Entering the kitchen, Yu Jinghai immediately chided his in-laws, "If you can't sit still, you can go play cards or take a walk outside."
"But you came into the kitchen to help, and now I'm being lectured by both my wife and daughter."
Li Zhengguo was slicing potatoes, "It just means you're not putting enough emotion into it. A home is for two people."
"A woman, even if you only fetch her wash water once, she'll be deeply grateful."
Yu Jinghai stared at the potato shreds under his knife, uniformly thin and long:
"Are you happy doing this?"
"Yes, very happy," Li Zhengguo nodded. "Just thinking about my wife and children eating the food I've made and saying it tastes good fills my heart with contentment."
"Weirdo," Yu Jinghai commented on his old comrade with two words, then went to ask Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu.
Chen Suozhu's answer was, "Grandpa and I both can."
Yu Jinghai nodded. Chen Suozhu only had his grandfather, and the two lived together, so it was normal that he could cook.
Li Liguo's answer was, "My first wife was always in confinement. If I couldn't cook, I would have starved myself."
Yu Jinghai knew about Li Liguo's past experiences.
He had even asked Li Zhengguo if, since paternity testing was available in China now, why didn't he get one to confirm?
Li Zhengguo had replied, "When he was very young, he treated himself as the eldest and protected all of us cousins. Whether he's real or not, there's only one outcome: 'real'."
"One is because my mother's return after being lost was a complete reunion, and two is because his identity as my elder brother means he won't resent the other side and can also stay here with peace of mind."
"Three is because I can also repay him for protecting me when I was young. A good outcome, a perfect outcome."
"Why would I nitpick and demand an answer? He is my biological elder brother, that's the answer."
Yu Jinghai also had brothers, but they had all starved to death. He joined the army precisely to avoid starving.
When everything had stabilized, he took his wife home to see his parents, only to learn that they had long since passed away. He was severely reprimanded by his uncle and aunt.
He didn't quite understand Li Zhengguo's way of thinking and acting.
Just like twenty years ago, when Li Zhengguo chose to stay in the mountain village for the sake of his family, he didn't understand that either.
He never understood what Li Zhengguo had pursued his entire life.
Three men, three answers. Yu Jinghai then asked Yuan Jiyong:
"Jiyong, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"If you had a girlfriend, and she could also cook, then after you two got together, would you cook or would she cook?"
"It depends on the situation," Yuan Jiyong had his own perspective:
"Having a special skill is quite attractive to girls."
"When two people are truly together, I hope we can cook together."
"She can chop vegetables while I stir-fry, or I can chop vegetables while she stir-fries."
"She could also do nothing but keep me company in the kitchen, and we could chat and laugh as we made a meal."
"Or, she doesn't cook, but she washes the dishes after the meal, and I'll stay with her."
"Let her feel that these things are for both of us, not just for her alone."
"I understand what you're trying to ask. If it weren't for hiring a chef, your wife would have already argued with you fiercely."
"Just as Mayor Li said, a home is for two people."
Five men in the kitchen, and Yu Jinghai found no allies.
In his memory, his father and grandfather always had their wives serve them their meals.
Had the world changed too fast, or was he unable to keep up with the times?
Li Zhengguo finished chopping vegetables, Chen Suozhu finished picking them, and Li Liguo had also washed the vegetables.
The three men were about to leave the kitchen.
Yu Jinghai quickly stopped them, "Why aren't you staying in the kitchen?"
"There's nothing left to do," Li Zhengguo looked back at him. "This is all Yuan Jiyong's job now. We'll be eating soon. I'm going to the living room to wait for the meal."
Yu Jinghai... He had said he came to learn, and he hadn't learned anything yet.
Li Zhengguo seemed to know what he was thinking and shook his head, "Putting aside whether it's too late for you to learn now, with Yuan Jiyong here, you won't get a chance to show off. It would be like adding feet to a snake."
Yu Jinghai...
The four men entered the living room. The conversation was lively, and no one noticed their arrival.
Li Zhengguo and the other two men sat down next to their wives and listened attentively to their conversations.
Yu Jinghai quickly sat next to his wife, "I haven't learned anything yet. When I retire, I'll learn from you slowly."
This long-term promise brought tears to Shen Jianrong's eyes, "With you saying that, my heart feels at ease. When you're really bored then, I'll teach you."
Yu Jinghai didn't understand why his wife was so touched, but he remembered Li Zhengguo's words in the kitchen earlier:
'A woman, even if you only fetch her wash water once, she'll be deeply grateful.'
It seemed that he was a very failed husband.
Yuan Jiyong had also said, 'If it weren't for hiring a chef, your wife would have already argued with you fiercely.'
So he nodded, "Okay, we'll manage the three meals together then."
"Alright," Shen Jianrong responded to her husband with a gentleness she rarely showed.
Yu Jinghai... Could the harmony of the daily necessities of life be the foundation of marital bliss?
He still had a lot to learn.
...
Lunch was served at two tables.
Yu Ziyu and Li Weibo sat with the Damai and Xiaomai families and Yuan Jiyong at one table.
The other table was, of course, for the elders of both families.
Old Mr. Shen warmly greeted Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu, making them feel a bit flustered.
Seeing their nervousness, Old Mr. Shen chuckled, "Simplicity and honesty are the most valuable qualities."
Li Zhengguo was helpless at the old chief's teasing. He served dishes to his elder brother and brother-in-law, "We're all family, relax."
With Li Zhengguo's protection, Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu felt a bit more at ease.
Old Mr. Shen then greeted Mother Li, Ouyang Meihua, and Li Min.
Mother Li had lived in the capital for several months, and her mindset had changed significantly. Coupled with her advanced age, she politely exchanged pleasantries with Old Mr. Shen with great composure.
Ouyang Meihua had extensive experience in the capital and was bold and skilled, so she was not intimidated by someone of Old Mr. Shen's status. She accepted his politeness with ease.
Li Min, however, couldn't handle it. She picked up her bowl and ran off, "I'll be more comfortable sitting with the younger generation."
Old Mr. Shen was highly amused, "Grandmother-in-law, your children each have their own personalities and temperaments, and they are all very outstanding."
"You flatter us," Mother Li replied politely. "My daughter is the least able to be in public; she hides whenever something happens."
Old Mr. Shen said with a smile, "That's from your perspective of hoping your daughter achieves greatness."
"From the perspective of an ordinary elder, your daughter is straightforward and amusing, and she gets along very well with her two sisters-in-law. You've raised her well."
Mother Li smiled slightly, "What educational methods are there in a farming family? We just hit them with a stick."
"She's decades old, but sometimes when she angers me, I still throw a broom at her."
"The ancients said that filial piety comes from discipline, and I adhere to that. If I'm not satisfied, I scold; if scolding doesn't work, I hit."
"Exactly, exactly," Old Mr. Shen agreed. "Filial piety comes from discipline."
"I truly like all of your children."
"Unfortunately, among the people in my family who could marry into your family, there is only Ziyu."
"I wonder about Li Weihao and his cousins..."
Was he planning to arrange marriages?
Mother Li looked at her two daughters-in-law. Seeing that both of them nodded, she then said to Old Mr. Shen,
"I heard that Hao Hao and Yan Yan both have partners, and they are dating two granddaughters of your in-laws."
A big surprise!
Old Mr. Shen asked excitedly, "Is it the Li family?"
Besides the Li family, his other two in-laws were not in the capital or Northern Province.
Mother Li nodded, "Yes, they've only just started dating. I hope they all take it seriously and aren't as frivolous as young people today."
"Hahaha," Old Mr. Shen laughed heartily. He hadn't even opened his mouth, and two couples were already set.
Old Li Tou should be happy.
His eldest daughter could now stand tall in her in-laws' home.
"Who is Hao Hao dating? Who is Yan Yan dating?"
This, Mother Li didn't know. She looked at her younger daughter-in-law.
Tian Jing knew that Old Mr. Shen wanted to confirm again, especially since Yan Yan and Li Wanzhen had chatted so intimately the day before.
"Hao Hao is dating Wanting, and Yan Yan is dating Wanzhen. Since they haven't announced it, let's pretend we don't know for now."
"Good, good, good," Old Mr. Shen nodded repeatedly. "I'll be the matchmaker for these two couples."
"Alright!" Mother Li agreed.
Old Mr. Shen had a high status and was related to the Li family, so he was a suitable matchmaker.