Hui Province, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, a bleak winter day.
In the kitchen, Jiang Ning sat in front of the stove. The firewood burned with bright red flas, sending steam rising from the pot, turning the ho into spring in winter.
In the reflection of the flas, Jiang Ning’s face was also illuminated by the firelight as his eyes fell on the chopping board.
With an apron tied around her waist, Tongtong looked like a little adult, deftly handling the ingredients. The clatter of pots and the chopping of vegetables echoed as she muttered to herself:
"First, let’s make beef stew with cabbage and vermicelli, then so beer duck, garlic ribs, and finally stir-fried okra. Oh, we didn’t buy okra because Jiang Ning said he doesn’t like it."
Washing the beef, Xue Chuchu followed up, "But I heard that okra is very nourishing..."
Halfway through her sentence, Xue Chuchu realized sothing and didn’t continue.
Jiang Ning asked, "Nourishes what?"
’Just know how to hit where it hurts,’ Xue Chuchu’s face remained cold and indifferent, not wanting to respond to him.
Xue Yuantong’s heart was entirely focused on the noon al. She wasn’t interested in their conversation and continued, "Since there’s no okra, let’s not make a vegetable dish. Anyway, we have beef stew with cabbage, and later we’ll also make tomato mushroom tofu soup."
"Three hearty dishes and a soup, then we’ll steam a pot of rice. That should be enough for four people, right?" Tongtong seed to be asking the two, yet also seed to be talking to herself, as she always did.
In contrast, Xue Chuchu was always silent when cooking. Jiang Ning thought she didn’t have as much charm as Tongtong.
Jiang Ning: "That’s enough."
Xue Yuantong: "Okay."
Jiang Ning continued to tend the fire. The winter stove was the warst place, and as he sat there, listening to Tongtong’s muttering, a warmth of ho naturally arose.
In his past life, Jiang Ning lived alone from an early age, wandering uncertainly. After busy workdays, he often ate takeout, and sotis, winter takeout arrived cold.
But now, he was eating all hot als. The image in his mory of what a ho should be—perhaps a busy figure in the kitchen—was now projected before him.
The things one pursues in life were actually possessed from the beginning.
It’s just, many people lost them.
...
Jiang Ning took a photo of the stove and posted it in the class group chat, announcing that he would host a lunch at ho that day.
The class group was lively, and the classmates were very enthusiastic.
Guo Kunnan: "Who cooked the al?"
Jiang Ning: "Xue Chuchu."
Peeking at the screen, Dong Qingfeng pictured that stunning figure in his mind and typed: "You deserve to die!"
Jiang Ning only started the conversation, and the group chat extended from the topic of who cooked to whether the father or mother cooked at ho.
Duan Shigang said his mom did the cooking at their place and added that she liked cooking, which got him a scolding from Lu Qiqi.
"What woman loves to cook in the world? This is oppression!" Lu Qiqi emphasized.
Duan Shigang, like a dog on the side of the road, was inexplicably punched, as Yu Wen and Wang Yan Yan verbally attacked him, accusing him of being a mama’s boy, a privileged person, and a restorer of the Great Qing—female classmates’ combat power was astonishing, and the group chat presented a one-sided situation.
Duan Shigang was enraged; if it were real life, ten Lu Qiqis wouldn’t be enough for him to fight. Alas, this was the internet!
Duan Shigang rebutted, "My dad pays for the groceries, my mom cooks, is there a problem with that?"
Lu Qiqi: "Why do you think that your dad paying for groceries and your mom cooking is justified?"
Duan Shigang: "Isn’t it?"
Lu Qiqi: "Heh, why don’t you post a job ad and find out [Now hiring a full-ti cooking auntie, the employer will pay for the ingredients, the auntie can join for the al but without salary]."
"See if anyone applies. If everyone is eager to apply, it ans the employer is at a loss. If no one applies, it ans the auntie is at a loss."
Profit-oriented worker Zhang Chi: "No one would apply for sure, no salary, aren’t you working for free?"
Lu Qiqi: "Exactly."
Yu Wen and Wang Yan Yan imdiately expressed support, and even so neutral girls, like ng Zi Yun, at first glance, also felt it made sense.
Duan Shigang suddenly realized: "Wait, that’s my mom and dad, living life together, how can you calculate it like that?"
Lu Qiqi pressed on: "So, in the end, your mom is the one at a loss, and your dad is the privileged one."
Duan Shigang, for a mont, didn’t know how to counter.
Guo Kunnan and Dan Kaiquan felt sothing was off but couldn’t co up with a language to counter imdiately.
Guo Kunnan @Ma Shicheng: "Brother Ma."
Lu Qiqi didn’t care, not believing Ma Shicheng could counter.
Ma Shicheng spoke up: "Don’t be misled by her, it’s clearly a false equivalence."
"How about posting it this way: [Now hiring a full-ti grocery-buying auntie, the auntie pays for groceries, the employer does the cooking, can join the al but no salary], see if anyone applies. If everyone is rushing to apply, it ans the cook is at a loss. If no one applies, it ans the one paying for groceries is at a loss."
Profit-oriented worker Zhang Chi: "Damn, this employer is living it up, not only no salary, requires to pay for groceries to find him, screw that, the first one was better."
Guo Kunnan, hearing this, exclaid: "Damn, looking at it this way, indeed!"
Ma Shicheng: "If calculating gains and losses so strictly, there are no real winners, aren’t a married couple just supposed to live life well together?"
Lu Qiqi was defeated, not knowing how to retort.
Duan Shigang saw Lu Qiqi’s silence, felt extrely delighted, and admired Ma Shicheng even more. It’s a pity he couldn’t mix in the world anymore, or he’d definitely recruit him under his wing.
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