and prosperous life.

Bean sprouts represent new life and prosperity. The three colors together symbolize good fortune and harmony. We hope that we will live in peace and harmony, and that each year will be better than the last.

As for the final dish, seaweed and egg drop soup, it serves as the finishing touch to the meal, with a warm and mellow flavor.

The black seaweed contrasts beautifully with the golden egg flowers, a perfect match of gold and silver, symbolizing a house full of wealth, a long and peaceful life filled with warmth and affection. The delicate, clustered egg flowers represent the couple's mutual understanding, companionship through meals and seasons, a lifelong and fulfilling marriage.

"Well, is everything explained, honey? Are you satisfied?"

Gu Xiaonan looked at Zhang Anbang, who was talking eloquently, with tenderness in her voice, "Satisfied, very satisfied. It seems that our little Zhang has really learned it. He even remembers the meaning of these dishes clearly."

However, I've heard that Shandong cuisine has many famous classic dishes, such as braised sea cucumber with scallions, braised pork intestines, braised prawns, braised three whites, sweet and sour Yellow River carp, and stir-fried double crispy.

There's also braised pork knuckle, milk soup with cattail shoots, four-happiness meatballs, chicken slices with egg white filling, and crystal apples...